Raditz's eyes widened as the sky was bathed in a blinding Azure light. A giant Kamehameha came from seemingly out of nowhere and swept up the three Acrosians circling around the bruised and bloody saiyan prince. It carried them an unknown distance away before it erupted in a thunderous explosion.

A moment later a barrage of Ki blasts flew into the epicenter of the dome-like explosion causing it to expand exponentially in circumference. Dust and debris erupted from the battlefield.

Amidst all the chaos and confusion the eldest son of Bardock was unable to locate the source of the attack but he heard his younger brother's powerful voice ring out through the smoky atmosphere. "Raditz, run!"

The long haired saiyan hesitated, shame filling his heart. Once again his life was being saved by another. However the authority the young saiyan could utilize was unreal and it left no room for argument.

Raditz bounded to his feet and rushed off as fast as he could in the opposite direction of the smoke cloud created by Kakarot's attack and the subsequent explosion that followed.

As he flew several beams of vibrant pink energy sailed past him. To coin a phrase, most of the small but deadly beams missed him by a metaphorical mile. Suddenly Kakarot's plan became clear to the older warrior.

He wondered how exactly the reckless man had planned to outrun the mad emperor and his army but now realization dawned on him. "They can't sense energy!" Raditz gasped. "Hahaha! Genius, little brother!"

Raditz watched as the wincing Vegeta voluntarily shrank down so as not to give the Arcrosians such a large target. The saiyan prince flew over and scooped up the unconscious Nappa while Kakarot retrieved the broken and bloody form of Turles.

Raditz, feeling as if he had to contribute something to this little getaway, flew far off to the left. His younger brother looked back over his shoulder and wondered what exactly the long haired saiyan was doing, but he didn't have the luxury to stop and ask.

After reaching what he considered a sufficient distance Raditz raised his arms. Taking a cue from his brother he shouted, "Lion's Barrage!" From his open palms the siayan fired off dozens of energy balls seemingly at random into the smoke left behind by Kakarot's blast.

Of course while this action seemed to have no real purpose there was a method to the man's madness. In short he had began unleashing attacks to keep up the smokescreen to cover their retreat as well as having the added effect of confusing the Acrosians and making them think they were fleeing in a different direction than what they actually were.

With his senses he knew some of his attacks struck true. And while ineffective they would certainly be annoying to the already furious tyrants.

His plan worked wonders as a moment later there came a roar followed by barrage of death beams flying through the smoke. Raditz yelped and zig-zagged rapidly. He cackled as he bounded off after his fellow saiyans, laughing with glee as he watched the Arcrosisan's blasts tear through their own army and ships.

It looked as if the armored squadron had spotted Raditz and was preparing to give chase but by some stroke of pure luck one of the stray beams struck the fearsome Daiz, killing him instantly. The others screamed and gathered around their fallen ally. From the pitch black smoke Raditz heard who he thought was Cooler berating his younger brother for being so reckless.

'So one of them does have some semblance of skill.. We have to be careful..' He thought as he flew off in the direction of their ship. High above them the planet's sky turned a pitch black. "This must be the magic of the Dragon.." Raditz surmised. He remembered reading in the Frieza force archives that planet Namek had three suns, therefore it was constantly sunny on all parts of the planet.

Aside from that the planet only ever had calm and peaceful weather so to see storm clouds so suddenly and of such magnitude was a telling sign of supernatural happenings. He managed to catch up to Vegeta and his brother as they were each carrying an extra body's worth of weight. Of course the weight itself wasn't a problem so much as the fact that carrying a whole person was rather awkward and cumbersome.

"Kakarot!" Raditz called out. His brother gave no indication that he'd heard the older saiyan but the long haired man continued anyways. "How did you know the Arcrosians couldn't sense energy!?" He shouted curiously.

The saiyan raised on Earth smirked and turned ever so slightly to look over his luggage that was his doppelganger at his older brother. "Bad guys tend to be kind of dumb. And full of themselves besides. Plus.. the Frieza force seems to have a lot of the same problem. They all rely too much on technology and taking the easy way to power rather than improving themselves and their weaknesses." He lectured.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

They flew rapidly, not willing to rest in the slightest until they reached the relative safety of their ship. "It was just a hunch but I figured a guy like Frieza probably never actually trained a day in his life. His brother seemed to have a dangerous competence about him though.. Truthfully I think if he wanted to he could have stopped us from escaping all on his own. Thankfully he doesn't seem too interested in cleaning up Frieza's messes…" He deduced.

"Still!" Vegeta growled, interjecting himself into the two's conversation. At this point It was amazing the prince was even still conscious let alone carrying their heaviest ally. It was a testament to the man's spirit and grit.

"We barely made it out of there alive. Frieza and his family made a complete mockery out of us.. We looked like damn fools! We can't win in a head to head fight against them..." He reluctantly admitted. The others grew deathly silent at the prince's words because they knew them to be the truth.

"The dragon balls are the only advantage we have left now.. Let's hurry and hope it'll be enough." He decided. The others nodded in response and they redoubled their pace.

With the Earthlings and Dende a few minutes earlier…

"According to Elder Moori.." Bulma began, addressing the group. "Namek's dragon balls aren't like ours back on Earth. You can't just call the name of the eternal dragon like we can with Shenron." She explained. Beside her little Dende nodded sagely. "Yes! Speak your wishes and I will translate. That was the task given to me by Elder Moori." He chirped confidently.

