The Bond

If there was anything to make Sol shudder, it was as their ship landed, and seeing the armed forces outside. He looked to Hez, eyes sharp as he instructed him, "You stick to my side, understand?"

Hez nodded, and even the young Namekian finally seemed to see the danger in this. Slowly, the floor below them descended down. While Sol stood tall in heavy shoulder pads, a thick metal plated chest guard and grieves, heavy leather boots, Hez seemed rather vulnerable in his homemade leather armor that he had strapped here and there on his body, plus the dagger he had carved from a bone from one of the dinosaurs that roamed Namek.

They were before a castle, there was no better word for it. Though it was all gray stone and oddly plain built, it had the towers it had the walls. The courtyard that they landed in was filled with about fifty white-haired human looking beings. They all stood rather straight and odd, as if they were training dummies, but when the door of the ship hit the ground, they all made the same move to aim their hands at them.

Sol quickly raised his own to the sides of his head, and was glad that Hez copied him.

"I wish to speak to a leader," said Sol swiftly before any of them could approach.

They remained still for a moment. Sol knew how low their population was now. This was probably the meat of them right here, perhaps some children and such elsewhere. About 90% of them had died in their battles with the galatic warriors. Sol didn't recognize any of them before him, but then, one that he did know stepped forward, and he felt his heart drop.

"Sol."

Sol's teeth grit as the monotone voice spoke his name, "Eagla. I thought you were dead."

Eagla slowly and calmly strode forward, eyes gleaming a bit. He was the most animated of all the ones around. He smiled lightly, eyes flicking to Hez for a moment.

"Most aliens do… you brought a child? Seems rather foolish…" he said evenly.

Sol clenched his fists, "You leave him out of this. He stowed away, didn't know what he was getting into. He's none of your concern. What is it that you want?"

"I should be asking you the same question," said Eagla slowly, looking Sol over, "Our sensors found your ship locked onto planet Xeknos' position before we even decided to hack it."

Sol narrowed his eyes, "My kind is sensitive to the goings on in our galaxy. When I felt the darkness, I had to do something."

"Darkness?" Eagla chuckled softly, clasping hands behind his back, "Interesting. I suppose what you were feeling was a revolution… but there's nothing dark about this. It's the dawn of our time once again, and this time… no one is going to steal it away from us…"

Sol's eyes were flicking about the crowd as he spoke, "A dawn? Creative words for one so empty of feeling."

Eagla smirked, "I thought we covered this last time."

Sol resisted the urge to spit on the ground, "Oh yes, the awakened Xekian, the one who was shone the light of passion and the color of emotion… But with no real reason as to why you suddenly stopped acting like the rest of your kind, and why they slowly started to follow."

"The light was revealed to me, and I spread it," Eagla spread his arms to those around him, who seemed to be nodding in agreement, "Most of those truly awakened were killed in the battle with you and your allies, but though we were only left with the silenced left, they are starting to see the light at last… it has been a long twenty years…"

Sol's eyes continued to scan the crowd, "Right, since every 'awakened' you made was forced to bond with another, making your army that just ended up ripping itself apart."

"A mistake we have learned from," said Eagla, smirking as he began to pace before them, "But our feelings are now more finely tuned, you might say, more exact, more stable… when we gain the bond again, we will become… unstoppable… And we will take what's rightfully ours…"

"Since when is this entire galaxy yours?" snapped Sol, though he did not look at Eagla, but continued to scan, "And don't you remember? You lost the bond, we made sure every trace of it was erased. The technique is lost."

"So you say…" said Eagla softly, "But I found a pair bounded by it. And they are coming now, to save their friend. When they arrive, we will have them reveal the secret, and gain back what made us legendary…"

Sol's eyes finally snapped to Eagla's, "What? You found someone? How?"

Eagla smiled, "I don't know how, but they were on Earth… and they aren't even earthlings, Saiyans, I believe? I think they had a run in with Namek before as well…"

Sol went stiff. Saiyans on Earth that were on Namek? He had felt four Saiyan power sources on Namek when Frieza was destroying it, but he had no clue two of them were bound together with the same technique that nearly destroyed the galaxy twenty years ago!

