Resistance ship

Kakarot and the main body of Piccolo touched down simultaneously outside the ship's ramp. Gathered around and seemingly waiting for them were Bulma, Tien, Chiaotzu, Krillin and the four saiyans that had been healing before. Instantly Kakarot could tell something was wrong but he couldn't help but notice how strong the others had become.

Upon their arrival, Vegeta stomped over and poked Piccolo in the chest with an accusing finger. It was almost comical to see the angry saiyan prince being towered over by the stoic and confused Piccolo. "Alright Namekian! Tell us what you did? I demand to know the secret to your outrageous power level!"

"I died." Piccolo sweat dropped.

This gave Vegeta pause and he blinked several times in surprise. Shaking his head, Piccolo continued. "I learned a lot of incredible techniques when I was in otherworld. And then when I was brought back my power was amplified several times over by a potential unlock and a merger between me and one of my people." He finished his explanation and summoned his weighted clothing via magic materialization.

"Wow, You guys can do that?" Ever being the one not to have a filter it was naturally Kakarot who blurted out the question.

Piccolo merely nodded in response. It was at that time that the childish saiyan raised on Earth noticed something peculiar. Having all of the boundaries and social skills of a rock, Kakarot couldn't contain the explosive question that came next.

"Vegeta!" He gasped. "Your tail is gone!?" Kakarot yelled in disbelief. He was sure that when had saved the others Vegeta was still in possession of the furry appendage. Yet here he stood before him, as tail-less as the rest of them. The short warrior turned his shoulder towards Kakarot and looked away sharply. "Hmph. I don't want to talk about it with you, Kakarot." He said finally.

Scratching his head the younger saiyan looked at him in confusion. Looking at the others he mouthed, 'Was it something I said?' To which Nappa and Turles chuckled while Raditz shrugged helplessly.

Flashback

(resistance ship medbay)

The four saiyans had just stepped out of their healing chambers and suited up in fresh combat armor that was similar in style to what Vegeta wore on earth but with no shoulder pads. Bulma had designed these models personally. They were more durable than the standard armor but while also possessing special technologies that were aerodynamic and boosted the wearer's agility.

The four of them had undergone massive zenkais, which currently saw Raditz and Turles loudly celebrating. They clapped each other on the back and butted beads in encouragement. Nappa meanwhile remained silent, his expression unreadable as he looked himself up and down.

"Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! The saiyans are number one!" Raditz yelled.

"You may be able to beat a saiyan in battle, but we'll always come back stronger to kick names and take ass!" Turles roared.

The others cocked their heads at him quizzically for a moment before Vegeta shook his head and growled. "Enough clowning around you imbeciles!" He ordered. "We're still a far cry from strong enough to deal with Frieza let alone whatever the hell else it was we felt out there." He snarled with a frown. "And on top of that you lot can't even transform anymore!"

He turned to look at his general. "Nappa what's got you moping over there in silence?" The short saiyan asked simply.

The massive bald headed saiyan looked up in surprise, as if he had forgotten where he was and with whom. His gaze swept across his fellow saiyans, ending on Vegeta.

He sighed deeply before saying, "I can feel that I didn't get as strong as everyone else after healing. Truth is I've been falling behind for a while now." He said honestly. "It's only my experience that's allowed me to keep up so far. I'm old.. I can feel it in my bones." The man admitted honestly.

He looked at the prince with sad but accepting eyes. "Vegeta. In all my life, the two things I've prided myself the most on are watching you grow into the man you've become.. and my tail. Now I've gone and lost that and I'm all but useless to you.. I should resign as your second in command."

Clack clack clack *SMACK!*

Nappa held his stinging cheek in confusion. "P- Prince Vege-" He began but he was cut off by the angry voice of the short prince.

"How dare you!?" He yelled, poking the large brute roughly in the chest. "My father, your king made you swear on your honor to protect me until your very last breath! And now here at the end, when my existence may actually be in danger for the very first time, you want to shrug your duties? Resignation denied!" He decided fearsomely.

Nappa was stunned and quite frankly so were the others, but none of them could have prepared themselves in a million years for what happened next. Vegeta took several steps back and unraveled his tail from his waist. He wiggled the furry appendage in front of him for a moment before he took a deep breath and reached out to firmly grasp it at the base.

