《Dragon Ball: New Life》


 1 A New Life

    Planet Vegeta


    "Congratulations," A strange reptilian doctor said, "Your son has a power of nearly a hundred."


    No one in the room noticed a confused look on the child''s face as they spoke.


    "A power of a hundred? That sounds like something from dragon ball." I thought.


    The last thing the I could remember was trying to argue with an overworked god about mistakenly killing me. If I remember correctly that god was supposed to allow me to be reincarnated due to his screw up. He was supposed to erase my memories of my past life, but I think I remember everything except personal details about myself or family.


    I can remember likes and dislikes, but not names or appearances from my past life. That "god" must have been trying to cut corners. I can even recall all the media I consumed, which was a large amount. This told me whoever I was, I probably had no life outside of my job, whatever that was..


    It was hard to see, everything was so bright and someone was holding me.


    "Do you have a name picked out?" I was brought out of my internal musings when I heard the doctor ask.


    "Yes, Raditz." I heard a woman answer.


    "Oh, crap! This is Dragon Ball and I''m Raditz!" I screamed internally. I managed to calm down after being dropped in a incubator pod by a nurse.


    "OK, just because you are Raditz doesn''t mean you have to die like Raditz. Plus, you get to be a Saiyan. If you play your cards right this could be the best thing to ever happen." my mind was working in overdrive.


    Once I managed to convince myself of the benefits of my situation I passed out in the incubation fluids with a smile on my face.


    I guessed the incubator pods were designed to keep Saiyan infants sedated because I didn''t wake up often and was drowsy when I did. A few times when I was a awake I saw a Saiyan woman visiting me.


    She mentioned her name was Gine and that she was my mother.


    When Gine finally removed me from the pod I was extremely happy to be able to move around. As it turns out I was in the incubation pod for a full three years. Thankfully, I was alseep for most of it so time flew by.


    I was brought to a low grade home by my mother, Gine. The other nearby houses were of equally low grade quality. I wanted to begin training to avoid the path the original Raditz was on, but my mother wasn''t useful in that regard.


    Gine worked in a butcher shop because she wasn''t much of a fighter. At one point, she was apart of Bardock''s team before deciding she wasn''t made for the life of combat. Bardock, my father, was always out on a mission so I had yet to even meet him.


    While Gine worked I spent all of my time doing basic workouts; push-ups, sit-ups, and so on. All the time spent watching and reading Dragon Ball, in my previous life, gave me an idea about what to do. Actually doing it was another thing.


    A month later, I was shadow boxing in my home when the door opened. I was expecting mother to appear as she always did around this time. When I spied the opened door I was surprised to see Bardock along with Gine. This was the first time I had seen Bardock. I been had wondering what the first interaction would be like.


    "Yo, kid, how''s it goin''." Bardock waved at me, "I''m your dad, Bardock." Even though I couldn''t quite remember my adult life, being called a kid still felt strange. Also, what was with that super casual greeting from Bardock.


    After an exceptionally large meal Bardock informed me that my trial was coming at the end of the week. I would have to go on a low level mission to clear a planet in order to determine if I would be worthy enough to join an attack squad. My father told me he was going to attempt to teach me a few things to help me survive.


    Bardock whistled in amazement, "I can''t believe you picked up flying in a couple of hours." I was floating around out back with him.


    "It wasn''t too hard, but I still need practice." I was flying around uneasy and nearly fell a couple of times.


    "I thought it was going to take most of the week to be honest." Bardock laughed, "How about this as a reward for being a fast learner, I teach you something I was going to teach you when you got older. The Riot Javelin." My eyes light up with excitement I was going to finally going to learn a


    Ki blast.


    Wait a minute...


    The original Raditz never knew the Riot Javelin. A devilish grin appeared on my face at the realization that I might already be better than the original Raditz, if this change to the story is any indication.


    It took me two days to get the general hang of the technique. I remember Goku picked up the Kamehameha immediately after seeing it. He did practice the basics of the Kame style he learned from Grandpa Gohan for years, whereas I just started. So, I''m not too sure if the ability to acquire skills quickly is a Saiyan thing or just specific to me for some reason. So far, I can only manage the Riot Javelin twice before becoming too exhausted to move.


    For the final days before my departure we sparred so I could learn some basics to fighting. Bardock seemed to be self taught because seeing his fighting style in person it really looks like a brawler''s style.


    Needless to say, I never came close to winning during all the sparring but I think I learned a lot. I guess it should be enough for wherever I''m going. Bardock was impressed with my tenacity. By the time the end of the week came I got my power up to one-twenty.


    My father took a mission on the same day as my departure so he escorted me to the spaceport. Gine came along too because in Bardock''s words she had a "Softness Illness." On the way to the spaceport father would greet people from time to time.


    "Hey Bardock! Headed out?" a short haired Saiyan female called out.


    "Yeah."


    Bardock loaded up and departed with his squad as I listened to technicians explain how to use the Attack Ball. As it sounded the attack ball was a round one person spaceship with a window on the front. It had fairly simple controls and seemed intuitive for the most part.


    After I loaded in, Gine smiled and gave me a red hoop apparently for luck. I had always wondered why Raditz wore that red hoop around his arm. Turns out he got it from Gine, but where did the other one come from. I remember Raditz had two, one worn around his arm and the other around his leg.


    My destination was a planet called Turos a primitive world. It was expected to be a quick job owing to the fact Turos had a full moon twice a month. Giving me plenty of time as a great ape to clear the inhabitants. After leaving the atmosphere of Planet Vegeta the travel systems of my ship engaged rendering me unconscious.


    The planet was coming into view when I was awoken by the ships systems. The ball came to rest in a crater in a forest surrounded by toppled trees. The ship''s hatch opened allowing me to step out. I could feel the difference in the gravity on this planet; it was less than that of planet Vegeta''s. I felt so light here.


    After examining my surroundings I flew up over the tree tops and used my scouter. I was able to locate a large group of people. For this to be classified as a low-level planet nobody that I have detected has had a power less than a fifty.


    Some results came back as high as five hundred.


    If this was where Raditz was originally sent I wonder how he handled it. I personally planned on not using the great ape form until I need to. It would take longer than necessary to complete the mission but I should be stronger by the end.


    From the look of things most of the population on this world was currently engaged in a large scale war. The green skinned red eyed natives appeared to be in a feudal era based on the armor and swords the people carried. I observed the battle of the natives for two days. One of the armies was close to claiming a fortress belonging to the other side.


    There were also amazing looking cavalry troops who rode large tiger like creatures. Too bad I had to wipe them out. I wasn''t about to get killed this early for failure in my new life. I guess these natives can be consoled by the fact that Frieza is going to wipe out Planet Vegeta. Although I did plan on bringing Planet Vegeta back at some point, once Frieza wasn''t an issue.


    I appeared at the back of the army attacking the fort and began systematically ending the knights. It wasn''t long before they stopped the assault and turned their attention to me. Most of the army continued attacking the fort fearing that the fort''s occupants would launch a counter attack. The soldiers were all weak compared to me, but there were a lot of them. If I let my guard down any one of them could get a lucky shot in and kill me.


    It was a good thing I watched them fight earlier because some of the swordsmen were quite skilled. I narrowly dodged a swipe from a sword by spinning around and using the moment to jump up and counter attack with a kick to the man''s neck.


    My breathing had started getting labored after killing over half of the army.


    It was surprising to me to find that I found no trouble in taking so many lives. Maybe it was the Saiyan genetics or I was possibly a cold detached person in my past life. I just hoped I wouldn''t turn into a complete maniac.


    I was no longer able to continue fighting when the attacking army retreated. Even though it was my first life or death battle since coming to this universe I only felt excitement. I found a cave to rest in several miles away from the battlefield.


    A few days later when the full moon happened I was sure to look at it to experience what a great ape transformation was like. Knowing what was going to happen I repeated the mantra "think" over and over again. When it was over I awoke in the ruins of a destroyed town with no memory of what I did the previous night.


    In the end it took me eight months to clear the planet of its native population. I was able to get rid of most of them using my strength alone. A few villages got destroyed by my ape form. After many months of trying I was only able to learn to give my ape form simple directives. I still couldn''t manage full control over it.


    I took one last look at the now wrecked planet Turos before entering my ship to return home. When I reported my success in clearing Turos it turns out I was assumed dead. It was unusual for it to take so long clearing a low level planet with a moon. I was, however, praised for getting my power level up to one-forty.


    Gine was pleased to see me walk in the door to our home. She gave me the second red hoop Raditz was known to wear as congratulations on a successful mission. She wanted to take me to the medical center to meet my new brother Kakarot. While I was out on my mission I missed the birth of the Dragon Ball protagonist.


    "It is still going to be a few years before he is going to be able to come out of the incubator pod." Gine informed me.


    She was looking forward to bringing him home. I didn''t want to mention what was to come and burst her bubble so instead I just took another mission. For the next couple of years people joked to Gine I was trying to take as many missions as Bardock. The truth was I was just trying to get stronger while simultaneously getting the opportunity to search the mission archives for the coordinates of Earth.


    In the blink of an eye three years had passed and I was back home from a mission. I hadn''t seen Bardock again in all this time. Our missions were aligned in a way that we were never home at the same time.


    "I have two surprises for you!" Gine beamed.


    "What?" I was curious. Gine left the room and came back with her hands behind her back.


    "Here you go!" she revealed a new set of armor. It had a black under suit with full length pants and the arms were sleeveless. I guess she thought I wanted to show off the red hoops she gave me. The boots were white and instead of gloves she got me bracers. The chest armor was the type Bardock wore in "Episode of Bardock." I looked like a fitting mix of the old Raditz and the new.


    "This is great mom." I did like the gift, "What was the second thing."


    "Your strength was recognized! Prince Vegeta requested you for his squad''s mission!"


    Oh no, this was the warning bell. Raditz was out on a mission with Vegeta when the planet gets destroyed. I definitely don''t want to be stuck with Vegeta and Nappa for the next several years. Operation escape the planet was about to commence.


    "I don''t think I''m ready to join the prince, yet. I''m going to take another mission and if a position on his team is still open then I''ll take it."


    "Whatever you think is best. I believe in your skill Raditz you''ve come so far. You already have a power of two-hundred fifty and you haven''t even turned seven." Gine tried to cheer me up. She thought I was feeling too weak to fit in Vegeta''s team.


    "It''s fine." I reassured, "I''m going to get changed and head to the spaceport."


    I had tried to avoid getting attached to anyone knowing everyone one the planet was going to be killed by Frieza, but Gine made it impossible. I didn''t see her too much because of the missions I was taking. When I did see her she was very encouraging and caring. I wonder what people will think knowing Gine has become the savior of Planet Vegeta. Because of her I''ve vowed to myself to bring the planet and people back one day. I had thought about bringing the planet back before, but was on the fence about it. Now I was certain that I would make it happen. Before heading to the spaceport I visited Kakarot to say goodbye for now.


    When I arrived at the spaceport I approached the mission desk. The worker at the desk was a middle-aged male. I had seen him a few times when I previously came through the spaceport. He looked like he recognized me because he gave a smirk as I approached.


    "Hey Mr. Raditz, here to sign up for Prince Vegeta''s mission?" deadpanned ready to logged me into the prince''s squad list.


    "Maybe next time. I want the Erabis mission." I answered.


    "Whaat?" the worker was shocked, "Turning down the prince for a backwater planet. You''ll never advance in rank like that. You really are Bardock''s son." he laughed handing over the remote control to an Attack Ball. After I loaded into the ship I quickly changed the destination coordinates from Erabis to Earth.

 2 Planet Earth

    The Attack Ball''s landing caused a small crater in a large empty wasteland. It was bland scene, just large rock formations and dirt as far as the eye could see. I floated over the pod taking in the classic anime battle site. Although, as far as I knew Dragon Ball "Earth" could have hundreds of wastelands.


    When a small breeze blew past I decided it was time to go introduce myself to Kami. Hopefully, I could convince him to give me some training.


    I clicked the button on the side of my scouter. It took just a few moments for the scan to be complete. I scanned multiple directions looking for my goal. It took around fifteen minutes to find two people near each other with powers over two hundred, plus at the proper elevation. Gotcha, Ki theory here I come.


    My knee length spiky hair flapped behind me in the wind as I flew towards Kami''s lookout. During the flight I received a transmission over my scouter. The order had finally been given for all Saiyans to return to Planet Vegeta. Good thing my timing was right, Frieza was going to blow up the planet within the month.


    The trip to Kami''s Lookout was further than I anticipated so I had to take a break, which gave me enough time to hunt a large dinosaur. I rested by a fire created with a Ki blast and roasted the sizable reptile. It had a taste that was anything but stimulating. I wish I had remembered to get Gine''s Barbecue Dino-Ribs Special recipe. After a short nap I took to the air again.


    Breaking through the clouds I could finally see the Lookout in the distance. It appeared to be a gigantic bisected sphere with the round side facing the ground. On the surface were groups of tall trees lining the perimeter of the circle and a large building reminiscent of a palace. Before I landed I deactivated my scouter and removed it. All of the scouters were bugged with transmitters that would relay information to Frieza''s army, making it a huge liability. I would''ve destroyed it, but I might need it later.


    The moment I touched down on the white floor of the Lookout I was greeted by the smiling gaze of Mr. Popo. I glanced around and didn''t see Kami. More than likely they were wary of me.


    "My name is Mr. Popo why have you come here?" the genie asked.


    "My name is Raditz and I came to train with Kami." The statement might have come off more arrogant than intended, but it was starting to be fun being Raditz.


    "Ah, I see. Then you must first pass Mr. Popo''s test." Popo deadpanned.


    I knew where he was going with this, but asked anyway, "What is this test?"


    "You must fight and defeat me, Mr. Popo. If you want to meet Kami."


    "Is that all?"


    "Yes, that is all." he added, "Since you were able to fly up here you must be quite strong. I hope you won''t disappoint me. It has been a while since I fought."


    My Saiyan blood was boiling. I immediately took the stance I developed from conquering planets. It was a brawler style similar to Bardock''s because it was the first type of fighting I learned. Unlike Bardock''s style, it was more formless because I unconsciously incorporated pieces from the planets I visited. I remember how badly Goku was beaten when he fought Popo, but I guess that''s what I was here for.


    I charged at Popo and used a quick burst of speed to vanish from sight. He continued to stand still with his hands behind his back. I know he is tracking me so I keep moving. I decided a sneak attack was the best option and went for his legs.


    "You might disappoint me after all." Popo delivered a kick to my face without turning around. I needed to do three backflips before I was able have a stable landing. As soon as my feet touched the ground I charged again.


    Normally because of having a small body one would have to jump to deliver effective kicks to a taller opponent, but I could fly. Too bad it didn''t help because all of my kicks seemed to be effortlessly blocked. I did manage to make Mr. Popo move to block my barrage of kicks. He wasn''t able to keep standing still and block them. If I was lucky I could force him off the edge of the Lookout.


    Two strikes from Popo to my face and ribs ended my attack rush and grounded me. I quickly wiped the blood from my lip and stood up. Even though I was losing I was still having a blast. The Saiyan battle hunger really is something.


    "To be able to fly at such a young age is impressive. Your style seems self taught and your strength is clear, but Mr. Popo doesn''t think you are ready to be here."


    "Don''t think I''ll give up that easy."


    I don''t know how long we fought, but I looked a mess barely able to stand. I can''t tell if Popo was even tired, but I refuse for it to be this easy.


    "I think this challenge is over. You can barely stand."


    "We''ll see, about that." I charge again with my right hand out, " RIOT JAVELIN!"


    Mr. Popo opened his mouth to consume the Riot Javelin like I knew he would, which is why I followed after it. When he began eating the blast I used my speed to get behind him. No longer having the energy to fly I had to jump and spin to send a kick to the middle of Popo''s back.


    He was going to have to turn and block, which he did. If he didn''t block he would be pushed full force into the javelin, but if he did he wouldn''t be able to consume the full javelin and take damage. I heard the sound of an explosion and saw nothing but darkness.


    When I came to I could tell I was laying on something soft. It felt like I was in a bed. I didn''t get a chance to look around when I heard a gravelly voice, with the unmistakable hint of age.


    "It''s good you are wake."


    I shot up in the bed.


    Turning to the voice I heard I spotted the wizened Kami standing near the doorway. The wrinkled green skinned Namekian entered the room after determining I was awake.


    "You were out for a whole day. Your fight left you quite drained." Kami moved to sit down in a chair that was in the room.


    "You impressed me with your fortitude. You were clearly self taught but able to start adapting to Mr. Popo even assimilating some of his technique into your style mid-battle." Kami smiled then adopted a serious expression.


    "You seemed to be progressing fine on your own. Why would you seek me out to train?"


    I had already assumed Kami and Popo would want to know the reason. If the reason was too selfish they probably would deny my request to train. So I chose to go with a "version" of the truth.


    "My home and family was wiped out because we weren''t strong enough to protect ourselves. I never want to experience that type of tragedy again." I looked at the bed sheet for added effect.


    "I want to be strong enough to protect my friends and family if my strength is ever needed. I found I can only get so far with self training and needed guidance so I came here."


    Kami thought over what I said in silence for a moment before coming to a decision.


    "I will agree, young man, to train you."


    "Thank you, Kami" I stood and gave a bow to the aged Namekian.


    "On the condition that should the Earth ever face danger you will help protect it." Kami added.


    It wasn''t a bad condition.


    I agreed.


    I would''ve offered to help defend the Earth anyways, but it was better to let him come up with the idea on his own. I can''t just let the planet I''m on get blown up, while I''m on it.


    "First, however, you will need to train with Mr. Popo to build up your martial foundations. If Mr. Popo is ever busy you will have to travel below the Lookout to Korin''s Tower for training. Once you are ready I will personally take over your instruction."


    I was hovering above the Lookout''s grounds meditating. It was a couple of months into my training with Mr. Popo. My strength had not increased too much because I had been taking my time to get the basics of controlling my better honed. They really didn''t teach this stuff on Planet Vegeta.


    The sound of a large explosion caused me to break my meditative state. When I located the source of the noise I saw a burning ball hurtling through the sky. The arrival of a Saiyan Attack Ball could mean only one thing.


    Kakarot had arrived.


    I took off following in the wake of the ball to find my brother. It was obviously moving extremely fast. There was no way at this moment was I fast enough to catch up to an Attack Ball on crash down approach.


    I just had to make sure I didn''t lose sight of it.


    The ball crashed down in a dense forest. It was easy to locate the ship from the black smoke it was giving off. When I landed the ship''s hatch was still closed. I stood to the side and opened the ship causing Kakarot to tumble out wearing his Saiyan armor. The confused child looked around a few times before spotting me.


    "Bro-brother Raditz?" he asked.


    "So you remember me, eh, Kakarot?"


    The boy nodded at me then asked, "What are you doing here?"


    "Same as you, surviving." I answer.


    "Oh good heavens, what are you two children doing way out here?"


    The voice caused us to look over at the source. It was an old man with a slightly hunched posture. He was carrying a strapped straw basket on his back.


    "Hey, old man." I waved, "I''m Ra-"


    Before I could finish speaking Kakarot lunged towards the old man. I quickly caught his tail while he was in mid-lunge. My brother collapsed in the dirt from the pain of having his tail grabbed. The old man had a look of surprise.


    "Sorry about that. Like I was saying I''m Raditz and this is my younger brother Kakarot. Our home was destroyed and we were sent here to escape what happened to our family."


    "My name is Gohan, I''m sorry to hear what happened."


    We followed Gohan back to his small house. To my surprise he didn''t have too many questions other than why we have tails. Kakarot wanted to fight Gohan until I beat him up and told him to obey Gohan. The old man thought I was being too harsh until I explained the Saiyan love for battle. He ultimately accepted the explanation.


    I told Gohan that I was going to be traveling alone to train and couldn''t bring Kakarot. He volunteered to look after him to which I agreed. Before I returned to Kami''s Lookout I explained about the Great Ape transformation during a full moon. I also told Kakarot if he attempted the transformation without my supervision I would cut off his tail. That seemed to put some fear into Kakarot. It was also a common threat of Gine''s.


    Now that I had Kakarot successfully sorted out he might not obtain his infamous head injury. Either way it was going to be interesting to see how he developed. Things have already changed just from me being Raditz. I wonder how far I can go.


    Kami waspleased when I told him my brother younger was able to survive the destruction of our home and make it here safely. He did want to know if I wanted to bring him to the Lookout. I thought it would be best to let him gain some experiences of his own first.


    For the next several years I dove head first into my training. Mostly, I learned about advanced Ki manipulation. Much of my time was spent meditating with short breaks of strengthening exercises and combat practice. Besides, I felt that my combat style was something I needed to form on its own and Kami agreed with me.


    To help with my body strengthening I did ask Kami if he could increase the weight of my armor. I told him to make them heavy enough to increase my weight by ten. He didn''t think it was a good idea to go that far, but I promised him I could adjust quickly because the gravity where I was born was ten times normal Earth gravity.


    As I thought the request turned out to be simple for the Namekian. He thought that explained one of the reasons for a Saiyan to have a strong body. Kami wasn''t wrong, adapting to live in ten times gravity was an evolutionary boon for the Saiyans.

 3 The 21st World Martial Arts Tournament first par

    I left Kami''s Lookout when I was around sixteen. I believed I had created a solid foundation for my style of martial art, even though I had yet to come up with a name for it. The time for the world Martial Arts Tournament had arrived and I planned to participate. There were two reasons why I wanted to fight here. One, was because I wanted to test my art against someone other than Popo, and the second was to sate my curiosity as to how Kakarot turned out. Although he might not take part in the tournament.


    My arrival at the arena was early so after signing up I was able to relax in the locker room. Spectators had started to gather in the stands by the time I left the locker room to see if I could spot Kakarot. I made my way to the front entrance and looked around.


    It didn''t take long for me to find him chatting with a familiar group of people. He was wearing the iconic orange Kame School gi, his eye were sharp like Bardock''s. Next to him in the same type of gi was the young monk Krillin. Their master, the Turtle Hermit Roshi, was with them along with the blue-haired Bulma. I decided it was time to go introduce myself to the group and catch up with Kakarot.


    "Yo, I didn''t think I''d see you here, little brother." I said while approaching the group.


    Kakarot turned to face me, "Raditz?"


    "So you do remember me. I thought you might have hit your head and forgotten about me." I joked.


    "As if I would get amnesia from getting hit in the head. I have been punched plenty without forgetting anything." he replied.


    "Um, Kakarot who is this guy?" Krillin asked.


    "Right. Master Roshi, Bulma, Krillin this is my older brother Raditz." he continued, "Raditz. This is my sensei Master Roshi, Krillin is my fellow disciple and I made him my squad mate, and Bulma she hired me as a bodyguard before."


    "How much did you get paid for being a bodyguard?" I asked.


    Kakarot adopted a smug look, "one hundred Zeni, for my service until we found the Dragon Balls. Plus, I got to fight some tough opponents."


    "ONE HUNDRED ZENI!?" I can''t believe his price was so low. A Zeni is equivalent to one yen.


    Kakarot nodded his head proudly stating, "I know right. Me and Grandpa Gohan never needed Zeni before so it looks like I came out ahead." He really seemed to think he pulled a fast one.


    "What did you mean by Krillin is your squad mate, Kakarot?"


    "I remember Gine telling me Saiyans fought in teams called squad mates."


    "You are right about that."


    "How old are you, Raditz?" Bulma asked.


    "Sixteen. I think." I stated, "If I''m right Kakarot should be twelve."


    "Yep, I''m twelve." Kakarot replied.


    "Then yeah I''m sixteen." I reaffirmed.


    "Me too." said Bulma.


    "Come on Kakarot, Krillin let''s get you two signed up." Master Roshi headed inside with the pair.


    In the locker room I saw Yamacha, in his desert bandit gear, approach Kakarot and Krillin. He looked like he was almost ready to fight right now. I decided to stealthily listen in, not that they were whispering.


    "Kakarot I''m happy you showed up. I''m going to enjoy getting pay back for what happened in the desert." Yamacha asserted.


    "It''s going to be fun fighting you again. I''ve gotten stronger, too. Just remember when you lose you have to join my squad." said Kakarot.


    Nothing out of the ordinary happened during the preliminary matches of the tournament. I was paired against a pink haired woman named Ranfan. She was no challenge for me. I didn''t even have to really try. I won by a firm shove gaining victory by ring out. Originally she was supposed to fight against the fighter Nam.


    When the preliminaries were over the blonde tournament announcer wearing his signature suit and shades declared the beginning of the quarter finals.


    "The first fight of the quarter finals will be Krillin of the Kame school vs. Raditz!" he shouted, "Will both combatants please take the stage!"


    We stood opposite each other on the stage. Krillin had adopted his fighting stance and so did I. Albeit my stance was just me standing there with my arms crossed, something I picked up from Popo sparring with his hands behind his back. It also really annoyed me so I thoughtI''d adopt it.


    "I spar with Kakarot regularly, so don''t think I''m a pushover." Krillin warned.


    "I''ll keep that in mind." I replied.


    "Fighters are you ready..." the announcer shouted, "Begin!"


    Krillin charged at me closing the distance between us, an aggressive move. I watch Krillin leap up to deliver a flurry of blows towards my face. Slightly moving my head from side to side allowed me to dodge the incoming strikes. When he landed he attempted a leg sweep, which I avoided by lifting one leg then the other.


    "Raditz is on the defensive as Krillin unleashes a barrage of attacks!" the announcer commented.


    My opponent began to resort to feints after seeing I wasn''t fighting back. I was actually observing closely his pattern of attacks and moves. After seeing two rounds of attacks from Krillin I thought it was time to begin my attack.


    "The combos from Krillin have begun to finally make his opponent move from his starting position." the announcer was right. I had started to move to avoid Krillin. Glancing over to the sidelines I saw Kakarot intensely eyeing the fight trying to divine what I was up to.


    After ten minutes sweat had covered Krillin''s face and his movements had become stiff. Krillin threw a final punch at me and collapsed to his knees, his arms hung loose at his sides. His face was contorted in pain from what happened.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen it seems contestant Krillin has collapsed. Can he continue?"


    "What are you doing Krillin!? You can''t be tired already we''ve sparred for way longer than ten minutes going all out." Kakarot shouted.


    "Good job Krillin you were a good opponent." I told Krillin.


    "H-how? How did you do it?" Krillin asked.


    "Well... it''s my own personal fighting style I''ve been developing." I answered before kicking Krillin out of bounds.


    "There you have it folks Raditz wins." while the announcer gave his declaration I held up a fist in victory and hopped off stage. I heard murmurs from the crowd that let me know they were very confused about my victory.


    Through my training at Kami''s Lookout he realized I was an intuitively technical person. Whether I was like that in my past life I don''t know, but I seemed to be able to understand weakness or flaws in moves I use or see. That is why my martial arts keep incorporating the best parts of different martial arts I experience. Using this to my advantage I was able to see how Krillin''s moves stressed his body.


    When I began moving around as I dodged his strikes, I made sure to dodge in such a way as to put maximum stress on his weakest points. The result was just as I had hoped for when I created this style. I really wanted Yamcha to be my guinea pig number one.


    Kakarot was looking really fired up after my match. He either was really excited to fight me or just eager to fight in general. Whatever the case it didn''t matter because he was up against Yamcha next.


    The bandit looked like he was ready to go.


    "Be prepared to join the Kakarot Corps." my little brother declared.


    "Humph, only if you win." Yamcha countered.


    When the match started both competitors were immediately on each other trading blows. It was a ruthless assault. In my opinion both fighters were going all out without concern for their next matches. Kakarot was especially aggressive forcing Yamcha back. He clearly had the power advantage, but had yet to score a clean hit.


    Yamcha managed to create some distance which allowed him to use...


    "Wolf Fang Fist!" the bandit shouted unleashing his signature attack.


    Kakarot was able to dodge the kick which started the combo. Once the follow up strike flurry started my brother was able to seamlessly dodge them as well. I think he was trying to copy what I did in my fight.


    The pair traded a rapid succession of attacks. Kakarot was able to capitalize on an opening. The young Saiyan''s attack left his opponent stunned. Before Yamcha could recover, a rising kick to the gut sent him skyward followed by his opponent. My brother had quickly leapt up after him to perform a spinning front kick sending Yamcha back down to the arena.


    Everyone could hear the sound of the impact.


    I knew the announcer didn''t even need to count, the bandit wasn''t going to wake up soon from that.


    "And the winner is Kakarot!"


    The next two fighters up were Nam and Bacterian. Nam was decently skilled fighter while Bacterian relied on his world''s smelliest man odor gimmick. Nam managed to use his resolve to push through and seize victory.


    Following the Nam-Bacterian fight Master Roshi, or should I say, "Jackie Chun" fought Giran the dragon man. Honestly, I''m not sure what Giran really was or why a dragon "man" is allowed in the tournament at all. Giran tactics pretty much revolved around immobilizing enemies then using his strength to finish them off. I didn''t think he would be much of a challenge for the old master and he wasn''t. Roshi didn''t even need to resort to his Kamehameha attack.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen we have come to the semi-finals!" by the way the announcer was shouting he seemed to either be a true fan, or have battle mania, "Who will be moving on to the finals! First up is Raditz versus Kakarot!"


    My brother quickly hopped on stage and started stretching. Just like when he fought Yamcha he was spoiling for this fight. I felt this was going to be a fun battle.

 4 The 21st World Martial Arts Tournament second par

    "I hope you''re ready for this little brother." I taunted.


    "Heh, Heh, Honestly I was hoping to face you in the finals, but this is fine too." he grinned.


    "By the way Kakarot you should keep your tail wrapped around your waste like me." I advised.


    "Good idea." the kid did as instructed, "Feels a little odd, but it can''t be grabbed."


    "You can strengthen it with training to prevent getting paralyzed when it''s grabbed, but it still would be a good idea to wrap it anyways."


    "Fighters ready!"


    Kakarot adjusted his stance slightly.


    "Begin!"


    My brother tried to use his speed to his advantage by vanishing. Too bad for him I could feel his Ki roaring signaling his position. He was moving around the arena quickly in an attempt to confuse me.


    I remained still.


    When I felt him move in quickly for a punch to my spine I sharply turned and blocked it. Kakarot never expected me to be able to block his attack and was caught off guard. I drove a force uppercut to his gut. It could''ve been just me, but I think I saw is eyes go white from that hit. I didn''t get a good look because I followed up with a kick sending him away.


    He landed on his back but managed to roll back and onto his feet. Kakarot had good reflexes to pull that off. I wanted to see if I could have a repeat of what happened to Krillin, but first I need to observe Kakarot''s technique further. The announcer looked like he was having the time of his life.


    "What an amazing exchange of blows, folks!"


    Kakarot decided not to approach and instead adopted a long-ranged strategy.


    "KAME!..."


    "Excellent Kakarot show me more!" I shout.


    "HAME!"


    "HA!" a blue beam of energy raced towards me.


    The sound of the explosion could be heard throughout the stadium. Gasps could be heard from the crowd.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen our eyes had a treat we just saw the famous Kamehameha wave! But what happened to Raditz?? He is nowhere to be found!" the announcer crowed.


    "Thanks for showing me that technique little brother! In return I''ll show you a technique our father taught me!" I shouted.


    "Amazing! Folks, feast your eyes contestant Raditz is flying! And the contests are brothers!" I had begun to charge energy in my right hand.


    "RIOT JAVELIN!" I fire the beam down towards Kakarot.


    "KAMEHAMEHA!" he responds quickly with a beam of his own.


    "DODGE KAKAROT YOU DIDN''T CHARGE ENOUGH!" Jackie Chun warned from the sidelines.


    The warning came too late and we engaged in a beam struggle. I''ll give credit where it is due. The Kamehameha was still pretty potent even though it was used in a rush.


    Kakarot was fighting against my attack with all his strength. I could see his legs were starting to shake. This is going to be good experience for him since he is going all out.


    "Come on Kakarot you are a Saiyan you can''t go down this easy!" I added more power to the beam.


    Kakarot dropped to one knee in his struggle, but ultimately I won the struggle.


    Smoke and debris flew into the air. I was back on the floor of the arena. I had landed after the explosion. Kakarot had been blown back by the explosion. He had managed to hold on to the lip of the arena to prevent a ring out. He was able to crawl back in, but took a moment before getting back on his feet.


    "You''re stronger than I thought, Raditz." Kakarot praised through labored breaths, "But I''m not down yet."


    Kakarot''s next flurry of attacks gave me enough information to start my counter attack. I was able to dodge and exploit his weaknesses like with Krillin. Unlike with Krillin even when I managed to make him fall he got back up, sometimes it took a while. More than likely it was due to his Saiyan biology. As a bonus for Kakarot his style was became more refined to compensate, looks like I was doing him a favor.


    So I had to resort to brawling with him. The power gap was enough that even though I took some hits I won in the end and Kakarot got to have a nap with a smile on his face.


    I wasn''t very interested in the fight between Nam and Jackie Chun. Nam was able to put up an impressive fight, but his disguised opponent was too strong. In the end the Turtle Hermit just defeated Nam with basic moves.


    "Now onto the main event! We have an amazingly skilled fighter who despite his youthful appearance is sixteen I''m told, Raditz!" my jaw dropped from that line. I had actually grown in the last couple of months. Saiyans look like children longer than humans, we basically skip the teenage stage.


    "His opponent has displayed amazing feats during the tournament, Jackie Chun!"


    I didn''t know how Roshi was intending on handling this fight. It could be that he was going to give up after a quick spar or go all out. From the look he gave me it seemed he was going to for the champion position. I could have been wrong though either way he was perfectly welcome to try.


    When we were given the signal to start Roshi threw out a couple of strikes probing my defense. I was able to block them without incident. After he added in a few kicks I began dodging to gauge his pattern. Oddly, he wasn''t exactly using his normal style, it was more basic.


    While I was in the middle of trying to adjust my dodging the old man stopped attacking. That moment caught me off guard. He took advantage of that pause and shifted fully into the Kame style resuming his attack. At different intervals Roshi would switch his attack from Kame style to basic or pause his assault altogether. At this rate I wasn''t going to be able to lock on to his style.


    I went on the offensive striking out in a blinding flurry. The disguised master was able to block all but two of the punches. He jumped back to recover.


    "You''re pretty strong for a youngster. Once you gain more polish and experience you''ll be a force to be reckoned with." Roshi complimented me.


    "Thank you. You''re probably one of the most skilled people I have fought so far." it wasn''t a lie.


    I was enjoying myself testing my skill against the Turtle Hermit. If I had taken my weights off I probably would have been able to defeat him quickly, but it wouldn''t help with skill development. I didn''t just want to rely on brute force all the time. Personally, I found nothing wrong with brute force, but I was more of a fan of finesse.


    When Roshi stepped back avoiding a kick I had aimed at his face I began to feel strange. The old man was in a strange pose and I was on the ground. I heard counting and didn''t know what was going on. I felt nauseated and glued to the floor.


    What was happening to me.


    I struggled to get up. My arms felt like they weighed ten tons a piece. Oh no, I realized almost too late that Roshi had hypnotic techniques. He had to have used one on me. The announcer had gotten to the count of nine before I was able to stand. I had to catch my breath from the amount of effort it took to break free of the hypnosis and stand.


    While I tried to catch my breath the master was back on me with a quick succession of attacks. I focused on feeling the flow of his Ki as he attacked in order to find my moment. I used the after image technique to slip out of his combo leaving him chasing my shadow while I charged my...


    "Double Sunday!" I roared from the side of the arena.


    When Roshi realized his mistake it was too late. He tried to minimize the force of my attack with a Kamehameha, but it was too close. The resultant explosion left him stunned giving me the opening needed from my assault. Taking no chances I unleashed a combination of attacks that set the Turtle Hermit on the defensive.


    "Good young man. I think you''ll go far." Jackie Chun disengaged from combat hoping out of the ring on his own initiative.


    "After a mind blowing finale we have a new champion of the World Martial Arts Tournament, Raditz!" strands of blonde floated near the stage from the announcer tugging his hair out from excitement.


    When I was finished collecting my prize money I met Kakarot and his friends at a nearby restaurant. They congratulated me on my victory in the tournament. Kakarot already wanted to have a rematch. I told him to keep practicing and maybe in the next tournament he''ll beat me.


    "When are you going to teach me how to control the ape form?" Kakarot was relentless.


    "I''ll get too it. But aren''t you busy training and looking for missions? You don''t want to spread yourself too thin." I added.


    At some point the topic of conversation came around to the fact Kakarot and I are aliens. Everyone wanted to know what our planet was like because they figured I would remember being older than my brother. They were surprised to find out that Earth was more advanced in some ways than Planet Vegeta, even though Saiyans were a space faring race. Master Roshi appeared concerned when I told him how strong some of the alien species are out there. My brother just became anxious to fight new alien enemies.


    After the meal Master Roshi and his students, Yamcha now included, decided to head back to Kame Island to redouble their training. I chose to spend the rest of the day touring Capsule Corporation with Bulma. It was wise to get in good with one of the smartest people on the planet. Plus, her father created the Dynocap technology that allows for items to be miniaturized and stored in capsules.


    Seeing as how Dynocaps are so widely used her family is probably the wealthiest on Earth. The King of Earth probably doesn''t have as many resources as Bulma''s family.


    "Say Bulma can I ask you a favor?" I stopped her after the tour reached the lab.


    "Uh, sure. What is it?" she asked.


    "You and your father seem brilliant and know the best engineers. I was wondering if I could store Kakarot and my ships here." Allowing Capsule Corp to look at the technology would prove useful.


    "You''d let us get to see an actual alien spaceship?" she was surprised.


    "Sure as long as you make sure people know to be careful of activating any transponders." I warned


    "My dad is going to go crazy. He probably won''t care I''m going adventuring." she stated


    I removed the remote that controlled my ship from my right bracer and my brothers from my left. It didn''t take long for the two ships to crash down in the garden of Bulma''s home. Her father and mother ran out to see what the commotion was about. Her mother, Panchy, wore her blonde hair up and wore a striped orange shirt. She had closed eyes and a smile on her face. The mustachioed Dr. Brief looked on with his jaw floored.


    "What in the world was that?" Dr. Brief asked his cigarette barely hanging onto his lip.


    "Acoupleofalienspaceshipsdad.Don''tactivateanytransponders.Bye!" Bulma shouted to her father in a single breath before grabbing my arm, "Come on!"


    "Bye, Dear!" her mother shouted with cheer. I could here an excited Dr. Brief shouting as I was dragged away by my blue haired kidnapper.


    "Alien spaceships! How marvelous!"

 5 Worlds Strongest Tour

    Traveling with Bulma was an interesting experience. She told me about her adventure with my brother. Their group was looking for the Dragon Balls when they were captured by Pilaf''s group. While they were imprisoned Kakarot transformed into a great ape. The shape shifting pig Oolong managed to get her to safety. Unfortunately, a third party arrived on the scene stealing the balls from Pilaf during the commotion.


    Bulma almost died from an attack from the mystery assailant, but was able to plant a tracker on it. Kakarot went on a rampage until the morning. When they were able to follow-up on the signal it had already gotten out of range. She had spent much of her time since then trying to design a signal booster to locate the tracker she placed. My brother''s contract with her was up and he chose to go train with Master Roshi.


    She originally came to the tournament to re-enlist my brother''s help in getting revenge on the person who took the Dragon Balls. When I won the tournament she thought I would be a better choice. It wouldn''t hurt to check it out because I don''t remember this event ever happening in Dragon Ball. I let the blue haired sixteen year old drag me around for four months. Which is how we ended up at a frozen wasteland.


    "Are you positive the tracker is in there?" I asked pointing at a half frozen metallic structure.


    "I''m certain. Although from that hole it looks like this guy may have had company." she motioned to a large destroyed section of the structure.


    "So what exactly are we going to do when we find the person you''re looking for?" I asked.


    "Well..." she thought for a moment, "Find out what they used the Dragon Balls to do and then you''ll punch them."


    For Bulma to be a genius she didn''t really think this plan all the way through. That or she was completely fearless. It wasn''t like I had to be here, but getting in good with Bulma now would allow me to reap many rewards later.


    "Okay. Looks like it might be a long fall in." I said while examining the hole.


    I gently held my companion''s waist and floated down into the building. The inside of the metal structure was dimly lit. The place seemed to be operating on very low power. The place did seem to be familiar to me.Bulma ignited a glow rod which allowed me to have a better look at our surroundings. It became instantly clear to me where we were.


    Doctor Wheelo''s lab.


    The lab from the Dragon Ball movie The World''s Strongest existed and we were in it. This raised all sorts of questions. Was this a movie universe? This lab should not have shown up until much later if it was the movie verse. We were in a very dangerous situation right now. If this was like the movie the people here would have power levels up to thirty-six thousand. It had been years since I last used my scouter, but I''m sure my power isn''t anywhere near thirty-six thousand.


    Was it better to run? To stay?


    In the end we decided to keep going.


    We walked through rooms filled with large tanks and test tubes, some filled with grotesque half finished creatures. It didn''t take long to find the cylindrical elevator shaft that lead into the lower lab where Dr. Wheelo''s brain is preserved. The elevator was already lowered so I had to fly Bulma down again. This time she hopped into my arms princess carry style. I was near to my full adult size so holding her this way didn''t look awkward.


    On the way down we could hear voices speaking. After entering the large basement lab we tried to keep out of sight to better find out what was going on. An old man in a white lab coat was speaking to someone on a giant monitor. Next to him was a green skinned mutant the height of a fourteen year-old human.


    "Once again Dr. Kochin. Thank you for your hard work over the years." the mechanical voice on the monitor said.


    "It was my pleasure Dr. Wheelo. I have gathered the rest of our research and will be joining you and our new partner soon." Kochin responded.


    "I''m pleased you were able to find our new friend he has been most accommodating." Dr. Wheelo said.


    "To think I probably never would have met him if the Dragon Balls weren''t stolen from when I tried to use them to melt the ice encasing the lab. To melt the ice I had to look elsewhere, but it worked out for the best." Kochin explained.


    The mutant next to Dr. Kochin became animated as soon as the monitor was turned off. It alerted the doctor that there were intruders in the lab. Dr. Kochin saw us and panicked.


    "Kishime hold them off while I escape. Even though you weren''t able to fully mature a couple of humans should be no problem for a bio-man." the elderly scientist cackled, "Join Dr. Wheelo and I at the new lab when you finish with them."


    "Yes." the reptilian mutant said.


    The creature moved swiftly forward towards us while darting around the room. I could barely perceive its movements. I held out my hand signaling to Bulma to stay back.


    "Try to stay behind me, Bulma!" I warned, "This guy is trouble!"


    I searched the room with my senses in an attempt to lock on to the enemy''s Ki. When I found it he was right in front of me. I shoved Bulma back over a desk to prevent her from being hit by the mutant.


    His strike barely avoided taking Bulma''s head off if not for my quick reaction. The mutant didn''t pause from confusion he instantly switched targets to me.


    I tried to bring my arms up to block the punch that was headed my way.


    Crack!


    I wasn''t able to move fast enough to block. The result was of the impact was me being sent into the back wall. The metal wall didn''t break, but it did bend leaving me nestled in the indention. I barely was back on my feet by the time the mutant was on me again. This time I was hit with a side kick to the ribs which sent me into another wall.


    Crash!


    Intense pain shot through me as I felt a few ribs break from the kick to my left side and my right shoulder dislocate from crashing into the wall. I could tell from the hits that Kishime''s Ki was disrupted or unstable. Dr. Kochin did say that Kishime wasn''t fully mature maybe he was overexerting himself.


    The bio-man attacked me again and this time I was able to block. I was slowly beginning to adjust to his speed. He unleash several combinations of punches and kicks against me. I was still able to block, but I could feel the toll it took on my body with each blow.


    At the rate it things were going this was going to end as a war of attrition. I just had to hold out longer than my opponent. I think I was losing too much blood from the damage I was taking.


    Pow!


    Kishime had look of surprise on his face. I was finally able to counter attack with a strike right to his jaw. It was too bad it didn''t look like it hurt him too much.


    Another combo from Kishime sent me crashing through a lab station destroying it. It took a moment for me to wobble to my feet, but I did it. Bulma was screaming something, but I couldn''t really hear it. In fact, I was pretty certain I couldn''t even see anything other than red. I was doing my best to stay conscious.


    I could feel the unstable Ki rapidly approaching me.


    I wasn''t going to be able to take a single step from were I stood.


    My body screamed at me telling me to shut down.


    I was going to run out of energy in the state I was in soon. I would have to make the most efficient use of the energy I had left. Soon Kishime appeared. I felt the surging Ki coming towards me.


    Boom!


    Kishime tried to remove my head with a kick and I was sent sliding across the room. I couldn''t get up this time, but I wouldn''t need to.


    A pained wail was emanating from the green skinned bio-man. He was gripping his chest and had electrical sparks flying from him.


    "Eeeeyyooouuuu!" Kishime was having convulsions rocket through his body.


    I could only try to smile; my attacked worked. When I was kicked, at the same time, I was able to deliver a very fine Ki needle into Kishime''s chest. The needle caused the unstable Ki to rapidly and painfully build up in his body. All of the fighting already had his body over extended, but the Ki needle pushed him over the edge.


    I could hear the motor of the elevator platform moving. Kishime got away and couldn''t do anything to stop him. I tried to stand up because I heard Bulma running over. I was able to rise to my feet, but it did last long I fell forwards into unconsciousness.


    I do recall that hitting face first into the metal floor was softer than I imagined.


    I was standing in front of a large metal desk in a well lit office. There was sounds of movement, shuffling documents, and typing all around me. For some reason I could only look around without being able to move anything below my neck.


    A beach ball sized brilliantly glowing orb floated into view. It came over to the desk I was standing in front of and "sat" down. Really it hovered in the air over the chair in the location a person''s head would be if they sat in the chair.


    "Ah..." the orb sighed blinking different colored lights, "Well first off sorry for killing you."


    "What!?" I was confused did a peanut kill me.


    "You choking on a peanut was supposed to set off a chain reaction that should''ve ended up with the appropriate person dying and you being fine." the orb said, as if this were normal.


    "Then what happened? Why am I dead?"


    "Well, the person that was supposed save you looked away and you panicked. In your panic you tripped over a park bench, which caused the peanut to become dislodged." the orb paused or went to sleep.


    "Then what-" seemed the orb took long pauses because he cut me off.


    "You didn''t notice when you fell there was a flock of geese in the park that didn''t appreciate your intrusion. You almost got out of the park when one grabbed your pants pulling them down. By pure bad luck you tripped with your pants around your ankles but this time into a passing truck. It was all very embarrassing." the orb finished.


    "So I died an embarrassing death cause you messed up?"


    "It was embarrassing for me, also. I haven''t had an incident like this since I was promoted fourteen million years ago. Besides we had a good run considering how over worked we are here." the orb was defensive, "But because it was my mistake ultimately I''ll let you get another chance in a different universe."


    "Do I get a special power or get to be someone important?"


    "Haha," the orb laughed changed colors rapidly, "You don''t have the kinda karma for that. In fact you were you more bad act away from negative karma. I''d say your luck is could in the fact you get to reincarnate at all."


    Wow this thing wasn''t pulling any punches.


    "Don''t look at me like that." the orb sighed, "Fine I''ll give you something minor."


    It floated over to a nearby filling cabinet and looked through folders, until stopping at one.


    "Ah ha, here we are. WEAKNESS SENSE. This talent will let you know if something is strong enough to kill you. That should help a little where you are going. Try to enjoy your new life its not like you will remember me tell you that or any of this after you reincarnate." the orb said slapping me with the file.


    I didn''t move from the impact but the file disappeared. It felt like electricity flowed through my body as I felt a fundamental change.


    "I have transcribed the talent on your soul." the orb explained before it shouted, "Need a pick up for reincarnation!"


    Three more orbs of light floated into the room. Two of the them started escorting me towards a certain set of doors on the other side of the office.


    "I can''t believe you gave him that talent." I heard the orb who stayed behind say to the boss.


    "Well it wasn''t much just a basic low level talent he didn''t have high enough karma for anything more than gauging strength." the boss orb confirmed.


    "That''s not what that does!" I heard the lower level orb say before I was shoved through the doors.


    "Argh!" I woke up with a scream and looked around. I was in a familiar bed in a room I knew well.


    Everything hurt and I couldn''t remember the dream I had. It seemed important.


    "Raditz, you are finally awake." Kami was standing in the entrance to the room, "Your friend, Bulma, will be pleased to hear you are awake."


    "How long was I out?" I asked.


    "Two weeks Bulma flew you here after your battle. It was quite the tale." he walked over and placed something in my hand. I knew what it was immediately.


    "Korin gave me this to help you recover its a Senzu bean." Kami placed the bean in my palm


    I popped the bean in my mouth before he finished with the explanation. Just like in the show the effects were instant. I was completely healed and felt better than ever. I think I got a not so small power boost. I was going to have to properly thank that bio-man Kishime the next time I saw him.


    "Thank you Kami. Can you lead me to Bulma?" Kami nodded in response to my question and led me outside. "Your friend waited with you the entire time she was extremely upset by what had happened."


    "Raditz! You''re ok!" Bulma greeted me with a firm hug. "I''m sorry about what happened."


    "I''m a Saiyan. We don''t die so easily." I reassured. "Besides we didn''t get useful information."


    "I''m just happy we made it in time you were slipping in and out of consciousness, while giving me directions here to the lookout." she said with a worried look. "You''re sure you''re ok now?"


    "Yeah Kami has some magic beans that heal you pretty much instantly." I stated.


    Kami interrupted our reunion with some interesting information of his own. It turns out he knew about Dr. Wheelo stealing the Dragon Balls from Pilaf who stole them from Bulma. He also knows the identity of the person who stole the balls from Dr. Wheelo.


    The culprit was a henchman of one of Kami''s old foes, Garlic Jr. After making his wish the group as since gone underground. Unlike in the Dead Zone movie Kami believes Garlic Jr. wished for his father to be freed from the dimension of darkness, the Dead Zone. Kami requested that I continue my training so I''ll be ready to help defend the Earth when Garlic makes his move. I did already promise him when I first got to Earth I would help if the planet needed me. Besides there was no way somebody was getting a planet that I had plans for.


    Bulma and I said our goodbyes before I asked her to try and convince her father to invest in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Increasing the media coverage of the tournament might inspire more people to become martial artists. To my surprise she actually agreed to try.


    I decided I was going to take my art to the next level. I wanted to incorporate ideas I saw in other anime that have similar powers to the world I''m in now. An example would be if I could learn Hokuto Shinken from Fist of the North star anime or train like Isaac Netero from Hunter x Hunter.


    If I can''t replicate other moves from different series I might still be able to approximate their functions. Besides I need more power to stay ahead of the curve. It wasn''t like knowledge of the future would help too much seeing as how things have changed drastically. Now that I knew that Earth wasn''t going to be as much of a cakewalk as I previously thought, I was going to be ready.

 6 The 22nd World Martial Arts Tournamen

    I was waiting in line to sign up for the martial arts tournament. Bulma was successful with the favor I asked her. There were Capsule Corp. logos all over the place. The stadium and arena had been tripled in size along with the addition of giant monitors.


    I am definitely going to have to thank her. She went above and beyond to pull this off. I think I also saw television film crews, too. The added publicity really increased the contestant turn out.


    It took me over thirty minutes to get signed up for the tournament. Several people gave me aggressive stares as I walked into the locker room. I didn''t recognize any of them, but it looked like they knew of me.


    "Raditz!?" I turned to see Kakarot and his friends Krillin and Yamcha sporting a surprised look. "You got a lot taller." Krillin said.


    "I did." I answered. "But doesn''t look like you did, Krillin." Over the course of my training I had reached my full adult height.


    Two fighters approached our group. I immediately recognized the pair as Tien Shinhan the three eyed man and Chiaotzu the...


    Honestly, I never knew what Chiaotzu was exactly. His childlike doll form and voice always did creep me out, though.


    The two newcomers taunted my brother and his friends over the inferiority of the Kame School compared too the superior Crane School. I remembered that in the original story the same thing happened.


    I wondered if Tien would still end up fighting Yamcha this time. Originally, Tien used Chiaotzu to rig the lots drawn to ensure his fight with the desert bandit. This time the lots were drawn digitally.


    All the fighters participating in the preliminaries headed out to the arena. I was informed when I signed up that I could wait until the drawing for the quarter finals to go to the arena. It was a reward for attaining victory in the last tournament.


    "Mr. Raditz its time!" a cheerful attendant holding a clipboard called out.


    I nodded my head in acknowledgment and followed her to the arena. When we exited the doors leading to the waiting area near the ring I could hear the excited commotion from the crowd.


    There were seven fighters excluding me waiting to take part in the quarter finals. To my surprise one of the fighters was a short mysterious person in a hooded red cloak. I could sense the person under the cloak was really strong.


    After a few words of introduction from the announcer, he drew everyone''s attention to the giant monitor built above the fighter entrance. The monitor flashed our names and pictures across the screen until it settled on two, Chiaotzu and King Chappa. Everyone could see all of this happen on the screens set-up in the waiting area.


    The pair exited out to roaring cheers of the excited martial arts fans.


    During the fight King Chappa managed to keep the pressure on Chiaotzu. However his opponent managed to fire off two Dodon Rays. The curly haired monk was able to dodge one of the rays, but the other injured his right leg. Afterwards Chiaotzu made use of his flying ability to overwhelm slowed Chappa.


    "Was that the Dodon Ray?" Kakarot looked over to Krillin and Yamcha. His friends nodded back in confirmation.


    "Yeah, I think it was." Krillin answered.


    "What YOU three know about it?" Tien asked through gritted teeth.


    "We ran into this guy Hitman Tao, while we were traveling to train. He was attacking a village so I offered the services of the Kakarot Corps. They didn''t have zenni so I let them pay in food. He was a pretty tough guy." Kakarot answered.


    Tien looked incredulous as though such a suggestion was laughable.


    "Are you saying you three killed Hitman Tao?" Tien looked for clarification.


    "No, I fought him myself since we were in the area to climb a tower I let the other guys get started while I fought Tao. He got blasted away by a Kamehameha wave on top of his other injuries, he probably didn''t survive. I didn''t go check cause I wanted to get up that tower as soon as possible." my brother was being very casual. I wasn''t sure if he could read the atmosphere or not. It was possible he knew Tien was getting mad and didn''t care.


    I was enjoying the show.


    Chiatozu had opened the door to the waiting room when the monitor showed Tien vs Kakarot. A furious Tien stalked past his friend without saying a word. Kakarot followed behind him with a grin on his face.


    "So you guys met Korin?" I asked Krillin and Yamcha after Tien and my brother left.


    "Yeah we did." Krillin answered.


    "Don''t make the mistake of think we are the same people we were last time." Yamcha added.


    "Good." I replied and focused my attention back on the monitors.


    Kakarot started stretching his legs as soon as he entered the ring. The announcer was more fired up than in the previous tournament. He probably increased his performance because the tournament is now televised. An increase in pay probably helped, too.


    When they were told to start my brother dropped into his fighting stance. Tien being driven by anger took the initiative of moving first. Kakarot had a look that said he was prepared for anything.


    Thunderous boom was heard when the fighter''s shins impacted each other from dual high kicks. My brother quickly changed tactics elbowing his opponent in his extended leg.


    Tien was quick witted enough to mitigate some of the force by spinning with the momentum and firing off a Dodon Ray. The beam passed through Kakarot''s chest but luckily it was a after image.


    After realizing his mistake Tien tried to turn around but it was too late his foe was already behind him. Kakarot drove a fist into straight into Tien''s right kidney, or at least he wanted to. It turned out his opponent was quick enough to take to the air.


    By knowing how to fly Tien felt he held the advantage. The crowd was shocked into silence by the sight of a person standing in midair. Well at least the ones that didn''t see me do the same thing last tournament. They recovered their collective voices when the announcer gave them some background information on the technique.


    Tien was preparing to fire a Dodon Ray, but was caught off guard again when my brother also took to the air. I guessed my brother was motivated to learn after he saw that I could fly. I don''t think even the announcer was prepared to see a full on aerial battle.


    The pair were exchanging punches and kicks midair when Tien used his multi-arm technique to gain an extra set of arms. This time it was my brother who was caught unaware. He was sent to the floor of the ring by an overhead hammer blow from Tien.


    CRASH!


    The gasps from the crowd could be heard. They were all trying to see what had become of the fifteen year old. When the dust settled everyone could see my brother standing in a small crater. Kakarot was staring up at his target. Normally it would be wise to keep an eye on your opponent, but this time it was a mistake.


    "SOLAR FLARE!" Tien shouted with his hands spread near his eyes, palms facing his torso. A blinding lit radiated in the arena. The bald triclops quickly landed a began attacking a blinded Kakarot in hand-to-hand combat.


    Taking the only logical approach the young Saiyan huddle up to block the strikes until he could recover his sight. I did notice from time to time Kakarot would use his elbows to lash out at Tien''s knees. When mt brother recovered his sight a final elbow dropped Tien to his knees.


    Kakarot jumped back and charged his Ki.


    "Kame..." an orb of blue energy formed in his hands, "Hame..."


    "Woah, Kakarot is going all out!" Yamcha shouted.


    "Ha!" the blast fired towards Tien who just managed to stand in time.


    "Tien! You FOOL!" Master Shen yelled from the stands.


    The beam collided with another blast.


    Tien had fired his own Kamehameha an now the two were in a beam struggle. Master Shen had tried to warn his student because he would not be able gather enough Ki in time. Even if he could gather the Ki needed his legs were not in a condition to hold up long under the force.


    Kakarot exerted a little more force and Tien''s legs buckled forcing him to receive the Kamehameha wave with his chest. The explosion forced him out of the ring, rendering him unconscious.


    "Kakarot Wins!" the announcer was going crazy. The crowd decided to join him because judging by the shouts and cheers they went crazy, too.


    "Next up we have the returning champion Raditz versus the Mysterious Rookie!" my fight was finally announced. I sensed my opponent was going to be powerful in fact he might be as strong as the bio-man Kishime. Soon I was going to find out who this guy really was.


    "Go Raditz!" I heard a familiar voice in the stands. Following the sound I saw Bulma sitting with old man Gohan, Roshi, Oolong, and Puar. I gave her a small wave and smirk before turning to face my enemy.


    "Fight!" the signal was given.


    My red cloaked foe and I vanished before the crowd''s eyes. Explosive collisions could be heard around the stadium.


    "Don''t worry folks! We are switching to our new high speed tracking cameras, courtesy of our sponsor Capsule Corp!" the announcer reassured the audience. Our images appeared on the large flat screen. The audience was now privy to the battle taking place above the ring.


    "Amazing even the latest high speed cameras are having trouble catching everything!" the tournament''s blonde MC was once again losing his mind.


    I was forced way from my opponent by a sudden invisible blast. The red cloaked guy used a Kiai blast on me. The skill amounted to a repealing blast of air mostly used for knock backs. In retaliation I launched an explosive ball of Ki towards the rookie. We both quickly landed after the explosion. The red cloak had become a charred mess.


    Feeling it was no longer necessary my opponent snatched the cloak off and tossed it to the ground. I was now facing a short-statured green skinned creature that bore a strong resemblance to a Saibaman. If I wasn''t mistaken the guy I was fighting is one of Garlic Jr.''s henchmen.


    "I''m impressed it seems investigating this tournament was the right call." the creature said. "Too bad I can''t let you live now that you have proven yourself to be this powerful. I''ll have to get serious. Be happy that you will die at the hands of Ginger."


    "If you think you can kill me do it!" I shouted.


    When we resumed our combat the Saibaman lookalike had the speed advantage. Before I knew it I was getting hit around in a triangle pattern. I was sent from ring to the sky then kicked to the side and back down to the ring. After he was done taking me on a tour of the stadium I was slammed into the ring harder than Kakarot did earlier.


    The speed at which I exited the crater left me a blur of motion even to the cameras. In the air the guy that threatened me was chuckling. It looked like I was going to have to go all out in my first battle of this tournament. I removed my bracers and armor tossing them out of the ring. When they hit the ground they sunk into the dirt.


    That was when I made my move.


    Boosting my speed to my limits, I rocketed back into the air. Ginger lost track of me to his detriment. The increase in my speed happened too suddenly for him to adjust. The look of surprise on Ginger''s face when I punched him gave me some satisfaction. I vanished after the strike only to appear in the trajectory Ginger was flying. After, turning in a front flip to deliver a downward kick at my opponent''s head I vanished again.


    The audience watched me standing in the middle of the ring waiting for Ginger to arrive. At the moment he was going to impact the ring I used a spinning side kick. The blow sent Ginger careening out of the ring. He cut a trench all the way to the far wall.


    "Raditz wins by ring out!" the announcer declared.


    He still had the ability to get up after what I did. His face wore a look of pure hatred. After appear back in the ring. He spit a small amount of purple blood onto the white marbled surface of the ring.


    "This could have been easy now you are going to suffer." he declared. "Gingerbread!"


    I sensed a massive build up of Ki within Ginger. The sounds of stretching and tear could be heard as Ginger''s muscles expanded and his height increased.


    I had completely forgot Garlic Jr. and is cronies could transform like that.


    Ginger unleashed a furious assault against me. I took way more hits than I was able to block. The sounds of the impacts radiated through the arena. The audience was confused by what was happening some of screams of panic could be heard.


    "Ladies and Gentleman the rookie contestant has broken the rules and is now out for blood! This isn''t for show! The blood lusted rookie has stated he was actually going to kill Raditz!" I had to give it to him the blonde MC took his job serious.


    Some of the other fighters debated trying to help me.


    "That thing might be strong, but Raditz can handle it." Kakarot stated with his eyes trained on the ring.


    It was took me longer than I expected to track the Ki flow through Ginger''s body. If he was more humanoid internally it would have been easier, because I have had more opportunities to study a human''s Ki flow. When Ginger transformed the output of his energy rose drastically enough for me to see its flow in its entirety.


    Ginger threw a straight left towards my face. I angled my right forearm up to deflect the strike which left Ginger exposed just long enough for...


    "Ata! Atatatata!" my arms were blurs as I struck over fifty points on my enemy. He tried to hit me with a side kick, but I ducked and spun circling around to his back to continue the assault. After I struck an addition fifty points I jump back away from Ginger to catch my breath. "The Hundred Crack Fist of the North Galaxy!"


    "Ha, you must have lost your mind to think punches that weak would hurt me." Ginger had no end of confidence.


    "Laugh all you want you''re already dead." I declared. At least I hoped he was already dead. The only thing I could test this on was Mr. Popo''s puppet clone of me.


    Ginger tried to take a step towards me when his face contorted pain. The horrible cracking sound of breaking bones could be heard. Fissures leaking blood appeared on the surface of Ginger''s skin.


    Flames seemed to erupt from the fissures as Ginger''s appearance became more desiccated. The blue flames engulfed Ginger cooking him until he was dust.


    When I fought Kishime in Dr. Wheelo''s lab I disabled him using a Ki needle. It gave me the idea thought that it might be possible to replicate Hokuto Shinken. Each strike I delivered with the technique inserts a very thin innocuous Ki needle directly into the Ki flow of my opponents in one hundred different points in their bodies.