Eagla laughed, "I like the look on your face, very emotional, shock it is? Hmm…"

Sol snapped out of it, shaking his head, "You kidnapped a friend of theirs?"

"It was necessary," said Eagla simply, "The human meant something to them, and I know emotion well enough now to know it can make one do bold things."

"Then why lock the trajectory to make me show up?" asked Sol, "Why make me come here?"

"You were going to come anyway," said Eagla, "Why not have you arrive in my palm? And like I said… emotion makes one do bold things… like how the thirst for vengeance can make one kill."

Sol opened his mouth to reply, but felt the power source before the explosion happened.

"Kaaaa-meeee-haaaa-meeeee-"

Sol looked at Hez, yelling, "Get down!" and tackling the teen to the ground.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The explosion made the ground shake, and gave off such momentum that it sent Sol and Hez flying across the courtyard. They tumbled, rolling to the fence and coming to a stop. Sol slowly detangled himself from the young Namekian and looked to see a huge crater in the courtyard, his ship on its side, and bodies, both injured and dead, around the courtyard. However, in the center of the crater with a electricity sparking shield around him, stood Eagla, an angry look on his face.

"What was-" Hez sputtered, getting to his feet.

Sol looked up and saw a small figure above them, oddly, wearing tux pants, a vest over a collared shirt and a tie. It was a human, a short human.

"Come on!" The human cried, aiming another attack toward Eagla, "Let's get out of here!"

A strange disc of energy appeared on the human's hand and he whirled it around before throwing it, "DISTRUCTO DISC!"

It went flying down at Eagla, who waved a hand and that shield came up again. However, it only seemed to make the disc lose its target and go down slightly. There was a terrible sound of gore and a scream and Sol gasped as Eagla fell, his legs both cut off from the knee down.

"Twice in a row, what the hell?" the human yelped as light blue blood leaked from Eagla as he screamed in agony, a few non injured Xekians came to his side.

"Let's go," said Sol, flying up with Hez to meet the human.

"SOL!" he heard Eagla scream, "THE DAWN IS COMING! YOU CAN'T RUN FROM IT FOREVER!"

Sol did not look back as he, Hez, and the human, fled at top speed.

*scene change*

"I can see the planet."

Katima perked up from her chair, where she had been reading. 18 was at one of the windows, looking out, her body stiff. She was in her striped black and white shirt with the black tank top over it, the denim skirt, black leggings, and brown boots. She looked back, blonde hair flipping about slightly, her blue eyes narrowed, "Do we have a plan?" she asked.

Rylan went to the controls, getting ready to pilot them in. He looked at her as he passed and shook his head, "We need to save Krillin. If we can, I'll try to bring us in under their radar, if we can sneak in, we can look for Krillin and try to free him before they realize we've arrived and have the chance to get him out to make demands. I'm guessing they're holding him somewhere…"

The ship that Bulma's father had designed was indeed extremely high tech, Katima knew. She hoped that it would be enough to get them in quietly.

"The sensors are indicating that there are probes all over the place, looking for any sign of approach. Looks like these guys know what they're doing… I'm engaging stealth systems…" Rylan worked the controls, his eyes narrowed as the ship started to shake as it entered atmosphere, "Buckle up."

Katima threw on her seat belts, and even Vegeta, who had been brooding in the corner came over and buckled in. 18 followed suit, her face hardened.

"I can see that there's all sorts of devices they have to hack in the systems, but it doesn't appear that they're trying yet. That means we're still under the veil, but I'm putting up firewalls just in case, I don't think they'll be able to hack past Capsule Corp's best technology…"

Katima glanced at Vegeta. He hadn't really spoken to her the past two days, and though they still shared the same bed, he remained on the far side, shrugging her off every time she tried to cuddle at night. His emotions through the bond were reminding her of their time on Namek, and how he felt about her then. It wasn't like they were newly-weds at all… it was almost like he didn't…

The ship jostled, making Katima snap back to the present. Looking out the windows, she saw the land getting closer and closer. It didn't look like Earth or Namek at all, in fact, this place looked devoid of life, all gray landscapes below, nothing but cities. As they slowed for a landing, she saw how tall all the buildings were, how none of them had windows, and how they lacked in any personality at all.

