Chapter 10 - Part One

Bulma was nearly there. She was frantically searching for the kis that had recently disappeared, but could sense them nowhere. She knew that they weren’t the kis of the Saiyans. They were too weak to belong to them. She was afraid that two of her companions had just been killed. She wasn’t sure which ones they were, but they were definitely Earth’s fighters.

Silently Bulma flew up toward the battlesite. She could see the news vans in the distance. She landed not to far from the closest one and ran up to the reporter standing next to it. No one had seen her coming so she startled him quite a bit.

"What just happened?" She asked him frantically, tapping him on the shoulder.

He jumped and spun around. "Who are you? When did you get here?" He asked her.

"Never mind!" Bulma snapped. "I’ll find out myself." She darted past him and his van and made her way past the other reporters and news vans. She was greeted with exclamations of surprise and warning as she went. Finally she came upon a police barricade blocking the way into the valley where the fight had begun.

"Sorry miss," a large policeman said, putting his hand up to stop her. "I can’t let you in here. I have orders not to let anyone beyond this point."

"I’m going in there and there’s nothing you can do to stop me," Bulma said calmly. Before he could make a move to stop her, she had jumped over the tall fence and was making her way down the valley wall toward the fighters below. She looked behind her. The policeman had already lost sight of her and was stopping some reporters from trying to get in. She knew she wouldn’t be followed.

Bulma suppressed her ki and slowly made her way down the valley wall, hiding behind bushes and trees as she went. She stopped for a moment to watch the situation below. It looked like they had stopped fighting. She looked to see who all was down there. The smaller Saiyan was there, and so was Nappa. Of the original five fighters that were left after Yamucha’s demise, she could only see Piccolo, Gohan, and Kuririn. She couldn’t see Tenshinhan or Chaozu anywhere. Suddenly Nappa flew off toward the ocean. The other Saiyan made no move to follow, but only sat on a rock and turned on his scouter. Bulma wondered what Nappa was up to.

She analyzed her situation. For some reason the fighting had been called off. This would be the perfect time to sneak up on the smaller Saiyan if it weren’t for three things. One, he was the stronger of the two. Two, she wasn’t sure if Nappa wasn’t hiding somewhere closeby, ready to attack any intruders. And three, that smaller Saiyan had his scouter on again. If she attacked, he might detect her in time to get out of her way. The way she saw it, she had three options. She could stay where she was and look for a better opportunity to attack, she could attack that Saiyan now, or she could instead just go join forces right now with the others below. She weighed the pros and cons of each and decided that she would try to attack the smaller Saiyan now. She was going to need the element of surprise on her side, and if she joined the others now she would lose that. Plus, if she waited she might not get another chance.

Silently she crept closer toward the fighters. She was less than fifty yards away when she stopped. She had reached the edge of her coverage with the trees and bushes. She was going to have to teleport the rest of the way and just hope she wouldn’t be detected. Quickly she gathered her energy. It was now or never. His scouter had just begun to pick her up.

"Rapid teleport!" she said as quietly as she could. She teleported out to a spot in the air ten feet directly above him. As soon as she got there she began firing off enormous energy blasts directly at him. She didn’t stop firing until she felt sure that he wasn’t going to get up anytime soon. Panting, she floated down to the ground about five feet away from where she had just blasted. She didn’t even turn her head away. She kept her stare fixed on the cloud of dust and smoke in front of her. She waited for the dust to clear, panting and straining to sense his ki. She couldn’t find it there. When the smoke and dust had settled she knew he wasn’t there anymore. There was only a large scorched black spot on the ground where he had previously been sitting on a rock. She gasped. Had she...?

"Looking for me?" Someone said behind her. She spun around and jumped back. She recognized that voice!

"Damn you and your scouter!" she said angrily. "I nearly fried you!"

"You did come close to hitting me with that little barrage of yours, but don’t be too upset. Even if you had hit me with them they wouldn’t have done much damage."

Bulma sighed angrily. Her plan had failed. Now what was she going to do?

"So you thought you could defeat me just like that, huh? You really thought I was that stupid?"

"Actually, I thought you were even more stupid than that," she snapped. "I still think you are. My only problem was that scouter of yours."

"Ah yes. Well, even without the scouter I would have known you were there. I could hear you quite distinctly."

Suddenly Bulma sensed another large ki approaching. It wasn’t as large as this one’s, but it was large, and it was evil. She noticed him as he appeared overhead. Nappa had come back.

He landed next to the smaller Saiyan and appeared very angry. "Vegita, you told me you wouldn’t start fighting without me!" he yelled. "My scouter picked you up. What’s going on?"

"Settle down Nappa," he replied. "Remember her?" he asked Nappa, pointing to Bulma. "Well, she attacked me. I wasn’t trying to cheat you."

"Huh?" Nappa said, looking at Bulma. "What are you doing here?"

"I’m here to fight," Bulma said, bracing herself. "Who’s first?"

"Are we still gonna wait Vegita?" Nappa said, grinning at Bulma.