    At first the needles would act as a dam causing a build up of Ki at those blocked points. Next the needles explode simultaneously cause the built up Ki to escape violently and uncontrollably, hence the fissures. My technique didn''t really produce the same result as Hokuto, but I felt it was close enough.


    I was escorted to the medical office in the main build of the tournament arena. Bulma was already therestanding with her arms crossed. She looked mad.


    "Were you planning on continuing the tournament after what happened!?" she shrieked.


    "Yeah, remember those beans." I reminded her of how I was healed at the Lookout.


    Her expression softened when she saw me toss a Senzu bean in my mouth. Like the last time, I felt a surge of power rush through me as the bean healed my injuries. She wanted to know why I was attacked so I gave her a little background information on Garlic Jr. Because the tournament was still going on I promised that I give a more detailed explanation afterwards.


    On the way back out to the fighter area Tien stopped me to let me know that my fight opened his eyes to new levels of strength. He probably said more things but I was thinking about other things, like where Garlic is hiding and if other movie characters are out there.


    The rest of the tournament happened without any major incident. I successfully defended my title as champion defeating my brother in the final round. After a large celebratory banquet at a nearby restaurant Bulma flew me to Capsule Corp. to show me what her father had been working on. On the ride there I filled Bulma in on what Kami had told me about Garlic and Garlic Jr.

 7 Preparations

    "This is amazing work, Dr. Briefs." I said.


    Before me stood a very large saucer shaped spacecraft. It stood on four spindly spider-like legs with a ramp extending from the bottom. The ship took up a sizable portion of the Capsule Corp gardens.


    "So this was made from our ships?" Kakarot asked. He had met up with us at Capsule Corp because he had wanted to do some training with me.


    "Well, this was made entirely from Raditz''s ship along with Capsule Corp. custom parts designed specifically for this. I wanted to try a different design for yours. Bulma wanted to take the lead on this ship''s design." Dr. Briefs informed us.


    Bulma showed me a green visor connected to two earpieces.


    "I redesigned your scouter device into a wearable communication device that still retains the scouter function and can control the ship." she had a look full of pride.


    The ship was fully equipped with four bedrooms, a kitchen, and gym. A staircase on the main floor led up to a second level, which consisted of a small bridge. Aesthetically it was very clinical incorporating white as the primary color of the interior red was secondary. I would''ve guessed black yellow or purple those seemed to be Bulma''s most liked colors or it those could just be Capsule Corp. colors.


    After a short fight tutorial I chauffeured my brother to the western wastelands. Tonight was going to be a full moon and I was going to help him control the great ape. In the hours that led up to the full moon I gave Kakarot pointers and mental techniques I learned to maintain my reason.


    When we transformed my brother rampaged around for just over an hour before he stopped moving and just stared into the distant desert wasteland. He wasn''t in control but he did manage to restrain himself. Restraint is the biggest hurdle to get over. As long as one can restrain the actions of the ape they can practice alone without worrying about mindless destruction.


    It probably helped that Kakarot had experienced the transformation in the past, he wasn''t as shocked by the experience this time. I tried talking to him but he never gained control of the form.


    He should be given credit for getting as far as he did.


    We returned to Capsule Corp the following day after several hours of sparring. Bulma greeted us as soon as we landed.


    "You''ll never guess who requested a meeting with you." she said.


    "Um-" I was cut off.


    "The King of the Earth! The King!" she finished.


    "Why does he want to meet and why contact you?" I asked.


    "I don''t know why he wants a meeting, but he contacted Capsule Corp because we sponsored the tournament so we had access to the participants'' contact information." she answered.


    Bulma removed her jet-car Dyno-cap and tossed it on the ground. I was curious about what the king wanted so I decided to go. Kakarot was more curious about what a king looked like than what he wanted. It took two hours to arrive at the king''s castle.


    We stood in front of an expensive finely crafted desk. Behind the desk sitting in a luxurious blue leather chair was the king, an anthropomorphic dog. He had light blue fur and whiskers styled into a mustache. He wore a dark black suit with a purple pinstriped vest and glasses. It was a strange sight when I saw him animated and it was still strange in person.


    "Now I''m certain you are wondering why I asked you here." we nodded at the king''s statement. "The Royal Army has run into some trouble. Village territories have been destroyed by a group calling themselves the Red Ribbon Army."


    I knew where the king was headed with this, but I was already working on the Garlic problem for Kami.


    "After watching the last World Martial Arts Tournament I believed you two would be of get help to my army." the king finished.


    "I''m sure my brother Kakarot and his friends could help you, but I already have an issue I''m working to correct." the king was disappointed by my answer.


    Bulma and I flew back to Capsule Corp. while Kakarot went back to Kame Island to gather his friends.


    Back in Bulma''s workshop I asked her how long it would take to adapt my scouter technology to long range satellites.


    "Well..." she thought about it for a moment, "It really depends on how many you need. I think it would take around a month to make six."


    "Would that give me a decent scan of Earth?" I asked.


    "More than likely." she answered.


    The ability to locate Garlic in a month was good. I would be able to try out the ship''s gravity chamber function. Dr. Brief''s told me it could go up to one hundred times Earth gravity. Once I handled Garlic Jr. and his group I would have time to really abuse the chamber, but for now I chose to workout in twenty times Earth''s gravity.


    Jumping straight into twenty times gravity was pure punishment. It took a day to adapt to the gravity without Senzu bean assistance. A week later and I was fully comfortable in twenty times Earth gravity. I could feel my strength improving by leaps and bounds. When I finally locate my target he won''t know what hit him.


    When Bulma had completed the satellites needed for the miniature satellite network we launched them into position from my ship. After the last satellite was placed Bulma sat back in the pilot seat and equipped the green tinted scouter visor. Using the visor she connected the satellite network to the ship''s sensors.


    "Ok, I''m scanning for strong powers that share similar DNA to that guy you fought in the tournament." she said.


    "Thanks, Bulma what do I owe you for your help?'' I asked.


    "D-date." she stuttered.


    "What?" I didn''t think she''d ask for that.


    "I want a date. With you." she stated confidently.


    "Ok, you got it. Right after I finish Garlic Jr." I agreed the price was cheaper than I thought it would be.


    "Good I think I found him." Bulma keyed in several commands on the console in front of her.


    On the display was massive castle in the middle of the Red Sea surrounded by dense clouds. The castle reminded me of a giant coral by the way its towers curved out from the base. Outside of the castle I saw one of Garlic Jr.''s henchman, Nicky standing guard.


    "How quick can we get there?" I asked


    "Thirty minutes." she responded.


    We entered the atmosphere above the Red Sea and quickly descended. I told Bulma to hold the ship behind the cloud cover and stay out of sight. I was going to make my way to the castle alone and didn''t want the ship to be in danger of being destroyed.


    As the ship hovered in position Bulma opened the main door without extending the ramp. I did a few stretches before dropping out of the ship through the opening.


    I was upside down enjoying the feeling of free-falling. When I broke through the clouds I could clearly see the castle coming into view. I tried unsuccessfully to sense the energy in the castle as I fell. It was strange that I couldn''t sense anything being as close as I was.


    I slowed down my descent when I was about eight-hundred meters from tallest tower of the castle. When I reached just under two-hundred meters I felt a surge of power. I could sense the Ki of the all demons in the area. There was some type of barrier around the castle that blocked the ability to sense the people in it. Clearly, whatever barrier they used was ineffective against technology.


    A Ki signature rushed towards me at a high speed. From the direction it was approaching from I could tell it was the guard, Nicky. The demon had green skin, long pointed ears, and white hair cut in a flat top. His shoulders and thighs had a pair of sharp spiked protrusions. He wore a white caped robe with light purple shoulder guards.


    "You have so nerve to intrude on Garlic Castle. You were detected as soon as you entered the barrier." the demon said.


    I smiled cruelly at the arrogant demon.


    BOOM!


    The sound of an explosion shook the demon castle.


    I could see diminutive Garlic Jr., his almost gray skinned minion Sansho, and another unknown demon presumable his father. They were looking back up at me through the new sky light I made with Nicky. I decided to test whether Nicky was still alive by dropping down through the hole onto his chest with my knee.


    CRACK! CRUNCH!


    All of the subdued demon''s ribs were obliterated from my blow. He expelled a mouthful of blood before dying. I stood up to my full height and took a look around. This was the throne room and the remaining demons look ready to kill me at any moment.


    "Why have you assaulted our castle?" Garlic Sr. asked.


    "Two reasons." I answered, "One your minion attacked me at the World Tournament and two Kami wanted me to send his regards."


    Both Garlic''s became enraged after hearing the name of their mortal enemy Kami. The cloaked Garlic Sr. slammed the armrest of his throne hard enough to break it off. Garlic Jr. ground his fanged teeth violently before giving his henchman the order.


    "Kill this intruder Sansho! He''s strong so waste no time and transform." he commanded.


    "CHEESE!" Sansho shouted his transformation word. His muscles expanded increasing his height and his Ki shot up.


    Wasting no time Sansho was eager to follow his master''s instructions by charging at me. His claws were extended ready to tear into anything that got in their way. He was trying to overcome me with pure power because there was no form or technique to his movements.


    The Garlic pair''s jaws dropped after witnessing Sansho''s right arm disintegrate before their eyes. The demon stumbled back howling in pain. He clutched what was left of his arm in agony.


    "What did you do?" Garlic questioned.


    "I just punched his arm." I answered nonchalantly.


    When he dropped to his knees I pointed my index finger at his forehead and fired a thin Ki beam.


    The howling ceased.


    Garlic Sr. stood from his throne, removed his cloak, and tossed it to the side. He increased his size and power like the others, but he didn''t need a special word to do it. Garlic Jr. looked at his father transforming and chose to do the same. They had both become two very muscular dark green skinned demons that towered over me in height.


    "Don''t think my father and I are as weak as my men." Garlic Jr was sure of himself.


    I poured Ki into my hand sharpening and focusing it like a sword. I moved between the Garlic father and son at a pace so quick I don''t think they were aware of what happened. Utilizing the sword steps and maneuvers I learned on the first planet I conquered, Turos. I bisected Garlic Jr. Even as half of his body fell away he looked like he couldn''t believe what had happened to him.


    Garlic Sr. tried raise his arms in the attempt to use a technique, but I didn''t allow him the luxury. Just like with his son I blitzed past him. This time I used my sword strike to decapitate the demon. I chose to kill both of them as fast as possible because I didn''t want either of them trying to open the Dead Zone.


    Before I left the castle I took some of the strange fruits that grew on the tree in the castle. In the movie eating one of the fruits made Gohan pretty intoxicated. It would be great if I could find a way to bottle the fruits as a beverage. It was a shame I didn''t know anything about fermenting fruits into alcohol. Back in the sky above the castle I fired a Ki blast at the owner-less castle sinking it to the bottom of the ocean.


    "I got some interesting readings while you were gone." Bulma said as I walked up to the bridge of the ship.


    "Really like what?" I asked


    "Your power, according to the satellites is fifty-five fifty." she answered.

 8 Date

    I decided to do something special for our first date. I entered the coordinates into the console of my ship. The scouter visor was very convenient. It displayed an altered reality display noting all of the control functions of the ship.


    Bulma was in the main hangar putting the finishing touches on a high powered communications satellite. We were going to drop it off at the edge of the solar system.


    Along with aiding long range communications, it was going to serve as an early warning system for objects and ships entering the solar system. There would have to be additional satellites placed for communication between space sectors and systems. There was plenty of time to do something like that later.


    "Standby for launch." I said keying in the launch sequence.


    Bulma stowed her tools in her red tool box before running up the stairs to the cockpit. She was wearing a red Capsule Corp. hat, a yellow one-piece garage suit, and brown gloves. When she secured herself to her seat with thick twin straps that buckled at the waist, I hit the launch button.


    The ship hovered momentarily to retract the landing gear before blasting out of the atmosphere.


    This was the first time we actually experienced the ships space travel function. It was much faster than when it was set to terrestrial mode for planetary travel. It took only seconds for the ship to reach the coordinates set for the satellite to be deployed.


    "Whoa, I can''t believe we''re already at the edge of the solar system!" Bulma exclaimed, "We''re actually in space!" she quickly celebrated before regaining her composure.


    Bulma started typing on the console in front of her chair.


    "Launching satellite." she said. I could see the blink satellite with the large Capsule Corp. logo on the side. The Briefs family really know how to brand products.


    A few seconds later she engaged the travel mode once more and we were off, hurtling through the dark abyss. Even at our current speed it was going to take a couple of weeks to get to our destination. I spent most of my time training, while Bulma made sure everything was functioning as it should.


    During the journey I was forced to only do basic training because the gravity chamber drew too much power from the engines during full speed flight. I did ask Bulma about it but she informed me this was the most advanced technology ever created on Earth.


    One week into the trip and Bulma had worked all of the bugs out of the ship. She was confident that there should be no problems with its operation. It didn''t take long before she found a new hobby, observing my training.


    Being watched through a glass panel made me feel like I was a zoo animal.


    "Hey, since you are watching, why not come let me give you some pointers?" I asked through the intercom, since sound from the gym was dampened. She thought about it for a few seconds before entering the gym.


    "What kind of pointers?" she asked.


    "Well, I was thinking I could get you to through a decent punch before we get to where we are going." I stated.


    "I know how to punch, for your information." she crossed her arms, "And where are we going? You still haven''t told me."


    "No, you can''t punch. I have seen you try." I laughed, "And I told you where we are going is a surprise."


    In the end she went along with my idea. I had her throw several punches towards my raised hands. I taught her a proper form and watched her practice. She was wearing the same intense look she used when working on machinery. After practice, she let me give her a list of strengthening exercises and stretches.


    In the cockpit of the ship, Bulma and I stood in front of the view screens.We had finally arrived at our destination. During the journey, I was actually successful in teaching her how to punch properly and kick too. While she ended up teaching me, card games. She always won. I didn''t know if she was really good or cheating.


    On the screens was an overgrow lush green world with a sizable ocean.


    "This is what I wanted to show you Bulma." I stated solemnly, "This is Turos. The first world I had to conquer in the name of Frieza. I thought it would be inhabited by now, but I did hear rumors from older Saiyans that Frieza just forgot about some of the planets he made us destroy."


    She gasped at the revelation.


    "I know you told us before your people conquered planets but I never thought I''d see one." she stared at the planet on the screen. "Why did you bring me here for a date?" Bulma sounded irritated.


    "I wanted you to see where I began... And also where I''m going." I answered. "I would have showed you Planet Vegeta, but nothing is left of it."


    "What does that mean?" she asked.


    "I had to conquer worlds in the name of Emperor Frieza. My goal is to take everything Frieza has and become emperor of the universe." I explained. "Unlike Frieza, I have no interest in wanton destruction of planets. I plan to improve my universe, not destroy it. I showed you this because I wanted you to know what type of trouble that will follow in my wake. I will end up the enemy of many galactic powers one day."


    "Honestly, I would''ve been worried if you said you were going to lead a normal quiet life." she laughed. "Just tell me Earth is going to be ok."


    "I gained many benefits from Earth and spent more time there than on Planet Vegeta. I won''t let other people destroy what belongs to me, and I count the Earth as one of my homes." I clenched a fist with confidence.


    "Well you don''t lack ambition, which is good because I''m ambitious too." Bulma covered her mouth as she laughed mischievously. The view screens began to flash red with a message on the screen.


    TRANSMISSION FOUND!


    Bulma made her way to the pilot seat and donned the scouter visor. She typed some commands into the console and the flashing message on the screen was replaced with an audio transmission.


    "If anyone is reading this help! Our ship is damaged and we are being pursued by pirates! We are in need of assistance, please, help us!"


    "The transmission is coming from the edge of the system." Bulma informed me.


    "It isn''t really our problem." I shrugged.


    "I thought you wanted to be an emperor? How can you pass up a chance like this? Those people might have valuable technology or information. I''m sure they will feel obligated to help you if we save them." Bulma nodded like it was obvious.


    "Looks like you are already trying to be an empress, with planning like that. Let''s save a ship." Bulma blushed at my statement. It was a good plan.


    When the ship came into view, we could see that it was a very sleek design of a gray metallic material with thin grooves running along it. Inside the grooves different colored lights flashed intermittently.


    The ship pursuing the vessel looked like a ship common among the Frieza forces. It was a saucer design with bubbled widows lining the rim of the ship. My ship was about a third of the size as the pirate ship.


    "Bulma would you open a channel to the pursuing ship?" I asked my partner in crime.


    "Channel open." she answered.


    "Pursuing vessel, this is Raditz, identify yourself." I stood in front of the view screens waiting for a response. It didn''t take long before an amphibious purple alien appeared on the screen.


    "I am a lieutenant of the Black Zenith pirates. I suggest you leave or be destroyed. We already have our quarry, so consider it your lucky day and leave." the pirate commanded. Behind him I could see several members of his crew chuckle. They were a mix of different species, some looked human, others not at all.


    "Noted." I deadpanned. "Bulma cut transmission and open a channel to the other ship."


    "Channel opened." Bulma said.


    "This is Raditz, I received your transmission. Prepare for rescue." I said. The ship being chased slowed its engines after receiving my message. In the hangar of the ship I found the emergency Capsule Corp yellow space-suits. Once I finished putting it on, I asked Bulma to get as close to the pirate ship as she could and open the hangar.


    I was deployed from the ship as Bulma flew over the pirate vessel. After powering up for a burst of speed I landed on the pirate ship and activated my magnetic boots. The place I was standing was just a few feet from the ships roof hatch. Since the pirates weren''t going to just open the door for me, I decided to make my own.


    BOOM!


    My Riot Javelin tore a hole into the hull of the ship. Eight pirates met their end by being sucked out into the cold void of space. I quickly flew in before the emergency systems closed the breach. I moved in the nick of time, because as soon as I entered the ship the hull breach was sealed.Looking around the empty room I was in, I only saw one exit. The door was tightly sealed because of the hull breach in the room. I held my palm out towards the door and fired another Ki blast.


    BOOM!


    The door exploded. There were two dead pirates in the hallway, they were caught in the explosion. At the far end of the hallway, I saw two helmeted pirates pointing wrist mounted blasters my way.


    "Stop where you are, intruder!" one of the pirates ordered.


    I pointed my right index finger towards the speaker and fired a thin straight beam through the pirate''s forehead. His friend reacted instantly firing five blasts in my direction. I quickly dodged around the blasts, vanishing, as I moved closer to my target.


    CRACK!


    A sickly sound reverberated in the corridor from me snapping the neck of the pirate. I removed the blaster from the pirate''s wrist. After a quick examination I determined it was a level two Frieza Force blaster.


    I didn''t really have a use for it, but Bulma might enjoy it examining it for research purposes.


    I activated my magnetic boots and began charging a Ki orb in my hand. I could sense the Ki of multiple people headed in my direction from around the corner. I waited until the first pirate rounded the corner before unleashing my attack.


    BOOM!


    The pirate and the wall behind him were vaporized in the explosion. The pirates that were following were sucked into the vacuum of space.


    "Raditz, are you ok?" I heard Bulma ask over my helmet''s headset.


    "Yeah I''m fine." I answered. "I figured destroying the ship was the most efficient way to accomplish the mission."


    I had found the engine room after killing ten more pirates. I charged my Ki into my hands. I took a short look around the room before tossing the orbs near the ship''s reactor, causing them to rupture.


    "Raditz, while you are on the ship, can you get their log data?" Bulma asked.


    "Not gonna be possible, the reactor is about to go critical... but I did get you a laser gun." I replied.


    "What? An actually space laser!" Bulma sounded excited.


    I raced from the engine room back down the corridor I had destroyed earlier.


    "I''m gonna need a quick pick up near the giant hole, in the side of the ship." I said leaping out into


    the void.


    Thanks to Bulma''s expert piloting I was picked up, and we were able to get clear of the explosion. Now that pirates were out of the way, we could finally have a conversation with the ship we rescued.


    They chose to hail us of their own volition.


    "Thank you for the timely rescue." the ship''s captain said. "I''m sorry we can''t see each other our ship''s cameras were damaged in the chase."


    "Why were the pirates after you?" I asked the blank screen.


    "We are on a mission to get help for our planet. It is under siege by pirates and they wanted to prevent us from seeking aid." the captain answered. "If you can help save us once more, I know our leaders will be eternally grateful."


    I looked over to get my partner''s opinion on the matter. She just nodded at me.


    "Ok, we''re in. What are the coordinates to your planet?" I asked.


    "I''m transmitting it now." the captain said. "We will set off at once."


    "We''ve received the coordinates." Bulma confirmed. "What is the planet called?"


    The planet is call Gete, located in the Big Star System." the captain replied.

 9 Big Star System

    When we arrived at the Big Star system the captain transmitted a new set of coordinates and pass codes to allow us entry into the city''s landing zone. There was only one mega-city on the planet protected by a massive force field. Judging by the machinery I could tell the population was technologically advanced.


    Bulma and I were greeted at the bottom of my ship''s ramp by the ruler of the planet, King Dreb. The king was dressed in a white lab coat and wore a dull silver metallic crown. His glasses had several attachments of unknown function. Like the other inhabitants of the planet his skin was light blue. From what I noticed the population all had orange hair of varying shades.


    I could sense that physically they were no stronger than humans.


    "Thank you for coming to our aid. I am the King of Gren''dir city." the alien king shook my hand vigorously. "I was messaged about your arrival for the scout captain you saved."


    Bulma looked highly interested in the humanoid machines that seemed to be handling some construction work. The robots generally had a human shape with two forelimbs and two legs, but the hands had less fingers and sometimes claws or pincers. There were no faces on the mechanical heads, only a singular blinking light.


    "Good to meet you. I''m Raditz and this is Bulma." I introduced us to the King."I noticed as we approached the planet that it was surrounded by at least four massive ships."


    Going by the appearance of the ships they were not made the same species. One was clearly hijacked from the Galactic Patrol and the one from earlier came from the Frieza Force.


    "Yes that is why we have not been successful I getting help. The scout captain barely managed to get out of the system to find you. Honestly, we were looking for the Galactic Patrol." he sighed, "But they haven''t operated much in the West Galaxy in some years."


    I was surprised to hear that we had crossed over from the North Galaxy to the West.


    "Because Gete is so near to the border we thought the Galactic Patrol might still assist us." the king continued.


    "The Galactic Patrol is a joke." I stated. "They are too fearful of Frieza and his army and to weak to out right confront him."


    "I have heard of this Frieza before." the King said. "Many years ago he and his father destroyed several worlds bordering the North Galaxy. These pirates were part of the Frieza Force at some point."


    "Honestly the the Galactic Patrol couldn''t even deal with my people the Saiyans." I added.


    "So will you save my people?" the king bowed his head.


    "Before we agree to anything why are the pirates attacking?" Bulma interjected, "You owe us an explanation, since your battle interrupted our date."


    "That''s true." I nodded in agreement.


    "They want our civilization''s crowning achievement, the Gete Artificial Intelligence Control chip." the King motioned to a towering structure in the middle of the city. "That lab is the Gete Control core. From there the A.I. assists in resource management, construction, and research."


    My expression froze from taking in all the information King Dreb had provided. The king became worried from the change in my expression.


    "Are you alright?" the King asked concerned.


    I took a minute to think about everything again.


    The Big Star System.


    Planet Gete.


    An A.I.


    Was this the planet that created the Big Gete Star, the rogue A.I. That ends up assimilating Frieza''s brother Cooler. I couldn''t believe I almost missed the connection, but to be fair I hadn''t seen Dragon Ball in at least nineteen years.


    "Huh," I almost didn''t hear what the King asked, "Yeah I''m fine."


    We followed the King to his office on the top floor of the Control Core. The office was more of a laboratory than any office. There were many experimental tables with many projects running. We were led to a table with holographic display of Gren''dir city.


    The pirates were focusing the majority of their ground forces on the main entrance of the city. Almost two-thirds of the city''s combat robots were destroyed by the pirate forces.


    "Our city''s force field projects us from bombardment by ships, but if we are breached by the ground troops its over. My people are scientists not warriors." the pointed out the combat zone on the display.


    "If I win your war for you and save your people, what do I get out of it?" I asked.


    "What do you want?" the King countered searching my face for an answer.


    "You." I pointed at the King, "Your people and technology. I want you to work for me."


    "What?" the King looked shocked.


    "You said it yourself you are scientists not warriors. If you ally with me I not only will stop these pirates I will ensure the continued prosperity of your people." I stated confidently.


    "I-I''m... unable to give you an answer now, but if you help we will be your debt." the King said.


    "Fine, for now I''ll handle the ground troops." I said, "It would also be a help if allowed Bulma access to your systems. She may be able to think of something your people couldn''t."


    I exited the tower after a short elevator ride to the ground floor. My aura blazed around me as I charged my Ki and blasted off in the direction of the pirates. As I drew closer I could tell that the pirates were taking great pleasure in the destruction of the guard robots.


    When I landed the pirates took time to examine the new comer in their midst. I was surrounded by


    eighteen pirates with more on the way. They watched as I shook my arms stretching them. The pirates chuckled among themselves as four approached me.


    "Practice time gentlemen." I calmly stated


    The four pirates charged at my position. When they arrived they could only stare at each other in confusion, as I was no longer there. One turned around to spot me walking towards the larger group of pirates. They were going to give chase but the damage had already been done.


    "Hundred Crack Fist of the North Galaxy!" no sooner than I finished speaking the four pirates began convulsing. Some of their faces appeared to be melting as others bodies swelled and broke. In the end all that was left of them was bloody mist. That was the effect I was going for. The remaining pirates looked horrified by the destruction that rained down on their comrades.


    BANG! BOOM! BANG!


    A mixture of Ki blasts and blaster fire exploded around me. I was swift enough to dodge them before they even got lose to hitting me.


    From above the battle I could see the pirates on the ground waiting for the smoke from their shots to clear. They couldn''t tell if I was dead or not. I charged an orb of Ki in my right hand. When the smoke finally cleared one of the pirates was smart enough to use his scouter.


    BEEP! BEEP!


    "Look up there!" he pointed in my direction. The other pirates looked up in time to see the blue orb racing towards them.


    "RUN!" another pirated shouted, but it was much too late for that. The sound of the explosion echoed throughout the city. Six of the pirates managed to avoid being fatally wounded by the blast.


    The group of pirates decided to abandon their attack. They didn''t even bother to look back as they fled. I fired six beams in rapid succession piercing the pirates through the chest ending their lives.


    I waited outside of the city with my arms crossed inviting any more challengers to come. Three hours later, Bulma contracted me through a messenger bot. She had an idea about how to solve the planet''s pirate troubles.


    Bulma wasted no time in explaining her plan once I arrived back at the tower. She had projected the image of a device on the holographic display. It was atwo feet long cylindrical object with with a one foot radius. There was a spiked antennae on top and clamps on the bottom of the device.


    "I have the Gete A.I. synthesizing these antennae." Bulma said looking at me, "If you can attach these to the pirate ships they''ll integrate with the ships'' computers systems making them slave to the Gete A.I."


    "After that happens, I''ll be able to control them." she continued.


    "That''s amazing!" I said enthusiastically. "How long will it take to finish the devices?"


    "They should be finished any minute now, the A.I. is a miracle." she was clearly infatuated with the Gete technology.


    "King Dreb can the A.I. analyze organic material?" I asked.


    "It can." was his reply.


    In my outstretched hand was a Senzu bean. I had stopped by Korin''s tower before we left Earth to supply myself with some of the life preserving beans. If the Gete A.I. was capable of finding out the proper cultivation technique of the beans; I''d have a steady supply of them. King Dreb took the bean from me and placed it into a machine. A light in the machine passed over the bean several times before stopping.


    A message appeared on the holographic projector. It informed us of an incoming transmission from the pirate fleet. The King proceeded to answer the communication. The image of a green skinned man with blue hair appeared. If one were to judge based on human standards, he would be middle-aged.


    "The king of Gren''dir city, I never thought you''d be able to defeat my ground forces." the man said looking around the room. "Ah a Saiyan. No wonder. I''m Captain Berri leader of the Black Zenith Pirates."


    "Raditz." I responded coolly.


    "Well, Raditz, how''s about you secure the A.I. chip for us and I''ll let you join my crew. We''d love to have a Saiyan." Berri tried to persuaded me.


    "No thanks." I didn''t even entertain the offer.


    Berri removed a small object from his armor''s pocket. It was slightly larger than a Capsule Corp. Dyno-cap. It even had a small plunger on top.


    "Do you know what this is?" Berri questioned with a smug look. "Don''t feel bad if you don''t know not many people have seen one. Its a Galactic Patrol, Extinction Bomb."


    The King paled when he heard the pirates threat. He clearly had heard of an Extinction Bomb. Even if one had never heard of it, the name was self explanatory.


    "How did you get that?" the King asked, "Only members of the Galactic Patrol have access to those."


    "How else? By killin'' a Galactic Patrolman." Berri laughed. "So Raditz, does this change your mind about takin'' my offer?"


    "No." I answered, "Dreb terminated the transmission."


    I didn''t have to see Berri''s frustrated look for long before Dreb ended the call.


    "Extinction Bomb?! Can the city''s force field hold up against something like that?" Bulma asked tension in her voice.


    The King moved to a terminal to consult the A.I. In less than thirty seconds we received an answer.


    "According to the A.I. if we divert all power from the rest of the city, the shield should be bolstered enough to keep us safe." the King answered, "But all life outside of the city will be rendered extinct, lord Raditz."


    "Lord Raditz?" I had to ask about the my new title.


    "Yes after witnessing how you effortlessly fought of those ground forces I was convinced of your strength. Besides when the Extinction Bomb goes off we be homeless. All I ask is that you keep my people safe." the Dreb had a determined look.


    "I promise your people will survive." I agreed.


    The king knelt, "I King Dreb of Gete officially offer you my fealty."


    I should really thank Berri for giving the king a reason to ally with me.


    "Then I''ll accept once I finish the rest of these pirates off; its only fair." I held out my hand to the king and helped him rise.


    "Looks like we are going to have to find you a new planet." I said, "Preferably on the other end of the North Galaxy its one of the areas not under Frieza''s control. Using your peoples A.I., quickly adapting a planet to your liking shouldn''t be much of a problem."


    King Dreb summoned all of the city''s sector leaders to explain the plan and have them prepare for evacuation. While we waited to see how long it would take before the pirate leader decided to make good on his threat the A.I. used the navigation data of our ship and asteroid data to search for a suitable planet. While the king was pressed the importance of making sure everything was handled properly I looked over at Bulma.


    "I hope you don''t mind our date getting extended?" I asked.


    She shook her head, "I don''t mind."

 10 Extinction

    Outside of the city, low in the upper atmosphere the four mother ships had gathered. No doubt they planned to take the city after their bomb did its work. The control antennas had completed synthesizing, so I decided to plant them now that the ships were together. Bulma had managed to place the antennas in capsules, which was why I was able to carry all four. I waited at the main gate, behind the force field, for the bomb to do its work.


    One of the ships descended into view of the city. The ship hovered for less than a minute before making a rapid ascent to rejoin the other ships. The world outside of the force field lit up from the explosion on the horizon. A red static like energy was released from the blast. The energy spread from the detonation point killing all life it came in contact with.


    The all planetary water sources were vaporized leaving the planet a desiccated wasteland. In less than three weeks the planets atmosphere will be gone. Twenty seconds was all the time needed for the bomb to complete its job. All life on the planet, outside the barrier, had become extinct. The one good thing about the extinction bomb is there are no after effects. The surface of the planet was perfectly safe.


    The force field flickered momentarily before failing do to an overload. Had the bomb lasted for a few more seconds we all would have died. The four ships landed several miles from the city. It was time for me to head out meet this pirate leader.


    I flew over the newly created rocky terrain, in the direction of the pirates. I could see a group of pirates hovering in the air as I approached their landing zone. When the pirates had landed I sensed that there probably wasn''t many who stand against me.


    "Out of my way, PEONS!" I shouted while coming to a stop in midair, "DOUBLE SUNDAY!"


    The blast exploded on impact with one of the pirates in the middle of the group. Most of the others were caught up in the explosion. Their charred bodies plummeted from the sky as in continued my flight to my targets. I could sense that I was being chased by the pirates I passed by. There was enough of them behind me that I didn''t need to really need to aim. Without looking back I fired several Ki orbs.


    From the sound of the explosions and the the disappearing Ki signatures I could tell the orbs hit. As I passed over one the the ships I removed a capsule holding one of the antennas. I pressed the plunger and tossed it at the hull of the ship. The antennae found its mark and melded with the surface of the ship.


    I repeated the process three more times before finally I heard Berri''s voice call out.


    "Raditz, what''re you hopin'' to prove we''ve already won." he floated up to meet me. His men moved aside clearing him a path. "I was gonna let you join my crew... now I gotta make an example of you. Stand back men. I''mma handle this myself."


    The pirates could only look on dumbfounded as their boss and I vanished. They could hear explosions and feel the shock waves from our battle all around them. Very few of them had the skill needed to follow our battle. Most of them moved back further in fear of getting caught up in the combat.


    Their boss was strong, but he lacked in skill. He seemed to have gotten comfortable with his current strength and slacked off with his training.


    I managed to catch Berri off guard by blocking the uppercut he attempted to through, Before his surprise had worn off I forced my right knee into his nose shattering his bones. I then slashed down with my left elbow taking advantage of his disorientation.


    A cloud of dust rose from the side of the rocky hill I sent Berri speeding into. Boulders exploded out as he charged back through the air in a rage blinded by thoughts of retribution. When he was close the pirate used both hands to unleash a claw attack. His hands were moving rapidly trying to turn me into shredded ribbons.


    After I adjusted to the rhythm of his slashes I thrust my hands out. The pirate''s attack was halted. I caught his hands by forcing my fingers through his palms.


    "Ahhh!" Berri screamed trying to pull his hands back. Green blood oozed from his wounds. "Lemme go!"


    "You''ve lost!" I announced removing my fingers from his wounds. Berri continued to shriek as his newly freed hands swelled and exploded. The rest of the pirates fled to their ships when they witnessed their boss get turn into an unrecognizable puddle. When the ships began to lift off I raced back to the city.


    "Was the link established?" I asked as I walked into Dreb''s office.


    "Yeah." Bulma answered, "How''d want to proceed?"


    "Once they exit the atmosphere have the A.I. vent the crews into space. Then land the ships near the city." I ordered. I turned to Dreb and said, "When the ships land disconnect the A.I. and begin the evacuation of the city. We have a long trip ahead of us."


    "Right." Dreb bowed and hurried out.


    Adding in the data from the pirate ships the A.I. was able to find a suitable planet for the resettlement. It was the last task the computer completed before it was shutdown for transport. Without the A.I. running all of the robots began to shutdown around the city. I did suggested that we name the A.I., Big Gete.


    The journey to the planet that would become known as New Gren''dir took four months. The planet''s foliage and fauna were reminiscent of Earth during the Jurassic period. There were only two super landmasses on the planet. It took Bulma a month to adapt to the gravity of the planet, which was double that of Earth''s.


    Turns out the Gen''dir people are more adaptable than humans. They adapted to the gravity in a day. Big Gete was activated by a nearby volcano. It would burrow mechanical tendrils into the soil to reach the magma. The volcano would then serve as the main power source for the system. It would then convert nearby resources into needed structures building a new city.


    While all of this happened I made sure to stay nearby in case of danger. All two-hundred thousand citizens of Gren''dir made to the planet, it would have been a shame to lose one before the new city was complete.


    By the end of the year all of the city was fully online and operational. A high speed communication system was created by Big Gete so Bulma could contact her father at Capsule Corp. Robots tended a special field that grew a new type of bean Big Gete genetically modified from its study of Senzu beans. They were the same size as Senzu beans, but were very pale green in color. They had the same general function.


    However, the new beans, which were dubbed Panacea beans could keep a person full for fifteen days and also cured the body of illness, along with healing injuries.


    A celebration was being held to commemorate the completion of the city. I was going to leave the party early because there was going to be a full moon later that night. When it was about to get dark


    I said goodnight to Bulma and started to leave. I turned around from the table we were sitting at and bumped into a passing woman. She had medium length orange hair, blue skin, and golden eyes. She might have just finished work because she was wearing a lab coat.


    "Sorry, are you ok?" I asked.


    "Yes I''m fine, my lord. Was in a hurry to see the hyper moons and wasn''t paying attention." she said.


    "The hyper what?" I was truly curious.


    "Ah! I study astrology." she began, "While I was studying this new environment I learned that every two thousand years a secondary moon comes into view of the planet and the primary moon will appear to be huge. And tonight is one of those nights." she was exited.


    I walked out of the party quickly keeping my head down. Something was wrong I didn''t feel right. My skin felt like it was on fire. My joints were aching and my muscles felt like they were swelling. I hadn''t even looked up at the hyper moons and I felt the transformation happening. Except this was different it felt more sever. I could already tell if I transformed I would lose my mind and go on a rampage. This wasn''t normal my Ki was rising at a hazardous pace.


    I dropped to my knees right outside of the banquet area. Ki was flowing out of my body like stream. My skin was cracking apart.


    "Raditz!" Bluma shouted an ran over. She saw me fall from were she was sitting. She put a Panacea bean in my mouth. My body completely healed after chewing the bean, but started breaking down again.


    In a panic I did the only thing I could think of. I formed a blade of Ki and severed my own tail. The transformation ceased for a moment before my tail grew back. I thought about trying to destroy the moons next but they were too close to the planet.


    "GET BACK!" I shouted. I could only clutch my head in pain and scream as balls of energy flew from my body.


    "AHHH!" one of the energy balls happened to hit my ship reducing it to scrap. Fighting through the pain I flew off to an isolated location. My eyes began to turn red taking on the great ape appearance. My size had also started to painfully increase by the time I located a massive waterfall deep in a jungle.I ate another Panacea bean and sat under the waterfall to cool my burning skin.


    As I meditated to suppress my power I knew instinctively if I transformed I was dead and if I couldn''t get control of my Ki I was equally dead. I didn''t know if it was even possible but I fought with everything I had to keep the transformation at bay.


    I couldn''t let those moons defeat me.


    I wasn''t the old Raditz.


    I wasn''t a through away character that would be forgotten.


    I was going to be remembered.


    An aura of the great ape appeared around me as I hovered cross legged under the current of the waterfall. As I meditated the aura slowly flowed into my body.


    "Blegh!" I coughed out a mouthful of blood.


    For two weeks day or night the hyper moons stayed visible in the sky of New Gren''dir. I opened my eyes once I could feel everything was over. I looked up and saw those cursed moons were no longer in the sky. I floated to the ground and immediately collapsed into the best sleep of my life. When I made it back to the city I was emaciated from the whole ordeal. I never wanted to go through anything like that ever again.


    Once it was over I did realize that something had changed within me. Some fundamental part of my core was very different. It was going to take some time to really understand what happened, but at least there won''t be another hyper moon event for another two thousand years.


    I found Bulma near the center of the city in her personal workshop. When I walked in she ran up and gave me a tight hug.


    "You had me worried, but I knew you''d pull through." she said.


    "I''m happy somebody knew." I joked.


    "What happened, Raditz?" she asked.


    "Those hyper moons really messed me up." I informed her. "They were making my Ki completely unstable."


    "By the way we are going to be here for awhile. You blew up our ship." she said puffing her cheeks.


    "I hoped that was a hallucination." I said rubbing my forehead.


    "Don''t worry Big Gete and I have already been working on building a replacement." she crossed her arms in pride.


    "Thank you. I''m going to be away from the city for awhile. I need to get a handle on what happened to me. I''ll come back as often as I can, will you be alright?" I informed her of my plan.


    "I''ll be fine I have the new ship to keep me busy." she smiled.


    We ate a large meal later that afternoon before I left back to the wilderness to train. I could feel a primal, primitive rumble call from deep inside. My power had undoubtedly increase from surviving the hyper moons and once I fully mastered this internally rumbling feeling, I knew my power would increase again. Even though I almost died the hyper moon might have turned out to be on of the greatest gifts ever.


    I didn''t need to watch out for predators. All of the animals could sense they needed to keep their distance from me.

 11 Sagas End

    Back on Earth, Kakarot was thinking about sending a message to Raditz. He had not seen his brother in years. Bulma would talk to her father and give him updates. The last time he had spoken to Raditz he had learned of his ambition to to be a galactic emperor.


    When Kakarot told his wife about it she became very interested in him getting hired by Raditz. Earth had been peaceful in recent years. The last major event was Piccolo Jr. attacking the last World Martial Arts Tournament. Krillin and Tien tagged along because they were curious about what new inventions Capsule Corp. might be working on.


    "Kakarot, its good you''re here." Dr. Briefs said running out to meet his visitors. The four men were gathered in the Capsule Corp gardens.


    "Why is that?" Kakarot asked.


    "Our satellites have detected two space pods on the way to Earth. They''ll be here any minute." Dr. Briefs answered.


    "Do you know where they''ll land?" Tien asked.


    Dr. Briefs shook his head silently indicating he didn''t know. Kakarot was curious as to who or what was coming. He knew if it were Raditz he would have notified Dr. Briefs, at least.


    "I hope these guys are friendly." Krillin stated standing in the shade of a Palm tree.


    "Once they land I''ll be able to give you a location." Dr. Briefs informed them. Before head back into his lab. The group followed behind waiting to hear where the pods would touch down.


    On a farm in the outskirts of North City, the two Saiyan Pods crashed down. When the doors fell open two alien humanoids emerged. One of the aliens was a tall muscular orange skinned man with a crossed shaped scar on his chin and a brown ponytail. He wore Saiyan armor with spiked shoulder pads and black gauntlets. The other man was completely human in appearance. He had black haired that was shaved on the sides and a long bushy ponytail. Like the first alien, he also wore Saiyan armor.


    "How long you think its going to take us to find Kakarot, Amond?" the human alien asked.


    Amond pressed the button on the side of his scouter. He saw various numbers appear on the small screen. A strong signal was approaching the pair at high speeds.


    "Not too long I''d imagine, Daiz." Amond grinned. "I think he''s on his way to us, now."


    "Even though Boss Turles wants him brought back. We are allowed to kill him if he makes it difficult. Judge by how this planet is still intact, he is probably not gonna cooperate." Daiz explained.


    The person who arrived was not who the pair was expecting. Piccolo had arrived on the scene to investigate the powers he felt. Before he had gotten too close, he chose to preemptively remove his weighted turban and cape.


    "What''s a Namekian doin on this planet?" Amond asked the green skinned intruder.


    "A what?" Piccolo was confused.


    "What you are," Amond laughed, "Rumored to make wish granting orbs. Ring any bells?"


    "How do you know about the Dragon Balls?" Piccolo asked.


    "You hear a lot of stories when you''re locked up." Amond answered.


    Moments later Kakarot, Tien, and Krillin arrived at the farm. The pair of aliens stared at Kakarot for a moment. He had an uncanny resemblance to their boss Turles. If he was as strong as their boss, then they would feel the need to back down.


    To be certain, Daiz checked the scouter readings of the gathered opponents.


    BEEP! BEEP!


    "Four thousand, two hundred. Not too bad for living on a low-level planet." Daiz scanned Kakarot.


    The rest of Kakarot''s allies were scanned in turn. Daiz and Amond were yet again surprised that none of them had powers less than a thousand. In fact the weakest was the Namekian with a power of two thousand, one hundred and ten.


    Even though the aliens were discovered, immediately, upon landing they were still confident. All of the gathered fighters were less than half of the pairs strength.


    "Listen Kakarot, we''ve come to this planet for you. Its time you come join up with Turles and Prince Vegeta. They are Saiyans like you. Including Nappa you are the last four Saiyans in the universe." Daiz explained.


    "If you come along, we can help you destroy this planet real quick. That way the others won''t know you failed in your mission to conquer the planet." Amond added.


    "I''m not interested in joining you." Kakarot said.


    Amond and Daiz looked at each other and grinned before dropping into their fighting stances.


    "Hard way it is." Amond said charging at Tien. Daiz attacked Kakarot forcing him into the ground with a chain of repeated gut punches. Blood flew from the Earth raised Saiyan''s mouth. Daiz''s jackhammer like arms caused a crater to form from the strikes. Both fighters reappeared at the sides of the craters. Kakarot wiped the blood from the side of his mouth.


    When Amond blew away Tien and Krillin with a Ki blast, Piccolo used the opportunity to dash in. While the humans kept Amond busy, Piccolo had used the time to charge up to full power. The pair disappeared leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Kakarot had to resist the urge to observe the battle that was occurring between Amond and Piccolo.


    He could tell that although Piccolo was going all out, Amond wasn''t taking him seriously. These guys were the strongest people he''d ever faced. They put King Piccolo and the Red Ribbon Army''s Bio-androids to shame.


    AHHHH!


    Rocks began to float near Kakarot as he charged his Ki. If he was going to defeat these guys, it was going to be all or nothing.


    "Krillin! Use the move from that time! Tien, a flare!" Kakarot shouted.


    Krillin pushed his Ki to the limit as his long time friend Kakarot disappeared, diving into combat with his opponent. Tien took to the air to prepare to use the Solar Flare technique. He was worried that if the plan was what he thought, they might not all survive.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    Tien fired two Ki blasts near the combat zone causing the alien pair to look up at him. The aliens looked at each other and smirked. They began to charge a Ki blast of their own preparing to fire at the person interfering with their battles.


    "Solar Flare!" Tien screamed.


    A blinding light filled the area. The blinding effect of the flare caused the aliens'' Ki blasts to fly off wildly. Kakarot had prepared for this moment and charged at Daiz. The Saiyan managed to lock Daiz in a standing chokehold.


    Piccolo noticed his old rival, Kakarot, not looking up at Tien. He took his cue from Kakarot and avoided being blinded.


    He raced behind Amond with blurring speed. The Namekian used his arms to stretch and extend around his enemy''s neck, arms, and legs.


    The aliens struggled and threatened to get free, but couldn''t.


    Kakarot looked over to see his friend Krillin holding twin Destructo-Discs with tears streaming down his face. The Saiyan gave his friend and teammate a nod before stilling himself for death.


    The circular saw like attack sawed through both Daiz and Kakarot. Piccolo managed to escape death by sacrificing his arms leaving Amond to die alone.


    "Fools..." Amond coughed out blood, "In about a year... the Saiyans will be coming. They are far more powerful than us... Turles won'' ¡­ let you get..." The alien died before he could finish his threat.


    A jet-car landed on the scene of the battle. It was Chi-chi, Kakarot''s wife, and their son Gohan. She had come along with Master Roshi to bring Senzu beans, if they were needed.


    When she discovered what happened, she became hysterical with grief. Once the possibility of using the Dragon Balls was brought up, she composed herself. Her hope restored, she turned to Gohan.


    "Okay, when we get back you are going to double your training." she commanded, "Saving the planet will look good on resumes, and of course, when you are older you can go to a proper fighting academy."


    Because of the increase in popularity of the world tournaments, private schools devoted to training martial artists began cropping up.


    "Sorry, but if those guys are right about the strength of the people coming, your training will not help the boy." Piccolo said regrowing his arms. "I''m Kakarot''s rival, and neither of us stood a chance."


    "And are you saying you could do a better job!?" Chi-chi questioned with an accusatory tone, "You tried to kill Kakarot at the last tournament."


    "That''s not what''s important right now. We are going to need all the help we can get. It seems you did a good job with his martial foundations. The boy may be stronger than all of us after a year of my training." Piccolo persuaded.


    "Are you really going to consider this, Chi-chi?" Krillin asked.


    "Well he does have a point. We all are going to be busy with our own training." Tien added.


    "I''m not afraid. I''ll do it." Gohan said. Everyone admired the confident look on the small boy''s face.


    "Good, then we have no time to lose." Piccolo said snatching Gohan off the ground. Everyone could only gasp as their one time enemy flew off with the son of their closest friend.


    Shortly after Piccolo departed, Kami appeared to inform the group that he arranged for Kakarot to train in the afterlife. He told them that they needed to wait almost a year before wishing him back. In the meantime, he offered to train them at the Lookout to prepare for the coming threat.


    "Somebody should try to contact Raditz." Chi-chi said.


    They agreed with her and Krillin stopped by Capsule Corp. to send the message to Raditz that his brother was killed. If the message was received in time, having another strong person around could only help matters. Krillin doubted that Raditz would have neglected his training in all these years.


    Dr. Briefs was happy to help Krillin out by sending the message to his daughter. He had not seen her in person over the years, besides video calls. They would frequently send diagrams and information back and forth. Capsule Corp. quadrupled its profits in the last several years owing to the information Bulma provided. He felt it was a shame his other daughter made no attempts to stay in contact even though she went to space, too.


    "So much for your Crusher Corps." a short Saiyan with tall spiky hair laughed. "They lost to a low-level Saiyan and some weak humans."


    "They don''t matter Prince Vegeta, but they did find out about wish orbs being on Earth." Turles said through clenched teeth. He had wanted to use the Cursher Corps. to break away from Frieza''s army, but now those plans needed to be revised.


    "Yes, I think they called them Dragon Balls." Vegeta nodded before looking over at another Saiyan. "Nappa prep the ships. We are going to Earth."


    The bald hulking Saiyan flew off to do as he was told. Since they had been together, Nappa''s strength had risen only negligible amounts. Turles had surpassed him a few years ago, causing Vegeta''s treatment of them to reverse. In turn, the arrogant Saiyan prince pushed himself harder on missions to ensure he didn''t lose out to a low-level warrior.


    The short-statured prince had even previously managed to kill an old foe by the name of Cui. Vegeta paid Cui a visit while he was wrapping up the destruction of a planet. The Saiyan enjoyed the look on Cui''s face, staring up from the ruined planet, realizing that he''d been killed by Vegeta. The Saiyans were the least respected members of the Frieza Force.


    Everyone knew the open secret that Frieza had really destroyed the Saiyan home world, instead of the meteor story they had been fed. Just like what had transpired with Cui, Vegeta planned to make everyone who looked down on Saiyans pay.


    When Nappa returned, the trio departed the planet headed for their new target Earth. They wanted to use the Dragon Balls to wish for immortality, which would allow them to get revenge on Frieza.


    The problem was the fact that their goals only aligned temporarily. Nappa wanted to prove himself to Vegeta, who only cared about his own benefits, and Turles wanted to kill Vegeta and use the Dragon Balls to wish for his own immortality.


    He was fine with serving under Vegeta for the past several years, but he wasn''t going to be under an immortal Vegeta for eternity. "It was too bad there wasn''t any fighters on Earth strong enough for Vegeta to have an accident," Turles mused to himself in his pod.

 12 Gathered Warriors

    A warm breeze blew across the West Wastelands.


    Three Saiyan warriors stood together across from Earth''s strongest fighters. Tien, Krillin, and Yamcha had completed their training on Kami''s Lookout and had journeyed to meet the invaders. Kakarot had been wished back to life the previous month and was almost back to Earth. He should already have been back but wanted to do some extra training and lost track of time.


    They were shocked to see Piccolo and Gohan, who were already there ahead of them. They could sense Piccolo and Gohan''s respective strengths had taken massive strides. However, they also knew that their opponents were no joke. When the Saiyans landed one of them blew up South City. Due to the early warning satellites the population was notified of the incoming ships. Not that attempted evacuation helped matters; they were still too weak to survive the blast.


    "So, are you the humans who fought Turles''s men?" the spiked haired Saiyan in the middle of the group asked.


    "If they are, Prince Vegeta, then I should make them suffer." the Kakarot lookalike added.


    "Yeah we did." Tien answered, "You shouldn''t think we are pushovers."


    "Who knows we might not even need Kakarot or Raditz." Yamcha joked to calm his nerves.


    The group shared a quick laugh before it was interrupted by a newcomer to the group.


    "I guess I could''ve taken my time, then." a familiar voice joked.


    The group of friends peered around to see Kakarot back on the side of the living. They all felt they could relax much more now that their friend had returned.


    Vegeta and Turles shared a glance before the Saiyan Prince took a step forward. He was amazed by the uncanny resemblance Turles and Kakarot shared, one was bad enough for the Prince.


    "Did you say Raditz?" Vegeta asked his sharp gaze on Yamcha.


    "Yeah, Kakarot''s older brother Raditz should be on the way." the former bandit answered.


    Vegeta remembered the name of Raditz because he turned down a position on Vegeta''s squad. He was the reason Turles ended up joining. He had presumed Raditz died on the mission he took, instead. If Raditz also planned to oppose him he would just have to show him the power of a Saiyan elite.


    "Nappa, Turles we aren''t in a rush. Plus, I''m curious to see this Raditz." Vegeta hopped back onto a boulder. "Turles we should test the humans with your pets."


    "I was hoping you''d say that." Turles walked forwards and removed a pill bottle from his armor. He made four holes in the dirt and dropped an equal number of seeds in them. "These are the bulbs of plant lifeforms called Cultivars. Saiyans used them as weapons at one time. These are a special breed cultivated by me. I call them the bad batch. They have around the same strength as Daiz and Amond."


    No sooner than he finished speaking, the Cultivars erupted from the dry dusty ground of the wasteland. The creatures were short with bulbous heads and red eyes. Their hands and feet had three white razor sharp claws. The armored skin of the Cultivars'' torso, head, hands, and feet were midnight black; while its arms and legs were a dark gray.


    "So human... want to try your luck, since you were so cocky before?" Turles asked Yamcha.


    "Why not." Yamcha stated with confidence.


    He approached the area in the midpoint between where the Saiyans'' group was and his. When he was in position, he dropped into his fighting stance. His friends gave him a few words of encouragement and awaited what their friend was going to do.


    Nearby, over the battlefield, a hovering helicopter was bearing witness to everything that transpired. On the side of the yellow helicopter was a ZTV logo. Inside a man with a red baseball cap trained his camera on the scene before switching his view to his boss seated beside him.


    "Folks, this is Jimmy Firecracker broadcasting to you live at the scene of an alien incursion." the thin mustached anchor announced. "We''ve just witness one of the aliens grow creatures from the ground. Stranger still, the aliens looks almost identical to former world champion, Kakarot." Jimmy informed his audience.


    "It now appears as though, Yamcha, another World Martial Arts Tournament contestant is going to fight first." he concluded.


    The Cultivars chattered among themselves for a few moments. It seemed they were deciding a plan of action because when they finished, one charge over at Yamcha.


    The Cultivar moved with dizzying speed. Its arms were outstretched with its claws poised to strike. When it drew closer to the pony-tailed warrior, it made a slashing leap. Yamcha waited until the last moment to vanish from the monster''s sight while it was in midair.


    CRASH!


    Yamcha reappeared to the side of the creature driving it into the dirt with a downward elbow. A cloud of dust filled the area obscuring everyone''s sight. The body of the Cultivar flew from the cloud in a large arc. It left a trail of dust leading back to its group.


    "My scouter showed a power spike." Vegeta said to his allies, "I think these Earthlings can hide their powers."


    Turles nodded in agreement with Vegeta''s assessment of the situation. He looked angrily back at his three remaining Cultivars.


    "Don''t just stand there! Kill!" he shouted.


    "Grrrk! Grrk!" the three responded and charged as a group at their target.


    SWIPE! SWIPE!


    Yamcha gracefully flipped back to avoid twin slashes from the nearest creature. While he was airborne, another tried to grab him in bear hug. It attempted to lock its arms and legs around Yamcha, but it was moving too slow.


    SMASH!


    Yamcha caught the wrist of the Cultivar and twisted it around slamming the creature into its ally that was trying to pull off a flanking maneuver. The creature he flipped to avoid came back for another round. This time, its attacks were twice as ferocious. Yamcha used a side kick to create some distance from the monster. When this was achieved; he charged up the Kame School''s signature attack, the Kamehameha.


    BOOM!


    The Cultivar was disintegrated from the blast, turning it to dust. Kakarot and his friends were impressed by Yamcha''s display against the four monsters. Turles was extremely furious at the ease in which his work had been destroyed. Nappa took pleasure in Turles''s anguish over his Cusher Corps. failing before it really began, and his prided bad batch losing.


    "You wretched failures!" Turles spat, kicking the first Cultivar Yamcha defeated back over near its fallen brothers.


    Yamcha turned and gave his friends the victory sign. In the chopper, Jimmy Firecracker was frantically trying to keep up with the action. The cameraman informed him that only the rumored Capsule Corp. high speed tracking cameras would have a chance of catching all of the action.


    Jimmy knew if they made it back alive he was going hound his producer until they got better equipment no matter the cost. Even if they had to still the cameras right off of the Capsule Corporation assembly lines it would have to be done. He refused to miss out on another event like this due to inferior camera equipment.


    "Vegeta, I''m bored of waiting on Raditz." Nappa stated. "Maybe i should go destroy another city while we wait."


    "I''d be happy to take you on, but I think my brother is almost here." Kakarot informed the bald Saiyan.


    Kakarot could sense a strong Ki nearing the area. He turned his gaze up to try and focus on the source. If he wasn''t mistaken there were at least two Ki signatures and one of them belonged to his brother.


    "Is this some kind of tactic?" Vegeta scoffed, "How could you know that without a scouter?"


    "Just wait." Kakarot reaffirmed.


    His allies could now also sense the Ki and looked to the sky, which turned out to be a bad move for Yamcha. The presumed dead Cultivar Turles kicked earlier was in fact still alive. When it noticed the triumphant Yamcha had lowered his guard it used its arms and legs to grip his body.


    No one could react before the monster''s Ki grew to extreme levels, detonating its body. A crater was formed from the aftermath of the explosion. Dust and debris obscured the area from view. The chopper crew waited with baited breath to see the outcome. The Earth warriors could tell by Yamcha''s drop in ki, things weren''t looking positive for their friend.


    But as long as he survived, a Senzu bean could fix him.


    As the dust settled, the various parties could see Yamcha''s body curled up in the bottom of a the crater. His orange gi was in tatters from the attack.


    "Haha... After all of that, the Cultivar wakes up and pulls it off... Pathetic!" Turles clutched his ribs from amusement. "How''s that for entertainment, Nappa."


    Kakarot was about to charge over and end the life of his doppelganger, when two consecutive explosions derailed his plan.


    BOOM!... BOOM!


    Two more Saiyan pods crashed down in the wasteland near the site of the battle. All eyes were trained at the new guests to the battle.


    The doors of the pods opened, and the occupants made their entrance. A man with long, knee length, spiky hair made his way towards Kakarot''s group.


    It was Raditz.


    He was wearing his usual Saiyan armor with his tail wrapped around his waist. Next to him was a small boy with knee length, spiky purple hair. The child was wearing a set of Saiyan armor, also, with his a tail wrapped around his waist.


    "So this is the planet mother was born on?" the boy asked.


    "Yes," Raditz responded, "This is Earth."


    "It doesn''t look like much." the boy continued, "We are going to see a city after this, right?"


    "Yes." Raditz replied.


    "And those other Saiyans, over there, are the enemies?" he pointed at Vegeta''s group.


    "Yes." Raditz answered with an even voice.


    His questions now cleared up, the boy ran over to the group of Earthlings. Raditz followed the child at a casual pace. He noticed the crater containing Yamcha''s body. It was hard for him to believe Yamcha was weak enough to die to a Cultivar.


    He was not aware that what Yamcha battled against was far stronger than the what he would have fought in the normal timeline. If he did know, it still wouldn''t raise his opinion of the man. Raditz almost did a double take when he saw Nappa standing next to Vegeta. He almost empathized with the man; he like the original Raditz, was also killed and forgotten about.


    "Hey, Kakarot, been a long time." Raditz greeted his brother, "This is Reiss, your nephew."


    Kakarot was surprised by this news, but refocused immediately explaining to his brother the events that had transpired. While Raditz listened to the details, Reiss decided to meet his cousin. Piccolo watched on as Reiss led the conversation with Gohan. He noted that the purple haired child had a streak of arrogance bordering on cockiness. It might be a benefit for Gohan to learn to have more confidence in himself.


    "I hate to interrupt you fools, but we came here for a reason." Vegeta announced, "Turles and Nappa are ready to end you all, and I might let them."


    Hearing their names called, Turles and Nappa stepped forward and each adopted an intimidating pose. "Raditz and Kakarot, you two are Saiyans. If you acknowledge me as your prince, I''ll allow you keep your pathetic lives and join us." Vegeta smirked and concluded his threat.


    HA! HA! HA!


    Everyone''s gaze turned towards the source of the childlike laughter. They were curious to about who thought Vegeta''s threat was a joke.


    It was Reiss.


    "You think I''m funny, brat!?" Vegeta was angered by the response.


    "Yeah, an emperor doesn''t bow down to a prince." Reiss confidently stated crossing his arms, "Right, father?" he looked over to Raditz.

 13 Decisions

    BEEP!


    "Big talk coming from such a weak brat!" Nappa laughed after checking his scouter.


    "The brat is funny, I''ll give him that." Turles scoffed, "Thinking Raditz is strong enough to be anything other than a grunt."


    Reiss was becoming visibly angered by the Saiyans'' taunts. Raditz on the other hand appeared more amused than anything. He was eager to see what the three Saiyans were capable of in a fight.


    Over the years he had focused on developing his new techniques before he completely forgot all about the other stories he''d read in his past life. The more time past the more distant the memories became.


    "Have you decided who is going to fight those guys?" Raditz asked his brother.


    "Not yet." Kakarot answered looking towards the Saiyan prince.


    "I''m fighting one. I want to avenge Yamcha." Krillin declared.


    "Me too." Tien echoed the former monk''s sentiment.


    Normally, Raditz would not have cared if he personally fought or not, but Bulma and her father should be at the King''s castle. They were trying to press him into allying Earth with Raditz''s empire. She was going to use information gathered on pirate groups over the years to stress how vulnerable Earth really was. The self-styled emperor had to take a gamble and hope the invaders would be strong enough to pressure the Earth warriors.


    "We will sit this out for now, Reiss." Raditz decided.


    "Finally." the bald Saiyan, Nappa, was ready to fight.


    Tien, the three-eyed Earthling, approached Nappa.


    Krillin and Kakarot headed towards Turles and Vegeta respectively. Kakarot was eager to face off against another superior opponent. He had become bored attending the martial arts tournaments.


    Until the two aliens showed up last year, he had started to believe his strength had reached its peak.


    Thankfully, he now knew different.


    The three pairs of warriors vanished as their combat began. Once again, the chopper crew were unable to follow the action. Piccolo was gritting his teeth in shock of Kakarot''s growth. He had once called the Saiyan a rival; now Kakarot''s strength seemed to have, truly, surpassed his own.


    "They''re way stronger than pirates, father!" Reiss said with sparkles in his eyes.


    "I can''t tell what''s happening Mr. Piccolo." Gohan stated to his master.


    "Don''t use your eyes. Use your senses and feel their Ki." Piccolo answered with an irritated look. Gohan nodded and followed his master''s instruction.


    When he focused, at first, he could only manage to see after images and blurred forms. Eventually, he could make out what was happening on the battlefield.


    "Why is uncle Kakarot''s aura red all of a sudden?" Reiss asked. "He''s stronger now, too."


    "Kakarot is using a technique to multiply his strength." Raditz casually answered.


