Raditsu was jolted out of his sleep by the space pod's computerized voice saying, "Wake up, Raditsu." He opened his eyes slowly, and through the red bubble viewport of the ship, he could make out the landing pad of Freeza Planet 1. They were home - or at least what passed for home.

A human-like alien helped Raditsu out of his spacepod - Raditsu vaguely recalled the alien as being named Raspberry. "Thanks," Raditsu mumbled briefly.

Raspberry appeared slightly taken aback by the thanks, but made no reply.

A few moments later, the other members of Raditsu's team emerged from their pods. Without a word, they started into the castle - which was already becoming familiar territory.

Dodoria was waiting for them in the foyer. "Freeza's off-planet," he rumbled. "He said you should step up your training."

Raditsu merely nodded, then turned and walked briskly towards the training wing. The others followed, but stepped into another gravity room. Raditsu walked a bit further before turning and stepping into the gravity room that he and Rikum trained in.

Rikum wasn't there, but Raditsu knew that he would be along. He leaned against one wall and waited.

After five minutes, Rikum came barrelling into the room at a dead run, screeching to a halt just before he smashed into the gravity machine. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized.

"S'alright. How's it been?"

"Tense. Ginyu, Gurudo, and Jeice defected. Half of the Elite Army Corps defected. Apparently Vegeta isn't going to be too subtle about this anymore."

"So he's come right out and isn't making any secret about his plans?"

"Yeah. The guy must be some kind of idiot, but he DOES have the manpower to simply swarm us under."

"Easy solution. We go to Vegetasei and kill the king."

"You'd kill your own king?" Rikum seemed a bit shocked at that.

"Sure. If it prevents interstellar war, I'd kill anything."

"Right. Now..." Rikum dropped into a combat pose, bracing himself and raising both huge fists. "Let's get started."

It was a very exhausting three hours for Raditsu, but by the end of the training - which had been under fifty times gravity - the finheaded alien who always watched them had announced Raditsu's power level as fifty thousand without aid from an attack.

"I've never seen anyone advance that fast," Rikum commented when they had finished. "It won't be long until you hit a hundred thousand."

"Super Elite level?" Raditsu grinned. "You have no idea how badly I want that."

"Join the club," Rikum said with a bit of a laugh.

The conversation shifted to more general matters after that. Having been left out of the discussion, the finhead quietly left the room.

-----

The finhead sat down in his private quarters and pulled out his laptop computer, keying in the comm signal for Vegetasei Palace. A minute later, a logo depicting two crossed swords flashed onto the screen, bearing the words "VEGETA CENTRAL: PLEASE STAND BY".

"Pick it the fuck up," the finhead growled.

A moment later, the logo was replaced by the violet face of the infamous Ginyu. "Report," came the captain's order.

"The one named Raditsu is becoming extremely powerful," the finhead informed his master. "His power level is registering at fifty thousand independently. The others are rising to thirty thousands."

"Nothing we can't handle," Ginyu shrugged. "If they get too strong, we can always fall back on Doore and Neizu."

"Right."

"Keep up the good work." The screen flickered to black.

The finhead straightened. Being a spy wasn't always easy, but hey, the pay was good. And it meant big rewards for him in the end.

-----

"Why aren't we attacking them yet?!" Prince Vegeta almost screamed at his father. "Attack Freeza! I want to kill him!"

"You aren't strong enough to defeat Freeza, you thickwit," King Vegeta responded as he leaned back upon his throne. "I love you about as much as I love the bubonic plague, but you're my son and I don't want you to get killed."

"But I can defeat Freeza, father!"

"Sure, if Freeza was using about one percent of his power at the time."

Prince Vegeta looked like he was about to reply, but his mouth snapped shut abruptly.

"That's better," King Vegeta smirked. "Now go play with your little toys."

"But father, it's no FUN terrorizing the Dregs anymore!"

"Then go kill some of them."

"That's a MARVELOUS idea, Father!" Grinning, Prince Vegeta rose and rushed from the throne room.

"Where did I go wrong?" King Vegeta sighed.