Dragonball Z: Frieza Saga [4]

Dodoria pursues them, and starts to throw balls of energy at them, with most of them aimed at Krillen so that he drops the kid. Krillen sees that he wont be able to dodge one of the beams, so he gets hit, trying to shield the young child. He only partially got hit though, so he wasn’t too badly hurt. He drops the Namekian kid, and goes to fly down after him to catch him, but Dodoria grabs his heel, delaying him in his efforts to grab the poor Namekian child. Dodoria laughs, and in a desperation move, Krillen headbutts him, making him lose his grip. Krillen knows that he won’t be able to reach the child in time though, but still tries. Just a few seconds before the child hits the floor, Gohan swoops in to catch him. He then flies off, with Krillen stopping to deal with Dodoria. Sensing that he wasn’t a match for the big pink monster, Krillen used a solar flare, then flew over to a cliff to hide with Gohan and the kid. Dodoria gets his sight back, but can’t sense where they are. He blows up the whole area with a multitude of energy balls, thinking that he has finished everyone off. He then goes to fly off, not noticing that Gohan, Krillen, and the small Namekian kid are floating in the air, not too far from him, after narrowly avoiding the beams.

Dodoria leaves, and Krillen tells the kid to stick with them, as they are going to find Bulma again, and tell her the news. The Namekian nods his approval, then goes off with them.

Dodoria is flying through the air, when he suddenly jerks down to the ground. In front of him stands the saiyan prince – Vegeta, sneering evilly. He tells Dodoria that he is going to kill Freiza, and that he had better not get in his way. The big pink alien informs Vegeta that Freiza already has five dragonballs though, and there is no way that he is even close to being a match with him. Noticing that Dodoria no longer has a scouter, Vegeta offers him his. Becoming amused at how chuffed Dodoria looks, Vegeta drops it on the ground, and tells Freiza’s henchman that all he needs to do is pick it up, and he can have it. Gratefully, Dodoria crawls along the floor, to the scouter. Before he can pick it up though, Vegeta stands on it, crushing it, and laughing manically as he does so. This angers Dodoria no end, and he moans at Vegeta, telling him that no one will be able to find the dragonballs now. Laughing, Vegeta fills Dodoria in on the skills that he picked up on Earth. He tells him that he can read power levels, so he won’t have any trouble finding the dragonballs. Laughing ensues, and Dodoria is pushed past the limit. He challenges Vegeta to a fight, and it is gleefully accepted. Realizing how high Vegeta’s power level was when he fought Cui, Dodoria starts to back off as his opponent approaches. Before Vegeta can do anything, Dodoria starts to fire away with multiple energy beams, in a machine gun action, causing an absolutely huge crater. He starts laughing as the smoke clears, but nothing is there. Vegeta appears behind him, and grabs his arms, pulling them behind his back. Dodoria pleads with Vegeta to let him go, but the saiyan prince refuses. Dodoria then tries to make a trade. He says that he well tell Vegeta some very vital information if he is released. Interested, Vegeta lets go of his opponent. Dodoria informs Vegeta that it was Freiza who destroyed the planet Vegeta. Vegeta looks very upset by this, and Dodoria starts to poke fun. He says that the Earthlings could probably beat Vegeta in a battle, which is a big mistake. After a bit more boating and gloating, Dodoria makes to fly off, but as Vegeta isn’t a man of his word, he blasted the big pink alien out of the sky with a massive blast, easily killing him. Thinking to himself, Vegeta wonders what Dodoria meant by Earthlings.

Vegeta takes off, and tries to sense the dragonballs. Instead, he sense a feint power, and floats down to check it out. He looks around for a while, without realizing who’s power it is. It’s Krillen’s! He is hiding behind a rock with Gohan and the Namekian kid, visibly shaking, worried about what Vegeta will do to them. After sensing around for a while, it looks like Vegeta has finally found them, when a Whale shoots out of the water, splashing Vegeta, and making him think that it was that mammal that was giving off the power signature all along. He leaves, realizing that time is running out, and that he needs at least one dragonball before Freiza gets them all. Gohan, Krillen and the little Namek breathe a sigh of relief, then fly off, to look for Bulma once more.

They finally get there, and walk inside, worried about what she will do to them. They are greeted by her, as she waits outside the house, and yells at them with all her might. The two brave warriors cower in fear, as does the Namekian kid. When Bulma asks who he is, the kid replies that his name is Dende. She invites them all in, and makes them something to eat. Dende explains that Nameks only need water to stay alive, but Krillen thinks the real reason that he isn’t eating is because of Bulma’s cooking. He accidentally said this out loud, and regretted it, as Bulma shouted at him as loud as she could. Dende laughs, and tells everyone about him being heir to the Namek throne. He tells everyone about Guru, and how he is the leader of all Nameks. Bulma informs everyone about Goku. She says that she received a call earlier telling her that Goku is on his way. This makes them celebrate for a little while, until Gohan senses a strong power level, marking the death of about 20 Nameks.