    The Saiyan prince was shocked Kakarot was keeping up with him. If he had never met Turles, he would have never believed a low-level Saiyan would ever keep pace with him. Yet, here Kakarot was doing just that. Vegeta wondered if his foe would make him go all-out.


    BOOM!


    The top of a plateau turned to rubble from Krillin being smashed into it by a kick from Nappa. It appeared that the hit was hard enough to prevent the former monk from returning to the battle. He had done well; the bald Saiyan''s armor was destroyed by Krillin''s attacks.


    Piccolo rushed forward, engaging the bald Saiyan before he could catch his breath. Nappa was angered by his inability to land a direct hit on the Namekian. He was loathed to admit it, but the human did tire him a bit.


    More rubble erupted from the plateau as Krillin powered up. The human had regained consciousness. When he was finished gathering his Ki, he wasted no time in flying back to continue his fight. It was now Nappa''s turn to be pressed. He was sure he was stronger than his opponents, but fighting the both at once was a chore.


    Turles enjoyed toying with the three-eyed Earthling. No matter how many times he smashed him into the ground Tien always climbed back to his feet. The Earthling''s skill made upa little for the strength gap between the two.


    "Are you not going?" Reiss asked his cousin. Gohan blinked a few times before noticing Tien''s struggle. The bushy pony-tailed young boy gathered his courage and flew towards battle. It would be his first fight that wasn''t part of training.


    Now that it was two on one, Turles started to feel some pressure. He didn''t care how many insects they threw at him. He was confident his plan was going to pay off. He secretly had a set of twins working for him. They completed a sensitive job for him and should be close to reaching Earth.


    When that happened, everything would change and he could proceed to take vengeance on Frieza.


    "Kaio-ken! Times Three!" Kakarot shouted.


    His bright red aura surged higher than before. He moved faster than the Saiyan prince''s eyes could follow. He noticed that his allies were not faring any better.


    Before he knew it, Kakarot had delivered a devastating uppercut to his gut. Vegeta doubled over, wracked by the pain coursing through his body. His angered had reached an all time high from this insult. He, Prince Vegeta, was the strongest Saiyan alive.


    Nappa, enraged by his opponents bashing him back and forth like ball, decided to destroy the area. They had not done any major damage to him, but they tricked him into this position. The bald Saiyan''s brute force tactics could not overcome the skill of the two well trained warriors.


    When he was sent to the ground, he drove his hands into the hard soil. His fingers formed trenches as he slid to a halt. He smirked as he stood to his full height glaring at the two Earthlings, who regrouped while he was stopping.


    "You insects have really pissed me off, with all your buzzing!" he bellowed, "You asked for this!"


    "Nappa! Don''t!" Vegeta tried to get Nappa to abandon what he was thinking. The short Saiyan did not want to have to dodge a giant explosion while fighting Kakarot. This distraction allowed his foe to hammer blow him out of the sky and into the dirt.


    "You, idiot!" Turles shouted at Vegeta. Normally, the Prince being killed would be a good thing, but in this situation he did not want to fight the Earthlings alone. If they could hold out a bit more, help would soon be here.


    Gohan unleashed a rapid flurry of attacks towards his dad''s doppelganger. On the ground below them, Tien had his hands held out in front of him making a triangular shape. Between his hands he could see Turles locked in combat with his friend''s son. He couldn''t help but to admire the boy''s power. He was nowhere close to that level of strength at his age.


    Noticing Tien, Gohan brought his hands up over his forehead, with his palms facing Turles, to gather energy. When he brought them down he fired off the technique he learned training with Piccolo.


    "Masenko!" Gohan shouted. A wide bright yellow beam of energy blasted towards Turles. The Saiyan extended his right hand to receive the attack.


    Nappa was too enraged to hear what his boss tried to tell him. He wanted to finish both of the Earthlings at once and be done. Then he could have his fun destroying the planet. The bald Saiyan extended his index and middle fingers.


    He smirked and gave his wrist a flick, pointing his two fingers skyward.


    BOOM!


    A bright explosion filled the area. Amid the chaos Tien''s shout could be heard.


    Tri-Beam! HAAA!


    The news chopper needed to take evasive measures and land away from the battlefield. The pilot was skilled enough to land without sustaining much damage from debris. The entire crew was shaken by the ordeal, but it did not stop Jimmy from wanting to pursue his story.


    "Come on Lionel, we''ll go on foot from here!" Jimmy Firecracker grabbed the reluctant cameraman and exited the chopper.


    "It''s really dangerous over there, do we have to?" the cameraman Lionel asked.


    "Of course, it''s for history! For the audience!" Jimmy explained fervently.


    They had a lengthy walk ahead of them to get back to the site of the battle. Jimmy hoped that it would not all be over by then. It would be a huge disappointment if he missed everything.


    Jimmy and Lionel crouched down behind the remains of a boulder. Not much smoked remained on the scene from the blast.


    He was not disappointed because he saw all of the warriors. They were lined up facing each other. Both sides were gasping for air and clutching various injured limbs. No one was sure what was going to happen next, but they all knew they were running low on energy.


    BEEP!


    "Ha Ha Ha," Turles laughed with glee fighting back against the pain he was feeling, "We''re in luck, my friends are here."


    A small saucer shaped craft landed near the Saiyan warriors. Vegeta and Nappa looked surprised by Turles''s statement.


    "Who cares, Turles. I know about your so called secret henchmen Rasin and Lakasei." the Saiyan prince scoffed, "If you think their strength will matter, you are mistaken!"


    From behind the boulder, the intrepid reporter took stock of the scene unfolding before his eyes.


    "Are you getting this, Lionel?!" Firecracker asked his nervous cameraman. "People at home, two more invaders have now arrived. They are squat in stature with rotund bodies and purple skin. Judging by looks, they appear to be shifty individuals!"


    "They seem to be carrying a crate over to the first set of invaders. What could they be planning?"


    The newly arrived aliens placed the knee high chrome box down behind Turles. The Earth warriors were at a loss in how to proceed. They needed to gain back some energy, but whatever was in the box could be dangerous.


    One of the alien twins kicked the box causing the top to slide off. Turles glanced back over his shoulder to catch sight of the contents.


    "Good work Rasin, Lakasei." he said before asking, "How many fruit?"


    "Four, boss." Lakasei answered.


    The alien twins were given a mission by Turles to try to grow a Tree of Might. He secretly had stolen the seed years before, but never dared to cultivate it. He was afraid the fruit would be taken from him before he could eat it.


    While he was attempting to build the Crusher Corps., he met the twins Rasin and Lakasei. They weren''t the strongest beings, but proved unquestionably loyal. Their loyalty was the reason the had tasked them with the mission to find an out of the way planet with enough lifeforce, nobody would miss, to grow the Tree of Might.


    Turles grabbed two of the fruit from the box and tossed one to Vegeta. He didn''t know how strong the fruit was going to make him, so he gave one to his ally just in case.


    "This is a fruit of the Tree of Might. It contains the lifeforce of an entire planet. Its guaranteed to increase our power." Turles said taking a bite of the odd shaped fruit. His body''s muscles expanded as his body filled with power. The earlier wounds inflicted on him were gone. Feeling his power surge, Turles regretted giving one to Vegeta.


    Vegeta examined the red spiky fruit before following suit.


    "This is amazing! I can''t believe you held this miraculous discovery back, Turles!" Vegeta was reveling in his new power.


    "Rasin, Lakasei, you guys eat the last two." Turles commanded. The twins scooped the last two fruit out of the box.


    "What about me?" Nappa questioned.


    "What about you?" Turles questioned. "They did the hard part."


    "Your lucky I haven''t killed you for that explosion earlier!" Vegeta chastised.


    The fight resumed, but this time the Earthlings were at a clear disadvantage. Forget attacking, the Earth warriors were doing all they could to try and guard against the renewed Saiyans'' attacks.


    BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!


    Shockwaves were felt all through the area from the beating Kakarot and his friends were sustaining. Nappa stood on the sidelines with his mouth open in shock. He was unable to keep up with what was happening in the battle. Several explosions later and all of the Earth warriors were plowed into the dirt either unconscious or close to it, their bodies were filled with pain.


    "People at home, it is just as you''ve seen. The Earth''s mightiest warriors have been defeated." Jimmy Firecracker stated somberly to his audience. "But it looks like Raditz is now making a move towards the battlefield."


    "Come on, Reiss." Raditz said, "Its showtime."

 14 Showtime

    Raditz was surprised by the jump in the Saiyans'' strength. He knew what the Tree of Might was, but to feel the strength jump in person was amazing. He wanted to take the fruits for himself, but they were meant for gods. He was worried about if he''d have to explain the matter to someone like Beerus, the god of destruction, later if he ate one.


    The long haired Saiyan hovered over the fallen Earthlings as he moved smoothly towards his enemies'' location. Reiss followed alongside his father. The boy was excited to get the chance to participate. Over the last couple of years he was allowed to help kill pirates, but they were all weak.


    "Ah Raditz, the so called emperor. Good to see you finally up." Vegeta mocked, "Do you also need to experience the power of a super elite or will you now join us?"


    "No, I''m not joining you. I want to see this super elite power you''re boasting first hand." Raditz replied.


    "I get to help too, right, father?" Reiss asked.


    "Sure, you can fight the bald one and the two twin guys." his father answered, "I''ll leave how you deal with them to your discretion." The boy nodded and smiled in response. Ever since he was capable of training the boy has enjoyed combat. This was going to be one of his toughest challenges, besides his instruction he received from his father.


    "Are you really so eager for your offspring to die?" Turles laughed.


    "He can probably handle it." Raditz said watching his son fly towards Nappa.


    Raditz had wondered what it would be like meeting Vegeta. He thought about whether or not he could persuade the prideful Saiyan to his side. Turles was unexpected and he had no use for him.


    The universe might be made worse by Turles''s continued existence. He had already destroyed one planet for the Tree of Might fruit, which ran counter to Raditz''s goals.


    Personally he didn''t care about the survival of worlds, but he knew about mortal levels. Apparently, universes are ranked according to mortal levels. It wasn''t clear exactly what determined mortal levels, but it wasn''t ranked solely on strength. Raditz had guessed it was a combination of factors such as: strength of the mortals in the universe, number of planets with sentient life, welfare of the mortals, and general comfort levels. If Raditz tried to dominate the universe through pure strength and terror like Frieza the mortal level would undoubtedly drop. If the mortal level became unacceptable the whole universe could be wiped out by Zeno at a moment''s notice.


    "Turles handle this fool." Vegeta commanded.


    "Why, don''t you want to play round some more." Turles responded.


    "With my power it would be beneath me." the short spiked haired Saiyan said coolly. Turles was angered by Vegeta''s assertion that he was meant for grunt work, especially after letting him eat the fruit of the Tree of Might.


    "I want to test my current strength. I''d rather fight you both." the long haired Saiyan interrupted.


    "This basta-" before Vegeta could finish is insult he was interrupted by a set of violent explosions.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Vegeta and Turles looked by to see Nappa lying in a crater with has limbs broken. Above him Reiss was blocking a punch from Lakasei with his right forearm and a punch from Rasin with his left shin. He pushed the twins back and they vanished in high speed combat.


    "What is this?!" the Kakarot duplicate asked, "How is that boy so strong."


    "Where are you looking?" Raditz asked punching Turles while he was distracted. The blow sent Turles back into a small plateau. He followed through with a kick to Vegeta''s ribs. The short Saiyan stopped himself before impacting the ground.


    "That should get them motivated." he thought.


    It was a sound tactic because his opponents charged back ferociously. They were moving quick even for Raditz''s senses. He could still block all of their strikes because of a technique he developed over the years. During a fight, he would maintain a very thin sphere of Ki is a three meter radius around his body to better sense movement. The developed the idea from an anime he watched in his past life. So far the skill had proved very useful.


    As he fought he felt a rumbling sensation from with causing him to rapidly adapt to his opponents'' speed. It was the same rumble that developed after the hyper moon incident. The rumble, or better yet the power had become part of his essences after he learned to harness it. It took all of two years for him to firmly control the power and was worth all the effort.


    After minute he could keep up with the movement''s of his opponents with the assistance of his sphere technique. His arms started to become numb from blocking all of their attacks. His foes were getting angered he''d survived as long as he did and seemed to be improving.


    "How are you doing this? You shouldn''t be this good?" Turles spat.


    "It doesn''t matter he won''t last long look at his arms their shaking. He''s good at dodging, but not good at taking hits." Vegeta declared. "I will give these ''Earthlings'' this they are good at hiding there power."


    "If you think that is impressive, let me show you what I gained in my travels." Raditz stated and began gathering power. The ground shook was stones began floating into the air.


    "Haa...!" Raditz dove into the rumbling power within. The power he discovered to be the roar of the Great Ape.


    "Ahhhh...!" Raditz continued to build his power up. His hair began to take on a more wild appearance and his muscle mass increase several fold. His once black irises became a firey Great Ape crimson.


    With a final shout Raditz finished his transformation.


    His Saiyan foes floated midair looking dumbfounded by what they witnessed. Neither of them knew what exactly happened. Vegeta was worried that Raditz had somehow usurped his destiny becoming the Super Saiyan. He didn''t want to believe it so he checked his scouter. His current scouter model would possibly break if it tried to detect a power over fifty thousand. If it did it would at least let him know Raditz was stronger than that.


    BEEP!


    Vegeta''s jaw dropped.


    The scouter showed nothing.


    It took the scan then blanked out.


    If Raditz was hiding his power it should apply some number to it. He turned quickly to scan Reiss. Surprisingly, the boy''s power was also concealed from the scan.


    "Don''t worry, Vegeta. I''m sure your scouter is fine. Since my incident happened years ago scouters have never worked properly on me. After, Reiss was born his power would fluctuate wildly then eventually became unreadable like mine. We think he inherited a mutation from me." Raditz informed the Saiyan prince.


    Vegeta removed his scouter and crushed it in frustration.


    The three fightervanished and Raditz commanded the upper hand in the encounter. He was using brute force to dominate his enemies. He grabbed Turles by the face and flew him into the ground at a high speed. A cone of force developed around them a few feet from impact.


    BOOM!


    Raditz was smirking in delight as he forced the skull of Turles into the dirt. Vegeta was ruthlessly attacking Raditz''s back, but the long haired Saiyan didn''t seem to even feel it. Next, he delivered a kick to the side of Raditz''shead hoping to break his neck.


    BOOM!


    The sound of the collision echoed through the rocky area, but Raditz was unmoved. He lifted Turles''s head and gave it a smash once more, before catching Vegeta by the leg he used to kick. A crunching sound could be heard when Raditz applied pressure to Vegeta''s leg.


    CRUNCH!


    Raditz stood to his full height which was now taller by far than he normally was a stared at Vegeta dangling upside down in his grip. The short Saiyan still looked defiant. Nothing less should be expected from the prideful Saiyan.


    "Galick Gun!" Vegeta fired the beam attack point blank into Raditz. The purple beam engulfed his captor for what seemed to be an eternity. Vegeta was gasping for air when the attack finished. His foe''s upper body was covered in smoke so he couldn''t see how much damage he cause, but it should be significant.


    When the smoke cleared...


    "What?" Vegeta gasped seeing that his attack just ruined Raditz''s armor. "Im-impossible."


    Raditz grinned, still holding Vegeta''s leg, and slammed the prideful Saiyan into the ground twice. The long haired Saiyan noticed Turles stand up behind him and quickly swung Vegeta around like a sword.


    "Turos Sword Style!" Raditz shouted moving in the sword style he learned on the first planet he destroyed.


    BOOM!


    On impact with Turles Raditz released Vegeta''s now broken leg sending the two Saiyans careening into a nearby mesa. The rock formation crumbled down around the two invaders.


    "ROAR!" the sound coming from Raditz was no less threatening than the Great Ape''s roar. The area of rumble concealing Turles and Vegeta exploded from the force of the ape scream. They appeared to be heavily wounded from the fight.


    Turles''s eyes filled with fear from the approach of Raditz. His muscle mass appeared to have increased even more as he approached. If Raditz looked like he was in the mood to negotiate Turles would have tried to offer his services as a means to maintain life. He now regretted that they were so heavy handed in their approach. If only there was more fruit or if it gave more power.


    Trying the only thing he could think of Turles decide to flee. He pushed his speed to the limit as he took to the air. He needed to get to his ship.


    Raditz smirked and charge an orb of energy in his right hand. The Kakarot lookalike didn''t make it far before Raditz unleashed his attack.


    "Giant''s Bomb of the North Galaxy!"


    The pulsating orb of energy hit Turles and he began to cry out in a chilling shriek. He crashed into the ground and started writhing in pain. He bleed profusely from his pores as his muscles destroyed his own body. Turles''s suffering was ended when his body torn itself into pieces and exploded.


    Vegeta was in the crawling position trying to get to his feet, but was pressed back into the ground by Raditz''s boot on his back.


    "It looks like I won Vegeta." Raditz taunted, "I hope you used the power of a super elite you bragged about. If you did I wasn''t impressed if you didn''t I''d say you were just being arrogant. So which was it?"


    The rocky ground under Vegeta cracked from the pressure of Raditz pressing down.


    "No words, eh?" Raditz questioned. "Oh well" he shrugged powering up a beam on his index finger.


    Vegeta resigned himself to die.


    The beam on Raditz''s finger dimmed and vanished.


    "I changed my mind." the long haired Saiyan stated. "My Galaxy might be more entertaining with you in it. However, if you dare to interfere with my plans ever again you will die."


    With those words Raditz kicked the fallen prince in the ribs breaking several and sending him tumbling off in the distance. Vegeta came to a stop in a secluded area away from the reporters. He was barley conscious.


    BOOM!


    Another impact happened near him. He looked over to see a half dead Nappa lying beside him. Above Nappa, Vegeta could make out the purple haired boy from earlier.


    "Good work, boy." Raditz said catching up to where Vegeta landed.


    "Thanks father it was a fun fight. I decided to let this bald one live because he was a Saiyan." Reiss said.


    "You two have five minutes to summon your ships and leave. Any longer and your lives are forfeit." Raditz command, "Reiss go give the others a Panacea bean. I''ll wait here."

 15 Business

    "You have made an excellent decision. Earth is now the seventh planet to join the Prometheus Empire." Raditz said to the king.


    After watching the two Saiyans make their way off world, Raditz had to meet with the King of the Earth. Bulma brought the former king a new display screen to allow him to watch the battle on both the limited ZTV feed and the Capsule Corporation satellites. Witnessing the battle left the king with a deep fear of what could befall his world.


    Working with the Kakarot Corps. in the past allowed the king to know just how strong people could get. They handled enemies that the military could not. With all the advances in military technology, the army was powerless in the face of enemies Kakarot and his group could defeat with their bare hands. Now there were threats from beyond the stars that were even stronger. Signing up with Raditz was the only logical choice he could make now.


    Dr. Briefs and his daughter supplied the king with information about possible galactic threats, and how being a part of the empire will bring some assurances. They also stressed the advantages to having access to the alien technologies Raditz would supply the planet. Of course, Earth would become a member of a larger galactic society.


    A press conference was held later that day explaining to the world that their planet had joined a galactic empire of which the king had become a System Governor. Many people worried about what this change would mean for their lives. Capsule Corp. would be accepting applicants for a space training program over the next few years.


    When Earth had access to spaceports and ships, they would be allowed to host alien visitors and be free to tour the other imperial planets. With the help of Capsule Corp., it should not take long for the planet to get up to speed technology wise, but the people might take longer to adapt. Most of the blow from the press conference was mitigated by Raditz being the emperor.


    They remembered him from the classic fight against the Mysterious rookie at the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament. Raditz had become a legend in the people''s hearts. The recording was still viewed the world over to this day. That fight was one of the reasons so many dojos and training schools opened. The only fight that almost topped it was the Kakarot versus Ma Junior in the following tournament.


    After the press conference, Raditz flew Bulma to Kami''s Lookout along with Reiss. His wife should have learned the flying technique years ago, but Raditz guessed she just liked being carried. It was a very insignificant cost for all the years of help she gave him. If it wasn''t for her expertise it would have been a difficult time building an empire. Bureaucracy was not one of Raditz''s strong points. The long haired Saiyan was good at coming up with overall goals, but fine details were more in Bulma''s wheelhouse.


    "I can see Uncle Kakarot and his friends!" Reiss shouted.


    Raditz asked his brother and his friends to meet him at Kami''s Lookout. He wanted to speak with them after the battle, but there was no time because of the meeting with the king and subsequent news conference. Reiss was excited to see his cousin again. He hoped the two of them could train together someday.


    Kami was gathered with everyone on the lookout when Raditz and his family landed. The group was in the middle of a conversation when Raditz walked over.


    "It has been some time, Raditz." the old Namekian greeted, "Or I suppose you should be called Emperor Raditz, now?"


    "No need Kami." Raditz responded. He saw Piccolo standing far from the group. The much younger Namekian was still uncomfortable in the presence of his father''s other half.


    When the group finished catching up with each other, Raditz jumped straight to the business of explaining why he wanted to meet.


    "Kami, where is your ship located?" Raditz asked. "I mean I could have found it myself, but as a courtesy I decided to ask you."


    "I thank you for asking first, but I don''t know where it would be." Kami looked downcast. "When the first invasion happened, I was shocked to learn I was an alien. But I never looked for the ship."


    "May I ask why you want it?" Kami asked.


    "I believe Frieza is on his way to your birth planet to obtain their Dragon Balls. He no doubt heard about them over the Scouters. If he doesn''t get what he wants, Planet Namek will be no more." Raditz looked completely serious, "I did some searching, but the North Galaxy Area, needless to say, is a vast place. Without the coordinates from your ship, it will be difficult to find."


    "Mr. Popo knows where the ship is, Kami." Popo answered from besides the old Namekian, "With your permission, Mr. Popo can take them to it."


    "Frieza is the guy who blew up our planet, right?" Kakarot asked his brother.


    "Yes, he did just that." Raditz answered. "But now that I know where he is going to be and what he wants, I can challenge him and maybe save the planet. Unless Frieza chooses to instantly kill me, I should manage to overcome him."


    What he didn''t say was the fact he wanted to use the Namekian Dragon to make a few wishes of his own.


    "I want to fight too." Kakarot said clenching his fists.


    "Good you volunteered, brother.Frieza will be bringing his army. He likes to use overwhelming force when taking planets, which is why I was going to ask if any of you wanted to join me in this adventure." Raditz concluded.


    Afterwards, Mr. Popo used his flying carpet to teleport Bulma and Reiss to the derelict Namekian spaceship. The location was in the Yunzabit Heights, which was at ''the world''s end,''" a desolate windy place full of grass topped mesas and plateaus. The white ship resembled something made of porcelain with four spiked protrusions as landing legs. There were four spikes at the front of the ship near the bulbous windows and one spike protruding from the back.


    The password to enter the ship was the word Piccolo. When the password was given, a circular platform lowered down from the underside of the ship allowing entry. The trio stood on the platform before Bulma gave the password "Piccolo" to raise the platform again.


    While Bulma connected her datapad to download the ship''s computer, Reiss checked out the rest of the ship. She knew that if they wanted to repair the ship to functionality, it would take some time. The good news was they didn''t need the ship at all. She transmitted the computer data to the imperial flagship in orbit around the planet.


    In the end, Krillin, Tien, Piccolo, and Gohan chose to accompany Raditz to Planet Namek. They were going to leave as soon as everyone''s affairs were in order. This gave Raditz time to meet his sister-in-law Chichi.


    "It is wonderful to meet to you. I''ve heard so much about you!" Chichi greeted. Raditz, Bulma, and Reiss had arrived at Mt. Pozu. Kakarot''s home was much larger than Raditz remembered.


    After the greetings were out of the way, Raditz asked, "What was that structure we flew over near the base of the mountain?"


    "That is the Dojo Master Roshi and Son Gohan started after the 23rd world tournament." Chichi answered.


    "So the old man who raised Kakarot is still alive?" Raditz was surprised.


    "Yes, we visit frequently. My dad, the Ox King, enjoys spending time there as well." Chichi explained.


    After a Saiyan sized dinner Bulma gave Chichi a prototype Capsule Corp. high speed communications computer pad. The computer pads were a joint creation between the Gren''dir scientists and Big Gete. They would be releasing them publicly in a few weeks, but the other planets under Raditz already used the devices. Kakarot''s wife was thrilled by the expensive looking gift.


    "By the way, Raditz, did Kakarot ask you about that job?" Chichi questioned with a smile.


    Raditz looked over at Kakarot confused.


    What job was she talking about?


    Kakarot had a fearful look. He felt his back start to become soaked in a cold sweat.


    "What are you talking about?" Raditz asked, "What job?"


    "You didn''t ask!" she yelled at Kakarot. "Why didn''t you even ask!?"


    "I was going to, but we were invaded. Then I died. Then we had to fight the Saiyans." Kakarot quickly explained. He then looked to his brother, "Do you have a fun job available that pays a lot!?" his eyes darted back to Chichi quickly gauging her mood.


    "Sure I can give you a job." Raditz smiled, "How does security agent sound?"


    "Will I get to fight strong opponents?" Kakarot asked.


    "Some will be... others not so much." Raditz answered honestly.


    "That''s what I do!" Reiss shouted, "Maybe we can work together uncle Kakarot."


    "Your son already has a job!?" Chichi was amazed by this news and looked over at her own son.


    "Of course, my Reiss is an imperial prince after all!" Bulma laughed with the back of her hand covering her mouth. It was a laugh brimming with pride.


    The next morning, the group left Mt. Pozu and headed to Capsule Corp. grounds in West City. There they would meet the shuttle, which would then take them to dock with the orbiting mother ship. The group of new space travelers were amazing by the shuttle until they witnessed the massive saucer suspended above their planet.


    "That is the Menagerie, the flagship of the Prometheus Empire, my ship." Raditz said as the ship came into view. The passengers, except for Piccolo, were clearly excited about seeing the ship up close.


    "Uncle Raditz, why is it called that?" Gohan asked.


    "Because the crew is made up ofpeople from each of the worlds in my empire. Earth being the exception for now." Raditz explained to his nephew. Raditz pressed a button on the wall panel of the shuttle.


    "Pilot, do a flyby of the Menagerie before taking us in to dock." Raditz commanded.


    "Yes, your Majesty!" came the reply.


    The ship was modeled after his original craft that was destroyed. The main difference was its size and the fact that it was rebuilt using Big Gete technology. This made the new ship several times more advanced than most ships in the North Galactic Area. The size difference allowed for a larger crew complement, even though, the ship didn''t need a crew because of the Big Gete systems installed in the computers. However, those A.I. functions were locked until emergency situations or a command code from Raditz was given.


    When the ship docked, warriors in black and red armor stood at each side of the corridor. They saluted with a fist pressed against their chest when their Emperor walked past.


    The bridge of the Menagerie had many people busy on consoles and terminals. All of the commotion ended when the doors of the bridge slid open revealing Raditz. Everyone stopped what they were working on and stood at attention when they learned the Emperor was on deck.


    "As you were." Raditz commanded. The crew relaxed again from the command and continued to work.Bulma went to the navigation section of the bridge where a Gren''dir woman wearing a Scouter visor was stationed.


    "Has the data from the Namekian ship been fully integrated?" Bulma asked the woman.


    "Yes, my Empress! We can depart for Namek at any point." she answered enthusiastically.


    After hearing the confirmation Bulma nodded to Raditz, who had taken his seat on the bridge. Raditz rose from his seat with his hands behind his back and walked towards the middle of the bridge. His crew had a look of confidence and purpose.


    "Helm, set a course for Planet Namek!" Raditz ordered. "Full speed."


    "Setting course for Namek, full speed, aye!" the visored woman answered, elegantly typing at her console. In no time at all, the ship had raced out of the solar system towards its new target destination.


    Elsewhere in space, Vegeta and Nappa''s ships headed towards the nearest Frieza Force outpost to recover from their battle on Earth. The outpost was located on Planet Frieza No. 79. It was the nearest outpost with proper medical facilities and Attack Ball landing pads. Once they were healed up they would have to make a trip to Namek to gain immortality. Then they could take vengeance on Raditz, and even Frieza.


    Vegeta was curious to learn what his power level would become after getting healed, especially after he had already gotten a boost from that fruit Turles''s men brought.


    "Just wait Raditz, soon you will bow down before the Prince of all Saiyans!" Vegeta thought to himself before sleep overcame him.

 16 Journey

    BAM! BAM!


    Raditz and his brother clashed in training room NO.001 on the Menagerie. It was a one of six gyms on the flagship. This particular room was specially crafted by Bulma''s design and was only accessible by the royal family and their guests. Sometimes Raditz would reward his soldiers'' performance by gifting access for specified amounts of time.


    His brother''s friends were watching from behind a glass window in the main entrance to the training area. They were shocked by the jump in strength Kakarot gained after the fight with Vegeta. When they asked about this, Raditz explained to them it was part of a Saiyan''s biology to increase in strength after healing from a fight.


    After the little warm-up spar with Kakarot, Raditz invited everyone into the sectioned off sparring area. He explained to them that the reason the sparring area was sealedbehind the glass separating it from the main area, was because it was also a gravity chamber. They were stunned by this revelation having never experienced a gravity chamber before.


    "Menagerie! Increase the gravity to ten times Earth gravity." Raditz commanded looking towards the ceiling.


    "Command accepted, Emperor Raditz!" a disembodied feminine voice responded.


    It was the ship''s computer system, which was a simple intelligence spawned by Big Gete. Unlike the other ships in the fleet, the Menagerie''s system was a custom creation. The intelligence system installed in the rest of the fleet were just identical copies all designated PRISM.


    Kakarot''s group immediately felt the strain on their bodies. They were plenty strong enough to remain standing, but they clearly were uncomfortable.


    "This is how heavy it was on King Kai''s Planet." Kakarot informed his friends.


    "It''s also the same gravity as our home world." Raditz mentioned.


    "Is this how much gravity you train in?" Tien asked. Reiss giggled from his father''s side. Gohan looked over that the older boy wondering why the question was funny.


    "No." Raditz answered flatly before continuing, "I brought you here to explain how the gyms function. The other gyms on the ship have fail safes in place to avoid any accidents. Just ask Menagerie and the gravity will adjust, as I demonstrated. We only have four days until we reach Namek, so Kakarot, Gohan, Reiss, and I will use this gym. The rest of you are free to use any of the other training rooms. If you have any other questions or concerns Menagerie or the crew will be of assistance."


    "Why can''t we just train together?" Krillin asked feeling disregarded. He and Kakarot had trained together for years, since they met on Kame Island as children. Piccolo was already leaving, preferring to train alone.


    "Menagerie increase gravity, twenty times." the Emperor ordered. The Namekian turned around as the sliding door out of the sparring area closed behind him. He saw Tien and Krillin pressed to the floor struggling to stand. Kakarot and Gohan were on their knees, struggling to fight against the force bearing down on them.


    "Here." Raditz handed each of them a Panacea bean.


    After eating the beans, the Saiyans were capable of standing. Krillin and Tien were still on the ground. They did, at least, manage to get up on their hands and knees.


    "Menagerie, reduce the gravity to normal." Raditz told the ship. The command was given and the Menagerie brought the gravity back down. The humans were soaked in sweat from their struggle against being crushed.


    "What was that for!?" Krillin asked, angered by the Raditz''s action.


    "A demonstration as to why it would not be wise to train with us." Raditz explained, "As you saw, because of their biology, Kakarot and Gohan adapted after eating a Panacea bean. We will be training in much higher gravity. It would be fatal for you two."


    "Are you saying we''re weak?" Tien questioned. "That we''d hold you back."


    "In this instance, yes. Because we have a limited time, speed is a factor." Raditz explained, "You guys can get much stronger, but rushing into this will be counterproductive."


    They thought about his words for a moment before agreeing with them. Even though they still felt somewhat slighted, they were excited to try out the other gyms. The crew of the Menagerie was quite large with 15,000 members. Tien and Krillin met a few of them while training in room NO.003.


    Kakarot and his son were smashed into the floor of the gym. They were struggling with all they had to try and get the Panacea bean into their mouths.


    "Welcome to fifty times Earth gravity." Raditz said.


    "That looks painful, father. They look like worms." Reiss joked at his uncle and cousins expense, "But they will catch up in no time at this rate!"


    Eating the bean allowed the crushed pair to get back on their feet. They were still wobbly, but on their feet none the less.


    "Try putting the bean in your mouth first." the Emperor gave his brother and nephew another bean.


    They put the bean in their mouths and held it there, waiting for the gravity to increase again. Reiss was looking on in anticipation. The boy never witnessed anyone being trained like this.


    "Menagerie increase to one hundred times Earth gravity." Raditz said.


    "One Hundred times gravity, aye, your Majesty" came the ship''s reply.


    Kakarot and Gohan crashed into the ground harder than before. The impact caused them to bite down on the held beans instantly healing them. Even though they healed, the pair could barely move in the gravity.


    "How does it feel?" Raditz questioned, "It only took four hours to get you to this level. We should train at this level for the rest of the time."


    Kakarot nodded at his brother''s suggestion. Reiss immediately tagged Gohan "it," and ran off to the far wall. Gohan tried to run after the older boy, but unlike Reiss his steps were extremely weighty. It was as though he were trying to run in water.


    "We aren''t going to play tag are we, Raditz?" Kakarot asked his brother.


    Raditz smiled at his brother.


    "Sure we are," Raditz said punching his brother hard in face sending him flying across the room, "You''re it!"


    Kakarot took a moment to get up. When he did manage to get on his feet, he tried to chase his brother down, but he was much too slow in the unfamiliar gravity. It was like being on King Kai''s planet all over again. Only this time he was adjusting to the gravity much faster thanks to the Panacea beans.


    A couple of hours later, Gohan and his father were moving much better in the gravity. They were almost up to their normal performance levels. Which was when Raditz announced to the group that play time was over.


    "Reiss, beat your cousin within an inch of his life!" Raditz ordered


    "What!?" Kakarot looked shocked by the command.


    "Like I said we don''t have much time. Getting beat up and healed in this gravity will be great for you both." Raditz said as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world. "Don''t worry Kakarot, I''ll make sure to properly break you down."


    BAM! BAM!


    The walls and floor of the training room was covered in blood. Kakarot and Gohan were on the floor in broken masses. The fight was a complete, one-sided, domination. They were literally beaten within an inch of their lives.


    When they were healed, Kakarot and his son charged at Raditz and Reiss in anger. Their speed was notably higher than before. Raditz tried to stop Kakarot''s fist with his palm, but he was being pushed back. He would have to use some effort if he wanted to stop Kakarot now. Reiss wasn''t in the same boat because, even though Gohan was stronger than before, his training was his still behind the older boy''s.


    "Look at how much stronger you got Kakarot," Raditz cheered, "Not only are you in one hundred times Earth gravity, you can fight now."


    "What''re you talking about?" Kakarot asked, still visibly angered.


    "I''m saying look how much strong you and Gohan became from being beaten up and healed. This gravity seems normal to you now, right?" Raditz followed up.


    Kakarot seemed unsure of what was going on, but he could feel he was full of power now that he calmed down some.


    "No need to thank me." Raditz shrugged, "I thought I''d do my little brother a favor."


    "I should thank you with a punch in the face." Kakarot replied taking another swing at his brother.


    Raditz dodged the punch and the two clashed once more.


    Tien and Krillin took a break from training to head to the mess hall for breakfast. They trained in fifteen times Earth gravity with two soldiers they met until morning, or what passed as morning on a spaceship. Time on the ship was localized for Gren''dir time because it was the main hub of Raditz''s empire. They didn''t know where Piccolo went after choosing to train by himself.


    The Earthlings discovered that most of the crew was nervous about encountering Frieza. Even though they had faith their leader could win, they had always avoided the Frieza Force... until this point. If Emperor Raditz won, they would be galactic legends... even if they were just crew members.


    Tien and Krillin were shocked Kakarot and his family never showed up for breakfast. They knew their friend never missed a meal. After looking into it they learned the Saiyans were still training. This renewed their spirits, driving them to train even harder than before.


    Piccolo sat hovering in a meditative position in the middle of training room NO.002. He was under the effects of twenty times Earth gravity, which was the limits of safety for the normal gyms. He focused his energy and engaged in mental battles against shadowy foes. No matter what, he wanted to keep pace with the Saiyans... especially his one time rival Kakarot.


    Over the years, he watched as Kakarot''s power continued to rise to new heights. If he wasn''t careful, soon Kakarot would be too far ahead to catch up. He also couldn''t shake the feeling that going to Namek would be like coming home from a long journey.


    The Saiyans'' training was interrupted by a call from the bridge. The voice that came through was the visored pilot at the helm.


    "My Emperor, Reporting that we have just entered the Namek System." the pilot informed.


    "Thank you Lieutenant Gel. We''ll be right up." Raditz said.


    The group hit the shower room located in the gym before proceeding up to the bridge. The other Earthlings were already there. On the view screen was a green planet with three suns, Planet Namek.


    "Gel, hold the Menagerie at the edge of the System. We''ll use the shuttle from here, so it will be less of a chance of the Frieza Force spotting the Menagerie." Raditz ordered.


    "Aye, your Majesty!" Lieutenant Gel responded.


    The group traveled to the ship''s hangar bay and loaded into a smaller saucer ship. Reiss was disappointed because he wanted to use an Attack Ball again. He enjoyed the Attack Ball because he could pretend to be a Saiyan conquering planets.


    When Bulma keyed in the sequence, the saucer shuttle launched from the hangar bay. She decided to personally pilot the mission because she liked see new alien worlds. It took two hours for the saucer to reach its destination. Its occupants were blown away by the new planet. Raditz was amazed at how empty and rural the planet was.


    "Find a suitable place to land the shuttle. Preferably somewhere hard to spot." Raditz said.


    "Got it. Now stop being a back seat pilot." Bulma responded.


    The ship touched down between twin mesas. Concealed by the rocks, it was a decent hiding spot. The travelers exited the ship to get a good look at the planet.


    The air smelled fresh and lacking of pollution. Piccolo felt a deep connection to the planet as soon as his feet touched the ground. He was deeply affected by the experience. Every breath of air he took, nourished his soul. This was were he was from.


    Raditz closed his eyes and tried to find his target. The leader of the planet, the Grand Elder Guru. When the elder was located, then the negotiations could begin.

 17 Meeting

    "Follow me. I think I know where we need to go." Raditz said.


    He had found a strong source of power; it was coming from a singular source. Raditz concluded it was Nail, the guard of the Grand Elder. If he was right, it wouldn''t be long before they would have a meeting with the leader of the Namekians.


    The group flew at a leisurely pace, giving Piccolo a chance to take in the sight of his home world. They passed over two villages on the way to the Elder''s plateau. Raditz was hoping to conclude the meeting fast because they would need time to prepare for Frieza''s arrival.


    Most of the planet was lacking in Raditz''s opinion. If he remembered correctly, there were only six villages on the planet and around one hundred Namekians. The sparse population of the planet might have been caused by a cataclysm in the past, but Raditz knew the real reason. The author of the manga didn''t like drawing cities.


    On top of a narrow plateau was an enormous house of similar design to Kami''s spaceship. It was white, with bulbous windows, and spiked protrusions. The group landed on the grassy plateau a few feet away from the structure. It was not long before a Namekian wearing a long blue sleeveless robe, loose fitting white pants, and traditional Namekian shoes emerged from the house. It was Nail the guard of the ancient Namekian.


    "What business do you have here, outsiders?" Nail questioned. His guard was raised in expectation of a fight.


    "We are here to speak with your leader." Raditz calmly spoke, "I am Raditz, ruler of the Prometheus Empire. I have a request and warning for your leader."


    Nail narrowed his eyes at Raditz''s statement, "What kind of warning?"


    "Frieza is coming to take your Dragon Balls and destroy your world." Raditz stated calmly, "He has considerable power. It would be unwise to try to stand against him alone."


    Nail considered those words before taking note of the unfamiliar Namekian in the group. The pair stared at each other for a moment until Nail decided he had heard enough.


    "Your warning is appreciated now go." he commanded.


    "But wha-" Reiss was going to protest but was silenced by Raditz.


    "Very well." Raditz nodded at the Namekian and turned to leave. He was taking a gamble that this was a test.


    "Nail!" a loud gravelly voice called out from inside the house, "Show our guests in."


    "Very well. Grand Elder Guru," Nail responded to the voice. He then turned to the group and ordered, "Follow me."


    They were led into the Namekian home. Inside was an oversized, deathly old, Namekian seated on an equally oversized chair. His breathing was labored from either his size or age. This Namekian was the Grand Elder Guru, father of all Namekians currently living on the planet.


    "Welcome to Namek." the Grand Elder spoke, "Please explain about this danger."


    Raditz went on about the coming assault on the planet. In as few as two weeks the Frieza Force would be here to located the Dragon Balls. When he was finished with the explanation the Grand Elder took a moment to consider everything he''d been told.


    "If you help me with my request. I will ensure Namek will survive." Raditz added.


    "What would you like?" Guru asked.


    "My brother and I are Saiyans. Our planet was destroyed by Frieza years ago. I would like your permission to use your Dragon Balls to wish my world back." Raditz voiced his request.


    "I would allow you to do so, if you can save my planet, but the Dragon Balls can only wish back one person. Although bringing the planet itself back would be doable." Guru explained.


    "Bringing the planet itself back is fine for now. Also, it isn''t necessary but I would like for your people to join my empire." Raditz clarified, "By joining we would protect your world from external harm."


    "And what would be rquired of us if we join your empire?" the Grand Elder was truly curious. This Saiyan was not like the ones he''d heard about.


    "Well, you guys seem to make excellent planetary Guardian Deities like Piccolo''s other half." Raditz pointed to the younger Namekian. "If you could send out others to become Kami''s, it would help greatly."


    The giant Namekian focused on Piccolo for a moment, "The son of Katas survived after all. It is good that others survived the cataclysm, which destroyed our world. I thought I was the last survivor."


    "Thank you, I felt a connection to this planet the moment I set foot on the surface." Piccolo said. "Raditz may be hard to deal with, but he means what he says."


    "Very well, my time in this life is growing shorter. You have allowed me to meet one of my lost kin before go, so I will allow you to use the Dragon Balls. They are tied to my life. If I die before you defeat Frieza, they will be useless to you. I trust that after you use them you will stay to help us fight Frieza." Guru said after listening to his fellow Namekian.


    "I''ll consider it payment rendered, for my services." Raditz affirmed.


    "I will leave deciding on joining your empire to my successor. After you make your wish come back so that I might awaken any hidden potential within your group. I would attempt it now, but the strain may shorten my life too much." Guru continued, "Nail, inform the villages to gather the Dragon Balls and escort our new friends to an appropriate place to use them."


    Nail bowed to Guru and escorted the group out of the house. The plan was to fly to each of the six villages to collect the Dragon Balls. Nail already had the one located in the Grand Elder''s house. The Dragon Balls created on Earth were baseball sized, unlike the Namekian basketball sized orange orbs.


    Raditz ordered Reiss to go collect his mother. Otherwise, she would be mad she missed seeing the dragon.


    The trip to the villages wouldn''t have taken as much time as it did, but the villagers wanted to meet the strange group of aliens. Piccolo seemed to find meeting his long lost relatives enjoyable. Kami would have enjoyed seeing the planet himself, but he was Earth''s guardian. He also was going to collect the Earth dragon Balls in preparation to wish Yamcha back for Kakarot and his friends.


    Bulma was waiting at the shuttle monitoring the instruments in case the Menagerie transmitted any signals. It was a boring job, but from what she saw of the planet on the way down it wasn''t much to see. She was curious as to what Frieza looked like. While she was lost in her daydream about appearance the of galactic tyrant, she heard someone access the shuttle.


    When she swiveled round in her seat to see who the intruder was, she was surprised to see her son Reiss. She didn''t know why he had come back to the shuttle alone. As strong as he was, it was still no reason to leave him unattended on an unknown planet. She was going to have words with Raditz, he could be very irresponsible at times.


    "Father wanted me to bring you back to see the dragon. They are collecting the Dragon Balls and he thought you would want to see it!" Reiss was excited himself. He never saw Dragon Balls being used. There were none on Gren''dir where he lived.


    "Really!?" Bulma asked clearly interested. Reiss nodded quickly, letting his mother know he was serious. The pair quickly exited the shuttle and flew off in the direction of the others.


    "Remember when we get near to the others I need you a carry me." Bulma reminded her son.


    "I know. Father can''t know you can fly." Reiss laughed, "Why not just tell him?"


    "None of your business. You ask too many questions." Bulma turned her head away from Reiss.


    The boy shrugged his shoulders and continued to lead his mother to the meeting spot. Reiss brought his speed down because his mother was very slow when it came to flying. He did greatly admire her skill with technology. Reiss picked up more than a few things when he spent time with his mother. He loved gaining new information because he liked being prepared. His father always stressed the importance of knowing your enemy, or having enough intelligence to be adaptable.


    When the pair drew closer to the village, Bulma did indeed stop flying and had Reiss carry her. His mother was nothing if not thorough in carrying on her pretense. The village everyone was gathered in looked mostly identical to the rest. The only differences between the villages was the number and arrangement of homes.


    "We are about to collect the final two Dragon Balls." Raditz said to his wife and son as they approached. Once they were together, the group departed for their goal.


    The last village they came to was home to the Namekian child Dende. Moori the elder of the village was a visibly older Namekian. He wore an orange vest, with a white scarf, and white loose fitting pants similar in style to most Namekians. In the original continuity Moori would take the place of Grand Elder Guru as leader of the Namekians.


    While Nail was introducing everyone to Moori, Reiss and Gohan decided to go talk with the two Namekian children they saw. The pair turned out to be Dende and Cargo. At first, the Namekians were nervous talk to the alien children, but grew more comfortable as the conversation drew on.


    Nail decided to bring the group to this village last because Moori was going to the one to summon the dragon. The villagers all gathered in the center of the settlement around the Dragon Balls to witness the summoning.


    "Takkaraput pop porunga pupiritt paro!" Moori shouted. The seven orbs pulsed with a yellow glow.


    The sky darkened in a wide diameter around the area, even though the planet never experienced night. A golden flash of energy surrounded by lightning exploded into the dark sky from the Dragon Balls. The Earthlings were amazed by the sight.


    When the light from the Dragon Balls dimmed the group stared up at the massive Namekian dragon, Porunga. It was larger than the Earth dragon, Shenron. Porunga possessed a muscular upper body with full length arms. It had four black horns growing from its head, two on the top, and two growing from the side of its face. From the dragon''s forehead grew a pair of Namekian antenna. There was a fin running from its head all the way down its serpentine tail.


    "STATE YOUR WISHES!" The dragon''s voice thundered as it spoke, while staring down at the group with its crimson eyes.


    "Wishes?" Krillin asked, "How many does it grant? The Earth dragon can only grant one."


    "Porunga grants three wishes." Moori explained.


    "I would like for Planet Vegeta to be restored." Raditz said to Moori.


    The elder translated Raditz''s request into Namekian because the dragon would only grant wishes spoken in the native language.


    "IT SHALL BE!" the dragon''s crimson eyes burned as it worked to accomplish its task, "YOUR WISH IS GRANTED! STATE YOUR SECOND WISH!"


    "Mighty Porunga, are you able to bring back more than one person at a time?" Raditz asked the dragon.


    "NO. IT IS NOT WITHIN MY POWER TO RESURRECT MORE THAN ONE BEING AT A TIME!" Porunga answered.


    "In that case, I require the perfect Namekian, willing to be Kami of Planet Vegeta." Raditz said to Moori. Raditz wanted to have the Kami of Planet Vegeta create Dragon Balls that could restore the population.


    The elder Namekian looked hesitant to ask the dragon to grant the wish. After Moori made the request to the dragon its eyes glowed once more. A plump elder Namekian with a wooden staff appeared near the Dragon Balls.


    Raditz recognized this Namekian as Tsuno, one of the village elders they met previously. Tsuno looked around confused as to how he arrived in Moori''s village.


    "TSUNO, WILL YOU BE THE KAMI OF PLANET VEGETA?" Porunga asked the elder.


    "I would be happy to obey lord, Porunga." Tsuno bowed down to the dragon in awe.


    "YOUR WISH IS GRANTED!" Porunga spoke again and Tsuno disappeared from the spot once more.


    Raditz felt Porunga basically strong armed the guy, but he didn''t care. Raditz was going to use the last wish to teleport Tsuno to Planet Vegeta, but Porunga did it himself.


    "SPEAK YOUR THIRD WISH!" Porunga commanded.


    "Well, I did notice from Kami''s Lookout and the Grand Elder''s plateau that Namekians seemed to like tall places... so I wish for Tsuno to have a tower befitting a Kami." Raditz told Moori.


    After the translation by Moori, the dragon once again granted the wish successfully. When all three wishes were granted, the dragon vanished and the sky returned to normal. The Dragon Balls floated into the sky and scattered in different directions all over the planet.


    "Ok, now that the wishes are out of the way. We can prepare for the arrival of Frieza." Raditz said.

 18 Space

    Frieza, the tyrannical emperor, was aboard his flagship bound for planet Namek. He was seated in his hovering throne, with his tail lazily draped over the lip of the vehicle. The tyrant was seeking to obtain immortality by using the Dragon Balls of the Namekians. He learned of the mysterious spheres through a conversation transmitted from Vegeta''s Scouter.


    The location of the planet was in the Frieza Forces'' planetary database, but the planet was unremarkable. It offered no reason for the galactic emperor to ever need to send his troops there, until now. Even if the Dragon Balls turned out to be a hoax, it was worth investigating, personally. There was no chance the mission could go awry with him taking the lead.


    However, his intuition told him it might not be as easy as it should to accomplish his goal. It could have just been his imagination; he was leaving nothing to chance, not when the opportunity to eternally reign over his empire was close at hand. He knew if his wish could be granted, no one in the universe would ever be his equal.


    "Zarbon!" Frieza snapped.


    An alien with light blue skin and a long green braided ponytail stepped forward. He was wearing wide shouldered Frieza Force armor with light pink sleeves cut off at the biceps. Zarbon, elegantly, bowed at the waist.


    "Yes, Lord Frieza?" Zarbon asked his master.


    "How much longer until we reach Planet Namek?" the tyrant asked his General.


    "We will arrive in twenty four hours, my lord." the light blue alien replied confidently.


    "Good, very good." Frieza stared out of the bubbled window of his saucer ship. Looking out at the stars still didn''t relieve him of the feeling something was off. It could be the fact he didn''t get a chance to punish Vegeta for his recent failure to take Earth. He once more turned his attention to Zarbon.


    "I want you to summon the Ginyu Force. They will ensure nothing goes wrong." Frieza ordered.


    "At once lord Frieza, they should be able to arrive when we do." Zarbon hurried to make the call to


    Captain Ginyu.


    He didn''t expect his master to call the special forces out to a simple planet. Needless to say, neither he or his rival Dodoria would have much to do if the Ginyu Force was involved. Zarbon and Dodoria may be the highest ranking Generals in the Frieza Force, but they weren''t a match for any of the members of the Ginyu Force.


    In the Namek System, a small craft almost ladybug in design approached the planet. It was a Galactic Patrol craft. The small craft was stopped, before it made it far, by the Menagerie. The Galactic Patrol ship was dwarfed by the Prometheus Empire flagship. The being piloting the ladybug like ship was at a loss for what was happening. He had come to Namek to warn the leadership about the tyrant Frieza being detected heading towards the planet.


    The patrolman received a message from his ship''s communicator. Which led him to believe the ship did not belong to the Frieza Force, they never bothered with hails.


    "Galactic Patrol craft, this is Commander Lime of the Prometheus Empire flagship Menagerie. Please respond." a female sounding voice said through his ship''s control panel.


    "This is Patrolman Jaco. I''m on an urgent mission to Planet Namek." the Patrolman answered the voice. He wasn''t exactly sure what the Prometheus Empire was but he heard rumors over the last several years that a new empire had formed in the far fringes of the North Area.


    "The Prometheus Empire is currently conducting operations in this system. Please leave." Commander Lime responded coldly.


    "You don''t seem to understand. Commander Lime, was it? I have been task with a mission by the Galactic King to warn the planet." Jaco explained with an air of condescension.


    "The Prometheus Empire does not recognize the Galactic King." Lime responded with same coolness as before.


    "What about the press?" Jaco was smashed against the glass dome of his ship by his human friend. She decided to accompany him on this mission because she had gotten hired by the Galactic News Broadcasting station as a journalist. She was also looking for inspiration for her next book.


    "Tights!" an excited voice rang out of Jaco''s panel.


    "Bulma!" his passenger called back with equal excitement.


    The Patrolman''s ship was brought onto the Menagerie. It turned out that his friend from Earth, Tights, was the sister of the Empress of the Prometheus Empire. Jaco figured it was as they say "a small galaxy."


    Tights was surprised to see her younger sister Bulma wearing a set of skirted black and red caped armor. She clearly was going to have to make a point to stay in touch more often. Although Bulma was her younger sister, the pair would be mistaken as twins if not for Tights inheriting their mother''s blonde hair.


    Bulma escorted the pair to a private lounge to discuss want brought them to the planet. Jaco once again explained the mission he was sent on. Bulma listened to the explanation and led the two out of the lounge to a large compartment on the ship. Most of the population of the planet had been moved to the Menagerie until after Frieza was dealt with. The move was to ensure the populace would avoid being caught up in collateral damage that may occur during the battle. The Patrolman was taken to the Grand Elder to deliver his message.


    "By the way, if you are Empress, who is the Emperor? Is he here?" Tights asked her sister. Her journalist''s instincts were boiling for an interview.


    "His name is Raditz. He''s a Saiyan, and he''s on the Planet." Bulma answered her sister.


    "Saiyan!" the bug eyed Patrolman Jaco sharply turned around to face Bulma, "Did you say Saiyan!?"


    "Yes." Bulma narrowed her eyes. "Is that a problem?"


    "To think the Saiyans aren''t extinct after all, and one''s even started an empire." Jaco said to himself gripping his chin. "Is he going to destroy the planet?"


    "My husband, for your information hasn''t destroyed a planet since he was a child." the Empress sternly said.


    Jaco snapped out of his musings from Bulma''s statement.


    "Well, my mission is complete so we can get out of here before Frieza comes." Jaco said to Tights. The short alien was pleased with a job well done.


    "You can go back. I''m staying, though." Tights said, "This is the story of a lifetime! The rise of one empire and the fall of another. I''m sure my sister can drop me off afterwards."


    Bulma nodded at her sister in agreement. Jaco, knowing that the Galactic Patrolmen were forbidden from interfering with the Frieza Force directly, felt it best to leave. Besides, he knew he was no match for an adult Saiyan, let alone Frieza''s men, not to mention the tyrant himself. Jaco asked his friend once more if she really wanted to stay before he boarded his ship and left the system. He needed to report what he discovered to his bosses at the Galactic Patrol Headquarters. If he was lucky, he could swing a promotion from the information gathered.


    "We were on the way to the planet to deliver some food supplies to the attack squad. The Namekians only drink water, so we have been on food duty for the past couple of weeks." Bulma explained to Tights.


    "You have to explain to me how all of this came about." Tights said. Her curiosity was ablaze.


    "I will after the supply drop." Bulma led her sister to a saucer shaped shuttle. "Menagerie, inform the helm to get us close to planet. I''ll make the supply drop myself."


    "Aye, Aye, Empress Bulma." the Menagerie responded to its Empress''s command.


    "You can make the drop with me." Bulma motioned for her sister to enter the shuttle.


    When they arrived at the Namekian village Raditz was waiting in, his men unloaded the boxes of capsules filled with various supplies. Bulma informed her husband that the fight would be happening the next day. He was surprised to hear Jaco the Galactic Patrolman had come with the warning. He was more shocked to see Bulma''s sister. She wanted an interview from the newest Galactic Emperor to appear.


    After the supplies were unloaded, Tights and Bulma departed back to Menagerie. They were going to catch up on what has been going on over the years. Clearly, their lives had become stranger than either ever could have guessed.


    Raditz was thrilled he was finally going to get the chance to fight Frieza. Kakarot and his friends were spread throughout the villages, along with some of Raditz''s soldiers and the few remaining Namekian warriors. When the Frieza Force arrived, they would be walking into an ambush. The plan was to remove Frieza''s men before dealing with the tyrant himself.


    On Planet Frieza NO. 76 Vegeta and his remaining partner had completed their recovery. A brown skinned, beaked, alien doctor in a white robe drained the healing tanks. The two Saiyans could feel that their power had grown.


    They exited the healing pods and started to don their armor. Vegeta was ready to get started on his new mission of claiming the Namekian Dragon Balls. Nappa was unsure of his place after what had transpired on Earth.


    "I must say Vegeta, I thought our sensors were malfunctioning when they recorded your power at 320,000." the beaked doctor said, "And for Nappa''s to have become 24,500, what exactly happened onyour mission?"


    Vegeta paused momentarily in the process of putting on his armor. The doctors statement shocked him, his power level was 320,000. This had to be a sign he was destined to become the Legendary Super Saiyan. Killing Frieza was no longer just a dream, it was within reach. This made it more important to get to Namek as fast as possible.


    Nappa was dumbfounded to hear how high the Prince''s power had risen. If he was thinking about striking out on his own before, hearing this put a stop to those thoughts. As long as he had the Prince on his side, he would be fine. If Vegeta wanted to attack Frieza, he could distract Zarbon and Dodoria at the very least.


    "Is Frieza on this world?" Vegeta asked the doctor as he finished putting on his gear.


    "No, he left some time ago for a planet called Namek." the doctor informed him.


    "What!?" Vegeta asked in anger.


    "H-He left to go to Namek, is what happened. Y-you should be happy, Lord Frieza has heard about your failure on Earth. He wasn''t pleased." the doctor was confused by Vegeta''s level of agitation.


    "Lets go Nappa, quick!" Vegeta commanded.


    Nappa followed after his long time leader. They arrived at the Attack Ball landing platform where their ships were parked. Nappa had no idea what Vegeta was thinking.


    "Where''re we going Prince Vegeta?" Nappa asked.


    "Are you a complete idiot!" Vegeta shouted, "We''re going to Namek! Frieza is after the Dragon Balls!"


    Vegeta and Nappa loaded up in their ships and blasted off towards Planet Namek. Vegeta was planning to do everything he could to obtain immortality. He just had to get to the Dragon Balls before Frieza. If he couldn''t do that, he would just have to monopolize one of the balls.


    "Lord Frieza, Planet Namek should be in view soon." a gruff sounding pink crustacean like alien said.


    "Excellent, Dodoria." Frieza responded. "And the Ginyu Force?"


    "They should land within ten minutes of us, lord Frieza." Dodoria answered.


    He had served Frieza alongside Zarbon for many years. They were a part of the Frieza Force when he inherited it from his father, King Cold. Frieza was quite a bit more ruthless than his father, but he had the power to back it up. Dodoria enjoyed the terror he commanded, being part of the Frieza''s inner circle.


    Like with Zarbon, most beings in the galaxy never refused Dodoria anything. Not many beings in the galaxy could rival Dodoria''s power, and the ones who could would be too afraid of Frieza to do anything against him.


    Frieza was anticipating using the Dragon Balls for his wish. He was prepared to destroy the planet if he didn''t get what he wanted. He had destroyed other worlds for less, so Planet Namek would be no problem. Planet Vegeta was destroyed because of rumors of a Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan God. The Saiyans were the strongest work force at the time, and it meant nothing in the face of rumors.


    Although it turned out more of the Saiyans survived than he thought, with two being located on a planet called Earth. Two extra Saiyans didn''t matter to Frieza, with his strength he could take care of them at any time. After he finished on Namek, he would need to take a trip to Earth to deal with the other two Saiyans. Then he could finish Vegeta and Nappa; he''d let them live for too long. Especially, after learning about Turles''s Tree of Might plans. The cold tyrant already had a stranglehold on the galaxy, now all he needed was a way to make his reign eternal.

 19 Touch Down

    Frieza''s saucer touched down on the large green planet. The level of tension on the vessel was running high throughout the ranks of soldiers. Their mission was going to commence soon. They knew their lord wanted the Dragon Balls at all cost. If they made any mistakes, it would mean the end of their lives.


    Frieza was in his hover chair floating in front of his ship. His two Generals, Zarbon and Dodoria, stood behind him. The ground forces were lined up before them to await their orders.


    Five Attack Balls crashed down near Frieza''s ship ten minutes later. When the doors to the ships opened, their pilots emerged at lightning speed. They appeared in front of their master''s hovering vehicle, striking a bizarre pose. The odd group was wearing customary Frieza Force armor with the exception of the Ginyu Force crest on the breastplate.


    "Lord Frieza the Ginyu Force has arrived!" the horned purple alien who was knelt down said.


    "Captain Ginyu, it is good you arrived so quickly." Frieza praised.


    "The pleasure is ours lord Frieza. How many we serve you?" Captain Ginyu asked still holding his pose.


    "Attention! Everyone!" Frieza raised his voice and everyone stood straight, including the Ginyu Force.


    "I have come to this dirtball for one reason, the Dragon Balls! You will find them for me! If you meet any formidable resistance you will inform the Ginyu Force, is that clear!" Frieza continued as his chair rose above the crowd.


    "Yes! Lord Frieza!" the soldiers collectively replied.


    The tyrant, after hearing the soldiers'' answer, pressed the button on the side of his Scouter. The device beeped, searching for the power level of any nearby Namekians. He was surprised that the only signals he was picking up were from his men. The short horned alien could only concluded that either the natives were too weak to be picked up at this range or they could hide their power levels. This was going to slow his mission down.


    "The natives may be able to hide their power levels! Soldiers spread out and find them, so that they may assist in our quest!" Frieza commanded, "And remember, if I am not informed of developments you had better wish you were dead!"


    The soldiers dispersed to locate their targets. If the Scouters really couldn''t pick up the natives, they would need to visually locate the villages. Once they located a village, they could then contact everyone else to group up if needed. With the Ginyu Force on the planet for back up, the soldiers felt they had an extra layer of security.


    After just over an hour of flight, Appule still had not found a Namekian native or a village. He was an amphibious alien with an elongated head, Frieza Force armor, and full black under suit. The alien guessed the population of the planet was sparse because there was yet to be any signs of life, other than fauna.


    Appule just happened to look up at the right time to notice two Attack Balls crashing down in the distance. He decided to investigate because there was no word about anymore troops arriving, and the fact they might have landed near a village. If he was quick he could reach the location of the ships in about half an hour.


    The two ships were empty by the time Appule arrived at the scene. One of Appule''s a fellow soldier also arrived after noticing the landing of the pods. His name was Oren, and he wore helmeted Frieza armor and carried a wrist mounted blaster.


    "Appule, did you see anyone?" Oren questioned his comrade.


    "No, but whoever it was couldn''t have gotten very far." Appule answered.


    "Maybe we should we call this in." Oren suggested. He wasn''t ready to get blamed if this was a problem.


    "We should see who we are dealing with first." Appule wanted to take as much credit as possible if this discovery somehow led to the Dragon Balls.


    "Fine." Oren shrugged.


    The helmeted soldier checked his Scouter to see if he could locate the occupants of the vacant Attack Balls. Oren slowly rotated his head from one side to the other as he scanned the distance for any power levels. He was curious as to whether the device would return any result, since it had been useless so far.