"I’m afraid so Nappa," he replied. "Come on. Don’t waste your time on her. If what those other three say is true, you’ll have plenty of fun with Kakkorot when he gets here. IF he gets here," he added, smirking at Bulma.

"Bulma!" Kuririn yelled. "Get away from those two! Are you nuts?!"

"Why don’t you go join your friends?" Vegita said slyly. "You might want to consider what they have to say before you take Nappa and me on."

Bulma gritted her teeth. "This isn’t over," she said angrily, and walked over to the three shocked onlookers.

"So I see you changed your mind," Piccolo said as she walked up. Bulma grinned.

"Yes I did. And I also developed something of a secret weapon." Piccolo grinned back.

"Well, I guess you might as well stay and fight, as long as you don’t slow the rest of us down," he said, hardening his expression.

"Maybe I missed something here," Kuririn said angrily, but where in the world did you learn to fight like that Bulma? I didn’t even know you could fly! You couldn’t possibly have learned how to do even that in a year."

"Actually, it only took me about three months to master flying, but that was a long time ago. Look Kuririn, to make a long story short, Yamucha taught me how to fight. He taught me everything he knew up until he began to train under Kami. That’s how I can do what you just saw."

"But I never even sensed your ki!" Kuririn exclaimed.

"I always kept it hidden," Bulma explained. "I had meant to surprise you and Roshi at the right time, and even though I’ve surprised you, I realize this is not really the right time. I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier."

"Well, after seeing you in action, I’m convinced. And believe me, this is a great time to tell me you can fight. We’re going to need all the help we can get."

"Yeah," Piccolo agreed. "You might say we’re a little outclassed by these two. I just hope that Goku won’t have the same trouble that we were having."

"Where is he anyway?" Kuririn asked Bulma. "I mean, you guys did wish back, right?"

"Yes we did, but we could only wish him back to life. He has to get back to earth on his own, and I guess that could take a while. He said yesterday that it would take him an entire day to get here."

"Well, do you have any idea when he’ll be here?" Kuririn asked.

"Not a clue," Bulma answered. "But I’m sure he’ll be here today, and I know that he’s coming as fast as he can."

"Great," Kuririn said sarcastically. "So that means we don’t know if he’ll be here in time. That’s very comforting. Thanks a lot, Bulma."

"Sorry," Bulma said, shrugging. "Now, I have some questions for you. First of all, where are Tenshinhan and Chaozu?"

Kuririn lowered his eyes. Bulma sighed.

"I was afraid of that," she said. "Who took them out? Was it those same little green guys that killed Yamucha?"

"How did you know about that?" Kuririn asked her, perplexed. Bulma pointed toward the news vans.

"Oh," Kuririn said. "Well, no, it wasn’t the Saibamen. It was that big guy. Chaozu released all his energy at once and tried to pull the same trick that that Saibaman had pulled on Yamucha. Unfortunately, even that didn’t have much effect on him. Tenshinhan used up the last of his strength on an enormous kikoho, but as you can see, that didn’t work either."

"So now we’re the only ones left?" Bulma said, gulping.

"I’m afraid so," Piccolo said. "But don’t worry. All we have to do is hold them off long enough for Goku to get here."

"Well, so why aren’t we holding them off?" Bulma said, confused. "I mean, why aren’t we fighting anyway? They certainly wouldn’t have given up yet."

"Vegita decided to call a draw for three hours," Kuririn said. "They want to give Goku a chance to get here."

"I’m not complaining," Bulma said, eyeing the two Saiyans, "but that seems really stupid to me. I wouldn’t wait for Goku to get here. I would kill us before Goku could arrive."

"Apparently they would rather have a real challenge," Piccolo said with a sneer. "And I’m not complaining either. But Goku better get here in time."

"I hope he does," Bulma said gravely. "Otherwise, I’m afraid our chances are going to be much too slim for comfort. I’ve seen some of what these two are capable of and it’s not pretty. I have a very bad feeling about all of this."

"Me too," Kuririn said, glancing at Nappa and Vegita.

"Don’t worry," Gohan said. "If anyone can beat those two, my dad can. They’re going to wish they’d never even heard of Dragonballs when he gets here."

"I hope you’re right Gohan," Bulma said. "Because without him, I’m afraid we’ve lost."

"He’ll be here," Gohan said confidently. "I know he will."

"Please hurry Goku," Bulma thought silently.

"Hey, weaklings!" Nappa yelled at them. "When’s Kakkorot gonna be here? Wouldn’t he have been here by now if he were coming? I’ll bet he chickened out!"

"You may be right Nappa," Vegita said, grinning. "Maybe Kakkorot grew a brain and decided not to come. That’s too bad isn’t it? You’d think he’d care more about his friends than that." Their obscenely loud laughter made Bulma’s blood boil.

"My dad’s not afraid of you jerks!" Gohan yelled at them. "Nothing could keep him from coming here!"

"And when he does," Piccolo said, "you’re going to be sorry you ever set foot on this planet. He’s been doing a little special training that you may find hard to handle."