Slowly, the ship touched behind one of the cities in an open field of dark gray plantation. No one came running at them, and Katima sensed no life nearby.

"I think we got in without anyone noticing," said Rilan, unbuckling and standing, "Let's go outside. The sensors say there's plenty of oxygen. Which is strange since I didn't see much plant life on the way in…"

They all unbuckled and went down the ramp of the ship when it opened. Rilan closed up the ship behind them, and made it return to capsule state and pocketed it. He glanced toward the city, eyes narrowed.

"My scanners are picking up some life," said 18, looking toward the city, "But very little. This planet, for its size, is nearly empty…"

Katima tossed out her senses, feeling the same thing. How odd, this place was nearly as big as Earth, and yet… there was such little life on it.

"I don't feel Krillin," said Katima, "Or at least, he's not close enough for me to recognize his signature."

"Then we should start searching," said Rilan.

"You do that," said Vegeta, his voice dark, "I'm going to whoever runs this place, and demanding how to control the Bond."

"Vegeta!" Katima hissed, whirling on him, "We've talked about this!"

"You talked," snapped Vegeta, "And wouldn't see reason!"

Katima clenched her fists, "After all the effort we put in to get here quietly, you're just going to go and let them know we're here?"

Vegeta gritted his teeth, taking an almost threatening step toward her, "You stupid woman, why won't you understand that I need this!"

Katima stared at him, "How can you talk to me like that?" she asked softly.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes and looked away. His fists were clenched and his teeth bared, glaring at the ground.

"Ever since I met Kakarot- I realized how- how weak I am!" he growled, "And now he's dead- I can never prove- prove that I CAN be strong! That I am better than him!"

"This still goes down to Goku?" Katima nearly shouted. She rushed forward and slammed a punch across Vegeta's face.

It seemed to take everyone by surprise. Vegeta went to the ground, 18 let out a small gasp and Rilan stepped toward her, "Katima!" he hissed.

"Shut up!" she snapped back at him, before returning her attention to Vegeta, who was still on the ground, holding the side of his face that she punched, a small trickle of blood coming from his mouth.

"Damn it, Vegeta," Katima growled, making him look at her, with fury in his eyes, "Goku is dead. Dead! And you're still obsessed with beating him? Why won't you understand that you ARE good enough! That you ARE strong! Why does beating Goku make any difference?"

"I'm supposed to be the strongest-" Vegeta began.

Katima cut him off, darting a hand down and grabbing him by the front of his armor, lifting him up to her face, "Bullshit," she hissed, "No you're not, because you're fine just the way you are! I fell in love with Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans, even before he could go Super Saiyan, before he trained in the time chamber, before my brother died! No one is looking at you and judging you because you're weaker than Goku!"

Vegeta pushed her away, standing on his own and glaring at the ground.

She sensed throught eh bond that he wassn't done, but he was going to calm down for now. She shook her head, turning, "Let's go into the city and see if we can't find any trace of Krillin… keep your power levels low…"

*scene change*

"So you're name is Sol and Hez, huh?"

Krillin made his way through the building the two Namekians behind him. The three of them had their power levels pressed down to nothing, and were exploring some of the buildings in one of the cities far from the castle. It had been lucky enough that no one had followed them, but they weren't taking any chances, hiding in the abandoned buildings seemed like a good plan for the time being.

However, on the interior, they were just as plain as the outside. There wasn't much furniture, and all of it was purely practical, nothing for decoration or comfort. They had yet to find any source of food in the building, which was what they were searching for at the moment.

"Yes," said the older Namekian, Sol, "And you said your name was Krillin? You were one of the humans to help Namek when Frieza attacked. I remember Dende spoke highly of you before he left to become the guardian of Earth."

"Yeah, well, it was mainly Goku that helped Namek," said Krillin, "Gotta say, I wasn't expecting to find Namekians here of all places."

"I felt a darkness in the galaxy," said Sol, "And I've… dealt with the people of Xeknos before. This isn't the first time that they've tried to attack the galaxy. Last time, in ended in nearly all of their population dying."

"I noticed that there isn't many of them around," said Krillin, opening a plain looking door and going into the next room, using a small orb of power for light, "What do they want, do you got any clue?"

