Chapter 23

LETTIE

"Piccolo, are you sure this Ki belongs to that Frieza guy?"

The two of us were flying to Chi-chi's house, as fast as a mother with an eight-month-old baby could. Naíma was clinging to my uniform, held in the baby sling. The poor thing already seemed to understand how high we were.

"Yes, I'm sure," replied Piccolo, gloomy. "I would recognize his Ki from a galaxy away."

There he was with that worried look again; the same one he showed since the day he returned. I could see the veins throbbing in his temple.

My heart ached painfully seeing him in that state. I wanted to touch him and tell him everything would be okay, but I didn't, which only caused me more pain.

"Do you think he's coming to Earth?" I asked to push away my thoughts.

"I don't know..." He looked at me sideways. "And I fear to know the answer."

We remained silent until we landed on the lawn of my brother's house. To our surprise, both my sister-in-law and nephew were there as if they were waiting for us.

"What's going on?!" Chi-chi asked, distressed. "Gohan told me that he felt the presence of an evil Ki. Is that Frieza?"

"Apparently, yes," answered Piccolo.

"We need to investigate this properly, Mr. Piccolo!" said Gohan, who was already wearing a Saiyan uniform that he had received when he went to Namek; a blue jumpsuit with white chest armor and yellow shoulder pads. I didn't quite like that uniform, as Vegeta had worn a similar one in our battle, and it didn't bring back good memories for me.

"I agree with you, Gohan." I took Naíma out of the baby sling and handed her to Chi-chi. "Would you do the kindness to stay with her while we investigate? I don't want to take her into a… possible conflict."

"O-Of course," replied Chi-chi, still unsure about all the news. "But what about your classes, Lettie? We're in the middle of the week."

"Don't worry. I already informed my students that I had an emergency." I sighed and placed my hands on my hips. "However, I don't deny that it is time for me to hire a substitute teacher."

"We gotta go," said Piccolo. "There's no time to lose."

"Right." Chi-chi turned to Gohan. "Be careful, my son. Don't leave your aunt and Piccolo's side."

The two hugged and I made a little smile. Under other circumstances, I doubt Chi-chi would allow Gohan to drop his studies to fight. I bet he would have to run away from home to get out. But now, she was letting him go of her own free will.

"Bye-bye, my love." I kissed my daughter's cheek, restraining myself from showing how much I hated leaving her. "Mommy will be back soon."

Naíma's eyes filled with tears and she made such a big pout that I almost fainted. I had to pick her up for a hug and countless more kisses. Before we flew off, Piccolo stroked her black hair. I knew he felt the same way I did about leaving her. His expression didn't lie.

We finally left, leaving Chi-chi and Naíma behind. I just hoped that whatever Frieza's threat was, it wouldn't reach them. We flew for a long time until we arrived at an inhospitable area covered in grass and full of small hills around it.

"Pay close attention, you two," warned Piccolo. "Low your Kis as much as possible. We need to camouflage ourselves."

Although the region was inhospitable, it was not uninhabited. The other warriors were there; Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, Krillin... and even Bulma, with a blue kitten named Puar. However, the atmosphere between them was not at all cordial, because, besides them, another person was there: Vegeta.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who didn't like him. I'm sure the other warriors haven't forgotten how they were brutally murdered because of him. It wasn't pleasant for me to see the person responsible for the worst day of my life; the day I lost the man I love. I noticed how defensive Piccolo was when he saw him, positioning himself next to me in a protective manner. He was the only one who made me feel safe around Vegeta.

But, Vegeta wasn't with all the pomp he displayed before. In fact, he seemed quite embarrassed, especially with the tacky outfit he was wearing: a pink shirt with yellow pants. Ugh.

We arrived at a time when Yamcha was trying to calm a conflict between Tien and Vegeta. However, Frieza's threat spoke louder. In the distance, through the dense white clouds, a gigantic round and flat spaceship passed above our heads, bringing a strong wave of wind, so intense that Piccolo brought me and Gohan close to him and covered us with his cape.

Everyone was in complete shock and stupefaction. The spaceship continued in a low plane until it landed kilometers ahead, behind several elevations, hidden from our eyes.

Then there was silence.

The only sound was our nervous breathing. Bulma collapsed to the ground, shaking with fear, hugging Puar.

"I-I… I can't believe it!" exclaimed Gohan. "Frieza is still alive! I felt his Ki. He was inside the spaceship!"