With a look of fury he glared at his general and roared, "If this is all a saiyan is worth, then we are not saiyans! We are the legendary super saiyans!" With a sickening, wet squelching sound, Vegeta twisted and ripped his tail clean off with his bare hands. He roared in pain and blood began to spurt from his backside.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Reaching back he formed an energy blast in his hands and with an angry yell he carterized his wound. "Ahhhhhg!"

When it was over he turned back to the others panting and huffing, daring them to challenge him.

With wide eyed wonder and a small amount of disgust, they slowly lowered themselves to their knees and bowed to their prince.

Flashback end

"Kakarot.." Bulma began. "There's something you should know."

Noting the seriousness in her tone and facial features, Kakarot dropped all pretenses of good tidings. "You can tell me anything." He said honestly.

She nodded, thankful for his understanding and patience. Chewing the words over in her mouth she eventually managed to find her voice.

"Gohan he.. he felt your battle with Frieza. We all felt that monster's power jump yet again and then there was his father…" Bulma paused and shuddered involuntarily when she remembered what it felt like when Cold assumed his true form. "Gohan knew you wouldn't make it on your own. He wouldn't listen to reason and I wasn't strong enough or fast enough to stop him." She admitted with dread.

She felt like such a horrible mother. But how could she have abandoned all the defenseless people they'd rescued?

Kakarot was silent for several minutes and everyone present expected the man to explode with righteous fury. Who could blame the man when his son was in clear and present danger? Especially when his own rashness is arguably what led to the situation to begin with. Finally he took in a deep breath and let out a sigh.

"Recall the others." Kakarot ordered. His wife nodded in response. "Already have. So far we're just waiting on Ymacha, Chi Chi and Piccolo's other clone. He went to see the grand elder with Dende for.." She paused, a look of confusion etching itself upon her features.

Turning to Piccolo's main body she tapped her chin and asked, "What exactly did you need to go see the grand elder for? Is he not coming here with the rest of us?"

Piccolo shook his head in the negative. "To be entirely honest.. I don't fully understand the grand elder's plans. But I trust my people and I truly believe he has everyone's best interests at heart." He admitted with difficulty.

The others merely nodded. They may not have really known Guru, but they knew Piccolo and that was enough for them to put their faith in their friend.

Kakarot turned to Krillin, a look of calm intensity overtaking his features. It was clear to any who knew him, that beneath the surface the saiyan's emotions and power raged. Krillin had to resist the urge to gulp and avert his eyes from his mighty friend's gaze.

For all that Goku had always been their savior and greatest ally, none could deny that the saiyan could be truly frightening and intimidating at times. Especially when his friends and family were in jeopardy.

"Krillin.." The siayan began slowly. "I'm sorry for.. for everything. The things I've said and how I pushed everyone away the last few months.. but your my best friend. I can't do this without you. Please help me save my son." He pleaded, with all the sincerity and heart of a man who knew this was his last chance. His last chance to make things right and save what matters most to him.

For a moment Krillin seemed taken aback, but then he placed his fists on his hips and glared at the freakishly strong alien he'd known most of his life. Kakarot gulped, a nervous bead of sweat appearing on his forehead. The tension in the air became suffocating and even the saiyans watched with baited breath.

Suddenly Krillin burst into a fit of spontaneous laughter! "Ahahaha! Honestly.." He said shaking his head. "im suprised at you, Goku." He said with a smirk and a thumbs up to his friend. "You think we wouldn't help you in your time of need just because you said some dumb, mean things and ignored us for half a year? Yeah right!" He exclaimed slapping his knee and smirking at Kakarot, who held back tears of joy and relief.

"like you said.. We've all tried to kill you at one point or another and honestly? We still think about it sometimes! ahahaa!" Krillin joked with the man, walking up and slapping him on the back. "We all owe you our lives and even more important than that.. We're all here because of you. Your strong leadership and kindness has brought us all together and shown us a better way. You will always be one of us, no matter how much time you need."

With a smile that shone as brightly as the sun, Kakarot turned to Vegeta and the gang. He opened his mouth and sucked in a breath but was immediately cut off.

"Save your breath Kakarot!" Vegeta demanded. "What kind of leader would I be if I had to be begged to save one of my people? Besides I'm pissed off and ready for round two." He finished with a huff, crossing his arms.

