Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Crossed Paths ❯ The Fall of a Hero ( Chapter 3 )

Crossed Paths - Chapter 3: The Fall of a Hero

by Mia Skywalker & Wataruo

 

PAIRING: None for this part. Although eventually B/V and one other (a surprise, not giving it away yet)

RATING: PG-13 for graphic violence

C&C: I would really like to get some C&C on this. Pretty please! ^_^

WARNINGS: Extremely graphic violence.

DISCLAIMER: We don't own DBZ, nor do we claim to. The closest we get to it is owning Vegeta wallscrolls and action figures. And I have a really nice SSJ Vegeta statue I got for babysitting the terrors that are my niece and nephew. ^_^ We do own this fic, the ideas in this fic, and this particular "what if?" storyline. Although we wish we could sell it to the owners of DBZ, because it would be a nice little "what if?" movie for them to make. ^_^

SUMMARY: The end of the battle, the aftermath, and the reactions of two very distant observers.

NOTES: I have to thank both Selenity Jade and W-chan for their betas, and especially Selenity for all the help she gave me on this! ^_^ It was her encouragement that got me to start posting this. I hope you enjoy reading this fic as much as we're enjoying writing it.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Previously on Crossed Paths:

 

"I remembered how much it hurt me to have my tail pulled," Goku told the bald man, who was vainly trying to get out of his hold. "And since you say that we are both Saiyajin, I figured it would bother you as well. Looks like I was right."

 

Goku looked over at Piccolo. "Are you ready yet?" he asked, gritting his teeth in pain, trying to brace himself from the other man's struggles. "I don't think I can hold on much longer. My ribs are broken."

 

"I am ready. Brace yourself, Goku." Piccolo had slowly been gathering in his power unbeknownst to Nappa and the others and had been waiting Goku's cue to let it go. Piccolo brought his fingers down and in front off him preparing to release the blast.

 

"MAKANKOSAPPO!!!!!!" he yelled, as he released a spiraling blast of ki towards the two men and struck Nappa in the center of his chest. The force of the blast knocked Goku off his feet, forcing him to release Nappa's tail as he rolled out of the blast zone.

 

I hope that worked. Goku panted as he got to his feet, his ribs aching with the movement. My body can't take too much more of this. He held his breath as he watched the smoke clear, hoping that Piccolo's new attack had been enough.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It appeared, for a moment, that Goku's plan had worked; that the enemy warrior was destroyed by the fury of the blast. Yamcha and Kuririn stared at the dissipating explosion in shock. They'd had no idea that Piccolo had been capable of such an attack, and it almost terrified them, thinking that it could be used against them. Realizing that it would be used against them, now that their common enemy was dead. They looked fearfully at Piccolo, as though expecting him to turn on them and attack them immediately.

 

Before he had the chance, however, from within the gradually fading smoke and dust, a large figure slowly emerged. Although their enemy appeared to be badly hurt by Piccolo's attack, he was still alive, grinning despite his injuries.

 

"Well, well. The insects have bigger stingers than I had thought. That even hurt me a little bit." Despite the brashness of his words, Piccolo could hear him breathing heavily, and knew that he had been more damaged than he was admitting. The humans, however, shot each other worried looks, not realizing that Nappa's words were partially a bluff.

 

"Man, doesn't this guy ever die?" Kuririn muttered darkly.

 

"Oh, stronger than you have tried to kill us!" Nappa remarked, chuckling evilly when Kuririn glanced towards him, startled that he had been able to hear him that far away. "Freeza himself tried to destroy our entire race, but a few of us managed to survive. We're survivors, we Saiyajin. We can live through anything!"

 

Bulma shivered, pulling back from her viewpoint, huddling almost fearfully behind the rock. She held the trembling boy against her, brushing her hand gently against his cheek and trying to turn his face away from the fight. "Gohan!" she whispered urgently. "We need to get out of here! I don't think you should see any more of this, and I don't think I should be here either!"

 

Piccolo frowned. The fact that he was still standing said a lot about the warrior in front of him, and just maybe he was telling the truth about Goku being a Saiyajin as well. The two men had few similarities between them, except maybe their battle prowess and stamina. Piccolo frowned again in thought. If their entire race is like this, how could we hope to defeat them all?

 

Goku's face fell, showing his obvious disappointment that the plan had failed. Yet as he straightened to his full height, his breath caught in his throat. Kuso, I can't take too much more than this. But I can't let them down. He knew he had enough for one more attack, and he hoped it would work. He cupped his hands together, pulling his arms back at his sides, gathering in his ki.

 

"KAME...."

 

Yamcha blinked. For an instant, the baseball player thought that he felt Goku's ki flicker, appearing weaker for a moment, as though he were more injured than they had realized. ::Must be my imagination. It had BETTER be my imagination. Goku isn't that hurt... is he? Goku can't be hurt! We need him!::

 

"HAMMMEEEEEEE...."

 

Goku brought his hands back in front of him then thrust his arms forward releasing the blast.

 

"HAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"

 

"Oh hell!" Yamcha grabbed the little monk and hit the ground moments before the blast shot over their heads and struck the surprised Nappa. "I hope that worked," Yamcha muttered to Kuririn as the two got to their feet and blinked the dust from their eyes.

 

Nappa was too badly injured to do more than attempt to stumble out of the way of the incoming blast, and the force of it hit him fully in the chest. He once again roared in pain, his eyes shining with a sudden cruel fury. "You third class WORM!" he roared at Goku as he stalked menacingly towards the now depleted smaller Saiyajin. "You DARE strike me! I will KILL you!"

 

Gohan turned his face towards the sounds of the fight, the noise and energy drawing his attention despite his fear. "Daddy?" he murmured in confusion.

 

"Shh, Gohan!" Bulma whispered urgently, laying a finger gently against his lips. She was terrified that this horrifying creature would remember their presence and do something about it. They could be killed so easily by a stray blast that wouldn't even trouble her friends, and now she regretted her brash decision earlier to come here and watch the fight.

 

"Is... Daddy... OK?" the little boy murmured questioningly.

 

Bulma nodded fearfully, although she wasn't sure how long that would be the truth. "I think so," she whispered, her voice shaking. She really didn't want to look around the boulder to check.