    BEEP! BEEP!


    "I picked up a power level of five thousand moving away from us!" Oren said with excitement.


    "Let''s get moving then." Appule grinned.


    The two soldiers flew off after their target. Whoever landed wasn''t very strong so the pair was confident they could handle the situation. Oren and Appule had power levels of seven and eight thousand respectively. If the person they were tracking was moving with their partner then that person shouldn''t be too strong, either.


    As they moved closer they were able to detect a secondary power source near the one they were tracking. It was only a measly power of 400 so they were still confident in their odds of success against the duo. The soldiers could see two beings in the distance hovering in midair above the green Namekian ocean.


    They sped to the figures waiting in the distance to see just who was foolish enough to get in the middle of lord Frieza''s mission. The soldiers immediately halted their flight after seeing who the two intruders were. They recognized them from the work they had done in the past for lord Frieza. The pair were none other than the Saiyans, Vegeta and Nappa.


    "What are they doing here!" Appule was frantic. He knew from reports that the Saiyans had become some of the strongest warriors in the Frieza Force.


    "I''m reporting this!" Oren said pressing the button on his Scouter.


    "Make it quick, they''re flying over!" Appule urged his partner.


    The report was sent right before the two Saiyans closed the distance. Neither of the soldiers were ready for a fight now. They hoped the Ginyu Force or back up would be along to save them before they would have to fight.


    "How did you find us?" the widow peaked Saiyan asked.


    "We saw your ships land and used our Scouters to track you down." Oren answered.


    "See, Nappa, I told you your power level wasn''t suppressed far enough." Vegeta chided his long time ally.


    "I''ll learn it properly, Prince Vegeta." Nappa said sheepishly.


    "You had better, or you''ll be sorry if Frieza catches you. Now finish these two off, since their being here is your fault." the Saiyan prince ordered, "I''m continuing on. Catch up after you''re done."


    Vegeta flew off as fast as he could while keeping his aura as low as possible. He was traveling towards a group of Ki he sensed close by. If he were to guess, it was a Namekian village. He could tell they were suppressing their energy. Vegeta concluded they were attempting to avoid being picked up by Frieza''s Scouters.


    Vegeta came to a stop, hovering over a Namekian village. From what he could see, the village looked abandoned, but he could feel energy sources coming from the houses. If his senses were to be believed, there were less than twenty people hiding in the homes.


    Nappa was able to join back up with Vegeta in no time. The soldiers, Appule and Oren, were no match for the bald Saiyan. Even suppressing his power to avoid detection, he managed to mop the floor with them.


    "Are we going to destroy the village from here?" he asked Vegeta.


    "Don''t be a fool, Nappa. A Dragon Ball could be in there." Vegeta answered floating to the ground.


    Nappa followed silently behind Vegeta as he landed on the lush, grassy Namekian surface. The Saiyans came to a stop near the center of the village. Vegeta was standing confidently with his arms crossed.


    "I know you are there! I am Prince Vegeta! You might be able to hide from Scouters, but not from me!" the Saiyan boldly declared, "If you come out now, you might get to survive this encounter!"


    A door to one of the houses flew open revealing a sight Vegeta was not expecting to see. He knew his plans were already coming apart.


    "What is this!" the vein on Vegeta''s head looked like it was about to exploded.


    Elsewhere on the planet, other groups of soldiers located the position of four more of the Namekian villages. Contact with the soldiers was lost following the report of their locations. Zarbon had to be the one to inform Frieza about the loss of contact with the troops.


    Their master was not one to concern himself with the loss of personnel, but if it prevented him from obtaining something he wanted, it was a different story. To the displeasure of the galactic emperor, no Scouters were able to send back any power level scans or transmissions. The only thing available for Frieza to do was to send more soldiers to the locations to investigate further.


    "There is one more thing, Lord Frieza." Zarbon said.


    "What else has happened?" Frieza questioned his kneeling General.


    "It seems Vegeta and Nappa are on the planet, my lord." Zarbon reported.


    "So... it seems Vegeta is all grown up and trying to interfere with my plans." Frieza''s tail slapped the side of his chair as he spoke, "Give me the location. I''ll take Dodoria to see just what level of strength Vegeta is hoping to challenge me with. It''s past time I dispose of the Saiyans once and for all."


    "Lord Frieza, no doubt the Saiyans are no longer in the area they were spotted." Zarbon advised, "It may be prudent to have the Ginyu Force investigate their last known location. The five of them should manage to reacquire the location of the Saiyans."


    "Very well, Zarbon." Frieza accepted his General''s suggestion and turned to the Ginyu Force leader,


    "Captain Ginyu track down that traitor Vegeta, and his useless comrade Nappa, and bring them to me. I want Vegeta alive. I don''t care about the other one."


    "You heard Lord Frieza, men! We have a couple of Saiyans to find!" Captain Ginyu said full of enthusiasm.


    The rest of the Ginyu Force had faces full of excitement. They were clearly on board with their leader''s passion. The group''s aura flared as they rocketed off towards the location reported by Frieza Trooper Oren. Search and retrieval was one of the Ginyu Forces'' favored mission types. It was right up there with planetary destruction for the group.


    Only a handful of troops, including Frieza, Zarbon, and Dodoria remained at the ship. The space tyrant''s anger was growing by the minute. They already had been on the planet for just under three hours and only a few villages were found. This mission should have been a cakewalk, yet he had lost contact with the troops sent out. The strength of the natives must have been underestimated.


    Although, if that were the case, it is strange no energy signals were picked up from battles. That would have to mean his minions were taken out quickly without time to retaliate.


    After causing him this amount of inconvenience already, there was no way Frieza was going to allow Namek to stay intact. As soon as he had what he wanted, the planet was going to become space dust. At least the Ginyu Force would be bring Vegeta back. The torture he would subject the Saiyan prince to would go a long way in relieving his stress at the situation.


    The Ginyu Force arrived at the location Oren and Appule reported. They found the bodies of the two soldiers floating the the ocean below them. The corpses were torn to pieces. It was as though someone was having fun torturing a weaker creature. The Ginyu Force admired Nappa''s handiwork for a moment. They also knew the pleasure of utterly destroying the weak, another of their favorite pastimes.


    "Alright, men!" Captain Ginyu said, "We''ll start our search here and spread out!"


    "They couldn''t''ve got far!" Jeice the orange skinned humanoid of the group said.


    "Yes, we''ll find them in no time!" the taller blue skinned Burta hissed.


    "I can''t wait to teach the bald one a lesson. He always did try to talk a big game!" the hulking humanoid Recoome added.


    "Ok, enough talk! Ginyu Force head out!" the Captain ordered.


    The five members of the Ginyu Force flew in a spiral pattern out from the location Oren sent. They were trying to cover as much ground as possible without missing their targets. Normally they wouldn''t use this tactic, but even their high powered Scouters were useless in locating the Saiyans.


    "Well, well. Fancy meeting you way out here, Vegeta." Raditz said emerging from a Namekian house flanked by Prometheus Empire soldiers.


    "Raditz! How!" Vegeta was shaken to see Raditz waiting for him in the Namekian village.

 20 Opening Salvo

    Emperor Raditz was waiting inside a Namekian home in one of the villages. He had gotten reports from the others that Frieza Force soldiers had shown up at the villages they were stationed in.


    "I can''t say I''m surprised to see you." Raditz said lazily, "Why''d you have to come to the village I was in?" he was wearing black and red armor with gray gloves and boots, along with a red lensed Scouter covering his right eye. The armor''s chest piece bore the symbol of the empire, an encircled flame.


    "Why are you here, Raditz?" Vegeta questioned.


    "I''m here to kill Frieza." Raditz grinned. "And its Emperor Raditz."


    "You think you have a chance to kill Frieza without using the Dragon Balls to gain immortality." Vegeta scoffed, "You''re more foolish than I thought."


    Nappa was becoming agitated by the tone the conversation was taking. He had not expected to run into Raditz again. The beating he suffered at the hands of Raditz''s son was still fresh in his mind. He wasn''t thrilled about being antagonistic to the long haired Saiyan at this point.


    "This planet is currently under the protection of the Prometheus Empire." Raditz declared, "You will not be getting the Dragon Balls, but you and Nappa can mop up Frieza''s men. That or you can just sit back and watch the downfall of Frieza. But if you get in my way I will crush you."


    "I''m the Prince of all Saiyans, Raditz. I don''t work for you." Vegeta stressed the word "all."


    Raditz hovered a small distance off the ground and floated towards the two Saiyans. Nappa retreated back two steps from Raditz''s approach.


    "What do we have here!" a voice called down, "Three Saiyans and a village of soldiers!"


    Everyone looked up to see the source of the voice. It was Captain Ginyu along with Recoome and Burter. The trio dropped down into the village to confront their targets.


    "Lord Frieza, this is Captain Ginyu! We have located the Saiyans and will be bring Vegeta to you shortly!" Ginyu said after pressing the button on his Scouter.


    "He can''t hear you." Raditz reported, "All of the villages have devices that block the transmission of Frieza Force Scouters. That''s how we have been secretly killing the troops that arrive at the villages. They also emit a jamming field making the villages virtually invisible to detection by the Scouters."


    "What!" Ginyu was furious. "How dare you stand in the way of the Frieza Force''s mission!"


    "Captain, I want to teach this Saiyan a lesson." Recoome stepped forward.


    "Very well Recoome I will allow you to do the honors!" Captain Ginyu encouraged. However, he noticed he had lost track of the long haired Saiyan.


    "Captain!" Burter hissed out a shout.


    Ginyu felt pressure on his skull between his horns and for some reason he couldn''t move his body. He heard a thud below him. He tried to look over to Burter, but he couldn''t turn his body.


    Recoome looked around to see why Burter sounded so distraught. His eyes widened in horror to see his Captain''s head no longer attached to his body, but in the hand of the long haired Saiyan. He was clueless about how the Saiyan pulled off such a feat. Recoome knew he wasn''t the fastest member of the Ginyu Force, but he should have at least been able to see the Saiyan move past him.


    "A Super Saiyan..." Ginyu spoke his last words before Raditz tossed his head into the air disintegrating it with a Ki blast.


    Raditz knew how many problems Ginyu could pose with his body swapping technique, so he chose to end the threat swiftly and in an imposing manner.


    "So you want to challenge me?" Raditz asked glaring daggers into Recoome.


    Recoome didn''t understand what was happening. He never thought a Saiyan could ever be powerful enough to challenge their Captain, let alone kill him. His focus had become so locked on Raditz that he never realized Vegeta had charged a Ki blast.


    The attack the Saiyan prince unleashed into Recoome''s blindspot left the hulk of a man a blackened smoking corpse. The short Saiyan was fuming at Ginyu''s insinuation of Raditz being a Super Saiyan. In his mind, if anyone deserved the title it was he, Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans.


    Witnessing his comrades be dispatched so quickly, Burter turned to flee. He was going to use the speed which gave him the title as fastest in the Ginyu Force to report back to his master, lord Frieza. Burter thought he was dreaming when he turned only to come face to face with Raditz. He looked down to see that the Saiyan had a Ki blast charged and placed perfectly against his chest. Burter was left with no time to react when the beam fired, ending his life.


    Raditz wondered if the other groups were having as easy a time with their assignments as he was having. He used his Scouter to quickly check in with the other groups. All of the villages had now encountered enemies.


    Piccolo was fighting directly over the Namekian village he was posted in. His opponent was an orange skinned male humanoid, who introduced himself as Jeice of the Ginyu Force. The invader was proving to be a fearsome enemy. He was not only fast, but had power to back it up. Piccolo was trying to keep the battle within close proximity of the village to stay in range of the Scouter scramblers. The soldiers Raditz stationed in the village with him had almost finished taking out Frieza''s men that showed up with Jeice.


    The Namekian knew if it wasn''t for the training environment Raditz had provided, he would have long since died. Jeice flew around Piccolo firing a Ki blast at him from every angle. The Namekian Earthling was obscured by a cloud of black smoke from the attacks. Jeice, after think his foe was finished, halted his attack to admire his own handiwork.


    He was expecting the Namekian to be covered with wounds when the smoke cleared. Unfortunately, his expectations were not met. Only Piccolo''s clothes were damaged by the attack. Jeice noticed that purple blood covered many of the tattered remains of the Namekian''s clothing even though there were no visible wounds.


    When Piccolo was suffering under the attack he, stealthily, ate one of the Panacea beans Raditz had provided to the teams. It was what allowed him to survive the barrage of attacks and now his opponent was drained. It also didn''t hurt that the Grand Elder had saw fit to unlock some sleeping potential that was dormant within Piccolo.


    Jeice decided the best move would be to flee now that his opponent took no damage from his attack, and even looked refreshed. The Frieza Force troops that had also come to the village were already wiped out by the Prometheus Empire soldiers.


    SNAP! SNAP!


    Jeice looked down at his ankles. He felt the bones in his legs breaking. Piccolo had extended his arms and caught his fleeing foe. The Ginyu Force member was slammed into the dirt as Piccolo retracted his arms.


    Jeice struggled to stand as he coughed out a mouthful of blood. His legs were definitely broken earlier, during his escape attempt. He thought, "if the rest of his squad were here, that this would not be happening."


    It turned out that splitting up was a tactical error on their part.


    They had become overconfident in their strength.


    SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!


    Piccolo directed his attack to his opponent who was in the process of trying to crawl out of the crater he''d been slammed into. The white haired Ginyu Force member turned around after hearing Piccolo shout the name of the attack. Jeice could only gasp in horror as the corkscrewed beam raced towards him.


    Before he could truly process what was happening, the beam pierced his chest, detonating. The Namekian was pleased with the amount of losses the Frieza Force had already suffered. He had to admit, the Prometheus soldiers were effective at their jobs.


    Frieza was racing along the planet in his hover chair. The green surface of the water was being disturbed by the speed of the vehicle. His Generals, Zarbon and Dodoria, were flanking behind him as they traveled. The group saw the blasts of energy in the distance from the fight between Piccolo and Jeice.


    Even though they saw the lights from the energy, their Scouters still didn''t register anything was happening. That being the case, Frieza decided to investigate matters... personally.


    Besides, the Ginyu Force had already take too long, in his estimation, to have not accomplished their mission.


    Piccolo could sense the massive aura of Frieza rapidly approaching his location. He wasn''t sure how his location was discovered, but it was not unexpected. One of Raditz''s soldiers flew over to where he was hovering.


    "Mr. Piccolo we have detected a power level of 530,000. It is on the way. As per orders we need to evacuate this village and rendezvous in village 03." the soldier said hastily.


    Piccolo nodded in understanding.


    There were many Frieza Force soldiers littering the ground of the village Kakarot was guarding. He was bored fight the normal troops. When the short green alien from the Ginyu Force showed up, he thought things were going to get exciting, but after getting a sense of his strength; Kakarot knew the alien wasn''t very strong at all.


    "Prepare to feel the wrath of the mighty Guldo!" the alien boasted.


    Kakarot sighed from his own bad luck. He was hoping Frieza was going to turn up. That way he would have an excuse to try his luck against the person who even his brother was worried about. He thought that if he finished this person quickly, then a stronger person would turn up.


    Kakarot vanished from the spot he was standing. Guldo instinctively held his breath as his foe disappeared from sight. Time froze from the activation of Guldo''s power. When the alien held his breath, time would freeze for everyone but him.


    Guldo almost released his breath from noticing his opponent frozen right beside him. Kakarot was sporting a bored expression with a punch aimed right at the eye on the right side of Guldo''s head. The short four eyed alien suppressed his panic and moved as far away as he could. His enemy was much faster than he had anticipated.


    Kakarot was shocked to see when he completed his strike his opponent was no longer there. The Earth raised Saiyan was quickly able to relocate the alien''s Ki. He flashed around behind one of the village houses to find the alien crouched behind a fence.


    Once again, Guldo held his breath just in time to avoid a swift death. Kakarot was standing to his side with an extended hand. He had an orb Ki charged and ready to release into the alien. If Guldo could create enough distance between them he would be comfortable enough to use his telekinetic attacks. The weakest member of the Ginyu Force was forced to flee some distance from the Saiyan. He needed to get out of the possible blast range of the Ki attack Kakarot was about to fire off.


    BOOM!


    Guldo released his breath and immediately inhaled deeply. Kakarot, this time, was frozen directly in the alien''s face about to deliver a kick which would decapitate the lone Ginyu Force member. Guldo didn''t know how long he could keep up the cat and mouse game. His opponent looked like he was having fun now. The bored expression Kakarot had earlier was gone. He now had a interested grin like a child that had discovered a new game.


    To make matters worse, the Saiyan was getting closer to hitting him each time he froze time. Guldo needed to regroup with the rest of the Ginyu Force. Escape from the Saiyan was his only goal for the time being. Once the others were there to back him up, he would be able to take his time in getting revenge. Kakarot began to vanish and reappear rapidly in different locations.


    TIME FREEZE!


    Guldo used the opportunity to freeze time to make his way out of the village. When he turned to run he bumped into the frozen Kakarot''s leg. The alien was knock to the ground and almost had the wind knocked out of him. Once again Kakarot had a Ki blast charged and aimed directly at him.


    Guldo quickly picked himself up and ran to edge of the village. He was running out of air as he ran.


    The alien knew he was in no shape to make a full escape on one breath of air. He was going to have to take another breath.


    When he released the breath he was holding Kakarot''s Ki blast fired off. This time instead of exploding against the ground it rotated avoiding the impact. The orb of energy raced towards Guldo, it was locked on to him. All of Guldo''s eyes widened in horror as the blast drew closer. He was too stunned to do anything to avoid his fate.


    BOOM!


    The last member of the Ginyu Force was dead.

 21 Plan

    The halls of Frieza''s ship were coated in blood and viscera. Armor and equipment was scattered about, lacking complete corpses to fill them. Two boys entered the control room of the now emptied ship. One of the boys was covered in various colored blood.


    "You look pretty scary, Reiss." Gohan commented to his blood soaked cousin.


    "I was in a hurry." Reiss shrugged, "This is really going to be hard to wash out of my hair."


    Gohan had witnessed his older cousin flash down the hallways of the ship like a wraith, dispatching the soldiers at every turn. Because the boy was so interested in showing off the North Galaxy Fist Style he learned, things became messier than they should have.


    The younger Gohan was a little shaken by the display of brutality, but he wasn''t willing to let Reiss see it. He knew his cousin would more than likely tease him relentlessly about it.


    The children were in the ship because they had been given a mission to download the contents of the vessel''s computer. All they had to do was install a Menagerie hacking tool once they knew Frieza had left. Once the download was complete, the tool would then send the information to the flagship.


    After receiving the information the Menagerie would then fire upon Frieza''s ship, destroying it.


    "Hey, Gohan I need you to insert the tool." Reiss passed the small box containing the device to his cousin. "My hands are too sticky."


    Gohan opened the box and removed the thumb drive shaped hacking technology. When he inserted the device into the computer, it seemed to melt into the slot. Gohan looked back at Reiss in confusion.


    "Was that supposed to happen?" he asked.


    "Yeah, Big Gete technology is like that." Reiss nodded, "Now let''s get out of here before that finishes. I want to make it back in time to see Frieza lose."


    Krillin and Tien had successfully defeated all of the Frieza Force that entered the village they were using as an ambush site. Right after they had sensed Frieza begin to move, they had received information over the Scouters they were given that it was time to move to the final location. The leader of the Prometheus soldiers that were with them also confirmed the information. They did have to admire the fact that so far Raditz''s plan was working.


    All Frieza found when he located the site of the battle was an empty village, filled with the corpses of his men. It was surprising that Jeice, a member of the Ginyu Force, was killed without being able to escape. The evil emperor knew that it was highly unlikely that the natives would have been capable of something like this. Not even the Galactic Patrol would dare try something like this. His guess was Vegeta was somehow behind this development.


    "Lord Frieza, I am detecting several weak power levels moving away!" Zarbon informed his master.


    Frieza activated his Scouter to see what Zarbon was talking about. Indeed, some distance away was a group that was nearing the edge of the Scouter range. Frieza''s rage at being played was increasing.


    "We know which direction they''re headed. They weren''t fast enough to make a clean getaway." Dodoria offered his thoughts.


    "You never use your head, Dodoria." Zarbon scoffed, "It''s more than likely, they are trying to lead us into a trap."


    "Trap or no, these fools are about to learn what happens when you get in the way of Lord Frieza." Frieza ended the discussion, "We are going after them."


    The trio took to the air to continue the chase after the people responsible for hindering Frieza''s quest for immortality. They traveled over hundreds of miles before reaching their destination. It was large landmass covered in short grass like most other landmasses on the planet. The group of invaders were shocked to see that there were only two Namekians in the group, Nail and Piccolo.


    "Saiyans." Frieza narrowed his eyes at the odd group.


    Kakarot, Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz were standing near Piccolo and Nail. Krillin and Tien arrived moments after Frieza and landed with their friends. They were caught of guard to see Nappa and Vegeta on the planet.


    "So, more of you monkeys survived than I thought." Frieza said calmly lowering his hover chair to the ground. "Vegeta I''m pleased to see that you and Nappa came back to receive your punishment for failure."


    "Hardly, Frieza, I came to see you die." Vegeta retorted.


    "Hoh hoh hoh" Frieza laughed, "You were always amusing Vegeta. What makes you think you can defeat me?"


    "Because I have become what you fear. I have become a Super Saiyan!" Vegeta confidently declared.


    "Vegeta if your plan was to make me suffocate from laughter, it won''t happen. I don''t need to breath." Frieza looked like his anger from earlier had dissipated.


    Vegeta on the other hand was filled with a bottomless rage from Frieza''s mockery. The vein on his forehead looked like it was going to rupture. He raised his right hand with his palms facing towards his former master.


    BIG BANG ATTACK!


    The widen spread beam of destruction washed over Frieza, Zarbon, and Dodoria. The Saiyan prince was proud of the level of destruction he caused. Now all he needed to see was the look on Frieza''s face at experiencing his power.


    When the smoke cleared, Frieza was hovering in midair, his chair consumed by the blast. Zarbon and Dodoria were vaporized in the attack, costing Frieza his last two minions on the planet. Vegeta stared wide eyed at the tyrant. He couldn''t believe that his attack didn''t even scratch the short horned alien.


    "So who else thinks Vegeta is a Super Saiyan?" Frieza asked the group.


    "Nobody but Vegeta thought he was a Super Saiyan." Raditz said.


    "And who might you be?" Frieza questioned the long haired Saiyan.


    "Emperor Raditz, of the Prometheus Empire."Raditz answered as he floated in front of Vegeta to get closer to Frieza.


    "An emperor you say, how interesting." Frieza smiled, "Lord Raditz, I will be interested into visiting your empire personally after we finish here."


    "That may not be possible." Raditz said with a hint of melancholy.


    "And why is that?" Frieza asked.


    Before Raditz answered three dark purple beams rained down in the distance followed by three explosions.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    "Because your ship just got destroyed, along with Ginyu Force pods." Raditz grinned, "Oh, and Vegeta and Nappa''s Attack Balls."


    "Our ships!" Vegeta glared. "Why!"


    "I didn''t want anyone leaving." Raditz shrugged at the prince.


    "Father, we handled the mission!" Reiss shouted as he and Gohan landed behind the group of adults.


    "Well, it sees you are smarter than the typical monkey, but you are still a fool if you think you can stand against me." Frieza scoffed.


    "Not only can I stand against you, but after we are done, I''m going to personally visit your empire." Raditz glared returning Frieza''s words.


    "Hey, Kakarot, can Raditz really handle Frieza?" Nappa asked.


    "I don''t know, but my brother usually does what he says." Kakarot shrugged.


    "Is he really the Super Saiyan?" Nappa inquired further, "Like the legend?"


    "I don''t know what that is." the Earth raised Saiyan answered.


    "You look enough like Turles that I forgot you were raised on Earth." Nappa said ending the conversation.


    "Did you want to try your hand at fighting Frieza?" Raditz looked back at Vegeta.


    "I more interested in seeing what you are capable of, since you were boasting earlier." Vegeta spat.


    "Don''t worry Vegeta, after I finish with Lord Raditz, you are next." Frieza said with certainty.


    "Lord Raditz. Always promoting polite speech, eh, Frieza." Raditz joked.


    "I respect the fact, that against the odds, you tried to claim an empire in my universe." Frieza answered.


    Thinking that they had conversed enough, Raditz began to charge his power in preparation of the battle. Sizable rocks lifted from the ground and broke apart as the Prometheus Emperor''s Ki surged through his body. The gathered fighters that could sense energy felt the intensity of the aura. Even Nappa could tell that the level of power Raditz had reached was superior to Vegeta''s.


    The levitating rocks collapsed back to the ground after Raditz had finished powering up. Kakarot''s senses were tuned well enough to tell that his brother was weaker than Frieza. The two powers were close, but Raditz was behind.


    Frieza stood with his hands behind his back waiting for his opponent to make his move. After stretching his arms a few times, Raditz dropped into his fighting stance. Frieza was a little curious as to what gave the Saiyan enough confidence to dare challenge him.


    Raditz burst forth launching himself at the tyrannical emperor. Frieza was impressed that a Saiyan managed to gain the level of speed that Raditz possessed. He became more confident in his decision to wipe out the planet. Frieza was able to block all of the punches and kicks Raditz threw his way.


    Thanks to Raditz''s Ki field technique, he was able to dodge all of Frieza''s counter attacks. The technique was both mentally and physically draining to maintain. He had gotten accustomed to using it, but under the level of strain he was under it wasn''t going to last long.


    Vegeta was disgusted that Raditz was doing as well as he was against Frieza, but he could tell Frieza wasn''t being serious. It angered him more when he realized Raditz wasn''t using the Great Ape power he used during their fight.


    Kakarot watched what seemed to be an unending wave of attacks from Frieza and his brother. As the struggle continued on, Kakarot could tell his brother''s dodging was becoming sloppier. Kakarot observed that Raditz must be getting tired from sustaining the Ki field while operating under so much strain.


    Raditz failed to avoid one of Frieza''s sneak attacks with his tail. The hit left him stunned and open to receive a flurry of strikes from Frieza. Raditz was sent into a nearby hill, turning it into rubble. The long haired Saiyan pushed aside the boulders that had collapsed on top of him. He stood up from the attack, appearing to only have suffered minor damage.


    "You did well to last as long as you did." Frieza informed them, "My power in this form is 530,000. But this is my weakest form."


    HAAAH!


    The pressure coming from Frieza grew intense. His power began to skyrocket as his body grew and stretched. The horns growing from his head grew larger, curving upwards. His height more than doubled. The tyrant now cut an imposing figure.


    "My power in this form is over one million." Frieza informed them with his more baritone voice, "Allow me to demonstrate."


    He raised his arm and pointed his index finger to Raditz. The transformed Frieza unleashed a barrage of Emperor Beams at the Saiyan. Raditz''s armor was in shreds from the attack. Raditz himself was badly hurt, but alive. The attack wasn''t meant to kill, it was used to intimidate.


    Frieza then charged Raditz, batting him around the area like toy. The alien emperor used a tail slap to send Raditz flying towards the ocean at high speeds. The water parted on both sides of the Saiyan as he came to a stop, causing a geyser of water to erupt.


    Vegeta was terrified by Frieza''s strength, and angered by Raditz''s refusal to use all of his power. If it came down to it Vegeta was willing to use the artificial moon technique. If all the Saiyans gathered became Great Apes, they should be able to kill Frieza.


    "So, who''s next?" Frieza asked the group. "Perhaps you Vegeta? Or perhaps the one that looks like Turles?"


    "Raditz isn''t done, yet." Kakarot grinned.


    "My brother is right, I''m not done yet." Raditz said from behind Frieza. The Saiyan ate a Panacea bean after getting hit into the ocean by Frieza. Now he was back and fully refreshed, stronger than ever. Frieza was surprised, to say the least, by Raditz''s return and healthy appearance.

 22 Battle

    "How could you have possibly survived that?" Frieza asked.


    "I heal fast." Raditz deadpanned his response.


    "I''m curious to see what the limits of your miraculous healing are." Frieza casually commented.


    The combatants disappeared, leaving shockwaves in their wake. The two emperors had engaged in high speed combat. The onlookers were only sporadically able to make out what was happening. A medium sized rock formation near the group watching the fight exploded. Raditz''s allies had to move quickly to avoid being hit by the debris.


    The Saiyan had managed to hit Frieza into the hill, which was what led to the explosion. The tyrant wasted no time in returning to the battle. He noticed that his opponent, Raditz, was becoming better at avoiding his blows. Frieza hated to admit it, but Raditz''s fist had become less of an annoyance and more noticeably painful.


    Raditz learned through the exchange of blows with Frieza that his Fist of the North Galaxy would be ineffective on him. His atypical alien biology made his Ki points vastly different from other species. It didn''t matter to Raditz whether he could rely on his technique or not. He just wanted to use Frieza as long as possible to get stronger.


    "You think you are doing well?" Frieza asked. "Here, catch."


    Frieza held up his right arm with his index finger pointing skyward. He formed a massive yellow ball of Ki on the tip of his raised finger. With a flick of his wrist, the galactic emperor tossed the small sun like ball of energy at Raditz.


    "You can have taste of what happened to Planet Vegeta." Frieza laughed, "By the way if that touches


    the ground, consider your friends and a big chunk of the planet extinct."


    Raditz pooled his Ki to resist the imposing ball of energy bearing down on him. As the ball drew closer, the Saiyan raised his hands to hold back the energy. Raditz needed to keep ramping up his Ki to prevent Frieza''s attack from vaporizing him.


    The Saiyan managed to start forcing the giant attack back when he dropped down on one leg. A smoldering hole was burned through his left thigh. While he was struggling against the attack, Raditz failed to notice Frieza fire the Death Beam at his leg.


    KAIO-KEN TIMES TEN!


    The blazing red aura of the Kaio-Ken burned around Kakarot as he rushed at Frieza. He was angered by the sneak attack Frieza made against his brother. Kakarot used his burst of strength to force Frieza back away from the area.


    Frieza was surprised that another Saiyan was strong enough to stand a chance, no matter how slim, against his second form. After getting push some distance away from Raditz, Frieza hit Kakarot with a hammer fist. The strike caused the Saiyan to get driven into the ground at a high velocity. A crater in the Namekian surface was formed around him.


    The red fiery aura erupted around Kakarot once again as he exploded out of the crater back towards Frieza. The pair vanished and reappeared from place to place exchanging blows. Explosions could be heard from the collisions of strikes from the two combatants.


    Raditz focused his Ki into his hands and used Ki beam to push against Frieza''s attack. He continued to pour more energy into the attack until it started to move away from him. Beads of sweat formed on his head as he concentrated on using the appropriate amount of Ki to get the job done. Eventually, his blue beam of energy forced the attack out of the atmosphere and to the depths of space.


    Raditz managed to push the Supernova away just in time, because Kakarot was sent crashing into the ground behind him. Kakarot seemed to be fine for the most part, but out of breath.


    "You hurt?" Raditz questioned.


    "Just need to catch my breath... Kaio-Ken takes a lot out me." Kakarot huffed.


    Frieza slowly lowered himself down onto a blue grass covered hill. The group stared at the tyrant, waiting to see what he was going to try next. Nappa was horrified by the power he had witnessed from Frieza. Yet, at the same time he was inspired by Raditz''s ability to match the his former boss.


    Not to mention, Kakarot, a low leveled Saiyan who survived one on one against Frieza.


    "You monkeys actually believe you can defeat me, behold." Frieza declared as his Ki skyrocketed.


    CRACK! CRACK!


    Frieza''s body made sicken noises as it stretched and morphed. His head elongated, gaining four spike like protrusions. His face became more amphibious in appearance, along with his lips turning dark purple.


    He was transforming into his third form.


    When the transformation was over, the Earthlings could only stand there petrified. They could not conceive of anyone possessing the level of power they felt coming from Frieza. Raditz expected Frieza to be strong from knowing how the original story went, but feeling it in person was a different thing altogether. Ever since the hyper moon mutated him, Scouters have never been able to actually gauge his power, but he used Frieza as a measuring stick. He knew that his power had to have risen to at least over a million to push back the Supernova attack Frieza threw. Which meant he had waited long enough.


    HAAAAH!


    Raditz powered up with a deafening shout. He was drawing on the power of the Ape. Everyone could feel the oppressive Ki surging from his body. His muscle began to expand, his irises became Great Ape crimson, and his hair took on the same wild appearance as it did when he used it against Vegeta. He could feel the anger of the ape rising inside of him. The pain from the wound in his leg was all but nonexistent.


    "I have never seen or heard of a monkey doing anything like that." Frieza mused before using both hands to fire off a barrage of Death Beams.


    Raditz blinked through the attacks as he closed the distance to Frieza. Once he was directly in front of his opponent, both disappeared from sight. The onlookers once again could no longer follow the action. They all could see the effects of the battle by the trail of destruction left behind.


    The landscape was altered in multiple locations by the clash. In one place, a small mountain crumbled to the ground. When the fight moved over the water, tall geysers of water would erupt into the air from the pressure of the strikes.


    When the clash ended, the two fighters found themselves face to face on twin plateaus. Raditz was covered in blood and clutching his right arm. Frieza looked equally as worn down by the quick, but


    fierce clash.


    "You actually are quite capable." Frieza praised. "To think a Saiyan achieved such strength."


    "I like exceeding expectations." Raditz said.


    Vegeta couldn''t understand where Raditz obtained his mysterious power. He thought the jump in strength came from when he healed earlier in the fight. If that were true then he could also use his Saiyan Power to get stronger, too.


    "Kakarot how was your brother healed from his earlier wounds?" he asked, causing Kakarot to break his concentration on the fight.


    Kakarot relaxed his tail and removed a pouch from his waistband. He removed one of the small, pale, green beans and tossed it over to the spiky haired Saiyan. Vegeta caught the bean and closely examined it. To him it just looked like an ordinary plant with no special qualities.


    "Its call a Panacea bean." Kakarot explained, "As long as you are alive, it can heal any wound or disease. They come from one of my brother''s planets."


    "Does it really do what you say?" Vegeta had a plan but needed confirmation before he attempted such a risky gamble.


    "Yeah, you can keep that one." Kakarot nodded his head in confirmation.


    "Nappa, I''m going to suppress my power level. I need you to mortally wound me." Vegeta ordered.


    "What? Why?" the bald Saiyan asked. He couldn''t understand why his boss had given him such a strange order.


    "It''s simple, Raditz may be strong, but only I have the potential to become the Super Saiyan of legend. Once I heal from near death, my power should be unrivaled." Vegeta explained.


    "Are you sure about this, Prince Vegeta?" Nappa questioned. He could already feel Vegeta''s power dropping.


    "Yes I''m sure Nappa, do it." Vegeta ordered his ally to attack.


    Nappa charged a beam in his hand, preparing to attack his long time boss. Secretly, it was a pleasurable moment for the older Saiyan. He was could get revenge for all the years of taking orders from Vegeta. Nappa unleashed his attack.


    The beam seared a hole in the lower torso of the defenseless Vegeta. The other nearby warriors looked over to see what had occurred. Vegeta''s body was on the ground with a smoking hole in his stomach. The blue Namekian grass was dyed red by his Saiyan blood. He was struggling to get the life saving bean into his mouth.


    "He should''ve put the bean in his mouth first." Kakarot commented. Reiss nodded in agreement with his uncle. Tien and Krillin were not sympathetic to the plight of Vegeta, he did recently attack their home world.


    Vegeta was very near to death when he managed to eat the Panacea bean. His consciousness was teetering on the edge of darkness when he took the first bite. Instantaneously, he felt his life return to him. Not only had his wound been healed, but he was right, his power had increased dramatically.


    In his mind, if he was on the threshold of becoming a Super Saiyan before, he must had crossed it now.


    Vegeta looked down at his hands as he opened and closed his fists. He was double checking that the bean had done its job with no adverse effects. When he was satisfied, he flew off towards Frieza and Raditz. He was ready to prove his theory about his Super Saiyan status correct.


    "Ah, Vegeta, how wonderful that you could join us." Frieza chided. "Are you here to surrender to my mercy?"


    "Surrender?" the prideful Saiyan asked. "I''m here to kill you, Frieza."


    "And how do you plan on killing me, Lord Frieza?" the evil emperor asked. He seemed genuinely curious, "Don''t tell me you became a Super Saiyan. Honestly, Vegeta, you are too old for fairy tales."


    "Laugh all you want Frieza." Vegeta said full of confidence. Pressure from the short Saiyan built as he charged his Ki.


    Nearby rock formations crumbled under his building power. A crater formed under his feet as he screamed. Debris began to float and orbit around Vegeta as his power neared its peak.


    "As you are about to find out Frieza, you aren''t dealing with an ordinary Saiyan warrior. I, Prince Vegeta, have become what you always feared, a Super Saiyan!" Vegeta declared with a certainty born of pride and stories his father told him.


    "Vegeta, you are not a Super Saiyan." Raditz frowned.


    "If that is what you think, then prepare to face me after I finish with Frieza." Vegeta replied.


    The atmosphere around Frieza grew still as he built a huge amount of Ki. The tyrant was in the process of increasing his power even more.


    "If you think you are a Super Saiyan, then I''m more than willing to test it." Frieza said before becoming enveloped in a sphere of bright light.


    When the phenomenon was complete, Vegeta and Raditz were face to face with the final form of Frieza. His body had shrunken back down to its original short height. The shell like skin covering his body had turned white. The horns on his head had disappeared, leaving his head a smooth dome.


    "No one has seen my final form before. I hope the power of a Super Saiyan isn''t disappointing." Frieza sounded bored. The baritone his voice had taken on in his previous two forms had vanished. "Are you ready, Vegeta?"


    Without waiting for a reply, Frieza charged at Vegeta, delivering several rapid blows to his body. Raditz watched on as Vegeta was overpowered at every turn. He hoped his wife was getting good footage of what was happening, because he would want to see Vegeta get beaten up multiple times.

 23 Clash and Problem

    Vegeta was growing frustrated from his inability to deal his opponent any meaningful damage. Frieza was toying with him every step of the way. Regardless of what tactics or feints he tried, his former master could just power through or outright avoid them. He thought this situation shouldn''t be possible because he had become a Super Saiyan.


    The Saiyan prince was trying his best to block the flurry of attacks being sent his way. He could barely keep his arms up in an attempt to protect his head. A strike to his side caused him to drop his left arm from the pain racing up to his head.


    CRACK!


    Vegeta knew several ribs had broken from the hit. He didn''t have long to think about his mistake. The moment he dropped his arm, he created an opening that allowed Frieza to send a devastating kick to the side of his head.


    BOOM!


    The ground exploded from the impact of Vegeta''s body. Frieza swiftly landed planting both feet in the chest of Vegeta. The Saiyan coughed out a mouthful of blood as a crater formed underneath him. The tyrant then jumped off of the fallen Saiyan. He wrapped his tail around the neck of Vegeta and hoisted him off the ground.


    Frieza used his former employee as a punching bag to further demonstrate his superiority to the supposed Super Saiyan. Both of Vegeta''s arms, one leg, and several more ribs were broken under Frieza''s assault. The final blow sent Vegeta careening like a ragdoll into a hill several meters away.


    "Finished already?" Frieza mocked.


    The only response Vegeta could give was to cough out more blood.


    "I''ll take that as a yes." Frieza responded.


    He pointed his index finger towards Vegeta and began to charge a Death Beam. In the small window of time before the beam fired, Raditz appeared sending Frieza flying into the distance with a well aimed punch to the face. The short alien raced back from the hit in no time at all.


    "Even though you managed a lucky shot while I was distracted, you are still too weak to harm me." Frieza laughed.


    "We''ll see about that." Raditz declared. He did really use Vegeta to create an opening to deliver the hit.


    He closed his eyes and began to draw out even more power than before. Using Frieza to gain power might not have been necessary if Raditz let the Grand Elder unlock his potential. The new emperor decided against it, in case the Elder chose to view his memories.


    Since mutating, his ability to gain power through ordinary training methods decreased drastically compared to before the change. That was the reason he spent most of his time mastering or trying to create new techniques. His ability to increase in strength during and after healing from battle skyrocketed. However, he knew the current gap in strength between himself and the current form of Frieza was too high.


    His original plan was to fight each form of Frieza and build his power as he went along. Right now, he was between Frieza''s second and third forms in strength. His Ape power transformation helped some but it still wasn''t enough, which was why Raditz had a back up plan.


    The long haired Saiyan assumed he had all the needed ingredients for a Super Saiyan transformation. The process was questionable, which was why attempting to transform was a back up plan. He didn''t know if he needed desire and rage to transform, or just building Ki in his upper back.


    If he needed intense rage, then he would be in trouble; Raditz was more analytical than emotional.


    He was also unsure as to whether his mutation would hinder the process. It already stopped his ability to transform into the Great Ape form under the moonlight. A trait also inherited by his son Reiss.


    HAAAAH!


    Raditz continued to build his power focusing it into his spine. The other warriors could feel the tremendous Ki rising. The ground beneath their feet began to tremor violently as fissure started racing along the ground. Raditz''s muscle mass increased even more and his aura turned a bright golden color. His long hair began to take on a greenish gold appearance, while its tips remained black. Gritting his teeth Raditz felt he was close to the power he needed but couldn''t quite get there. It might be necessary to use rage to help the process.


    Raditz thought that the only rage large enough to push him over the threshold was the Great Ape''s. He completely tuned everything around him out to connect even further with his Ape power. His power rose even greater the close he got to contacting the source.


    HAAAH!


    Raditz''s scream intensified further the closer he drew to the rumbling roar of the Great Ape inside himself. His muscle nearly doubled in size as his aura erupted in a brilliant golden light. The observers had to avert their gaze until the light died down.


    When the light had vanished, they could see the fully transformed Raditz hovering in the sky. His long black hair had fully taken on a golden green color, his irises remained crimson, and his fingernails turned a dark black. Everyone was staring awe struck at the level Ki he was emitting, it was like nothing they had ever felt before.


    Raditz was looking down at his hands trying to get a feel of his new power. Although, Frieza was unable to sense Ki, he had a terrible feeling about the transformation Raditz went through. From the way his foe was examining himself, Frieza knew the change was foreign to the Saiyan.


    Nappa stared in shock at the green haired Saiyan. He was old enough to understand what had happened to Raditz. The legend was fulfilled not by the prince, but by some one who should''ve been a mid class warrior, like himself.


    "Kakarot, I think your brother, Raditz...No, Lord Raditz has become the Legendary Super Saiyan!" Nappa was excited to witness a legend come to life.


    "Is that what happened!" Kakarot was equally excited, "If it looks like that why did Vegeta keep saying he was a Super Saiyan!"


    "Kakarot, your brother''s strength is on another level!" Piccolo couldn''t believe anyone could have that level of power, "Frieza probably isn''t his match!"


    "To think I fought against him in my first World Tournament!" Krillin exclaimed.


    Frieza blitzed over to the stationary Raditz and unleashed a barrage of strikes against him. Throughout all of the attacks, the Saiyan remained unmoving. Frieza quickly moved away after realizing his attacks did no damage.


    "Ha Ha Ha!" Raditz reveled in his new found power.


    "Don''t get too conceited." Frieza stated, "I have still yet to show you my full power."


    The alien''s muscles swelled as he gritted his teeth, charging his power. A considerably more muscular Frieza floated before Raditz. He smiled as he had finally gotten a chance to use the full power of his final form.


    "You should be proud to have forced me into this state, Lord Raditz. To be able to see the Great Lord Frieza at full power is an accomplishment." Frieza praised, "After finishing you, my wish for immortality will be all the sweeter."


    "You won''t get your wish. I already used the Dragon Balls." Raditz mocked, "You were just too slow in arriving you poor, pathetic, fool."


    "You... You wished for immortality didn''t you! that''s why your earlier wounds healed." Frieza speculated.


    "Not at all. I knew it wouldn''t be necessary. You don''t need to know what I wished for since you won''t be alive much longer." Raditz answered, his eyes were becoming wild.


    The now fully powered Frieza rushed over to attack the new Super Saiyan. Once again a repeat of the last attempt occurred and Raditz remained unfazed by the attacks. Before the muscular alien could retreat back, Raditz delivered a seemingly light elbow to Frieza''s face. The alien was only knocked a few feet, but was bleeding profusely from his nose and mouth.


    "How is this possible!" Frieza growled. "If the Dragon Balls are off the table, then there is no use in keeping the planet around!"


    Frieza''s anger had grown to the point he didn''t care if the planet existed anymore. He was willing to destroy the planet even though his spaceship was destroyed. He could survive in space and it was just a matter of waiting until another Frieza Force vessel entered the System.


    Frieza held up his arm and formed a black and purple energy ball on the tip of his finger. He was planning on throwing the Death Ball at the planet to kill everyone but himself. Regardless of his new power, Raditz still needed to breath, so Frieza wanted to let space kill his enemy for him.


    The moment he tried to toss the Death Ball, it exploded, leaving his right hand cloaked in black smoke. Frieza saw Raditz pointing his index finger towards him. Frieza was terrified that he didn''t perceive Raditz perform the attack. When the smoke cleared everyone could see that the tyrannical Frieza was missing his hand.


    "ARGH!" Frieza screamed gripping his arm in pain. His blood dripped down from his crippled arm into the green ocean below.


    "Frie...za!" Raditz roared, his look had become more feral. His teeth had become more pronounced and bestial.


    "You dare to wound-" Frieza''s threat was immediately cutoff by Raditz appearing in his face.


    The Super Saiyan tightly gripped the arms of the alien. Frieza struggled madly to remove himself from the vice-like grip of Raditz. None of the kicks or tail swaps Frieza tried to use fazed the Super Saiyan.


    CRACK! CRACK!


    "ARGH!" Frieza cried as he felt his arms breaking.


    Raditz pulled Frieza towards himself driving his knee deep into the stomach of the alien. The attack caused Frieza to cough out a river of blood. The people on the ground thought they could see the imprint of Raditz''s knee in his opponent''s back.


    Raditz followed up the attack with several more knee strikes until Frieza disappeared. He was left holding the arms of the alien tyrant while the rest of Frieza was blown away.


    "Frie..." Raditz roared releasing shockwaves of oppressive Ki, "Za!"


    The armless Frieza was buried under the rubble of a collapsed mountain some distance away. The barely conscious tyrant could hear his enemy screaming his name. He could only regret that he wasn''t more thorough in exterminating the Saiyans.


    Raditz was taking heavy breaths, and his eyes had taken on a solid glowing crimson appearance. He beat his chest and fired a high powered Ki beam from his mouth in the direction Frieza flew. The beam cut a swath across a massive portion of the planet before flying into space.


    The beam attack barely missing Frieza, but it did cause him to recover his senses. He exploded out of the rumble and tried to make a retreat while Raditz seemed to be out of control. Frieza powered up and flew away as fast as he could. His flight was halted by something holding onto his tail. It was Raditz.


    The out of control Super Saiyan was fast enough to catch up to the fleeing Frieza in the blink of an eye. Raditz flew towards the ground while holding onto the tail Frieza. When he touched the ground he swung his arm, forcefully smashing Frieza into the ground. The impact caused a deep trench to form in the planet. Still holding onto the tail Raditz stomped Frieza''s chest several times driving him into the trench.


    The large mutant Super Saiyan lifted the brutalized Frieza out of the dirt by his head. Raditz cruelly grinned as Frieza flailed around while he applied pressure to the alien''s skull. The once tyrannical emperor tried to fire Ki beams from his eyes to escape as the force on his head increased. His skull deformed and exploded under the pressure of the Super Saiyan.


    Raditz tossed the corpse to the side and vaporized it with a mouth beam, before roaring into the sky. His allies were at a loss on how to proceed with the out of control, and clearly dangerous, Raditz. When Raditz suddenly stopped moving they gathered around to see what happened. It appeared that Raditz had fallen into a trance.

 24 Settled

    Inside of the motionless Raditz''s mind, the Saiyan was trapped behind a roaring red cage of pure primal rage. During the fight with Frieza, he drifted too close to the rage of the Great Ape and became trapped by it.


    "It seems you became caged by the primal rage of the Saiyan ape." A familiar voice cut through the darkness.


    "Grand Elder Guru?" Raditz questioned, trying to remember the speaker.


    "Yes," the voice answered. "It has taken much strength, but I needed to contact you once I sensed you were in danger."


    "Where am I?" Raditz asked.


    "You are trapped with your mind. I will free you, but you must learn to control your power. I will not be able to help you again." The Grand Elder said before a cleansing light filled Raditz''s mind, wiping away his prison.


    In reality, as Raditz came to, his muscles shrunk and the crimson glow in his eyes vanished. He looked around at his surroundings and saw his allies, Nappa included, circled around him. They had worried expressions on their faces.


    "I''m fine now. I just needed some assistance from the Grand Elder before he departed to the afterlife." Raditz explained.


    The others were shocked to learn the the leader of the Namekians had died while the fight to save his planet was going on. Piccolo looked particularly upset by the news. Raditz might have inquired further, but he honestly didn''t care. After all these years he was still a results driven Saiyan.


    "Krillin, toss me your Scouter." Raditz ordered.


    "Here." Krillin said passing the device over to Raditz. He thought the Saiyan could have asked nicer, but he had saved them, so he let it slide. Besides, as far as he could remember, Raditz always was distant to everyone, but Kakarot.


    "Bulma, it''s settled. Pick us up near the soldiers." the Emperor said over the Scouter. He then turned to the rest of the group. "We''ll wait at the designated location. Nappa, you can grab Vegeta."


    Nappa helped his wounded boss out of the pile of rubble and carried him to the rendezvous point. During the flight, Vegeta didn''t know what to make of the events he witnessed. Normally, he would be furious at the fact Nappa was carrying him, but he couldn''t think about that.


    He saw the birth of the Legendary Super Saiyan, and it wasn''t him. Raditz had achieved the thing he sought after all his life. Not only that, he defeated Frieza, avenging the Saiyan race. That form was the myth made real and he needed to obtain it at all costs. His thoughts were constantly interrupted by the pain coursing through his body.


    When the group arrived at the landmass where the Prometheus soldiers were waiting, a round of cheers broke out. They were proud to be apart of the mission that removed Frieza from the universe. They could guess they would now be busy expanding the empire.


    "I don''t think Vegeta can walk." Nappa stated when noticed his boss trying to get off the ground. Vegeta had been placed to the side to convalesce while they waited for transport.


    "Are you asking permission to toss him into the air and blow him up?" Raditz asked. He thought it could be an amusing reversal of fate.


    "No... I thought you had more of those bean things." the burly Saiyan answered.


    "I do, but neither of you are Promethean citizens. Nor have you performed any noteworthy tasks for the empire. He will live long enough to get to my ship. Our medical staff is excellent." Raditz explained.


    On the Menagerie, Vegeta was placed in a healing tank of Panacea extract. It healed injuries more thoroughly than the Frieza Force tanks, but was vastly inferior to the Panacea beans themselves. Bulma''s sister observed the action from the bridge of the ship. She was enthralled by the defeat of the space tyrant.


    Tights knew the galactic community was going to go crazy when the her story broke. To top it all off when she asked Bulma about the other two Saiyans, she was given inspiration for a new book. It was going to be a story about a prince in exile; if she could get an interview with the prince, it would help a lot. Her last book loosely based on Jaco the Galactic Patrolman was a monumental failure. She had a feeling the book about Vegeta could salvage her career as a fiction writer.


    Her sister didn''t let her sit in on the meeting that brought Namek into the Prometheus Empire. She was told, "press was off limits."


    Raditz went over the planetary data downloaded from the computer systems of Frieza''s ship. The Menagerie assisted with locating the information he was looking for. When he was satisfied he summoned Lt. Rasp and his brother, Kakarot, to the meeting room.


    "Lieutenant, I have a mission for you." Raditz said activating a terminal on the desk in the center of the room. A projection of a planet rotated as it hovered above the terminal.


    "This is planet Yardrat." Raditz continued looking to his brother then the Lieutenant, "I located this world in Frieza''s files. I would like for you to invite them into the empire Lieutenant."


    "Yes, your majesty!" Rasp stood performing a sharp salute.


    "Kakarot, as a new Security Agent, I would like you to assist the Lieutenant. He has done this job before and can show you the ropes. Your job will be to basically keep Rasp safe and to learn if the population has any interesting techniques they''d be willing to share." the Emperor explained.


    "I hope they are strong." Kakarot smirked from the thought of meeting strong people.


    Lt. Rasp took a small group of soldiers along with Kakarot and departed the ship in the saucer shuttle NO. 04. The rest of the Earth natives were allowed to return home using shuttle NO. 03. They decided to redouble their efforts in training after witnessing the strength of Frieza. They wanted to be ready if another powerful threat ever targeted their home.


    The last meeting on the schedule was Nappa. Raditz had avoided the Saiyan henchman for most of the day. The Emperor was surprised the bald Saiyan chose to wait outside the meeting room for four hours. Raditz hoped Nappa would have gotten bored and went elsewhere. In the end Nappa''s persistence was rewarded, because he found himself in the meeting room with Raditz.


    "So what is it that you want, exactly?" Raditz asked. "To be dropped off somewhere?"


    "I want to join your empire." Nappa stated, "I can help you-"


    Nappa was interrupted by the intercom system before he could make his full sales pitch. It was a member of the bridge crew.


    "Your Majesty, we have had an unsanctioned shuttle departure!" the crewman reported.


    "What?" Raditz asked, "Explain."


    "All security systems were disabled around the hangar, my lord." the crewman explained. "We don''t know how it happened."


    "It was Tights!" Bulma''s voice rang out over the intercom, "Science was never her main interest, but she would be able to do something like that. Plus, Vegeta is gone too!"


    Nappa thought his hope for joining Raditz was lost. He guessed he would be blamed for Vegeta escaping with a shuttle. It looked suspicious that his former boss would leave while he was talking with Raditz. No matter how you looked at it, it looked like he was causing a distraction.


    "Why would she do something like that?" Raditz asked his wife for her insight.


    "Two reasons: either for a news interview or book research. Tights should be fine, she has always been resourceful." Bulma knew her sister''s motivations pretty well.


    "No matter." Raditz moved on, "I have a schedule to keep. I will be on the bridge shortly."


    "L-lord Raditz, I had nothing to do with Vegeta escaping." Nappa clarified.


    "It doesn''t matter, he wasn''t a prisoner. The shuttle was a minor loss. It was stolen by the Empress''s sister." Raditz shrugged, "Follow me, Nappa."


    Even though, Raditz appeared not to be bothered by the situation, Nappa still felt the wrath of the Super Saiyan might fall on him. He remained silent as he followed Raditz to the bridge of the Menagerie. He watched the respect the crew of the ship held for their leader.


    Raditz moved to the center of the bridge and sat in the captain''s chair of the ship. The rest of the crew turned back to their stations preparing to carry out their Emperor''s orders.


    "Set a course for Planet Vegeta!" Raditz barked before turning to Nappa, "I used the Dragon Balls to bring the Planet back."


    "What!" Nappa was shocked to his core. The Prince of all Saiyans never said anything about trying to save the planet of his birth, but Raditz... no, Emperor Raditz did.


    As the ship started its trip, Raditz looked around the bridged and asked, "So any of you know how to make a Ki beam zig-zag?"


    Everyone looked over, confused by the question. They had gotten used to Raditz''s odd ideas over the years, especially since most of them pay off.


    "Forget I asked, it''s just something I had been working on off and on over the years ." Raditz laughed.


    The Menagerie stopped in orbit over a planet that had been missing in the universe for almost two decades. A sense of nostalgia washed over Nappa as he saw his homeworld through the Menagerie''s main view screen. The bald Saiyan was wearing a set of red and black Promethean armor. He managed to fit in with the crew well enough. If there was a problem with someone, fear of Lord Raditz chained any thoughts Nappa had of indiscriminately killing people that irritated him.


    Nappa was able to adapt to life serving onthe ship because of his years spent in the Saiyan military.


    On the southern hemisphere of the planet, Raditz met with the new Kami of Planet Vegeta. His Lookout was a stone tower that resembled a medieval castle tower. Like the Earth Lookout, the tower extended into the sky past the clouds. Its imposing design was perfect for the Saiyan home world.


    According to Kami Tsuno, the inside of the tower had a winding staircase with different environments on each level to test the worthiness of those willing to ascend the Lookout.


    "It is good to see you again, Lord Raditz." Kami Tsuno greeted.


    "You too, Kami Tsuno. I''m sure you''re curious as to why I wanted a Namekian Kami of my planet." Raditz said.


    "Dragon Balls, I assume." Tsuno answered.


    "Correct." Raditz confirmed.


    "I have never thought I would have the opportunity to attempt Dragon Ball creation. I studied as much as I could about them, including techniques of the ancient demon clan." Tsuno was thrilled. He was going to get a chance to try to create a dragon.


    "Can you make a set of Dragon Balls that can resurrect the population of this planet?" Raditz asked.


    Tsuno thought about the task Raditz presented him, "Yes I believe I can do that."


    "How long would it take to accomplish?" the Emperor hoped soon.


    "A few years at most." Tsuno nodded.


    Raditz was prepared to wait a few more years to bring the Saiyans back, but he did have an idea that might speed up the process.


    "What if you make them only able to effect this planet." the Saiyan asked.


    "Hmph," Tsuno thought, "That should save some time on the process if they were limited in scope!"


    "How about if they could only be used by two people: You and I?" Raditz added.


    Tsuno was impressed by the ideas of Raditz. He had never thought about limiting the Dragon Balls effect to a planet. They were supposed to by representative avatars of the Dragon God. Limiting them would be counterintuitive. The Namek Dragon Balls had security, like a password or speaking in the native language of the population, but nobody made any that only two people could use.


    When they were finished discussing the rules of the Dragon Balls, the time needed to make them was cut down to around a year.


    Most of the crafting time would be consumed by Tsuno traveling around the planet to gather materials. It would also give him a chance to link with the soul of the planet. The Dragon Balls, and by extension the Dragon, needed to reflect their world of origin.


    Tsuno was given a long range communication device to contact Raditz when the Dragon Balls were ready to be used. Kami refused the device, explaining it would be more efficient to use telepathy to stay in contact.


    Nappa wasn''t allowed to visit the Lookout at this time, so he walked through the empty Saiyan city. The palace sat high atop a cliff overlooking the city below.


    Everything was frozen as he remembered.


    As he walked through the halls of the palace, he thought about all the people he knew that worked there. He was stationed in the palace when King Vegeta assigned him to his son''s squad. Nappa thought the assignment was going to be a great honor. The job didn''t turn out as he expected, but now he was in a position to accomplish more than he ever dreamed possible. It was too bad for Vegeta that he left the Menagerie before he could hear about Planet Vegeta being brought back.

 25 Informational Page/Thoughts not a chapter

    Hey readers, first before anything I wanted to thank you for giving this work a shot. It''s the first fanfiction I ever posted, it''s the second I created. Just wanted to let you know some of my thoughts on this story and Dragon Ball in general. I will attempt to keep this brief. As an added note, this document is not as edited as my normal posts.


    I have been a fan of the series for years, not to the extreme levels, but still a fan. I own some of the sagas on DVD. I have seen the Super series and played both Xenoverse games, but not the offshoot Dragon Ball Heroes. It has been awhile, since I watched the series all the way through from original Dragon Ball.


    Things I can''t actively remember about the series I have to research or out-right makeup. Also, making up my own stuff about the universe part of the fun. Even though I have used some characters and concepts from the movies, but I will not use all of them.


    Some people have asked me to make a list of power levels for characters in the series, but I chose not to. I personally feel power levels are just used as a literary device to build tension or quickly show a superiority in strength that needs to be crossed by the protagonist. I have an abundance of Scouters in my story because they are a technology that does exist in the Dragon Ball world.


    However, I borderline dislike power levels because some people get too hung up on them. I have done so myself in the past. One of the good things about power levels is for the fans to get to play detective and debate and try to figure them out. I should have stated enough power levels by this point to be able to guess at what they are.


    Something that could help in power level detecting the characters is what I did for Saiyan Power(Zenkai Boost, Saiya Power). The series varies greatly on how Saiyan Power works, but I used a system.


    With limited data for the Dragon Ball wiki and help from a friend this is what developed:


    A Saiyan that it is [beat down] will increase their power by roughly 1.1x - 2x, an average of 1.5x when healed. (This number came from Vegeta going from 18000 to 24000 after fighting on Earth. He also went from 24000-30000 after losing to Zarbon.) Emotional distress multiplies the [beat down] by 10x, bringing it up to 15x (humiliation or harm done to something or someone you care about), an an additional 2x to that (x 30) if you believe a person you care about just died or will die soon Vegeta gained from the 250k-400k range up to millions in power from his fear of Frieza when he made Krillin blast him. Goku healed from the effects of Ginyu getting beat up in his body and went from 90k to around 3 mil. That was increase of 33x! Well super accurate or not, that''s the system I decided to go with. Hopefully, the explanation was put into words correctly.


    To answer another question my inspiration for Raditz''s transformations come in part from the Broly Super movie. The Super Saiyan transformation was inspired by mixing the original Broly movies'' Legendary Super Saiyan form and the Great Ape. Hence, red eyes and black nails. The mutation aspect was from the Blutz Wave machine Bulma made in GT to make Baby Vegeta into a Golden Great Ape with him having no tail. I thought maybe drastically more Blutz Waves would do something different and cause a different effect. I wanted to add some uniqueness with doing something super out there.


    Once again thanks for reading. I''m terrible at these thoughts and notes type things. It would probably be much easier for me to do a question and answer type thing in the future.

 26 Rebirth

    The citizens of the universe didn''t know how to handle the news of Frieza''s death. Even after the award winning report by Tights, some refused to believe the information. Chaos rippled through the planets controlled by the Frieza Force. Many worlds fell into open rebellion.


    The Prometheus Empire moved slowly, but carefully, to integrate as many planets into the empire as possible. To insure that resources and personnel remained available, Raditz was careful not to over extend his reach. Many planets that could receive the Galactic News programming offered to join Raditz after witnessing the epic battle on Planet Namek.


    Out of the 448 planets found in Frieza''s database only 20 had been brought into the empire. Raditz and the crew of the Menagerie were in orbit around Planet Yam. The Promethean Emperor recently finished discussions with the former planetary administrator about Yam becoming an imperial planet. Raditz was practicing in his personal training room when Tsuno contacted him telepathically.


    "Lord Raditz can you hear me?" Tsuno''s disembodied voice spoke. Raditz halted his practice when he heard the voice in his mind.


    "Yes." Raditz thought. He hoped that to communicate back, simply thinking would be enough.


    "You wanted me to contact you as soon as the Dragon Balls were ready." Tsuno explained.


    "I''ll be there as soon as possible!" Raditz was excited by the news.


    It had been almost a year since Kami Tsuno was tasked with the creation of Dragon Balls to bring the Saiyans back. Raditz traveled through the long corridors to the gravity lift which led to the bridge of the Menagerie. The crew was surprised to see their emperor on the bridge. They were under the impression he was going to be training until they reached the next destination, which was Gren''dir.