"Goku has saved this planet before," Bulma said fiercely, "and he has yet to let us down. I don’t care how powerful you are. Goku’s ki has always been so unpredictably high after every challenge he faces. I can’t even imagine how much he’ll have improved after death! I think you’ll find your match in Goku."

Vegita laughed. "You all have such faith in him," he said. "I hope he’s stronger than you four, at least. Nappa and I haven’t had a good challenge in ages!" Then came more of that awful laughter.

"Hmph!" Bulma said, turning back around to face the others. "They certainly don’t have any lack in confidence. It would be wonderful to prove them wrong."

"Yeah, but I’m afraid the only one who can do that is Goku," Kuririn said in frustration.

"What I wouldn’t give to get a good shot at that Vegita," Bulma said angrily. "Those two are going to pay for what they did to our friends."

"Well, you’ll get your chance soon enough," Piccolo said calmly. "But if I were you, I wouldn’t wish all your time away. We’ll hold them off for as long as we can, but I’m afraid that we probably won’t fare any better than the others. I hate to admit it, but our hope rests in Goku. All we can do is stall for time. We couldn’t make a dent in Nappa earlier. I’d hate to think what would have happened to us if Vegita had decided to fight."

Bulma sighed. She knew it really didn’t matter how angry or focused she was. She had known that coming here. There was no possible way she could beat even Nappa, much less Vegita. Piccolo was right. They didn’t have much chance of survival until Goku arrived.

"How much time do we have left?" Bulma asked them.

"I dunno," Kuririn said. "We’re not exactly wearing watches, Bulma."

Piccolo looked up at the sun. "I’d say we have about two hours left," he said.

"This waiting is unnerving," Bulma said. "I keep expecting them to pounce on us as soon as our backs are turned."

"Just be patient," Piccolo said. "When the fighting starts you’re going to wish we were still waiting."

Bulma nodded. "Hey Piccolo," she said. "How did Gohan’s training go? His ki seems much stronger."

"I’ve taught him all that I could," Piccolo said, without looking at Gohan. "I know that he’s ready. He, on the other hand, seems to be having second thoughts."

"Oh, I’m ready," Gohan said, glaring at his opponents with hate. "They can’t get away with talking about my dad like that." Gohan’s ki rose a little.

Bulma looked confused. "What happened?" She asked. "What second thoughts?"

"Well," Kuririn said, trying not to sound disappointed, "Gohan lost his nerve in the last battle. But it was his first time, y’ know."

"Well don’t worry," Gohan said confidently. "That’s not going to happen again. These turkeys are going to get it!"

Bulma glanced at Piccolo out of the corner of her eye. Was he actually smiling?! She didn’t dare look him straight in the face. Was it possible that he was actually proud of Gohan? She’d never known Piccolo to care about anything but world domination before. Maybe Gohan had gotten to him. Maybe Piccolo was growing a heart after all.

Silently, nervously, they waited. As the time crawled by, so did Bulma’s hope of Goku’s arriving on time. What was taking him so long? She knew he was doing his best to get here, but they were steadily running out of time. If he didn’t hurry... who knows?

Suddenly Vegita’s scouter beeped. He pressed a button on it and opened his eyes.

"Time is up," he said. "It looks like Kakkorot didn’t show after all. He would have been here by now if he were coming."

"Hey Vegita," Nappa said, grinning, "why don’t you let me take care of these guys. No sense in both of us getting dirty." He grinned at the four tense fighters in front of them.

"Alright Nappa. But don’t get too carried away. Remember, we need the Namek alive."

"I won’t forget," Nappa said, looking eagerly at Piccolo.

"What do they mean?" Bulma asked Kuririn. "What is a Namek?"

"Piccolo is," Kuririn replied. "He’s from another planet called Namek. They think they need him to tell them about the dragonballs."

"Piccolo’s from another planet?" Bulma said in disbelief. "Geez, first Goku and now this! Well, I suppose that would explain why you don’t exactly look like the average earthling, Piccolo."

"I suppose so," Piccolo said indifferently. "But we don’t have time to dwell on that. Now is when things are going to start getting intense."

"Well, good luck to all of us," Bulma said. "We’re just going to have to fight our hardest to stay alive until Goku gets..." Suddenly she stopped. Could that be...?

"Can you guys sense that?" She asked excitedly. "It has to be Goku! That ki is enormous!"

"I was about to ask the same thing!" Piccolo exclaimed. "Goku has definitely been training hard!"

"Alright!" Kuririn exclaimed. "Boy, it’s about time!"

"Daddy?" Gohan said. "Yeah! Thank goodness!"

"What are you fools babbling about?" Nappa yelled, obviously perplexed. "How can you tell if he’s coming when you don’t have a scouter?"

"Calm down Nappa," Vegita said, turning on his scouter. "Let’s see this ki that they’re talking about." He pressed a few buttons. A shocked expression spread over his face. "They’re right about one thing, Nappa," he said. "Someone is definitely on their way here."

"What is it?" Nappa said somewhat anxiously.