 

The little boy squirmed in her lap, twisting suddenly, and pulling unexpectedly away from her. He peered anxiously around the boulder. His eyes widened and he trembled at the scene before him. Somehow he could sense his father's complete exhaustion, and was frozen with terror that something terrible was about to happen.

 

Goku's chest heaved with labored breaths and he stood helplessly, too depleted of energy to move, as Nappa stalked towards him. The larger Saiyajin suddenly lifted Goku over his head and threw him to the ground with all the force he could manage.

 

"You will die like the worm you are!" Nappa snarled at him, everything lost under his hatred and battle-lust. "I will kill you, then destroy this pathetic planet as I was ordered! You and your friends will just be the first to go!"

 

He lifted Goku over his head again, and then threw him down a second time. Goku could feel bones snapping, and wanted to shout, but could only manage a small moan of agony. He had never experienced so much pain in his life. He was sure every bone in his body must be broken by now, and didn't think there was much more that Nappa could do to him.

 

He was more wrong than he could have imagined. Nappa had been trained by Freeza's masters of torture, and knew how to twist a body to the limit of pain before killing someone. The third time Nappa lifted him, he didn't toss him to the ground, but instead held Goku close to his chest. One could almost think it was a tender embrace, except for the malicious smile on Nappa's face, and the fact that he was holding him more tightly than would have been comfortable. Nappa began slowly squeezing Goku's chest, hearing the popping of his ribs with an evil delight. He continued to squeeze, listening in malicious joy to the cries that Goku couldn't suppress, but stopped short of killing the smaller man or making him go unconscious.

 

Yamcha and Kuririn had been frozen in shock at Nappa's actions. How the hell could they fight something so monstrous, so evil? But they knew they had to do something. They couldn't just let Nappa kill their friend, as seemed likely to happen. If only they had a senzu!

 

Yamcha glanced at Kuririn, frowning at him and inclining his head towards the two Saiyajin. Kuririn looked startled for a moment, then unsure, then his own expression firmed itself and he nodded. The two held their hands forward, and each of them began powering up.

 

"Kame.... Hame.... HA!" they shouted in unison.

 

The blast caused Nappa to drop Goku's now unconscious form, and he glared at the two humans in hatred. He was too furious to say anything; he was beyond any semblance of speech, the berserker rage now upon him. He started to move towards the two men, and then, almost as an after thought, he picked Goku's body up and twisted the head around. The loud SNAP that filled the air told the others that Goku's neck had been broken, that his spine had been snapped. They knew that even if he lived, he would be paralyzed.

 

"DAAAAADDDDDYYYYY!" The shout startled all of them, including the berserk giant. The tiny tailed boy launched himself towards the giant, a strange red aura glowing around him.

 

The scouter on Nappa's face began beeping again, and the giant stared at the numbers, too surprised to move. "Over 3000...." he muttered in shock, and then was hit by the boy's now ki-enforced punches. He had been too distracted by the scouter's unexpected readings to be prepared for this new assault, and the boy managed to get in some lucky shots - even if clumsy and untrained - to his midsection and other areas of his body. The attack was so powerful and unexpected that the giant Saiyajin fell to the ground, stunned for a moment.

 

"Piccolo!" Yamcha yelled, realizing that they had a chance. "Use your attack again! He's down! Try powering it up and see if you can do it! He's been hurt; it just might work this time!"

 

Piccolo was too amazed by the sudden show of power that Gohan had exhibited to be annoyed that Yamcha had the nerve to order him about. Then he raised his fingers to his forehead once again and began to gather in his power. His eyes briefly resting on Goku's prone form before settling back on the bald giant that had managed to totter back to his feet. Piccolo growled in frustration.

 

Nappa was severely wounded, blood dripping from multiple wounds as he stumbled to his feet. Standing shakily, he backhanded Gohan, knocking him past Piccolo to land in a heap by a boulder. Piccolo couldn't help wondering about what kind of people these Saiyajin were, if they could take this kind of punishment and still want to fight.

 

Piccolo watched as the two human warriors charged up and released a barrage of ki blasts at Nappa in an attempt to keep him in one spot. There were too many of the ki balls for Nappa to avoid, not that he could do so in his current condition. The giant roared in pain and anger as Kuririn and Yamcha were relentless in their attack, but he was helpless to do anything about it. Nappa was losing, and he was the only one who didn't realize it yet.

 

Piccolo had to admit to himself, as he felt his attack building to the point where it would be strong enough to finish the job, that the two human warriors were not doing such a bad job. It was surprising how well Kuririn and Yamcha kept Nappa in once place. Granted, the warrior seemed to be having a hard time keeping to his feet, but they were doing well all the same. Piccolo smirked to himself. What's the matter, bald man? Having problems? Are the insects packing more of a bite than you thought?

 

Bulma watched the battle from her vantage point, shivering violently, her teeth clattering in fear. She saw the tiny crumpled form of Gohan near the evil demon Piccolo, but wasn't about to try to crawl over there to get him out of harm's way. She was almost as terrified of Piccolo as she was of this new menace, and knew that Piccolo would have no qualms about killing her.

 

Tears leaked from her eyes as she stared at Goku's bloody and broken form. Her best friend was dead! True, they could bring him back with the dragonballs, but to have to tell his wife that he had been killed.... Bulma had never been close to Chi-Chi, but she remembered that the girl had been obsessed with Goku, and knew she would be devastated. She knew that *she* would have been, if Yamcha had been killed. Although something deep inside of her wondered if that were true.

 

Oh, Yamcha! You guys had better kill this creep! I don't want to die! I'm too young and beautiful to die now!

 

It seemed like an eternity to the two human warriors before they heard Piccolo's yell, alerting them with barely enough time to get out of the way before they were struck by the blast as well.

 

"MANKANKOSAPPO!!!!!!!!" Piccolo yelled as he released his blast once again at the Saiyajin. The spiral ki blast struck the Saiyajin dead center in the chest, and this time when it hit, Nappa let out a scream. Piccolo smirked as they all saw the basketball-sized hole that it left in Nappa's chest.

 

"That will teach you to underestimate your opponents," Piccolo informed him as he made his way over to the large man. He looked down at Nappa, somewhat surprised to see that his eyes were still open. But he knew it wouldn't be long. The Namek's head snapped up when he heard Yamcha scream Goku's name.