    "Captain Grape, change of plans," Raditz said to the Captain Grape who was occupying the command chair of the Menagerie. "Set a course for Planet Vegeta, full speed."


    "Yes, your Majesty!" the Captain answered before giving the order to the crew. The Captain was in charge of the Menagerie unless the Emperor chose to give orders personally.


    "Ensign Lemon, please send a communication to Kakarot and have him meet us there. We will also require several construction ships on standby." Raditz thought a moment before adding, "Also send a message to meet on Planet Vegeta and coordinates to the shuttle Tights stole."


    Two months after the shuttle theft Prometheus satellites found it as it landed on Earth. It seems after Tights acquired the information she wanted, she brought Vegeta to Omori''s Island where she started to write her new novel. Bulma mentioned that Omori was a long time friend of the Briefs family and a brilliant scientist in his own right.


    After relaying his orders, Raditz returned to his training room. On the way Nappa caught up to him along the corridor.


    "Are our people really coming back, Lord Raditz?" the mustachioed Saiyan asked. He was looking completely comfortable in his Promethean armor.


    "Yes." Raditz responded, "I''m looking forward to it."


    The trip to Planet Vegeta took several days for the Menagerie to complete. Tsuno was awaiting Raditz on his Lookout. He had a winged, reptile, dragon man as a servant. Despite his appearance, the dragon man was a perfect butler. Tsuno explained that he created him as an assistant to help in the management of the Lookout. The Dragon Balls created by Tsuno were larger than the Earth Dragon Balls, but smaller than Namek''s. Overall, Raditz didn''t care how they looked as long as they could fulfill his goal of resurrecting the Saiyans.


    "Am I late?" Kakarot asked. He appeared from nowhere next to his brother. When Commander Rasp finished with Yardrat, he reported that Kakarot would be staying longer to learn one of their techniques. Raditz knew the technique in question was the teleportation skill, the Instant Transmission.


    "No, you aren''t late." Raditz answered. A report over his Scouter informed Raditz that the stolen shuttle had entered the System and was headed towards the planet.


    Raditz watched the trail of fire burn through the sky as the shuttle entered the planet''s atmosphere. Judging by how far away it was, the shuttle more than likely landed near the empty Saiyan city. Well, almost empty city. Nappa was order to wait near the city in case one of the guests decided to land there.


    Raditz and Kakarot could feel the Ki of Nappa and Vegeta racing towards them at supersonic speeds.


    The question was whether it was the right move to have Vegeta present at the revival of the population. He guessed it might be easier for King Vegeta to come to terms with being removed from power if his son was present to convince him. Otherwise, he wouldn''t hesitate to kill the arrogant king. Raditz went back and forth on the issue before he decided having more pawns and not needing them would be better than needed them and not having them.


    Although, he may end up with a need to kill both Vegetas. He had plans for the Saiyans to become one of the instruments in maintaining order in the universe. They would, in effect, replace the job of the Galactic Patrolman in the Systems under Raditz.


    "Raditz, what is the meaning of this tower? How is Planet Vegeta back?" the Saiyan prince asked.


    "I used the Dragon Balls on Namek to restore it and create this tower." Raditz answered. "Now I''m about to bring back the population."


    "Y-you, you''re going to bring our people back?" the prideful Saiyan was unsure of how to feel, "Raditz, are you serious?"


    "Yes, this planet will be part of my empire." Raditz smiled, "It''s only fair, since I will be the savior of the Saiyans. I suggest you head to the palace with Nappa. I want you to be there when I explain to the king that the planet is under new management."


    "What!" Vegeta''s anger was provoked by comment. "You want to depose my father!"


    "Yes. I saved the planet, not you, or him. His leadership led the Saiyan people to ruin. There were also rumors that children too promising were dispatched as to not be a threat to your power." Raditz rattled off the reasons why the king would no longer be in charge.


    Vegeta seemed to accept Raditz''s reasoning because it really did seem like a fair trade for the rebirth of the mightiest warrior race. Tsuno approached the group with his tall wooden staff in hand. His draconic assistant was at his side.


    "Lord Raditz, are you ready to proceed?" he asked.


    "Yes, Tsuno. Let''s see this dragon of yours." Raditz followed Tsuno to the center of the Lookout.


    The Dragon Balls were pulsating with light signifying they were ready for use. The look on Tsuno face showed a high level of pride towards his creation.


    "Would you like to do the honors, Lord Raditz?" Tsuno asked with excitement.


    "You can do it." Raditz said.


    Tsuno smiled and held out his hands over the Dragon Balls, "Dragon! Let''s Go!"


    The skies over the Lookout darkened from the activation of the Dragon Balls. The glow of the orbs increased in intensity until a surge of energy rocketed into the sky. The beam twisted and snaked its way through the air until it formed a massive dragon. It was an Eastern style Dragon with a long, serpentine, scaled body. It had golden specks, which dotted its otherwise green scales, and a mane of brown fur that ran from the top of its head down its body.


    Tsuno was thrilled to be in the presence of his greatest achievement. The dragon turned its crimson eyed gaze on the people below it.


    "WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME! THIS HAD BETTER BE GOOD!" the dragon roared.


    Raditz looked to Tsuno, confused by the dragon''s overly aggressive attitude. The Kami on the other hand looked like this was routine business.


    "SPEAK YOUR WISH BEFORE YOU DIE FOR WASTING MY TIME!" the dragon threatened.


    "I wish for the Saiyans that lost their lives because of Frieza to be restored to life." Raditz stated his desire.


    "YOU SUMMONED ME FOR SOMETHING SO TRIVIAL! FINE IT SHALL BE!" the dragon''s eyes glowed a bright red as it carried out the request, "YOUR WISH IS GRANTED!"


    The sky cleared, followed by the Dragon Balls flying into the air and scattering themselves across the planet. Everyone could sense the Ki signals that appeared on the planet. They knew the dragon really succeeded in granting the wish.


    "Let''s go Kakarot, we have a stop to make before going to the palace. Nappa, you and Vegeta should go to the palace." Raditz said before blasting off towards his first stop.


    Kakarot wasn''t far behind his brother as they traveled to the main city on the planet. There were many confused people in the streets as they flew overhead. None of the Saiyans knew what happened to them or why they are back. Raditz and Kakarot landed outside of an unassuming mud hut. Frantic discussions were being carried on in the streets around the brothers.


    "This is where we lived." Raditz explained, leading Kakarot inside. The Earth raised Saiyan nodded in understanding.


    As the pair entered the home, Raditz was the first to spot Gine and Bardock in the center of the main room deep in conversation. Bardock''s back was to the entrance way so he didn''t notice the intruders. Gine was the first to notice people in her home.


    "Bardock!" she said pointing in the direction of the entrance. Her husband whirled around to see the two Saiyans walking into the room.


    "Who the hell are you two?" Bardock questioned, "Turles?"


    "Get your eyes checked old man." Raditz spat.


    "Raditz? Kakarot?" Gine almost whispered.


    Raditz nodded in confirmation. Gine ran over to get a good look at her two now adult sons. She was lost as to how they aged so fast. Raditz noticed her confusion and filled his parents in on what


    happened.


    They listened in amazement at the story of how Raditz found Kakarot on Earth. They were even more impressed with the news Raditz defeated Frieza and restored the planet. Bardock wanted to know more about Raditz becoming a Super Saiyan and the Prometheus Empire. Gine was more concerned about seeing the grandchildren she just learned about.


    Raditz promised to explain in greater detail after he finished his business at the palace. Gine knew if the stories she heard was true, there was nothing to be concerned about, but she still worried. Bardock chose to go along with his sons to witness what was going to happen.


    Nappa and Vegeta were waiting in the sky above the palace. The prince had not seen the palace in years, but it was just as he remembered. He never had any great love for his father, but events over the years made him rethink his previous mind set.


    "We''ve been waiting." Vegeta complained to the newly arrived group.


    "We know." Raditz responded, "Let''s go see the king."


    The Saiyans landed and entered into the palace with surprisingly little opposition. It was likely that Nappa''s presence was causing people to ignore the strangers. When they arrived at the throne room, the door guards were too happy to do their jobs and ended up unconscious for their efforts. Raditz threw open the tall doors and entered the throne room.


    "What is the meaning of this!" King Vegeta shouted, his royal guards moved in front of the throne, "Nappa, who are these people!"


    "Frieze destroyed this world almost two decades ago. I killed Frieza and brought the planet back!" Raditz declared.


    "What nonsense is this!" King Vegeta was refusing to hear the truth.


    "Its true, father!" the prince stepped forward to confirm the story.


    "He''s a S-super Saiyan!" the king couldn''t believe what his son had said.


    Raditz approached the throne by floating less than a foot above the floor. The king didn''t know what to make of Raditz''s behavior. He was happy to learn that Frieza was killed, but displeased to find out his son didn''t do it.


    "Well, King Vegeta, it seems our discussion will have to be cut short."Raditz stated.


    "What''s going on?" the king was growing more confused.


    "My people have just informed me a Frieza Force type saucer has entered the System and should be here soon." Raditz explained to the shaken king.


    "But I thought you killed, Frieza?" he asked.


    "I did." Raditz glared before pressing the button on his Scouter, "Menagerie don''t interfere with the ship."


    Fifteen minutes later, the saucer touched down on the landing platform outside of the palace. Raditz and his allies filed onto the platform, followed by King Vegeta and his guards. The population was unnerved by the descent of the saucer because they still remembered all the spaceships in the sky the day the planet was destroyed.


    When the ship opened a large group of soldiers wearing Frieza force armor appeared. They all lined up at attention besides the exit ramp. Two aliens emerged from the ship and walked between the queued soldiers.


    One of the aliens was tall and horned. He was wearing black legless Frieza Force armor with long yellow shoulder pads with a black cape. He resembled Frieza in his second form. The other alien wore no armor, and was reminiscent of Frieza in his final form. They were King Cold and Cooler respectively.

 27 New Future

    All of the resurrected Saiyans on the platform were petrified by the new arrivals to the palace. Many of them remembered the terrifying presence of King Cold, their former master. King Vegeta had no idea what was going on or how to react to the changing circumstance.


    "If it isn''t the infamous Raditz, the newest Emperor to grace the galaxy." King Cold drawled. His speech carried an air of nobility. "I had no idea a long dead planet and people could come back into existence. How did you accomplish this?"


    "You seem pretty calm, considering what I did to Frieza." Raditz said.


    "Well, I was furious when I saw the report on the Galactic News. But after consulting with my other son, Cooler, I realized rushing to kill you might be premature." he motioned to Cooler upon mentioning his other son. "Not to mention the time it took to squash some of the rebellions that cropped up because of your actions."


    "My brother was overly arrogant and overly spoiled. It was only a matter of time before he self-destructed." Cooler stated, crossing his arms.


    "That being said, we feel that Frieza canceling our contract with the Saiyans might have been... hasty. Since it seems all of you are back, we could renew our previous business relationship." Cold offered.


    "You can''t be serious Cold." Raditz laughed. "You really can''t believe I would accept that. How about you and Cooler work for me."


    "No we didn''t think that you would accept our offer, but it was worth trying. It would be a shame for someone as talented as you to die." the father and son duo grinned.


    "How am I going to die? Are one of you going to kill me?" Raditz questioned. "I don''t think you could."


    "Unlike my brother, I feel no problem with training. Thanks to the recordings of your battle, I gained great insight into your style. You stand no chance against us." Cooler calmly threatened.


    Kakarot ran up to stand beside his brother, followed by Nappa and Vegeta. The Saiyans entered into their fighting stances. Even though Nappa had fiercely trained while working as part of the Menagerie crew, he still could tell fighting against either of the two aliens would be bad for him.


    HAAAAAH!


    Cooler hunched over, shouting, as his Ki began to spike. The palace and the surrounding area trembled from Cooler''s rising power. The muscles in his chest inflated and reformed into white armor. His arms and legs swelled, increasing in mass. His head''s armor turned white and extended out from the back of his head similar to a triceratops. When he was fully transformed a final armor piece closed over his mouth.


    AAAAHHHHH!


    King Cold also began his transformation, following his son''s lead. A ball of opaque purple energy surrounded Cold, obscuring him from sight. Cracks started to appear in the energy ball after less than a second. Light streamed from the cracks as the ball broke away like an eggshell revealing the new King Cold. He looked like a mix of Frieza and Cooler''s fourth forms. He was a bit shorter than he was previously. His head armor with horns had been replaced by a round helmet with a mouth cover.


    His body was purple with white markings. The cape he was wearing was still attached, even after the transformation.


    "I''ll take Cooler, if you want to handle King Cold." Raditz suggested


    "Fine by me, but it looks like the surprise I was saving for the next time we sparred is going to be ruined." Kakarot smirked at his brother.


    "What do think about there their strength?" Raditz questioned his brother.


    "A lot stronger than Frieza, but I''m really itching to fight someone at that level." Kakarot smirked.


    "How many Panacea beans did you bring?" Vegeta asked.


    "None." Raditz answered.


    HAAAA! HAAAAA!


    The Saiyan brothers charged their Ki, preparing to face off against the new challengers. Cooler watched with his arms crossed in front of his chest. King Cold wasn''t worried, but he disliked waiting to finish his opponents. Cooler had convinced him to wait to kill the Saiyans involved in Frieza''s death until it would have the most impact. He wanted them to be seen trampled at their peak strength.


    "Salza." Cooler said, "I''m curious, what does the your Scouter say about their power?"


    An alien with short blonde hair and turquoise skin walked forward next to his boss. Salza was the leader of Cooler''s elite troops. He pressed the button on the side of his green lensed Scouter, activating it.


    BEEP!


    "The Scouter says the one with the shorter hair has a power of six million!" the alien said.


    "Pathetic." King Cold was not impressed.


    "The one that killed Frieza has unclear readings." Salza concluded.


    AHHHHHH!


    Raditz''s muscles in his body slightly increased in size as his hair turned golden green. He had been working since Namek to get a handle on his Super Saiyan form. He learned to not only use it without the Great Ape power, but also transform faster than the first time.


    Raditz took on a confident grin. He looked over to see his brother was still focusing. From the way his Ki was surging, Raditz was positive his brother had learned to transform into a Super Saiyan as well.


    HAAAAAH!


    The readings on the Scouter began to go crazy skyrocketing out of control. The green lens on Salza''s Scouter cracked before the device explode. He winced from the pain of something exploding over his ear and eye. Raditz made it a point to have that design flaw removed from Promethean Scouters.


    Kakarot was enveloped in a fiery golden aura. His energy surged around him as he screamed out, his power surging higher. His hair turned a bright gold and stood up clumping together into spiked shapes.


    "There''s two of them now, Cooler!" King Cold was shaken, "Plans for giving the Saiyans another chance are over, we can''t let this continue!"


    "I agree." Cooler was still calm, "Salza, take the troops and kill everyone. My father and I will handle these upstarts."


    Vegeta once again saw the birth of a Super Saiyan that wasn''t him. He needed to gain the power himself, considering he was supposed to have been the prince of all Saiyans. He was motivated to train even harder than before. He was fearful that if he wasn''t careful, Nappa would be a Super Saiyan next.


    He thought it might be better that his father will no longer be king, and by extension he will longer be prince. If he was required to handle royal duties, it would leave him with less time to train.


    King Vegeta and the resurrected Saiyans couldn''t sense Ki, but the energy coming from the aliens and the Super Saiyans was oppressive enough that they felt the pressure. King Vegeta never imagined that any beings could be so powerful.


    "Nappa, Vegeta, you guys should be able to handle the soldiers pretty quickly. In fact the citizens probably can take care of themselves for the most part. As long as the leaders of the troops are killed." Raditz said. He just brought the Saiyans back, he really didn''t want to jump through hoops to do it again.


    Bardock clenched his fists in disbelief. He never imagined that a Super Saiyan was a real thing. If it was real, he would never have guessed either of his sons would be a Super Saiyan, let alone both. He knew if they were victorious, then everything would be different for the Saiyans from now own.


    The troopers Frieza''s family brought with them started to descend on the Saiyan city, led by Salza, Neiz, and Dore, Cooler''s elite henchmen. Nappa and Vegeta charged their Ki and flew off to intercept the troopers.


    Nappa and Vegeta flew through several groups of soldiers to reach the elite henchmen. The troops that were knocked to the ground by the two Saiyans were immediately attacked by the citizens on the ground. They were a warrior race and wouldn''t just die when there was a chance to live. Bardock followed after Nappa and Vegeta. He was a Saiyan too, and his blood was boiling in anticipation of the battle.


    King Cold and Cooler walked towards their Super Saiyan enemies and vanished. Raditz and Kakarot followed suit, disappearing from where they were standing. King Vegeta and his guards were thrown to the ground by the shockwaves of the battle. The king was wide eyed by the speed he witnessed. His eyes couldn''t keep up with what was going on. He rapidly turned his head, trying to get sight of the battle.


    Raditz''s father had caught up with a large group of troopers. He began throwing Ki blasts and attacking in an all out fashion. He was fighting harder than he ever had before because he knew what losing meant for the planet.


    Bardock put up an impressive fight against a group of soldiers, until he began getting overwhelmed by their numbers. He was too distracted by the troopers engaging him to notice he was being targeted by a soldier about to release an energy beam.


    BOOOM! BOOM!


    The trooper targeting Bardock exploded along with the several attacking him. He looked back to see King Vegeta and his guards had entered the battle. They had assisted him by killing the person about to sneak attack him along with the others.


    "The fate of the planet is at stake, we have to assist the Super Saiyans by defeating these weaklings!" King Vegeta ordered. He swallowed his pride at the fact his reign may have come to an end. He chose to do what was best for his people and assist in the defense of the planet as best as he could.


    King Vegeta saw a barrage of purple energy blasts rain down towards the city. He was relieved to see the energy balls trajectory was going to have them hit outside of the city. The explosions caused the ground to violently shake throughout the city. If one of those blast hit in the Saiyan city, it would have been erased.


    In the red sky, above the palace, Raditz and Kakarot engaged their opponents in fierce combat. They exchanged hundreds of blows in the few moments since the battle had started. Cooler fired a barrage of purple energy blasts at Raditz. The Saiyan worked to make sure the blasts were deflected away from the city.


    "Your movements are more refined than the recordings I saw." Cooler stated, "Before, it seemed you lost your mind when you became a Super Saiyan."


    "I''m not the same as I was then." Raditz replied.


    "Certainly not. You seem more tame, but weaker." Cooler deduced.


    Kakarot and King Cold were going back and forth in their fight. The Saiyan seemed to have the slight edge against his enemy. Cold possessed extremely good defenses, but Kakarot was slowly wearing him down.


    "You cursed ape! You dare to do this to King Cold!" Cold raged in frustration. Unlike his name, Cold had turned into a furnace of anger.


    He charged at his full speed towards Kakarot, delivering a earth shattering punch to the face of the Super Saiyan. The clouds behind Kakarot became rings of dust as the blow sent the Saiyan flying back through them at supersonic speeds. The king vanished and reappeared above Kakarot performing a hammerblow sending the Saiyan rocketed towards the city below.


    Kakarot knew if he impacted in the middle of the city, it would cause massive damage if not outright destroy it. The Super Saiyan managed to flip around before he hit the ground, landing on his hands and knees. He used his Ki to fight against gravity to mitigated the force of the impact. When he hit the ground his work paid off, causing only a small crater to form under him. He rose back to his feet and looked up at the alien in the sky fume over his survival.


    "Cooler, hurry up! I''m ready to just destroy this planet!" King Cold rushed his son.


    "He''s working as fast as he can Cold! Saiyans aren''t simple opponents!" Raditz laughed.

 28 Example

    KAMEHAMEHA!


    The Super Saiyan Kakarot launched his attack into the Supernova thrown by King Cold. Kakarot''s opponent was enraged to the point of rapidly generating the massive ball of energy. The Supernova was still moving forward despite the Kamehameha. Kakarot poured more power into his blue beam of energy to try to repel Cold''s attack.


    "You can turn to dust along with the planet!" Cold laughed.


    KAIO-KEN TIMES TWO!


    The blazing red aura of the Kaio-ken technique burned around Kakarot. The amplification of his power caused his Kamehameha to surge with energy. The Supernova was rapidly forced back towards King Cold. He held out his hands to try to stop the attack and force it back. His eyes widened in terror as the ball of destruction refused to be pushed back. If he didn''t manage to roll away from the attack he would have been pushed into space.


    Cooler''s body mass increased as he charged his Ki further than before. His muscles doubled in size as his power exploded. Like his brother had demonstrated on Planet Namek, Cooler was now using one hundred percent of his form''s power. Raditz was push back by the tremendous wave of Ki coming from Cooler''s transformation.


    "Well, if we are going to go all out." Raditz said, "Then I''ll go wild too."


    The Super Saiyan Raditz powered up, also increasing his body''s muscle mass. Nappa and Vegeta momentarily stopped fighting when they felt the Ki coming from Cooler and Raditz. They knew by the way Raditz''s Ki was surging that he was using the form he used to fight Frieza.


    King Vegeta was greatly impressed by the strength his son and Nappa displayed in defeating the three commanders of the enemy troops. They had handle most of the soldiers by themselves. If someone had told him that Nappa would be as strong as himself, he would have had that person executed.


    The Saiyans that stayed behind to fight against the soldiers gathered on the landing platform at the palace. The bodies of the soldiers were scattered through the area between the palace and the city. They were waiting for the end of the battle that would decide the fate of the Saiyans. They all could feel the shockwaves ripple through the palace. Even the Saiyans in the city could feel and hear the explosions from the battles.


    Kakarot continued using Kaio-ken against King Cold, forcing the alien into dire straits. All illusions of his elegance had disappeared in front of the Super Saiyan Kakarot. He tried to look to his son for assistance, but Cooler was having problems of his own.


    "His attacks are more focused than in the battle with my brother." Cooler thought to himself. He had created mental simulations of what he saw of the battle on Namek. He honed his skills training against the illusory Super Saiyan of a year ago. The alien was now finding a vast distance between what he imagined and reality.


    Through months of meditative practice, Raditz was able to get a handle on the Great Ape rage that was constantly trying to force its way to the surface. He vanished and reappeared several times to avoid Cooler''s death beams. After his last vanish, Raditz reappeared behind Cooler in an attempt to deliver an earth shattering strike to the back of the alien''s skull.


    Cooler seemed to anticipate this move, because he used his tail to strike Raditz''s wrist deflecting the punch to the side. This opened the Saiyan to a combination of strikes from Cooler, each blow delivered with brutal efficiency. Raditz absorbed each of the attacks and countered with a headbutt to the face of the alien.


    The headbutt knocked Cooler away from Raditz who was now feeling the weight of Cooler''s attacks. They rendered him incapable of immediately following up after the headbutt. Instead he focused on using his Ki field to counter attack his enemy''s next move. He lowered his arms to his sides and took a few deep breaths. Maintaining the field in the Super Saiyan state is extremely draining on his Ki, but in his Great Ape enhanced form, Ki drain is less of a problem.


    Cooler had begun to feel the effects of using his full power for so long. The strain was starting to show, but his enemy seemed to be increasing in strength, even though he was also heavily fatigued. He knew if he didn''t finish his foe quickly, he would lose the war of attrition.


    "It seems I should have trained longer." Cooler thought. "Now I''m forced into this position."


    Cooler understood he was now required to rush in an all or nothing attack before he was too weak to kill the Saiyan. He charged at the stationary Super Saiyan, who seemed to be trying to recover from the earlier attack.


    "Time to die!" Cooler announced.


    He extended his fist to strike the Saiyan while his guard was down. When Cooler''s hand was less than an inch away form the Saiyan, Raditz deftly dodged to the side. The Saiyan countered with two rapid strikes of his own, followed up by a kick.


    Like Raditz had done before, Cooler fought through the pain to attempt another another straight punch. Once again, the Super Saiyan dodged the attack, this time smashing Cooler''s arm between his elbow and knee. The sound of snapping was clearly audible in the red skies above the palace.


    "ARGH!" Cooler cried out in pain as he snatched his arm away.


    He only paid attention to the broken limb for a moment before unleashing a barrage of strikes towards Raditz. Cooler realized that his attacks weren''t hitting the Super Saiyan, but his fury drove him to attack on.


    King Cold had reverted to his previous form and was kneeling, out of breath, on the palace landing platform. Super Saiyan Kakarot was standing by, ready to resume his attacks against his enemy. The fight had taken its toll on him. The Promethean armor he''d grown somewhat accustomed to was destroyed.


    He was about to move in to finish off King Cold, when something crashed down on the platform. Kakarot and Cold looked over to see what the object was. When the smoke cleared, they could see that it was Cooler. He was also in his previous form, with a giant smoldering hole in his chest.


    All the Saiyans, gathered on the platform, were stunned to see the Cold family brought low before their eyes. This was followed up by their view of the green haired Super Saiyan descending from the sky. No matter what, this scene would be forever burned into their eyes.


    "Perhaps my son and I were too hasty." King Cold said struggling to stand. "If you allow us to leave maybe we could appropriately compensate you."


    Cold tried his best to bargain his way out of the situation he now faced. If he got Cooler to the proper medical facilities, it would be possible to save his life. Raditz boldly walked over to the incapacitated Cooler and grabbed him by the leg.


    "There is nothing you can compensate me with, so no deal." Raditz said tossing Cooler into the sky.


    "Wait, we can talk about this!" King Cold pleaded.


    RIOT JAVELIN!


    Raditz launched the attack into the airborne alien, causing him to explode on contact with the blast. The explosion nearly knocked every one of the weaker Saiyans on the platform off their feet. Bardock had never seen his attack have so much power behind it. He couldn''t help but, with no small amount of pride, remember teaching his son the technique.


    KAMEHAMEHA!


    Kakarot fired the signature attack towards the defeated King Cold. The king tried to fight against the blast, but was ultimately disintegrated by the beam. Kakarot dropped to a knee and reverted back to his normal form. He was completely drained by his fight against King Cold. Raditz released his Great Ape power causing him to shrink back down closer to his normal size.


    "Bardock, who are those guys?" a tall Saiyan with short spiky hair and ponytail asked. "I think I would have heard of Saiyans as strong as them before."


    "And what''s with the hair?" a female Saiyan with short cut hair asked.


    "They''re Super Saiyans." Bardock smirked.


    "WHAT!" the pair shouted in unison.


    "Like the legends!" Celipa shouted.


    "Celipa, Toma calm down. I introduce you later." Bardock said and took off to meet his sons.


    "Amazing, I can''t believe you two are so powerful. Certainly not Kakarot."


    "We''ll talk later. I need to finish up my discussion with King Vegeta." Raditz walked away leaving Bardock to talk with Kakarot.


    King Vegeta and his subordinates were near the entrance to the palace. During the battle the King had felt full of vigor from his participation in the battle. However, he was now in awe of the destructive power unleashed by the Super Saiyans. Now he could see Emperor Raditz approaching his group. The Saiyan was covered in battle damage but seemed unaffected. Seeing the power of Nappa and Vegeta first hand was one thing, but the King knew if Emperor Raditz wanted him dead, no amount of teamwork could stop him.


    As Raditz drew closer his hair color reverted back to its normal black. When he as near the group, King Vegeta felt he had no choice but to kneel before Raditz. His entourage followed the lead of their king and knelt. They were shocked, but not too surprised to see their prideful ruler kneel before another Saiyan. In the past, many of them witnessed their King be forced to bow down before Frieza.


    "So it seems you understand, Vegeta Sr." Raditz said.


    The King knew from the how Raditz phrased his words that his reign was truly over. Now he could only regret the decisions he made that lead to this moment. Even if he was no longer king, he might be able to assist the new ruler.


    "Emperor Raditz,as you know, I ruled Planet Vegeta, since before you were born. I could assist you in governing the planet." Vegeta Sr. offered.


    "No." Raditz flatly refused the offer. "Your son will be taking custody of you, as you are officially exiled from this planet."


    Vegeta watched his father beg Raditz to reverse his sentence of exile. He lost nearly all of the respect he held for his father. The former prince stored the scene in his heart of what not to become. Left with no choice, the former monarch eventually joined his son in the stolen Menagerie shuttle. The father and son pair took their time gazing at the planet from orbit before taking off.


    "Where are we going?" Vegeta''s father asked.


    "Somewhere I can train, I will become a Super Saiyan. Kakarot being also becoming one proves that it is possible for other Saiyans to gained the ability." Vegeta answered.


    "I was always told the last Super Saiyan died under his own power." Vegeta Sr said settling into a seat, "It seems that particular myth has been proven false."


    The former King took comfort in the hope that one day his son would become a Super Saiyan. They may even be able to return to the planet to reclaim it for their family if his son gained enough strength.


    Kakarot and Nappa followed Raditz into the throne room of the palace. The former king''s entourage trailed behind the group. The advisors and butlers lined up as they usually would, although they were unsure of their futures. Everyone''s gaze was on Raditz as he stood in front of the throne, facing them, with his hands behind his back. The had asked them to open broadcast his message to the Saiyans.


    "I am Emperor Raditz, and from now on this world is mine." he began, "Make no mistake, this is the world of my birth, and I have have now saved it twice."


    He recounted the tale of Frieza destroying the planet, his journey to Earth, and the founding of the Prometheus Empire. Explained about the fact that he became a Super Saiyan and defeated Frieza on Planet Namek, avenging them.


    "Because the Saiyans have been give a new lease on life, Planet Vegeta will no longer be the name of our world. From now on our planet will be Planet Garden." he finished the address.


    Bulma landing her shuttle on Planet Garden, later in the afternoon, with the first wave of engineers. She had worked to increase her physical strength to survive in ten times Earth gravity, for the day her husband realized his goal of the resurrection of his planet. Raditz had asked her to land near his Scouter location. The landing sight was near a group of primitive earthen homes.


    Her husband led her into one of the clay homes not far from the street where the shuttle landed. Inside the house, she saw a Saiyan that looked like a grumpy version of Kakarot and a cute female Saiyan whose hair was in a similar style as Raditz''s.


    "Bulma, these are my parents, Bardock and Gine." Raditz introduced his wife to her in-laws.


    "Mother, Father, I''m pleased to finally meet you." she bowed in greeting.


    After a short conversation, Raditz invited the engineers into the home.


    "I''m going to have my engineers remodel the entire city, starting with your house." Raditz informed them.


    His parents were surprised to hear this news. In their opinion, their home was sufficient enough, as it offered great protection from the elements.

 29 Garden

    Travel from Planet Garden was restricted while the upgrade project was taking place. Raditz was extremely busy implementing his plans. Much to the surprise of the older Saiyans their Emperor constructed three academies.


    One of the schools was devoted to general studies, such as proper food preparation and farming techniques. This was done to give the Saiyans without high interests or combat capabilities to find an alternative craft. Raditz hoped the population would increase once there was better resources, Big Gete''s data reinforced that hope.


    The Academy of Science was as the name implied was created to nurture the population interested in more technical knowledge. Most of the more scientifically minded Saiyans worked in the nurseries attending the child rearing capsules. Their knowledge base was out of date and desperately in need of updating, just one of the downsides of being dead. Although he didn''t know for sure Raditz guessed their wouldn''t be too many Saiyan scientists.


    Any Saiyan wanting to leave the planet to fight would need to attend the Combat Academy. There they would learn the laws of the Prometheus Empire and how to behave as a part of its military. During the course of their training they would learn from experienced warriors. Joining the school would also allow Saiyans the opportunity to climb Kami''s tower.


    When Raditz managed to gain some free time he chose to spend it with Bulma. She mentioned that they had been so busy lately that they had no time for their dates. In the past, they would take a shuttle out and just try to stumble across a planet. It wasn''t very likely that they would ever find one that way. The only time it happened was when they discovered the Gren''dir people on their first date.


    After a week alone together the couple traveled back to Garden. As they suspected they didn''t find a new planet, but it was an enjoyable time, nonetheless.


    After dropping Raditz back off, Bulma left Garden to visit her father on Earth and to see her son. Gohan invited Reiss to come to Earth for a visit which extended into a three week visit. Bulma was happy her son got along with his cousin because he doesn''t have any friends other than crew members. She just wished he was a little more interested in science.


    Raditz and Kakarot found a secluded area to train. Kakarot was overly eager to spar because he want to test his strength against his brother''s. He really wanted to have an all out fight like when they were younger during the World Tournament. Being a battle manic himself Bardock wanted observe his sons in action. No matter how hard he tried he was unable to to follow the movements of his children their strength could only be envied.


    "I think we''ve sparred enough." Raditz said.


    There was destroyed landscape around the out of breath Saiyans.


    "Sure you gave me a lot to think about." Kakarot responded. He felt he was closing the gap with his brother.


    "You''re going to have to teach me the Instant Transmission." Raditz did want to learn the very useful skill.


    "You would be better off learning it from the Yardratians. Gohan as told me my explanations are terrible." Kakarot didn''t try to pretend to be a teacher. He was brilliant when it came to learning techniques, but it was do more to instinct.


    "By the way your aura when you were using Kaio-ken was very chaotic." Raditz was commenting on his brother use of Kaio-ken during their spar.


    "After I became a Super Saiyan I knew my power was still weaker than yours. I tried to use the Kaio-ken to give me a boost, but it almost killed me. After talking to King Kai he explained the emotional somethings of a Super Saiyan counter somethings... basically it wouldn''t work. But, that''s what he said about use high than Kaio-ken times two, hehe." Kakarot bragged, "I just had to try and adjust how I use it to fit better with Super Saiyan."


    "I see." Raditz nodded. "So like a devil king fist?"


    "Devil king sounds like a good name! I wanted to master it so i could power up my Super Saiyan form since you have Ape power." Kakarot added, "So far it is crippling to use more than times two as a Super Saiyan."


    After the Saiyans returned to the city, now known as Harvest City, Raditz returned to the palace. Kakarot had promised his mother he would teleport Bardock and herself to Earth to meet her grandchildren. Bardock almost passed on the opportunity because he was more interested in the gravity gyms Raditz was constructing in the Combat Academy. Gine convinced him to change his mind when she asked Kakarot if their was training opportunities on Earth.


    Raditz''s time was so occupied, nine months flew by in the blink of any eye. Most of the staff training was completed with any lacking positions being filled by off planet personnel. Control of the planet was much easier than Raditz thought, because the Saiyans really respected strength. When his power was proven against Cold and Cooler most of the population was willing to go along with his commands. The more skeptical Saiyans changed their minds after seeing the benefits that their new ruler brought.


    The children growing up now would have a better chance at survival learning on planet instead of being sent out to dangerous planets. The citizens happiness increased to new levels once food imports from Earth arrived. Many new eating establishments were opened to sell the never before tasted delicacies.


    The science staff was blown away by the Big Gete enhancements to the child rearing capsule fluid formula. The nutrients provided would give double to triple the boost the original formula would give the children. Raditz talked about implementing the capsules on Earth, but most of the humans polled seemed less inclined to keep their infants suspended in fluid for the first two to three years of their lives. He assumed they would get over it once they saw how much healthier their children would be.


    Bardock''s former squadmates standing in one of the Menagerie''s training rooms covered in sweat. Their emperor, Raditz, was standing before them with his cross crossed in front of his chest. He looked down at the Saiyans as they struggled in the gravity of the gym.


    "This is just double Planet Garden''s normal gravity." Raditz sounded disappointed.


    "Don''t worry we''ll adjust." Celipa boasted, "I''m ready to spar!"


    The gravity was clearly uncomfortable, but Raditz appreciated her bravado.


    "I''m with Celipa!" Toma mirrored the female Saiyan''s sentiments.


    "Mhm!" the plump bowl cut Panbukin nodded in agreement.


    BAM! BAM! BAM!


    Raditz''s punches were hit the fighters so quick it was as though they were all hit at the same time. All three Saiyans flew back impacting the wall of the gym. It was just one punch each, but all of them were left barely conscious. Raditz waited to see what the response from the Saiyans would be. They were shocked by the strength exerted against them.


    They struggle to raise to their feet fighting against the pain from the earlier attack. Toma dropped back down to a knee a few times. Celipa was using the wall as support for her to get off the floor. Panbukin barley was able to collect his breath, his legs had turned completely to jelly.


    "Is that all you got?" Celipa managed to stand first followed by Toma. Unlike, Gine this female Saiyan was hyper aggressive when it came to fighting.


    When Panbukin got to his feet, Raditz made his move again. Once more the Saiyans were attack with just one punch each sending them all the way into the opposite wall. The emperor heard snapping bones from the second attack. He realized the strength put out might have been too much. As long as they didn''t die it would be fine. There was a Panacea dispenser in the gym for emergencies.


    When Celipa hit he wall she fell to the floor with a thud. As soon as she hit the ground she was immediately back up in her fighting pose. Toma used the wall this time to get up, his left arms was dangling at his side. The plump Panbukin was still on the floor with a broken leg.


    "Phew!" Raditz whistled, "Celipa got up faster than before!"


    He approached the warriors to give them a Panacea bean to heal their injuries. Toma looked over at Celipa and waved his good hand up and down in front of her face.


    "She''s unconscious!" Toma said snapping at Celipa.


    "She has a very determined drive to win." Raditz commented. "Here eat this." He gave Toma three of the lifesaving beans. "You can have the other eat them when they wake up."


    Raditz left the training room to head to the bridge of the ship. As much fun as it was to beat on under prepared weaklings he had things to do. If it wasn''t for Bardock''s request Raditz wouldn''t have taken the time to train the group. Out of the three Raditz chose to train Celipa was the most surprising. Her strength was lower than Toma''s but her killer instinct was vastly higher.


    "Chefs? But I don''t understand, Lord Raditz." the Governor of Earth was confused. Raditz had a holo appointment with the former King.


    "What''s not to understand the Prometheus Empire needs skilled chefs." Raditz Raditz continued,


    "What if I told you Earth had the best chefs in the galaxy?"


    "I would find that hard to believe, my Lord." Governor Furry responded.


    "Well, its true. Which is why we need to spread their knowledge." Raditz explained, "Big Gete is a miracle worker, but it is flawed in its ability to create delicious recipes. It came devised very nutritious meals, but the taste is horrible. The AI has an idea of taste, but no concept of it."


    "I see." the Governor understood. "I will promote the culinary schools at every opportunity, my Lord."


    "Very good, Governor." Raditz said, "We will need some chefs to transfer to Gren''dir to teach some courses for at least one year."


    After going over a few more items of business with the System Governor of Earth, Raditz ended the holocall. Things were going as planned for the Promethean Emperor''s quest to avoid universal erasure at the hands of higher gods.


    On Earth, Kakarot introduced his family to his parents. Chi-Chi was thrilled to meet her in-laws. She talked with Gine for hours about many different things. The conversation always managed to work its way back around to food. The two women shared several different recipes with each other. They were as serious about their recipes as Kakarot and Bardock were about fighting. In fact the pair was almost sparring from the way they would one up the other by bringing out a new recipe.


    "Hehe," Gine laughed which sounded much like Kakarot''s trade mark chuckle, "I didn''t think I would be forced to bring out my specialty barbecue dino-ribs!"


    "You think I would be beaten by something like that." Chi-chi adopted a smug look. "Dino-ribs happen to be a special technique of mine."


    The conversation between Bardock and Kakarot was abruptly put on hold after they heard their wives talking about different dishes. The Saiyans'' mouths were watering think about the dino-ribs covered in sauce. Kakarot had developed a taste for Gine''s barbecue while he was on Planet Garden.


    Later, Gine and Bardock had a chance to meet Reiss and Gohan. The two boys were happy to meet their paternal grandparents. Gine was pleasantly surprised by the children and instantly took to them. Although in her case it wouldn''t matter if they were as evil as Frieza she would''ve still ignored it. Bardock was impressed by the level of power the boys possessed. He knew there was no way he would be able to hold a candle to the kids. He wanted to know how strong they would be when they grew up, if they already were this ridiculously strong. It seemed to him humans and Saiyans created very powerful offspring. He had to admire his own brilliance for sending Kakarot to Earth on a whim.


    KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!


    The group was brought out of its celebration by the sound of rapid knocking on the front door. Kakarot and Chi-chi looked at each other in confusion, neither of them were expecting guest. The Ki signature of the person at the door was unfamiliar to Kakarot.


    Bardock went to open the door because he was seated closest to it. When he opened the door he was face to face with a bob haired Saiyan girl in Promethean armor. The girl was young, she appeared to be around sixteen to eighteen. Bardock needed to take a second look because he had never seen a golden haired Saiyan, that wasn''t a Super Saiyan before.


    "Kakarot?" the girl asked, "Are you Mr. Kakarot?"


    "No, I''m Kakarot''s father Bardock." he answered moving away from the door, "Kakarot is over there."


    The girl looked in the direction indicated by Bardock. Her face lit up when she saw the people seated at the table. She quickly ran over to the group. Everyone knew by the armor the girl was part of the Prometheus Empire so they guessed Raditz sent her.


    "Mr. Kakarot! My name is Eschalot and I have a warning from the future!" she said hastily.

 30 Warning

    The Menagerie was traveling towards Yardrat at maximum speed, when the message came through that an emergency situation emerged on Earth. The Promethean Emperor was slightly annoyed, learning to teleport would have to be put on hold. He decided to check in on Nappa''s training of Bardock''s friends. He pushed the job of training over to Nappa because he was too focused on other business.


    If Nappa did a good enough job Raditz was willing to pass his father''s training over to the bald Saiyan. Unless, Kakarot was planning on training their father.


    Currently, do to the training they have received Bardock''s strength was now inferior to his squad members. He was going to need to play catch up after he was finished with his vacation on Earth.


    When he entered the training room, he saw that the gravity was set to twenty times Earth gravity.


    Through the glass he could see the group of Saiyans sparring. Even though it was three against one, Nappa still held the upper hand. The three members of Bardock''s squad were covered in cuts and bruises, and breathing heavily. The group ended their training when their emperor casually entered the room. Out of all of them Celipa''s eyes had a look that said they still wanted to challenge the emperor to a fight. Toma and Panbukin''s eyes carried nothing but admiration for their new boss.


    "How have they progressed, Nappa?" Raditz asked.


    "Amazing! If it were the old days this squad would''ve been low ranked, but now their stronger than elites of that time!" Nappa was still impressed by how strong Saiyans could become with the right knowledge. "Those techniques of control Ki from Earth are something incredible!"


    "Speaking of Earth an emergency came up, and we are headed to there now." the Emperor informed them, "You three will be able to reunite with your former squad leader, sooner than you thought."


    The Menagerie arrived at Earth two days later. The shuttle transporting Raditz and Bardock''s friends landed in the forest near Kakarot''s home. He was curious to find out what the emergency was that required him to come to Earth.


    When he entered the house he greeted all of his family members. He was shocked to see his wife was there too. He was sure she was going to spend most of her time at Capsule Corp., or helping the Earth System Governor with new projects. Bardock''s friends seemed to be amazed by the design of Kakarot''s home. Before the Gete construction of better housing and buildings most Saiyan constructions were made of clay.


    "So, what''s this all about?" Raditz looked around the room.


    "This girl needs to explain it to you herself." Kakarot motioned to the blonde Saiyan girl in the room.


    Her eyes were glued to Raditz and she seemed to be in a daze. After noticing everyone was silently watching her the girl quickly stood and bowed.


    "Emperor Raditz, your Majesty, it''s an honor to meet you. My name is Eschalot and I''m from twenty years in the future." she explained. "I''m here to warn you that in three years on May 12 at 10 A.M. two cybernetic lifeforms appear and destroy South City. It was later discovered that the cyborgs were from the defunct Red Ribbon Army."


    Raditz swiftly looked over at his brother, "I thought you destroyed the Red Ribbon Army years ago. It should have been easy for you."


    "I thought I did. If I remember right all they had was tanks and stuff. Oh, and some bio-robots." Kakarot said, "We took out all their bases for the King of Earth. It was a well paying job."


    Raditz knew if some form "Future Trunks" scenario was still destined to play out he should ask the most important question, "Were these cyborgs powerful enough to kill us?"


    "When you were called to Earth Kakarot already died do to a heart virus." Eschalot said.


    "What about Panacea beans they should cure disease?" Raditz questioned.


    "When he tried to use a bean the virus mutated. It became twice as deadly to Saiyans as humans. Even you ultimately succumbed to the virus."


    Raditz didn''t like the idea of being taken out by a virus, especially since Big Gete should''ve been able to produce a cure.


    "Did Big Gete create a cure?" he asked what he was thinking.


    "After awhile it did, but it took longer than it should because the AI was fighting off hacking attempts by the cyborg forces." she passed Raditz a small box. "Inside the box is data on the cure


    and several Dyno-caps containing the actual cure."


    "Thank you Eschalot." Raditz opened the box and removed the data stick. After looking at it he passed it over to Bulma to study.


    "There is one more thing." she asked, "Could I speak to you outside for a moment. Emperor Raditz?"


    Raditz followed the youth outside of his brother''s house and into the forest. They arrived at a white painted steel vehicle. It resembled a convertible hover car except it had a homemade look. The rivets and welds were clearly visible where the steel squares connected.


    "This is my time-machine. My mother built it after she finished Dr. Omori''s time drive." Eschalot had a look of pride.


    "So just to be sure your mother is Tights, correct?" Raditz asked.


    "Yes." she answered, "Master Gohan was able to get Grandpa Vegeta and mother off the planet after things became really bad. We worked in the empire under Emperor Reiss, until he contracted the virus while fighting against the cyborgs, otherwise he probably would have won."


    "By the time Master Gohan tried to take over everyone had lost faith the cyborgs were converting planet after planet. Mother was eventually able to isolate the Big Gete core from the hacking attempts allowing it to cure the disease. Aunt Bulma contracted the virus while she was trying to find a way to cure you, otherwise she probably could have fix Big Gete faster."


    "After it was saved it then helped her complete the time drive. However, it predicts a fifty percent chance this won''t affect my timeline and will instead create a new one. I''m hoping for the former."


    After she finished her tale the youth loaded into her time-machine and vanished in a storm of blue and white energy. Raditz was left to consider the new information he was given by the time traveler.


    If things go like the original story the people that show up in three years will be different from the ones Eschalot warned against. Raditz traveled back to his brother''s home and informed everyone that they will need to go into intense training for the next three years.


    Bulma was put in charge of keeping everything in the empire together while Raditz and Reiss were training. She had gotten used to her husband dumping the reigns of the empire he wanted in her lap. Sometimes she thought Raditz just wanted an empire to say he had one. Although it felt good to be trusted as much as she was.


    Kakarot gathered his friends at the Kame Dojo to explain the situation regarding the cyborgs to them. Kakarot made it a point to invite Vegeta to the meeting because he figured his strength might be needed. Vegeta chose to show up because he thought he could get the opportunity to fight against Kakarot. If he could overcome Kakarot he knew he would be one step closer to Raditz''s power. None of them could believe their ears when they were told about the warning from the future.


    "What is your brother going to be doing?" Vegeta asked. He knew the galactic emperor wouldn''t just be idle if a crisis was coming. He never struck Vegeta as being someone without a plan. He saw first hand the level of planning Raditz used in the defeat of Frieza.


    "He took his son to go train." Kakarot answered.


    "Who''s the guy that looks like you?" Krillin asked. He, clearly, remembered the last Saiyan that looked like his friend, Turles.


    "I''m Bardock, Kakarot''s father." the Saiyan gruffly answered.


    "He is going to be training with me and Gohan." Kakarot added. "If you guys are willing to help we can meet up in three years near South City."


    "I''m definitely in." Tien said. "But Chiaotzu is longer a warrior. He teaches here at the Kame Dojo. He went to Kame island along with Roshi and your Grandpa Gohan to train give some students extra training for the World Tournament."


    Kakarot realized for the first time that he didn''t introduce his parents to his adopted grandfather. He would need to remember to do that if they managed to save the world.


    "I''m going too." Krillin stated. "We''ve been fighting together and train since we were kids. How could I not go, you''re my best friend Kakarot."


    "I didn''t train with King Kai for nothing." Yamcha was full of confidence. "I missed out on Frieza, but I can make it up now!"


    "I''ll do it." Piccolo said and walked out of the dojo.


    "I''m more interested with defeating you and the your brother, but I guess this cyborgs will be a good warm-up." Vegeta smirked and followed Piccolo out.


    "Alright then guys. I guess we''ll see you in three years." Kakarot waved goodbye to his friends.


    Bardock placed his hand on his son''s shoulder and Gohan pressed his hand against his father''s back. Kakarot focused on the source of Ki that was located at his target destination. When he found it he locked on and tapped his index and middle fingers against his forehead and the trio teleported away. Their destination was the Earth Kami''s Lookout. They appeared next to Kami while he was watching Mr. Popo water the plants on the Lookout.


    "I thought we''d start our training here." Kakarot declared.


    "It is good to see you again, Kakarot." Kami greeted the Saiyan.


    "Hey, Kami." Kakarot replied.


    "What brings you here?" Kami asked.


    "This is my dad and son." the Saiyan introduced his companions, "We came here to train for a while. I thought you and Mr. Popo could give my dad some pointers on Ki control and sensing."


    Kakarot then went into the explanation of the battle predicted to arrive in three years time. Kami calmly listened to the the story all the way through. He knew Kakarot was not one to exaggerate or make-up fictional threats. As Kami he had to take this warning seriously, and decided to let the group train on the Lookout.


    Vegeta was pleased by the news he received from Dr. Omori when he returned to the island. The gravity chamber Tights suggested he use was finally completed. She heard about the chambers from Bulma when she was on the Menagerie. The building of the chamber was difficult for Omori, but after some convincing he called Dr. Briefs for some assistance.


    On New Gren''dir Raditz and his son flew over the jungle towards their training location. Reiss had trained with his father many times in the past, but they never trained in the jungle of New Gren'' dir. His father spent much of his time practicing there. He knew a special training facility was constructed, but he never saw it.


    Their flight brought them to a raised bunker hidden deep within the dense New Gren''dir jungle. From the outside it didn''t look like it could hold a training facility at all.


    "Well this is my specially constructed Big Gete original, Hell Room." Raditz said leading the way into the bunker. Once inside, Raditz pressed a combination into a keypad on the wall and the floor descended into the ground. When the lift stopped the pair arrived at a massive facility filled with various obstacles.


    "Why do you call it a Hell Room?" Reiss asked.


    "Because once the command is given the many traps and weapons in the room activate making survival hell." Raditz answered.


    Reiss didn''t like the sound of the answer he received.

 31 Time

    Bardock watched his son and grandson training on the elevated tower that was Kami''s Lookout. In the time that they were there the older Saiyan had become proficient in sensing and controlling Ki. He was amazed that a planet as weak as Earth developed such profound methods of training.


    "Kakarot!" Bardock shouted, "I want to talk to you for a moment!"


    Kakarot and Gohan paused in the middle of their sparring session to go hear what Bardock wanted to say.


    "What''s going on?" Kakarot asked as he drew closer to his father.


    "I know I shouldn''t question your methods," Bardock began, "But aren''t you taking it too easy on Gohan?"


    "You think so?" Kakarot asked. Gohan was making great progress in increasing his strength since they began training two months ago.


    "I never taught you... and I didn''t have much time to teach your brother, but I never took it easy on him." Bardock said before asking, "Do you think your brother is holding back with his son?"


    Kakarot knew his father was probably right about Raditz''s training methods. He remembered the sadistic gravity training before Namek. It was also true that he was holding back against Gohan during their training.


    "Alright, you''re right." Kakarot admitted. "We''ll relocate to the next area."


    Kakarot planned to train his son a bit longer before moving the group to their next training destination. His father and son held onto him as he teleported the group away from the Lookout.


    The instant the group appeared they were hit by a frigid wind.


    "Master Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed with excitement.


    The Namekian was meditating a few feet from the newly arrived group. Piccolo ceased his meditation and rose to his feet. He wasn''t really expecting visitors to appear at the frozen wasteland.


    "What''re you guys doing here?" he asked.


    "We came to train. I was going to wait longer before finding you, but I was told I was too easy on my son." Kakarot replied, "You did a great job with Gohan before, so I wanted you to help out again. I was going to easy on him, but I figured you wouldn''t have that problem."


    "And him?" Piccolo motioned to Bardock.


    "Do worry about me I won''t get in the way." Bardock replied coolly.


    "This is going to be fun." Kakarot was thinking about how strong they could get after the three years of intense training.


    A mountain sized iceberg shattered and collapsed into the icy ocean as Piccolo and Kakarot teamed up against Gohan and Bardock. Gohan fought with great tenacity as he tried to make-up for his grandfather''s lack of power. Bardock enjoyed the fighting alongside his grandson against tremendous odds.


    On Omori''s island Vegeta battled against one hundred and fifty times Earth gravity. The strain on his body was tremendous, but his pride would not let him give up. He refused to be left behind in strength by Raditz and Kakarot. His father wasn''t interested in intense training the entire time he was on Earth. Vegeta was pleased that Omori Island was a fitting place to train with nobody around to bothered him. He was worried, at first, that the blonde woman would interrupt his training with all of her questioning.


    Tights was nearly finished with her newest novel based on the life of Vegeta. She was positive it was going to be hit with the audiences. Unlike her first book, this one would be marketed at young adults instead of children. She was happy Vegeta and his father stayed out of her way while she was working, she liked the silence of the island. She was concerned Vegeta would be hounding her none stop to talk Dr. Omori into building training equipment.


    Vegeta found his father staring out at the ocean from the beach. The young Saiyan had finished training for the day and was heading to the kitchens.


    "Have you finished training for today?" the older Vegeta asked.


    "For now." Vegeta answered.


    "Are you any closer to becoming a Super Saiyan?" was the next question.


    "No." Vegeta flatly replied.


    He hated that question.


    It wasn''t the first time his father had asked him if he had become a Super Saiyan. Vegeta would have liked to give the older Saiyan a positive reply, but he couldn''t. He felt that he had gained more than enough strength but he was missing something. It didn''t help that his father continually tried to hang his failure on the younger Saiyan. He was on the verge of breaking down and finding Raditz to ask him how he attained the transformation. Vegeta knew his father was under the illusion that once his son achieved the Super Saiyan state he would reinstate the former king to his throne.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Tien, Krillin, and Yamcha clashed in the air over the western grass wastelands. The area vibrated from the force of the strikes the fighters threw. They pushed themselves to their utmost limits in an attempt to keep pace with their Saiyan friends. The gap between themselves and Kakarot was steadily increasing over the years, but now it was at another level entirely.


    "Nice one Krillin." Yamcha was caught off guard by several of Krillin''s afterimages leaving him open to a Ki blast.


    Tien tried to catch Yamcha with a spinning kick mid-sentence, but the one time bandit had different plans.


    KAIO-KEN TIMES 2!


    The three eyed human appeared to be moving in slow motion as the the red aura signifying the use of Kaio-Ken flared around Yamcha''s body. He dodge under the now slow moving kick and unleashed a combination of strikes against Tien.


    Wolf Fang Fist!


    The combination was punctuated with the return of the technique that carried Yamcha through his days in the desert. Before Yamcha completely executed the move, Tien grasped his wrists before the biting swipe of the Wolf Fang Fist. Yamcha gasped from someone being able to stop his attack while he was doubling his power.


    "You definitely got stronger training with King Kai, but we had our potential unlocked by Grand Elder Guru." Tien said straining against Yamcha.


    The two fighters rapidly backed away from each other to avoid the blue beam of energy Krillin fired towards them. When the beam passed between them Tien and Yamcha turned to see their friend giving them a smug smirk.


    The beam of energy split into two, after passing by, and looped back towards Tien and Yamcha who were looking towards Krillin. The two fighters looked back to see the beams racing towards them. They were rendered immobile by the shock of the situation.


    BOOM!


    "AHHH!" Reiss fell to the floor of the Hell Room. The back of the boy''s armor had a smoldering hole burned into it by one of the wall mounted lasers in the room.


    "You ok." Raditz called down to his son, while dodging the laser fire that turned the room into grids of light.


    "Yeah!" the boy struggled to stand.


    "Then hurry up, boy. The laser system will randomize soon." Raditz explained.


    Reiss gritted his teeth and powered up fighting through the pain. He knew he should be capable of dodging randomized strafing lasers in normal gravity, but doing it in one hundred times gravity while fighting his father was impossible.


    The young Saiyan charge back towards his father, continuing his earlier assault. Like the last time, the lasers interrupted his momentum causing him to break off his attack. Raditz capitalized on his son''s uncertainty and knocked him back into the path of a laser. Once again Reiss found himself on the ground in a smoking heap.


    "Use your full power if you think it help." Raditz taunted.


    Reiss crawled to his feet again and charged his power. This time he pushed it further tapping into his sleeping power. The boy''s long blue hair adopted a wild untamed appearance while his irises glowed light golden. His muscle mass increased along with a sharp jump in his power.


    AHHH!


    The boy released a primal scream as he charged his father delivering blows that caused the room slightly tremble on impact. Raditz was forced to fight back much smarter than he had to previously. Reiss always was capable of controlling the Great Ape power inside him to a much high degree than his father. His personality was only minimally affected by his transformation. It was more like the Ape and the person were the same entity working perfectly in tandem.


    On Planet Garden Nappa, Toma, Celipa, and Panbukin were training the former Vegeta military in Ki techniques they had learned from the Prometheus empire. They knew the Emperor would be busy for several years and they wanted to be ready when needed. Besides training, the Saiyans, they were in charge of keeping the Empress apprised of any important news or issues the planet faced.


    They had become powerful enough to help Nappa keep the population in order. Luckily there were no major problems just small fights from time to time. The Saiyans were warriors so fights were nothing deemed to troublesome. After the fights ended, most of the time, the fighters would go for a drink as though nothing happened.


    "Bestseller!" Tights exclaimed.


    The brilliant author had just been informed by her editor that her novel had reached number one on the North City Times bestseller list. She was bursting with excitement because the news verified her status as a successful author. Finally, she had written a novel that could overwrite her failure of Chako the Space Policeman.


    It was too bad Vegeta had left of space some time ago to train. She planned on sharing some of the proceeds with him, since the main character Begita was based on him. Now the next time she saw her father and sister she could brag about having a successful career. Her next work was going to have to be a time-travel adventure. She hoped one day she could interview the mysterious time-traveling girl that gave the warning about the cyborgs.


    CRASH!


    Tights was startled by the thunderous sound that echoed across the island. She looked out of her room window to see a smoking crater. The stolen refit Menagerie shuttle crashed down on the beach of Omori''s Island. She knew Vegeta must have run out of supplies and was in need of a restock. He made the supplies last two weeks longer than she had predicted.


    When Vegeta emerged from the smoke, he possessed a happier look than she had ever seen on his face the entire time she''d known him. The Saiyan looked up in the direction of her window; the look of victory was still plastered all over his face. She saw Vegeta hold his head towards the sky and let out a long joyful laugh.


    Time passed by in a blur, finally, arriving at the destined day of the battle against the Red Ribbon Army cyborgs. Kakarot, Gohan, Piccolo, and Bardock were gathered on a grass topped cliff overlooking South City waiting for the others to arrive.


    "Kakarot!" Krillin called out from the sky, "How''s it going!"


    "Krillin, Tien, Yamcha!" Kakarot shouted back as his friends landed, "You guys made it!"


    "Of course we wouldn''t miss this!" Yamcha was enthusiastic as ever.


    "Where is your brother?'' Tien asked.


    "He should be here soon." Kakarot answered.


    The group felt a familiar power approaching the location they were waiting. Vegeta landed in the middle of the group and took a quick look around.


    "Vegeta, I heard you were going to help, but I didn''t believe it." Tien commented.


    "Is that a problem?" Vegeta scoffed.


    "As a matter of f-" Tien''s sentence was cut off by the sudden appearance of Raditz and Reiss. They were joined by a Yardratian wearing Prometheus armor.


    "This is Ramen." Raditz introduced the Yardratian, "He is one of the Yardratians that has been assisting the Security Agents, or so I''m told."


    The Yardratian, Ramen, nodded in greeting to the other people gathered on the cliff before turning back to Raditz.


    "I will withdraw until you contact me, my Lord." Ramen said before teleporting away.


    Raditz hand out Promethean Scouters to the group.


    "We can stay in contact using these." he said.


    "After we finish up with these machines, I want to fight you, Raditz." Vegeta demanded.


    "That''s Emperor Raditz." Raditz corrected.

 32 Discovered

    Raditz and his allies separated, spreading out through the emptied streets of South City. They decided to split up because they couldn''t detect any strong presences in the area, they tried using their Scouters too. The cyborgs were either running late, or were already somewhere in the city.


    Raditz walked down a street keeping his eyes open for Dr. Gero or the obese Android #19. They should clearly stand out with one looking like a fat clown and the other a lanky old man with a unique tall hat. It also was a bonus that they should have the Red Ribbon Army logo all over their clothing.


    "What''s everyone''s status?" Raditz asked over his Scouter.


    The replies which came back all were negative, no one had seen any sign of the targets. Raditz would routinely ask the status of the group.


    "This is the fourth time you''ve asked." Vegeta replied. He was watching the streets from the roof of a tall building. "Why don''t you just wait until one of us reports something?"


    "Because if everyone replies we will know if someone gets ambushed." Raditz explained. He knew how Yamcha got sneak attacked in the original story. Dr. Gero would grab Yamcha up by the face and shove his arm through Yamcha''s chest.


    Tien patrolled a sparsely populated street, staying vigilant of anything out of the ordinary. He wasn''t sure how powerful the cyborgs were, but he was confident in the strength of the group. He had fought one of the original Bio-androids years ago and it wasn''t too impressive.


    The pedestrians on the street were going about their normal routine, unaware that their city might become a battlefield. When he reached the the intersection at the end of the street, Tien looked over at the street sign. He smirked to himself when he read that he was walking down Raditz Avenue.


    "Tien Shinhan," a gruff older male voice called out from behind Tien, "Former World Tournament competitor. Defended the Earth against alien invaders. Friend and ally of Kakarot. Associate of Emperor Raditz."


    Tien turned to face the person casually listing of his information. The speaker was revealed to be a old man with a bushy white mustache, pale blue eyes, no eyebrows, and waist length bushy white hair. He wore a tall black hat, pinstriped orange button up shirt with yellow forearms, brown pants that became baggy near the bottom, and white shoes with black toes and heel. The man''s hat had the logo of the defunct Red Ribbon Army right on the front.


    There were two other people with the old man. Both appeared to be younger than the person who spoke to Tien. One of the old man''s companions was wearing a black pinstriped suit with the same Red Ribbon logo on the breast pocket of the coat. The eyes of the suited man were solid yellow and he had medium length black hair.


    The third man was taller than the other two and heavily muscled. He was bald with pink skin and pointed ears. He wore armor instead of more a more normal attire. The amour was similar to Promethean armor with the exception of having spikes on the shoulders and the Red Ribbon logo on it.


    "Guys I think I found them." Tien activated his Scouter to inform the team of his situation.


    "Trying to call for help won''t work. Your Scouter has been disabled." the old man explained. "But it is curious to hear to say ''you found us.'' Did you somehow know we would be here?"


    "Dr. Gero, if we get rid of him now, we can find whoever he was talking to later. They are more than likely in the city." the pink skinned man said. His speech was more eloquent than his appearance might lead one to believe.


