Chapter 10


Over the next few months, Bulma and Yamucha gradually returned to the point of speaking to each other again. They were equally stubborn about most things, though, so naturally, it took them a while to get over their anger. Nevertheless, things eventually returned to normal, and they, along with Kuririn, resumed their training together.

Training wasn't all the trio did together, though. They went out quite often - all three of them - to the city for various kinds of entertainment. They mostly went out at night, and they did what people their age usually liked to do for fun: they went to clubs, danced, watched movies, and did other kinds of "normal" entertaining activities. They visited singles' bars a lot too, since Bulma and Yamucha had secretly made a pact with each other to find Kuririn a steady girlfriend. They thought they'd been successful on several occasions, but unfortunately, Kuririn never seemed to stay attached to any girl for very long. They just couldn't seem to find the right ones. Bulma decided after a while that Kuririn was either doomed to perpetual bachelorhood, was too afraid of girls to settle down with one, or she and Yamucha just hadn't chosen the right type of girl. At any rate, they still had loads of fun going out and doing things, just the three of them. Perhaps the most memorable of activities they'd done - if not the most pleasant - was their brief stint with a karaoke bar in the heart of the city. They decided after only one of Kuririn's songs that they would NEVER do that again. Even after several drinks, that awful singing voice of his didn't sound any better.

All in all, things all over Capsule Corporation were beginning to return to normal. A nice, quiet peace had settled all over the compound, and everyone was happy, that is, until the day Vegita came back. The blissful peace that had made its home at Capsule Corp. vanished the very moment Vegita's ship landed outside the workshop.

Bulma was inside the workshop helping her dad with some new invention of his when it happened. She suddenly caught the ping of a familiar ki signature in her mind, and her face snapped upward as she dropped the hammer she'd been holding in her astonishment. The same hammer then landed head-down on her father's foot, causing him to yell out in pain.

"It can't be!" Bulma cried, oblivious to her father and the damage she'd just done to his poor foot. She ran out the door to look up at the sky, while Dr. Briefs hopped out on one foot after her, complaining loudly and angrily about her carelessness. But he forgot his bruised toes when he noticed what had caused his daughter to run out the door.

"Well, look at that!" He cried as the ship shot down from the sky. "Vegita's back already! How very strange! I expected him to be out longer than this, considering he still ought to have a good two weeks worth of fuel left. Ah well. At least the ship's still in one piece. I've no right to complain, I suppose." Chuckling good-naturedly, he limped back into the lab, leaving his dumbstruck daughter outside to watch on helplessly as the ship made its final approach for a landing.

Bulma was horrified, to say the least. The fact that Vegita was back early could only mean one thing: that he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do. He'd killed Goku, and now he was returning to gloat about it. She gulped as she wondered what life would be like around here without the possibility of Goku's coming back to fix things. Vegita would most definitely make good on his threat of showing "just who was boss" around here if he had indeed done away with Goku already.

Bulma suddenly went pale, because, as the ship made touchdown in front of her, she sensed someone approaching from behind. She spun around as she realized who was coming quickly toward her from the other side of the compound. Yamucha! She could definitely sense him coming, and she could tell by the ferocity of his ki signature that he was boiling mad! She watched on helplessly as he sped up to her, his teeth bared and his ki flaring.

"I knew it!" Yamucha growled as he skidded to a stop next to Bulma. "That freak HAS come back, hasn't he? Well, it's the last mistake he'll ever make!"

Bulma didn't have time to protest before the hatch opened and Vegita walked out. She and Yamucha watched in silence as Vegita strode down the ramp and stopped at the bottom to glare at them.

"Where is Kakarrot?" He demanded icily.

"What?" Bulma asked in surprise. "You mean you didn't find him? I thought you'd come back because you'd already found him and… killed…" Her voice trailed off as he shot her a terrible glare of fury, as if she'd somehow deeply insulted him.

"Damn him!" Vegita spat, balling his hands into fists. "The fool thinks he's lost me already! Fine! I'll just wait for him here, then. For all he knows, I'm still out there on that wild goose chase he set up for me to follow! Feh!" He then looked down at Bulma and Yamucha and smirked evilly. "You have no objections to my waiting here for him, I assume," he said in a rather snide tone, obviously sure that neither would dare oppose him.

"You assume wrong!" Yamucha yelled vehemently, cutting Bulma off, who was just about to reply. "You're not welcome here, Saiyan!"

"Do you care to say that from a lesser distance, weakling?" Vegita asked him with disdain.

"Anytime!" Yamucha growled. He made a flying leap at Vegita, but Bulma pulled him back by one leg and kicked him violently in the side.

"Knock it off!" She barked at him. "You don't make those decisions around here, Yamucha! Stop causing trouble!"

"I refuse to stay here while he does!" Yamucha exploded at her, getting back to his feet and right up in her face.

"Then leave!" Bulma spat at him, matching his angry glare with her own. "I won't have you causing problems and getting yourself killed! I've already told you that! Now get lost before I really get mad!"

Yamucha had known Bulma too long to make the mistake of arguing the point any further. Still, he yelled one last angry warning at her before he flew quickly out of sight.

"Fine!" He shouted angrily. "It's all on your head, then! If he tries something, you'll have no one to blame but yourself!"

Bulma just ignored him and glared at Vegita. Her jaw was set, and she was ready. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Well, well," Vegita said with a coy grin. "I didn't think you preferred my company THAT much! I must say, I'm flattered!"

"And I don't want to hear a word out of you, either, Vegita!" She blew up at him. "You've got a lot of nerve showing up here after stealing my dad's ship! I ought to kill you myself!"

"You're welcome to try," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Shut up, you slimeball!" She growled. "I'm angry, but I'm not stupid, okay?" He just smirked at that. "Listen," she sighed angrily, shaking her head. "Everything's the same as it was before, okay? You have your gravity room and your living quarters, but I don't want to hear about you causing problems around here. I may not have the ability to punish you for any transgressions you may commit, but you can bet that Goku can, and will, when he gets back. I can promise you now that he won't take it lightly if he returns to find one or more of his friends was killed in an ego fight with you. You get my drift?"