 

"GOKU!!!!!!" Yamcha had run over to the body of one of his oldest friends, and dropped to his knees in grief. "Oh no! NO!!!!!" He hung his head. "Goku can't be dead, can he, Kuririn? He just can't be..."

 

Kuririn walked over to where Goku lay, blood seeping from too many injuries, soaking into the dirt around him. "Yamcha... it's okay. We have the dragonballs, you know." He didn't say anything further, but looked over at the still conscious Nappa. He shuddered at the sheer malevolence in the brutal man's gaze.

 

"You may have killed me," the giant muttered, his voice hoarse with the effort of expending his last energy on speech. "But my Prince will come. We were ordered to purge this planet, and my Prince WILL come. He is five times stronger than I am. You won't stand a chance against him!" He coughed as his volume and fervor increased, blood spraying from his mouth. He chuckled fatalistically, unable to even lift a hand to wipe it away. "I will die, but he will come. And he will avenge me!"

 

With that, they saw the life slowly fade from his eyes, and a dry rattle escape from his throat. Kuririn shuddered, having heard the death rattle more times in his life than he had ever wanted to. He deliberately turned his back on the now dead giant, and then crouched over Goku's body across from Yamcha. "I guess we need to take him to his wife," he said hesitantly, not looking forward to her reaction. But before either of them could move to lift Goku, his body faded from where it had lain on the ground.

 

"What the...?" Kuririn exclaimed, startled and not a little frightened by that turn of events. "What just happened? Where is Goku's body?"

 

"Kami." Piccolo's voice caught the others' attention. "Kami took him. Apparently he has some use for him in the afterlife."

 

Yamcha blinked at the sound of Piccolo's voice. He had almost forgotten that the other man was there. "Kami wants him?" The baseball player hung his head again, staring at the ground in his sadness and misery. "This doesn't make sense."

 

Piccolo snorted. "It's not supposed to make sense. Didn't you hear what he said?" he gestured to Nappa's corpse. "It took five of us. Five," he repeated the last word for emphasis, "to beat this one. Can you imagine what his prince is like?" Piccolo glared at Yamcha, daring him to dispute it, as Yamcha's eyes rose to meet his. "If he was telling the truth, we are going to have to train hard and long for that. And even then we may not be able to beat him."

 

"How long do you think we'll have?" Kuririn asked, but received no reply, as no one knew the answer.

 

Bulma crawled cautiously from behind her rock, then stood up and carefully brushed herself off before walking hesitantly over to the others. She paused a few feet away from where the two men were kneeling over Goku, and glanced over to where Gohan lay in a small heap near Piccolo. "I'm not looking forward to telling Chi-Chi," she said sadly. "But I suppose we should take her son home, at least."

 

"No." The others looked over at the Namek at his fiercely growled syllable. He bent over and tucked the small boy under his arm, forestalling them. "I'm taking him. If it weren't for this one, we wouldn't have had that last chance against that monster. This boy has incredible power, and it's been wasted. Goku and his wife may be willing to waste his potential, but I am not. We will need him when this prince of his comes, and I will make sure that he is ready."

 

The three humans looked like they wanted to argue with him, but all of them knew the odds were stacked drastically against them. Piccolo wouldn't hesitate to destroy any of them if they stood in the way of what he wanted, and they knew he had the power. "If... if you think so," Kuririn stammered reluctantly. He didn't want to be blasted by the green demon.

 

"I know so. I suggest you go and find the dragonballs. We will need Goku again." And without any warning he took off in a cloud of dust, leaving the others standing there and looking a little dumbfounded.

 

"So...." Yamcha drawled, putting his hand to the back of his head. "Who is going to be the unlucky person to tell Chi-Chi that not only is Goku dead, but we let Piccolo take her only son?"

 

"Kuririn will," Bulma stated confidently.

 

"Me?" Kuririn squeaked in surprise, jumping back slightly. "Why me?" The last came out as a plaintive whine.

 

"Because Yamcha still owes me a talk, and he's not going to get out of it," Bulma said pragmatically, pointing to the scarred human. "And you're Goku's best friend, right? So you go talk to his wife. She's going to NEED you there when she finds out that her husband is dead and that her son is missing. But I also want you to remind her about the dragonballs. That will help her. Although we have to do something about Tenshinhan and Chaotzu as well...."

 

She frowned. The dragonballs had already been used on both of them before, and they all knew a person couldn't be wished back twice. She sighed wistfully. In a way, she thought perhaps that it was a kindness that both of them had been killed at the same time. She remembered one of them telling her about some sort of 'bond' between them, where if one of them is killed, the other would go at least partially insane. She didn't know how they could handle something like that. Could she handle being that close to someone? Would she ever want to be?

 

Bulma strode over to where Yamcha was still kneeling over the spot where Goku's body had lain, and poked a demanding finger into his chest. "You and I are going to have a talk, buster. And don't think you're going to get out of it."

 

Kuririn sighed, looking nervously at the two of them. He suddenly had the feeling that he didn't want to be involved here. He almost preferred having to break the bad news to Chi-Chi, rather than trying to get involved with this potentially dangerous discussion between the two of them. "I guess I'll leave now, and tell Chi-Chi the news. See you, guys!"

 

And with that he took off, flying at top speed towards the small house where Goku had made a home with Chi-Chi.

 

Yamcha sighed in resignation as he got to his feet. "Bulma, I...." He trailed off, a hand tangling in his long hair for a moment before he sighed. "I think we should go somewhere quiet to talk. You are not going to like what I have to say..." He trailed off again, noticing that Bulma was scowling at him. He knew that she was well aware that he never was solemn unless it was something important. "Let's take your car."

 

Bulma wasn't quite sure how to take Yamcha's seriousness. She glanced over at the car they had taken to get there, and although it had been damaged slightly by stray debris during the fight, it would still run. She got into the driver's seat, and waited for him to get in next to her before setting off. She had the feeling that whatever they were going to talk about wasn't going to make her happy.

 

She was right.

