Chapter 3
The crash sent waves of turf folding over themselves, uprooting trees and sending nearby animals flying as the earth shuddered with the impact. Dust billowed up in great clouds as debris sailed through the air, creating a hail of dirt and rocks on the already-disrupted ground. A gentle breeze came rolling out of the distant hills, clearing away the choking particles and spreading them around the crash site. The animals settled down, returning to their usual habits and ignoring the gigantic crater that formed in the middle of their habitat. A few beasts lifted their heads and looked around, though, when the electronic voice crackled to life. The words couldn’t be heard clearly outside the machine, but one person could hear them perfectly, closing his eyes in hopelessness. “Prince Vegeta, you have been sent to Earth in order to protect you...”
“Goku, what was that?” ChiChi gasped as her eyes snapped open. She sat up and
looked over at her sleeping husband, scowling as she saw him still snoring and
drooling. He didn’t even twitch. “Goku!” she shouted again, and pushed his
shoulder. Still nothing. She ground her teeth and scooted around to plant her
feet against his arm, bending her knees and gathering her strength. With a
powerful shove and a grunt of effort, she straightened her legs and sent her
heavy husband tumbling off of the bed and onto the floor with a thud. She
smiled as she was rewarded with a faint groan floating up from over the edge of
the bed.
Goku’s head slowly rose up to the level of the mattress, his eyes hurt and
surprised as he rubbed his head with a hand. “ChiChi, why did you do that?” he
asked, wounded.
ChiChi’s expression softened for a minute, but then she remembered that
something had woken her and she wanted to know what it was. “Didn’t you hear
that crash?” she said impatiently, crossing her arms across her bare chest.
Goku’s eyes rolled to their upper right corners as he thought. “No, I didn’t. I
think I was asleep,” he said without a single grain of humor.
ChiChi’s brows fell. “I know you were asleep, Goku,” she said with a sigh.
“That’s why I pushed you off. I couldn’t wake you up.”
Goku smiled and stood up so he could plop back down on the mattress next to
her. “Oh, well I guess that’s okay, then,” he said cheerfully, and laid back
down beside her, watching the newly-risen sun as he eyelids fluttered shut.
ChiChi planted her feet against his side again, making his eyes open again. He turned
his head to look at her. “Don’t go asleep again!” she said crossly. “Go see
what made that crash!”
Goku sighed. He was usually up at this time anyway, but he and ChiChi had been
up late the night before and he was sleepy. “ChiChi, I want to stay here with
you,” he said sweetly, wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her close.
ChiChi just scowled and shoved him away. “Oh, no you don’t,” she said. “That’s
not going to work on me. Just go out there and find out what happened!”
Goku sighed again and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Scratching his
head lazily, he scanned the floor for his clothes. He located his underwear and
pulled them on, then stood to trot around the room and gather the rest of his
gi. ChiChi watched him sternly from the bed. “Okay, okay,” he said, tying his
belt around him. “I’m going. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“For heaven’s sake be careful, Goku,” ChiChi warned, pulling the bedsheets up
to her armpits and watching his retreating back with worry.
Goku didn’t have to fly far before finding the crater, the light color of the
earth contrasting with the dark green of the forest. The earth around it was
littered with uprooted trees and clods of dirt, and the hole itself was several
yards deep. Apparently the animals of the forest hadn’t been hurt, for he could
see several moving beneath the canopy of the trees. He stared down at the
crater again, peering at the dirt to see if he could spot what had caused it.
The early morning sun glinted off of something metal, and he lowered a few feet
to see better. He had heard of rocks from outer space making dents like this
one in the earth, but what on earth could be falling out of the sky that was
made of metal? He used his senses to scan for danger, and encountered a weak
ki, much to his surprise. Was the metal thing alive? He lowered the rest of the
way into the crater and walked over to the center. The thing was made of metal,
as he had seen from above, but the surface had been pretty scratched. He walked
around the thing, looking to see if he could figure what it was, and discovered
a red bubble that looked sort of like a window. He brushed off the ruby-colored
glass with a hand and stared inside. His eyes widened in shock and he took a
few steps back, lowering his hands to his sides. Shaking his head in disbelief,
he crept back to the glass and peered through it once again. There was no doubt
about it- it was a man, and he seemed to be terribly wounded. Goku put his
hands on either side of the window and felt for any sort of seam he could get a
hold on. He had to get the man out, for he could feel the slight ki fading even
as he searched for a way to open the thing. He scowled as he couldn’t locate
any sort of seam, and decided that he could break the glass and get a handhold
that way. With a growl he wound up a punch and let his most powerful strike hit
the glass. He fell down with a yelp, clutching his nearly-shattered hand and
blowing on the knuckles. He stared at the glass, mouth falling open when he saw
he hadn’t even made a dent. What was he supposed to do now? he wondered as he
scrambled around the machine, which he was starting to think of as a spaceship.
