Dragon Ball Z: Paradise Found

A Soldier's Calling

There was a sense of heavy foreboding in the air. A smell of something figuratively fishy the likes of which Chayote was unfamiliar with yet. On the one hand, nobody around her had any capacity of striking fear in her so, whatever their business was, it wouldn't have bothered her. On the other hand, all of those goons served the same master, and the wicked emperor calling their shots was not someone Chayote wanted to stand in front of.

"We're headed back to the ship," Chayote turned toward the ship and began slowly strutting in that direction. She wanted for Gohan to catch up before she takes off but, judging by him lingering where he stood, he never did. This prompted the Saiyan woman to turn back with a sullen stare. One that left the child leaning back with wide and twitching eyes as he instinctively put his arms up in between him and the Saiyan he only heard his father speak of but hasn't known for too long.

"B-But... Grandma..." Gohan muttered. "Also, won't those soldiers try to stop us?"

"Everyone else can look for Bardock's wife all they want. I'm sure that one of them will find her. I'd rather make sure that we're ready to leave as soon as possible. This isn't some sick joke. The Ginyu Special Squadron aren't the only ones here–it's Lord Frieza too." Chayote grit her teeth, completing her uptight expression.

"Dad's energy it's... He's not moving for a while now. Maybe something happened?" Gohan continued to whine, looking toward where the Ki of Goku, Krillin and, strangely, Vegeta were. Judging from the fact that neither Krillin's nor Goku's Ki were involved in a heated battle with the Saiyan prince, Chayote assumed they struck some sort of deal. Either way, whatever deal that was, she'd not pull any punches if she sets her eyes on the prince who forced her to transform into a Great Ape and threaten the Earth against her will.

The lid tipped over with aliens forming a circle around the group. Chayote had been looking out for that specific formation–an early indicator of an incoming hit though she was expecting the entire group to circle around her and Gohan, not just the alien half of the army surrounding some of their own people as well and aiming at their backs. The hit squad didn't wait. The moment a chubby Saiyan noticed the fact that his comrade was aiming an energy channeling gauntlet at his back, a bright flash snuffed him out.

Gohan froze in place. He had been in a battle before, but he hasn't encountered a synchronized execution. He's been familiar with combat, but not genocide. It took Chayote more than a few hole-ridden Saiyan bodies until she made the connection in her mind. When a blue alien with a skull-shaped head aimed his cannon at Gohan with a wicked smile, Chayote blinked in front of him, swatting the bolt aside even though it wouldn't have killed the brat.

"Sorry, nothing personal, it's just that you've arrived at the worst possible time to be a Saiyan on Planet Vegeta..." the skull-faced soldier cackled while a handful more soldiers surrounded them. It wasn't until he had made that proclamation that Chayote finally put everything together and confirmed what was going on.

"How cruel!" Gohan gasped. Something had snapped in him, however. His teeth clenched and the two separate rows began competing against one another in strength while his watering eyes squinted inward as the boy's body stiffened. His Ki had shot up as well. That was odd, Chayote didn't see or hear him using the King Kai's Fist, though the escalation of power was easily comparable to that technique.

"This isn't our business." Chayote tried calming Gohan down. "We can't save everyone on this planet. If we try, we're bound to run into the Ginyu Special Squadron and put ourselves on Lord Frieza's crosshairs."

Gohan wasn't listening at all. His booming power made the soldiers holding the pair of Saiyans at gunpoint sweat and grow restless as their scouters activated automatically as a warning and began counting up. As their data input went into the five digits, the soldiers all fired at Gohan. Like a downpour in a stormy ocean, all the energy blasts rippled and disappeared inside a bubble of Ki emerging and growing around Gohan.