Vegeta remembered it clearly — there was a Medical Machine inside Frieza's spaceship.
His body had taken too much damage. If he hadn't held onto that last gasp of strength to finish Zarbon off, he might have ended up being killed instead.
Vegeta needed treatment. Now.
Whoosh!
It didn't take long before Vegeta touched down near the spaceship.
"Wh — Vegeta?!" One of Frieza's soldiers stared at him in shock.
"Hmph. I need medical treatment. You're going to cooperate," Vegeta said coldly.
"Y-yes. Understood." The soldier immediately fell into line.
Vegeta didn't bother killing him. At this point, someone like this wasn't worth the effort.
With the soldier's assistance, Vegeta climbed into the Medical Machine and began his recovery.
The soldier didn't try anything foolish. Better to just do what I'm told — or he'll beat me to death.
Once Vegeta was sealed inside and it was clear he wouldn't be coming out anytime soon, the soldier's eyes darted around and, seizing the moment, quietly slipped off to find somewhere private where he could try to reach Zarbon and Dodoria.
But when he tried — both lines were completely dead.
The soldier's stomach dropped.
Now what?
Lord Frieza is missing. Mr. Zarbon and Mr. Dodoria — not a word from either of them.
Is the Frieza Force actually finished?
Wait — the Ginyu Force!
There's still the Ginyu Force!
Should I try to contact them?
The soldier — Cranberry — gathered his courage and attempted to get through to the Ginyu Force.
...
Planet Frieza No. 85.
All five members of the Ginyu Force stood facing Piccolo, Gohan, and the others.
"Ha — would you look at that. People actually coming to attack the planet where we, the Ginyu Force, are stationed." Recoome burst out laughing.
"Though how exactly did they get here?" Jeice asked, puzzled.
"We were about to conquer Planet Yardrat. The people there have some very unusual abilities — these visitors are probably hired muscle that the Yardratians brought in to stop us." Captain Ginyu smiled with contempt.
"Leave it to the Captain to think it through. That's about the only explanation that makes sense," Burter agreed with a nod.
"My thoughts exactly." Guldo grinned vacantly.
"Guldo — nobody asked you," Burter said flatly, looking at Guldo with undisguised disdain.
Guldo: "..."
Guldo felt a small sting of hurt.
It was simply a fact that within this team, Guldo had the lowest battle power. If it weren't for his uniquely special ability — and the fact that his odd stature rounded out the group's lineup — Ginyu would never have let someone like him join the squad in the first place.
Put plainly, Guldo's main purpose on the team was to fill a headcount.
"Bold of you, showing up on our planet looking for a fight!" Jeice said with a cold laugh. "Fine by us — let's have some fun!"
"Six of them total. How do you want to play this?" Burter said, suddenly interested.
"I'll sit this one out and let you all handle them." Ginyu laughed and spread his hands generously. "Reasonable of me, don't you think?"
"Yes!"
The team cheered with enthusiasm.
"Old rules — Rock, Paper, Scissors!"
Jeice and the others got into it, figuring out who would go first.
Meanwhile, Krillin and the others stood quietly watching the Ginyu Force.
Krillin felt a quiet jolt of unease.
None of these guys are simple. The energy coming off them is extreme.
But what's with that little green guy? He doesn't feel like anything special — so how did he end up in a squad this strong?
The game ended quickly.
Guldo made a small, secret movement — briefly stopping time — and came out on top.
You all look down on me, do you? I'll wipe all six of them out right now.
"I win!" Guldo sniggered.
"Did you cheat?" Burter said flatly, eyes cold. "You stopped time during the match, didn't you."
"As if! Time Freeze drains an enormous amount of energy — why would I waste it on something this trivial?" Guldo said, even as his expression gave him entirely away.
"Fine, just pick your opponents," Jeice said, dismissive.
"Gohan, Krillin — you two take him," Piccolo said.
In truth, Piccolo had considered sending Gohan alone against this Guldo. But on reflection, he thought better of it — there was always a chance something could go wrong.
Having Krillin tag along would keep Gohan from getting into real danger.
Krillin was sharp, after all.
And even if Guldo was the weakest on the whole Ginyu Force roster, something about him gave Piccolo a nagging feeling.
Why would someone this weak be in a group like this? He must have something up his sleeve.
"Hold on — I need to take a call." Captain Ginyu suddenly received a transmission from Frieza's soldier on Namek.
"Yes, Captain!"
Burter and the others waved him off without much thought.
Ginyu stepped away to answer, and through Frieza's soldier quickly learned that something had happened on Planet Namek.
Cranberry was smart enough, though — he certainly wasn't going to mention that a man called Goku had turned Super Saiyan and defeated Lord Frieza.
If he said that, would the Captain actually come to Namek?
So Cranberry simply said: Lord Frieza had gotten into a fight with some Saiyan, and then vanished without explanation — the Saiyan too.
"Mr. Zarbon and Mr. Dodoria went looking for Lord Frieza, and now they've gone dark as well," Cranberry continued.
"Is that so?" Ginyu blinked, then asked, "Hang on — what was Lord Frieza doing on Planet Namek in the first place?"
"There's a special kind of orb on Namek called a Dragon Ball. Seven of them in total. Collect all seven, and any wish you want can be granted," Cranberry said, mixing truth with convenient omission.
"Collect all seven Dragon Balls and any wish can be granted?" Ginyu's interest ignited immediately. "Has Lord Frieza already made his wish?"
"Not yet..." Cranberry shook his head.
"Wait right there — I'm heading to Namek to find Lord Frieza." Ginyu was barely containing his excitement.
Lord Frieza has gone missing.
I need to get to Namek and collect those Dragon Balls — time to look out for myself.
"I'll be waiting for the Captain's arrival on Namek!" Cranberry answered with barely-concealed delight.
Ginyu ended the call, then turned to Jeice and the others. "Something's come up on Lord Frieza's end — I need to step out. Those six are all yours. Do whatever you like with them."
"Yes, Captain!"
Jeice and the others didn't press him for details.
One minute later.
Captain Ginyu's ship punched through the atmosphere and rocketed off into the vast expanse of space.
[Author's note: A number of readers have suggested having Future Gohan get reborn — putting that to a vote. Would you like to see another Gohan reborn?]
To be continued…
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