The sides of the ship were completely smooth and offered him no advice. Goku
dashed back to the glass and pounded on it with a fist. “Hey, mister, wake up!”
he shouted. The man inside remained unresponsive. Goku did a little frustrated
dance in the dirt in front of the window, balling his hands into fists and
scowling. “Crap,” he muttered, and charged up one of his fists. “I hope this
doesn’t hit you!” he whispered, and stood back a few feet from the ship. He let
the beam of energy fly, and managed to blow a good portion of the top of the
ship away. Grinning with achievement, Goku bounded over to the hole and reached
down to gather up the man. A peculiar noise reached his ears, and although he
tried to keep all his attention on the man he couldn’t help but try to listen.
It sounded like a voice, but it was in a language he didn’t know. Or did he?
Some of the words seemed strangely familiar but he couldn’t for the life of him
call to mind what they meant. He shrugged and hoisted the man out of the hole.
Something fuzzy brushed his arm and he looked down, nearly dropping the man as
he did so. A tail protruded from the man’s backside. A brown, fuzzy tail, just
like Goku had when he was a boy. Goku’s stomach sank as he realized that things
were becoming complicated beyond his comprehension. Shouldering the larger man,
he shoved off the ground with a grunt and sped away.
Zarbon looked over at his companion with frustration. It had been three weeks
on this damned planet, and the stupid Saiyan hadn’t so much as lifted a finger
to help. Vegeta was apparently still dumbstruck, for all he would do was mutter
about being the last of the Saiyans and how would he defeat Freeza? Zarbon
shook his head before turning his attention back to the world outside their den
of leaves and branches, eyes searching for any sign of the enemy. Zarbon had
managed to pick off a few bases by himself, but there were so many that he
really had no hope of winning, especially since they all seemed to be armed
with those strange weapons. All he could do in the meantime was keep himself
and Vegeta alive, running and hiding and venturing out at night for food and
water. He cursed silently at his inadequacy and narrowed his eyes as he thought
he saw one of the bushes around them tremble a little. Suddenly sunlight poured
into the den, and Zarbon turned in horror to see that Vegeta had stood up and
was screaming a battle cry at the top of his lungs. “I’m the last!” he shouted,
eyes squeezed shut in rage. “I’ll kill every single last one of you bastards
for making me the last!” Zarbon’s gaze shot around and he realized that they
were surrounded by the insect-like natives. Of course all of them had those
horrible weapons, and Zarbon swallowed as he understood that his doom was
immanent.
Vegeta, however, had started to glow. The icy aura that had surrounded him at
the outset of their mission was flaring about him once again, and Zarbon’s skin
prickled with the increase in energy. “No, Vegeta, you’ll destroy yourself!”
Zarbon shouted, reaching out a hand.
Vegeta batted the hand away and turned to look at Zarbon with cold eyes. “I
suggest you flee,” the Saiyan said coldly. He could hear the natives locking
their weapons and the hum of pre-fire.
“Vegeta, are you insane?” Zarbon screeched, eying the natives with rising
alarm. “You’ll get us killed!”
“Leave!” Vegeta barked, and his aura burned brighter. Zarbon zoomed up into the
air several thousand feet and hovered, breathing hard and sweating as he stared
at the spot where he knew Vegeta and hundreds of natives stood. He was about to
alter his decision to flee and rush back to Vegeta’s side when there was a
blinding flash of light, followed a split second later by the sound of a
gigantic explosion. He covered his face with his forearms and shut his eyes as
debris flew past him in the incredible wind, clods of dirt and who knew what
else occasionally getting tangled in the tatters of his white cape. Zarbon
fought the gale in desperation to hold his position, but the force of the blast
was just too strong, and with a cry he was sent tumbling away into the empty
air. Through clouds of dust he could see pieces of vegetation and possibly
animals or the natives swirling about him as he tumbled through the air, but
his sense of comprehension soon numbed and he instead focused on landing. The
ground rushed up to meet him and he had no time to react, smashing onto the
planet’s surface. He uttered a pain-filled sigh and blackness enveloped him.