Vegita smirked at her. "I do whatever I damn well please," he said, smiling more broadly at the effect this statement had on her expression. "If you can't handle it, then too bad. But your little 'Yamucha' is getting on my bad side in a hurry. He'd better learn his place soon, or else he'll suffer the consequences. And as for you," he added, raising his nose haughtily at her, "you might consider showing me a little more respect as well. I refuse to be told how to behave from anyone, much less a shrill, frivolous Earth woman, so kindly keep that in mind from now on when you speak to me. You get my drift?" He said, mocking her last comment and sneering at her.

"You unbelievable bastard!" Bulma said in astonishment. "What, in heaven's name, makes you think I should show you ANY kind of respect?! And don't you dare hand me that crap about your being the prince of the Saiyans! Being the prince of an extinguished race of barbarians in no way makes you lord over me in my own home!"

Vegita smirked and stepped closer to her. "If you won't respect that," he said, stepping dangerously close, "then maybe you ought to respect the fact that I could kill you in less time it would take for you to bat an eyelash."

Bulma stood her ground. "You don't scare me," she said defiantly, glaring at him with contempt.

Vegita's smile faded. "I don't believe that for a moment," he said softly, locking her eyes with his.

Bulma wasn't about to let him do this to her again. She turned her head away. "Stop it," she said quietly. "I hate it when you stare at me like that. And I don't care if you can kill me; I won't have you causing trouble any more than I'll tolerate Yamucha doing the same. You two don't have to like each other. Heck, you don't even have to get along. But I'd better not see any more than dirty looks going on between you two, or I'll make both your lives a living hell! Now get the hell outta my face!" She shouted, snapping her face back around to glare at him again.

Not surprisingly, Vegita didn't move. "Make me," he said, the look in his eyes confirming the challenge she heard in his words.

Ignoring her sense of reason for a moment, Bulma sneered and took him up on it. "If you insist," she hissed. Without warning, she stopped time and kicked him effortlessly to the side. She then let time flow again and watched coldly as Vegita stumbled awkwardly in an effort to regain his balance. He glared at her angrily, obviously not having considered the possibility of Bulma's stopping time to move him. Growling angrily, he stood upright and balled his hands into fists.

"You're walking on thin ice, woman!" He growled at her.

"Fine," she said coolly, turning around and walking off. "You're the one who told me to make you move."

"Where the hell are you going?" Vegita yelled. "I'm not finished with you yet, dammit!"

"Well, I've had just about enough of you," she shot back, waving at him with her back to him. "Let me know if you figure out how to be something other than an asshole. Until you do, I'll have no desire to say a word to you." And then, without leaving him an opportunity to retort, she flew off for the house, while he remained just as she'd left him, with the exception of the slight smirk of amusement that was now tugging at his lips.


The next two weeks were a living hell for Bulma. Yamucha refused to speak to her after the way she'd yelled at him for picking a fight with Vegita, but that wasn't altogether abnormal, nor was it unexpected. Yamucha was given to fits of childish silence whenever he didn't get his way, and Bulma was used to it after all the years she'd been friends with him. That she could handle. Kuririn had decided to go back to the Kame house after Vegita arrived, mumbling some garbage about a disciple's commitment to his sensei. Bulma knew full well that the only commitment Kuririn had on his mind was his commitment to self-preservation, but she couldn't blame him for being edgy around Vegita. The Saiyan jerk was as cranky and belligerent as ever nowadays, and had threatened Kuririn on several occasions shortly after his arrival. Even though Bulma would miss having Kuririn around, she understood. And at least all the ridiculous messages the old pervert was leaving him on the machine every day would stop. Kuririn's leaving was kind of sad, but it could have been worse, and that Bulma could live with as well.

The only thing she was seriously having trouble living with was Vegita. He was the real reason for her anxiety during the two weeks following his return to Capsule Corporation. Oh, she'd been fierce enough with him when he'd landed, but the simple fact of the matter was that she was more terrified of him now than she'd ever been. She had sensed his increase in strength the moment he'd stepped off the ramp of the ship, but even that wasn't the entire reason she broke out into a cold sweat when he was nearby. That was only a slight factor. The largest part of her apprehensions was derived from the sensation she felt whenever his eyes happened to fall on her. She could always tell when he was watching her, because she'd get this cold shiver all throughout her body just before she sensed him. And Vegita seemed to be watching her a bit more than usual nowadays, although Bulma made a fierce effort to convince herself that she was either just imagining that, or that he was doing the same thing to everyone else. After all, she didn't have anything he wanted, did she? So there was certainly no reason for him to be singling her out, now was there? But regardless of how many times she had reminded herself of this, she still found herself on the brink of terror every time she turned around to find his piercing gaze directed at her. And her psyche wasn't the only thing that suffered from this anxiety, either. She was wearing herself out physically too. She wasn't eating regularly, and her sleep was so riddled with terrifying dreams that she wasn't getting enough rest either. Bulma was a nervous wreck, and everyone around Capsule Corporation knew it, but didn't know why. Her parents had done everything they could think of for her, but they had no idea what was troubling their daughter, and she certainly wasn't offering them any clues. The only person who seemed unconcerned about her was Vegita, but he never showed concern for anything. Even Yamucha, who still wasn't speaking to her, had confided in Mrs. Briefs that he was very worried about Bulma.

Bulma just kept up her training regimen throughout all of this, despite the slow deterioration of her strength. She refused to let up on her training, even if it meant she had to take shorter sessions. They helped to relax her, and they took her mind off of things. Sometimes she spent entire days in her gravity room, collapsing into a fitful sleep after an exhausting session. Suffice it to say, Bulma had grown very pale and thin during the past couple of weeks.