"The scouter is reading five thousand!" Vegita yelled angrily.

"What?! That can’t be right! Are you sure Vegita?" Nappa said nervously.

"If I know Goku," Bulma said slyly, "it’ll be at least five times that in battle. If a challenge is what you two want, then that’s what you’ll get!"

"Nappa!" Vegita barked. "Destroy them! We can’t let them join forces with Kakkorot. It’s not wise to take unnecessary risks."

"What?" Kuririn exclaimed. "That’s not fair!"

"Why don’t you come and do something about it, then, chrome dome?" Nappa said tauntingly. "What about the Namek?" He asked Vegita. "Should I get rid of him too?"

"Yes," Vegita replied. "If the dragonballs can exist here, then they most certainly exist on Namek as well. We can just go there once we’ve taken care of this planet."

"You hear that?" Nappa asked Piccolo. "You’re expendable!" Piccolo just sneered at him.

"Do you have any kind of plan Piccolo?" Bulma asked quietly.

"Maybe," Piccolo replied. "But we have to grab his tail. Once we’ve done that we’ll be able to throw whatever we want at him."

"His tail? Are you sure?" Bulma whispered in disbelief. "That sounds a little too simple to me."

"It’ll work," Piccolo said. "It’s the Saiyan’s only weak spot. The problem is going to be getting in close enough to grab onto it."

"That you can leave to me," Bulma said confidently. "I’ve developed a new attack that will be just perfect for that. Are you sure that all I’d have to do is grab his tail?"

"Once you’ve gotten your hands around it just squeeze it as tightly as you can. It will completely immobilize him," Piccolo said. "We did the same thing to Raditz and it was extremely effective."

"Well, if that’s true, then I can do it," Bulma said. "I’ll have no problem getting to his tail."

"Won’t you need some kind of distraction?" Kuririn asked. "He’s not just going to let you walk over and grab it you know. Even he’s not that stupid."

"Don’t worry about that," Bulma said. "You can leave it to me. Just make sure you’re all ready to throw your strongest attacks at him as soon as I give the signal. Don’t worry about me. That ape is more than big enough to shield me from the biggest part of your onslaught, and I can block the rest."

"Alright then," Piccolo said. "Everyone ready?"

"Ready!" They all replied in unison.

"Are you going to make it this time, Gohan?" Piccolo asked.

"Yes," Gohan replied confidently.

"Everyone begin powering up now!" Bulma said as she prepared to teleport. "I’m almost ready."

"Now, let’s see," Nappa said suddenly. "Who do I get to play with first? I think it will be... you!" He pointed at Kuririn. He began to charge.

"That’s my cue!" Bulma yelled. "Rapid teleport!"

She raced past her friends and positioned herself behind Nappa, wrenching his tail from around his waist as her teleport finished. "Gotcha!" She cried. She yanked Nappa to a halt, carefully watching his expression to make sure he was immobilized. "Now!" She yelled to the others.

"What the..." Nappa said and turned around enough to just reach Bulma. "Let go of my tail!" He said angrily.

"Uh, Piccolo, I thought you said this was his weak spot!" She yelled, dodging Nappa’s sweeping blows.

"I don’t have a weak spot!" Nappa yelled, and jabbed Bulma in the stomach. Bulma bent over in pain, and loosened her hold on Nappa’s tail. It was enough. He yanked his tail free and spun around.

"Lousy tail-grabber!" He exclaimed, and kicked Bulma in the face, sending her flying backwards. She landed with a grunt in front of Vegita. He laughed as she jumped to her feet.

"You should quit while you’re ahead," he said, grinning at her. "I told Nappa to take it easy on you. I’d hate for you to damage that pretty face of yours."

"Shut up," Bulma said fiercely. "I don’t need any special treatment from you. Damn! Stupid Piccolo! I should have known that grabbing his tail wouldn’t work!"

"Nappa and I have evolved a bit," Vegita said. "We don’t share the same weaknesses as that idiot weakling Raditz."

Bulma flung a glare of contempt at Vegita and charged at Nappa. She stopped about twenty feet short of him and began powering up. She gathered an enormous amount of energy.

"Careful Nappa," Vegita said behind her. "She’s beginning to show a little ki. I think she’s going to try to take you out right here and now!"

"Alright then powder puff!" Nappa said, laughing. "Go ahead and give it your best shot! I dare you!"

"Let’s see how you like this, you big ape!" Bulma yelled. "Kame-Hame-HA!" She let fly the biggest, most powerful Kame Hame Ha she had ever created. It raced toward Nappa and hit him with a huge explosion, obliterating every shrub and tree closeby. The sheer force of the explosion actually caught Bulma off guard and nearly knocked her over. Needless to say, Piccolo, Kuririn, Gohan, and even Vegita were very surprised. Bulma glared triumphantly at the thinning cloud of dirt and debris surrounding Nappa. "Take that, you moron!" She whooped gleefully.

"Moron?!" The cloud yelled back at her. Bulma stared in horror as Nappa emerged from the disintegrating haze, angry and very much intact.