 

~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~

 

Radditz watched Vegeta surreptitiously, pausing in his eating as he waited to see what his prince would do. He had seen Vegeta's face twitch a few times during Nappa's transmission, although that was the only indication the smaller man had shown that anything had disturbed him. Radditz himself was not nearly as good at hiding his emotions - something that had gotten him into trouble more than once - and he knew his reactions had been easily interpreted by Vegeta. The Saiyajin Prince had not, of course, shown any reaction to Radditz' display, but had continued to eat as though unfazed.

 

Radditz was more than a little disturbed. Although Nappa had become more and more unstable in the past few years, Radditz' respect for him had continued unabated. It had been Nappa, after all, that had found him nearly dead and had brought him into Freeza's command, ordering the technicians to heal him in a regeneration tank. He wasn't exactly grateful that he had become a slave of Freeza's as much as the other two, but at least he was alive. Something he wouldn't have been if he hadn't been rescued, and had instead been left to drift in his critically damaged ship.

 

That had been many years ago, of course. The prince himself had been merely a child, although he had already developed a cold and angry face, his shield from the humiliation and abuse he took from Freeza and Freeza's men on a continuous basis. Vegeta had, in his own odd way, even protected the other two Saiyajin, although Radditz suspected that it wasn't entirely a conscious thing. As they'd grown older, Radditz had tried to protect Vegeta in turn, but his inability to keep an impassive expression to insults and humiliations had generally been his undoing. Nappa and Vegeta had both had to rescue him from his impulsive brashness on numerous occasions, even taking the punishment for it from time to time.

 

The two Saiyajin listening through their scouters hadn't even realized the turn the battle had taken until it was too late. It was Nappa's final words that had made them realize he had lost, and that he was dying. Radditz turned to Vegeta then, watching him openly, his own face easily showing his shock and horror. No matter what Nappa had become in the past few years, he was still a Saiyajin, and any Saiyajin was valuable to them.

 

He stared at Vegeta, awaiting his orders on what they would do. As he did so, he carefully removed his scouter as the last of Nappa's words faded away, turning it off and placing it in a protected pocket in his armor. Whatever Vegeta decided to do, he didn't want to transmit that information on to Freeza.

 

Vegeta snorted irritably, concealing his surprise at Nappa's defeat under the mask of indifference that he had perfected through the years. Not that Vegeta was not angry; he was furious almost past sanity. Still, the fact that another Saiyajin had been alive until Nappa had killed him caught his attention.

 

"Shimatta," Vegeta muttered, scowling darkly. "Figures that bald bakayaro would go and kill a Saiyajin." Vegeta's dark eyes narrowed on the fire in front of them. "He could have been useful...." Obsidian eyes flicked over to Radditz briefly. "He called him Bardock's son. I had no idea you had a brother. It makes no difference now. But I will tell you what interests me." Vegeta's eyes returned to contemplating the fire in front of him. "There is one more Saiyajin left out there."

 

Radditz was silent for a moment. "I knew I'd had a brother. I had assumed he was dead, since we hadn't heard anything about the planet he was supposed to purge. But he's dead now, it looks like." He frowned thoughtfully. "If that one they called 'Goku' was indeed Kakarotto. That one native seemed to believe he was dead." Radditz' eyes narrowed and he pointed to Vegeta's scouter. "So I guess there aren't any Saiyajin left on that planet anymore." He hoped that Vegeta would realize that if Freeza got that information, it might go against everything they wanted.

 

He was a little too late. At that moment Vegeta's scouter beeped, indicating an incoming transmission. A touch of his finger to the side of the scouter let the Saiyajin Prince know that the one contacting him was none other than Freeza himself.

 

Vegeta glared into the fire and responded in the manner that the being he hated most in the universe would expect. "Yes, Lord Freeza."

 

"My dear prince," the voice in his ear purred. "I see your lackey failed to purge the planet we sent him to. And a planet of weaklings, at that! Even a child should have been able to take it." There was a sharp edge of mockery to his voice. He was well aware of the way Saiyajin used to send children to purge planets. It had disturbed him that even an infant of their race could purge a planet - albeit a weaker one - but he would never have admitted it to anyone.

 

"Well, I suppose since your lackey is no longer around for me to punish, I'll have to make do with you." Freeza's voice continued to purr with a strange sort of satisfaction that almost made Vegeta shiver. "You'll need to meet with my ship, and I'll decide what to do with you then."

 

Radditz' eyes widened and then narrowed in sudden anger as he easily overheard Freeza's command. He knew that Freeza loved finding any excuse to punish the Saiyajin, particularly Vegeta, over imagined transgressions and invented slights. Radditz couldn't even begin to imagine why Freeza hated them so much, but it was obvious that he did.

 

It never occurred to the large Saiyajin that Freeza might fear them, so he tried to stomp them down as his way of trying to prove that he didn't. By belittling them continuously, he attempted to assert his power over them, making everyone else believe that he wasn't afraid of them. It had worked to an extent. The unceasing mockery that Freeza rained upon the Saiyajin had convinced everyone else that Saiyajin really were weaker than Freeza's other warriors. It had even gotten to the point where Freeza was beginning to believe his own lies.

 

Radditz started to growl, but was silenced by Vegeta's sharp glare. He waited to see what response his Prince would make to their unwanted overlord.

 

"As you wish, Lord Freeza," Vegeta responded, his anger at the upcoming meeting barely concealed in his voice. "We are some distance away. It will be a few hours at least until we reach your ship."

 

Vegeta could almost feel Freeza's gloating satisfaction. "Get here as soon as you can. I will not accept any delays," the purring voice came over his scouter. Then without allowing Vegeta to make a response, Freeza cut the connection abruptly.

 

"Kuso!" Vegeta swore the second he had his scouter off. "That pompous lizard needs to be put in his place. And I will be the one to do it. Radditz!" he snapped at the other man. "We will go and get this over with. But I do not think that we will be doing quite what he wants..."

 

Radditz frowned. He was having trouble fighting his own emotions. He wanted to charge off and head to Chikyuu to find the brother that he had never met. Perhaps his brother hadn't been killed, as the transmission indicated. If they got there, maybe they could save him.... No, it would take too long. Either Kakarotto would be dead, or he wouldn't be. He could only hope.