No one had really considered the possibility of what would happen should a truly powerful enemy ever emerge to challenge them. But, sure enough, one did. And no one, not even Vegita, was ready for him.

It happened while Bulma was in the gravity room one morning, just when she had started. She couldn't believe her senses when an all-too-familiar ki signature slammed into her brain from straight up.

"Oh God!" She cried, feeling a wave of nausea wash over her as the sheer enormity of the power she was sensing hit her like a fist in the pit of her stomach. She had to steady herself a bit before turning off the gravity machine and rushing outside. Strangely enough, her first impulse was to go find Vegita. She didn't even stop to think about what she was doing; she was acting on instinct alone.

"Vegita!" She cried when she had turned on the vidcam to his gravity room. "Turn off the machine and get out here quick! Freeza is back!"

Vegita had been doing push-ups when she turned on the vidcam, but his head snapped up immediately at her words, and he stared at her with a look that couldn't be mistaken for anything but disbelief. But he must have focused his senses then, because a look of pure horror washed over his face and he slowly stood upright. He did as she asked, and upon stepping outside, he looked up at the sky, his expression growing harshly grim.

"He's not far off," he said quietly.

"No he isn't," Bulma agreed apprehensively. "And he's definitely heading for Earth. I'd say we have less than an hour before he gets here."

Vegita bared his teeth. "Damn that Kakarrot!" He spat viciously. "So he let Freeza escape after all! The damned fool!"

"Even so," Bulma said, her expression hardening, "blaming him isn't going to help us. Goku isn't here to clean up this mess; Freeza is our problem now. It's up to us to fight him. I'm going to go call Kuririn and Gohan. We need everyone's help for this. Maybe I can even find Tenshinhan and Piccolo."

"Fine," Vegita said, looking angrily down at his fists. "We won't know for a while yet just where Freeza will land. You Earthlings can come, but don't you dare get in my way!" He then shot off into the sky and flew away at top speed.

Bulma didn't even hesitate to react to Vegita's remark. She took off for the house and ran to the phone, which her mother already had in hand.

"Oh, wait a minute, Kuririn," she said. "She just came in. Here she is." She held the phone out to Bulma with a worried look on her face.

"It's Kuririn," she whispered. "He says it's important!"

"He's right," Bulma said grimly, taking the receiver from her. "Can you feel him too, Kuririn?" She asked him anxiously. "It's HIM, isn't it? I'd know that bastard's ki anywhere. I can't believe he's still alive!"

"I know," Kuririn said angrily. "And here we thought Goku had finished him. He could have, with as much power as he had."

"We have to get a hold of Gohan," Bulma said. "We'll need his help."

"Already done," Kuririn replied. "I called him first. He's on his way out to your house as we speak. I'll leave to meet you there too when I hang up."

"What about Tenshinhan and Piccolo?" Bulma asked. "We need to get everybody we can to help with this. He's gotten a lot stronger, Kuririn. I can feel it."

"I know," Kuririn said grimly. "I can feel it too. Don't worry about Piccolo, or Tenshinhan, for that matter. I have a feeling they'll both show up when they sense what's coming, if they haven't already."

Bulma sighed. "Okay," she said. "Come on over, then. I'll meet you outside the house. I'll have Yamucha with me too. Vegita will meet us at the battlesite. He's already gone out to wait, although even he's not sure where Freeza will land yet, I daresay."

"Okay," Kuririn said. "I'll come as quick as I can. Bye!" He hung up the phone, and Bulma did the same.

"What's happening?" Mrs. Briefs asked anxiously.

"It's Freeza, Mom," Bulma replied with a tired sigh. "He's heading straight for Earth."

Mrs. Briefs gasped. "He's the one you told me about, isn't he?" She asked anxiously. "Isn't he the one who…?" Her voice trailed off as she found herself unable to finish her question.

"That's right," Bulma replied with a grim scowl. "He's the one who killed me."

"And you're going to fight with HIM?!" Her mother exclaimed, her face turning pale.

"I have no choice," Bulma muttered. "But at least I'm not alone. All of us will be there. I only wish Goku was included in that. If he were here, we wouldn't even have to fight. He could take care of Freeza single-handedly, I'm sure."

"Oh, Bulma!" Mrs. Briefs wailed, flinging herself at her daughter and wrapping her arms tightly around her neck. "You can't do this! I don't know what your father and I would do if we lost you a second time! It was bad enough the first time when we didn't find out until after you'd been wished back!"

"Hey, don't worry, Mom!" Bulma cried, trying to sound cheerful. "We've all gotten a lot stronger, especially Vegita! And even he's on our side now, so we can't possibly lose! Don't worry; I'm sure we can handle it!"

Mrs. Briefs nodded, her face brightening a bit when Bulma mentioned Vegita. "I'm going to keep that as your promise," she said firmly, drying her eyes and letting go of Bulma.

"You've got it," Bulma said, with a wide smile to mask the worry on her face. She didn't have the heart to tell her mother that Freeza had definitely gotten stronger himself. She could sense an incredible new level of power in him, and she truly dreaded this fight. It wasn't going to be easy; in fact, it was going to be damned near impossible. Freeza had been too tough to handle on Namek, and he was much worse now. It all pretty much depended on how much Vegita had improved, and Bulma very much doubted that Vegita could handle the old Freeza now, much less the one that was at this moment less than an hour away from Earth. But despite these worrisome thoughts, Bulma smiled reassuringly at her mother one more time before she went out the door to go get Yamucha.

Yamucha was on his way to the house when Bulma ran into him. He didn't look worried at all. In fact, he was smiling broadly about something - that is, until he saw Bulma. He scowled petulantly when he saw her, and he immediately turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Bulma cried. "What's the matter with you? Can't you sense him yet? We don't have time for you to get over your childish silent treatment, Yamucha! Freeza's on his way here right now, for heaven's sake!"