    "You are probably right, Dr. Kochin." Dr. Gero whipped out his hand with lightning speed, clutching the unprepared Tien by the throat.


    "He is probably here with Kakarot and Krillin at the minimum." the man in the suit said with some excitement.


    The grip on Tien''s neck tightened when the man mentioned Kakarot. Gero waited years to find Kakarot and reap his vengeance against him for destroying the Red Ribbon Army. When the army''s bases were destroyed by the Kakarot Corps. Gero lost nearly all of his research.


    Dr. Wheelo and Dr. Kochin had suffered as well from the destruction of the Red Ribbon Army. They had lost a valuable specimen in a fight in their Arctic Wasteland lab when Kochin was moving the last of their research.


    "I hope you are right about Kakarot''s presence, Dr. Wheelo." Gero said.


    Tien struggled with all of his strength to free himself of the grip of his captor. The more he fought the faster his strength seemed to leave him. He was on the verge of blacking out from the loss of energy and the lack of oxygen.


    A sharp pain shot through Tien bringing him back to full awareness. Dr. Gero had pierced his chest with his arm. The front of Gero''s clothing was now covered with Tien''s blood. After removing his arm, Gero tossed the injured man to the ground like garbage. The people on the streets who saw this ran away from the scene screaming, some tried to call the authorities.


    As Tien laid on the ground he could see the trio of cyborgs walking away from him, He fumbled weakly at his waist trying desperately to retrieve a Panacea bean.


    "Anyone find anything?" Tien heard over his Scouter. He wanted to report the situation, but he was too weak to reach the button on his Scouter.


    He heard his allies give their negative response and hoped his lack of a reply would be noticed. His hope was rewarded when Raditz did take note.


    "Tien respond." Raditz ordered.


    After a few moments of silence, Raditz used the Scouter once more, "Whoever is closest, get to Tien''s location. His Scouter should show up if you search with your Scouter."


    "I''m on it." Krillin sounded worried.


    He checked his Scouter and the screen displayed the locations of the other team members. He found the point where Tien''s Scouter was located and rushed through the air towards it.


    As he drew closer to the location he could finally sense the rapidly fading Ki of his long time friend. He spotted Tien on the empty sidewalk, collapsed in a puddle of his own blood. When he landed he could clearly see the fatal puncture wound in his friend''s upper torso.


    "Tien''s hurt really bad, guys!" Krillin communicated over his Scouter as he fished out a Panacea bean.


    By the time the rest of the group made it to Krillin''s location, Tien was already back on his feet, thanks to Krillin''s timely action.


    "What happened?" Raditz questioned Tien.


    "It was the cyborgs. They were quick enough to sneak up behind me. What''s more, there were three of them." Tien explained. He was still a bit shaken from his inability to retaliate against the enemy.


    "From their conversation their names are: Dr. Gero, Dr. Wheelo, and Dr. Kochin. It seems they are targeting Kakarot, and you secondarily." he further explained.


    When Raditz heard the names of the enemies he realized he should have followed up on what happened years ago in the Arctic Wasteland. After all, he and Bulma almost died due to Dr. Kochin and his Bio-man Kishime.


    "It seems our patience was rewarded, both of the targets are here." Dr. Gero said to his companions as they approached the group from an alleyway.


    "Judging by the assembled group, they were indeed expecting us." the pinstriped Dr. Wheelo said.


    "How did you know we would be here?" Dr. Gero asked.


    "Why don''t we relocate before having a chat?" Raditz asked. "The wasteland south of here would be a more fitting place"


    Dr. Gero thought about the suggestion to relocate to the wasteland. Though he was confident in his group''s chances of victory, the wasteland would offer an added advantage. If things went wrong, they would be closer to their secret lab.


    The cyborgs agreed to moving the discussion to the wasteland, and the two groups raced south over a group of islands towards their destination. Small bits of dust whirled across the wasteland carried on a cool breeze. The area they landed at was barren and surrounded by tall rock formations. Any collateral damage caused wouldn''t be a problem in the barren wasteland.


    "So what exactly do you want?" Raditz asked, "Revenge, world domination, some other cliche?"


    "Yes, it''s just as you said. I want revenge against Kakarot for taking everything from me. So I will take everything from him." Gero laughed.


    "I want to make you suffer, Raditz, the way my Kishime suffered!" the large framed Kochin spat.


    "As for me, now that I have completed a fitting body to match my mind, I would like to test it." Dr. Wheelo added, "So I chose to help my partner Dr. Kochin resolve his issues with you. Plus, Dr. Gero''s research was invaluable to me regaining a body."


    "Now explain how you knew about us." Dr. Gero demanded.


    "Well... I changed my mind about telling you. After hearing all the talk about revenge, I''m curious as to whether you can accomplish it or not." Raditz taunted. "I mean your research didn''t amount to anything when you used it for the Red Ribbon Army, or so I heard."


    Vegeta was impressed by Raditz''s cocky attitude towards the cyborgs. He had a similar mindset about asserting a dominant position by unnerving his opponents. The scientist''s creations also got under the former prince''s skin, because their strength was gained artificially.


    Beside his father, Reiss smirked at the comments his father made. He knew Raditz had a knack for biting insults that cut deep. It was almost like the quips were a special technique of his father''s. The boy had heard plenty enough of them over the last three years. He almost felt sorry for Dr. Gero, but after being subjected to the taunts himself he was enjoying the feeling of schadenfreude. The young Saiyan really hated it when his father called him "boy."


    Gero felt a cold fury rising within what was left of his organic components. He didn''t ever have anything personally against Emperor Raditz, but now he felt the Saiyan had to die at all costs. He quickly reviewed all of the data collected on Raditz over the years in preparation of his attack.


    Krillin was surprised by the cyborgs lack of Ki signals. It wasn''t even that the Ki signal was low, it was completely nonexistent. Fighting against opponents like them would probably be a tricky endeavor. He was pleased he trained as relentlessly as he did over the last three years.


    Kakarot approached Dr. Gero, brimming with confidence. He was ready to fight against the people he was told stood unrivaled in the future.


    "Here I am! I''m ready to fight anytime you are!" Kakarot shouted.


    "Oh no you don''t, Kakarot! If anyone fights first, it will be me!" Vegeta quickly moved in front of the other Saiyan.


    "There are three of them we can both fight!" Kakarot said.


    "You think one will be enough? No mechanical creation can match a Super Saiyan." Vegeta replied, charging his Ki.


    Kakarot followed Vegeta''s lead and his Ki erupted around him, causing the Earth to shake violently. Both men transformed into the Super Saiyan state, ready to take on the cyborgs. The gathered fighters were shocked by Vegeta''s transformation. They couldn''t believe the short, ill tempered Saiyan had achieved something so spectacular.


    "How was Vegeta able to do it?" Krillin asked.


    "Well to be fair, it isn''t too hard." Raditz said.


    Vegeta heard the comment made by Raditz, and the vein on his forehead started to throb with annoyance. Both Kakarot and Vegeta adopted their fighting stances, while the cyborgs stood by watching. Still feeling slighted by Raditz''s comment, Vegeta made the first move against the cyborgs.

 33 Performance

    BANG!


    Debris was tossed in the air as the burly Dr. Kochin blocked Vegeta''s fist with his forearm. Kochin smirked, raising up his free arm as its shape twisted and morphed into a chain-gun. The weapon''s barrel whirled around rapidly firing a stream of lasers towards Vegeta''s face. The Saiyan performed several back flips to avoid the high powered laser blasts.


    "I''m surprised you avoided that. You are performing better than our data would indicate." Kochin praised. "You should just stay out of my way. I want the so called Emperor."


    "You think I''m less of a threat than Raditz!" Vegeta roared.


    His golden aura surged in a fit of anger at the perceived insult to his strength. He was going to prove that no mere cyborg could ever hope to be his equal.


    Kakarot moved around the battlefield using his full speed to avoid the twin beams Gero was firing from his eyes. The Saiyan was attempting to make sure none of the stray blasts found their way over to his friends. Kakarot enjoyed the challenge of fighting an opponent without a Ki signal to track, it made the fight more unpredictable. He knew dodging the entire time wasn''t going to win the fight, but closing the distance was difficult. Kakarot decided to use a long range attack to catch Gero unprepared for the follow up attack.


    KAMEHAMEHA!!!


    Raditz watched Kakarot perform his go to attack against the cyborg. He tried to communicate to his brother that he shouldn''t try that tactic, but his Scouter wasn''t functioning. Raditz was beginning to sweat as the beam raced towards Gero. What Raditz imagined came to pass when the beam was absorbed by the cyborg.


    Unaware of the possibility of his attack being absorbed, Kakarot was already in the process of getting into striking distance of his foe. Gero''s speed sharply jumped as he turned around to greet his sneak attacker face to face. Kakarot stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing Gero turn to face him. He barely managed to react in time to block a kick aimed at his midsection.


    BOOM!


    Despite blocking the kick, Kakarot was sent flying through a rock formation, causing it to crumble, before finally coming to a rest in a plateau. After creating a sizable distance between himself and Kakarot, Gero turned his head to observe Kochin in action. He was still curious who had the superior ideas towards the creation of enhanced warriors. Gero personally only used his own technology in the creation of his body along with some modified designs based on Gren''dir technology Capsule Corp. released.


    The Bio-Warrior research brought by Kochin and Wheelo was a significant step forward. Gero knew Kochin''s body was grown from the Ebifurya01 genetic material strain. Edifurya was the name given to one of the Bio-Warriors Kochin was originally growing. After the collaboration one research he ultimately scrapped his Bio-Warriors, but kept samples of their DNA.


    Kochin''s chain-gun arm returned to its normal form and he was trading blows with Vegeta. Every spot Kochin managed to land a hit was covered in a layer of ice. Vegeta was slowly being pushed back while he was attempting to raise his Ki to shatter the ice. Kochin pressed the attack further from seeing he was pressuring the Saiyan.


    Dr. Wheelo remained stationary, observing the battlefield, while his eyes gave off an eerie yellow glow. No matter how much he tried, Raditz couldn''t see a weakness in the cyborgs. He remembered when he fought the Bio-Warrior Kishime, he could see its weakness. Even if the enemy was too strong to for him to capitalize on their flaws, he could still see them. He didn''t understand why he had that ability, but he has never encountered a situation like this. His guess was that they were too mechanical in their design to be read.


    After Kochin had encased all four of Vegeta''s limbs in ice, Gero started to approach them. When he noticed this, Raditz knew Gero had no interest in fighting one on one if he didn''t need to. The brawny Kochin kicked Vegeta in the direction of Gero.


    "Here, I have a different target in mind." Kochin glared up at Raditz.


    Dr. Gero caught the Super Saiyan by the back of his neck. Vegeta knew something was off when he felt his Ki draining from his body.


    "This energy is incredible." Gero praised before he was blown away by a fierce kick from a recovered Kakarot.


    "Reiss, go help them." Raditz order his son.


    Reiss was snapped out of his fixation on the battle by his father''s voice. He was about to head down to the battlefield when he noticed his father''s face was covered with sweat, and his Ki was circulating in a chaotic manner.


    "Are you ok?" Reiss asked. He also knew if everything was fine, Raditz would fight the battle himself, rather than ordering him to help.


    "No, I''m dying from the heart virus." Raditz stated. Aware of his position he tried to appear as calm as possible.


    Reiss''s eyes widened in horror from hearing his father''s nonchalant declaration of impending doom. He hesitated about what to do, but a look from his father told him it was under control. Reiss flew from the plateau to intercept Dr. Kochin.


    Even though the pain in his chest was unbearable, Raditz remained standing. Big Gete analyzed the cure, allowing it to synthesize more. As painful as the virus was now, Raditz really didn''t want to know how the mutated version felt. Unfortunately, he would need to. Because of the nature of the cure, he would first have to eat a Panacea bean to cause the mutation before consuming the cure.


    "I haven''t been to Earth in three years and I get infected." Raditz groaned to himself before eating the bean. "Why couldn''t it be Vegeta or Yamcha?"


    The moment he ate the normally lifesaving bean, his body was wracked with pain. The others gathered on the plateau saw Raditz drop to the ground. They ran over to investigate what happened to their comrade. When they arrived, they saw that the galactic emperor was doubled over, shaking in pain, very pale, and soaked in sweat.


    "What''s going on?" Yamcha asked in a panic.


    "I don''t know!" Tien was at a loss to what could have happened to damage Raditz to this extent. He knew there was no way someone as strong as Raditz could''ve been sneak attacked this badly.


    "Heart... virus." Raditz''s voice was barely audible.


    Reiss landed in front of Dr. Kochin, stopping the cyborg in his tracks. Kochin examined the boy, checking his data for the child''s information. The fact that Reiss was the son of Bulma and Raditz was the only relevant information on the boy.


    "I was watching your fight. It looks like you have to touch a person to freeze them." Reiss stated confidently.


    "Well, since you are Raditz''s son, I''ll kill you like he killed Kishime. Then I''ll show him your corpse before killing him too." Kochin threatened.


    "AHHH!" Reiss cried out, charging his Ki.


    His output of energy caused the others to look in his direction, amazed by the child''s power. His muscles expanded, increasing his size. Reiss''s hair took on a untamed look while his irises gained a golden color. A cascade of green aura violently raged around the screaming child while his Ki continued to rise.


    "Ok, let''s do this!" Reiss was ready to go.


    Vegeta was momentarily caught off guard by the energy Raditz''s son was putting out. The prideful Saiyan was surprised that the boy wasn''t a Super Saiyan, but still had a tremendous level of power. He wanted to know how Raditz and his son obtained their Ape power. Vegeta was under the impression Saiyan Earthling hybrids were naturally more powerful.


    BOOM!


    A hammerblow from Kakarot sent Dr. Gero tumbling down out of the air. Dust and debris filled the air from the cyborg''s impact. Kakarot followed to try and finish his opponent, but lost sight of him in the dust. While he was searching, Kakarot failed to notice the shadowy figure behind him emerging from the cloud.


    Kakarot was unable to react to Gero grappling him by covering his mouth and holding him around the chest. The energy drain was immediate. Kakarot felt his Ki disappearing into Gero''s power conduits. Kakarot knew the longer Gero held him, the smaller his chance of escape would be. He needed to take a gamble to free himself.


    KAIO-KEN!


    The Kaio-ken aura burned around Kakarot for only an instant before vanishing. Dr. Gero was fed the excess Ki the instant Kakarot used the Kaio-ken technique. The golden Super Saiyan aura around the captured Saiyan faded, along with his golden hair and emerald eyes.


    Dr. Gero tossed his foe into the air, followed up by a red energy ball which pushed Kakarot some distance away before exploding. The force of the explosion created a shockwave which could be felt all the way back on the battlefield.


    "Kakarot, you weakling!" Vegeta scowled while summoning more Ki. "Losing to a machine is an embarrassment for a Saiyan!"


    Vegeta flew towards Gero performing a whirlwind of kicks and punches at the cyborg. Gero was blocking the strikes with minimal effort. The energy drained from Kakarot powered the cyborg well over the level he was at before.


    Reiss was too busy dancing around the attacks of Dr. Kochin to pay attention to what was happening with his uncle. Training in the Hell Room was perfect for this battle, especially since his father drilled avoiding grapples into him. He now wondered if his father knew about how the cyborgs worked ahead of time.


    The boy ducked to avoid one of Kochin''s kicks, and went into a handstand, forcefully planting his heel in Kochin''s torso. Reiss followed the attack up by spinning on his hands catching the large cyborg in the gut with several more kicks.


    BAM! BAM! BAM!


    Reiss flipped forwards, landing back on his feet, to the annoyance of Kochin. Everytime the cyborg attacked, Reiss would avoid the strike and counter with his own. In his anger, Dr. Kochin released an aura of frost in a three foot radius around his body.


    Reiss jumped back to avoid the freezing aura released by Kochin, only to come face to face with Kochin''s chain-gun. The Saiyan child had no problems avoiding the laser blasts Kochin fired towards him. It was very similar to the hellish training he was already forced to endure.


    Frustrated by his targeting algorithms inability to hit the child, Dr. Kochin changed tactics. His arm morphed once more, modifying itself into a very large cannon. He fired a blue strafing energy beam at the infuriating child.


    Reiss ran while Kochin directed the sustained beam at him. The boy noticed as he moved around, that the beam froze everything in its path. A small wall of ice was created in the wake of the blue beam. Reiss was unsure of how long he could avoid the beam, because Kochin''s accuracy seemed to be increasing.


    As the beam drew closer, Reiss decided he should stop playing defensive and go on the offense. After spinning around, narrowly avoiding the freeze ray, Reiss returned fire with a beam of his own. It was a thin, red, piercing beam similar to Frieza''s Death Beam. The beam raced towards Dr. Kochin, piercing through the top of his beam arm, and causing it to spark violently. Kochin was forced to revert his arm back into its normal state.


    Raditz managed to sit up in order to retrieve the capsule that contained the viral cure. After pressing the plunger on the DynoCap, the small vial containing the cure appeared in his hand. It was an incredible chore to even try to open the medicine vial.


    "Is that a cure?" Bardock asked. He never would have believed a Saiyan as powerful as his son would be brought low by a disease.


    Raditz could only weakly nod in answer to his father''s question. Bardock took the vial from his son and opened it before passing it back. Raditz was trying to keep his hand steady as he lift the vial to his lips.


    SMASH!


    The vial was kicked out of Raditz''s hand, causing it to break against the hard rocky ground. Everyone was shocked that the cure would be knock way. Even more shocking, was the fact that it was Yamcha that did it.


    "Yamcha, why?" Krillin asked. He was stunned by his long time friend''s action. There was no reason for Yamcha to take the course of action that he did.


    "Why? Because I learned all I needed to." Yamcha''s eyes glowed the same yellow color as Dr. Wheelo''s.

 34 Assistance

    Bulma finished going over the reports sent by Big Gete detailing the status of the Prometheus Empire. She chose to use the royal palace on Planet Garden as her temporary work space. The Empress was worried about how the situation on Earth was progressing. She warned Raditz and Reiss to contact her if something went wrong. So far, there were no communications from Earth, so things should be progressing smoothly. But she was still unable to shake the growing sense of unease.


    A group of Saiyan guards flanked her as she made her way across the bridge leading to the landing platform. She was eager to return to the Menagerie and unwind on the ship. As she walked to the shuttle landing pad, she saw two familiar Saiyans kneeling nearby in her path. When she was close enough to the the kneeling Saiyans, she cheerfully asked them to rise.


    During her stay on Planet Garden, Bulma had become more familiar with Toma and Celipa. The pair of Saiyans were wearing black and red Promethean armor.Celipa had requested a pink leotard be made because the color wasn''t an available uniform under suit color.


    "What do you guys need?" she asked. She hadn''t expected to see them at the landing platform waiting for her. "Did you guys want to train on the Menagerie, with Nappa?"


    "No, we wanted to know if the Emperor needed any help?" the short haired Celipa asked confidently, crossing her arms.


    "Well, Celipa wanted know, I just came for support. I know there is no way a Super Saiyan needs any help." Toma clarified. "I think she''s obsessed."


    Bulma smiled and laughed as the female Saiyan quickly turned to glare at her friend. Toma didn''t understand what he had said to earn such a glare. It was true that in the last few years most of her conversations revolved around beating the emperor or becoming a Super Saiyan.


    "I haven''t heard anything, yet." Bulma answered. "I''m about to head to the Menagerie, if you come along, you guys can stay updated."


    The pair nodded and followed along to the waiting shuttle. Even though Bulma enjoyed flying herself, recently, she had been using Saiyan pilots. She did this to make sure they understood the operation of Promethean ships.


    The empress had become close with Celipa over the years. She found the female Saiyan''s attitude a breath of fresh air. She was completely unconcerned with their status differences, either from brashness or stupidity, either way Bulma enjoyed her presence.


    When the shuttle docked with the Menagerie, Toma separated from the two women to find Nappa. Toma found it hard to believe how much the bald Saiyan had changed since the time of King Vegeta. Now he was a respectable member of the Prometheus Empire willing to converse and train with others. Toma had to admit Nappa was thorough in teaching the training methods he learned from Emperor Raditz with those willing to learn. Toma found Nappa in the ship''s galley talking with Commander Lime. He knew the two of them had gotten close over the years, which was surprising to Toma.


    "Nappa, you guys waiting on word of Emperor Raditz?" Toma asked approaching the table Nappa was sitting.


    "No, Lime was telling about me about an outbreak of pirates in the East Galaxy Area." Nappa said.


    "The East Galaxy Area?" Toma thought about what Nappa said. "Is there really anything out there?"


    "We aren''t sure. Most of the information is sketchy at best." the commander informed him. "I''ll see you on the bridge later." Lime nodded to Nappa before leaving the table with her tray.


    "I guess you must be bored on Garden if you came all the way up here." Nappa probed. Usually Toma stayed on Garden helping to train the younger Saiyans.


    "No, Celipa thought the Emperor might need back up." Toma shrugged. Nappa released a hearty laugh at the response.


    Bulma and Celipa were sitting in the private lounge outside of the Emperor''s quarters on the Menagerie. Celipa listened, wide eyed, as Bulma went over the plans for expanding the empire. She found that the Earth woman''s plans were quite far reaching and long term. Celipa understood that the Emperor, or rather the empire, would need as many strong warriors as it could get. Fired up from hearing about the future of the empire, Celipa decided to go train. Bulma allowed her access to the private training rooms.


    Commander Lime was sitting at the communications hub, her station, when she received a forwarded communication from Big Gete. According to the message, a Promethean ship, the Shadow, was in distress and needed assistance. The Shadow was tasked with exploring the East Galaxy Area. Its mission was to investigate the pirate situation, while prospecting for resources or new technology. The Menagerie was the fastest ship in the fleet and would be able to reach the Shadow in just a few hours.


    Bulma was sitting on a elegantly designed couch in the Emperor''s quarters. She was wearing a pink robe and her hair was wrapped in a yellow towel. In her hands was a datapad with her sister''s book loaded on the screen. The book was her sister''s first bestseller and Bulma had yet to actually finish it. She had gotten over halfway through the story, but she wasn''t usually in the mood to read after working through documents all day.


    "Empress Bulma," Commander Lime''s voice spoke over the intercom.


    "I''m here." the Empress responded.


    "We''ve received a distress call from the Shadow." Lime explained, "The Captain would like to investigate."


    Bulma considered the request to investigate the problem facing the Shadow. She did want to help if possible, plus they might find something useful. However, she was still worried about what was happening on her homeworld. There still wasn''t any word from Earth, and Bulma didn''t want to check at a bad time, making the situation worse.


    "Tell the Captain he has my permission to investigate." Bulma answered. She was confident Raditz would be fine. He had some of the strongest people she knew helping out against the cyborg threat.


    The Menagerie traveled through the black sea of stars at its fastest speed towards the coordinates of the Shadow. While the ship was waiting in the Garden System, the crew''s duties had become more lax. The crew of the ship manned their stations with great bearing and professionalism when the Captain gave the order to move out.


    "What the hell are you doing!" Bardock glared at Yamcha. He was ready to blast the Earth man into dust for kicking the cure out of his son''s hands.


    "It seems the bio-weapon was a success." Yamcha grinned. "Kochin should be pleased by the results of the test."


    BAM!


    Yamcha was struck by a fierce punch to the face by Bardock. The ponytailed Earthling didn''t react to the pain at all. Two trenches were dug by Yamcha''s heels digging into the ground as he tried to stop.


    "Tsk, Tsk." Tien shook his head from side to side sarcastically, "That wasn''t a nice thing to do to your ally."


    BAM!


    Bardock attacked again this time delivering a bone shattering kick to Tien''s midsection. Krillin looked shocked, seeing his friend get blown off of the plateau they were standing on by Bardock.


    "What!" Krillin didn''t know what else to say.


    "Look at their heads! They have gold vein things attached!" Bardock explained as best he could.


    Krillin noticed what Bardock was talking about when he looked closer at Yamcha. There were golden vein like wire attachments running from the back of his head to his forehead. Tien quickly flew back and landed next to Yamcha. The pair''s eyes glowed golden before they powered up their Ki.


    "Gohan, go help your cousin!" Bardock snapped and turned to Krillin, "You up for fighting your friends?" Krillin focused on the job at hand nodded in response.


    Gohan obeyed the orders of his grandfather and flew towards Reiss''s location. His cousin was doing a very good job at putting up a fight against the cyborg Kochin. He wasn''t sure if he could even be of help to his cousin. As Gohan flew, he heard the sound of rock crumbling behind him. When he looked back, he saw that the plateau had crumbled into rubble from the fighters powering up. His grandfather and Krillin were engaging Yamcha and Tien in a mid air battle.


    "I''m here to help out." Gohan said as he landed by his now bulky cousin, "What do you need?"


    "A distraction." Reiss said without taking his eyes off his foe.


    "Do we need to strategize?" Gohan questioned.


    "No need, just do what you want and I''ll adapt." Reiss answered.


    Gohan nodded in understanding and charged his Ki while Reiss and Kochin waited. When he reached his max power, Gohan charged full speed towards Kochin, periodically vanishing and reappearing. The boy stayed right outside of Kochin''s reach while he tried to unbalance him.


    Reiss watched for a moment before figuring out how to work with Gohan''s tactics. When he knew how to proceed, he rapidly closed the distance to Kochin while firing Death Beams at the cyborg. The beams were targeted in such a way that they would narrowly miss his cousin. The beams would appear from under Gohan''s arms or legs after he punched or moved. If Reiss was less skilled, Gohan would have died ten times over from the beams.


    When Reiss closed the gap between himself and his opponent, he stopped firing the Death Beams and moved on to hand to hand combat. Every time Gohan would dodge Kochin, his older cousin would appear and follow up with a kick or punch to the cyborg. Eventually, Gohan was able to create the opening the blue haired boy was looking for. Reiss moved in with the appearance of performing a twin open palm thrust into Kochin''s gut.


    PROMETHEUS BUSTER!


    Hundreds of tiny orbs erupted from the back of the mammoth Dr Kochin as Reiss jumped away from his victim. The blue haired Saiyan watched as ice began to coat the torso of Dr. Kochin. The cyborg''s eyes flashed a multitude of warnings. His body''s freezing organ was ruptured, and needed serious repair, along with his energy generator unit. If he didn''t shut off all of his body''s added functions, he would die. But if he did, he would be too weak to defend himself.


    Vegeta''s was dancing around, avoiding the life draining grip of Dr. Gero when Kakarot arrived back on the scene. Now that he knew to avoid getting grabbed or firing Ki blasts at Dr. Gero, the fight would be a piece of cake. The prideful Saiyan could feel that all of Kakarot''s energy had returned. He must have eaten a Panacea bean. Kakarot looked determined as he transformed back into a Super Saiyan.


    "I''m not done with this guy." Kakarot said to Vegeta.


    "Fine. But if you mess up, I will finish it." Vegeta stated before turning to the remaining cyborg. He was wondering why Wheelo was just standing motionless, but it didn''t matter to him. The tall haired Saiyan fired a Ki blast at the ground in front of Dr. Wheelo.


    "If you are just going to stand around, you can''t blame anyone if you get hit by a stray blast." Vegeta taunted.


    The glow in Dr. Wheelo''s eyes subsided and he focused his attention on the person that attacked him. When Wheelo''s eyes stopped glowing, everyone noticed their Scouters reactivate. Not only was Wheelo controlling two people, he was also behind stopping the Scouters.


    "I wasn''t ''just standing around'' as you said." Wheelo explained. "I was going to kill your friends as the bio-weapon killed your leader."


    "What!" Vegeta looked back to see Tien and Yamcha getting off the ground with confused looks on their faces. As far as Vegeta could tell, Bardock and Krillin had fought Tien and Yamcha. All four of them looked worn down from the conflict.


    Raditz was half buried in rubble from being on the plateau when it collapsed. He pressed the button on the side of his Scouter after he saw that it had reactivated.


    "Ramen¡­" Raditz called the Yardratian back. He felt that his Ki was becoming highly unstable and the virus hadn''t even reached the contagious stages, which would be worse.


    The Yardratian appeared next to the downed Raditz. He was stunned by the battle that was going on, and the condition of his Emperor.


    "Don''t worry, my Lord, I''ll get you out of here." Ramen assured him. The Yardratian brought his index and middle fingers to his forehead and focused on their destination. When he found it, he touched Raditz by the shoulder and attempted to teleport. A spasm of unstable Ki from Raditz disrupted the Yardratian''s Instant Transmission.


    Celipa had finished training in the gravity gym of the Menagerie and was standing in the shower of her room, letting the warm water pour over her well toned body. She wanted to try fighting on Earth against the new threat, but figured the Super Saiyans had it under control.


    BOOM!


    The Menagerie was rocked by a massive explosion. The entire ship shook causing most of the crew, that were standing, to fall down. Celipa thought quick enough to float off of the deck to avoid losing her balance.


    The enhanced gravity abruptly shut down in the training room where Toma and Nappa were sparing. Red warning rights flashed all around them as they tried to figure out what had caused the explosion they heard. Crew members were quickly moving along the hallways assessing and repairing damage.


    On the bridge of the ship, Ramen appeared in a violent blast of light. The Yardratian had fallen to the floor unconscious, he looked wounded and was alone. The bridge crew looked at each other, confused by the situation. As soon as she ran out of the bathroom to grab her under suit to go investigate what happened, she saw Emperor Raditz sitting against the wall in a pool of blood, looking in her direction.


    "I know... this is the worst time... but I need your help." Raditz smiled weakly. He was thankful Saiyans had a different mindset when it came to modesty, getting slapped might kill him.

 35 Return

    "Menagerie, What happened?" Bulma was tossed to the floor by the sudden explosion onboard the ship. The lights in her quarters changed to red, signifying the ship was on alert. She quickly went to work throwing her uniform on.


    "Emperor Raditz and Specialist Ramen have returned to the ship." the Menagerie reported the cause of the disturbance.


    "Where are they?" the Empress knew a normal teleportation would not have caused the ship to become damaged.


    "Emperor Raditz is in Guest Celipa''s quarters. Specialist Ramen is on the bridge." the ship promptly replied.


    "Something must have gone terribly wrong for Raditz and Ramen to end up in two different places." the Empress mused. She didn''t have much time time to think about what could have happened before the ship delivered an urgent warning.


    "Alert! Emperor Raditz''s vitals are dropping."


    After receiving the news Bulma ran out of her room as fast as possible. She rushed down the hallways, taking the quickest possible route to the guest rooms. On the way, she made sure to inform the medical personnel to bring aid to the room.


    When she arrived at Celipa''s quarters, the female Saiyan standing near an injured an unconscious Raditz. She was wearing her pink under suit and in her hand was a bottle of the viral cure Big Gete synthesized years earlier.


    "What happened?" Bulma asked. She started to remember the time she talked Raditz into going to the Arctic Wastelands. She had never seen her husband that close to death since that time in Wheelo''s lab.


    "I don''t know, I heard an explosion and ran outta the shower and he was there on the floor. He needed me to give him this medicine." Celipa answered.


    Raditz needed to be transferred to the infirmary to heal from the damage sustained by the botched teleportation. They doctors needed to wait for a few hours for the cure to work before they could give him a Panacea bean. The medical personnel were forced to use conventional means to treat his injuries until the cure did its job.


    She wanted to wait in the medical facility until Raditz was fully healed, but the Captain had sent word that he needed her on the bridge. When she exited the infirmary''s sliding double doubles, she saw Celipa leaning against a bulkhead with her arms crossed. Her fierce eyes were staring at the floor in front of her.


    "I''m surprised you''re here." Bulma said.


    "Well... he said he would owe me if I gave him the cure! So I wanted to make sure my ticket to becoming a Super Saiyan survived!" the female Saiyan became animated.


    "I need to get to the bridge." Bulma said before asking, "Do you want to go along?"


    The Saiyan thought about the question for a moment. Going along would probably be better than waiting, but she wasn''t an official member of the crew and didn''t want to take too many liberties.


    "No, I think I''ll pass. If I get bored, I''ll go train."


    Bulma smiled and head down the hallway towards the lift that would take her to the bridge. When she stepped onto the bridge, she saw the Shadow on the view screen drifting in space. The ship appeared to have been heavily damaged. Ordinary pirates should not have the ability to completely outgun a Promethean Mother ship.


    After Bulma left the infirmary quieted down with the exception of the machines monitoring Raditz and the doctors conversing among themselves. One of the doctors discovered that Raditz had begun bleeding internally and required emergency surgery or he wouldn''t survive to long enough to eat a Panacea bean. Despite the urging of the doctors Raditz refused any anesthesia. They tried to protest saying that any movement do to pain could kill him.


    "My Lord, you understand that you will need to keep your power suppressed for the entire procedure. You can''t even use it reflexively." the doctor explained in a shaky voice.


    "Wheelo did this to me!" Raditz managed to grab the doctor''s coat and pull him close. "So I''m going to enjoy his gift to the fullest so I know how much to pay him back!" Raditz grimaced and shoved the doctor away.


    During the surgery Raditz, through sheer force of will stayed, conscious the entire time. The pain and anger over what happen caused the Emperor to hovered back a forth between sanity and insanity. While laying completely motionless his eyes filled with a murderous rage he never realized he had.


    At one point he happened to glance over to surgical waiting room and saw the Saiyan that helped him earlier staring through the glass window. When he laid his eyes on her she thought she could physically feel the murderous intent behind his rabid gaze. She''d never experience anything like it in her life.


    When she arrived at the bridge Bulma was greeted by salutes of the crew.


    "Empress, how should we proceed?" the Captain asked his superior, "I know we originally came to investigate, but considering current events should we abort the mission?"


    "No we need to see if there is anyone is alive on the Shadow and collect the records." the Empress commanded.


    "At once, my Empress." the Captain nodded.


    Back on Earth, Kakarot was pressuring the cyborg, Dr. Gero. He fell back on hand to hand combat to avoid the cyborg absorbing his Ki. Kakarot was moving much faster than Gero had projected from the data he''d gathered over the years. However, his predictive processes were still capable of keeping up with the Super Saiyan.


    Gero charged at his Super Saiyan foe ready to attack. His augmented reality vision made phantom versions of Gero appear displaying the optimal attack pattern he should use. The cyborg followed the highlighted steps that only he could see, avoiding Kakarot''s counter attacks at every turn.


    Gero attempted to use an uppercut, but his wrist was tightly grasped by his opponent. Kakarot forced Gero''s arm down, stepping over it at the same time, forcing Gero''s face into the dirt. The Super Saiyan had one foot on the white haired cyborg''s back, pressing him harder into the ground, while he continued to twist the arm he was holding.


    Kakarot was almost caught off guard by the cyborg''s head rotating a full one-eighty to stare at him. The Saiyan was forced to jump back to avoid to red laser beams that fired from the cyborg''s eyes. Kakarot still had Gero''s arm in his hand when he jump away to avoid the beams. To his surprise, the lasers made a right angle, charging right into the path Kakarot was dodging. He threw Gero''s severed arm into the path of the beams to avoid being hit. Reiss noticed the attack and hoped his father saw it because he was looking for a way to make Ki blasts zig-zag. Reiss had been so absorbed by his fight that he failed to notice his father had left the battlefield with Ramen.


    BOOM!


    A thick black smoke filled the air, surrounding the spot where Kakarot and Dr. Gero were having their battle. Because he was concealed by the smoke, Kakarot couldn''t tell where Gero was going to attack from. The Super Saiyan made certain not to lower his guard until the smoke cleared.


    Vegeta was finding Dr. Wheelo to be an odd opponent to face. The cyborg''s body was almost like rubber in the way it could stretch and deform. Each time Vegeta struck the doctor, his fist would be absorbed by the cyborg''s face, or the body part would just stretch.


    "Dr. Wheelo, help me!" Dr. Kochin shouted. He was still being beaten on by the two children he was facing.


    Kakarot had lost sight of Dr. Gero after the smoke cleared, the one armed cyborg was nowhere to be seen.


    "I agree with Kochin, they are more powerful than we anticipated." Dr. Gero reappeared on a nearby plateau. "There are to many of them. We should retreat for now."


    The mechanical tendrils attached to Tien and Yamcha completely retracted behind their heads, reverting into two large bee robots. Krillin helped his friends off of the ground while Bardock tried to blast the robots as they flew towards Wheelo. The bees were too swift to be hit while they were in flight, each of the blasts past harmlessly by the bees.


    "Looks like it''s goodbye." Kochin smirked at his opponents.


    "Goodbye." Reiss laughed.


    Kochin was confused where the voice came from, the blue haired boy was no longer in front of him. The cyborg''s thoughts were erratic as he tried to figure out how the voice came from behind him. Kochin slowly turned only to see the blue haired boy standing behind him. A glowing blade of Ki was formed around the boy''s hand.


    "How!" Kochin shouted.


    "Don''t worry about it. You''re already dead... Or deactivated?" Reiss deactivated the Ki around his hand and sped back to his cousin.


    Kochin tried his best to speak, but was unable to communicate, his mouth refused to cooperate. Gohan looked on in awe as four lines developed along Kochin''s body. The light in the cyborg''s eyes faded as his body separated into pieces and fell to the ground.


    "Tsk, Unfortunate." Wheelo spat witnessing his partner''s death, "Gero! I''m using it!"


    The two robotic bees began to glow a bright white as they moved closer to be battlefield. The fighters looked over at the robots as they began to emit a high pitched humming sound.


    BOOM!


    A loud explosion followed by bright blinding light filled the field of battle. The fully organic warriors had no choice but to try and avert their gaze. The light couldn''t have lasted more than eight seconds, but when it cleared Gero and Wheelo were gone. The only thing left behind, was the body of their comrade Dr. Kochin.


    "What''s going on!" a feminine voice called out from the sky.


    The confused warriors looked to the sky to the mysterious blonde girl who gave the warning about the cyborgs. The group gathered near the spot the girl had landed. Vegeta was staring intently at the girl as she walked over to the destroyed body of Dr. Kochin.


    "We were fighting the cyborgs, but two got away." Kakarot explained.


    "This isn''t one of the cyborgs!" she said raising her voice, "Were the two that got away a male a female?"


    "No they were both guys. One was an old man." Kakarot said.


    The girls was looking frustrated by the information she obtained from Kakarot. She rubbed her forehead with both hands trying to relieve the headache she felt coming.


    "What''s happening! It shouldn''t be like this!" the ground under the girl exploded away creating a crater, "We need to find those cyborgs."


    "Eschalot!" Vegeta shouted in confusion.


    The girl''s aura calmed down and she looked over at the short Saiyan. It was the first time she had the chance to meet her father in person. She never thought he would be able to figure her identity out on his own.


    "How did you know?" she asked sheepishly.


    "You look like your just like your mother!" he said.


    The girl wished she did look just like her mother, then she would be taller. Growing up she developed a complex about her height. Now being face to face with her father the girl realized that even he was taller than her. Fortunately, she didn''t have much time to think about it, because the threat of the cyborgs was growing by the minute.


    "Yes, I''m Eschalot, Dad." she confirmed, "But we don''t have time to talk as much as I''d like to. We need to find the cyborgs."


    Vegeta and his father had been all over baby Eschalot since she was born. Vegeta''s father had went into full grandparent mode, trying to change diapers and carrying pacifiers around in his mouth. Tights took advantage of their enthusiasm at every turn she could. She really wondered if the Saiyans would behave the same way over a male child.


    The group scoured the nearby islands in search of where the two cyborgs had escaped to with no luck. They had split up to better their chances at locating the fleeing scientists.


    "We could just start blowing up islands until we find them." Bardock suggested over his Scouter.


    "We might have to." Kakarot agreed pressing the button on his Scouter.


    "Guy''s, I found them!" Piccolo informed the group.


    The warriors quickly caught up with Piccolo''s location, a deserted rocky canyon with an assortment of ravines. When they arrived there was no sign of their targets in the area.


    "They went into that cave." Piccolo pointed out where he saw the cyborgs disappear.


    Inside the cavern the cyborgs had made their way through a set of gigantic mechanical steel doors. This was the location of their secret laboratory. They were sure it wouldn''t be long before their enemies caught up to them.


    "Wheelo, we are going to have to activate the others. We have no choice." Gero pleaded.


    "I''m fine with doing that. You''re the only one that found lack of control an issue." Wheelo said while entering a sequence of commands into a computer system.


    "Which ones? The prototypes or the finished product." he asked glancing between pods labeled 13-15 and 16-18.

 36 Activation

    "I think the twins will be enough." Dr. Gero said.


    Highly pressurized white gasses billowed from the pods that housed the cyborg scientists'' creations. As much as Gero hated the idea of tools he couldn''t control, he understood that the situation warranted the release of the modified humans #17 and #18.


    The pair of cyborgs walked forwards, stepping out of their storage pods, as the doors opened. The twins slowly examined the surroundings of the secret lab. Their eyes paused when they spotted the two mad scientists.


    "I didn''t think we''d wake up again, Sis." the black haired cyborg said, "I thought we were done for sure after that lab accident last time."


    "Something must have the good doctor spooked more than us if he woke us back up." the blonde #18 smirked, "Look, he''s even missing an arm."


    "This damage is only superficial." Gero stated as cables from his severed limb extended down into a box of components. The self-repair function of Dr. Gero''s body was adapted from Big Gete technology. "We are currently being pursued. Dr. Wheelo and I need you to take care of our enemies. It''s what you were made for."


    Neither of the newly freed cyborgs looked thrilled by Gero''s orders. In fact #17 had a clear look of annoyance written all over his face.


    "They will probably be here any minute. I suggest you hurry or we''ll use the others instead." Gero threatened as he retrieved a remote from a nearby desk. "I can easily put you back to sleep."


    "Now, now, Dr. Gero. That is no way to ask for a favor." Dr. Wheelo chided. He was originally against Gero''s plan of kidnapping the twins for their experiments.


    Wheelo knew that if the subjects were unwilling, any hope of control would be gone. That''s is why over the years he and Dr. Kochin tried to forge a good relationship with the subjects, considering the circumstances. He and Dr. Kochin made it a point to ask for their opinion on optional modifications.


    BOOM!


    The gigantic steel doors of the lab exploded, scattering debris throughout the lab. The group that was following finally made their grand entrance. Vegeta, being the one that decided to blast his way in, entered the lab first.


    "They are here!" Gero pointed to the entrance. "Hurry up and get rid of them, or do I have to resort to threatening you again?"


    "No need, we''ll handle it." #17 said with a grin,"Right Sis?"


    "Good." Gero nodded,"Now go!"


    The twins shared a glance just for a moment before giving each other a nod and vanishing. The body of Dr. Gero crumpled to the ground headless. Behind where his body fell stood #17 holding Gero''s head between his palms. Dr. Wheelo was going to make a move, but #18 was already behind him with a Ki blade pressed against his throat. He could only stand by and watch as the brilliant brain of Dr. Gero was crushed in the hands of the scarf wearing #17.


    "I feel much better now." #17 sighed in relief before crushing the shutdown remote beneath his heel,


    "You aren''t going to make trouble for us, are you Wheelo? I kinda like you, but I''ll still kill you if necessary."


    "No, I''m not going to get in your way. Gero was a fool for not seeing the potential you two have. It would have been a tragedy to shackle your minds." Wheelo spoke reassuringly.


    The group that had come to stop the cyborgs just stood in the labs entrance observing the scene of the betrayal of Dr. Gero. They had not expect the doctor to be killed by his own creations just minutes after their release.


    Eschalot took a few trembling steps forwards to get a better view of the lab. Her emotions were going crazy from seeing the release of the cyborgs that had haunted her dreams for as long as she could remember. Despite her warning, and best efforts, the thing she feared most still came to fruition. The cyborgs were set loose. To make matters worse, there were already more cyborgs than there should have been.


    "It''s them." her voice was almost a whisper as she stared into the chaotic lab. "It''s them."


    "What?" Vegeta asked, "Are those the right ones?"


    The blonde Saiyan girl nodded, "Yes, they took everything from me."


    "Then I will make sure to crush them. Prepare to behold the power of Super Saiyan Vegeta." the arrogant Saiyan declared.


    Vegeta quickly transformed into his Super Saiyan state. He extended his arm with his fingers splayed and palm facing towards the laboratory while his Ki surged. Realizing what was about to happen, the others quickly moved away from the lab entrance as the blue ball of Ki formed in front of Vegeta''s palm.


    BIG BANG ATTACK!


    When the blast was released, it caused the entire top portion of the mountain to turn to dust. The group hovered a short distance away from the blast zone. The area was filled with raining pebbles. Vegeta remained where he was standing with his arms crossed in pride over the destruction his attack caused. There was no doubt in his mind that he had killed all three remaining cyborgs with a single attack.


    "Hahaha!" Vegeta threw his head back and laughed, intoxicated by his own power.


    A faint green glow could be seen through the dusty smoke that was obscuring the area. Vegeta abruptly silenced his laughter the second he noticed the glow. He concentrated, focusing his eyes to get a better look at the source of the green light. As the smoke cleared, he saw that it was a barrier created by the cyborg #17. The barrier had not only protected #17, but also his sister and Dr. Wheelo. The surprising thing for Vegeta was the fact that none of the cyborgs appeared to be injured, at all. They didn''t even have an out of place hair.


    This fact didn''t sit well with the prideful Saiyan. He hadn''t used his full power on the attack, but it should have done some damage. The fighters observing from the sky were equally as shocked by the cyborgs lack of damage.


    "How''s that possible!" Yamcha thought he was dreaming.


    "I hate to admit it, but that attack from Vegeta was stronger than anything I could muster, and it did nothing!" Tien stated.


    Piccolo silently watched the spectacle below, while clenching his fist. Training with Kakarot over the last three years opened his eyes to how fast Saiyans could improve their strength. He knew that if he was going to have any hope of being useful in the future, he would need to take drastic measures.


    "What is Dr. Wheelo doing?" Reiss pointed down at the ruins of the laboratory.


    The doctor was furiously typing commands into one of the remaining consoles. He was activating the emergency procedure for the remaining pods left inside the destroyed lab. Metal walls rose from the ground beneath each of the pods, enclosing them in a shell. After a final code was entered by Wheelo, the encased pods blasted away from the base.


    "We need to stop those!" Bardock started to make a move after the pods. "There is no way lettin''em go will lead to anything good!"


    "Why don''t you hold on?" the orange scarf wearing, black haired, cyborg appeared in the air near the group. They were all caught off guard by the speed of the cyborg. "My sister is about to play with your loud mouth friend down there. I''m betting it will be quite the show."


    "I don''t wanna be left out." Kakarot grinned, "You don''t wanna be bored either, right?"


    "Please, you and your group are no match for us. It will be boring either way." #17 laughed.


    BOOM!


    Because of the sudden appearance of #17, the group failed to see what had happened. #18 had sent Vegeta packing with an explosive punch to his face. The Super Saiyan tried to stabilize himself as he was sent backwards from the hit. The group saw several rock formations crumble from Vegeta flying through them at supersonic speeds.


    "Tsk,tsk, he''s already off to a poor start." #17 shook his head, completely ignoring the other fighters.


    He watched his sister rocket towards her opponent without waiting for him to recover.


    By the time Vegeta clawed his way out of the rubble of the mountain he crashed into, #18 was already in his face. The arrogant Saiyan had no time to react to the sudden arrival of the his opponent. The female cyborg brought her knee up, striking Vegeta in the chin.


    Eschalot winced when she saw the devastating rising knee that sent her father rocketing into the sky. The clouds overhead parted in a ring pattern from Vegeta passing through them. #18 was already waiting in the sky for her opponent to arrive. She tensed the muscles in her leg as the Saiyan drew closer.


    WHAM!


    When Vegeta had arrived at the proper location, #18''s kick erupted into his gut, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood as he crashed down into a nearby landmass. The battle was going as #17 thought it would. He had complete confidence in his sister''s and his abilities. If all the fighters were as weak as Vegeta, they wouldn''t even need to use their special abilities. Just relying on their infinite energy generators would be enough.


    "We should probably chase after them if we want to see how my sister wins." #17 informed the group. As he was leaving, Kakarot finally couldn''t bear standing by any longer and decided to stop him.


    "You think I''m just going to let you leave?" Kakarot asked. "I''m ready try my luck out."


    The golden Super Saiyan aura blazed around Kakarot as he transformed, dropping into his fighting pose. The cyborg didn''t know what to make of the Saiyans confidence in being able to put up a better fight than his friend.


    "Fine, I''ll make this quick so I can see the rest of the fight." the cyborg declared with a hint of boredom.


    #17 quickly crossed his arms in front of his face, to block the punch launched by the Super Saiyan. Kakarot used this as an opportunity to attempt to put some distance between the deadly cyborg and the rest of the group.


    In the East Galaxy Area, one of the Menagerie''s shuttles docked with the adrift Shadow. Nappa, Toma, and a technician, Ensign Canta, exited the shuttle to investigate what happened to the Shadow. The ship was operating on very low power and neither Nappa or Toma could sense anybody living on the ship. As they traveled along the hallways they saw clear signs of battle damage. The walls had scorch marks and the floors were covered in broken equipment.


    When the group reached the lift that led to the bridge level, they found that the door was locked down due to damage. It took less than twenty minutes for Ensign Canta to repair the doors, allowing them to open. On the bridge, the investigation team was met by an assortment of damaged, sparking, consoles. Canta felt personally hurt by all of the damage to the ship''s systems.


    "Once I repair some of this, I can get the Shadow''s AI back online. Then it should be able to tell us what happened." Canta stated.


    He removed a DynoCap from his black and red, Prometheus Empire, mechanic jumpsuit. When he pressed the small plunger, the capsule exploded into a full sized toolbox. The Ensign made his way over to a console and positioned himself underneath it, he had arrived at his wiry battlefield. It was one hour before he was able to get the Shadow AI back online.


    "Shadow, this is Ensign Canta from the Menagerie." Canta identified himself. "Can you hear me?"


    "Affirmative, Ensign Canta." came a monotone reply. "I am online, and functioning below capacity."


    "What happened to the crew?" Nappa asked.


    "Searching memory." the same disembodied voice stated. "The crew was taken to be enslaved by the group terrorizing the East Galaxy Area, now identified as the Bojack Pirate Syndicate."

 37 Defea

    Kakarot managed to push #17 away from his friends. However, to his surprise, no matter what attack he tried, he was unable to penetrate the green barrier the cyborg produced. The force of the Super Saiyan''s fists against the barrier rocked the surrounding area.


    He assumed that he could eventually wear down the shield, but it showed no signs of losing strength. #17 appeared bored as he watched Kakarot relentlessly attack his barrier over and over again. The young cyborg saw Dr. Wheelo approach the area.


    "I don''t want to rush you, but we should go retrieve the pods." Wheelo shouted.


    "It''s fine. I was bored anyways." #17 answered.


    The cyborg extended his arm towards Kakarot and his green barrier rapidly folded over containing the Super Saiyan. The now trapped Kakarot, pounded against the inside of the barrier in a desperate attempt to free himself. The orange scarfed cyborg clenched his fist, causing the barrier to shrink in size, further restricting his opponent''s movements. When #17 opened his palm, Kakarot was hurled inside the green ball far into the distance. Dr. Wheelo and the young cyborg watched as a green explosion bloomed on the horizon.


    "I can''t believe you an Dr. Gero were worried about such weaklings." #17 commented to the doctor.


    "I hope I didn''t miss #18''s fight."


    Vegeta wasn''t faring any better than Kakarot against his enemy. Even when was able to get an attack in, it had no visible effect on the cyborg. He could see the other two cyborgs flying over, which meant the others didn''t fare any better. Despite the damage he suffered during their fight, Vegeta was getting even more enraged by the fact the blonde cyborg was lazily batting his strikes away.


    "Hey, #18, Wheelo wants to go on a scavenger hunt to collect the pods. Plus, I want to go find something more entertaining to do." #17 joked.


    Annoyed by the nonchalant conversation, Vegeta decided to use the distraction by throwing a punch directly at the face of #18.He was stunned by the blonde cyborg''s ability to effortlessly catch his fist in her palm. What was even more surprising, was the fact she didn''t even turn in his direction to see the incoming attack.


    #18 smirked at the shocked Super Saiyan, while putting pressure on his trapped fist. Vegeta struggled to free his hand by trying to pull away from the cyborg. The Super Saiyan felt the bones in his hand start to break from the extreme grip of his opponent. In an attempt to get her to release him, Vegeta tried to kick the girl, hoping she would let go to dodge. Contrary to what he believed would happen, she instead caught his leg with her other hand.


    She wasted no time in breaking the leg of the Super Saiyan, Vegeta. The snapping of bone was loud enough for her companions to hear where they were hovering. Vegeta grimaced in pain from feeling the bones in both his hand and leg getting pulverized by the young cyborg.


    ZAP!


    A golden electrical energy surrounded #18 causing the captured Vegeta''s eyes to turn solid white from the pain of the extremely high voltage coursing through his body. The pain from the electrical shock felt like it lasted for any eternity. Vegeta''s golden hair reverted back to black and his golden aura disappeared.


    When the cyborg was satisfied with the results of her bio-electricity, she released Vegeta, delivering a massive kick to the side of the Saiyan. Vegeta felt the bones in his arm, ribs, and back shatter from the impact of the kick. He was propelled into the distance. His body skipped across the nearby body of water, finally coming to rest on a nearby island.


    "Well done, Sis." #17 clapped as he landed next to his twin.


    "It wasn''t hard." she answered and asked, "You mentioned something about a scavenger hunt?"


    "Yeah. Unless you have a better idea?" he asked.


    "No, I just want to get a change of clothes on the way." she said.


    "I''m sure we can do that." #17 glared at Dr. Wheelo.


    "Of course, we can get all the clothing you want." Dr. Wheelo readily agreed.


    After deciding their next move, the three cyborgs flew off, leaving their broken opponents behind. The group quickly recovered Kakarot and Vegeta. Both of the Saiyans were on the verge of death after their encounter with the cyborgs. If the team was any slower in giving the Saiyans a Panacea bean, both would have died. Kakarot lost much of his blood and over half of his body was covered in burns.


    "This doesn''t make sense!" a recovered Vegeta fumed, "We are Super Saiyans, the ultimate warriors. Weshouldn''t have lost to cyborgs! There must be a way to get stronger, to go beyond the limits of a Super Saiyan!"


    Kakarot looked excited by the thoughts of getting stronger than a Super Saiyan. The cyborgs proved that there were still challenges to overcome. If they had time to train even harder, he was sure they would pull through in a rematch.


    "I''m all for trying to go beyond a Super Saiyan, but we don''t have time." Kakarot said, "It probably won''t take long before the cyborgs start destroying the planet."


    "Kakarot''s right, Dad, we don''t have time to train long enough to stop them. We need some other plan of attack." Eschalot voiced her opinion.


    "I know exactly how you can do just that." Piccolo spoke up, "I know where you can get an entire years worth of training in a day."


    "You don''t mean the Room of Spirit and Time?" Kakarot asked.


    Piccolo was somewhat surprised Kakarot knew about the mysterious room, "How did you know about that?"


    "When I was younger, I tried to trained on the Lookout and tried to last a full day in the room. It was too hard at the time, and I never tried again." Kakarot explained.


    The cyborgs were gathered outside of a ruined clothing store in West City. They stopped there so #18 could update her wardrobe, but destroyed the store after the cashier threatened to call the authorities over them not paying. #18 made Wheelo carry her eight shopping bags while her twin brother went to steal a vehicle.


    The trio had spent the last two hours in the store waiting for the blonde cyborg to pick out the clothes she wanted. As much as Wheelo hated the delay, he didn''t have the power to force the twins to work according to his schedule. #17 returned a few minutes after he left with a stolen hovering moving van.


    "At least I won''t have to carry bags anymore." Wheelo thought to himself.


    "Good work #17. Transporting the pods will be easier with this." Wheelo praised.


    "Thanks Doc, I thought you''d like it." #17 replied. "Now get in."


    After #18 and Wheelo were in the van, #17 flew off in the direction of the closest pod. According to the data screen Wheelo was using to track the pods, the nearest one was located just outside of West City. Once all of the pods were secure, he could focus on using their data to continue his research into creating the perfect body.


    In the forested area on the outskirts of West City, the trio of cyborgs found the pod they were searching for at the bottom of a crater. As they approached the pod, the group could see that it was already opened. When they drew closer they could see a large gray body hanging outside of the pod.


    Dr. Wheelo scanned the area and saw on the lid of the pod an unknown viscous substance. Whatever the substance was, it seems to have eaten through the locking mechanism of the pod allowing it to be opened.


    "#14," Wheelo sighed, "His CPU, Power Source, and Processors are all missing!"


    "But how?" #17 asked,"Nobody could have known about his technology to randomly steal it."


    "This is bad, we should probably get to the other pods faster." #18 said.


    Raditz was finally back on his feet after he was cleared to take a Panacea bean. Being fully healed from his ordeal still didn''t calm the anger the Emperor harbored towards the cyborgs. Though he felt perfectly fine, the doctors ordered him to stay in the sickbay for a few more hours just to make certain his condition was normal.


    The Empress was in and out of the Sickbay visiting Raditz after he was healed. She explained the situation about the finding the Shadow and its missing crew.


    "Raditz, can you hear me?" a female voice asked.


    Raditz looked around the room to find the source of the voice, but he didn''t see anyone. He was also sure the voice was inside his head, but he wanted to look around just to make certain he wasn''t hallucinating.


    "Yes, I can hear you." he answered. "Who are you?"


    "I''m East Kai." the voice introduced herself, "You are in my East Galactic Area."


    "A Kai, this is the first time I have spoke to one of your kind." Raditz mused.


    "I know your brother trained with North Kai. That''s how I know about you. I made some inquiries after you appeared in my Area." she informed him.


    "What do want?" Raditz asked. He wasn''t in the mood to waste time while the cyborgs were doing as they pleased.


    "I wanted you to look into the Bojack Syndicate that is terrorizing my sector." she said.


    "What''s in it for me?" the Emperor didn''t feel like assisting the East Kai if there wasn''t anything he could get from it, especially when he had his own goals.


    The East Kai didn''t know Raditz wouldn''t be willing to assist one of the gods. Most beings would be pleased to be of assistance to the overseer of one of the four Galactic Areas. North Kai informed her that even though the Prometheus Empire was spreading out from the North Area taking over worlds, it was mostly improving the lives of the galaxy.


    For most of his life, Raditz had avoiding trying to communicate with any of the godly beings of the universe. He blamed their lack of activity as one of the reasons he needed to work so hard to improve the universe. He felt the Kais were overly lax in managing their affairs for whatever reason.


    "I can give you permission to come to my world to train. I''m positive my instruction would be better than anything you could pick up from North Kai."


    "No." Raditz flatly refused the offer.


    "What is it that you want?" East Kai chose to just ask what could move the Emperor.


    "I want you to owe me a favor to be named later." Raditz offered.


    "You want a god to owe you a favor?" East Kai sounded like she was offended by the suggestion.


    "It''s either that or you can find someone else to deal with your problem." Raditz really didn''t care either way. If he helped the East Kai there was a strong possibility he could rescue the crew of the Shadow. If he went back to Earth the could vent against the cyborgs for what Wheelo did to him.


    "Fine, I''ll owe you a favor." East Kai sounded defeated. "I thought you Saiyans were a warrior race that loved to fight."


    "East Kai, you aren''t dealing with an average Saiyan." Raditz laughed.

 38 Sizle

    "You should know that Bojack and his top people are all members of the race known as the People of Hera. Like the Saiyans of the North Galaxy Area, the People of Hera were a warrior race." East Kai explained, "And also like the Saiyans'' home, Planet Hera was destroyed."


    "What was the cause?" Raditz asked. He was curious as to how the planet of a warrior race was wiped out. "Was it Frieza?"


    "No." she answered, "You may not be aware of this but there are forces of balance in the universe. The People of Hera were victims of one such force."


    Raditz was ninety percent certain the East Kai was referring to Beerus, the God of Destruction. The People of Hera probably did something to the cat god angering him enough to destroy their planet. It might not have been anything major, Beerus has been know to wipe out planets for the smallest of offenses.


    Raditz wasn''t too concerned by Beerus''s overzealous destruction of planets, he was just doing his job after all. Plus, he had long periods of inactivity due to his napping schedule. The Supreme Kai on the other hand was severely lacking in his job of creation. He could have built up other planets during the time Beerus was asleep, but he was to terrified about the potential return of Majin Buu.


    "I suppose you know where they are. It is your Galactic Area after all." Raditz guessed.


    "Yes, I do." East Kai''s voice sounded full of pride. "Your people were taken to Planet Sizle. It''s a planet that''s home to a black market controlled by the Bojack Syndicate."


    "Do you want the planet wiped out or should I keep casualties minimum?" the Emperor asked.


    "I would rather you not destroy the planet." East Kai answered.


    Raditz would''ve been lying if he said he wasn''t disappointed. He wanted to see what it was like to blow up an entire planet, but had avoided it as to not lower the Mortal Level of the universe. He was consoled by the fact he could vent his anger against the pirate syndicate. He did note that she only said the planet shouldn''t be destroyed, which meant he didn''t have to worry about collateral damage.


    The Menagerie had towed its sister ship the Shadow to a nearby asteroid field. The heavily damaged ship''s AI could use the resources in the asteroid to run its self repair protocols. Assuming the crew could be returned the ship would be back able to return to its scouting mission.


    In Ramen''s luxuriously decorated guest room he and his Emperor sat meditating on an oval blue rug. Do to the horribly botched teleport the Yardratian had to retrain himself in the use of Instant Transmission. Raditz chose to take time to become more familiar with the technique, while Ramen practiced the basics. One botched teleport was enough for Raditz to decide to really on himself for teleportation.


    "My Lord," the synthesized voice of the Menagerie said, "You wanted me to inform you the minute you were cleared to leave the the ship."


    "Thank you, Menagerie." Raditz responded.


    "Your thanks is unnecessary I am designed to serve, Your Majesty." the AI responded.


    The long haired Saiyan marched to the shuttle bay to met his team. Waiting for his arrival in the hangar were the group of Saiyans that were onboard: Nappa, Toma, and Celipa. They had been informed earlier that they would be accompanying the emperor on his trip to Planet Sizle to rescue the crew of the Shadow and put an end to the pirate syndicate. Raditz thought it would probably be better to go with the strongest people currently on the ship, while the Menagerie stayed to guard the vulnerable Shadow.


    The shuttle traveled at its fastest speed towards the destination of the planet of pirates. Raditz sat with his arms crossed as he focused on what he learned with Ramen. Nappa moved up front to have a lively conversation with the pilot.


    "It''s been a long time since I''ve been out on mission." Toma said, "I''m actually looking forward to trying out my new skills."


    "Wiping out a group of pirates is going to be easy." Celipa commented.


    "You don''t want to say that because it will turn out to be complicated." the spiky haired Toma laughed.


    "Who cares, that just means it will be more fun." Celipa added, "I like challenges."


    "It won''t be complicated this will be quick. I have things to do." Raditz joined the conversation, "I will offer them a chance to survive then when they inevitably decline we will eliminate them."


    "So¡­ we are clearing the planet like in the old days?" Toma look for confirmation.