 

"Are we going to see what Freeza wants? Or are we just going to go to Earth?" When they were in private, neither of them bothered to use the Ice-jin's self-declared titles of royalty and nobility. As far as any of the living Saiyajin were concerned, Freeza was no more than an upstart. They only went along with him for the time being because they knew they weren't strong enough to kill him, but they both knew that someday they would find a way.

 

"First we lull him into a false sense of security." Vegeta smirked, making Radditz wonder what he was up to. "We will show up, and you will be obedient while I take my punishment." Vegeta gave him a warning look, his smirk fading to a scowl. "Then we go and see what kind of fighters this planet Earth has."

 

His mouth tilted back upwards into the smirk that Radditz was used to seeing before a battle. "They may benefit from joining forces with us. After all..." Vegeta chuckled, "it is their planet"

 

Radditz felt fury consume him at Vegeta's words. He hated it when Freeza humiliated Vegeta. He had wished many times that he could take Vegeta's 'punishment' for him, but he - and the other two Saiyajin - knew that he would have never survived it. And Freeza was unaware of one quirk of being Saiyajin; critical injuries that a Saiyajin survives only makes him much more powerful. Vegeta's power had been increasing exponentially, at a rate that Freeza didn't realize.

 

Regardless, it infuriated Radditz the way Freeza would find any excuse to torture Vegeta, determined as he was to humiliate the last surviving Saiyajin royalty. Radditz would give his life to protect his prince, but the prince and Nappa had known it would have been pointless, and had always refused to allow him to do so.

 

"I would rather not go there," Radditz snarled, even knowing that the wisest course would be to follow Freeza's orders and not show their hand right away. "I would rather just kill him now!"

 

"Patience, Radditz," the Prince admonished. "We have to have patience; we need to be much more powerful than we are now." Vegeta folded his arms across his chest. "I have not become a Super Saiyajin yet, but I will. It is only a matter of time."

 

Radditz sliced a hand through the air abruptly, dismissing Freeza's enormous power with that single gesture. He didn't want to care that Freeza could destroy them with a thought; he just wanted revenge on the creature that had destroyed his home, his father, and his planet. He had believed all his life that his brother had died as well. Now he knew that he had not, but it was too late, as he would never see that brother anyway. Although maybe, if what Nappa had said was true, Kakarot had a son....

 

"As you command, Your Highness," he growled out. Although his tone sounded disrespectful, Vegeta knew that it was only Radditz' impatience that made it so. He had never been able to keep his emotions in check well; it was fortunate that his two companions had always been so much more powerful than he was, and could keep him in check relatively easily.

 

The two Saiyajin headed towards their space-pods after Vegeta gave Radditz one more warning look, and they set their coordinates for Freeza's ship. Since it wasn't far, they didn't bother to go into cold sleep, but instead simply stayed awake or dozed lightly as they took the three-hour trip.

 

They docked roughly, and Radditz followed behind Vegeta as they traveled silently to Freeza's throne room. They knew they had to see him immediately, and not eat or change clothing first; Freeza had indicated his impatience, and you simply didn't leave the Ice-jin waiting. When they reached his chambers, however, his valet stopped them, refusing them admittance right away. The two Saiyajin were left to wait for another hour - dirty, sweaty, and hungry - while Freeza finished up with whatever he was doing.

 

When they were finally admitted, both Saiyajin prostrated themselves before him. Radditz glanced around surreptitiously and noticed that there had been no one other than Dodoria and Zarbon in Freeza's chambers, nor did it seem that the Ice-jin had been doing anything. He suspected that Freeza had just wanted to make them wait for whatever reasons he had. Perhaps it was part of his psychological torture before he began his physical torture of Vegeta. Once again Radditz felt his anger rise, but managed to tamp it down himself. He wasn't going to make his prince suffer any more than he already would.

 

"My dear, dear Prince." Freeza's voice was silky smooth, slick as an eel's, making both Saiyajin shiver involuntarily. They knew when he used that tone of voice that things would not go well for them. Freeza enjoyed tormenting and humiliating them too much, and if he was in this good of a mood, he had something horrible in mind.

 

Freeza smiled when he saw that, knowing how much they feared him. He had grown to believe his own lies over the years, believing that they were too weak to ever do anything to him, that they could never truly be a threat to him. He had grown lax as time had passed, and hadn't bothered to take either of their power level readings in a long time. If he had, he might have worried. Vegeta's power level was higher than that of any of his warriors other than his very highest lieutenants, or his elite Ginyu Force. Radditz himself - weak as he might be compared to his two fellow Saiyajin - was considerably above at least 95% of the other warriors in Freeza's army.

 

"Well, well, well. I see your other monkey failed at bringing a weak, fourth-class planet into line? And he died in his very first fight! I'll admit, he did kill a few natives... what was it, three? Oh dear! He managed to kill three natives on a planet with millions!"

 

He laughed derisively, and his two most trusted lieutenants - Dodoria and Zarbon - laughed with him. Radditz wanted to leap out at them and kill them, but a swift glance from Vegeta held him back.

 

"Nappa has always been unstable," Vegeta replied, feigning subservience. "It was inevitable that this would happen." Though the Saiyajin Prince's tone was mild, it was also tight with controlled anger. It was only through years of practice that Vegeta did not get up from his position and try to blast the lizard to oblivion. Instead, Vegeta kept his head down, looking at the floor as he contemplated what had really happened on that insignificant planet.

 

He was well aware of the mistakes that Nappa had made, but the fact that those human warriors could bring down a Saiyajin elite should have sent warning bells for the Ice-jin. No one on that planet was thought to be that strong, nor were there supposed to have been any more Saiyajin alive. Vegeta smiled inwardly. If there were warriors on Earth who could defeat Nappa, perhaps it was worth waiting to see if they could be used to his advantage. ::Then I can rip Freeza's heart out and feed it to him.::

 

"Ah, but he wasn't just unstable, he was weak, wasn't he, boy?" Freeza purred at him. "Just like all the rest of you monkeys." The Ice-jin finally slid out of his seat, setting his wineglass on the table nearby. He walked towards the prostrated Saiyajin, stopping in front of the smaller one, his feet right next to Vegeta's face. Radditz could see a vein twitch on Vegeta's forehead, the only indication of the tension that the other Saiyajin warrior felt.