"Oh my God!" Bulma shrieked, jumping back. "You... you blocked it! Incredible! What kind of creatures are you Saiyans anyway? Not even a scratch! Damn your thick skin! I can’t believe this!"

"Heh heh! I am pretty impressive, aren’t I?" Nappa said, crossing his arms.

"Don’t let that bald head of yours get too big!" Bulma snapped at him. "The fact that you blocked my attack doesn’t make you man of the year. I still think you’re nothing but a moron!"

"What? Moron? Why you little pest! Just who are you to call me a moron?"

"Ha!" Bulma laughed loudly. "You’re so stupid I’ll be willing to bet you wouldn’t even have the brains to know how to fix your scouter if it malfunctioned! Well I’ve got news for you, Cue ball! I figured out all the ins and outs of those things after one night’s tinkering with the one Raditz was wearing." Bulma wasn’t exactly trying to get Nappa howling angry, But her other three friends were powering up. Bulma wanted to give them a chance to get a good shot at Nappa while his back was turned. She just hoped they had recognized their chance.

"Well, who cares!" Nappa said angrily. "It’s never malfunctioned before. It probably never will!"

"Even so," Bulma said, shaking her head. "I don’t need a scouter to guage ki like you do. So in a way, Nappa, you do have a weakness. It’s that scouter!"

"Oh yeah! Well, just watch this!" Nappa said, yanking the scouter off his ear and throwing it to the ground. He smashed it with his foot and glared at Bulma defiantly. It was just what Bulma had been waiting for. The others had finished powering up and were ready. Kuririn gestured for Bulma to get away from Nappa.

Bulma shot up into the air, just as Piccolo, Kuririn, and Gohan sent out their first blasts. She could see Nappa being hit below her, but he wasn’t sustaining any damage. He was simply blocking the attacks with his ki. Well, he might have been alerted to their attack, but he wasn’t expecting one from her!

"This didn’t work before because he was expecting it," Bulma said quietly. "But let’s try the same attack combined with the element of surprise!"

She powered up quickly. The others looked like they were about ready to stop. She had to fire now!

"Kame-Hame-HA!" She yelled, sending down a blast that was at least as powerful as the one before, if not more so. She watched it zoom down straight at Nappa. Bulma teleported over to where the other fighters were, panting and wobbly.

They stopped firing as they saw Bulma’s Kame Hame Ha make contact. Once again they all struggled against the shock wave and waited to see if it was effective. Once again the dust settled, and ONCE AGAIN Nappa emerged unscathed! Bulma sighed angrily. This was beginning to look hopeless. Nappa must have noticed her attack at the last second. It just wasn’t fair!

Nappa laughed. "Give up!" He shouted at them. "You know you can’t beat me!"

Suddenly Gohan became furious. "That’s it!" He yelled. "Let me at him! I’ve had enough of this jerk!"

"Alright kid, you just signed your death warrant!" Nappa said, as Gohan ran off to one side, away from Bulma and the others.

"Bring it on!" He yelled at Nappa. And with a huge burst of speed, that’s precisely what Nappa did.

"No Gohan!" Piccolo yelled, and made a mad dash for Nappa, but he knew he couldn’t reach him. It turned out he didn’t need to, though. Gohan met Nappa with a roundhouse kick to the face that sent him flying back into a huge boulder. It was fairly understated to say that everyone was stunned. All eyes were on Gohan, but his eyes were on the pile of rubble covering Nappa. Suddenly Nappa burst out of the rocks, yelling with rage. His eyes were practically popping out of their sockets, glaring at Gohan for all they were worth.

"That’s it kid!" He screamed. "I’m sending you straight to hell!" He powered up rapidly. It was apparent that Gohan couldn’t survive an attack of this magnitude. Suddenly Nappa let the blast go! Gohan wasn’t moving! He was petrified!

Bulma didn’t have time to react. She felt rooted to the ground. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She felt so helpless. She was sure it was the end for Gohan. But wait a minute! Piccolo had run out in front of Gohan! He was taking the entire blast himself!

Bulma watched in surprise as the dust cleared and everyone else reacted to what had just happened. Bulma couldn’t believe it. Piccolo had sacrificed himself to save Gohan’s life! Bulma had been right about him. All that time that Piccolo had spent with Gohan had deeply transformed his entire character.

Piccolo had managed to remain on his feet for a couple of seconds before collapsing to the ground. Frantically, Gohan pleaded with him, begging him not to die. Bulma was moved to tears by Piccolo’s selfless act. Even now, Piccolo was telling Gohan not to die, just as he himself was fading into the afterlife. With one last order for Gohan to run, he died.

Gohan screamed in anguish. It was too much. Bulma could sense an enormous increase in his ki. His rage was powering a tremendous burst of energy. Nappa laughed at Gohan.

"You damn fools are making us kill you in the wrong order," he said. "Whatsa matter, kid? Are you gonna cry?"

"Watch out Nappa!" Vegita yelled. "That kid’s already reached 3,000!"