    "No, we aren''t completely getting rid of the sentients if we don''t have to. Just in this particular mission we don''t have to be careful about collateral damage." Raditz clarified.


    East Kai''s coordinates were accurate because the shuttle quickly located Planet Sizle. The shuttle pilot stopped the vehicle in the upper atmosphere and held his position. After pressing a combination of keys, on his console, the hatch of the shuttle opened allowing its occupants to drop down towards the planet.


    The planet had a similar make up to the Earth with one notable difference being the fact the sky was light purple and most of the planets were blue in color. The group obtained a detailed view of the pirate city as they fell to the ground. They chose to land on the outskirts of the city and make their way in on foot.


    The pirates seemed to have an appreciation for aesthetics because the architecture of the city had a Greek feel to it. There were many tall marble like pillars and stone buildings lining the streets crowded streets. Various shops and stalls were set up along the streets, full of vendors hustling their products to all potential buyers.


    There were many different species of aliens walking around the city, little attention was paid to the four Saiyans walking the street. Most of the population was happily chatting while heading towards the massive coliseum structure in the middle of the city. Raditz motioned towards the structure and the group quickly flew over the gigantic coliseum.


    Looking down into the arena, the Saiyans could see the crew of the Shadow held captive behind force fields. Cepila pointed to the seat of honor overlooking the arena.


    "Look that''s probably the guy, right?" she asked.


    The man she was pointing to had a open blue long tailed coat with a black scarf tied along his head. He had teal skin, orange hair, and a muscular build. There were three other warriors seated near him with similar teal skin and orange hair.


    "Yeah, that''s Bojack." Raditz confirmed. "Let''s go introduce ourselves."


    Raditz and his fellow Saiyans descended into the coliseum to the surprise of all those gathered. The spectators were not used to random people making appearances in the middle of the show. They had paid good money to see the capture aliens fight to the death.


    Bojack rose from his throne to get a better view of the people that inserted themselves into the middle of his show. It had been some time since some dared to go against his orders. However, Bojack knew that rebellions were bound to happen at some point, which gave him the chance to flex his muscles. He felt that getting the chance to crushing the newcomers would be an interesting distraction from his usual routine.


    When he took a closer look at the intruders, Bojack noticed their uniforms were the same as the slaves his people had captured for the coliseum. He knew that the intruders weren''t rebels, but an insignificant rescue party. This wouldn''t be the first time a group of would be heroes tried to get back something he stole, usually they would end up dead or part of his collection of slaves.


    "Are you Saiyans?" Bojack asked after noticing the tails of the invaders.


    "Yes." Raditz answered.


    "Interesting," the pirate smiled, "Even all the way out here in the East Galaxy the stories ofyour fabled warrior race spread, but I thought the Saiyans were extinct."


    "Bojack you have one chance. Surrender and work for me and I''ll bring your Planet Hera back along with your people. Chose to resist and you will die." Raditz delivered his terms in his usual arrogant tone.


    "Hahaha, you''re a funny guy." Bojack laughed, "If I cared about Planet Hera I might take you up on that offer, but I don''t!"


    Raditz not paying attention to the pirate''s taunts fired a Ki beam towards the generator powering the cage force fields imprisoning his people. The force flickered for a moment before fulling dissipated do to loss of power.


    Angered by his captives being freed the pirate leader vanished from his throne and reappeared in the center of the arena. Less than a second later his close followers appeared beside him.


    "You think you can come to my planet and do whatever you want!" Bojack yelled. His followers knew once their boss was enraged the only thing that would calm him is the destruction of what caused his anger.


    "Yes, I can come to your planet and do as I please. A mere pirate doesn''t have the ability to stop me." Raditz taunted. "Especially when you caught me at a bad time."


    "Kill this worm!" Bojack ordered throwing a punch at Raditz.


    The Emperor erupted into his Super Saiyan form as he caught the pirate boss''s fist. Before Bojack''s people could move they were attacked by Raditz''s allies. The galactic emperor tightened the grip on Bojack''s fist and yanked the pirate forward. The orange haired Bojack was pulled directly into a devastating headbutt by Raditz. Many of the people fleeing the stadium were thrown to the ground by the earthquake caused by the violent impact of the headbutt.


    Bojack''s brain was rattled by the force of the blow. He was caught off guard by the power of his opponent. Slug was the only being in the East Galaxy left that could pose a problem for the pirate, so he wasn''t accustomed to being challenge by foes of such strength. The Namekian tyrant''s life had nearly come to an end due to his advanced age. Once he finally died the Bojack Syndicate would be unrivaled in the East Galaxy Area.


    The pirate felt himself being pulled forwards again and instinctive raised his Psycho Barrier to block the hit. Pain radiated throughout Bojack''s psyche as his barrier shattered like glass from the hit of Raditz. The blow to the psyche of the pirate caused him to be unable to raise his barrier again in the time he needed.


    BOOM!


    The ground under Bojack''s feet cracked forming a deep fissure that ran through the middle of the coliseum. The orange haired brutal feel to a knee from his legs turning to jelly from his brain bouncing around his skull. He barely registered the combination of strikes that sent him careening out through a wall of the coliseum into the the crowded street of panicked criminals.


    Bojack pulled himself out of the destroyed street he was laying in and coughed out a mouthful of blood. He didn''t expect the Saiyan to transform, but the Saiyan wasn''t the only one with a transformation.


    The pirate focused his power into his body forcing his Ki to sharply rise. Bojack''s muscle mass increased along with his Ki level. His hair turned red, spiked up, and his skin became darker in color. When Bojack arrived back in the coliseum he saw that his underlings were locked in combat against their opponents. He could tell they weren''t overwhelming their enemies even in their transformed states.


    Bojack looked around frantically trying to locate the green haired Saiyan that had humiliated him in his own coliseum. No matter where he looked he couldn''t find Raditz. There was no way the Saiyan should be able to hide, but he had done it somehow.


    "Turn around you idiot."


    Bojack quickly spun around to see that the owner of the voice was Raditz. The Saiyan had managed to get behind him. A swift sidekick to the gut of Bojack sent the pirate sliding back into the middle of the arena. As he gripped his stomach in pain he could she the green haired Saiyan slowly approaching him.

 39 Pirates

    Bojack struggled to gather his strength has he saw the approach of the Super Saiyan, Raditz. He checked to see if his comrades were close to finishing their opponents. If they were then they could join forces against the Saiyan. The pirate leader trembled with rage to see that his people were barely holding their own.


    Toma unleashed a storm of strikes against the short turban wearing pirate that was his opponent. During the battle Toma learned that his opponent was a strong telekinetic fighter, named Bujin. The pirate tried his best to guard against the attack. The powered up lime green Bujin was sent flying out of the stadium destroy a part of the upper section on his way out. His increase in power wasn''t enough to contend with his enemy.


    Nappa was fighting a tall muscular pirate with a forward facing Mohawk and goatee. Unlike, the bald hulking Saiyan the pirate was covered in wounds. Nappa was absolutely dominating in the encounter against the Person of Hera. The bald Saiyan charged his power and rushed at his foe with his massive arm extended.


    The pirates was caught by Nappa''s lariat in the chest. He was too drained to fight against the force of the hit. The air trembled from the attack which sent the pirate smashing into a nearby by building.


    Debris filled the air as the broken pirate crashed through the walls of the building causing its collapse. Nappa waited to see if the pirate would free himself from the rubble and resume their fight.


    When the dust cleared the Saiyan could see his opponent lying, unconscious, under a large section of collapsed wall. He charged a ball of blue Ki in his hand, preparing to finish off the downed pirate. Before he fired the attack Nappa decided to wait and see what the Emperor had to say about the situation. If it was before Nappa would have fired the attack without a second thought, but now he wasn''t willing to jeopardize his position so he chose to be more cautious. He also knew what it was like to work for a boss with no sense of loyalty.


    The female pirate Zangya realized her boss was in trouble. She knew if something wasn''t done she and the others would pay if Bojack survived and they offered no assistance. The Saiyan woman she was fighting was all power without finesse. She was fierce and attacked like a hurricane, but it also made her power a weakness.


    Zangya used her superior skills to create an opening by using Celipa''s momentum against her. The female Saiyan found herself being tossed some distance away from her opponent. Zangya used this opportunity and rushed over to help her boss. She knew her opponent wouldn''t be gone for long. Judging by the damage Bojack suffered she knew it would be useless for her to directly confront the green haired Saiyan. All she could do was to attempt to create an open for her boss.


    PSYCHO THREADS!


    Bojack grinned as Raditz was stopped in his tracks by the Ki draining Psycho Thread technique. Raditz felt his Ki slowly being drained by the wire thin Ki threads wrapped around his body. The threads managed to remain intact as Raditz increased his size powering up with Great Ape power. The emperor wrapped his arm around the threads and yanked hard pulling the female pirate out of the air.


    Bojack was left with no time to react as his ally was used as a weapon against him. The pirate leader was left with no time to react as Zangya slammed into him. The furious Bojack hopped to his feet and kick Zangya away in his anger.


    "Zangya you idiot at least do something useful!" Bojack snapped.


    "Bojack how can you say that when you haven''t done anything useful yourself." Raditz scolded.


    "You''ll die if its the last thing I do! I swear it!" Bojack promised while his green aura flared.


    Bojack winced as two loud crashes came from behind him. His other allies were deposited behind him by Nappa and Toma. The defeated pirates were just left unconscious by the Saiyans. They were curious about how the emperor would handle the situation.


    "Just so you know Bojack, once you attack me you will die." Raditz said before clarifying, "That''s not a threat, but a fact."


    The injured pirate boss was filled with so much hatred he clenched his fists until they bled. The muscles in his jaw were visibly tensed. He was on the verge of shattering his teeth from the force his jaw was exerting.


    "Maybe we should give up, boss." Zangya suggested, "These Saiyans are on a different level."


    Bojack sharply turned his head to his right hand minion at the suggestion. If he could kill with looks alone the pirate would have die from suggesting he should give up. Zangya drew back from seeing she made a mistake in voicing her thought.


    "You should listen to her. The emperor doesn''t usually offer second chances." Nappa laughed.


    Celipa arrived back on the scene in time to see Bojack charging at her emperor in a blinding fit of intense rage. The pirate roared in fury as he drew closer to his target. He wouldn''t be satisfied unless he could reduce his opponent to dust.


    Raditz extended his Ki field as the pirate closed the distance between them. The moment the pirate boss entered the field the seemed to freeze trapped in place, motionless. Celipa''s eyes widened in amazement by the incredible feat she witnessed. Raditz''s arms looked like blurs as he delivered countless strikes to the body of Bojack. Celipa could barely perceive that her emperor was attacking at all. The strikes were so numerous that the pirate boss couldn''t push forward through them. It was as though he were stopped by an invisible wall.


    After the attack was over Bojack dropped to the ground like a string less puppet. He sat up on his knees as Raditz walked past him towards the location of his fallen comrades. Bojack managed to climb to his feet and stumble after the long haired Saiyan.


    "Your boss chose suicide versus servitude." Raditz spoke to Zangya, "What about you?"


    The injured pirate didn''t know what to say to the Saiyan. She glanced past the Saiyan and spotted her boss slowly trying to approach.


    "You don''t have to worry about him. He''s already dead." Raditz stated. "Do you want to join him?"


    Behind Raditz, Bojack dropped to his knees and clutched his head. The pirate was rocked by pain as his muscles tore and his skull deformed.


    "Wait I''ll surrender!" Bojack hurriedly shouted. "I''ll do whatever you want just save me."


    "No, I already gave you a chance now I''m talking to your minion over here." Raditz denied the request of the dying pirate leader.


    Zangya looked in abject horror as her former leader died in a painfully gruesome manner. Bojack exploded into a cloud of white gases that were carried away on the breeze. She trembled realising that the same fate was waiting for her and her allies. If they truly understood the terrifying power of the Saiyans, Bojack probably would have given in from the start no matter how the enemy taunted. Bojack did value his own life to the point of being willing to sacrifice anything or anyone to survive.


    "I surrender." a deflated Zangya said.


    "Good. What about them?" Raditz pointed to her unconscious allies.


    "They will too! I promise you!" she assured. "What you said about bringing Planet Hera back was it true."


    "Yes, but that was on the basis Bojack surrendered without a fight." Raditz explained, "I wouldn''t be opposed to bring the planet back as a reward if you guys prove useful."


    Zangya nodded in understanding and regret over the fact Bojack was unwilling to entertain the idea of the resurrection of their world.


    "Nappa call the shuttle in." Raditz ordered.


    The bald Saiyan pressed the button on the side of his Scouter and contacted the orbiting shuttle pilot. Minutes later the shuttle expertly landed in the middle of the stadium ready to ferry everyone back to the waiting ships. The capture crew of the Shadow were pleased to be back on the ship they all called home. The captured pirates were brought to the Menagerie for holding until they could be sorted out.


    Back on Earth the cyborgs were in a race against an unknown enemy to recover the last pod Dr. Wheelo jettisoned from the base. The pods containing cyborgs #13-#15 were opened by the time they were found. Not only were they opened, but the CPU chips and power generator were brutally removed leaving no chance to ever repair the victimized cyborgs. Dr. Wheelo hoped that at least cyborg #16 would still be whole when they found him.


    #17 and #18 agreed to pick up the pace when the first two pods they found were already robbed. The group originally planned to take it slow and have some fun as they searched for the pods. The twins more than likely felt threatened by whoever was attacking the pods, since they decided to go along with Wheelo''s plan to speed up.


    They tracked the pod containing cyborg #16 to a dense forest. When they found the pod it was suspended from a group of trees by vines. Clearly, the pod was caught by the vines on its descent into the forest.


    "Look its undamaged." Dr. Wheelo pointed to the pod.


    After the pod was moved to the ground Dr. Wheelo entered a code in the keypad on the outside of the coffin like containment unit. White smoke hissed out of the lid of the pod as it slid open. Inside was a tall cyborg with a red Mohawk. The cyborg worn a black under suit with bright green armor with the Red Ribbon Army logo on the breast.


    The cyborg''s eyes opened with a snap and he sat up in the containment unit. #16 looked around at each of the other cyborgs trying to figure out what was going on.


    "Commander Gero are you alright?" Dr. Wheelo asked.


    "Dr. Wheelo? Is that you?" the confused cyborg asked.


    "Yes it is Commander. I forgot this was the first time you have seen my new body." Wheelo answered. The last time he saw the Red Ribbon Army Commander, Wheelo was giant brain inside a mechanized life support unit.


    "Where is my father?" #16 asked, "Since I''m alive it seems his research was a success."


    "Sadly, Dr. Gero didn''t make it." Dr. Wheelo looked sympathetic.


    "What happened?" #16 looked completely focused.


    "We were attack by Kakarot and his friends." Dr. Wheelo explained.


    "What! Kakarot!" #16 destroyed his containment unit in his anger.


    He remembered that Kakarot was the reason he had to be converted into a cyborg. Many years ago Commander Gero worked at the Red Ribbon Army''s Base 6. He was heavily injured when the base was destroyed by a young martial artist mercenary named Kakarot.

 40 Challenge

    Cyborgs #17 and #18 fled from the forest at their top speed. The twins were in a panic as they made their escape. They were headed to the nearest populated city, Ginger Town, in hopes the citizens would mask their location.


    "I have never seen anything like that monster before!" #18 said landing in a back alley in Ginger Town.


    "I know, it killed Wheelo and #16 like they were nothing!" #17 added landing beside her. "It clearly wanted us! We need to find a place to lay low, fast!"


    "Trust me #17, when I say, ''I don''t want to end up on that things menu''." #18 shuddered when she remembered the scene of that creature consuming the components of their allies.


    The twin cyborgs didn''t need to search long before finding an abandoned building to hide in. When they were sure the creature was off their trail, then they would have time to formulate a plan to deal with the monster.


    The cyborgs were hidden for only ten minutes, when the sounds of explosions permeated throughout the normally quiet city. #17 and #18''s advanced hearing could detect the sounds of the city security force''s blasters. The cyborgs knew the normal human police stood no chance against the monster, and the screams confirmed their suspicion.


    During the battle, the twins thought about fleeing while the creature was distracted, but decided against it. They had to fight their flight instincts when a nearby building exploded. After three minutes of fighting and screams, Ginger Town became as quiet as a grave.


    When #17 decided to look out of one of the dust covered windows, the wall of the abandoned building exploded. The black haired cyborg was blown back from the explosion, landing near his sister. They heard the monster''s distinct footsteps slowly approaching through the smoldering wall.


    "Do you two think you could ever escape me?" a cold calm voice asked. "You two are a pair of my vital components. You should be grateful to be apart of the perfect being."


    #17 and #18 broke through the opposite wall before the speaker could get any closer to them. They were surprised to see how much damage the creature brought to the city. Not only were numerous buildings destroyed, but there was empty clothing scattered everywhere.


    "We have to go, now!" #17 shouted to his sister.


    The two cyborgs started to fly off, but #18 was forcibly stopped by a scorpion like tail erupting through her torso. A green substance dissolved the flesh and clothing around the wound. The blonde cyborg tried to speak to her brother, but could only cough out blood.


    "18!" her brother called out as she was pulled out of the sky and into the abandoned building the two escaped from. "Hold on 18!"


    The lone cyborg charged into the building, hoping that his sister was still alive. #18 was pinned beneath a four armed insect-like monstrosity. Its chest was opened, revealing a multitude of thin fleshy organic wires. #17 arrived in time to see his sister being taken apart by an assortment of wires and absorbed into the chest of the creature. Unlike the clothing outside, nothing of #18 was left behind.


    Kami stood on the edge of his Lookout in complete terror. The Ki he felt emerge was incredibly powerful, and completely malevolent. An entire city disappeared before he noticed anything was wrong. He knew there was no way he could defend the Earth with his power.


    Piccolo was meditating on the Lookout waiting for his turn in the Room of Spirit and Time. Vegeta and his daughter went in first to train, then it would be Kakarot and Gohan''s turn followed by Piccolo and Reiss. While Vegeta and Eschalot were training, the others still had not determined the order they would enter the Room of Spirit and Time. Although more than two people can go in at once, the Room only has enough supplies for two people to survive for one year. If everything went according to plan, they should obtain the strength needed to defeat the cyborgs.


    "Piccolo, we need to talk." Kami said rousing the younger Namekian from his meditation.


    "What is it?" Piccolo was curious, but he thought he could guess where the conversation was headed.


    "That suggestion you made when you all came to train, I have reconsidered, and agree." Kami said with determination.


    One of the reasons Piccolo wanted to train on the Lookout was to ask Kami to fuse back into one being. If they were reunited, their power would skyrocket, allowing them to contend with the cyborgs threatening the planet. Originally Kami refused his request, preferring to remain as he was to look over the Earth as Kami.


    "It''s good you changed your mind. I''m sure you felt that Ki earlier." Piccolo said.


    Kami nodded, acknowledging Piccolo''s words, "Yes, that Ki was the reason I felt the Earth needed our power more than it needed me as Kami."


    "I''m glad you changed your mind. Now let''s get this over with before I change my mind about this." the younger Namekian rushed.


    "Very well." Kami nodded. "Place your hand on my chest for the merger to take place. For obvious reasons, we will us your body. I have seen great changes within you over the years and much potential. I hope you will not misuse this gift."


    Piccolo made his promise to Kami and placed his hand on the old Namekian''s chest. Kami smiled and looked over to his side to see his long time friend Mr. Popo standing there.


    "Goodbye old friend." Kami said farewell.


    The old Namekian screamed out as his blue and white aura erupted around him. He forced out all of his body''s energy to reform with his long lost counterpart. Popo strained against the wind to avoid being blown away by the powerful energy being released by the merger.


    A blinding white light filled the entire area of the Lookout, blinding Mr. Popo to the exit of his best friend. When the light vanished, Mr. Popo could see his friend was gone and only Piccolo remained. Kakarot and the others ran over to investigate what had occurred to cause the bright light and massive Ki surge.


    "Piccolo, what happened? Your power increased a lot." Kakarot asked.


    "Kami and Piccolo fused back into one." a teary eyed Mr. Popo explained.


    Everyone was shocked to hear that Kami was no longer around and that he agreed to rejoin with Piccolo. Krillin was the first of the group to realize another truth about their new situation.


    "If Kami and Piccolo fused, do the Dragon Balls still work?" Krillin worriedly questioned.


    "No, they no longer function." Piccolo answered.


    "If we get another Namekian, they can make new Dragon Balls." Kakarot suggested. He remembered how Raditz recruited a Namekian to create the Dragon Balls on Planet Garden.


    "The new Grand Elder might have a suggestion." Reiss offered.


    "That''s a good idea, I should go ask him if he has anyone in mind." Kakarot thought Reiss had a sound plan.


    "We have another problem besides the cyborgs. You should have felt it, but an incredible Ki appeared not too long ago. We have no idea as to its motives, but it wiped out Ginger Town." Piccolo explained.


    "I didn''t want to say anything until after my turn in the Room of Spirit and Time because right now I''m no match against whatever that Ki came from." Kakarot said.


    "Even more of a reason to get more Dragon Balls. We might have to wish a bunch of people back." Tien said.


    The Menagerie was headed back to Earth at full speed, it would arrive there in two days. Raditz was counting on Ramen to be fully recovered before the ship arrived. He was anxious to return to the Earth for his revenge on the cyborg, Dr. Wheelo.


    Raditz chose to spend what time he had in his quarters with his wife. The pair rarely had free time to spend together, so Bulma wanted to make the most of the time they had. The empire''s major framework had been completed, so she expected after the cyborgs were dealt with, they would have much more time together. Though with all the new issues that needed to be smoothed out when the empire expanded, plus her own research, she would stay pretty busy. It was convenient for her that Saiyans didn''t require much attention.


    "When did you and Celipa become friends?" Raditz asked his wife.


    "When you and Reiss were training to fight the cyborgs. She was a big help with understanding some of the cultural things about Planet Garden during the renovations." Bulma then went on to fill Raditz in on some of the other finer details, including the event were Celipa killed a butler plotting to assassinate her. Raditz did inquire further about the failed assassination attempt, but Bulma insisted it wasn''t a big deal and the situation was always under control.


    "Why not just make her your bodyguard?" Raditz asked.


    "I thought about it, but she would probably be board." Bulma answered.


    Their conversation was cut short by the Captain, who requested their presence on the bridge. When they stepped onto the bridge of the Menagerie, the crew rose to greet them. After their emperor instructed them to carry on, they resumed their duties.


    "Captain, you requested to see us?" Raditz asked. He hoped they had not run into anymore pirates trying to steal from or enslave them.


    "Yes Your Majesties, we have been forwarded a transmission from Capsule Corp." the Captain explained, "It was tagged urgent."


    "Please play the message Captain." Raditz ordered.


    On the main viewing screen of the bridge, a video taken from ZTV played. The male and female anchors of the news program were killed, and their bodies were visibly displayed on their desk. In the forefront of the camera, was a man with dark green skin, spiky green haired, and armor that looked like it was created from a Cultivar''s carapace. He was very human in appearance and could even be called regal in some regard.


    "People of Earth." the man began, "You may call me Cell, I am the perfect being. I have come to you today to let you know your time has come to an end."


    "Perfect being?" Raditz questioned to himself. "Did he already reach his perfect form? Things had to have gone very wrong in my absence."


    "Though, I could wipe all of you worms out now; I want you to first taste despair by witnessing your strongest champions fall before me." the video continued, "The following are coordinates to the location where I will be waiting. I hope the emperor, Prometheus Raditz, accepts this challenge. Defeating any emperor while crush a planet under my heel will be such fun."


    After the message concluded, Raditz ordered the Menagerie to summon Ramen to the bridge. He wanted to know if the Yardratian was fit enough to transport him to Earth without any issue. When he was given an affirmative reply, the emperor directed Ramen to transport him to his son. Ramen focused on locating Reiss''s Ki signature, and when he succeeded, Ramen and the emperor teleported away.


    "Did that man in the video call him Emperor Prometheus Raditz?" Bulma asked the Captain.


    "I believe so, Your Majesty." the Captain answered.

 41 Games Begin

    Vegeta and Eschalot exited the Room of Spirit and Time just as Ramen and Raditz appeared. Vegeta had a look of confidence, clearly pleased with his training. He didn''t get a chance to ask where the cyborgs where before Raditz interrupted.


    "How did this Cell problem happen?" the Emperor questioned. He clearly wasn''t happy about the new developments. "Where is Kakarot?"


    "Kami was trying to track the cyborgs when Cell appeared. After sensing the power of Cell, Kami saw the necessity in merging with Piccolo. Kakarot went to Planet Namek to see if he could bring a replacement Kami." the reborn Piccolo explained. "According to messages left by Cell, we have seven days before his tournament to decide the fate of the world."


    Raditz was surprised Cell''s evolution had nothing to do with Vegeta''s actions. He guessed that like in the original story, Vegeta''s arrogance caused him to allow Cell to absorb the cyborgs. This time, the former prince didn''t know anything about the time travelling horror.


    When the group finished catching Raditz up with what was occuring, he walked to the edge of the Lookout to get a sense of Cell''s power. The Emperor focused his mind to allow him to better focus his senses.


    "Reiss, we are going into the Room. Now." Raditz snapped at his son. The power he sensed coming from Cell was the strongest he had ever felt.


    "But uncle Kakarot and Cousin Gohan are next." Reiss said.


    "Too bad, he isn''t here." Raditz said, "Let''s go."


    The group watched the father and son pair enter into the Room of Spirit and Time, completely ignoring the predetermined order. The others understood they probably wouldn''t be able to close the gap necessary to defeat Cell, so they didn''t take offence to their turn being pushed back.


    "How can something like this exist!" Vegeta shouted from the edge of the Lookout. "How does it have so much power!"


    The Saiyan wanted to gauge the strength of the new threat and was shocked to discover even after training, he still fell short. He had great difficulty reconciling the fact that another powerful being had appeared. If Raditz hadn''t gone into the Room of Spirit and Time, Vegeta would''ve immediately headed back in for more training. All the gains in power he and his daughter reaped were instantly meaningless the moment they emerged.


    Kakarot and two Namekians appeared on the Lookout. One of the Namekians was very young and the other bore a striking resemblance to Piccolo.The group remembered seeing both of the Namekians when they were defending the planet from Frieza.


    "This is Nail and Dende." Kakarot reintroduced the pair. "Dende will be taking over as the new Kami and Nail will be his guard."


    "I''ll do my best as Kami." Dende promised.


    "Vegeta, your out of the Room! It seems like you made a lot progress!" Kakarot was impressed by how much stronger Vegeta had gotten. "Guess it''s our turn now, Gohan!"


    "Actually, uncle Raditz came back. He went in with Reiss." Gohan explained.


    "What? Really?" Kakarot asked.


    Gohan nodded his head confirming to his father that their turn in the Room was taken. Kakarot knew the only thing left to do was to wait until his brother and nephew returned. If nothing else, his brother might have useful hints after his year of training.


    While he waited on his tournament to begin, Cell passed his time by obliterating the Earth Defense Forces that were sent to eliminate him. It took three days before they finally called off their attack, after discovering their efforts were futile. The perfect life form was amused by how quickly the Earth troops recognized their inferiority.


    Once the attacks were called off, Cell chose to put the finishing touches on his grand arena. He had constructed a very large, ornate, ring based on the design of the World Martial Arts Tournament arena. He hoped that the warriors on the planet would at least give him a chance to test his superior powers.


    The sound of an approaching helicopters pulled Cell from his thoughts. The logo on the side of one of the helicopters identified it as belonging to the news organization, ZTV. Cell was unfamiliar the colorful logo on the side of the other chopper.


    A suit wearing man with glasses and a pencil mustache emerge from the ZTV chopper, followed by his cameraman and a blonde woman with short cut hair and a dress suit. The blonde woman moved near the man in the suit while the cameraman attempted to frame them properly. Cell thought about getting rid of them, but chose not to because he wanted the world to see their heroes fall.


    "Ladies and gentlemen this is Jimmy Firecracker here, along with my special co-host award winning author and reporter, Tights Briefs." the reporter announced.


    "Thanks Jimmy." Tights continued, "We will be here the entire time to bring you, at home, news of the battle to determine the fate of the planet."


    "Already the champion of the last World Tournament, Mr. Satan has already arrived." Jimmy explained as the cameraman showed the other helicopter. "Mr. Satan was trained at the famous Kame Dojo, school of several past tournament competitors."


    At the Kame Dojo, Masters Roshi, Gohan, and Chiaotzu were all dumbfounded by Satan''s appearance on the TV screen. They knew he was arrogant form his tournament victory, but never thought he was foolish enough to try to fight a monster like Cell. Although he was nothing special, he did have some talent at martial arts.


    Which was proven by the fact that he was the best student the Dojo gained in years. The Dojo''s rival, the Crane School, had similar problems with discovering talent. all of the Dojo''s knew when kids graduated from the fighting schools, they would have a new wealth of talent to train.


    The afro-haired, orange gi clad, Mr. Satan tightened his white belt around his waist. Unlike his fellow dojo members, Mr. Satan wore baggy white pants to stand out. He made sure to strike a heroic pose for the camera. His popularity skyrocketed after his tournament win, allowing him to receive endorsement deals. He was considering using his wealth to start his own martial arts school.


    "As you can see, the Champ is fired up." Jimmy was excited to see what kind of miracle the mustachioed Mr. Satan could pull off. "What''s this? A group of mysterious warriors have appeared near the arena!"


    "That isn''t just any group, Jimmy. Emperor Raditz is over there along with his brother Kakarot, former world tournament champion." Tights pointed out. She would have mentioned Vegeta, but didn''t want to draw attention to the fact he attacked Earth years ago.


    When he heard the explanation from Tights, Jimmy''s mind buzzed with thoughts of an interview with the emperor. Mr. Satan moved closer to the newly arrived group in an attempt to insert himself into their circle. Cell smiled from seeing all of the fighters he would get to crush willing come right to his doorstep.


    "How would you like this to play out?" Cell asked, "One on one? Or would you prefer to attack me as a group?"


    "That''s big talk coming from a freak like you!" Mr. Satan shouted.


    The champ flipped into the arena full of confidence and ready to take on the terror from the future. Raditz knew where this was more than likely going, but just out of curiosity he checked the human''s power level.


    When the Scouter completed its scan, the device returned a value of 942, which was impressive, compared to his original self. The increase in Satan''s power from his normal self was still meaningless in comparison to Cell. After a warm up round of shadow boxing, Mr. Satan moved closer to his bored looking opponent.


    "You messed with the wrong planet. Now you gotta answer to me, Mr. Satan!" he pointed at Cell.


    "The Champ has made a bold declaration! Will he be able to make good on his promise!" Jimmy was a major fan of the current world champion.


    "No, he won''t, unfortunately!" Tights answered, "I''ve been around the galaxy in my occupation as a writer, and I can tell the Champ is probably in over his head, Jimmy."


    The excited anchor looked like he had cold water dumped on him. He couldn''t believe Tights dashed his dreams with a smile on her face. Everyone watched as the bored Cell lazily lifted his hand and fired a Ki blast at his opponent. Mr. Satan, unable to dodge the blast, was sent flying out of the arena, ultimately crashing down near the reporters. The injured Mr. Satan wobbled to his feet as the reporters silently looked on.


    "I can''t believe Cell used a sneak attack! If it wasn''t for the break in my concentration, my power wouldn''t have overloaded, blowing me out of the ring!" Mr. Satan lied, "I guess I have to give this win to him! It''s only fair I give everyone else a chance! Bwhaha!"


    "I see." Jimmy nodded accepting the obvious excuse.


    Tights rolled her eyes, unconvinced by the excuses given by the self delusional champion. Cell focused his sights on his true targets.


    "Which one of you would like to fight next?" he asked, "Should I pick or will you decide for yourselves?"


    "I might as well do it. You mentioned me by name after all." Raditz answered.


    In one swift motion the Saiyan moved from where the group was standing, to inside the ring opposite Cell. Raditz planned to fight Cell first from the beginning, which was why he used the Room of Spirit and Time twice before the tournament; the current limit of the Room''s usage. He wasn''t sure whether or not Vegeta or Eschalot were strong enough to beat Cell, but they also used they Room twice.


    "Just for clarification, what happened to the Red Ribbon cyborgs?" the Emperor asked.


    "I consumed all of the cyborg models to attain my perfect form." Cell didn''t deny it.


    "Okay, I just didn''t want to worry about them after I beat you." The others had told Raditz when he arrived that they had not heard anything from the cyborgs, since their earlier defeat.


    "You can''t beat me, I''m the perfect lifeform created from the DNA of Earth''s strongest warriors." Cell gloated, "That even includes your DNA obtained from Dr. Wheelo''s arctic base you invaded as a child."


    The two fighters slowly approached each other as though they were out for a calm stroll. When they were just a few feet apart, they vanished before everyone''s eyes. The sound of explosive impacts rippled through the area creating massive shock waves.


    Jimmy Firecracker, Mr. Satan, and the cameraman Lionel were thrown to the ground by the force generated by the battle. Tights was fortunate Vegeta moved over by her to shield her from any collateral damage. His shield protected her from the brunt of the impact force.


    "Thanks, Vegeta." Tights was grateful for his actions.


    The Saiyan stubbornly turned his head away to continue watching the battle unfolded. He knew that neither fighter were going all out yet. They were still warming up, trying to get a feel of the other''s true power.


    Mr. Satan''s eyes were wide with amazement and horror. He had never experienced anything like this before. Even with his training, he couldn''t perceive what was happening in the fight. The recordings of the past world tournaments were nothing compared to what was happening.


    The instant the explosions ceased an eerie calm fell over the area. Raditz and Cell reappeared, in the middle of the arena, still in their fighting stances. Neither fighter looked damaged by the encounter above the ring.


    "I think it is time to take this fight to the next level." Cell suggested.

 42 Games End

    Kakarot watched from the sidelines, full of excitement, as his brother battled the self-proclaimed perfect being Cell. The two had finished their impressive warm-up round and were ready to get serious about the fight. Kakarot stared down at his now Super Saiyan son to see if Gohan was as captivated by the fight as he was. During their training in the Room of Spirit and Time, Kakarot believed they had ascended to the next stage of a Super Saiyan. He was looking forward to testing whether he was correct or not in his belief. But if his brother was victorious, he would need to look for another opportunity.


    Raditz effortlessly jumped into his Super Saiyan form, surprising his allies. The collection of Saiyan warriors were stunned by how gentle the output of the emperor''s Ki was while maintaining its potency. After Gohan unlocked his transformation, he and his father spent their time training in the Super Saiyan state to adapt to the strain it causes the body. They both could tell Raditz''s skill in controlling his Ki was on another level. Vegeta had difficulty coming to terms with the fact Raditz yet again surpassed the limits of his imagination.


    A golden aura enveloped Cell as he powered up, matching his opponent''s moves. The time traveling terror used its Saiyan genetics to transform into a Super state, complete with golden blonde hair. The pair of fighters once more initiated their high speed combat. Jimmy Firecracker was at a loss for words, completely dumbfounded by what he was seeing, or not seeing, rather. The only images Lionel could get, were of the stone pillars adorning the ring exploding.


    When the fighter appeared again this time, they both seemed to have taken damage from the exchange. Cell, clearly, received the lion''s share of the damage because he lost a leg at some point during the exchange. The mutant cyborg concentrated his Ki into the remaining stump of his leg and almost instantaneously regenerated the limb. The reports could tell by the smug expression on Cell''s face, he considered the loss of his leg as only a minor irritation.


    "Your skill is undeniable to be able to take off one of my limbs." Cell praised. "Unfortunately for you, I have the regenerative ability of a Namekian. You don''t have any tricks I am not prepared for."


    "You really think so?" Raditz questioned.


    The emperor''s size started to increase as he focused his power. He let out a roar as his muscle mass increased, signifying the use of his Ape Power. Even the media crew knew something unusual was going on inside the ring.


    "The Emperor seems to be building his power!" Jimmy commented, "I''m not being hyperbolic when I say you can feel the pressure from this distance."


    Cell observed his opponent''s transformation with interest, allowing the emperor to complete building his power. When the transformation was finished, a large and intimidating Raditz stood before the artificial being. The overly arrogant Cell was unimpressed by the massive increase in the Saiyan''s power.


    "You think you stand a chance against me in that form?" Cell laughed, "Even I could do something like that, but it''s pointless. That form''s size severely hinders speed."


    A front kick from Raditz sent Cell spinning into the air. The creature barely had the chance to react to the speed the emperor used to close the distance. He narrowly managed to bring his arms up to block the kick aimed at his chin. It took no time for Cell to get his bearings, and begin his counterattack against his Saiyan foe.


    Because the DNA taken from Raditz came from when he was a child, it didn''t have the mutation the emperor underwent during the Hyper Moon event. Cell was caught off guard by the lack of a speed decrease he thought the form would carry. Even though he miscalculated about the speed of the form, Cell still remained confident in his superiority. He had the genetic skills, traits, and techniques of the strongest lifeforms. In his estimation, the chance of him losing was nearly zero.


    A well timed Solar Flare from Cell blinded Raditz as he rapidly approached through the air. The emperor was forced to tightly shut his eyes because of the searing light. Cell used the opening to strike out at his blinded enemy. Using his Ki Field technique, Raditz was able to block the chain of blows unleashed by Cell.


    The moment his vision returned, Raditz immediately began his counterattack. The two hovered in the air, continually striking back and forth at dizzying speeds, searching for an opening. Each successful block shook the area, causing Mr. Satan to become more aware of his inadequacies. He barely manage to learn the flying technique, and there was no way he could use it while fighting.


    Jimmy Firecracker and his cameraman were blown back head over heels by the ring exploding into a shower of debris. Mr. Satan fearfully wobbled back to his feet after getting knocked down by the sudden blast.


    "What?" the confused reporter didn''t understand what had occurred, "What happened?"


    "I didn''t see." Tights hadn''t witnessed what caused the blast,either.


    "Raditz hit Cell into the middle of the ring." Vegeta explained.


    "Oh." Tights seemed satisfied with his answer.


    Jimmy and Lionel weren''t positive about the answer they heard, but had no way to refute the explanation. Both reporter and cameraman were stunned when they saw that the Champ looked just as horrified by scene as they were.


    "Mr. Satan! This fighter said the Emperor hit the monster into the arena so hard it caused the explosion. What do you think about his explanation?" Jimmy asked.


    Mr. Satan was pulled out of his daze by the voice of the reporter questioning him. It took him a moment to realize what was happening. When he did, he quickly adopted his confident persona for the camera, fearing it wouldn''t look good for his endorsement deals if he looked afraid.


    "Ah," Mr. Satan struggled to think of an answer, "Of course that''s what happened, Jimmy! It''s obvious the Emperor would be able to move faster than the normal eye can see! Hahaha!"


    When the dust settled, Cell stood at the bottom of a crater where the ring previously resided. The expression on his face was twisted in anger. Not only was he outside the ring, but the ring he spent time on constructing was completely destroyed. If it wasn''t it would have been his loss due to a ring out, but seeing as how there was no longer a ring, ring outs were no longer applicable. Just the idea of nearly losing was enough to send Cell over the edge.


    He crouched down with clenched fists to charge his Ki. His golden aura blazed around him as boulders lifted from the crater. The ground shook violently from the surging Ki, Cell was building up. When he finished, the boulders dropped back to Earth, shattering on impact. Cell exhaled and looked up, locking eyes with Raditz before disappearing from the crater.


    Raditz rapidly looked around trying to locate his opponent who was at the bottom of a crater. Cell''s speed reached a whole new level as he appeared behind the emperor. Before he could react to the presence of Cell, Raditz was already caught in his opponent''s combination attackThe emperor was rocked by the flurry of strikes to his back. The finishing heel kick to Raditz''s skull sent the Saiyan crashing into the ground, creating a new crater.


    Cell was pleased that he was able to return his previous humiliation. The reporters, once again, were unable to determine what exactly had occurred on the battlefield. Even with the most advanced high speed tracking camera on the market, the fighters movements still remained unseen. They did manage to glimpse a golden streak of light race into the sky from the crater, followed by the sound of impacts resounding through the area.


    "What happened now?" Jimmy looked around at his companions for an answer.


    Lionel shrugged his shoulders from behind the camera. Tights shook her head, confirming she didn''t have a clue either. She looked to Vegeta to provide an explanation to the group again. The Saiyan reluctantly answered her question as simple as possible.


    "Raditz was hit into the ground, then flew back out and started fighting again." Vegeta said.


    In the sky, the battle between Cell and Raditz continued to rage on, becoming more destructive with each passing second. Massive explosions were set off in the distance by deflected or stray Ki blasts. When the fighters landed, the landscape in the area where the ring stood had started to become affected by the battle . Now that they were still, Lionel zoomed in on the fighters, once again letting the people watching get a look at the competitors.


    "It is amazing you have lasted this long." Cell praised, "But unlike you, I am comprised of the most advanced biology and technology ever conceived."


    "What''s your point?" Raditz asked.


    "We may be nearly equal in strength, but you will tire, whereas I have infinite energy."Cell explained, "You might as well surrender this match and allow one of your allies to fight. After you rest, I will be more than willing to fight you again."


    "You think I would do something as reckless as handing off a fight I can win? I must have rattled your perfect brain harder than I thought." Raditz taunted.


    "So be it. I tried to give you another chance. You are a fool if you believe you can defeat me." Cell remained convinced he would ultimately prove victorious. "But if you do have something more, I want to see it."


    "Fine. Prepare to die." Raditz answered.


    The green haired Super Saiyan charged his energy, causing everyone to become alarmed by the spike in power coming from him. The pressure from his energy was overwhelming to his unprepared allies. Vegeta moved closer to the location of the fight to confirm what his senses were telling him. Not only had it turned out Raditz mastered the Super Saiyan form, but he might have taken it further, if the Ki building up was any indication.


    The Emperor''s long green hair became even more pointed as his Ki continued to rise. Cell could feel his body begin to panic from the massive output of energy before him. The golden aura enveloping Raditz manifested blue lightning that danced across it. With one last scream, Raditz finished his transformation, blowing away all the surrounding debris.


    "What is this?" Cell took a step back, "How is this possible?"


    Raditz appeared behind his frightened opponent delivering a devastating punch to Cell''s back. The fierce strike removed the monsters arm and half of its torso. A waterfall of purple blood fell from the massive wound before it quickly regenerated. All thought ceased after the next hit removed the entirety of Cell''s upper body, disintegrating it into a fine mist.


    The pair of legs that survived the second attack from the Super Saiyan 2 Raditz fell harmlessly to the ground. The Emperor grabbed the bisected body by the ankles and tossed it into the air. After Raditz made the toss, Cell regenerated mid flight, stopping himself.


    "If I have to die then this planet shouldn''t exist either!" Cell shouted, "This entire world is forfeit!"


    The creature''s energy quickly rose as its body started to swell. Cell had initiated his self destruct function to win the fight. The combined might of the bombs absorbed from the cyborgs should have no trouble destroying the planet, and everyone along with it.


    Anticipating this move, Raditz fired his newly created Garden Wave attack towards his inflating opponent. When Cell saw the wide blue beam streaking towards him, he knew he hadn''t gathered enough energy to explode. He tried to fight back against the burning push of the beam, but it was too powerful for him, especially in his self destruct mode.


    The beam pushed Cell out of the edge of the atmosphere and into the vacuum of space. The crazed monster was half filled with energy when the beam consumed him, causing a massive explosion in space. Raditz continued to stare into the sky waiting to see whether or not Cell manages to regenerate. Reiss was filled with pride, getting the chance to witness his father once again emerge from a major battle victorious.

 43 Departure

    Jimmy Firecracker shook his head several times to wake himself from the daze he was experiencing from the explosion. It didn''t last long, but it appeared as though the sky had gained a second sun. The reporter spotted Raditz standing near his allies. Hoping to get an interview with the emperor, Jimmy grabbed his cameraman and asked Tights to follow him over.


    Raditz, back in his normal form, felt drained from his new Super Saiyan transformation. He still hadn''t completely mastered it, and this battle was the first time it was field tested. Everyone offered their congratulations for managing to defeat Cell. They were shocked by the level of power Raditz reached after transforming.


    "So, you discovered the form beyond a Super Saiyan." Kakarot guessed. When he trained with Gohan in the Room of Spirit and Time, he believed that remaining in the Super Saiyan form at all times to master it would allow them to go to the next level. Neither of them achieved it, but he felt they were close.


    "Yes we can call it Super Saiyan Two." Raditz explained.


    Kakarot immediately liked the name of the new transformation. He was ready to get back to training to obtain the form for himself. Vegeta rejoined the group before the reporters and Mr. Satan arrived. He, once again, had to face the fact Raditz not only became a Super Saiyan before him, but also went to the next stage before him.


    "Your Majesty," Jimmy and his crew quickly bowed. "Could we please ask for a short interview."


    "Of course, ask your questions." Raditz saw that Tights was with them, so he decided to let the interview happen. Plus, if he was seen as a hero by the people of the Earth, it could only help later.


    "Is the threat of Cell over, Your Majesty?" Jimmy politely asked.


    "Yes," Raditz answered, "I sent him into space, then vaporized him."


    "Into sp-space?" Jimmy''s voiced cracked in fear and confusion. He thought he misheard what the emperor had said.


    "Yes, I used a Ki beam to push him into space." Raditz reconfirmed his answer, which didn''t help relieve Jimmy of his shock. "You are familiar with Ki techniques, are you not?"


    "Yes, your Majesty." Jimmy nodded. He was familiar with the concept of Ki techniques, most people on Earth were, but Ki attacks strong enough to blast people into space was a different story.


    "Your Majesty, Why did you personally answer the challenge of Cell?" Tights asked.


    "Earth is part of the Prometheus Empire. Therefore, as emperor, it is my duty to make sure threats to worldsunder my protection are handled efficiently and that they remain safe. Cell was an exceptional threat which required my strength to solve." he answered trying to look as heroic as possible. If he could, he would have taken the acting skills of Mr. Satan to make certain Earth remained behind him.


    After a few more questions and words of thanks, the news crew departed the area to head back to the ZTV office. When the news chopper lifted off, the group off warriors decided to relocate to Kami''s Lookout, leaving behind Mr. Satan. The Champ realized through what occurred, that he wasn''t nearly as strong as some of the other beings in the world. His tournament win made him think he was at the pinnacle of martial arts.


    At Kami''s Lookout, Eschalot let everyone know that her goal was successfully accomplished. The cyborgs were officially gone and she was confident that with her strength now, she could handle the cyborgs in her timeline. There was no reason for her to remain in the past any longer, so she needed to say her goodbyes.


    "Make sure you watch out for Cell when you get back." Raditz warned the girl.


    "Thanks for the warning, Your Majesty." the blonde girl cheerfully answered. "You were stronger than the stories said."


    "Good." Raditz walked away from the girl.


    "Training with you was amazing, Dad. I never thought I would get the chance to see you, but we actually got two years together." she said to Vegeta.


    Vegeta seemed to be completely unprepared for his daughters statement.


    "Your mother is waiting for you to defeat the cyborgs." was his answer.


    Eschalot smiled, and with one last goodbye, flew off in the direction of her time-machine. She really was going to miss this time period, not to mention she managed to see her father, but she missed her chance to speak to her young mother. It was too bad they never got a chance to speak, but she could tell her about it in the future. The cyborgs wouldn''t be a match for her. It still would take some time before the resistance put a stop to the entire cyborg army, but now the main threats could be handled.


    When he convinced Dende to alter the Room of Spirit and Time to allow for multiple uses, Vegeta left for Omori''s Island. Dende promised after reactivated the Dragon Balls, and he wished back the people killed by Cell, he would fulfill Vegeta''s request. The new Kami estimated that it would take, at the minimum, six months to get the Dragon Balls back.


    Raditz was looking over the edge of the Lookout when Bardock walked over to stand beside him.


    "You never cease to impress me." Bardock praised. "I don''t know if I ever mentioned it, but I thought you and Kakarot would only be middle and low class warriors."


    "Is that a compliment?" Raditz asked.


    "When you learned the Riot Javelin and the flying technique so quickly, I realized you were talented. I never imagined you would be a Super Saiyan Emperor." Bardock continued.


    As Raditz listen to his father talk, he realized this was probably the longest conversation they had. He also thought that it had been awhile since he last visited his mother. Kakarot walked over to join the conversation.


    "Brother, you got time to spar?" Kakarot asked, "I was disappointed I didn''t get to fight. Neither did Gohan, he could''ve use the experience."


    "You''re that confident you could beat Cell?" Raditz asked.


    "No, I would''ve been at a disadvantage, but it would''ve been fun." Kakarot laughed, "If I lost, you could''ve given Cell a Panacea, then fought him after."


    The emperor was still amazed by his brother''s negligence towards opponents. Kakarot was completely willingly to give an enemy a healing item to make a fight more fun.


    "Alright, I''ll spar with you Kakarot. I have some free time." Raditz agreed to his brother''s request.


    The air around the Lookout was disturbed by the thundering sounds of impacts from the sparing brothers. Reiss and Gohan watch from the Lookout as their fathers fought in the sky above them. Kakarot was clearly trying to push his brother into using his new found power. Raditz was battling in his normal Super Saiyan form. Although he was winning, his power wasn''t too much higher than his brother''s.


    Finding he was still lacking, Kakarot began to use his new Kaio-ken against Raditz. It was a smart move, because he started to overwhelm his brother with his power. Tired of being pushed back, Raditz exploded into his Ape Power form to contend with his brother''s use of Kaio-ken.


    When the spar was over, Kakarot was satisfied with the progress he made in his training. He ultimately lost against Raditz, but did better than anticipated. If he was capable of using Kaio-ken ten or higher as a Super Saiyan, then he stood a good chance of making his brother use his new form.


    After witnessing their fathers spar, Reiss and Gohan decided to have a spar themselves. Kakarot was interested in watching their fight, but Raditz was uninterested. Their grandfather Bardock was also curious about the outcome of the fight.


    "You think Reiss will easily win?" Kakarot asked. "Gohan has a lot of hidden potential, and he can be stubborn."


    "Reiss could win easily, he is monstrously talented." Raditz answered. He confirmed Reiss''s capabilities on multiple occasions, and training the Room of Spirit and Time was no exception.


    "I guess he gets that from you." Bardock laughed.


    Raditz shook his head, "No he learns faster than me."


    When he was trying to teach Reiss to become a Super Saiyan, the boy managed to achieve the state in just over two hours. The most impressive part was, after Raditz finally became a Super Saiyan 2, his son pulled it off after a short explanation. Reiss claimed after he felt what being Super Saiyan was like and seeing that Super Saiyan Two was possible, it wasn''t hard to get "a feel" for it.


    The benefit of Reiss talent was that Raditz could always have someone to train against. The downside was, if he didn''t stay motivated, his son could quickly surpass him. It wasn''t a bad thing, because it meant his empire would have another strong ruler.


    The spar between the children ended much faster than their fathers''. Reiss, as Raditz said, easily obtained the victory once he started trying. He took it easy at first as to not completely over power his cousin from the beginning.


    Later that evening, Raditz and his son arrived on the Menagerie to celebrate the victory against the cyborg threat. Bulma listened as the animated Reiss retold the story of how everything happened. After listening to his explanation, she was sorry she missedout on the event. Raditz assured her that their would be another crisis on Earth that she could witness up close.


    "How do you know the Earth is going to get attacked again?" she asked. Reiss turned to listen because he was curious as to how his father would know.


    "Something always happens to the Earth," Raditz shrugged, "It has been attacked more than any planet in the empire. For whatever reason, Earth is unlucky"


    When she thought about it, Bulma had to agree with his assessment. Earth had been getting attack since she was a child. Reiss left to go talk about his adventure on Earth to other crew members, leaving his parents alone.


    The interview with ZTV aired the following day. The Menagerie was able to receive the transmission so Raditz and Bulma could watch it together. The program was call Interview with the Hero, Emperor Prometheus Raditz.


    "What''s with the Prometheus Raditz, thing?" the emperor asked his wife. He heard Cell refer to him as that on TV, but now ZTV is doing it too.


    "Are they now using the empire''s name as my family name?" Raditz thought. Thinking about the only Saiyan to actually have a family name was Kakarot.


    After spending a month with his wife, Raditz explained that he would be gone for awhile to train. He power level of Cell had him worried about the strength of the future threats. Cell was way stronger than he should''ve been because of the changes to history. If the trend continued, then there is no telling how much stronger he will need to get.


    "Reiss will be able to help you out while I''m gone." Raditz said. "I''ll come back whenever I have time. I got the hang of the Instant Transmission now."


    "It doesn''t help that you have no idea how long you will be gone." Bulma didn''t like inaccurate predictions.


    "Like I said, I''m not sure how long it will take, but I need to get stronger to make sure our empire stays intact." Raditz was honest. "If it wasn''t for the existence of the Room of Spirit and Time, we all would have been in trouble."


    "Okay, I got it. I married a Saiyan after all." Bulma sighed.


    He smiled and headed out to prepare for the future enemies waiting to attempt to destroy the work he and Bulma put into their empire. Raditz loaded into his shuttle after saying goodbye to Bulma and initiated the startup sequence.


    "Menagerie, do you have the coordinates to the homeworld of the deceased Ginyu Force member known as Guldo?" Raditz asked.

 44 First Day

    Two young men casually strolled down the sidewalk of a large metropolitan city. The streets were busy, even though it was still early. One of the young men was wearing a long sleeved white shirt, a black vest with a circular badge with the Prometheus flame in the center, and red pants. He had spiky short cut hair and looked to be excited. His companion was just a bit taller and wearing a long sleeved black under suit with jeans, and Prometheus military black boots. He had long spiky blue hair and also wore the circular badge with the symbol of the Prometheus Empire. Unlike his friend, the blue haired young man looked anything but excited.


    "How long has this city been called Raditz City, Gohan?" the blued haired youth asked.


    "I''m pretty sure the name was changed not long after the Cell fight." Gohan answered. The city was previously Orange City, but they changed it in gratitude for their Emperor saving the planet.


    The two turned the corner at the end of the block to head towards their destination. They talked about random things to avoid a silent walk. After awhile, Gohan noticed how disinterested his cousin was about the prospect of attending school.


    "So why did you decided to go to school, Reiss? I mean I was pretty much forced to, but I''m actually looking forward to it." Gohan said.


    "I was forced into it myself. Mom thought I should "Enjoy my youth" and "make friends," even though I was educated on Gren'' dir," Reiss explained. Having Big Gete as a tutor really advanced the bounds of his scholastic knowledge.


    Even though Reiss was older than his cousin, they would be in the same class. Everyone under twenty that qualified to attend would all start at the same level on their first year. Over the course of their education, there would be opportunities to skip grades if it was warranted.


    The sound of weapon fire from around the corner ahead of them interrupted their conversation. They could see a balding old man peeking around the building in front of them. The Saiyans approached the man to find out what was happening.


    "Old guy, what''s going on?" Reiss asked.


    The man old man was surprised by the pair of youths walking up behind him. He jumped in fear as he turned to see who the speaker was.


    "Oh," the man clutched his chest, "You really scared me."


    After collecting himself, the man explained that a bank robbery had occurred and the thieves were currently in a shootout with the police. Reiss and Gohan peered around the corner to see the criminals exchanging fire with two officers who were crouched behind their vehicle. It was clear the officers didn''t have long because they were outgunned and outnumbered.


    "A bank robbery!" Reiss was excited, "We should take care of this, it will be quick!"


    "If someone see us, we won''t be able to keep a low profile at school." Gohan warned.


    "Who cares, it''s not like I can be low profile in Raditz City and attending the Prometheus Academy." the blue haired youth never believed low profile was an option.


    "Okay, fine." Gohan agreed although he was sure his mother would not approve. "Can we at least turn Super Saiyan before we go in?" Unlike, his cousin Gohan was never a fan of attention.


    The two transformed into their respective Super Saiyan states and headed into the combat zone. Reiss confidently walked towards the criminals with his green hair and golden aura blazing around him.


    "Gohan, you should get the security soldiers to safety." Reiss ordered. "I''ll handle the other guys."


    "They''re called police on Earth." Gohan corrected. "You can tell you haven''t been on Earth for long."


    "Whatever." Reiss shrugged.


    The past month was the longest time Reiss had spent on the planet. If it wasn''t for the fact that he need to register for classes, he would have waited until the start date to even come to Earth. He preferred travel through space over being on a planet.


    The bank robbers stopped shooting in the directions of the police officers when they saw Reiss slowly approaching. Not know what the glowing youth could be intending to do, they focused their weapons in his direction. They knew they were close to wearing down the two cops and would soon be capable of making their escape.


    At this time Gohan, who was hanging back, saw the criminals shift their focus. He used the opportunity to vanish to where the officers were hiding. The two police were stunned by the youths arrival behind the police car.


    "I''m getting you out of here." he said, grabbing up the frightened cops and vanishing back to the end of the street.


    "Stop right there!" the lead thief barked at Reiss.


    The green haired Saiyan put his hands into his pockets and continued his casual stroll towards the burglars. The thief was getting angered by the fact his orders weren''t being followed. Not only were his orders ignored, but the young man seemed to be acting like it was a normal day.


    "I said stop kid! Don''t think I won''t shoot!" the leader threatened.


    "Maybe if you had a Prometheus Empire military laser, I would be worried and that is a big maybe." Reiss chuckled. "And if you had one, you would have already used it."


    BANG!


    The leader fired at the casually strolling Reiss after his commands were completely ignored by the cocky youth. The thief thought his aim was on the mark, but he lost sight of the mysterious hero as soon as he fired.


    "Did you see whe-" the leader turned to ask his men but his words were instantly cut off by what he saw.


    Reiss piled up all five of the thief''s men and was standing with one foot resting on top of them. The criminal leader had no idea how the scene before him came to be. Somehow all of his men were beaten and broken in the time it took for him to fire his gun. Cold sweat drenched the thief as he thought about what fate awaited him. He nearly stumbled on the sidewalk as he tried to retreat a few steps back from the monster that ruined his heist.


    The thief once again held up his gun prepared to fire, but Reiss quickly appeared a step in front of him. The Super Saiyan calmly reached out and clutched the gun, crushing it and the bones in his hand into dust. The robber was only able to release a short scream before being knocked unconscious.


    "Ok! That''s taken care of!" Reiss appeared by the reverted Gohan. "Too bad we still have to go to class."


    "Yeah, we should go, we don''t want to be late." Gohan said as Reiss reverted to his base form.


    The two started to walk away from the scene of the foiled bank robbery when a pigtailed girl with a slender build landed on the sidewalk. She was wearing a long white shirt, with black gloves, and bicycle shorts.


    "Hey! Did either of you two see what happened here!" the girl asked in an aggressive tone.


    "Yeah we did, but we''re late." Reiss said dismissively. He noticed the girl was flying, yet Gohan had suggested walking as to not draw too much attention.


    Reiss had already started walking away from the girl. Gohan wasn''t sure if he should leave or apologiesfor his cousin being short with the girl.


    "Sorry, but we are late." Gohan bowed in apology and ran off to catch up with his cousin.


    After they left, the girl couldn''t shake the feeling she had seen the teen boys before, but just could figure out where. An old man wearing a black suit and hat ran up to the girl as she examined the scene of the ruined bank robbery.


    "It''s good to see you Videl." the man greeted.


    "What happened to the thieves?" the girl asked.


    "It was incredible, I never seen anything like that in person." the man beamed with excitement as he recapped the events.


    Videl''s eyes widened with clarity after she realized the people responsible for stopping the criminals were the two guys that left earlier. She knew she should have questioned them more before letting them leave the area. Now she was left without any clues as to the identity of the heroes.


    "Do you have any idea who they were?" she asked.


    "I was sure you knew ''em." the man said, "I thought they were classmates of yours."


    "Why would think that?" she had never seen those two before.


    "They were wearing Prometheus Academy badges like yours." the man pointed to the badge on


    Videl''s hip.


    "Thanks." Videl said. Now that she knew they went to her school, it would be easy to find them. Her main question was why she never saw them at school before.


    The 1-B classroom was full of chatter about the new students that would be joining the class. The students speculated wildly about the mystery students. Bets were made about whether they would be male or female.


    Videl was seated in the stadium style classroom next to her friend Erasa. Their friend, Sharpner, was seated on the row behind them. The blonde girl Ersa was trying to talk with Videl, but she was lost in her thoughts about who the two fighters could''ve been.


    "What do you think the new students will be like?" the cheerful Ersa asked. After not getting a response, she snapped her fingers in front of the zoned out girl. "Earth to Videl!"


    Videl was shocked back to reality, "I''m sorry Ersa. What did you say?"


    "I asked you about the new students." Ersa said.


    "What new students?" Videl was surprised it was the first she was hearing about new students.


    "Oh yeah, you weren''t here earlier when the professor explained our class was getting some new students." Ersa explained.


    Videl was about to process this new information when the classroom door opened. In walked the pair of teens she met earlier in the morning. The chatter erupted when the two walked into the room. The professor motioned for them to stand near his podium to introduce them.


    "Eeee!" Ersa squealed at a low volume full of excitement.


    "What? Do you know them?" Videl whispered.


    Ersa rapidly nodded her head at her friend''s question, "The one with the blue hair is the imperial prince, Videl! How could you not know?"


    "I would like to introduce your new classmates." the professor began. "This is Son Gohan and Prometheus Reiss."


    Reiss and Gohan went to find seats after their quick introduction by the teacher. Reiss noticed an excited blonde girl with a green tube shirt with horizontal stripes waving at them.


    "There is space over here!" she shouted.


    Seeing no better choice, they headed over to take their seats. After sitting down next to the girl, she immediately rolled out the welcome wagon.


    "I''m Erasa. The guy behind us is Sharpner." she introduced them. "And that''s Videl, she is a crime fighter in the city."

 45 School Day part 2

    Reiss was instantly interested in the fact that one of their classmates fought crime as a hobby. He could see how it would be fun running around the city fighting crime. As a hobby he thought it was a good idea, however if she believed she could actually end crime she would be a fool.


    "A crime fighter, you say?" Gohan asked. "That''s interesting."


    "Yeah Videl''s dad is Mr. Satan. He is a professional fighter." Erasa was happy to explain her friends position. "She even works with the city''s police department."


    Unknown to Erasa, she had given Videl the opening she needed to bring up the bank robbery. She had been thinking of a way to broach the subject. However before she could bring up the subject, Reiss provided the answer.


    "So is this a high crime city?" the prince asked. "Just this morning, Gohan and I stopped a bank robbery on the way to school."


    "It was you two after all!" Videl accidentally shouted. Recognizing her error she quickly slapped her hands over her mouth.


    "Ms. Videl, if you could please lower your voice, class is about to start." the professor said.


    The pig tailed girl was angered by her own impulsive outburst. The students refocused their attention on the professor as he droned on with his lesson. Reiss looked around, trying to find something interesting in the room. He noted Gohan was especially studious from the amount of notes he was taking.


    When the class was over, Erasa offered to show Reiss and Gohan the way to the their next class. They were swamped by a mob of students the entire walk towards the outdoor facilities in the back of the five story building. Once word spread about the imperial prince attending school, he became the center of attention.


    "I didn''t think it would be like this." Gohan whispered to his cousin.