Honestly the boy's enthusiasm was quite a refreshing contrast to how the Z-warriors, who could sense energy, were feeling. On paper it simply didn't seem possible for them to defeat Frieza and his army. He was simply too strong. There towards the end Frieza's power shot upward to match his father and brother, though the Earthlings had no way of knowing what they were truly feeling.

With all of their power combined the saiyans may have been able to defeat one Arcrosian, but three? They'd have better luck negotiating a truce than winning in a head to head battle. But seeing this little soul so young, innocent and carefree.. It gave them hope and reminded them what they were all fighting for.

Krillin smiled down at the kid and patted his head. "We really can't thank you enough for this. Well first thing's first little buddy… Bring out the eternal dragon!" He said with a laugh.

"Right!" The tiny Namekian yelled. They gathered the large Namekian balls into a circular pile and the orbs began to pulsate with power. This would be Dende's first time ever trying to summon the dragon as the young boy was still in training to become the Dragon clan's next and newst village elder.

They were confident he could do it however, because according to Moori, Dende was the most gifted child he'd ever seen. He believed he had the potential to someday rival Guru or even surpass him in divine abilities. The green child raised his thin, little arms and with a fearsome expression he shouted with all his might.

"Takkara-Puto Popporunga Pupiritto-Paro!"

The dragon balls began to pulse and hum before a pillar of mythical golden light shot upward into the air. The light curled and snaked in several circles before elongating and settling into the form of the mighty Porunga. Unlike Shenron, Porunga was more humanoid in structure and possessed massive muscles. Large spikes protruded from his broad shoulders and intimidating head.

"Holy crap!" Yamcha exclaimed. "He's easily three times the size of Shenron you guys!" The bandit observed.

"It's probably a result of him being older and more powerful." Chiaotzu theorized. The others could only nod in dumbfound agreement.

"I am the eternal dragon Porunga. Speak your first wish!"

"So.." Dende began. "What's first? Remember you get three wishes…" The child prompted. Krillin's gaze swept across all of his friends and they nodded in encouragement. "Right." The bald monk said, clenching his fist.

"First I need you to please wish back Kami and that should be all since he originally died on Earth. For the second wish please bring back Kami's other half, Piccolo. That ones a little more tricky because I want you to see if the dragon will wish him back here, on planet Namek. We'll go from there, is that ok?" He requested hopefully.

The small Namekian nodded enthusiastically and smiled. "Absolutely, no problem!"

He raised his arms once more and in the Namekian language made the first wish.

The dragon's crimson eyes flashed several times. "It is done. The being known as Kami has been revived on the planet Earth. Now speak your second wish." The fearsome entity demanded. Dende nodded and quickly continued speaking. This time his chant was noticeably longer than the others, signifying the complexity of the wish.

Porunga's features twisted into an unreadable expression. "Hmm.. The nature of your request is a simple one. Bring the being known as Piccolo back to life.. And also bring him here.. but your request is two fold in significance."

There was silence for several seconds and the Earthlings largely felt like children about to be scolded by their parent(s). The dragon spoke again, breaking the pregnant silence.

"I have been enthralled to Guru for some time now… He is a good man. Piccolo and Kami are two parts of one whole. Because of this and because of my gratitude to your grand elder, little one…" He growled, leaning closer to the comparatively tiny mortals.

Dende met the dragon's gaze with unwavering eyes.

"It shall be done."

Several miles away…

"Kami!" Piccolo shouted, appearing out of thin air. He gasped for air and frantically felt around his chest and stomach. He stared down at his trembling palms. "I'm.. Alive.." He mumbled in disbelief. The man raised his head and took in the environment of this strange new world. "And by the looks of things they brought me to planet Namek. Although it looks like they forgot to specify location. Is the sky always this dark?.."

He paused and his eyes widened as he looked toward the horizon. "So many power levels!? And the three largest ones… I've never felt anything like it. One of those has to be Frieza and from what King Kai said.. His family too. What the hell have you gotten us all into Goku?" He shuddered. "In any case the others are all suppressing their powers and I don't have my watch anymore so.. For now I'll have to be careful."

"I've been waiting for you, great warrior." Piccolo spun around fast enough to break the sound barrier cracking the ground beneath him as he slid into a defensive stance.

In truth the three power levels he felt far off on some distant part of the planet set him on edge. However upon realizing that the source of the voice was none other than a fellow Namekian, the green man from Earth was left dumbfounded.

For a second his eyes widened and he relaxed his stance, dropping his guard. He was astounded how much the man looked exactly like himself. This was the first Namekian he had ever met aside from Kami, of course.

His eyes narrowed. "Who are you? What did you mean you've been waiting for me? Did you somehow know I would be at this location after my revival?"

Nail shook his head. "So many questions and so little time. I am Nail. Please come with me to Grand Elder Guru's. He's the one who knew the plan with the wish would have a small.. miscalculation. I'll elaborate on the way." He urged as he turned and flew off toward the elder's home. Luckily they weren't far.

Piccolo knew the name Guru because of Kami so he knew he was more or less in the company of allies so long as this stranger was in fact who he claimed to be. Besides.. All in all he was over twice as strong as this man. With a sigh he shook his head and bounded after his fellow Namekian.

End of chapter 44

Kakarot's power level post potential unlock: 10 million