Yamucha froze in his tracks. "What?" He cried, spinning back around. "But I thought he was dead!"

"We all turned out to be wrong on that one," Bulma said, staring grimly up at the sky. "He'll be landing within the next forty-five minutes."

"You mean he's coming to Earth? You're not messing with me, are you?" Yamucha asked, his voice a mingling of skepticism and hope.

"Well, of course not!" Bulma said impatiently. "Why on Earth would I joke about such a thing? And besides, I can sense him up there, just as plain as day! Haven't you picked him up yet?"

"I don't sense a thing!" Yamucha said in consternation as he strained his ki sense at the sky above them. "He must not be close enough yet, I guess."

"Not close enough?!" Bulma practically exploded at him. "You've got to be kidding! Kuririn and Gohan sensed him not less than fifteen minutes ago, Yamucha! And Vegita and I picked him up not long before that! So just how is it that he can be 'too far away' for you to sense him yet?"

Bulma was furious, and Yamucha knew it. He shuffled his feet nervously and looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "Oh," he said nervously. "Well, y'see, Bulma, it's like this. I haven't been training as hard as you and Kuririn, and well, to be honest, you're both way ahead of me. I mean, geez Bulma, you're easily twice as strong as I am now."

Bulma couldn't believe her ears. There was no way in the world that what Yamucha was claiming could be right. It was just impossible! Yamucha had always been stronger than she, and she didn't know how to handle this terrible revelation. The pedestal that she'd held him on for all these years suddenly came crashing down, and with it, the reverent image she'd had of her former sensei. How could such a terrible thing have happened?

"Y- you're not serious!" Bulma stammered, still unwilling to believe what he'd told her. She began to shake with emotion, and Yamucha just knew that he was in for another eruption of Mt. Bulma. He figured he deserved this one, though, so he staunchly stood his ground against the impending explosion.

"I'm afraid I am," he said bravely. "It's the honest-to-God truth, Bulma. I'm sorry."

Bulma trembled a little more, but she didn't blow up at him. What she did instead had much more of an effect on him.

"Oh Yamucha," she said in a low, mournful voice, and lowered her head as she shook it in dismay. "I can't believe this. I just can't believe things turned out this way."

"I'm really sorry if I've made you mad," Yamucha said quickly. "But how was I to know Freeza would come back? I swear, Bulma, I was sure it wasn't going to hurt anything for me to take it easy a little! C'mon, Bulma, please don't be mad at me!"

"Oh, Yamucha!" Bulma cried, her face shooting up to be level with his. There were already tears trickling down her cheeks. "Yamucha, I'm not mad at you! But you can't even begin to imagine how scared I am of what's going to happen to you today if you really are that much weaker than I am! I mean, this is Freeza we're talking about, Yamucha! He's not only back to full health, but he's much stronger than he was before! Do you have any idea what kind of power I'm talking about here? Do you?" Bulma was becoming hysterical. "My chances of survival in this battle are next to nothing, Yamucha! And so yours are even worse!"

A little bit of the color drained out of Yamucha's face as what Bulma was saying finally began to hit home. "Just how powerful can he be?!" He asked anxiously.

"Yamucha," Bulma said gravely. "Freeza makes Vegita look like a weak kitten. A VERY weak kitten. He's already killed me once, and I'm pretty sure he's going to do it again today when he sees me. I'll be honest with you, Yamucha; I'd say our chances of winning are worse odds than winning the lottery."

That did it. The full effect of what Bulma was saying hit him all at once, and he shook his head in horror.

"No creature could be that powerful!" He whispered in disbelief.

"This one is; I can assure you," Bulma said quietly. "And he's on his way here right now."

Yamucha just stared at her in dumbfounded silence. Bulma wished she had something reassuring to say to tell him, but she didn't want to sugarcoat the truth for him either. Unlike her mother, Yamucha needed to know the full truth.

"That would be Gohan," She said suddenly, looking up at the ki she had only just recently picked up from a few hundred feet overhead. He was nothing but a small speck up high in the sky at the moment, but he was quickly descending toward them.

"I came as soon as Kuririn called," he said when he landed. "Mom and Grandpa are scared half to death, but I felt Freeza too. I have to come." Gohan was wearing the armor Vegita had given him on Namek, and he looked very worried indeed.

"I'm glad you did," Bulma said. "We'll need all the help we can get."

"Piccolo's on his way out that way," Gohan said, pointing west. "I think he's guessing that Freeza's going to land somewhere out there." "Then I say we follow him as soon as Kuririn gets here," Bulma said thoughtfully. "I have a good deal of faith in Piccolo's judgement, Gohan. I'm pretty sure that if Piccolo thinks Freeza's going to land somewhere out there, that's what's going to happen." Gohan nodded, smiling a little at Bulma's compliment of his sensei. He looked at Yamucha. "Are you coming too, Mr. Yamucha?" He asked in the cute, polite manner that only Gohan could pull off.

"Yes," Yamucha said, his voice squeaking a little. "Although Bulma's really making me nervous about Freeza."

"I don't need Bulma to make me nervous," Gohan said quietly. "I'm so scared I can hardly stand it. But I'm ready to fight. I won't hesitate to give this battle everything I've got, because everything I've got is what's on the line."

Truer words had never been spoken, and Yamucha nodded solemnly in agreement. He was definitely scared himself, but after hearing such inspiring words from Gohan, his resolve had been set. He was ready too.

"Kuririn's coming," Bulma said, squinting at something she couldn't quite see yet on the horizon. "Let's meet him on his way and hurry out after Piccolo. The sooner we join him, the better."

"Right," Yamucha and Gohan agreed, and they all flew up to meet Kuririn in mid-air. It only took a half-minute to catch up to him, and they paused to fill him in on what was going on with Piccolo. Soon after, they were flying out to meet their Namek comrade out on the battlefield.

"Hey Bulma," Kuririn said, glancing at her nervously. "Are you okay? You don't look very well today."

