To See the Old Neighborhood.....

Part 17

Chichi sat at the Capsule Corps. table, quietly sipping at her tea.

Since Bulma had told her the sudden news that their boys (and poor little Pan and Bra!) had run off to some gaw-awful dangerous place, she had started spending more and more time there.

Not only for the company, but also for the sake of doing SOMETHING! She had never known, till now, just how boring things were when Goten and Goku, the walking stomachs, weren't around. She hadn't felt this lonely since Gohan was training with Piccolo and Goku was dead for the first time. Since then, all those years ago, she had always had someone around.

Someone to fuss over, someone to take care of, someone to cook for and care for and worry for and even to just talk to or sit by. So, with them gone for who knows how long, she needed to live where there were people.

She needed to be where she could get support....and that didn't mean the psychiatrist office!!

Bulma walked in, her expression mirroring Chichi's mood. Neither were happy. Neither were happy at all. One glance of exchange was all it took to set them both off that the same time, gushing out their frustration the way they did best.

"I can't believe Goku would be so irrisponsible as to take Goten along! And Pan! Oh, how could he!?"

"When I think of my little Bra, forced to live with those BEASTS.....!!"

"And he even made Gohan go! MY little boy! Videl didn't even get to say goodbye!"

"And I don't trust those OTHER guys one bit! I bet Turles had something to do with this!"

"Arge! When I even THINK of seeing Goku again......."

"If I had know Vegita would be doing this in advace......."

"I'D KILL HIM!!!" The both finally said at the same time.

Then for about ten seconds there was no sound in the whole room. The wind could be heard outside.

"I sure hope they're all right..........," Chichi said quietly.

"Me too," Bulma said, watching through a window as the trees blew in the wind, "Me too."

****

Goten, Trunks, Bra and Pan were miserable.

Little Vegita was miserable.

Brolly was miserable.

To sum it all up, they were very, very miserable.

It was getting dark out, though it wasn't too late in the day. The clouds over head had thickened up and looked swolen, ready to burst. The kids had started flying for the palace, but found they didn't know which way to go. Trunks and Goten could feel their fathers as well as Gohan's chi up is space somewhere, which didn't exactly orient them to their surroundings much.

After perhaps an hour of flying, they found themselves hovering above the cave Goten had been originally hiding in, settling once and for all that they were lost.

A large burst of thunder and lightning sent them scurrying for cover, but they didn't make it back into the cave before getting thoroughly soaked to the bone by a sudden downpour.

They all sat, huddled in the cave, trying to enjoy a meager meal from an emegency rations capsule (which Goten kept with him at all times) and each gnawed woefully at a meal only small enough to feed one Saiyan as a snack, meaning they weren't only cold, wet and lost, they were also hungry.

"What IS this!?" Vegita asked, chewing at the food in his mouth as though it were glass.

"Meat of some sort. Maybe fish." Goten chewed dejectedly, stewing about how mad everyone was going to be when they got back.

"Why does it taste so funny? What's with this wierd texture?" Vegita poked at the unrecognizable chunk of meat in his hand, marveling at how it sprung back out when he moved his hand away.

"It's probably just chicked breast." Trunks said with a full mouth. Oh, the setting was glum.

"But it just doesn't taste right!" Vegita exclaimed, making Bra and Pan jump. A small tear slid down Bra's cheek before she started crying in loud, piercing shreiks.

"Can't you just make her shut up!?" Vegita held his fists over his ears in try to drown out the noise.

"Woah, what's with Brolly?" Trunks asked, ignring Vegita again. Thet all turned to look at the baby Saiyan that lay a few feet away in a corner of the cave away from the other tikes.

Since Bra had started crying, Brolly had started convulging. Twisting and squirming and whimpering. Panting and sounding very distressed, his tail twitching beside him.

"Geez, Goten, get her to be quiet!" Trunks said, shoving Bra into the smaller half-breed's arms.

"But why do I have to-"

"Cause you're better with this sorta thing!"