He glanced back to see Sol looking at his feet. The teen Namekian behind him piped in when Sol didn't speak.

"Sol used to be part of the galatic warriors!" he said excitedly, "The people of Xeknos tried to take of the galaxy 'cause someone started making them feel emotions! They're not supposed to see, so it made everything go weird! It messed up their bonds, cause too much emotion makes it unstable! It ended up killing them!"

"Emotion makes the bond weird huh?" Krillin remembered back on Namek how Katima was periodically yanked into Vegeta's point of view when he had high emotion, mostly when he was gleefully killing someone. It seemed to have toned down since then, but then again, Katima said every time there's been a near death or actual death, the bond has changed…

"So why are you here?" asked Hez, "Strange place for a human! You're people can't really sense darkness can you? You can't be there for that!"

"No," said Krillin, "I got kidnapped by the guy I cut the legs off of."

"What?" Sol hissed, seeming to come back to them, "Eagla took you? Why?"

Krillin paused in the room they were in, looking a the two of them, "That bond you were talking about? Two of my friends have it."

Sol's eyes widened, "Impossible," he hissed, "How? The knowledge of the bond was wiped out with the war!"

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Krillin with a shrug, "Katima said that she learned it from her adoptive grandmother, but she was human."

"Katima?" Hez tilted his head, "THE Katima? The one who helped you and the others on Namek, right?"

Krillin nodded, "The very same, and she's bonded with Vegeta, I don't know if you heard about him…"

Hez's face darkened, "He killed a lot of our people. And they weren't brought back because the wish was only for those that Frieza killed."

Krillin held up his hands, "He's changed since then, I bet he'd even say sorry to you guys! Don't get me wrong, he's still an ass, but… he and Katima got married and all, I was actually taken during the reception. That Eagla guy took me so that they would come here. He wants to learn the bond again."

Sol clenched his fists, "We can't allow that to happen," he said firmly, "If they regain that ability, the entire galaxy could be in danger. There would be another war!"

"But wouldn't they just end up dying like last time?" asked Krillin, folding his hands behind his head.

"Even if I thought Eagla would try using the bond again without knowledge of how to stop that from happening, we can't allow it, they could still cause plenty of damage before the deaths would begin, there is enough of them left to do so," said Sol seriously, "Not even your planet would be safe."

Krillin sighed, "Then what are we supposed to do? I know my friends are coming, even if I don't want them to, they're not the type to leave anyone behind."

"Then hopefully they'll realize you've escaped before they give any information to them," said Sol darkly.

"I don't get it," said Krillin, "They didn't seem all that strong, I mean, my kamehameha wave even killed a few! The one in the building I was being held in was a bit strong, but I still beat him, and believe me, compared to what kind of power I've seen in my day, I'm not all that tough. Sow what's the big deal? Are the really that big of a threat?"

Sol looked at him sharply, "Don't underestimate them for a second. If they get the bond back, they can become invincible. The only reason we won that war was because they started dying on their own."

"But what about the bond makes it so strong?" asked Krillin.

Sol took a few chairs and pulled them into a small circle, sitting on one. Krillin and Hez sat on the others, looking at him with equal curiosity.

"When the bond is made… two souls become one," said Sol, looking from Krillin to Hez, "Keep in mind, this is not like the fusion that us Namekians can do, when our bodies merge and we gain the power of two of us in one, this bonding can create infinite power if used correctly.

"When the souls merge, there is a promise made, of sorts. The planter, the one that initiates the bond, creates it, and ties the strings, is the main one who wields the power of it. The receiver, the one it is placed on, can manipulate it to such that the power is accessible to the planter. There can not be one without the other.

"This promise is that the two will live for one another, simple as that, protect each other, fight together, and live as one, though still separate. When two people are bonded, they will always fight better together than apart. They can eventually gain the ability to see through the others eyes at will, and of course, they always share a mental link to the point where they can feel one another's presence, and even eventually communicate through their minds.

"Now, originally, this was something to merely make life more productive on Xeknos. Things got done quicker, and it helped reproduction. You must remember, the people of this planet originally had no emotions to speak of, and things were set up from when a child was born to who they were going to bond to. Most times, the two individuals who were bonded would produce children of their own, and be considered what you humans would call a married couple.