Bulma glared at him. "I'm just fine, thanks," she said curtly. "There's nothing wrong with me, Kuririn."

"That's not what your mom's been telling me," Yamucha snapped at her. "She says you haven't been eating, and she doubts you've had a good night's sleep in weeks. Something IS wrong with you, Bulma. Though what it is, none of us can figure out."

Bulma's expression darkened. She might have had an easier time of it these past couple of weeks if she'd just left the compound for a while. But she hadn't dared. She knew better than to leave Yamucha and Vegita to their own devices and unobserved. Either one might try to do something stupid while she was away if she had left.

"There's Piccolo-san!" Gohan said, grateful for a reason to interject. "And Vegita's down there with him already! It sure looks weird to see them together!"

Gohan was right. The two had their backs to one another, but were most definitely down there together. Bulma tried not to think too much about Vegita as they landed next to them. She had a much more important threat to worry about. And he would be along within the next ten minutes, unless she missed her guess. Besides, Vegita wasn't all that imposing now; he had gone into battle mode, and wasn't paying attention to anyone. Bulma knew what he was doing. He was prepping his mind for the impending fight, and she didn't really blame him. It was something they all would have to do by one method or another before the real fighting began.

"Do you all intend to fight?" Piccolo asked stonily when they landed. He looked at Yamucha when he said it.

"'Fraid so," Kuririn said casually, both his hands resting behind his head. "It's not like we had anything better to do, you know, Piccolo."

Piccolo gave a grunt of disapproval. Then he looked sternly at Bulma. "You don't exactly look up to par," he said flatly. "Are you on a fast or something?"

"Will everyone just shut up about the way I look?!" Bulma snapped angrily. "So I've lost a little weight! Big deal! You're all acting like I'm going to keel over dead at any second!"

Vegita smirked a little. "That's not such a bad idea," he said dryly. "You'd be doing Freeza the favor of not having to kill you a second time."

Bulma glared at him. What the hell did he know anyway? She wasn't the only one Freeza had killed. She was about to remind him of this when she sensed the approach of two ki sources - one large and one small.

"It's Tenshinhan and Chouzu!" Kuririn exclaimed. "So they did sense Freeza after all!"

"All right," Tenshinhan said when he and Chouzu had landed. "Spill it. What's with that crazy power that we've been sensing for the last hour? I've never picked up anything like this before!"

"Freeza's coming," Kuririn said grimly. "This is the first time you two and Yamucha have been exposed to him, but the rest of us could recognize his ki anywhere. It's Freeza all right, and he's a lot stronger than he was before."

"Freeza?!" Tenshinhan gasped. "But I thought Goku killed him!"

"Yeah, well, we're thinking of starting a petition to tell him he's supposed to be dead," Bulma said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We'd love to have your signatures."

"And he's coming to Earth?" Chouzu gasped. "Why?"

"To kill Goku, I would imagine," Bulma said, looking up. "Even back on Namek I figured he'd do this. Thanks to Radditz, Nappa, and Vegita, he knew where Goku, or 'Kakarrot,' had been sent as a child, and thus where all his emotional ties were. I knew that, given Goku's forgiving nature, he'd probably try to beat some sense into Freeza and just let him go. I'm guessing that's what happened, and now it's coming back to bite US instead of Goku. Freeza's going to do anything he can to get back at Goku for the humiliation he's been put through, and killing us will be the perfect way to start. Once we're taken care of, the entire planet'll be next, no doubt. This is exactly why I wanted to be sure Goku finished Freeza on Namek."

"You and me both," Piccolo agreed.

"Anyway," Bulma sighed. "What's done is done. Whether Goku let Freeza go willingly or not is irrelevant now. I don't think it will be possible for us to win against him, but we have no choice but to try. I'll be honest with you, though; I kind of wish we had another Super Saiyan lying around somewhere to improve our odds."

Vegita's face twitched a little when she said that. Apparently she'd struck a nerve.

"It's not going to do us any good to wish for the impossible," Piccolo muttered. "We'll just have to make do."

"Would you all mind shutting the hell up!" Vegita yelled angrily. "I'd rather he didn't pick up your mindless chattering on his scouters, if it's not too much to ask! If it's all right with you, I'd prefer to have the element of surprise on my side!"

Tenshinhan and Yamucha glared at him in contempt, but there was no time for retort, as Piccolo suddenly alerted them to the fact that Freeza's ship had entered the atmosphere.

"Can you sense him now?" Bulma whispered nervously to Yamucha, who was white as a ghost.

"For the past few minutes," Yamucha replied. "Although at first I wasn't willing to believe my senses. You weren't kidding. This guy is way out of any league I could ever dream of."

"Here he comes," Kuririn muttered as a huge spaceship, not unlike the one Freeza had on Namek, shot down out of the sky. It whooshed through the sky just above them and began to descend for a landing a little bit past a large, rocky ridge behind them.

"Come on," Piccolo said quietly, pointing to the ridge. "We can't just stay here. Be sure to keep your power as low as you can. We don't want Freeza's scouters to pick us up prematurely. Vegita's right; the element of surprise is one tool we won't want to waste." He then took off for the cliff at a quick trot, and they all followed suit. They quickly climbed up the rock wall when they reached it, each one being careful not to use too much ki energy on the way.

Finally, they reached the top of the cliff and found themselves atop a large mesa overlooking the edge of a wide, deep canyon in which Freeza's ship had made its landing, not less than a half-mile away. A hatch had just opened on the bottom, and a small company of armored henchmen was pouring out of the ship. Freeza was already out and he was standing next to a tall being that looked very much like Freeza had in his second form. He was very powerful himself. He must have been of Freeza's race. Bulma frowned. They were going to have a hard time sneaking up on that group with all those scouters they were wearing. But a brilliant, reckless idea occurred to her, and she grinned. It was risky, but it would give them the edge they'd need. Vegita was going to get his element of surprise all right!