Goten gave him an indignant look, but started to rock Bra, patting her on the back and cooing to her as he had seen Gohan do for Pan before. He felt incredibly stupid, even more so under the anoying watchful eye of Vegita.

Bra settled down, and soon so did Brolly, whose wounds had already started to close up. That was one of the best things about Saiyans. They healed incredibly fast.

"You still haven't told me why this meat doesn't have any blood in it even! What sort of creature doesn't have blood?"

"Oh, ew!" Trunks and Goten said at the same time, "You only eat RAW meat!?"

"Well, yeah, of coarse. What else is there?"

"COOKED!!"

"Oh, gross! You COOK this stuff!?!" Vegita dropped the meat in his hand as though it were acid. Trunks darted out hand and caught it before it even touched the ground.

"Well, if you don't want it......."

"Gimme that!" Vegita yanked the morsel back into his possession and held onto it possesivly, "I'm gonna eat your junk, but I'm not gonna like it!"

****

Gohan didn't need to look to see if Turles had eaten the senzu bean or not. The rise in power was unmistakable. But Gohan wasn't interested in that at the moment. He was interested in something that he was participating in with Vegita and Goku.

Namely sweet, sweet revenge.

Though Gohan normally prided himself to be a forgiving sort, nere to be bent on such acts as vengance, some times.....sometimes it just wasn't to be. Even HE felt satisfaction with such devious actions.

At the moment, all three were pummeling Freiza.

That poor lizard didn't know what was hitting him (hundreds of times a second.)

Gohan kicked the rapidly limping form of the once feared tyrant in his father's direction. Goku swung and punched him toward Vegita. Vegita extended a knee sending Freiza sprawling back to Gohan again, only to be booted back to Goku again.

Oh, what fun this was.

Soon, everyone on the bridge was either dead, unconscious, or frozen in awe as they watched the trio beat the snot out of the great and mighty terror of the galaxy, now a mere projectile.

"Woo hoo!" Radditz whooped suddenly, raising fists in the air and scaring Tripnup who was standing next to him, "Pass 'im over here!"

Goku, floating on his back and balancing the moaning body of Freiza on one toe grinned and did just that. He kicked Freiza right over to Radditz.

"Turles! Think fast!" Radditz raised an elbow and swung, hitting Frieza as hard as he could (man was it satisfying!) In his state of near unconsciouness, Freiza could not resist, much less attack.

Turles brough up both fists into the body that was flying toward him. A double hit sent it away again into Lotus's direction. The Saiyan paused in fear a moment, then with a mustering of courage, threw out a leg and found himself kicking Freiza off to the King.

The King didn't raise a finger to stop it's approach. Instead, he stepped aside and the body hit the ground, slidding a few feet to a quiet thump agenst a far wall.

"Awe, ya messed up the game!" Nappa said without thinking, "I didn't even getta turn to whack 'im!"

A quick glance from the King silenced him.

The royal monarch walked over to the limp body of Freiza and said down to it, "You really shouldn't have messed with the Saiyans."

"Damn right," Vegita said with a wicked smile.

"He's right ya know," Radditz said happily, rubbing the arm he had hit Freiza with. Oh, it still tingled with joy of such a hit.

"I agree comletely," Gohan said, alowing a smug smile to form.

"Heh," was all Goku said, though he thumbed his nose in satisfaction.

"Next time, I get a turn, okay?" Nappa asked hopefully, looking around for an acknowledgment.

"So.......um.......what do we do now?" Tripnup asked.

****

"Uh....master Loomen?" a man sitting at the console of some unknown ship said, twirling in his chait to face the man in the middle of the room.

"What is it?"

"Freiza's ship has been attacked by a group of Saiyans."

"Oh? Why should this matter. It's just a bunch of weak monkeys."

"Um.....they completely took over the ship, sir, we're not sure if Freiza's even alive."

"................"

"Sir?"

"I want to investigate this on my own. Drop me off on the planet's surface, and make sure we're not detected."

"Yessir"

To be continued.............