"The bond was supposed to merely make life easier for the people of Xeknos, and to make things move quickly and swiftly. But one day, something happened. I don't know who, or what, but something placed the feeling of emotion in one of the people. He somehow was able to teach it to the others, and slowly, all of them began to gain emotions that their kind was purely never supposed to have. In result, it made the bond act stronger, so strong, that it could be considered a weapon, one to be reckoned with at that.

"Slowly, some sort of seed got planted that they needed- deserved- more land. They ventured out, and began to conquer nearby planets, ones that are now barren since they destroyed the entire populace and that there are now so few of them left. It almost seemed like they felt a need to grow, and if we had not stepped in, even with their emotions slowly killing them, they would have taken nearly all of the galaxy.

"As to how they used the bond as a weapon, it's unclear to me. I was never told the details, nor did I ever discern them on my own. We have many theories, but I doubt any of them are true. It seemed to me that strong emotion is what makes it spike the most. However, they seemed to know how to activate it at will… They would gain incredible power, not only in combat, but how to heal the one that they were bonded to. The only weakness we could find was to focus our attacks on the planter, since the receiver could not heal like they could. However, figuring out which was which, or even who was bonded to who, was extremely difficult in the heat of battle…"

Sol trailed off, looking at the wall with a far away stare.

"How do you know so much about this?" asked Krillin, furrowing his brow, "I mean, it makes sense that you know about what happened with the bond in battle, but you know all of the history too."

Sol sighed heavily and looked back at him, "Because the one Xekian that started it? The first one that felt emotion? He was part of the galatic warriors… Eagla."

Hez looked at him, shocked, "You didn't tell me that part!"

"I didn't think it mattered at the time, Hez," said Sol, looking at his feet.

Krillin felt a small tingle of shock fading from him. He frowned, "So you used to be friends with that guy!" he said.

"Not friends," said Sol, "Remember, Eagla never used to be able to feel emotion. The only reason he was with the warriors was because his people saw the need to have one of their race in it to have a political stand point to make their planet more profitable. I fought at his side, and protected his life with my own, and he did the same for me, but never were we truly friends…"

"So if he's the guy that started it all," said Krillin, frowning, "How is he still alive? You'd figure he would be dead, because of that whole 'emotion kills' thing."

"That's just it," said Sol, "It doesn't really 'kill' them unless they're bonded to someone. Because their emotions were so unnatural and unstable, it would make the bond too powerful for their bodies to handle. It tore them apart from the inside out. Eagla? He was never bonded to anyone, even after he learned how to feel emotion. I think… I think it was because, if I recall from the stories he told me, that he couldn't do it for some reason. It was one of the reasons he was chosen to come help the warriors instead of one that was capable of bonding."

Krillin frowned at his knees. It was a lot to take in. But if this bond was truly a Xekian thing, then how did Katima's grandma know it? Krillin remembered how Katima would randomly get waves of power when Vegeta's life was in serious danger. Sol said that the power was connected to strong spikes of emotion… But if that was the case, how come Katima didn't freak out when others were killed or about to be killed? Why was it just Vegeta?

He opened his mouth to relay his wonders, but he felt a small prick of energy from far off. Energy that felt familiar.

He jumped up, his chair toppling backward.

"What?" Hez jumped up too, startled.

"It's them," said Krillin, smiling a little in relief, "They're here!"

*scene change*

The cities were expansive. Rilan lead the way as they flew through the streets. They were just barely putting off an energy signal by flying, but Rilan wasn't too worried, he didn't think there were any hostiles close enough to sense it.

"Where do we even start looking?" asked 18, looking down, her brow furrowed, "This place is huge, and all of the buildings are big too, too big to search thoroughly one by one. They don't even have windows for us to look in."

"Well it's not like we can just start calling for Krillin either," said Katima, who was still looking a bit annoyed about Vegeta's outburst when they landed. He wasn't too far away himself, but he was lagging behind everyone, glaring at the ground.

"I could try to find their base of operations and sneak in," said 18, "Even when I use my powers, they can't sense me since I'm an android."