"I've an idea," she said quietly. "One that'll provide you with a good chance to sneak up on them. Come down as quickly and quietly as you can!" And before anyone could blink, she stopped time and flew down toward Freeza and his group. When she reached them, the first thing she did was to take every scouter she could find on them and set them all in a big pile on the ground not too far away. Then she let time flow again, and before Freeza or any of his companions knew what was happening, she blasted the pile of scouters to smithereens.

Freeza gaped at her in astonishment. "You're alive?!" He cried in surprise. Bulma didn't smile at him. She didn't feel much like it today. "If you've come for Goku," she said coldly, "I'm afraid he's not here. Kindly get off of my planet and take your little cronies with you."

Freeza smirked. "You don't really expect me to do that, now do you?" He asked her with a slight chuckle.

"Not really," Bulma said curtly, "but I felt it necessary to at least offer you an opportunity to leave. You might consider it professional courtesy."

"I'm touched," Freeza said, grinning. "So tell me; where are all your little friends, hm?"

"Oh, they're coming," Bulma said casually, crossing her arms. "I just got here first."

"What a pity," Freeza said with a smile. "And I was so looking forward to their seeing me kill you a second time."

"Maybe it's better this way," Bulma said with a sneer. "I hear that last time, when you had an audience, you ran into a bit of a problem."

Freeza scowled. "Kill her," he ordered, nodding at his henchmen. They quickly formed a wide circle around Bulma, and she assumed a defensive stance. So it was time to begin fighting already, was it? She wondered if she would be able to handle all of these thugs at once. They really didn't feel all that strong, but there were a lot of them. Suddenly, they all began to charge at her at the same time, yelling furiously as they came. But they had gone no more than a couple feet in towards her before they all suddenly stopped in their tracks, only to promptly fall to pieces - using the most literal sense possible for that phrase - as their bodies actually split up into uneven, sliced chunks. Bulma thought for a moment that she had briefly sensed a very powerful presence all around her, but now it was gone.

"What the?" Freeza exclaimed, his eyes bugging out of his head.

It was then that Bulma noticed him. He was a young boy, most likely in his late teens, very well dressed, and quite handsome. He had a large sword, which rested in a sheath that was strapped to his back. He had a cool confidence about him that most girls probably found irresistible, and he was glaring with distaste at Freeza.

"I don't know who you are, kid," Bulma called to him, glancing furtively at Freeza, "but you should do yourself a favor and get out of here now. This is not a fight you wanna get caught up in."

He turned his head toward her and smiled at her so naturally that Bulma found herself wondering if she'd met this boy somewhere before. He looked so… familiar somehow.

"Thank you, Ms. Briefs," he said in a confident, businesslike tone, "but I'm well within my league in this. I suggest you stand back and let me dispose of Freeza on my own. Don't worry; it won't take long."

Bulma couldn't believe her ears. Not only did this boy know who she was, but he also seemed to know who Freeza was! And what's more, he even thought he could handle Freeza on his own! Who was this kid, anyway?

Freeza couldn't believe his ears either. "Did you hear that, father?!" He hooted, laughing loudly. "That little cretin thinks he'll just 'dispose' of me alone!" The large being next to him, whom Bulma now assumed to be Freeza's father, sniggered a little at the boy's claim as well.

"So you think yourself that powerful, do you, boy?" Freeza chuckled, grinning fiendishly at him.

"I know I'm more than powerful enough for you," the boy replied with a sneer. "And I also happen to know that, within the next five minutes, you'll have found that out the hard way."

"Oh really?" Freeza jeered. "Is that so?"

"Quite so," the boy replied. "Let me give you a little advice, Freeza. When you come at me, do so at full power. Don't waste your precious remaining seconds of life underestimating my power."

"Why should I do such a thing?" Freeza snorted. "A pipsqueak like you wouldn't even be worth my time."

"I'll tell you why right now," the boy replied viciously, wiping the smirk right off Freeza's face. "I'll let you in on a little secret, Freeza. You came here looking for Son Goku, a Super Saiyan, who, thus far, is the only person to have bested you in combat. Well, I've got news for you, Freeza. Son Goku isn't the only Super Saiyan."

"What?" Freeza cried, his face suddenly awash with horror.

The young boy smirked, and then he began to charge up his ki tremendously. Within seconds he'd gone way beyond anything Bulma had ever sensed before, and he was already way past Freeza. Suddenly, with a yell of fury, his ki aura turned yellow, and his hair and eyebrows did the same. Bulma stared in awe at this amazing transformation, all the while marveling at the incredible surge of power this kid was giving off.

Freeza, on the other hand, was apparently more freaked out than he was amazed. "No!" He shrieked, shaking his head and beginning to tremble like a leaf. "It can't be! There's another one! And he has those… eyes!"

The boy stared coldly at him through harsh, blue pupils. "Any last words?" He asked grimly.

Freeza snarled. "You won't defeat me!" He screamed, and he quickly formed a ki ball the size of a small building - one with more than enough power to destroy the whole planet.

"No! Don't!" Bulma screamed, but it was too late. Freeza flung the deadly blast at the boy, and it hit him head-on and began pushing itself into the ground.

"Pity," the tall being behind Freeza said. "Did you really have to destroy the planet so quickly, Freeza?"

"Stop criticizing me, Father," Freeza said crossly. "I intended to destroy the planet anyway, didn't I? Does it really matter whether I wait a few minutes or not?"

Bulma was livid with rage. She'd already assumed that she was going to die today, but she hadn't allowed herself to believe that the rest of the planet was going to go with her. In the light of the events of the past few seconds, she decided that if she was going to die, she'd rather go fighting. Better that than blow up with the planet. Screaming in anger and hatred, she flew at Freeza as fast as she could and punched him squarely in the nose, sending him flying backward so fast that he crashed right into his own ship, making a deep, cracked dent where he hit.