Vegeta’s body hurt. He stood, shoulders slumped, and panted as he gingerly
flexed his fingers to make sure he hadn’t blown them off. His head nodded of
its own accord and he jerked it back upright, determined to stay conscious. He
blinked rapidly to prevent his eyes from sliding shut and gazed upon his
handiwork. He had eradicated a patch of earth several hundred meters in each
direction, and he could see as the dust settled that body parts and weaponry,
as well as shreds of trees and the like, were strewn haphazardly around the
blast zone. A smile stretched Vegeta’s lips across his dry teeth and he coughed
with the effort. Oh yes, he had shown them not to trifle with Saiyans. The
power he had summoned to do so, however, had completely burned him out. He
barely had the energy to stand, but he had the feeling that he wouldn’t be in
danger again for a while yet. Luckily Rihon 8 was a large planet and not
incredibly inhabited, which was what had allowed him and Zarbon to survive for
so long. Vegeta scowled and spat into the dirt in disgust. He couldn’t believe
that he had stayed in such a pitiable state for so long, and that someone had
been there to witness the entire thing. Vegeta sighed, concentrating once again
to stave off unconsciousness, and wondered if he should set out to search for
Zarbon, and whether or not to kill him once he found him. He looked about him
and was faintly startled as he fell to his knees, not able to move his hands in
time to stop himself as he toppled over with a grunt. The colors of the dirt
and plants and sky all began to swirl together, and his body hurt so much.
Maybe it would be all right to sleep for just a little while before going out
to look for Zarbon.
Zarbon’s eyes fluttered open as the water dripped slowly onto his face. “Well,
look who’s awake,” a deep voice said sarcastically. Zarbon groaned and tried to
sit up, only to have a gloved hand shove him back down. “I wouldn’t advise
that,” the voice said as Zarbon’s eyes tried to focus. “You’ve got some broken
bones.”
Zarbon uttered a sharp laugh and gasped, feeling his ribs shift unnaturally.
“Vegeta,” he said, turning his head to stare at the other man, who was sitting
cross-legged a few feet away. “You survived.”
Vegeta snorted. “And you almost didn’t. How’s that for ironic? Freeza sends you
here to kill me and you almost end up dying.”
Zarbon swallowed. “You knew all along,” he said quietly, trying not to breathe
too deeply and strain his ribs.
“Of course I knew,” Vegeta spat. “We Saiyans aren’t as stupid as you think.”
“Except maybe Nappa,” Zarbon countered, and was rewarded with a genuine
chuckle.
“Granted,” Vegeta conceded, then fell silent as he gazed at the small fire
flickering in front of him.
“So what happened at touchdown?” Zarbon asked, remembering Raddtiz’s startled
face as the pod took off.
“I don’t know,” Vegeta growled. “They just seemed to go sort of crazy.”
Zarbon smiled sardonically. “They were probably trying to protect you from me,”
he said softly.
Vegeta’s expression didn’t change. “They probably were, even though I’m
stronger than both of them combined,” he muttered.
Zarbon gazed at the Prince’s dark features. “I wasn’t supposed to kill you,” he
said quietly. Vegeta didn’t reply, but Zarbon saw an eyebrow twitch. “Freeza
wanted you back alive.”
“Damn Freeza,” Vegeta spat.
“Why did he want you back alive, Vegeta?” Zarbon probed, an evil glint in his
eye. “There are rumors...”
Vegeta turned on Zarbon in fury. “There is nothing to those rumors,” Vegeta
snarled. “And it’s none of your business, alien.”
“You’re an alien here, too,” Zarbon reminded him lightly. Vegeta snarled again
and fell back to scowling at the fire. Zarbon sighed and decided that he should
probably try to make peace with Vegeta. The Saiyan was far stronger than
before, possibly close to where Zarbon was in his current form. Zarbon smiled
as he mused that he would probably have to transform to beat the Saiyan now.
Not that he could transform in his current state of health. His lips pressed
together in an angry line at that thought; it was the Saiyan’s fault he was in
this state of health. Zarbon’s expression softened. It was also Vegeta’s doing
that he was alive right now, for Vegeta had injured him saving them both from
the natives and then had rescued him from dying alone in some forest on a
foreign planet. He supposed that added up to him owing Vegeta more than he
could blame him. Sighing, he decided to extend the olive branch. “Thank you,
Vegeta,” he said.