"Whoa!" Nappa exclaimed. "Glad you told me!"

"You would have known yourself if you hadn’t destroyed your scouter!" Vegita snapped at him.

Nappa grumbled something about where Vegita could shove his scouter just as Gohan reached his peak in ki.

"KI-AAAHHH!" He shouted, firing a tremendously strong blast at Nappa. Bulma couldn’t believe the amount of energy Gohan was pouring into this blast. Piccolo had been right about Gohan! But it still wasn’t enough! Nappa was holding his own remarkably well.

When Gohan had finished, Bulma knew that he was spent. That last blast had taken all of his energy. He was so weak he couldn’t even stand anymore, much less get away from Nappa. Now it was Nappa’s turn, and he planned to take full advantage of Gohan’s predicament.

"We’ve got to help him Kuririn!" Bulma said frantically. "Gohan used up all his energy in that blast! He’s as good as gone if we don’t do something!"

"I know!" Kuririn said, gritting his teeth. "But eventually it won’t make any difference. We can’t hold him off forever!"

"Well, I don’t care!" Bulma said, preparing to teleport. "I’m not ready to give up yet!" She teleported between Nappa and Gohan and took a fighting stance. She wasn’t about to let Nappa do away with Gohan without a fight!

"You’d better move girlie!" Nappa said. "This is between me and the kid. Unless you want to die too, you’ll get out of the way!"

"If I’m going to die, then I’m taking you with me!" Bulma snarled, narrowing her eyes. "This is my planet too, and I’ll fight you to the death if I have to!"

"That goes double for me!" Kuririn said, stepping up next to Bulma.

"So you’re all suicidal, are you?" Nappa said. "Alright then!" He lunged forward, barely missing Bulma, but easily catching Kuririn. He kicked him in the stomach, and when Kuririn lurched forward, Nappa kicked him squarely on the side of his face, sending him flying off to the side. Kuririn turned a couple of lopsided somersaults before skidding to a stop about ten yards away.

"Kuririn!" Bulma shrieked, running to her friend’s aid. "Are you okay?"

Kuririn tried unsuccessfully to get up. "I’m sorry Bulma," he said sadly. "I think my back is broken. Damn it! I just wasn’t good enough. I’ve let everyone down."

"Just stay still, Kuririn," Bulma said shakily. "It’s not your fault. I guess we just couldn’t cut it."

"Get out of here Bulma," Kuririn said feebly. "There’s no way you can take that guy on! Just leave while you still can!"

"Like hell I will!" Bulma said angrily. "That freak’s going after Gohan again! I’ll be damned if I’m ready to run now. I’ve got to try!"

Nappa had reached Gohan, who was on his hands and knees, trying to get to his feet. "Hey Vegita!" Nappa shouted. "Won’t it be great to see the look on Kakkorot’s face when he gets here and finds his son’s head smashed to pieces!" Vegita laughed. Nappa raised his foot to strike.

"Nooooo!" Bulma cried, rushing at Nappa. But she was too late. Nappa brought his foot down with a loud thud that made the ground shake. Bulma covered her eyes. She couldn’t bear to look.

"Bulma!" Kuririn gasped. "Look!" She looked. Nappa’s foot was where he had intended to bring it down -- with one exception. Gohan wasn’t under it! He was next to Kuririn and Bulma -- on Kin-to’un!

Bulma looked at Nappa. He was staring at something in the sky with a puzzled expression on his face. Bulma looked to see what he was staring at, but she had a pretty good idea what it was, or should I say, who it was.

"Goku!" She breathed in relief. "It’s about time!"

Goku flew down next to the remaining fighters. Nappa and Vegita studied his movements carefully. So he finally showed up!

"Thank Kami you’re here Goku!" Bulma said breathlessly. "Gohan was nearly toast!"

"So I see!" Goku said, messing up Gohan’s hair a little. "But how did you get mixed up in this Bulma? Shouldn’t you be at Muten Roshi’s island? I figured that you’d wait there after you guys wished me back."

"I came when I was needed," Bulma began. "I can fight. Yamucha had been teaching me and when I came to Roshi’s island I had planned to ask you to teach me what you knew. I had already learned all that Yamucha had to offer. But instead, I ended up going after the Dragonballs while Kuririn, Yamucha, Tenshinhan, and Chaozu went to train under Kami. Piccolo trained Gohan, and I even did a little extra training by myself after we collected all the Dragonballs. I even got to meet those two bastards when they obliterated Metro East. I really hadn’t intended to get involved in this, but when I saw them kill Yamucha on TV, I knew the others needed all the help they could get. So, here I am."

"I’d suspected something about you at Muten Roshi’s," Goku exclaimed, "but I honestly didn’t think you could fight!"

"Oh, I can fight all right," Bulma said sadly. "But it wasn’t enough. We lost Yamucha, Chaozu, Tenshinhan, and Piccolo. Gohan and Kuririn are still alive, but they’re injured and can’t fight anymore."

