"Mind your tone, woman, you're addressing Saiyan royalty here!" Vegeta pointed to himself before approaching Goku. The normally aloof Earth-raised Saiyan became serious when Vegeta revealed himself, though nothing in his body language or expression outright challenged Vegeta. "Things aren't done between us, Kakarot! Do you think I'll ever forgive you for making a fool of me and becoming a Super Saiyan? I'll make things right!"
"It wasn't my idea," Goku replied calmly. "I would have never chosen to become a Super Saiyan if it meant borrowing power to do it. I'd have liked to beat Frieza with my own strength but he was just too wild of a guy."
"Chayote, do Saiyans get a Zenkai boost after dying? If just fighting strengthens them, wouldn't getting killed and coming back to life make a Saiyan incredibly powerful and dangerous?" Bulma leaned in to Chayote. The grumpy female Saiyan had kept her eyes on Vegeta the whole time he started prancing around the wasteland like a huge diva and frightening the Earthlings who only knew him for who he was–a vicious warrior prone to rampages with an explosive temper. Those that remained on Earth had heard that Vegeta helped some on Planet Vegeta, but they've never experienced him as anything other than what they've known him to be during his attack on Earth.
"Not in my experience. I've actually got a bunch weaker until I could eat my fill and rest up. Though something's a bit off. Vegeta's far more powerful now than he was before his death, almost as if he had gone through Zenkai... He's a danger to Earth, for sure. I'll keep a watch on him, that's my job now." Chayote replied.
"So, what now?" Vegeta spread his arms out to gesture toward the entirety of his people, that appeared weary and hungry. It was difficult to say just what effect this oppressive exhaustion would have on the Saiyans. One way to look at it would have implied that they'd have been much easier to handle while hungry and weakened, another way to look at it would have suggested that their weariness would have made the Saiyans grumpy. "You've brought us to this planet so you better offer us a good place to live, plenty of grub, and a place to let loose!"
The Saiyans began speaking up louder and louder. For an oppressed group that may not have liked Vegeta all that much before the conflict with Frieza because of his personality, the group had been behind him all the way despite knowing that they were talking back to a Super Saiyan. Their mumblings began unintelligible babble that turned into howling and chanting. Vegeta sure knew how to fire his people up.
"Well, you got us into this trouble!" Bulma turned to Goku with a scornful look of a mother who wanted to punish a child for an immature decision he had made. "I'm not gonna have my new consultant get into a fight and ask for sick days before she actually started working for me so you better think up of something!"
"They could live in one of the destroyed cities. South City or East City, they both have some scorched earth landscapes that the Saiyans could occupy for a little while." Chayote suggested.
"If you were fine with us living in inhospitable wastelands, you should have just left us in Planet Vegeta!" the king of Saiyans clenched his fists, visibly losing his cool with Chayote, who had none with Vegeta, to begin with. The two took a few steps up to each other with Chayote staring at Vegeta eye-to-eye.
"Please, don't fight!" Gohan stepped in between Chayote and Vegeta, pressing his tiny knuckles against Chayote's abdomen and gently holding her back as he had been too terrified of Vegeta and his royal personage to even come near the king's personal space. "The Saiyans and people can live together, just like we've lived with the Namekians for a little while."
"Don't compare us to those space-slugs!" Vegeta objected. "A measly river won't sustain our race. Nor are we entertained by sitting still staring at the other end of our eyelids!" the king barked out and his people cheered with fists thrown into the air.
"What a diva!" Bulma groaned, crossing his arms and turning her closed eyes away from Vegeta. "We've done your people a favor by letting you live here for a little while. You're not our children, it's not our responsibility to make sure that every tiny caprice you insecure brutes have is met."
"What was that!?" Vegeta seethed, grinding his teeth at Bulma's back. This was the first time that Chayote had seen Bulma be so bold and outwardly mocking toward someone who could easily kill her and wouldn't mind doing so either. Only when Bulma squinted to Chayote with a sassy glare did the Saiyan realize why Bulma felt so safe, mocking the Saiyan king right up in his face.
"Come on, Chayote, this is none of our business. We have a world-renowned company to run." Bulma invited Chayote to tag along with her as she sat into her jet and prepared to take off.
"Namekians..." Goku pondered to himself before snapping his fingers. "Ah, that's right! We can take you guys to God's Temple! Upa can margarize you as much food as you need and you can find plenty of training there. I'll even train with you guys if I can. I'm sure that there are some crazy powerful guys among you!"
"It's materialize, Dad..." Gohan raised his hand, looking far too tired to correct his father at this point.