“Shut up,” Vegeta replied sharply. “I didn’t do it because I like you.”
Zarbon raised an eyebrow at that, but declined to comment further. “Ah, well. I
guess I would like to know if you think you could pull off something like that
again.”
Vegeta glanced over at the immobile man. “No,” he said roughly, not wanting to
admit to Zarbon how close he had been to vaporizing himself with his stunt.
Zarbon grunted. “Hnh. Too bad,” he mumbled.
Vegeta looked over at him in curiosity. “What?”
A bitter smile crossed Zarbon’s face. “I was just wondering, because we’re
surrounded.”
“Hold on,” Goku whispered to the man draped over his shoulder. “We’re almost there.” The city loomed in his vision and he put on an extra burst of speed. The buildings flew by as he sped between them, very narrowly avoiding several aircars even though it was only an hour after dawn. Finally he saw the big letters painted on the building he was searching for: Capsule Corporation. A smile of relief crossed his face and he slowed in preparation for descent, gripping the unconscious man more tightly. The lawn of the compound tenderly supported his feet as he landed and took off at a run towards the back door of the main building.
Goku put the man down gently and knocked on the door, waiting for several
moments until he heard a voice crackle from the speaker on the side of the
door. “Who is it?” a male voice said.
Goku leaned towards the speaker, not sure if it was two-way or not. “It’s
Goku!” he shouted. “I found someone and he’s hurt badly!!”
“Good god, Goku!” the voice said, shocked. “Why don’t you take him to the
hospital?”
Goku looked at the speaker blankly. Hospital? “Where’s Bulma?” he asked after a
moment. “I think she should see this guy.”
“Bulma’s asleep, Goku. Hold on, I’ll be right down,” the voice said, and Goku
heard crackling as the intercom shut off.
A few moments later Mrs. Briefs appeared in her robe, smiling brightly at Goku
as she ushered him in. “Good morning, Goku!” she said brightly, putting her
hand on his arm. “Can I get you something to eat?”
Goku beamed and nodded vigorously, remembering that he hadn’t eaten. Mrs.
Briefs smiled back and began to get out pots and pans. Goku glanced out the
window as she worked, and then remembered that the man was still lying out on
the lawn. “Oh, Mrs. Briefs, I just remembered that I don’t have time to eat
right now. Can I talk to Bulma?”
Mrs. Briefs turned around and put a frying pan down on the counter. “She’s
asleep, Goku,” she said gently.
“Can you wake her up, please?” Goku said, starting to rock from one foot to the
other in impatience. “I really need to talk to her.”
Mrs. Briefs put a hand to her chest and looked at him for a brief moment. “I
guess, Goku. I’ll go see what I can do,” she said, and walked out of the room.
Goku watched her go and continued to rock, casting worried glances out the
window. Soon he heard an angry clomping and Bulma stormed into the room, hair
hastily pulled back, holding the two halves of her robe together with
white-knuckled fists. “What in the hell do you want, Goku?” she snapped,
squinting her eyes in the bright light of the kitchen. Her mother entered
behind her and hovered apologetically.
“Hi, Bulma!” Goku said cheerfully. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you!”
Bulma blinked at him. She had never really known how to deal with Goku. “Uh,
yeah, I guess about five years. How’s life with ChiChi?”
Goku smiled broadly. “Things are great! She can really cook and we have a son!”
Bulma blinked again. “A son? Really?” she said in surprise.
“Yeah, he’s the cutest thing!” Goku said, eyes glimmering. “But I didn’t come
to tell you about him,” Goku said with a falling voice. “There’s a man outside
who’s hurt badly.”
Bulma scowled. “Then why didn’t you take him to the hospital?” she said with
alarm. “Where is he?”
“Outside,” Goku replied, and swiftly moved out of the way as she barreled past
him. She burst through the door and ran over to the fallen man.
“Oh my god, he’s burned so badly!” she gasped. “What in the hell were you
thinking, Goku?” she screamed as he followed her outside. “He’s dying!”
For a moment Goku looked as if he was going to cry. “But look, Bulma! Look at
his back!”
Bulma shot Goku a disapproving look but turned her attention to the large man’s
backside, nearly falling over when she saw what Goku was talking about. “He’s
got a tail!” she shrieked, and fell backwards. Goku nodded and walked over to
her. “What does it mean, Goku?” she gasped.
“I don’t know. But I used to have a tail too, remember?” he said, crouching
down beside her.
