Ch. 104: Goku is Here!

"You'll die, knowing that you weren't even a challenge to me. Scream with regret in the afterlife while Lord Frieza spends the rest of eternity ruling over the universe as an immortal god! Death Cannon!" Ginyu let loose one of his most powerful attacks point blank at Piccolo. When the blast cleared, there was nothing in front of him at all. Just a crater carved right into the landscape, spreading miles and miles in the same direction, reducing everything in its path to naught but ash.

"Impressive. I didn't think anybody was fast enough to get the drop on me like that." Ginyu said, turning around to face the person who had pulled Piccolo out of harm's way just barely in time. 

"Hmph! Goku, you're late." Piccolo said, his tone betraying the relief that he felt inside. Goku had just saved his life, after all.

"Are you gonna be okay, Piccolo?" Goku asked, patting Piccolo on the shoulder. He was right to be worried. Piccolo was bleeding everywhere from Ginyu's onslaught. His left shoulder was clearly dislocated, and he was so low on energy that it was surprising that he could stand.

"I'll be fine, but I don't think I'll be any help against this guy, Goku. He's a monster." Piccolo told him. 

"Here. Eat a Senzu Bean." Goku offered, "Raditz is handing them out to the others as we speak." He flicked the bean at Piccolo, who caught it and pocketed it.

"I think we should save this. All it'll do is restore my energy, and I'll still be useless against that guy." Piccolo said.

"If you say so, Piccolo. So, who's this guy? And who beat the tar out of Vegeta?" Goku asked.

"I AM-"

"Never mind. Piccolo, mind if I read your mind? It'll be faster than explaining things verbally." Goku asked Piccolo, interrupting Ginyu's flamboyant self-introduction. Shocked that Goku had the audacity to interrupt him mid-pose, Ginyu lost his balance, tipping over a bit before he caught himself.

"Hey!" Ginyu shouted, but the two Z-fighters ignored him.

"Learned a few new tricks, Goku? Go ahead." Piccolo gave his consent and Goku placed his hand on the Namekian's forehead. 

...

A few moments earlier, on Goku and Raditz's flight towards their friends, the two were monitoring the others' power levels closely, cursing the fact that the Namekian scenery just seemed to go on forever.

"Ugh! We're flying at top speed, but I can feel the others' energies! One of our friends is dying, and either Gohan or Krillin are going to kill themselves using the Kaio-ken like that!" Goku shouted, frustrated. It felt like their friends were only moments away via flight, but they'd been flying for minutes.

"I know, Kakarot. I don't think that's Frieza, but it's strong... maybe Captain Ginyu... Trust our friends and family. They just need to hold on for a few more moments and we can save them." Raditz assured his brother.

"I don't care who it is! We need to stop them! Both Krillin and Gohan are losing energy now!" Goku reminded Raditz of what they were sensing, not that Raditz needed a reminder.

"Alright, Kakarot. I have the Senzu Beans We've got six left, so I'll get to feeding our friends the moment that we get there. You focus on dealing with Ginyu, alright?"

...

"Come on, Hanna. Eat the bean, even if I have to shove it down your throat!" Raditz pleaded, shoving a Senzu Bean into my mouth. By now, I wasn't conscious anymore, but my body was still able to swallow the bean. In an instant, the hole in my chest healed and I regained consciousness, gasping for breath. 

"Raditz?" I couldn't help but ask, disoriented. Inwardly, I sighed. That was the closest I'd come to dying outside of the Core so far, and it'd been completely unexpected. It was possible for my girls to make certain... concessions, to mask my presence if I were to actually die with preparations, but we hadn't made advanced preparations for this one. Had I died just now, I would have almost immediately woken up, having unconsciously recreated my physical body on the spot. To an onlooker, it would have seemed like I'd taken a Senzu Bean, but recreating my physical body would have also meant that all of the seals on my power would have broken, and I would have been slightly disoriented. 

A terrifying prospect to be sure.

"Oh, thank god. Your energy was almost completely gone."

"Gohan! Is Gohan okay?!" As the confusion faded, I remembered what had just happened. I'd fallen unconscious just before Krillin and the others had jumped into the fray, but I knew that Gohan had been hurt, at least. A thousand things ran through my mind... things that could have been going wrong while I was too busy dying.

"Here. You feed him this bean while I feed Krillin." Raditz flicked a bean over to me, then looked around. "Wait... was Nappa hurt... protecting Gohan?" Raditz asked, confused.

"I don't know, probably. Something that happened on Earth changed him. Apparently, he was protecting a Namekian village earlier. He and Vegeta were helping us fight, but that guy... My Grey Mode was almost useless against him." I told Raditz, "I don't know about Vegeta, but I think we can trust Nappa."

Raditz bit his lip but tossed me a bean anyway since Gohan and Nappa were so close together. "I don't think that brute's capable of being anything other than the meat-headed jerk he's always been... but I guess being in a tin can alone with my brother for seven days has driven me a little insane. If he ends up betraying us, I'll stop him myself." With that declaration, Raditz pushed a Senzu Bean down Krillin's blackened throat. 

"Don't kill me!" Krillin shouted as soon as the bean kicked in, sitting bolt upright. Interesting enough, the ashes that had been covering his burnt flesh slid right off of him, while his flesh knit itself together almost instantly. Once he realized that he'd been healed, he calmed down.