"Well, we’ll see about that!" Goku said mysteriously. He bent down by Kuririn. He broke what appeared to be some kind of bean into two pieces and gave one to Kuririn and one to Gohan.

"Here. Eat this," he said. "It’s a gift from Karin. A Sensu bean!"

Bulma looked warily at the Saiyans as Kuririn and Gohan ate their pieces of Sensu bean. Bulma gasped. Gohan and Kuririn got up and brushed themselves off!"

"What did you give them Goku?" She asked.

"A Sensu bean," Goku explained. "If you eat a Sensu bean it’ll cure you of your injuries and restore your energy. Since they each ate half of one they’re only half healed, but I bet they feel a lot better!"

"Well I sure do!" Kuririn exclaimed. "I’m not one hundred percent better, but I feel good enough to fight, anyway!"

"Me too!" Gohan said.

Goku laughed. "Well, don’t worry about that anymore. I’ll take care of them. You guys just take a break. You did a great job, but now it’s my turn."

Bulma smiled as he turned toward his opponents. Finally, Goku was here to make things right! Suddenly she remembered something.

"Hey Goku!" She said, causing him to turn back around. "By the way, don’t rely on grabbing their tails. It doesn’t work on these two like it did on Raditz."

"Thanks Bulma," Goku said. "It’s probably a good thing you told me that."

He turned back toward Vegita and Nappa, who had gotten rather impatient by now. While they decided who was going to get to kill Goku, Bulma checked on Gohan and Kuririn.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked them as they brushed themselves off.

"We’re fine," Kuririn said. "But how about you, Bulma? You didn’t have any Sensu bean. Are you okay?"

"I’ll live," Bulma said. "The worst I could end up with is a broken nose and a cracked rib or two. You two were the ones who took the real beating."

"Bulma?" Gohan said nervously. "Do you think my dad can beat them? They’re really strong."

"So is your dad," Bulma said quickly. "He’s the world’s strongest fighter. If anyone can beat those two, he can."

"Look! He’s going to fight Nappa first!" Kuririn exclaimed. "He sure doesn’t look nervous. I hope his confidence is backed up."

"Yeah," Bulma agreed. "It looks like we’ll finally get to see the extent of Goku’s power. To tell you the truth, Nappa doesn’t have me very worried. He’s strong, but he’s also very stupid, not to mention a hothead. If you ask me, Vegita is the only one that Goku should be concerned about. Did you notice how he had Nappa do all the fighting while he just sat there watching us with his scouter? Not only did he conserve his energy, but he also sized up his opponents. He knows exactly what he can expect from us by now. But besides being the more intelligent of the two, have you ever sensed such an incredible ki before? This guy is more powerful than all of us put together, and then some! He’s definitely got me worried. I just hope Goku can handle him."

"Well he sure is doing well against Nappa!" Gohan said excitedly. Goku had really given Nappa a beating, and, naturally, Nappa was raging like an idiot.

"You damn low-class punk!" Nappa screamed at Goku. "How dare you!"

"Get over it," Goku said. "You’re just not used to fighting someone who’s better than you."

At this statement Nappa became even more enraged. Bulma giggled. Finally, Nappa was getting a taste of his own medicine! And boy, he didn’t like it! Howling and foaming like a crazed beast, he just stood where he was, cursing Goku with words that would have made even Piccolo gasp in surprise.

"Nappa!" Vegita yelled angrily at him. "Stop throwing tantrums and concentrate! Can’t you see that your own anger has become a handicap to you? You haven’t even managed to touch him yet! Now calm down!"

Surprised, Nappa nodded. After a few deep breaths he regained his composure.

"All right Kakkorot," he said, grinning fiendishly. "Now it’s my turn!"

He lunged at Goku and the fight continued. Bulma removed her eyes from the one-sided battle and focused on Vegita. He was gritting his teeth and frustratedly following Goku’s effortlessly flawless performance. Angrily, he yanked the scouter from his ear and crushed it in his fist.

"What’s the matter Vegita?" Bulma taunted him. "I’d already told you what to expect from Goku, so why act so surprised? Surely you didn’t expect Nappa to be able to beat him!"

Vegita laughed. "I am a little surprised," he admitted. "I’d love to know how he improved that much in one year."

"You have to admit one thing," Bulma said, turning her attention back to the fight. "You got your challenge all right!"

Vegita sneered. "He may be too much for Nappa, but he’s no match for me!"

He yelled for a halt. Goku paused while Nappa screeched to a stop in mid-air. "Get down here Nappa," Vegita yelled disgustedly. "You’ve disgraced us enough. You’ve obviously failed."

"No! I was just about to kill this jerk!" Nappa yelled furiously.

"Shut up, Nappa!" Vegita snapped. "So far you haven’t even landed a single punch! Now come down!"

Nappa growled some incoherent retort and relented. He sneered at Goku and said something that Bulma couldn’t quite hear.

Goku made no reply, but watched Nappa as he slowly descended to the ground. He never removed his gaze from Nappa’s figure.