 

Radditz himself felt consumed by rage. He was ready to leap up and attack Freeza for insulting his people, but somehow keeping his attention on his prince kept him calm. Or at least calm enough that he didn't lose control and do something stupid which would get him killed and Vegeta punished.

 

"You monkeys are so weak and pitiful!" Freeza spat, his voice full of disgust, the smug satisfaction in his tone gone instantly. "I should just destroy you all! You're completely worthless to me! Why, one of my lowest soldiers could have handled that planet easily, yet a Saiyajin warrior - one of your 'elites' - is destroyed by a mere handful of weak natives!"

 

Freeza pulled his foot back, preparing to kick Vegeta. When his foot connected to the small Saiyajin, it sent him flying across the room, where his impact against the wall made a small crack. Freeza didn't seem to notice - or perhaps he didn't care - as he moved towards the Saiyajin now sliding halfway to the floor. He lifted Vegeta by the front of his armor, lifting him easily in the air so they were at eye level. As Freeza was now floating a foot off the floor, this left Vegeta dangling in his grip like a helpless puppy.

 

Radditz' fists clenched from where he still crouched helplessly on the floor, appearing to be subservient, but in reality all of his muscles were bunched as he readied for an attack. As he prepared to follow through, Vegeta's command snapped in his mind.

::DON'T!::

 

Radditz froze as his prince's familiar mental shout echoed through his mind. The Saiyajin Prince rarely used telepathy with anyone, preferring to keep his thoughts private. Therefore the fact that he used it at all had more of an impact on Radditz than it might have otherwise had. He remained still, his anger not dissipating, but the tension in his body relaxing slightly. He was still prepared to defend his prince if he thought his life was seriously in danger, but when he thought about it, he knew Freeza would never go that far. At least, that was his hope.

 

::Now is not the time:: Vegeta told his companion silently. ::Wait, Radditz.:: For reasons he could not explain, and most likely did not want to admit to himself, he did not want the other warrior to die. It was not as if the two Saiyajin males were friends. Saiyajin had no need for friends, so they had always claimed. They merely did what they did best together - destroyed worlds and rook countless lives.

 

Yet it seemed that the Prince had always watched out for the other two. Whether it was conscious or not, Vegeta had never admitted anything. If asked about it, he would simply shrug it off. He had learned at a young age under his slavery with Freeza, that the lizard would not allow Vegeta friendships. So maybe in his own way he was protecting his companions, even if he assured himself that it was for his own gain. After all, he would need trusted subjects when he took over Freeza's dominion.

 

For a brief moment, Vegeta allowed himself to look forward into Freeza's eyes and let the hatred that he felt for the Ice-jin show through. It was so quick that Freeza did not see it, but he was sure Radditz had. One day, I am going to delight in ripping out your spine. Your screams will be music to my ears.

 

Freeza smirked at the Saiyajin Prince, then dropped him to land ignominiously in a crumpled heap on the floor. Vegeta picked himself up quickly, but Freeza had already turned his back on him with an air of indifference.

 

"You will go and finish the job that your servant failed to do," he ordered Vegeta, his voice slightly raised, as he sat down in his throne, still not looking at the two Saiyajin. He studied the red wine in his glass as if it were far more fascinating than the two Saiyajin in front of him, as if they were unworthy of his scrutiny. He waved a hand dismissively. "Now go! I don't want to see you until that planet is purged!"

 

There was a finality to his voice that both Saiyajin recognized instantly. They knew it was time to leave; if they lingered, he would punish them, and neither of them wanted that.

 

With a slight nod to Radditz that Freeza did not see, the two left quietly. They said nothing to each other, each lost in his own thoughts until they reached their pods.

 

"It will take at least a year for us to reach Earth," Vegeta said thoughtfully as he watched the door to the space pod rise. "That's a long time to be asleep."

 

Radditz frowned. There was no help for it; if it would take that long, it would take that long. There was nothing they could do to speed up the process. They would just have to put themselves into cold sleep and let the year pass.

 

As they were about to get into their pods, Radditz paused, then moved over to Vegeta and touched his arm, startling him. Before Vegeta could reprimand him for the presumption, Radditz spoke.

 

"When we get there, we might want to not use our scouters right away." He spoke in Saiyago, and softly enough that they couldn't be overheard by anyone. Radditz knew that with all the mechanical equipment in the area, the normal sensor devices were useless, so they essentially had privacy. "There's no need for him to know when we arrive, and if my brother is still alive...." He left the rest unsaid. He had some suspicions about what Vegeta had in mind, and knew Vegeta would have something planned out well in advance.

 

Vegeta smirked. "Then we will have to see, won't we?" he replied in the same language. For reasons that he did not go into, despite his earlier humiliation, Vegeta was in a good mood, a very good mood. "We can always claim a malfunction, can't we? What do monkeys know about science?"

 

It had been a joke among Freeza's soldiers that they Saiyajin were useless when it came mechanical devices, but though Radditz and Vegeta were not technical geniuses, they could repair their own pods and scouters. They simply preferred to let the others think they were useless in that regard. It was just one more advantage over Freeza that they had if he underestimated them in this manner. Vegeta had no idea if it would work in their favor one day, but it was something that the Ice-jin did not know, and the Saiyajin Prince loved to keep things from him.

 

"Let's go," Vegeta said abruptly, deliberately raising his voice and speaking Intergalactic. If they delayed too long, Freeza's loyal guards would get suspicious.

 

Radditz inclined his head towards Vegeta, then headed towards his own ship and headed in. The two pods were ejected forcefully from the battleship, and as they linked their directional systems together, Vegeta programmed their course towards Earth.

 

"Soon," the Saiyajin Prince murmured in his native tongue. "Soon we will find something that will defeat you." Then he pressed the button that would spray the sleeping gas in the pod, and settled down for the long sleep to Earth.

 

~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~

 

TWO MONTHS LATER….

 

Piccolo had no idea why he was obeying Kami's request and going to the ancient Guardian's lookout. Perhaps he was curious enough to want to find out why Kami would have called him there. The green man figured that it might have to do with the fact that he had kidnapped Goku's son, or it might have to do with the impending disaster of Nappa's Prince showing up. All in all, Piccolo decided that something that had started out bad was only getting worse.