“I know that, stupid!” she snapped, and reached down to touch the man’s neck.
“He’s still alive,” she said softly.
“Maybe he knows something about where I’m from,” Goku said hopefully, and Bulma
looked over at her longtime friend. His black eyes were worried and filled with
a sort of wistful longing, and she realized for the first time how odd it must
be to have lived a life like his. The only person with a tail, with incredible
powers, and no one to tell him about his past.
“Get him to the infirmary,” she said calmly. “I’m going to call the hospital.”
She stood and looked at her mother, who had come to stand in the kitchen
doorway. “Get dad to call our med techs and make sure the facilities are
ready,” she ordered. “Goku, pick him up and follow me.”
Goku nodded and picked up the large man with a grunt, face intense with worry.
Bulma gestured for him to come, and walked across the expansive lawn toward
some of the outbuildings. Goku scurried to follow her, the man bouncing on his
shoulder as he ran.
Vegeta stood slowly as he saw the reflection of the firelight in multitudes of
black, shiny, insectlike eyes. Zarbon coughed painfully from where he lay on
the ground, and Vegeta glanced at him to make sure he wasn’t coughing up blood.
He needed to find a way to get out of there fast and take Zarbon with him. He
cursed himself silently for not just gathering up Zarbon and getting as far
away from the blast zone as possible, but he had been so tired at the time. He
gritted his teeth as he realized that he was still tired, his muscles ached and
his very veins felt as if they had been used to their maximum.
“Well,” Zarbon said quietly, interrupting his thoughts. “It’s up to you: do we
die or do we live?”
Vegeta glanced at the prone alien, sweat beginning to bead on his brow. He
looked around at the unblinking insect eyes, wondering what his options were.
“Shit,” he muttered, and balled his hands into fists.
One of the insect-like people stepped forward, the exoskeleton gleaming a
little in the weak firelight. “Why have you come to Arlia?” it hissed at them
in passable Standard.
Vegeta shot a look at Zarbon, who shut his eyes and pain and sighed. “Rihon 8
is known to its inhabitants as Arlia. We don’t usually call planets by their
given names, but instead give a name to the system, like Rigel or Rihon, and
then assign numbers to the planets in correlation to their orbital position
around that system’s sun or suns,” Zarbon wheezed. Vegeta nodded and continued
to stare at the alien that had come forward.
“Why have you come?” the insect continued, and Vegeta heard the clicking of
weapons being raised.
“I am a subject of Lord Freeza,” Zarbon interjected. “I was sent to this planet
to kill Prince Vegeta of the Saiyans and his two soldiers. The plan backfired
and now the Prince and I are stranded here.” Vegeta shot a suspicious look at
Zarbon, and the green-skinned man returned his gaze with a cautioning look of
his own.
“Your friend is a mighty warrior,” the insect rasped. “We will take you to our
leader for judgment.”
Vegeta tensed for battle, but was stopped as Zarbon cleared his throat
meaningfully. Vegeta relaxed a little and stared at the other man angrily. “I
am a Saiyan, Zarbon,” he said quietly, smiling as Zarbon paled even further and
his eyes grew wide. “I will never be taken prisoner.”
“Vegeta!” Zarbon hissed, but to no avail. Already the steel-blue aura was
engulfing them, and Zarbon could see the strain put on Vegeta’s body as he
powered up. “I surrender!” Zarbon screamed, still unable to move his body,
hoping that the Arlians would take him into custody, at least. Vegeta began to
growl, sweat popping out on his brow. Vegeta’s lips curled back in a feral grin
and the aura expanded, crackling with energy desperate to be released. Vegeta
opened his mouth to laugh as the energy flowed from his body when there was a
high-pitched whine of machinery and a red beam found its way through Vegeta’s
shoulder, knocking him to the ground and blood pumping from the new wound.
Zarbon watched as Vegeta hit the dirt with a crunch, black eyes wide with
surprise as he watched himself bleed. “Well, that’s the end of that,” Zarbon
said coldly as Vegeta tried to move and was rewarded with a shot through his
other shoulder. Vegeta screamed in rage and tried to stand again, only to have
his thigh pierced by another beam. Finally the Saiyan lay on his side in the
dirt, wheezing with eyes shut tight in agony.
“I won’t be beaten,” Vegeta rasped as his blood spilled out onto the earth.
“Little late for that,” Zarbon said sardonically, and shifted his gaze to the
Arlians. “Take me to your leader.”
*~*~*~*~*