"And there's also another powerful being with him," added Krillin; his eyes wide in terror. 

Piccolo and I exchanged distressed expressions. I may not know Frieza in person, but his terrible fame came to me through Piccolo's accounts of when they fought on Namek. And now, that threat had arrived at Earth.

I deeply feared for my baby's life.

I was startled when I heard Vegeta's authoritative voice, "Listen! Don't even dare to approach that spaceship by flying! We have to walk, so they won't detect us with their scouters."

I turned to Piccolo. His look was increasingly worried and dark. A drop of sweat ran down the side of his head. Finally, I did what I wanted before and touched his arm to calm him down. It seemed to do the trick a little, as he gave me a reassuring half-smile.

"Shall we?" Piccolo looked at me and Gohan, squeezing our shoulders, and we nodded, determined.

I had a feeling of déjà vu. It was as if we were returning to the battlefield against the Saiyans, anxiously awaiting our enemy. But now, there was no longer any prospect of my brother coming to our aid.

We started to walk, but Yamcha stopped us, "Wait! B-Before anything, tell me, are you sure that it's Frieza who has this monstrous Ki?!"

"Unfortunately, yes," replied Gohan. "But that's not all his power. He still hasn't reached his limits."

"What??" I asked as a chill ran down my spine.

Tien was also as stunned as I was, "And you dared to fight against such a powerful enemy on Namek?!"

"This has to be a joke!" Yamcha exclaimed, staring at everyone with wide and scared eyes. "If we go to that spaceship, what can we do??? No one will be able to defeat this beast! Even more so now, knowing that more than one Ki is waiting for us! WE WON'T BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING!!!"

The atmosphere was intense, and now the feeling of déjà vu became stronger. Everyone was scared to death! I don't doubt that I wasn't the only one who developed some kind of disorder after everything we went through against Nappa and Vegeta.

Vegeta...

Worse than all that, was seeing him there, literally next to us, with his typical irritated look. I wonder what was going through his head. Did he know how much he was despised by our group?

Piccolo's voice stood out over my questions, "And what will you do, Yamcha?" He looked at him with a serious and closed expression. "Will you stay here? Do as you wish. We all know we can't do anything."

I stared at him, astonished. How could Piccolo, who was always hopeful in the face of threats, become so… pessimistic?

His words not only reached me, but everyone else. An almost palpable silence fell over us, which only highlighted our terror. Unintentionally, I looked at my hands. They were shaking.

"Do you guys want me to tell the truth?" Vegeta turned to us with a sadistic smile on his face. "This is the end of planet Earth!"

That smile... It was as if he enjoyed the possibility of us all being killed by Frieza; as if this new enemy was doing what he and Nappa couldn't when they fought us.

At his statement, my hands no longer shook with fear, but with anger. I took a step forward and replied, "Say it for yourself! As long as I'm alive, I will fight to protect this place. I will not allow a narcissistic maniac to kill my daughter!"

Vegeta snorted and rolled his eyes in boredom. However, fortunately, it seemed that my words gave the others some courage. Piccolo showed me a little smile and was the first to lead the line so we could finally start walking to Frieza's spaceship.

The terrain was pretty uneven, with several black rocks and formations that complicated our passage on foot. Many times, Piccolo had to help me climb, giving me support and holding my hands, while Gohan helped Bulma further back. Even though I have climbed our Camp countless times, once you learn to fly, you lose your grip on some things.

"Are you okay?" I quietly asked Piccolo at one point.

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it and just nodded without saying anything. It was clear in his eyes how painfully disturbed he was by the entire situation. I was sure he was having a bad headache due to his throbbing temples.

My eyes burned with the tears I held back. All I wanted most was to be at home, with him and Naíma. But, apparently, this was now a luxury we could not have.

Suddenly, everyone stopped with a fright.

"Did you guys feel that???" I exclaimed.

"What is it?" replied Bulma, scared. "What happened? Why are you all acting like this?"

"Another Ki appeared," warned Krillin. "A gigantic Ki…!"

"And this Ki eliminated several others," added Tien. "At once!"

"Is it Frieza's Ki?" asked Yamcha.

"No," replied Piccolo, somber. "It belongs to someone else…"

"Yes…" I said, slowly. Then, for the first time since I faced him about a year ago, I turned to Vegeta and looked him in the eye.

He was also looking at me, sweating coldly. In unison, we both declared, "This Ki belongs to a Saiyan, and it's not Goku!"