"Humph... This sorry lot? They're nothing but pathetic rejects! Low-ranking trash that not even Frieza could dirty his hands with. The fact that this is the future of the Saiyan race disgusts me!" Vegeta seethed. "Let's just hope that those that Frieza killed will prove to be more suitable to spearhead the next stage of Saiyan history."
"Ah! That's right, there's a bunch more, isn't there?" Goku scratched his head. "All the guys that Frieza and his goons killed that were brought back. Man, I've got no idea where we can house all of you. Still, we should head to God's Temple, we can track every Saiyan easier that way and keep you guys busy and fed for a little while."
"If you think that I'll be training with you where you can monitor me and my progress, Kakarot, you're sorely mistaken..." Vegeta pouted before Goku slowly kicked off the ground and elevated up to sky level. Gohan was about to do the same when Chi-Chi grabbed hold of his hand and shook her head with a strict look on her face. Gohan relented to it.
"We'll go find Bardock-san and your mother, Goku-sa. We can all have a nice and normal family dinner, just like in all the TV shows and magazines when you get back." Chi-Chi looked up to Goku, who nodded and saluted Chi-Chi with his middle and index finger farewell.
"Right, I'll leave it to you!" Goku nodded with a confident look in his eyes as the Saiyans began taking off one by one and followed him. The mother and son took off in a whole different direction. Gohan looked a bit confused as he must have been stuck in a belief that his mother would ask him to catch up on all the studying that he missed out on in space but once he got used to the idea of catching up to his resurrected grandparents, he couldn't help but smile with a joyful crystalline glint hanging at the outer edge of his eyes.
"It seems like it's up to us to find Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Krillin, and Piccolo..." Muten Roshi scratched his head, turning to Yajirobe.
"Ya've got yer own plane, old-geezer!" Yajirobe slapped back in his face, hopping into his hovercar and waving the old martial arts master goodbye. "I'm off ta race dose jerks to God's Temple, see if I can score me some 'a Upa's grub fer myself!"
Just like that, Yajirobe became just an extending, curly line of dust stretching out across the wasteland. Muten Roshi cracked his head to the sides and jumped to the plane, followed by Oolong, Puar, and Launch, who were all eager to see their revived friends once again.
*****
"Tenshinhan!" a tad shrieky voice distracted the lone, stoic figure walking the long mountain road on the edge as if had no passageways meant for pedestrians. In the defense of the builders of this mountain road, no pedestrian would have willed themselves for a walk anywhere near as exhausting as the one spanning this immense path through the wild, taken only by long-distance truck drivers and couriers.
"Krillin..." Tenshinhan turned and looked up at the arriving bald figure soaring through the air toward him. The uncanny manner of Krillin's arrival and descent on the edge of the mountain path terrified a few truck drivers, prompting Tenshinhan to move in a blink of an eye and gently nudge the shaken trucks back onto a safe trajectory.
"So, everyone collected the Dragon Balls! We're back on Earth too! Must be the effect of those new Dende's Dragon Balls!" Krillin shook his excited fists, patting his body as the martial artist seemed overjoyed to be alive again. "Training with King Kai was one thing, but I can't wait to truly put that training to test when I've got a living body again! Then again, all that Frieza Army business was wild, so maybe I should try enjoying living for a bit...?"
"Suit yourself," Tenshinhan replied calmly before turning around and walking toward a tunnel dug up through the mountain. "It's your own life to live."
"Sorry about Chiaotzu... Maybe we should ask him to just destroy these Dragon Balls and make a new bunch so we can just bring Chiaotzu back? I mean... It sounds dirty but... If it's only just this once?" Krillin pinched his fingers together with a sly smirk.
"I wouldn't waste my time!" a loud and authoritative voice rung in from above the two martial artists. Piccolo stared down at the pair holding two entire handfuls of beaten to a pulp, rowdy Saiyan warriors that he had encountered and stopped from causing mayhem along the way. "The Dragon Balls are a magical artifact. The mystical energy used in creating them can become corrupted by the greed in the wishes you make. Abusing the Dragon Balls like making a set that instantly recovers or making extra sets each time you encounter an obstacle will lead you to dire consequences. I don't know what they are but the Kami part that I've inherited absolutely shakes at the very idea..."
"That's fine. I've come to terms with Chiaotzu's passing already. Though I'm not sure if I can even practice martial arts again. It was something that both of us were brought up into together. There is not a way for me to throw a fist or try to meditate and not recall his emotionless face or that silly single strand of hair curling over his head." Tenshinhan clenched his fist, closing his eyes as the man could take a thousand resonant fists cracking his ribs, but it looked as if though mere tears corroded his body physically as much as they did his dignity.