Feeling more optimistic than he had in months, Kakarot turned to discuss a game plan with Bulma, who was inarguably the most intelligent among them. Having already predicted what was coming, his wife stepped up and began her explanation with vigor.

"We've all more or less seen what the enemy is capable of." She said seriously, briefly scanning everyone present with her gaze. "Even the strongest among us can't beat them." She added with a gesture to Piccolo.

"Not much of a pep talk.." Turles joked, earning a glare from several of the others. "Sorry!" He quipped sheepishly, raising his hands in defense.

Bulma shook her head before continuing. "Anyways as I was saying.. They may be strong. But we have something they don't. Trust in each other. With teamwork and a shit ton of luck, we've already proven we can overcome any odds. One way or another this next battle will probably be the last one so pay close attention. We all have parts to play."

Bulma took a few more steps so that she was in the center of everyone present and pushed a button on her watch. Immediately a massive hologram of planet Namek exactly like the one on the ship appeared. It even featured all the same energy signatures moving in real time.

as the other resistance members tried not to let their envy distract them from the lesson, Bulma continued.

"Here are Frieza and his Father, and his brother is just a short flight away right over here. I can't pinpoint Gohan's exact Ki signature, it seems they destroyed his gravity watch.. but we know he's somewhere in that area. Our best bet would be to try an distract them while one of us goes to each of the three ships to rescue him. I've went ahead and decided the match ups that should favor us the most according to known variables at play."

Before continuing she looked at everyone present. "I really want to emphasize that this is going to be dangerous no matter how we do this so if anyone else has any better suggestions…"

"Bulma." Suprisingly it was Raditz of all people who cut her off. He flashed her a smirk. "You're the smartest one here. We trust you. Get on with it." He teased.

Bulma for her part blinked in surprise for a moment before taking a nervous breath. She hadn't even realized how bad she'd been shaking. Truth be told she was really just worried for her son. But for now, and for him, she had to be strong. She nodded appreciatively at her brother in law.

"I propose a strike force consisting of Piccolo, Kakarot, Vegeta, Raditz, Nappa and Turles. The six of you will challenge Cold directly and I'm assuming when you do so, Frieza and Cooler will likely join in the fray. This is going to be the most dangerous part by far." She warned.

She took a deep brewth, steadying herself." Brute forcing your way isn't going to work this time, we've all witnessed that first hand. Play it smart and wear them down." She surmised. The siayans as well as Piccolo nodded in concurrence. They all knew the stakes this time.

"What about the dragon balls?" Chiaotzu chimed in hopefully. Unfortunately Bulma shook her head in the negative before elaborating further. "Kami and the others are working tirelessly to find the dragon balls but it could still take up to a full day and that's time we may not have now.." The scientist said dejectedly.

"What about the rest of us? We can help too, you know?" Tien added.

To this Bulma looked up and nodded firmly. "Right you are Tien. The second part of my plan will consist of you, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, Chi Chi, and Krillin." She said. "While probably not the most dnagerous, you guys will have arguably the most difficult task of all. Round up the rest of the Namekians and simultaneously launch our counterattack. We're going to crush Frieza's army and make them regret ever attacking this planet. But there are many and they're spread out.. Pace yourselves."

She gestured over her shoulder at the ship. "Hopefully none of the fighting makes it this far.. I'll be the one searching the ships for Gohan so I won't be able to stay here and defend the place, but I'll have a couple of the battle droids as well as the ship's natural defenses on standby just in case. They should be able to handle a couple dozen soldiers or so. Ill begin with the ship furthest away from the others."

Collapsing the map on her wrist she turned to her husband. "That's everything I've got. You can get in a healing tank while we wait for the others, or we can go now with what we've got and fill them in on the way. Your call." She said, handing over the reigns so to speak.

The others nodded and murmured in agreement.

Kakarot looked around thoughtfully. Within him, his emotions wreaked havoc on his logical thinking yet.. he knew that now more than ever, he needed to use his head and not his fists. "No we should wait for the others to get here first. We need to be at full strength. Rushing into this will only put us and our son in greater danger. I was foolish before. I should have asked for help. This time we do this the proper way. Together, like we've always done."

End of chapter 50