 

He landed gracefully on the balcony and glared at the older Namek. If that was, indeed, what they were. "What did you want? I'm busy," he snapped at Kami, trying to intimidate the other man with a glare.

 

Kami merely sighed and shook his head. "You haven't changed a bit, have you? In these last two months?"

 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kami opened his mouth to reply, but Piccolo held up a hand, effectively cutting him off. "Never mind, I have things to do so just tell me what you want."

 

"Worried about leaving Gohan for so long, are you?" Kami asked mildly, and wasn't surprised to find Piccolo's scowl focused on him before Kami smiled back. "Don't worry, he will be fine. But there is a reason I called you here."

 

Piccolo folded his arms across his chest, and watched as Kami made his way towards the younger man and stopped to look out over the horizon. "As you know, the Saiyajin Prince is heading in this direction."

 

"And?"

 

"There will be at least one more Saiyajin with him, it seems. They will be here in another ten months. In that time, I hope you will have trained Gohan well." Black eyes settled on Piccolo, making the young Namek uneasy. "By that time King Kai will be done training Goku as well. I have sent Roshi a message not to wish him back before then."

 

"Son is training?"

 

Kami inclined his head, not looking away from the other man. "Yes, but maybe the fight can be avoided. The other Saiyajin may not want to fight."

 

If Piccolo had been Kuririn, he would have gaped at Kami. As it was, his scowl simply deepened. What on Earth was he thinking?

 

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

 

All he received was a smile in reply. "We will see. There are many possible futures to the meeting that takes place ten months from now. The one I am hoping for...." He shook his head. "It isn't important. What is important is that you are training Gohan."

 

"That's all this is?" he asked, more than a little annoyed that he wasn't getting any answers at all, merely riddles. "You wanted to give me a lecture on how to teach someone to fight? You?" Piccolo turned away from Kami and headed away from him, intent on leaving immediately, when Kami's voice stopped him once again.

 

"Yes, Piccolo, we are from a planet called Namek." Kami's gentle voice drifted over to him. "And you both are needed in a year. If you have questions you know who to ask."

 

Piccolo grumbled under his breath about Kami being a senile old fool that manipulated people to his advantage, before taking off, his cape flapping behind him. Kami smiled gently as he watched Piccolo's hasty departure.

 

"Kami-sama?" A low voice behind him caught his attention and his gaze focused on the familiar figure of Mr. Popo. "Do you think it was a good idea to bring Piccolo here?"

 

"Yes, Mr. Popo," he said, looking back out over the horizon, watching the Earth and the people as they made their way through life. "He had to know when the Saiyajin would arrive. Piccolo is already changing. He does not know it yet, but Gohan is the cause of that change. Don't worry, my friend. It will work out in the end." Kami placed a hand on Mr. Popo's shoulder in encouragement. ::Please let me be right or all will be lost.::

 

To be continued....

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

And in the next exciting episode of DragonBall Z: Crossed Paths... The Saiyans Arrive

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

Review Responses:

 

manga, the Awesome One in pigtails: Well... Ok, let me give you the argument I explained to someone else regarding this. Be warned - my reply is going to be long, as I am going to get into a lot of science here! ^_^

 

Ok, first keep in mind that I think like a scientist. I got a BA in neuropsych, and before that I had been focusing my major on genetics. So the stuff I'm using here is NOT just speculation; it's based on my own study. (And I've kept up with scientific journals since college, at least in the fields I'm interested in. So I really do know what I'm talking about.) Ok, that established, here are my arguments. ;-)

 

First, I'm going to consider evolution as a basic premise in this. If you don't believe in evolution none of these arguments will mean anything to you, but I do believe in it, and hence I'm going to work with that. Second, let's consider how a species would have to evolve to have sensitive tails in the first place. Let's take the facts. Saiyans are a warrior race, their tails give them strength, their tails allow them to transform into Oozaru, and they are VERY protective/possessive about those little toys.

 

Now, taking these facts into consideration, you have to consider that a warrior race that uses their tails to help them be better fighters, WHY would those tails be so sensitive that when touched it can drain you of your strength completely? (This is demonstrated by Goku in Dragonball MANY times. When Blue wraps them in ropes, for instance, Goku is straining against the ropes and you have the feeling he will eventually break them, then the rope twines rather gently around his tail, and suddenly he just goes limp.)

 

Let's first consider the placement of the tails, and the function we see of them in the series. In a warrior race, if the tails were really so necessary for their fighting ability (Goku demonstrates also that he gets stronger when his tail is there than when it's gone), then you know they would want to keep them. However, if the tails are so sensitive that they actually debilitate if someone touches it, then they cease to be an advantage, and actually become a liability. After all, everyone else of the same race is very well aware of that disadvantage, and would definitely use it whenever possible. So what might end up with is a group that cuts off their tails, and uses the tails of other Saiyans against them. It would be a serious advantage... except, of course, during the full moon, but they'd probably try to develop some method of dealing with that.

 

Now, let's assume that the Oozaru function is simply too much of an advantage, and nothing can be developed to deal with it. So you still have it that the tailed Saiyans have an advantage of the non-tailed ones, because of the times of the full moon. (And we know this to be a major advantage, since we are told that it's what allowed the Saiyans to defeat the Tuffles.) So how would the Saiyans deal with this?

 

Simple. Evolution.

 

We have to assume that they evolved with the tails, so we need to ask ourselves one question - WHY would those tails have evolved to BE sensitive?

 

It doesn't make sense, on the surface of it. If the tails were SOLELY for the purpose of fighting, there is absolutely NO reason they should be sensitive. In fact, they should be extremely INsensitive, to prevent other warriors from using the tails against them. But, for the sake of argument, let's say that the initially evolved to be sensitive, for whatever reason, as a fluke, before the race became a "warrior" race. (Although if you understand evolution, you'll realize that if a race is a "warrior" race, then it would always have had to be that. That's something that develops over millions of years, as the result of being predators. Particularly with all the hints they throw at us in the series.)