    He never imagined his cousin would attract the level of attention that he did. Their past interaction made Gohan view Reiss as just another person with no regard for his status. Now he was seeing the effects of having a famous family member first hand.


    "I told you, there was no way I was going to be low profile." Reiss shrugged.


    The various students in the crowd slowly started to disperse to go to their different classes. Videl thought it would be the best chance to get her questions answered. From the interactions she saw Reiss have with the other students, he seemed approachable.


    "About that bank robbery you two stopped. The way witness described it, you two were like nothing they had ever seen." Videl began her question, "How were you able to do that?"


    "That wasn''t anything special." Reiss looked to Gohan to in an attempt to figure out why the pushy girl was making an issue out of the robbery.


    "What do you mean nothing special? People said you both had golden glows." Videl asserted.


    "Yeah, we are Super Saiyans. That''s what it looks like when we transform." Reiss explained. "My cousin is also a half Saiyan, our fathers are brothers." Videl had totally forgotten the fact that the blue haired boy was half alien.


    "Oh wow, that''s amazing Gohan." Erasa chimed in, "The children of world champions club at this school is growing."


    "Erasa''s joking." Sharpner said, "At least, there is no club yet."


    In the back of the school was a replica of the world tournament arena encircled by a large track. On the opposite side of the track was a domed facility almost as tall as the five story school building.


    The instructors separated the class into those that were interested in the martial studies versus the students who just wanted to play traditional sports. Surprising for Reiss, his cousin opted to not to take the sports course. He was sure Gohan had grown less interested in combat over the last few years.


    The instructor informed the students that there would soon be a school wide selection. The strongest students would be picked to represent the school in the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament. When they were told of this, many of the students became excited by the prospect of becoming world champion.


    Next, the class was led into the indoor training facility inside the domed building. There was a multitude of equipment and machinery neatly arranged in the building. It was explained, for the benefit of the new students, that the building was used for strength training and assessment tests. The students would often be tested to insure they were making progress. Their first stop was a machine that was made like a vertical ring with a platform in the center. The platform was one meter in diameter and if one stood in the center it would look like Leonardo da Vinci''s "Vitruvian Man."


    "Ms. Videl, would you like to demonstrate?" the teacher asked.


    Videl confidently hopped onto the platform and reached out to clutch the hand bars at her sides. She smirked slightly because she currently held the school''s strength record. In the last month, she intensified her training to prepare to compete in the World Tournament.


    "Are you ready?" the teacher asked.


    When she gave the go ahead, the instructor activated the machine. The girl slowly began to pull the bars closer together. After a few seconds, her progress was being reversed by the machine pulling back against her, Videl doubled her focus and renewed her fight. When then machine returned to its original position, the test was over.


    "Exceptional as always, Videl!" the instructor cheered. "If your martial skills match your strength, which I know they do, you''ll be a shoo-in for one of the school''s tournament slots."


    "Thank you, sir." she replied. Even if she didn''t use one of the school''s tournament participation slots, she would still be able to compete on her own.


    Reiss looked over at his cousin, mouth hanging open, absolutely shocked by the girl''s performance. Gohan gave a slight smile and shrugged at his cousin''s surprise. Reiss never thought a display that weak would be worthy of high praise. The level of power Kakarot''s friends possessed shaded what Reiss expected from average Earthlings.


    "Impressive, huh?" Erasa nudged Reiss in the ribs with her elbow. She thought he was staring at her friend because he never saw person around his age that was as strong as Videl.


    "I guess you could say that." the blue haired teen wasn''t sure if the blonde girl was being sarcastic or not.


    "Since we need to check both of you, who would like to go first?" the instructor looked to his new students. He was curious as to whether the prince would be as strong as his father.


    "Sure, I''ll do it." Reiss said.


    The instructor waited for the prince to step onto the platform. When Reiss gripped the handlebars of the machine the teacher prepared to press the start sequence.


    "Now remember, this is state of the art equipment. Don''t feel down once it surpasses your strength level, that is what it''s supposed to do." the instructor calmly explained. Many students feel depressed every time they lose because it feels like they haven''t improved.


    "Okay," Reiss nodded.


    When the machine started, Reiss pulled the handlebars while the machine fought back. The equipment''s machinery began whirring and humming as it tried to overcome the teen. The instructor''s eyes were jumping back from the console to the boy and back to the console. The readings were higher than he had ever seen.


    Reiss''s hands were nearly touching together when the machine''s ring snapped in two. The blue haired teen was left holding the bars and the metallic pistons attached to them. If it wasn''t for the machine''s depressed humming sounds as it shut down defeated, a pin could have been heard dropping. Everyone was staring at the destruction Reiss caused.


    "That shouldn''t be possible, right?" Sharpner''s voice was barely audible.


    "That still counts, even if it broke, correct?" Reiss asked. All the students shifted their view to the instructor, waiting for his answer.


    "Ye-yes Prince Reiss." the instructor was frightened by the readout on the console. The maximum exertion capacity of the machine was 25 tons. Judging by the ease in which Reiss destroyed the device, he was capable of much more.


    The teacher glanced over at Videl and sighed to himself. She was the frontrunner to represent the school until now. Looking at the other students he could tell that most of the males had broken out in a cold sweat. They clearly had plans to embarrass the prince in some way to elevate their status, now their dreams were dashed into pieces. Others looked on believing that they should try and enter into Reiss''s inner circle, that way they could gain cushy jobs in the future.


    "Mr. Gohan, we will have to do your assessment tomorrow." the instructor said. "We will have to replace the machine." Gohan nodded in understanding.


    After school, Videl, Erasa, Sharpner, Reiss, and Gohan met out front because the blonde girl wanted to talk to them. By the end of the day, Gohan had come to terms with the fact his plan of remaining anonymous wouldn''t be happening.


    "I was wondering if you guys wanted to come study at my place?" she asked, "I mean we all seem to get along just fine."


    "I should probably go out on patrol." Videl said. She liked to give the city a once over before going home to make sure there were no criminals running rampant.


    Reiss looked over at his cousin to get a sense of where he stood on the choice. Gohan, like Reiss, had no experience with going to a friend''s house.


    "Sure, we''ll go." Reiss answered.


    "You sure?" Gohan asked, "I mean, I have a long flight back to Pozu, and I need to look after my brother."


    Sharpner was internally thrilled by the prospect of the two Saiyans not tagging along to Erasa''s house. It would be one less person to overshadow him, besides they didn''t need anymore members for their little group.


    "If you are sure Gohan, then I''ll just go." Reiss offered, "Although I''m sure your brother will be fine."


    "You know, I think I changed my mind." Videl said, "It has been awhile since we all did something together."


    Sharpner was happy his crush, Videl, decided to go. He didn''t care why she changed her mind, though she rarely did.


    "You''re right Reiss," Gohan quickly added, "I think Goten will be alright."


    Sharpner''s mood swiftly dropped to rock bottom the moment Gohan changed his mind. Videl thought it might be a good opportunity to discover just how strong the new boys were. Gohan was actually interested in learning more about the pig tailed girl. Erasa was smiling with excitement that her friends decided to come over, while Reiss wasn''t quite sure what was going on.


    The flight to Erasa''s home was supposed to be short, but the group spotted a disturbance. A group of masked men with lasers were attacking what appeared to be protesters near the circus that recently came to the city. Videl didn''t know what caused the situation, but she was determined to put a stop to it.

 46 Break

    The teens watched from the air as the gunmen herded the protesters into a nearby alley. The pig tailed girl couldn''t let things continue down their current path. She had encountered similar situations in the past dealing with criminals. Videl swiftly turned to her friends to let them know she had everything under control.


    "Wait here. I''m going to stop them." she ordered.


    Her friends, Erasa and Sharpner, looked completely stunned by her statement. She couldn''t understand why they would react in such a fashion, they had seen her stop criminals before. In fact, they had also been known to stop a mugging or two.


    "What''s wrong?" she asked nervously.


    "Look." Erasa was pointing towards the alley.


    Videl slowly turned around following the direction her friend was pointing. She was afraid one of the gunmen had already killed someone in the few seconds she wasn''t looking. The pig tailed girl''s jaw dropped from what she saw. The protesters were running away freely out of the alley and all but one of the gunmen was on the ground broken and unconscious.


    Videl continued to stare as Reiss slowly floated back towards the group, and he wasn''t alone. The blue haired teen was holding one of the attackers by the back of his shirt. She heard the man sobbing as he and Reiss approached the group. She couldn''t believe that in the time she explained to her friends her plan to save the protesters, Reiss had already done her job.


    "H-how?" Sharpner stuttered. He was looking the entire time, but couldn''t make out exactly what happened in the alley.


    It appeared to him Reiss disappeared from the sky and resembled as a static-like blur as he moved through the gunmen.


    "What?" Reiss asked. "I thought this guy probably could tell us what was going on."


    He held out the sobbing criminal like he was a bag of garbage. The criminal was long past any thoughts of trying to resist. He quickly spilled the beans about how his groups was hired by the circus owner to scare the protesters way. The circus routinely captured rare animals, illegally, to maximize the profits of the show. If the protesters were allowed to continue drawing attention to the circus''s treatment of its animals, the authorities might have gotten involved.


    According to the masked gunman, the circus was currently targeting the lands near Mt. Paozu. Gohan was troubled by the news hunters had targeted the area near his home. When the police arrived on the scene to arrest the gang, Reiss handed over the gang member he interrogated.


    The prince filled the authorities in on what his prisoner had shared. They were angered to hear about the tactics the circus was using. After a few handshakes, the city police promised that the second they returned to the station an investigation would be launched. When all the relevant information was exchanged, Reiss returned to his group.


    "Sorry guys." Reiss apologized to the waiting teens. "Even though I wrapped the goon problem up as fast as possible, it still took a long time to wait on the city police."


    "No problem. It happens more often than you think." Erasa shot a teasing glance to Videl.


    With no more delays, the group of teens arrived at their original destination. Erasa''s house wasn''t extravagant, but it was comfortable. The teens gathered in a spacious living room where the blonde girl interrogated Reiss on his life growing up. His classmates never realized he actually spent most of his childhood aboard spaceships. They were also shocked to learn the unassuming Gohan had been to other planets before and assisted in missions.


    "Are you guys going to fight in the World Tournament at the end of the month?" Erasa asked. "I''m sure one of you would win."


    Sharpner almost laughed. From what he witnessed, if Gohan was comparable to his cousin, no one else stood a chance. Videl was thankful Erasa shifted the conversation to the topic she most wanted to bring up.


    "No, I don''t think I''m going to participate." Gohan answered. His family didn''t need the money and he was trying to focus on his studies.


    "I don''t have any plans to fight either, it would be pointless." Reiss bluntly replied.


    "Are you saying winning would be too easy for you?" Videl didn''t want to believe he was truly unsurpassable.


    "Of course," Reiss replied. "There are very few people on this planet I could have fun fighting, Gohan being one."


    Videl was going to push back against his statement, but a rapid beeping sound interrupted her. Reiss quickly rose from his seat and removed his Scouter from his Dyno-cap container. Gohan watched his cousin exit the room. He knew from the time he spent with his cousin that the beeping indicated a priority message.


    "It probably is a work call." Gohan explained to the confused teens.


    While Reiss was gone, the group shifted their focus over to Gohan. It was his turn to be interrogated by their friendly host. Unfortunately, he didn''t have as many exciting stories of his own to share. He was going to tell them about the time he fought on Planet Namek when his cousin returned.


    "It looks like I will be fighting in the tournament." Reiss declared.


    This change of heart was a surprise to the rest of teens.


    "Are you going to take a break from school to train?" Videl asked. "You can get a special allowance for the tournament."


    "Really!" the blue haired teen was happy to hear he could get out of going back to school.


    "Well, you can take off, at most, two weeks." the pig tailed girl explained.


    Reiss was less enthusiastic after hearing it was only a two week break. He would still need to go back to school for a couple of days.


    "Speaking of training," Videl began, "I wanted to ask if you would be willing to train me."


    The blue haired Saiyan thought about the girl''s request to learn from him. On one hand, it might be fun to see how strong she could get. On the other, the two weeks wasn''t very much time and he might need to train.


    "I''ll do it!" Gohan blurted out. "Reiss will be to busy with his own training."


    He knew what kind of training Reiss would probably subject Videl to in other to increase her strength quickly. He remembered the harsh training on the way to Namek. He wasn''t worried Reiss was going try crushing her in the gravity chamber, but his training would probably be torturous.


    "That sounds like a plan." Reiss nodded, "Gohan would be an excellent teacher, even if he has been slacking off lately."


    "Ok, fine, in eight days we''ll start training. Be ready Gohan." Videl ordered.


    "I guess that means I need to fight too if I want the two week break." Gohan said. He was happy that at least the world wasn''t ending this time.


    Later that evening, after the group separated, Gohan was at his house on Mt. Paozu eating with his family. Kakarot informed them that all of his friends would be fighting in the World Tournament for old times sake. He mentioned that his brother would be coming back to compete too.


    After hear this news, Gohan understood what the priority call Reiss received earlier was about.


    "I think you two should fight." Kakarot looked to his sons, "It will be fun."


    The young Goten was excited by the thought of competing in the tournament. He was ready to call his friend Eschalot to see if she was going too.


    "I agree with your father." Chi-chi said, "If you place in a good spot it will only help your chances at getting into a good school like your brother."


    Over the course of the next eight days, the teachers at the school became increasingly impressed by the prince''s performance. Regardless of the lack of attention he paid in class, he completed his assignments flawlessly. They wanted him to be one of the school''s representatives in the World Tournament, but Reiss refused to accept their slot.


    After his application for the two weeks training break was accepted, Reiss departed the school after telling his friends goodbye. The blue haired teen had been staying at the Capsule Corp. property in West City while he was on Earth. His grandparents were thrilled to have him staying with them because they rarely saw him.


    When his father sent him the priority message to participate in the tournament, he contacted the Shadow and had it travel to Earth. Reiss told his grandparents that he would be training on the Shadow for the next two weeks. However, Dr. Briefs informed him that he constructed a training room on the property long ago, following most of his daughter''s specifications.


    Goten didn''t realize when his brother said they were going to train together that they would be joined by a third party. His brother waited until the last minute to let him know that he already promised to train Videl. From what he could sense, the pig tailed girl wasn''t too strong at all.


    "You said I couldn''t invite Eschalot because it was secret training." Goten complained, "But you invited her."


    "I told you Goten, I already promised I would help her out." Gohan tried to persuade his brother.


    "Fine, but Eschalot wouldn''t slow us down." Goten countered. "She is as strong as me. Well, maybe stronger."


    "Ok, next time we''ll invite her if she is free." Gohan promised.


    "Goten, I''m really happy you let me join in," the pig tailed girl smiled, "If I slow you guys down, you can leave me behind."


    The young Kakarot lookalike nodded his head in acceptance of the situation. The trio moved to a suitable location and Gohan gave his guest some pointers, while Goten tried not to be bored. After being taught several exercises, Videl became curious about Gohan''s usual routine.


    "What do you and your brother usually do?" she asked. Judging by the younger brother''s bored expression, this wasn''t how they trained.


    "We spar!" Goten shouted with excitement.


    "Really?" she asked the boy, "I''d love to see that."


    Goten smiled, dropping into a fighting stance, "Here I come big brother."


    The child wasted no time in launching himself towards an unprepared Gohan. The older brother''s experience allowed him to defend against his brother''s sudden attack. Goten guessed his initial strike would be blocked, so he followed up with a kick. Gohan countered his brother''s attacks with several strikes of his own.


    Videl watched in shock as the two brothers vanished before her eyes. She struggled to stay on her feet from the disturbance caused in the area by the playful clash of the brothers. The two appeared almost as fast as they disappeared. Both Gohan and his brother were breathing a bit heavier.


    "That''s how we train!" Goten smiled cheerfully at the shocked girl.

 47 Child’s Play

    It didn''t take long for time to pass, and the day of the World Martial Arts Tournament finally arrived. Unlike in the past, the tournament was being held on an island converted specifically to host the event. This change was to mitigate any collateral damage potentially caused by fighters of extreme strengths.


    Kakarot was gathered with his friends near the entrance of the tournament grounds. Everyone was happily chatting about the potential fights they would experience. It had been many years since any of them fought in front of an audience. The number of spectators was vastly superior to the crowds that came to the older tournaments, they had Raditz to thank for that.


    "I still can''t believe you have hair." Kakarot commented to his long time friend, Krillin. The short man had allowed his hair to grow out because he hadn''t encountered any life or deaths fights over the last seven years.


    "I always shaved my head by choice." Krillin laughed, "Besides, Maron likes my hair."


    Krillin was attending the event with his girlfriend he met while out with Yamcha. He had long contemplated breaking up with the younger woman. She was beautiful and fun to be around, but was severely lacking when it came to intelligence. Maron was wearing her signature red dress with low straps and white and blue sneakers. She had long blue hair, which stopped right below her shoulders.


    "This really brings me back." Tien said, "It seems like a lifetime ago since we competed."


    Everyone understood what the three eyed human was talking about. They all had fond memories of competing against each other. This was a good opportunity for them to relive the excitement of the old days. The sudden arrival of Reiss caused the group''s conversation to be but on pause.


    "Hey, guys." the teen greeted the group. "It''s been awhile since I''ve seen some of you."


    "Oh wow!" Maron exclaimed running over to the prince. She grabbed his hair while staring in amazement. "It''s so spiky and the same color as mine! Have you seen this, Krillin?"


    "Who is this person?" Reiss asked in confusion. The teen was ready for any number of attacks, but never experience anything like someone petting his hair.


    "Maron, Krillin''s girlfriend." Kakarot answered.


    "Is she alright?" the teen asked. Maron released the teen''s hair after she realized her actions probably were inappropriate.


    "Hey, its Gohan!" Krillin saw Gohan approaching the group. He was with his mother and younger brother.


    Reiss took another look at Krillin''s odd girlfriend and notice she looked a lot like his mother. He shuddered internally at the thought of Krillin and his mother before refocusing his thoughts on the tournament.


    "We should go sign in before it gets too crowded." Reiss suggested.


    The group met Vegeta and his family on the way to the registration area. They collectively froze when Maron had the audacity to ask who exactly the "old ladies" were. As everyone thought, Chi-chi and Tights gained an instant dislike for the younger woman.


    Luckily, the rest of the trip passed without incident, even with the constant challenges between Kakarot and Vegeta. They wanted to use the tournament as the perfect chance to test their skills against each other. After registering for the tournament, the applicants would need to travel to the examination area for a test of strength.


    There were almost twenty rows of people lined up in front of sophisticated machines designed to measure the level of striking force the competitors could deliver. The fighters would be chosen from the applicants that scored the highest.


    Videl was waiting in the testing area for Gohan and his friends to arrive. She already finished her test and was confident she would be chosen as a fighter. Thanks to her training with Gohan, she was able to score higher than her father''s last test.


    When it was Reiss''s turn he walked up and examined the machine. Looking at the base he could see that the device was housed on tracks allowing it to easily move if needed. After breaking the school''s machine, he didn''t want to break another.


    The force of Reiss''s hit caused the machine to slide back all the way to the end of its tracks before safely stopping. The post next to him beeped several times and printed a slip for the blue haired teen listing his results.


    "All nines." Reiss thought to himself. The readout showed his name and tournament id number along with his strength level of 999999.


    The other applicants looked on horrified by the level of power the teen displayed against the machine. Many of them thought about dropping out all together. If they knew Reiss was holding way back, many more would have thought about quitting. Videl would have been as shocked as the others if she hadn''t already experienced the sight of Gohan and his brother sparring on multiple occasions.


    "Oops." Kakarot apologized after completely destroying the machine he hit. He still was able to get his printout from the dispenser.


    Several applicants silently started to make their way back out of the testing area. For them, the tournament already ended. Videl saw the arrogant blue haired prince walking towards her. From the performance of his group, she might not make it into the tournament after all.


    "Did you get all nine''s on your test?" he asked making conversation. "I think 999,999 is the max."


    "No, I didn''t max out the machine." Videl answered, she wasn''t even close to maxing out the machine.


    One by one, the rest of the superior martial artists either destroyed or nearly destroyed the testing machines. Reiss and Videl walked to the waiting area where the names of the chosen applicants would be displayed.It was almost another hour before everyone finished the strength test and gathered to see the results.


    The giant display screen read: Congratulations chosen warriorsGohan, Jewel, Kakarot, Kibito, Killa, Krillin, Mr. Satan, Piccolo, Reiss, Shin, Spopovich, Tien, Vegeta, Videl, Yamcha, Yamu. Please proceed to the waiting room.


    "Father!" Reiss was surprised to see Raditz already in the waiting room. "What are you doing in here, I didn''t see your name listed."


    "I will fight the winner as a special reward." Raditz looked at the other fighters as they entered.


    He was making sure Spopovich and Yamu were participating. He didn''t know if Majin Buu would be an issue or not, but if Yamu and Spopovich were here with big "M''s" on their foreheads, it meant time was mostly on track.


    "I think there is something up about that guy." Piccolo whispered to Raditz. He nodded in the direction of the fighters named Shin and Kibito.


    "Good eye, as always." Raditz praised Piccolo for noticing the Kaio. "But they aren''t the real problem, and if they become a problem, I''ll handle it."


    Piccolo accepted Raditz''s opinion on the subject wondering what the real problem was. The fighters rested in the waiting room while the junior division for the tournament got under way. It goes without saying, Eschalot and Goten were upset about being made to compete against children.


    The junior division moved along quicker than everyone expected. Even though many children were trained in the basics of martial arts, they had never competed before. Their lack of experience caused them to make mistakes that more experienced children could capitalize on and end the battle quickly. To top it off, the tournament organizers never in a million years would have thought monsters like Eschalot and Goten would appear. Their matches would be over in less than a second each time they stepped into the ring.


    The final match of the junior division saw Eschalot and Goten facing off in the ring. The children looked happier than they did in their previous fights. The shaded tournament announcer could tell this fight would be memorable. Even if he didn''t have the registration information, he could tell by Goten''s appearance that he was Kakarot''s son.


    "I hope you are ready to lose again, Goten." Eschalot confidently declared.


    "Not this time, I''ve been training with my brother." Goten countered. "This time you''re gonna lose."


    "Hoh hoh, ladies and gentlemen it seems our two young competitors have a history!" the announcer shouted playfully.


    "You sound confident." Eschalot straightened her back. "If you do a good job, I might let you become my disciple."


    "No, you become my disciple if you lose." the small Kakarot look-alike said.


    "N-no way. Plus, I wouldn''t lose anyway!" the small blonde Saiyans cheeks turned pink. There is no way Goten should even think he could defeat her. She was older and always won in their past fights.


    "Kakarot, your son is fool if he thinks he stands a chance." Vegeta taunted the Saiyan. They were watching the fight on the displays in the fighter waiting room.


    "I haven''t seen him fight lately, but I''m sure Gohan did a good job training him." Kakarot shrugged.


    "I was away helping King Kai with a problem."


    "Too busy to train your son. Sounds like an excuse for his loss." Vegeta smirked, "After Eschalot wins, I''ll be proven the superior parent, and then I can defeat you in the tournament proving I''m the superior fighter."


    The audience needed to rely on the high speed displays to keep track of the two children as they clashed around the arena. The recording drones used the latest technology, and they still had trouble capturing the images. Their seats vibrated from the force of the blows the children were attacking with. If it were not for the specialized protective glass, the audience would have had their snacks and hats blown off long ago.


    "You did get stronger!" Eschalot was surprised by Goten''s improvements. "Ok then, let''s go to the next level."


    Wind violently swirled around the arena as the children cried out, raising their Ki. After the bright flash, the audience could see the children had a golden glow around them. Not on that, but Goten''s black hair had become golden and spiked up. Eschalot''s already short blonde hair was also spiked. The eyes of both children became a blue green color.


    Explosions rang out around the arena more violently than before as the children chased each other around the ring and through the air. Kakarot was greatly impressed by Goten''s skills during the fight.


    "They''re Super Saiyans?"Kakarot asked his current rival.


    "You didn''t know?" Vegeta was amazed. "Do you notice nothing about your children?"


    "They pretty much take care of themselves, nobody said anything." he countered look at his oldest son. "Gohan, am I away too much?"


    Shin was impressed by the level of energy the Earth had risen to since last he checked the planet. His enemies would be able to gathered the energy they required to resurrect Majin Buu much faster than anticipated. However, he now knew that there were mortals around that had enough power to assist him in his mission.

 48 25th World Martial Arts Tournamen

    The junior division concluded with both children tying due to a double ringout. During the fight, Eschalot proved to still be a little stronger than Goten. While they were fighting above the ring, the boy managed to catch her off guard with a grapple and dive bombed them both to the ground. Even though there was no clear victor, the audience was still satisfied with the fight.


    After an hour long intermission, the adults were ready to fight. The competitors were ushered to a tent near the side of the ring. They would be able to wait for their fights while still being close to the ring. Piccolo watched the fighter known as Shin the entire walk to the ringside tent. Just because Raditz said that Shin wasn''t a problem, it didn''t mean he wasn''t hiding something.


    After some short opening words, the announcer declared the start of the World Martial Arts adult competition round. The crowds released a chorus of cheers from the announcers energetic performance.


    When the cheers settled, he drew the crowd''s attention to the special open air booth above the ring entrance. A dazzling pyrotechnic display erupted around the booth while the crowd stared, fascinated by what the show was leading to.


    "Ladies and Gentlemen, his legendary fight at the 22rd World tournament changed the world, opening our eyes to how far martial arts could go! He went on to become ruler of the Prometheus Empire and saved the Earth not once, but twice! Our Emperor, His Majesty, Prometheus Raditz!" the announcer introduced the galactic emperor.


    Raditz emerged on cue under a hail of cheers from the crowd as he made his way to the front of the booth. After the shouts died down, he took his seat on the finely designed chair that was provided for him to observe the matches.


    "The first match to start us off will be between returning contestants Piccolo and Jewel!" After announcing the match, the black suited blonde MC surrendered the ring to the fighters.


    Piccolo wasn''t concerned with the young man that was his opponent. Jewel was strong for an average human, but he was nowhere close to Piccolo''s level in either skill or power. The Namekian stared at his opponent, waiting on him to make the first move. Jewel had long blonde hair parted in the middle and wore a light blue Kung-fu uniform. He dropped into his fighting stance, hoping to finish Piccolo quickly with a diamond chop.


    Piccolo watched as the blonde man flew recklessly towards him full of confidence in his skills. To the Namekian, Jewel appeared to be moving in slow motion as the distance between the fighters closed. The blonde man''shand was raisedin the position to deliver a swift but powerful chop to his opponent''s neck.


    The instant Jewel followed through with his attack, his arm was grasped by the Namekian. The younger fighter''s eyes bugged out his head from someone actually being able to stop his signature attack. A gentle uppercut from Piccolo caused Jewel to foam from the mouth before passing out. The usually excited announcer didn''t even have time to make any comments before the match ended.


    "Piccolo wins!" the announcer shouted breaking the crowds silence from their shock and disappointment over the round.


    Spopovich and Yamu were whispering to themselves after witnessing Piccolo''s match. The Namekian''s sharp hearing allowed him to pick a few of their words over the noise of the crowd''s discussions. He heard them mention some things about energy and someone named Babidi.


    The next fighters chosen to compete in the tournament were Yamcha and Killa. When the fighters arrived at the ring, the announcer exited the ring again to give them room. Killa was a tall, dark skinned, man with green shorts, wrestling boots, and a green tank top. Like Jewel before him, Killa had fought in the tournament before and was brimming with confidence.


    "Hita mut tenna mite," Killa smiled pointing at Yamcha. "Fun dis denim tiem fight!"


    It was a bold declaration that shocked the crowd. Some chuckled at the fighter''s determination to win his battle.


    "Sorry to say, but I have been at this much longer than you!" Yamcha countered, not wanting to be outdone.


    "I pity tha flipma howsy rest, yeah!" Killa crossed his arms and laughed. "Ring down pattsy sty!"


    The crowd laughed again clearly won over by the man''s charisma when it came to insulting his opponents. Yamcha was somewhat angered by the fact he didn''t seem to have any fans in the crowd. He ended up dodging around the boxing strikes Killa threw at him, hoping to win some of the crowd over with a display of his skills.


    The out of his league boxer chased Yamcha around the ring doing his best to tag the long haired man. The audience''s cheers spurred Killa on as he fought. To Yamcha''s surprise the crowd cheered harder for the out matched Killa, Yamcha inadvertently turned him into an underdog, and the crowds loved those.


    Realizing he would not be able to get any audience appreciation from the match, Yamcha ended it with a well placed chin strike. The hit caused Killa to collapse to the ground like a stringless puppet. Yamcha threw up his arms in a victorious pose, but ended up getting booed out of the ring by the crowd who had become fans of Killa.


    "Moving right along!" the announcer shouted, saving Yamcha from the crowds anger. "The daughter of the previous champion, Mr. Satan, will be fighting the son of the former champion, Kakarot! Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Videl vs Son Gohan!"


    The crowd went absolutely crazy from the announcement of the next competitors. The audience had high hopes for the level of excitement they would receive from the children of former champs. When the pair arrived in the ring, the crowd ceased all noise, not wanting to miss a beat of the battle.


    Videl wasted no time entering her fighting stance. She knew from training with Gohan, that the teen''s strength was incomparable to her own, she didn''t stand a chance. The girl wouldn''t take the loss as bad knowing what she was up against, but that didn''t mean she was going to lose without putting up a fighting.


    Videl pushed her speed to her utmost limits as she went on the attack against Gohan. The audience had to refer to the high speed monitors to keep up with the girl''s movements. Gohan danced around, blocking her hits and blasts, playfully striking back with a few of his own. The crowd cheered from the dance they saw occur between the fighters. To their untrained eyes, it appeared as though Gohan and Videl were closer in power than they actually were, otherwise they probably would have developed the same level of hate for Gohan as they carried for Yamcha.


    After Videl exhausted her bag of tricks in the fight, Gohan knocked her out of the ring with a light kick to her midsection. The kick wasn''t hard enough to knock her unconscious, but it still did hurt. She was happy that even though it was a loss, she tried everything she could. It was also appreciated that she lost in a dignified manner.


    When Reiss was paired against Kibito in the next match, things at the tournament took an interesting turn. The blue haired teen took some time to stretch his limbs in the ring, preparing to fight the mysterious Kibito. Raditz stared down at the waiting area, watching to see whether Shin or his prey would make a move during the match.


    "Reiss! Good luck!" Erasa shouted from the stands.


    "I don''t think he needs luck, Erasa." Sharpner said from the seat next to her. "Remember how he did in school."


    Reiss was prepared to take it easy on the older looking man until he saw the look his father had. Raditz looked like this match was important for some reason the teen couldn''t guess. Reiss wasn''t going to underestimate Kibito during the match.


    "You are a Saiyan correct?" the tall Kai asked.


    "Yes. Technically, I''m a half-Saiyan" Reiss answered confused. "Why do you want to know?"


    "I can tell you have a great power." Kibito answered. "Can you become a Super Saiyan?"


    "I can transform into a Super Saiyan, but I don''t know why you want to know." the teen answered. "I can beat you like I am."


    "You might believe that, but you cannot." the Kai said solemnly. "There are some threats that cannot be overcome. But by showing me your Super Saiyan power, you might help save the universe."


    Reiss believed he had drawn the short stick and got matched up against an insane opponent. His senses told him that the man would be no match for him in his base form, let alone a Super Saiyan form. From Kibito''s demeanor, Reiss could tell he wasn''t lying, or at least believed what he was saying to be true.


    "Explain what you mean." Reiss demanded. "How will me going all out save the universe?"


    "I will explain after the match. Just know that you will be helping the gods." Kibito said.


    Reiss didn''t like sound of the last part. He was all for keeping the universe intact, but growing up around his father caused him to be biased against the beings that called themselves gods. Raditz was never good at hiding his resentment of gods from his son. Reiss was never sure why his father disliked the gods, since he never heard that he interacted with them.


    "If that''s what you want, fine." Reiss agreed.


    The crowd gasped as the entire island trembled from Reiss powering up. Spopovich and Yamu''s eyes were glued to the arena, locked onto the blue haired teen. The Supreme Kai, Shin couldn''t believe the level of strength the boy had. His original thoughts about using the mortals to assist him went out the window. Clearly, the boy''s strength was on the level of the Kais, or possibly above them. He would be a great help in the fight against Babidi and his minions.


    In a flash of energy, Reiss finished his transformation into a Super Saiyan. The crowd was wowed by the teen''s sudden transformation into a greenish, golden haired form. The last time they saw a transformation like that was on the recordings of Cell''s tournament.


    Kibito took a small step back after witnessing the transformation. The level of power from the teen was far greater than he expected. He was sure Shin was right when he said Yamu and Spopovich wouldn''t be able to resist trying to steal his power.


    "Are you ready now?" Reiss asked. "I transformed like you wanted."


    Kibito managed to gather himself, adopting his calm demeanor as the teen slowly approach him. When Reiss made it to the middle of the ring, he paused in his steps. He seemed as though he was fighting against an invisible barrier. The teen looked shocked by the power that held him.


    The Supreme Kai stood ringside with his arms outstretched towards Reiss. The Kai was using his power to hold the teen in place so his target Yamu and Spopovich would make their move. Sweat poured from the Kai as he fought to keep the prince contained. Reiss continued to struggle, causing the Supreme Kai to drop to a knee attempting to keep the Super Saiyan immobile.


    The moment Spopovich and Yamu jumped into the ring, Reiss broke free of the containment magic the Supreme Kai was using. A flurry of blows sent Yamu tumbling back out of the ring as Reiss turned to the massive Spopovich. When Reiss moved to attack, he was locked down again by the combined efforts of Kibito and the Supreme Kai.


    Once again, Reiss struggled to free himself from imprisonment, but it was taking longer than before. Spopovich manage to stab the prince in the side with a strange white device. Reiss fought harder than before to fight back, but felt his energy rapidly leaving his body. His hair reverted back to blue and he lost his golden aura as his Super Saiyan Ki was drained away by Spopovich. The other fighters were going to rush in to help when they saw Reiss''s match being interfered with, but held back after Raditz signaled them to just watch.


    After the drained Reiss collapsed to the ring, Spopovich and a recovered Yamu fled the stadium as fast as they could. The horrified crowd didn''t know what was happening. They couldn''t believe someone would interfere with the tournament by jumping in and stabbing a fighter. Raditz appeared in the ring to give his downed son a Panacea bean to recover from his ordeal.


    "I hope you are in the mood for revenge, boy." Raditz said to the recovered Reiss.

 49 Tracking

    The tournament audience was in an panicked uproar over seeing Reiss get stabbed by Spopovich in a sneak attack. The charismatic shaded announcertried his best to keep the crowd calm while the situation was being investigated. The ring was crowded with the other fighters as they quickly discussed the disappearance of Yamu and Spopovich.


    "I''m sorry, I don''t have time to explain, but if you follow me I will fill you in on the way." the fighter known as Shin said. "I need to track the attackers. If they get too far I will lose them."


    The hurried Shin floated off the ground to pursue his targets. He was ready to end the threat Babidi posed to the universe if he succeed in reviving Majin Buu.


    "You''re a Kai." Piccolo stated. He was sure from his experience as Kami that his senses were right about the purple skinned, pointy eared, Shin.


    "I''m the Supreme Kai." Shin corrected. "As I said, time is of the essence."


    The Supreme Kai and Kibito surrounded themselves in their aura and blasted away from the arena. Piccolo was rocked by the news that Shin was actually the Supreme Kai. He was aware of the godly ranks from obtaining Kami''s memories, but he never interacted with anything above Galactic Area Kai''s.


    "I think we should help him." the Namekian suggested.


    "Why?" Reiss asked. "Those guys used me as bait! They didn''t even ask, they just set me up and they paralyzed me to prevent me from stopping those guys."


    "You might not be aware, but the Supreme Kai governs the universe. I think they are just used to doing things in their own way." Piccolo explained.


    Moved by Kami''s instinct to assist the Supreme Kai, Piccolo raised his Ki and shot through the air in the direction the Kais headed. The remaining fighters were surprised by the Namekian''s willingness to go help an unknown person.


    "We''re also going Reiss." Raditz stated. He wasn''t going to let Babidi get away with thinking he could do whatever he wanted with no consequences.


    The blue haired teen nodded in acknowledgment of his father''s orders. Besides, if there was chance he could get payback for getting paralyzed, he would take it.


    "What about the tournament?" Kakarot asked, "If we leave now, we won''t get a chance to fight."


    "As much as I hate to admit it. I agree with Kakarot." Vegeta said, "That Kai didn''t seem too strong, he might''ve over exaggerated the danger."


    "You guys can wait here. I highly doubt everyone will be needed." Raditz said. "If a big group went most of the people would just be relegated to cheer squad anyways."


    The Supreme Kai and Kibito rushed through the blue Earth sky after Babidi''s minions. The Supreme Kai''s white Mohawk was getting whipped around from the force of the wind. They couldn''t see Spopovich and Yamu from the distance they were at, but they could still sense the fleeing humans. When they located Babidi''s base of operations they could put a stop to the threat the wizard posed, once and for all.


    As they flew in pursuit of their targets they could sense the Namekian they met earlier behind them. From his speed they could tell he was catching up to them at a rapid pace. The Kais, secretly, were hoping more of the fighters from the tournament would choose to help them in the battle. When Piccolo finally caught up to the Kais, they enthusiastically greeted him.


    "It was good you chose to join us! The entire universe is at stake!" the Supreme Kai shouted over the rush of the wind.


    "What exactly is going on?" the Namekian asked. "What did those guys do to Reiss?"


    "The wizard Babidi is preparing to unleash a great destructive force on this planet." Kibito explained.


    "A terrible being known as Majin Buu was sealed on this planet long ago. Babidi is using his forces to gather enough energy to reawaken it."


    "What is this Majin Buu?" Piccolo asked.


    The Supreme Kai told the Namekian of the story of Babidi''s father, Bibidi, who once used Buu to threaten the universe. Piccolo listened as the Supreme Kai explained how Bibidi used Buu to kill the other Supreme Kai''s, nearly dominating the universe leaving Shin, the East Supreme Kai, as the last. Bibidi almost won in the end, but fortunately he sealed Buu to transport it to Earth, giving Shin the chance he needed to kill the wizard. Little did the Supreme Kai know, but the wizard Bibidi had used his magic to create a duplicate "son" for himself in the event he died.


    Piccolo could tell the Supreme Kai was still troubled after all this time by the thought of the wizard''s victory. Over the long years, the Kai''s were working to to find Babidi to make sure he couldn''t complete his father''s work. The trio decided to pick their up their pace, and close some of the distance to the fleeing Yamu and Spopovich.


    The sudden appearance of Raditz and Reiss in their path cause the trio to come to an abrupt halt to avoid a collision. The two Saiyans used the Instant Transmission technique to catch up with Piccolo and the Kais. The Supreme Kai and his wizened attendant, Kibito, were surprised to see the long haired Saiyans appear. They already wrote everyone else off as lost causes, unconcerned with their own self-preservation.


    "We''re here to handle this problem." Raditz confidently stated.


    "This issue is worse than you know." Piccolo said.


    As the group continued on the trail of their quarry the Namekian filled the newly arrived pair in on the story the Supreme Kai related to him earlier. Reiss listened intently as Piccolo talked, but his father seemed to not care. What Reiss didn''t know was his father already had an understanding of what they were headed towards.


    "Now do you see why it is important we stop them?" Piccolo asked after finishing his recap of the situation.


    "I agree that stopping Babidi is necessary, but we don''t need the Kais" Raditz said, "If they really thought Babidi was a problem, they should have gotten stronger over the years so they could stop Babidi, Buu, or whoever else becomes a threat. Instead, they let the universe dwindle around them with nothing to show for it."


    Raditz didn''t hide his disapproval of the Supreme Kai''s job of managing the universe. Even if he was the only Supreme Kai left, that should''ve meant he needed to take on more responsibility. Instead, he abandoned all of it.


    "This mortal is clearly overestimating himself and underestimating our enemies." Kibito frowned. He was still under the impression that mortals would be unable to overcome higher beings.


    "We''ll see when we arrive who is underestimating whom." Raditz replied.


    "Don''t forget, I''m still going to punch you in the face." Reiss added, "I don''t like being set up."


    "I assure you, we had no intention of harming you." the Supreme Kai explained, "If there were time, we would have asked first."


    If the Kais had realized the true strength of the teen and his family they would definitely have discussed teaming up first. Even though the Kais lived for a very long time, they lacked foresight when it came to stopping Buu from being released.


    "I don''t care if you intended harm or not." Reiss replied coldly.


    "Haha," Raditz was amused by Reiss''s attitude. "It looks like you aren''t getting off the hook that easily. Besides you can just think of the punch as the cost of doing business."


    "As long as Babidi is stopped, I don''t care." the Supreme Kai answered.


    The group flew over an assortment of islands and land masses tracking their targets. They had flown a great distance away from the tournament island and were closing in on the Southwestern Wastelands. Judging by the rate Yamu and Spopovich slowed down, the group could tell they were close to the wizard''s hideout.


    "I should''ve just had my men search all of the Earth wastelands." Raditz thought to himself. It seemed the enemies targeting Earth always set their bases up in wastelands. Contrary to what Raditz thought, the base was actually past the wastelands in the Southwest Forest.


    "Babidi''s magical barrier prevented us from being able to find the base''s location." Kibito explained, "Now that we are close I know where it is."


    "We should come up with a plan. Babidi doesn''t employ weak soldiers." the Supreme Kai warned. "His other fighters are far superior to Spopovich and Yamu."


    "We should stop wasting time and just go." Raditz said. "We are going to have to fight them all anyways."


    "Raditz, I know you are powerful, but we should hear what the Supreme Kai has to say." Piccolo tried to convince the emperor to wait. The galactic emperor dashed off in the direction of Babidi''s base, leaving the others behind.


    "I agree with my father." Reiss said following after Raditz.


    From a rocky plateau, Raditz and his son could see Spopovich and Yamu approaching a white stubby tower surrounded by overturned soil. The Saiyans could feel Piccolo and the Kais closing in on their location.


    "It''s a buried spaceship." the Supreme Kai explained. He was annoyed the Saiyans left without waiting for any of his advice.


    As Yamu and Spopovich approached the ship, the front door opened revealing a tall muscular man with red skin and a black goatee. The Supreme Kai''s eyes widened with horror from the revelation of the man.


    "Who is that?" Piccolo caught the look of surprise from the Kai.


    "It''s demon king, Dabura!" the Supreme Kai fearfully explained, "He rules over the Demon Realm. I can''t believe Babidi managed to control him. This is bad."


    "Can you do anything other than panic?" Raditz asked, "If you can''t, just sit back and watch."


    The emperor wasn''t going to sit back and allow Yamu to hand over the energy he collected from Reiss. In a swift series of movements, Raditz appeared below the plateau between Dabura and Yamu. Everyone was stunned by the sudden appearance of an intruder. The white energy drain device Yamu was holding exploded in his hand.


    "Who are you?" Dabura asked, narrowing his eyes.


    "I''m Emperor Raditz, and you are trespassing on one of my planets." Raditz walked closer to the Demon King. Behind Raditz, Spopovich and Yamu looked to be in serious distress as their bodies twisted and contorted.


    The screams from his allies caused Dabura to glance behind Raditz to see them explode into red mist. Even though it was used on his allies, Dabura found Raditz to have an impressive killing method. Unfortunately, he destroyed the energy that was gathered to help his master resurrect Majin Buu. Otherwise, he would have been tempted to ask the newcomer to join them. Another powerful warrior added to their team would only be a benefit.


    "Yes master." Dabura seemed to be talking to himself. Raditz raised an eyebrow, wondering what the demon king was talking about.


    "If you want to stop us, then you''ll have to come get me." Dabura said quickly retreating into the open door of the ship.

 50 Into the Ship

    The others joined Raditz near the entrance of the spaceship as the demon king retreated inside. Raditz wasn''t interested in following the demon into the ship, he had no reason to. The Emperor backed away from the ship and began to charge twin orbs of Ki in his palms.


    "What are you going to do?" the Supreme Kai asked.


    "What does it look like?" Raditz responded. "A Double Sunday will erase the ship along with Babidi."


    "Please wait! An explosion like that could cause Majin Buu''s seal to be broken!" the Kai pleaded.


    "The Supreme Kai is right," Kibito added, "We can''t afford to let our actions release Buu."


    Piccolo ultimately agreed with the idea of the Supreme Kai. He believed it to be wiser to fight through the ship and secure the sealed Buu. Raditz decided to go along with the plan of fighting through the ship. He reasoned it was too big of a gamble to bet on the orb remaining sealed through the explosion.


    After the short debate, the group entered the dark entrance of the buried spaceship. The warriors remained on guard for any possible traps. The team found that the entrance of the ship was just a small circular room with one door. A short investigation of the door leading deeper into the ship reveal that there was no way to open it. Raditz already knew that this scenario would lead to the group fighting henchmen to get to the next level.


    The door opposite the entrance slowly opened by rising from the floor. A henchman of Babidi was gradually revealed as the door crept open. The alien soldier was wearing white spiked armor and had any elongated head. Like the rest of Babidi''s soldiers, he possessed an "M" marking on his forehead. He stood in a confident pose with his arms arrogantly crossed.


    "I''m Pui Pui," the alien said as he stepped into the room. "Master Babidi wasn''t happy you prevented him from collecting the energy those humans gathered, so he sent me to deal with you. If you want to meet my master, you''ll need to get to the bottom of the ship. Each floor is guarded but you don''t have to worry about that, because you won''t get past me."


    The alien laughed, amused by his own sense of dominance. He was powerful before, but after gaining power from Babidi, his strength grew to another level. Pui Pui knew he was no match for the king of the Demon Realm, but he still liked to flaunt his power when he was afforded the opportunity.


    "That guy is delusional." Reiss laughed, "He really believes he is stronger than us."


    Pui Pui''s cocky grin quickly vanished from hearing the teen''s comment. He was going to take out the teen first for his attempted mocking, but rethought his plan. He figured the young man was just trying to unbalance him, but it wouldn''t work.


    Pui Pui wanted to take his time fighting the intruders to draw out more energy for his master to revive Majin Buu. If he fought them one on one, he could force them to use all of their strength. Depending on how well he accomplished his goal, he might gain more favor with his master.


    "Which one of you would like to try your luck first?" the alien asked. "I''ve always wanted to kill a Kai."


    The Supreme Kai and his aide Kibito were both angered by Pui Pui''s assertion that they would be beaten by him. Piccolo stepped forwards to challenge the alien, but was halted by Raditz.


    "Hold on Piccolo. The Supreme Kai has prepared for this moment hundreds, if not thousands, of years. He should be given a chance to fight." Raditz explained, "Imagine how he would feel if he trained all this time and we did everything making his work pointless. Besides, his aide said so much about the superiority of gods, I was hoping to witness it myself."


    The Supreme Kai was shocked that a mortal wanted him to fight, but he was prepared. After he defeated the alien, he thought it would at least gain their respect. Raditz was, originally, going kill Pui Pui the moment the door opened, but chose instead to us the opportunity to see Godly Ki in action.


    "Are you sure he can handle it?" Reiss asked. "He doesn''t seem to be a capable fighter."


    "Fine, I will prove it too you." the Supreme Kai couldn''t handle listening to the doubts of the mortals any longer.


    After the small Kai approached Pui Pui, the room changed into a vast rocky area. The only thing remaining of the room before, was the circular design that was in the center of the floor. The ceiling had become a strange night sky with foreign planetary bodies hanging in the air. A droplet of sweat rolled down the Kai''s face when he felt the level of his opponent''s confidence rise.


    "Welcome to my home planet." Pui Pui explained, "If you are feeling the strain, don''t worry, its because the gravity is tens times stronger than Earth''s"


    The Supreme Kai blocked out the taunts of Pui Pui and focused on the fight. He dropped into his fighting stance to be prepared for what his enemy might try. Kibito wasn''t too worried about his master''s odds at victory. Although the alien was powerful, he could sense that his master was still stronger.


    Pui Pui''s green eyes glowed brightly as he darted towards his victim. The pair clashed in a rapid exchange of attacks, ending with the two separating to reappraise the other. Reiss was surprised that even though the Supreme Kai seemed weak, he couldn''t read his Ki. The teen had never encounter a being, other than the cyborgs, that eluded his Ki sense.


    "Why can''t I sense the Kai''s energy?" he question his father in a low tone.


    "Because gods use Godly Ki." Raditz explained, "It is different from normal Ki because you can''t sense it unless you can use it. I''m not sure about the differences because I''ve yet to obtain it."


    "You have tried to gain Godly Ki?" Reiss had no idea his father was attempting anything like that. "Is that possible?"


    "A Kai owed me a favor." Raditz said. "After several years training on a certain planet, I spent the rest of my time training in the East Area of the afterlife."


    While Raditz talked with his son, the Supreme Kai fought ferociously against Pui Pui. The increased gravity was in no way a hindrance to the Kai. He was easily able to keep up with the alien as they fought through the area. Raditz''s eyes focused solely on the movements of the Kai as he fought without holding back.


    Babidi was upset as he watched the battle unfold in a his crystal ball. Pui Pui was expending a great amount of energy, but it wouldn''t help him because the Supreme Kai''s god Ki was incompatible with Majin Buu''s seal. If Pui Pui lost the battle, he was sure his next soldier would be too powerful for the Kai to handle alone.


    "The energy level on the seal isn''t even half filled!" Babidi raged, "At this rate it will take much longer to free Majin Buu!"


    Dabura was at the side of his master watching the battle unfold. He was in agreement that it was an unforeseen setback that the Kai decided to fight. However, he was face to face with the long haired warrior and knew his power would go a long way towards the revival of Buu.


    "At this rate, Pui Pui won''t last long." Dabura calmly stated, "He was a weakling anyways."


    In the crystal ball, Babidi could see his alien henchman getting knocked into rocky plateaus one after the other. It was even worse that Pui Pui was losing, after Babidi had given him the advantage by allowing him to fight on his home turf. The wizard felt the least his henchman could do would be to gravely injure the Supreme Kai, but it seemed Pui Pui was too incompetent to achieve that dream.


    Like his fatherReiss focused on how the Kai was fighting. The god''s combat skill level was as low as Reiss believed it to be. What the teen underestimated, was the finesse and power of the Ki wielded by the diminutive, mohawked, Kai. No matter how much he tried, he couldn''t understand the function of how the Kai''s energy was being used. A quick glance to his father revealed that the emperor was just as lost as his son.


    The area was showered with rocky debris from the Supreme Ki unleashing a barrage of energy blasts into a downed Pui Pui. The screams from the devastated alien reverberated out from the crater that remained from the Kai''s attack. The sounds from Pui Pui died before the explosions from the blasts even finished. When the dust settled, the alien was no longer there. His existence was removed by the now exhausted Supreme Kai.


    "Fantastic job!" Raditz clapped with a satisfied grin. "It truly was a spectacular performance, worthy of a Kai."


    Reiss stared at his father questioningly. It was rare to hear the emperor praise someone so enthusiastically. Whatever the reason, the teen could tell his father really was happy about something.


    "I did train for this after all." the Supreme Kai said through labored breaths.


    "I really learned a lot from your battle Supreme Kai." Raditz continued with his praises, "Especially that last part where you covered the area with your Ki, blasting that guard."


    Kibito ran over and helped up the tired and kneeling Supreme Kai. He was so moved by his master''s performance in the battle, that he forgot the Supreme Kai might need assistance. When the tired Kai finally caught his breath, he suggested that the group continue on. Before the group reached the door leading to the next area, Kibito stopped everyone.


    "Might you have another of those beans you used to heal your son, at the tournament?" he asked Raditz. Kibito saw how effective the bean was at healing injuries and restoring energy.


    "Normally, I would make a big deal about a Kai asking a lowly mortal for help, but since I find myself in a good mood, I''ll help." Raditz cheerfully answered.


    The effects of a Panacea bean had never been tested on a Kai before, but it worked as well on the Supreme Kai as it did on humans. He was back to full energy the instant he chewed the miracle bean. Never having experienced such a plant before, the Supreme Kai had to learn what the bean was. The Kais were surprised to learn it was an invention Raditz directed his forces to create for his empire.


    Waiting for the group in the Next room was a large green monstrous creature. The monster possessed two blades on each of its forearms and stood on long reverse jointed legs, giving the creature an almost insect appearance. Its head was similar to a toads, except it was filled with a row of razor sharp teeth.


    "Which one of you would like to be eaten, first." the monster said, "I ate the messengers sent by my master already, but it wasn''t eno-"


    The creature''s words were interrupted by his body being bisected by Raditz. The Saiyan had in an instant moved forwards and brought his hand down through the monster with a swift chop. Kibito and the Supreme Kai stood shocked by what happened.


    "We should get a move on." Raditz said standing under a shower of purple blood.


    "He didn''t even hesitate!" Babidi shouted as he stared into his crystal ball. "He ended Yakon before he even finished speaking! What do you make of this, Dabura!"


    "It seems the company the Supreme Kai is keeping now aren''t as pure as we thought." Dabura answered.


    "Indeed," Babidi said as he squinted his bulbous eyes at the crystal ball. "I didn''t bother checking before, but I think the Kai''s new friends might be persuaded to see our way of thinking."


    "I don''t have the level of power you do master, and I can feel the darkness in the hearts of the long haired ones from here." Dabura and Babidi laughed thinking about adding new pawns to their side.


    "You should go out, they will be in your room next." Babidi ordered after calming down.


    "Yes master." Dabura bowed and made his exit from the room storing the sealed Buu.

 51 Dabura

    The group assaulting Babidi''s spaceship waited in the third level for their next opponent to arrive through the door. Raditz knew in the original series Dabura fought third against Gohan, but things being different; he expected anyone to show up. If the Demon King was, in fact Babidi''s strongest warrior, then it would be best to eliminate him early.


    The Supreme Kai was still stunned that the group had fought through the ship to the third level with relative ease. Even though he needed to push himself against the first opponent, Raditz effortless handled the next. In the Kai''s opinion, the group''s overall strength was still fully operational, not to mention the healing beans Raditz carried. The Supreme Kai resigned himself to learning more about the Saiyan and how he came to rule an empire. Kibito had similar thoughts as his master. He also couldn''t believe that mortals would gain such strength while they weren''t paying attention.


    When the white door with the demon mark symbol on it opened, the Supreme Kai was greeted by a person he wasn''t planning on seeing yet, Dabura. The Demon King proudly stepped out of the doorway with his white, bat-cut, cape flowing behind him. Once Dabura arrived in the middle of the room, he stopped and crossed his arms, smirking at the fighters.


    "This is bad everyone," the Supreme Kai said through gritted teeth, "We should fight him together. The stories of his strength are legendary in the Demon Realm."


    "I agree." Piccolo said, "I can sense that his power is greater than Cell''s."


    "I can take him!" Reiss volunteered. "It might be fun."


    "What?" the Supreme Kai was again stunned, "How can you say you want to fight the Demon King for fun, this is serious!"


    The Kai thought sending Reiss would only accomplish getting the young man injured, along with lowering the group''s power. He knew the blue haired teen was strong enough to power through his paralysis, but Dabura was a different story.


    "The Supreme Kai is right. You''ll only end up getting yourself hurt, boy." Kibito said. The Kai''s assistant tried to talk Reiss out of his decision to fight alone, fearing the worst.


    Reiss harshly glared at Kibito, staring daggers into the well meaning assistant following his remarks. Kibito''s eyes widened in confusion over what suddenly came over the teen. Reiss''s arm seemed to flicker momentarily resulting in Kibito being sent flying back into the wall of the room. The long haired Kai slumped to the floor in pain with blood oozing from his face.


    Raditz curiously stared as his son menacingly approached his downed victim. Kibito scramble to get back on his feet following the hit. The damage the half-Saiyan was capable of inflicting was greater than the assistant Kai imagined. Even as the blue haired teen loomed over him the fear of the Saiyan, now rooted in his heart, caused Kibito to be incapable of standing.


    "Never call me ''boy'' again, Kai." Reiss''s voice dripped with venom. "Be thankful all I owed you was a punch in the face."


    Kibito quickly nodded his head, finally understanding what mistake he made. After seeing that Kibito understood,, Reiss quickly moved to the center of the room, appearing face to face with Dabura.


    "You''ll be fighting me." Reiss said as he crossed his arms, "I hope you won''t be a waste of my time."


    "Be careful of his spit. Dabura uses it as a powerful weapon. If it hits you, you''ll be turned to stone." the Supreme Kai warned.


    "I like your attitude." Dabura laughed, "It''s too bad it won''t be able to save you."


    The Demon King attacked with a kick as soon as he finished his sentence. The high speed attack was aimed directly into the ribs of the teen. Reiss reacted to the attack by blocking with his forearm, effortlessly stopping the kick.


    "I really thought you were supposed to be special." the teen sounded let down.


    Dabura withdrew his leg and jumped back, putting some distance between himself and the teen. He was pleased his foe was capable of blocking his attack. The Demon King didn''t put his full power behind the attack, but many people died to strikes of lesser power before. He wanted to draw out the teens power to break the seal containing Buu.


    "Reiss kill him without going all out." Raditz ordered. He understood that Babidi could use his power to capture the excess Ki given off to feed to Buu''s seal.


    Reiss nodded to his father in acknowledgment of his command. He knew it should still be possible to handle Dabura without relying on his full power, but it would be difficult. Dabura heard Raditz''s words to his son, but didn''t think the teen would be capable of holding back.


    Dabura''s Ki rose as he cloaked himself in a thick red aura. Babidi could see from the crystal ball that Dabura was prepared to use his full strength fighting the intruders. It was a good sign that the enemies had high enough energy levels to cause Dabura to decide to go all out. It meant that it had become that much easier to release Majin Buu.


    The tiny wizard chanted a spell into his crystal ball to change the location of the battle. It wouldn''t do him any good for the ship to get destroyed during the battle. Babidi changed the battle''s scenery to the Demon King Castle grounds, in the Demon Realm.


    Reiss and the rest of the group looked around, examining their new location. They were in the courtyard of an ancient Gothic castle. The purple sky was overcast by dark clouds and the ground was rocky and mostly barren.


    "Welcome to my home, the Demon Realm." Dabura said rising into the dark sky. "I''m sure master Babidi wanted to give us more room to have our fun."


    Like the last time, the room was changed. The only thing remaining from before was the circular pattern on the ground. Reiss burst into his Super Saiyan form and extended a Ki barrier like his father. The youth floated into the sky, ready to eliminate his opponent.


    The Demon King looked down at Reiss with his arms folded, waiting for the teen to close the distance. The Ki radiating from the Saiyan was quite impressive to the Demon King. Now that his opponent was unleashing his power, Dabura could feel the depths of the teen''s strength. The Demon King realized he might have underestimated his opponent''s strength. If the earlier conversation was to be believed, the teen wasn''t supposed to be going all out.


    Babidi''s large, bubbled, eyes were glued to his crystal ball. His right hand man was evenly matched against the young man he was fighting. However, it seemed to Babidi that the green haired teen was more skilled, from the way he was able to dodge Dabura''s attacks. Even when the Demon King used a flurry of strikes as a feint for his spit attack, the boy was still able to avoid it. The wizard moved over to check the readings from Buu''s containment orb. The fight was giving it the energy the seal needed, but not enough. The struggle he saw Dabura experience made him doubt the Demon King''s ability to siphon the needed energy from the intruders.


    Babidi turned his attention back to the fight in his viewing orb. Dabura was still doing poorly against the youth. Every time the demon tried to attack, he was viciously countered by the Super Saiyan. Each strike from the youth became more refined, it was all the demon could do to avoid being killed. Dabura felt the pressure rising as the young Super Saiyan continually pushed him back. The demon, after being forced into the wall of his castle, could see his death incoming at the hands of the Super Saiyan. Reiss was charging towards him through the sky, ready to attack.


    The dazed Dabura knew he wouldn''t be able to gather himself quickly enough to defend himself from the attack. He closed his eyes and resigned himself for his impending death. Dabura waited for what felt like an eternity, but death never came.


    The demon opened his eyes to see his opponent stopped in front of him, wearing a look of distress. The Super Saiyan clutched his head and screamed in agony. The Demon King released a sign of relief after he understood what was happening. His master, Babidi, was attempting to bring the warrior over to their side.


    True to his title, Dabura used Reiss''s distress to his advantage. He unleashed a hurricane of attacks against his frozen opponent as a means of payback. An uppercut from Dabura sent the incapacitated Reiss sailing into the sky where Dabura was already waiting to greet him with a kick back into the ground.


    Reiss crashed into the dirt near a narrow lava flow. The other fighters moved closer to the battle to see if Reiss was injured.


    "What happened?" Piccolo asked, "He was doing fine."


    The Namekian couldn''t understand why the tables suddenly turned on the imperial prince. Reiss was in control of the battle until the point he grabbed his head.


    "It looks like Babidi is trying to take control of him." the Supreme Kai explained, "If he can''t shake him off, we will have to deal with him too."


    Raditz already guessed what was happening, because the same thing happened to Vegeta. He also understood that if you have a sufficient will you can stop the mind control process. The instant Reiss stood up, Dabura raced towards him, ready to continue his assault.


    "We need to do something!" the Supreme Kai shouted. He saw that the Demon King wasn''t going to let up on his attack.


    "Are you going to lose to a weakling wizard, boy!" Raditz shouted.


    The instant the Emperor''s words were finished, Babidi felt an intense change in the link to the Super Saiyan. The old wizard felt a searing, blinding, rage pour through the mind link. Babidi didn''t understand why the words provoked such an irrational hatred in the young Super Saiyan. The anger was so hot, the wizard need to immediately sever the connection.


    Reiss howled in an animalistic rage, inadvertently transforming into his Great Ape empowered state. Dabura knew his master failed, but couldn''t stop his dash towards the freed imperial prince. He hoped he would be quick enough to do his damage before the Super Saiyan fully recovered. When Dabura drew into striking distance of the screaming Saiyan, Babidi''s crystal ball was filled with a blindly flash of white light. The smooth ball suddenly developed a long crack running down the center.


    Thundering filled the Demon Realm as a giant Reiss hammered Dabura into the ground. The raging prince brought his large fists up and brought them back down with titanic force into the chest of a heavily injured Dabura. Each blow caused the Demon King to cough out more and more blood. He clearly was suffering from massive internal bleeding.


    The group was transported back to Babidi''s ship the moment Dabura died, but Reiss continued to rage against the smashed corpse. The confused Super Saiyan opened his mouth and roared a blast towards the mincemeat demon.


    Babidi didn''t care that his top minion had died in the battle. The wizard was overjoyed that the energy from the Super Saiyan was so potent, it filled the gauge on Majin Buu''s seal over half way. Babidi couldn''t help but laugh maniacally over his dream nearing fruition. His laughter continued even until a bright searing light filled his chamber on the ship. He never realized that the Super Saiyan''s beam would penetrate all the way to him. Babidi died as a fiery explosion filled the bottom floor of the ship, vaporizing it and the cackling wizard.