Still screaming with rage, Bulma darted after him and yanked him by his tail out of the crevice in the side of the ship. She swung him around in a tight circle before flinging him at his father, and they both went skidding across the rocky dirt for a good twenty yards before coming to a stop.

Bulma shot down to the ground and stood on the spot where Freeza's father had originally stood. She then waited for them to get up and face her, knowing well that she wouldn't have caught them off guard enough for another surprise attack. They did get up, and both glared at her with utter contempt and hatred.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" Freeza screeched, launching himself forward, a small but potent ki ball already forming around one of his fists. Bulma braced herself. This was it.

But Freeza came to a screeching halt not less than twenty feet away from her, his ki ball already having dissipated, and his face twisted in horror. He was gaping, horrified, at something behind her. Bulma couldn't help herself. She had to look. She turned around, and she nearly cried out at what she saw. The boy with the sword was emerging from the crater, and he was holding Freeza's entire - and still very much intact - blast up with one hand as he came.

"Did you lose something?" He jeered at the very shaken Freeza.

Freeza actually backed up a little this time. Bulma could tell that he was truly afraid. Truth be told, however, she couldn't blame him. She was a little scared herself. But good sense told her that she had no place in this fight. For some reason, she actually believed that this stranger could defeat Freeza, and was indeed about to do so.

"I guess you don't need any assistance after all, do you?" She asked him aloud. The boy smiled at her again. "Well, all right then," she said, smiling back. "Good luck. I'll see you when it's over." She stopped time then, and she flew back to where she'd left everyone else, hoping to locate them not too far away. They were all at the bottom of the canyon wall, and they all had wild, astounded expressions on their faces. They were just as surprised as she was. Bulma let time flow again, and they continued to watch the young Super Saiyan for a few more seconds before they realized she was there.

"Bulma!" Kuririn cried. "You're okay! Man, what's going on down there?!"

"I don't know for sure," Bulma replied, shaking her head. "That boy just showed up, and he claims he's a Super Saiyan. I don't know whether to believe him or not, but it sounds like he's on our side. He knew mine and Freeza's names too. But I've never met him before! At least, I don't think I have…"

"Well, one thing's for certain," Piccolo said. "That boy is definitely a Super Saiyan. He looks just like Son did after Freeza killed you, Bulma."

"Only with less hair," Kuririn pointed out with a nervous laugh.

"Lies!" Vegita cried. "All lies! Only I, Kakarrot, and his brat have Saiyan blood! He can't be a Super Saiyan, because he can't even be a Saiyan!"

"Tell him that," Kuririn chuckled as the youth evaded a lunge from Freeza, only to disappear, and then rematerialize on a high ledge on the far right side of the canyon. He then performed some confusing ki concentration technique that Bulma had never seen before and began to charge up his ki.

"Freeza!" He called, just before shooting a small warning blast at the bewildered Freeza.

Freeza jumped up into the air to avoid the blast, but that had been a fatal mistake. The boy leapt at him, having now drawn his sword for the final blow. For the briefest of moments, Freeza saw the boy coming, but it was too late for him to make a move. In one neat but deadly swipe, the strange boy sliced Freeza right down the middle with his sword. Bulma gasped as Freeza's two halves slid apart in midair. She couldn't believe her own eyes!

But the boy wasn't done yet. In an instant, he had made three more slices with his sword, cutting Freeza into even smaller pieces, which hung suspended in the air just long enough for the boy to sheathe his sword and reduce them to atoms in one massive blast.

Bulma just couldn't believe it. That kid, whoever he was, had just killed Freeza as if it were nothing at all!

"I- I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Kuririn breathed. "What power!"

Vegita was apparently just as shocked as Kuririn, but he didn't say anything. He just watched - transfixed - while the wondrous youth flew down to take care of Freeza's father next.

"Well, I'd say that settles it," Bulma said brightly. "What was that you were saying earlier about wishing for the impossible, Piccolo?" She asked with a good-natured laugh.

"I'd say I'm eating my words right now," Piccolo grumbled. "But Vegita's right; this doesn't make sense. Who is this kid? He obviously must have Saiyan blood in him from somewhere. Maybe he's from another planet."

"Maybe," Bulma mused. "But I just can't shake the feeling that I've met this boy from somewhere before. I don't know; it's something about his eyes, I think. They look familiar somehow."

"You must have met him then," Gohan said. "You did say he knew your name, right?"

"Well, yes, he did," Bulma replied, furrowing her brow as she thought a little more deeply. "But he also knew who Freeza was, and Freeza didn't recognize him either. I halfway wonder if maybe one of your people had a child with somebody from another planet, Vegita. This boy doesn't look like any Saiyan I've ever seen, but then again, I haven't seen many. Anyway, if that's what happened, it's slightly possible that he's kept up with Freeza's actions over the past few years. He sure seemed familiar with him."

"Ridiculous," Vegita muttered. "My race was a proud and noble people. Intermixing with other races was strictly forbidden. Besides, it would have been detrimental to the strength of our bloodlines if they were to become thinned by the weak blood of other peoples. One reason why the Saiyans were the most powerful race in the universe was because we kept our bloodlines so pure."

"What about Goku?" Bulma persisted. "He had a family here on Earth."

"Don't be stupid!" Vegita snorted. "Kakarrot was an ignorant fool who lost all memory of his identity. His actions can't be considered representative of those of the rest of the Saiyan people!"

"Oh well," Bulma said, shrugging. "If you say so, then I guess I won't argue it any further. You would know better than I would, I suppose. But that doesn't help us figure out where he comes from, does it? We'll just have to ask him ourselves."

They watched in silence while Freeza's father tried to attack the boy with his own sword, but failed miserably with each attempt. He didn't get many chances, though, because the boy simply blasted a hole straight through the giant's middle, sending him crashing into a nearby rock face. The boy then re-sheathed his sword, and changed back into his previous state. After that, he looked over at Bulma and her friends and smiled.