 

Ok, so you've got a warrior race with this one weakness. But you see, nature - evolution - has a tendency to try to 'fix' things. Not necessarily deliberately, but through mutation. (And for those that think X-man when they think "mutation", think again. EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL is a mutation of some sort. That's part of genetics. If there's no mutation, there's no evolution, and evolution occurs with every birth, just very subtly.) So what would happen? Inevitably, a mutation would occur - an individual would be born with an insensitive tail. And guess what? That individual would have a terrific advantage in battle. All the advantages of a tail, and none of the disadvantages.

 

Now, unless that individual is completely repulsive to the opposite gender, it is highly likely that this advantage would make the individual appear to be a highly desirable match for anyone of the opposite gender. (I'm going to assume this mutation occurs early on, before much intelligence develops, because it seems to me the whole tail sensitivity thing is more critical in many ways than intelligence.) That means that this person becomes a desirable mate, and has lots of offspring. Theoretically the offspring would inherit this gene (unless it's recessive, in which case THEIR offspring might have it instead), also being 'stronger' because they don't have the disadvantage. The genes get spread into the gene pool, and - because it's simply so advantageous - become more prevalent than the individuals with sensitive tails. Eventually the gene for sensitive tails essentially dies out or becomes rare, and the species no longer has it.

 

Now, this DIDN'T happen, so the question that has to be asked is - why? It's inevitable that a mutation WOULD have cropped up at some point for insensitive tails, and probably more than once. So why did it never take hold in the population? Why would the population continue to have what is so clearly a disadvantage?

 

Answer: Because it's not a disadvantage. It's necessary for the species in a manner that's not immediately obvious.

 

So, now we come down to it. WHY is it an advantage? What FUNCTION does the tail sensitivity have, that it would be an advantage? There really is only one that comes to mind - mating practices. (Considering that 99% of all evolution has to do with survival or reproduction, this isn't really too much of a question. Especially since about 90% of it all has to do with reproduction.)

 

Now, I'm sure everyone knows how sensitive their genitalia is. I'm not going to get into that here. I don't feel that I need to. This isn't something that can be "trained out"; it's something that's simply a fact of life. Nothing you can do about it.

 

How many men reading this have been hit in the groin at least once in their lives? How many women have hit a man in the groin, whether accidentally or deliberately, at least once in their lives? Do you remember the look of pain on the man's face, the way he dropped and crouched down, immobilized from the pain? Don't tell me that this could ever possibly be "trained out" - it can't. However, the REACTION can be trained out.

 

When I was in college, a friend of mine frightened me one night by coming up behind me suddenly, and instinctively I kicked backwards and got him right where it hurt. But instead of dropping as most men would do (and other men that I had intentionally hit there), he simply stood there, looking unfazed. I was relieved, and commented that I must have missed. In a very strained voice, he assured me that I had not. However, he had trained himself never to react to something like that, and instead never allowed anyone to realize how much it hurt.

 

THAT is the one thing that Nappa and Vegeta could possibly train. Unless they deliberately burned out their nerve endings in their tail, then they wouldn't be able to physically remove their reactions. And with the way Saiyans regenerate, and with the regeneration tanks, it seems unlikely that even deliberate damage like that could remain permanent. Even though nerves are much more difficult to heal than other cells, they can regenerate. (My cousin's limb was amputated by a train and later attached and is now functioning because the myelin sheath of the nerve was convinced to regenerate. So nerves can regenerate.) It's slower, and more difficult, but it does happen. Plus when the tail regenerates itself abruptly - as Gohan's did during the fight with Vegeta, Goku's did during the fight with Giran, and Vegeta's tends to do in fanfics - unless he goes through whatever process you might think he did to kill those nerve cells, then those nerves would be JUST fine.

 

As Kichi pointed out on my ML, unless he wants to do it every time, it can't be "trained out", at least not with that method. Not the physical pain, at least. Just the debilitating reaction to it. But that doesn't make the limb any less sensitive, meaning that during sex it would still be an erogenous zone. Just as Michael's privates were no less sensitive during sex (or so I'm assuming, since I don't have any personal experience with him), yet he taught himself never to react if someone hit him there, simply because he never liked showing 'weakness' to anyone.

 

Another thing that might be considered... maybe it's a ki thing? Isn't it possible that he automatically constructs a ki shield around his tail during battles, to keep it from being a weakness? I doubt he'd want to have that shield up during sex; it would interfere with his own pleasure! So if you go with that idea, you don't even have to worry about any training! ^_^

 

Oh, and another suggestion a friend of mine had was this. I'll just quote her here:

 

"Heh. There actually isn't any proof that Vegeta's tail isn't sensitive. No one actually grabs it while fighting him, because they saw it didn't work on Nappa, and believed it when they were told that it wouldn't work on either of them. In one of my fics I have it that Nappa was born with a strange birth defect, affecting the nerves in his tail, and because of that, Vegeta sent him into battle first, and if someone happened to know the Saiyan weakness, he would claim that it didn't affect them at all."

 

I thought that was an amusing way to deal with the issue. ^_~ I personally prefer the idea that they ki shield themselves, and that would include their tails. Think about it. They get slammed into MOUNTAINS all the time, and come up with bruises and only small cuts. They'd have to be pretty tough, right? If it follows that the toughness is with them ALL the time, then they'd never be able to enjoy sex. Their skin would simply not have any sensitivity at all. So I think they just have ki shields up all the time when they fight, which they lower during sex, making themselves - and their tails - much more sensitive.

 

And if you're wondering why Radditz would still have the sensitivity, maybe he just didn't have the control over it like the other two did, and couldn't extend it out to a delicate limb like his tail. Who knows? Hard to say.

 

vinn: Thank you! ^_^

 

DarkBulma: Well, as you can see... *giggle* It didn't the first time, but it did the second time. Just like happened to poor Radditz in the anime! ^_^ Except that this battle was a lot bloodier, and had more deaths....

 

Shiva-kun: I'm not sure what you're asking here. You mean when I'll get this fic up to par with ALitD? Or when I'll get that posted to where it had been on ffn? The problem with the latter is that I'm still waiting on betas right now. Plus I just got a new job, so I'm *really* busy. Not that I wasn't busy before - I run more MLs than you believe, I'm writing half a dozen new fics, and I just have a busy family life - but with a full time job it's even worse. And I *don't* have internet access from work at all! :-(