"Don't be too sure about that," said Rilan warningly, "The technology they were using to try and hack the ship was some stuff I've never seen before. We're damn lucky Doctor Briefs is such a brilliant scientist otherwise they would have managed to get into the systems. I wouldn't be surprised if they had technology to sense someone like you."

18 frowned, looking frustrated, "Then what do we do?" she snapped, "Just start searching each and every building? This planet is nearly as big as Earth, Krillin could be anywhere."

"Or he could be right there," said Vegeta dryly, pausing in his flight and nodding to the ground.

They all froze and looked down to see None other than Krillin, still in his suit, though the jacket was missing and they were starting to look like rags. And to Rilan's great surprise, there were two Namekians with him, a strong looking adult, and a teenage one behind him.

18 let out s sharp gasp and darted downward at shocking speed. She landed and grabbed Krillin, lifting him off his feet in a hug. As Rilan and the others landed, Krillin was blushing madly, but otherwise looked pleased at 18's touch. However, when she sat him down she slapped him across the face.

"Ow!" Krillin yelped, eyes watering as he held his quickly reddening cheek, "What was that for?"

"For making me worry," snapped 18, "Damn it Krillin, why didn't you just go inside the house?"

Krillin looked up at her with puppy dog like eyes, "I knew you weren't going to go in, and I wasn't going to let you stay out there without me…" he confessed, blushing again.

18 sighed, closing her eyes and placing her hands on her hips, "Well it was stupid," she said flatly, "But you're okay…" she opened her eyes and smiled a bit, "And I suppose that's all that matters."

Rilan turned his attention to the two Namekians.

"Can't say I expected Namek to be sending people here," he said.

"They didn't exactly," said the older one, "I sensed a darkness in the galaxy, and had to go and stop it. This one stowed away," he nods at the younger one behind him who smiled sheepishly.

I see. There is no end to the surprises today," said Rilan, "I'm glad we found you so easily, Krillin."

"It hasn't been a walk in the park," said Krillin darkly, looking down.

He told them of his escape and his encounter with the Namekians and Eagla. It was an eventful tale, and Rilan was surprised that Krillin's Distructo Disc actually managed to kill someone and gravely injure another. The Namekians also explained their journey so far, and informed them all they knew about the bond as well as who Eagla was.

"So what now?" asked the younger Namekian, Hez asked.

"We should get out of here!" said Krillin, "All they want is the Bond knowledge, and if they get that, they'll try to attack the universe again!"

"You may leave," said Sol, "And take Hez with you. He is in danger here. But even if you leave, that will not stop Eagla. He will go back to your Earth, and get you both one way or the other."

"Then we should go to him," said Vegeta sharply, looking at them all with dark eyes, "If he's not going to stop, then what is the point of running like cowards?"

"Vegeta," snapped Katima, looking at him with a dangerous air.

"What?" Vegeta snapped at her.

"We could potentially have a advantage," said Sol before Katima could start yelling, "If we could make him think that you are coming to him to give up how to plant the bond. We could set up an ambush."

"Wait, are we forgetting that I cut off that guy's legs?" said Krillin, "Not but like, three hours ago? Don't you think he could be dead?"

"The Xekians have technology beyond your imagining," said Sol, "They probably have him stabilized by now."

Krillin pouted, "That stupid shield of his made it go down. Damn, I was aiming at his middle."

"So what, we come all this way to get Krillin back and you're just gonna go and give yourselves up to him?" asked 18, crossing her arms, "That doesn't seem like a smart idea."

"Well that's just the thing, I don't think that he's planning on just having them give themselves up," said Rilan, looking at Sol, "You said something about an ambush?"

Sol nods, "We get him to come to us, on our terms, our rules. Now we can say that he must come alone, but I doubt he will listen to it, he's too practical."

"And what do we do when he gets here?" asked Rilan.

"He has no leverage without Krillin," said Sol, "And without the bond, they are not the strongest of fighters."

"Somehow this seems too easy," said 18, narrowing her eyes, "Krillin you said you only had one guard? And you got out so easily, why would he just open your door? It was like they weren't bothering to be careful…"

"All of it doesn't add up," snarled Vegeta, looking up at the sky, "There's too many things that don't make sense with the whole thing. There's something that we don't know about it, I can guarantee that."