"Hey!" He called to them. "Goku's going to land in a couple of hours! Just follow me if you want to come wait for him with me!" He then took off over the opposite cliff face of the canyon while they gaped at him in shock.

"Should we go after him?" Kuririn asked nervously.

"Well, I certainly am!" Bulma said excitedly. "I don't see any reason why we shouldn't! I can't sense any evil in him, and besides, I wanna be there if he's telling the truth about Goku!" And before anyone could stop her, she took off after the remarkable young warrior, leaving the rest of them behind, gaping after her in astonishment.

She didn't have far to go. The boy only flew a few miles out. She landed less than a few feet away from him and watched with interest as he took a capsule out and popped it open to reveal a small refrigerator.

"Would you like a soda?" He offered, getting one out for himself.

"Okay," Bulma said, shrugging. "You wouldn't happen to have any lime-flavored ones, would you?"

He laughed. "That's what I thought you might say," he said with a grin, and he got one out for her and tossed it to her.

Bulma looked at him curiously. "What was that supposed to mean?" She asked. He turned kind of red then, and turned his face away to avoid her gaze.

"There are about a million questions whizzing through my brain right now," Bulma sighed, "but I think I ought to wait until the others get here to ask them. I think you ought to know that we're all very confused. I mean, for as far as we know, Vegita, Goku, and Gohan are the only ones with Saiyan blood in them. And yet Kuririn, Gohan, and Piccolo all confirmed that you actually did undergo the Super Saiyan transformation. Honestly, I wasn't sure you were telling the truth until I asked them. This is the first time I've ever seen it."

"You were killed by Freeza before it happened to Son Goku the first time, right?" The boy asked, smiling almost reverently at her.

"Well… yes!" Bulma exclaimed. "But how did you know that?"

"Er… my mother told me," the boy replied, looking flustered.

"Oh, do I know your mother?" Bulma said excitedly. "Because if that's the case, then that might explain why I keep getting the funny feeling that I know you from somewhere! Oh, but that wouldn't explain why you're a Super Saiyan…" Bulma was racking her brain for an answer, and the boy just looked at her helplessly. It was obvious that he didn't like her questions.

"Whoops, here they come," Bulma said, glancing back at the small dot on the horizon that was the rest of the group. "I have a bit of a request to make of you, kid. Try not to make Vegita angry. That man is like a ticking time bomb when it comes to competition, and he most definitely sees you as competition. Although, confidentially," Bulma said, winking reassuringly at him, "I've no doubt at all that you could knock him flat in a second. I'm just trying to make life bearable for the rest of us at Capsule Corp."

"Er… right," the boy said, blushing a little. "I'll keep that in mind then."

"Thanks," Bulma said, smiling courteously at him, just as the rest of her group arrived. They all landed just a few yards away, eyeing the mysterious boy distrustfully. Vegita, of course, was the first one to speak.

"Well?" He demanded impatiently, glaring angrily at the boy. "Did you find out who he is?"

"Keep your shirt on," Bulma said crossly. "I figured you guys would want to hear what he had to say, all right? Geez!" She turned back toward the young Super Saiyan and smiled. "Okay, kid," she said affably. "It sounded like there are some things you don't want to tell us. So, okay then. Why don't you at least tell us what you can? I mean, we're dying for some kind of an explanation here!"

The boy sighed. "I know I owe you more than what I can say, but I can't risk telling you too much. All I can say is that, yes, I am a Super Saiyan. And yes, I'm on your side. I'm afraid that's all I can say."

"That's all?" Piccolo asked quietly, eyeing him. "That's not much for us to go on, friend."

"I know it isn't," the boy replied, "but you'll just have to trust me. I'll understand if you don't, though. I wouldn't if I were in your position."

"Well," Bulma said, smiling brightly. "I see no reason to doubt what you're saying. I believe you, kid. Er, I don't suppose you could give us a name to call you by, either, huh?"

"No," he replied, lowering his eyes. "I'm afraid I can't."

"Are you out of your mind?" Vegita exploded at her. "Why, in the name of all that is sane, should we believe any of what he says? You think that his telling you he's your friend makes it so? You're a damned fool!"

Bulma was too happy now to care about Vegita's insults. The fact that Freeza was gone had lifted her spirits clear up into the clouds. But that wasn't really her motive for trusting their mysterious new acquaintance. "I never asked you to believe anything, Vegita," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "But I honestly believe him. There's just something about him that makes me think he has no reason to lie to us. Call it intuition, I guess. Besides," she added, patting the kid lightly on the back, "we'll know for sure in a couple of hours if he's telling the truth, right?" She winked smartly at him, and he smiled back at her gratefully.

"You are insane!" Vegita growled, his hair bristling up a little. "Fine! But if Kakarrot doesn't show up, you'd better be ready to run, boy!" He said, growling menacingly. He then walked over to a large rock and plunked down on it, crossing his arms and scowling for all he was worth.

Bulma sighed and sat down on the ground. "We might as well take it easy," she said to the others. "We have a while to wait yet."

Gohan, Kuririn, and Chouzu opted to sit too, while Piccolo, Tenshinhan, and Yamucha remained standing. It was obvious that they didn't trust the new stranger any more than Vegita did.

Sighing again, Bulma lay back, resting the back of her head on her hands. She was really tired. She really shouldn't have been, but she supposed it had something to do with her recent nervous reactions to Vegita. She was going to have to get over that.

"Er, Ms. Briefs?" The stranger said after sitting down on a large boulder next to her.

Bulma opened her eyes. "Hm?" She said, glancing up at him attentively.

"Are you eating well?" He asked. "You look a little… well, not to be rude, but you look a little thinner than… than you should be." He was tripping over his words, and his cheeks were a trifle pink.

Bulma's expression hardened a little, but she looked back up at him very calmly and politely. "I'm fine," she said quietly. He nodded and promptly turned his face away. It was almost as if he could tell how much his comment had upset her.



On To Chapter 11 ~~~>