"No need to throw away your life's purpose there and act like a drama queen..." Piccolo exhaled a yell as he flung the masses of unconscious Saiyans aside and scattered them in all directions in all countries of the world with unimaginable strength. "There is a perfectly fine set of Dragon Balls on Planet Namek, you know. One that hasn't resurrected Chiaotzu yet."
"Ah! That's right!" Krillin pumped his fists, dropping his jaw and nearly restraining a gleeful drool.
"Be aware, though, that collecting them won't be a simple time picking flowers. The entire point of the Namekian society is that each major settlement protects a single Dragon Ball and tests anyone seeking it, spiritually, mentally, and physically if their desire is pure and worthy. If you're going to sulk or if you let your body go soft in those past few months in the Otherworld–you may as well not waste your time." Piccolo smirked with a hint of mockery in his voice and body language. Krillin's joy faded away as he was about to reprimand Piccolo for acting this way in front of a grieving friend, but light and husky chuckle made him snap his head back in Tenshinhan's direction.
"Thank you, Piccolo. Who would have imagined that keeping you alive all this time was truly the right choice and that you would become one of Earth's greatest protectors?" Tenshinhan looked up to the Super Namekian, who had returned to his peak form and greatly sharpened his skills in the Otherworld. Piccolo pouted and turned his head away, turning his back to the grateful friend.
"I'm sure you can relate yourself..." Piccolo flung it back in Tenshinhan's face and despite it sounding a little rude, this response made Tenshinhan burst into laughter. This might have been the first time in the last decade that Krillin had ever seen Tenshinhan laugh genuinely, and not in mockery of his opponent. It was only then that Krillin realized Piccolo had called Tenshinhan to action and bolstered his strength and will the only way he knew how–by challenging the three-eyed martial artist.
*****
"You must leave immediately!" Upa yelled out, pointing his tomahawk right in Vegeta's direction as the Saiyan elite just crossed his arms and turned away in defiance. "Don't make me force you to leave!"
"Come on, Upa... I know Vegeta's just a little rowdy but..." Goku tried to defuse the situation when Upa jumped up back into Goku's face. The young Kami had become half of a forehead taller than Goku in the time that the two had spent apart and had gained some bulk and physical strength to his body since the last time they met, too.
"I will allow the Saiyans to use the Pendulum Room and scatter them across space and time to solve your current predicament, Goku, however, I will not permit this monster to train in my temple one second longer!" Upa insisted, staring Goku down. "I will feed the Saiyans, I will house them and I will help you locate the rest and send them away with the Pendulum Room, but not this man. Not only has he threatened our planet in the past, but he has attempted to enter the Divine Sage Realm, risking forever destroying the spirits of past Kami and tainting that godly realm with his murderous intent."
"Humph... Entertain me, Earthling. Just how do you plan on removing me? Will you have that weird fatso fight me or will you sick Kakarot on me?" Vegeta teased Upa, raising two fingers up and aiming them at Popo first, then turning them to Goku and aiming to Upa in the center between them last.
"That's enough, Vegeta. Upa is the God of Earth, he's told you to leave. Maybe Chi-Chi will let you stay for a little while..." Goku scratched his head, imagining the rough conversation ahead of him. Just as Vegeta sprung into action, looking to attack Upa and show him who was truly in charge, Popo extended his right hand and Vegeta found himself muzzled and restrained as a magical flying carpet wrapped around him.
"This is... Bullshit... I'll kill you for this... You cocky bastard!" Vegeta growled as bit by bit the threads of the magical carpet were stressing and lingered on tearing. Popo gasped in terror, never having imagined any man having enough physical strength to test the mettle of a magical artifact.
"Enough..." Upa reached behind his back and removed a second tomahawk, slamming the two together. He caused the clouds beneath the God's Temple to darken as jolts of lightning soared upward and collided with the crossed edges of the handheld throwing axes. Slamming them against each other, Upa summoned a turbulent gale of stormy clouds that left Goku clutching for balance and left the rest of the Saiyans with no hope of moving a muscle.
The next thing Vegeta knew, he was standing in the middle of nowhere with a light chill running down his spine despite a hot and stuffy climate. The odd thing was that he could no longer sense the Ki of anyone atop God's Temple.
"King Vegeta!" a Saiyan stopped his lunch to jump up and prepare to attack Upa in reaction to this forced removal of his king.
"Anyone who ignores my will is no longer welcome here. You can earn your food and live on your own as your king will. In Planet Vegeta–King Vegeta is king and his will is unquestioned. This is Earth, however, and I am in charge of protecting it. Here you bend to my rules without question." Upa pointed his tomahawk at the handful of Saiyans itching to get into a fight and having used Upa's response to Vegeta's disrespectful and dangerous behavior as an excuse.