Meanwhile, in a Namekian village, Vegeta lands, as he senses the magnificent power of the dragonball. He goes up to the village elder, and tells him to give him the ball. The elder senses the evil in his heart though, and tells him that he can’t have the ball. Vegeta is maddened by this, and tells them that he will get it by force. The Nameks attack him, partially taking him by surprise, and shooting such powerful blasts at him that he is impaled into the ground. After a short pause, the smoke clears, and a big block of dirt rises. Vegeta breaks out of it, and is looking very angry. He shoots off energy beams, quickly killing all the Nameks. He then goes over to the elder, and points his finger. Vegeta says the word ‘Bang’ and fires a small blast at him, killing him out right. Vegeta then senses around, and finds the dragonball, saying that he could have found it with his eyes shut. He takes the ball, and drops it in a lake, for safe keeping, so that Freiza won’t be able to get to it. He then takes off, laughing like a maniac. It must have been Vegeta’s power which Gohan sensed.

Back to Freiza, and he is with his loyal henchman Zarbon. The green skinned warrior informs Freiza that the two little runts may have defeated Dodoria, as he has been so long. Freiza doesn’t seem to care, and even says that it is a good thing that Dodoria is now dead, as he was never really any use anyway. He then uses some sort of psychic power to pick up the five dragonballs, and tells Zarbon that he will be waiting in his ship. He also tells his few remaining henchmen to move out, and search for the final two balls.

Back in the capsule house, Dende is explaining to everyone who Guru is, and that he is the 100th offspring of the eldest Namek, Guru. He also tells him that Guru was the creator of the dragonballs. Bulma asks how Nameks are born, and Dende says that there is only one gender, and they shoot eggs out of their mouths. Bulma thinks that is boring. Krillen realizes that Guru will have a dragonball, so he sets off to get it from him. Gohan stays behind to protect Bulma, just in case any hostiles come. Dende goes with Krillen, so he can show him to Guru’s home. Whilst flying there, Krillen starts to wonder whether Vegeta is stronger than Freiza, and how they are meant to hold on for another five days until Goku arrives. He then finally comes to the obvious conclusion that the situation is absolutely ridiculous.

On his ship, Goku is training with great intensity. He moves the graviton up to 30 times the Earths gravity, in an effort to make him stronger. He is about to get back to training, when King Kai contacts him via a psychic link. He tells him that there are some people who want to talk to him. On Kais planet are the silhouettes of some men, obviously warriors, judging by their builds. One has their hand on Kais back. He speaks to Goku, and the saiyan immediately knows who it is. He shouts out Yamcha’s name delightedly. He starts conversing with him, asking him about how he is, until Kai butts in, and tells them that they must hurry so Goku can get back to his training, and because he can’t hold the link much longer. Yamcha tells Goku that they all made it to King Kais. Piccolo grunts about Goku getting all the fun, making the saiyan realize that Piccolo is there too. He says hello in an excited way, and Yamcha informs him that all who died against Vegeta in the battle are all training under King Kai now. King Kai interrupts yet again, to give Goku a very strict warning. He tells him that Vegeta has landed on Namek, and he is there along with a tremendous power in a guy named Freiza. Goku doesn’t seem too worried, but Kai warns him not to fight him, as he isn’t even close to the evil tyrants level yet. Piccolo tells Kai that he can’t stop him from facing Freiza, and as soon as he is wished back, he will go and fight him. This angers King Kai, but he can’t do anything about it, other than glare at Piccolo. He loses his transmission with Goku, then gets to work with training the bunch of warriors. Back on his ship, Goku has become even more determined to get stronger, so he cranks up the gravity level to 50 times the Earths gravity, and gets to work with his training.

Krillen and Dende aren’t far from Guru’s now, as they continue to fly along. They are stopped short in their tracks though, when Krillen senses a huge power….it’s Vegeta’s! He panics, and goes to hide as fast as he can. Vegeta himself is getting tired of looking for the dragonball, as he has had little success so far, and is starting to regret destroying his scouter. He sense two power levels, and sees Zarbon, so he decides to play around for a while, and have a little fight with Freiza’s minion. Zarbon notices Vegeta, and stops too. The two greet each other, and Vegeta tells Zarbon the news about Dodoria’s tragic death. Zarbon asks why Vegeta doesn’t want to team up with them, but he is answered by hysteric laughing. Vegeta tells him that he has his own plans for the dragonballs, and he doesn’t need Freiza messing them up. The two of them then begin to fight, and Zarbon charges up, blasting away at Vegeta. All the shots are easily knocked away though, as Vegeta makes Zarbon look like a fool. Krillen and Dende see their chance, and they go shooting off to Guru’s, before they get noticed. Vegeta is roughing Zarbon up a fair bit now, with the green skinned one begging for Vegeta to let him into his true form. The proud saiyan prince agrees, and Zarbon transforms into some sort of hideous monster. Zarbon easily beats Vegeta in this form, and he picks up his lifeless body, and tells him that Freiza is also a changling, before blasting the saiyan into the water, and flying off, thinking that he is dead. Zarbon goes to tell Freiza about his victory. A short time later, Vegeta surfaces, out of breath, and thoroughly angry. He pulls himself up, and says that Zarbon will rue the day that he ever messed with him. Vegeta is too badly hurt to move though, so he is stuck on the bank, breathing heavily, and nearing death.

>>> Continue on to page 5 of the Frieza Saga