Bulma watched Vegita. He was disgusted, but seemed confident in himself. Apparently Goku didn’t intimidate him. Suddenly Gohan and Kuririn cried out in surprise. Bulma looked to see what had scared them and she cried out too. Nappa was heading straight for them! He opened his mouth. Bulma realized that a devastating attack was coming. Her mind raced. She only had enough time for a teleport. That was all. Suddenly she decided what she had to do. She shoved Kuririn to the ground and threw Gohan on top of him. She braced herself. She hadn’t done this to any other live object than herself, much less two at once. "I hope their atoms don’t get mixed together," she thought.

"Rapid teleport!" She yelled, before they had time to react to being thrown on the ground. She teleported them about twenty yards away and was relieved to see that they looked shaken but otherwise normal. She gritted her teeth and braced herself as well as she could for the oncoming attack. She would have gone too, but she could see that Goku wouldn’t make it in time to save them if Nappa had noticed where they went. It was either she or all of them.

She glared defiantly at the approaching Saiyan. She wasn’t going to flinch or shut her eyes. She was going to face her attacker until the bitter end. As he got closer, Bulma’s mind fixed on one image: Yamucha. At least she would get to see him again soon.

Just before Nappa reached her he was stopped violently from underneath! Bulma stared in shock and awe at the one who had saved her life -- Goku! She had no idea how he had done it. He had moved much too fast for her normal eyesight to follow. Bulma breathed a sigh of relief. She was really glad that Goku was there!

Goku threw the severely-injured Nappa in front of Vegita. "He’s not doing any more fighting," he said curtly. "I suggest you take him back where you came from and get him some medical treatment." He turned back toward Bulma.

"Are you all right?" He asked her.

"I am now, thanks to you," she said gratefully. "I thought I was toast!"

"Where are Gohan and Kuririn?" Goku asked, puzzled.

"I teleported them over there," she said, pointing to the two astonished fighters in the distance. "I hadn’t counted on your saving the day. I figured that at least two of us could survive this way. Anyway, at least I know now that I can teleport other people, and not only that, but more than one at a time!"

"Where on earth did you learn that?" Goku asked in amazement. "Did Yamucha teach you that too?"

"No," Bulma replied, as Gohan and Kuririn walked up. "I developed that technique on my own. It took some practice, but I finally perfected it about a month ago." Suddenly their senses were bombarded by an enormous wave of ki energy. They spun around to see Vegita fling Nappa up into the air like a rag doll.

"Die!" Vegita yelled, blasting his partner with an enormously fatal beam of energy. Nappa yelled a few curses in protest, and then he was gone.

Bulma gasped. This guy was sadistic! He had even killed his own partner. She looked up at Goku. Maybe he was in over his head this time.

Kuririn was the first to speak. "Bulma!" He said angrily. "Why didn’t you teleport with us? I mean, it was quick thinking to send us off like that, but why didn’t you come too?"

"Someone had to keep him on the same track," Bulma replied. "I couldn’t take the chance that he might change direction and come right back after us. I figured that this way, at least two of us might have survived."

"That was very stupid of you Bulma," Kuririn said, "but thank you. Next time, though, tell me when you’re going to do that. My head’s still spinning!"

"Mine too!" Gohan said. "What a rush!"

"Anyway," Bulma added, "I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I hadn’t done it like I did. I’m sure Gohan would like to finally get back to see his mother. And may I remind you, Kuririn, that you have already been wished back once?"

"Quit arguing, you two," Goku chided. "This is no time for that."

"Sorry," Bulma and Kuririn said.

"Hey Goku," Bulma said suddenly. "How did you catch up to Nappa anyway? When I looked you were way too far behind him to catch him in time. I didn’t even see you until you were right in front of me."

"That was the Kaioken technique," Goku replied. "I learned that when I trained with Kaiosama this year. It heightens everything -- your speed, strength, and even your senses."

"Well, why didn’t you use it earlier?" Kuririn asked. "With a technique like that, you could have finished Nappa in no time!"

"Well, there was a possibility that I might accidentally destroy myself with the sudden upsurge of energy," Goku replied. "I thought it might be better to use it sparingly."

"I suppose that is a good reason," Kuririn said, gulping.

Bulma glanced at Vegita. He had turned to face Goku and seemed to be waiting impatiently for something. "Goku," Bulma said nervously. "This one has me worried. Nappa was nothing compared to him. Vegita seems much more intelligent, and I’m sure you can sense his ki, so you must be aware of his physical capabilities. You may have trouble with him."

"That’s exactly why I want you three to go back to Muten Roshi’s island now. You all deserve a break, and besides, I’d rather take this one on alone."

Bulma and Gohan began to protest, but Kuririn made them stop. "Goku’s right," he said gravely. "Vegita’s certain to use every dirty trick in the book, and that would include using us against Goku, if the opportunity was open to him. We’d only be a handicap to Goku if we stayed."

Both Gohan and Bulma knew he was right. They all bid Goku a fond farewell and good luck, and left for Muten Roshi’s.


On to Chapter Eleven...