"Come on, guys!" Goku clapped his palms together and bent his head, requesting the Saiyans to stop making things harder for themselves. "Upa's gonna let you use the Pendulum Room. You can go to any place on Earth. Or any time. Once we fix your planet, all that wild training you'll get to do will make all of you strong enough to send Frieza packing all by yourselves if he tries anything. Just let us handle this."
"Whatever, Super Saiyan!" a masculine-looking Saiyan woman bit a chunk of ham and dug into the ample fruit around her. "We'll train for however it will take for our planet to get restored but know that we'll use all that strength to crush you."
"Yeah, only by beating the shit out of a Super Saiyan can we ascend ourselves!" a tough-looking old man with greyed out, balding head and full square of facial hair flexed his bulky build in front of Goku.
"Sure, let's have a blast when you're good and ready. Just know that I won't be sitting still either!" Goku saluted the Saiyans before flying up a good few paces and nodding in Upa's direction. "It looks like you're gonna take care of the things here. See you!"
Just like that, the Saiyan took off. Dende, frightened by the entire ordeal with Vegeta, looked down to the shred strings of the magical carpet, twitching and trying to weave back together but to no avail. The trainee that would succeed Upa when his human body grows too old to carry on as Kami looked up at his master, who approached the torn carpet.
"Mr. Popo will clean this up at once, Kami!" Mr. Popo sprung into action.
"Can you make a new one?" Dende wondered.
"Who knows? My predecessor was much more skilled with magic materialization than I. Even now, I can only materialize basic foods: fruit, ham and processed meat, vegetables, and other produce, but nothing too fancy. We're lucky that Saiyans aren't picky... Something as intricate as putting the magic carpet back together... It'll take time and training. Maybe you can help me after you become more skilled?" Upa turned to Dende with a hopeful smile.
"B-But... How!? If even Kami-sama can't...!" Dende got himself flustered and worked up, sweating as he threw his hands about, intimidated by the daunting task ahead.
"You show more potential than I ever have. The position of a Kami seems like it fits a Namekian naturally. I am just a Kami that Earth needed to stand up and take the reign at the time and there were no better options–you will make a splendid Kami one day, I'm sure of it." Upa sat down so that he could look Dende straight in the eyes and tried to transfer some of the hope he had for his future successor into Dende's fearful heart.
*****
"This feels like a waste of my time..." Chayote groaned, rolling her eyes. "At least let me protect your building. Rotting away in this stuffy lab is making me stressed out and if I don't get out, I'll bust my way out."
"Calm down, we're making excellent progress." Bulma waved her hand at the foolish caprice of her new assistant. "Studying this alloy might help me replicate it and your observations about how you make it and its properties will spare us ample time for testing. If this goes on, we can jumpstart space tourism by making these spaceships dirt-cheap and faster than light! Besides, there's nothing on this planet that would require you to protect the Capsule Corp from..."
"You say that..." Chayote turned her attention to an alarming mass of Ki that had made its way to West City and blitzed all the way to the city center, homing in on Bulma's location like it knew exactly where the owner of this Ki was going. It was only a few seconds later that the frightened receptionist, sweating and shaking for her life as a short and seething with quiet fury man held her by her throat in the air, only lowering the poor woman so that he could get her into the lab without hitting the doorway with her head.
"You, fussy Earthling woman. I need a place to stay and you seem to be the richest, most famous, and suitable person to host me on this planet. I've inspected this complex and determined that your place will do until we can leave Earth." Vegeta declared, letting the poor woman go only for her to flee coughing and wheezing because the tension around her throat still didn't permit her to scream as loudly as she wanted to. "Now show me to the training facilities!" he demanded as if the women owed it to him.
"Shall I deal with him?" Chayote turned to Bulma, hoping that her superior would let her cut loose.
"I've learned that men like him aren't worth the hassle. Just stay put, I'll show him to the extreme conditions test chamber and he'll be out of our sight and out of our mind." Bulma sighed.
"Extreme conditions test chamber? I like the sound of that..." Vegeta made a cocky grin.
"Good. We built it to test our spacecraft. It's teeming with simulations of the various extreme cosmic phenomenon that we try to build our spacecraft capable of surviving." Bulma waved her hand at Vegeta, shooshing him away. Chayote hoped Vegeta would humor his cocky demeanor and immediately try to withstand the black hole protocol, flattening himself. Something made Chayote wonder if Bulma may have been craving the same thing, as she acted surprisingly accommodating to the Saiyan royalty.