Chapter 41

LETTIE

I was alone on the shore of Master Roshi's island.

Krillin had left a few minutes earlier to catch up with Piccolo and Trunks. He figured it'd be better to help them after all. As for me and the others, we stayed behind to care for Goku and do the one thing I hated most in situations like this: wait.

Not even the rhythmic sound of the waves could calm my anxious heart. All I could think about was Piccolo—and that strange Ki that had suddenly appeared, radiating a mix of energy signatures from every person I knew.

Including my own.

How was that even possible?

Then, out of nowhere, a terrifying sensation washed over me. My body started to tremble, every hair on my skin standing on end, and my legs buckled.

I collapsed to my knees in the sand, breathless. Something was wrong with Piccolo. I was sure of it! My intuition screamed that he was in serious danger.

"Aunt Lettie!!!" Gohan flung open the door of the house. "Come quick!!!"

"What is it?!" I rushed over to him. "Is it your dad??"

"No. He's still asleep upstairs. Mom's with him."

"Then what happened?!" I asked, closing the door behind me.

"It's the news! Come see!" Gohan sat down between Yamcha, Master Roshi, and Oolong, their eyes glued to the TV screen.

Still a little disoriented, I joined them on the couch.

"Dear viewers," began a news anchor in a studio setting, "we've received confirmation that the Western Capital's Armed Forces have mobilized in an emergency response to Ginger Town."

What? Things had escalated so much that they had to call in the military?!

"We hope this operation will bring greater security to nearby cities," the anchor added.

"Well…" Master Roshi sighed. "Let's just hope they don't end up sacrificing even more innocent lives."

Then, the journalist received a sheet of paper handed to him from off-camera. "Oh—we've just received new information!" he announced. "In just a few seconds, we'll begin live coverage of the Armed Forces entering Ginger Town. Stay tuned. Studio, bring up the footage, please."

Nothing happened. I didn't know why, but that moment gave me a sinking feeling.

"Uh… well…" the reporter scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, everyone. Looks like we've run into a transmission issue with the field crew." He placed a hand to his earpiece. "Hello? What? Ah, yes. Got it. Thanks." He turned back to the camera. "We've just restored the signal!"

The screen cut to a reporter in a blue tracksuit, standing in the middle of Ginger Town's ruins. We all leaned in to get a better look. But the footage was silent—distorted by static and sharp bursts of audio interference from the broken transmission.

But just looking at all those destroyed buildings, houses, and streets sent a shiver down my spine. Was my fiancé somewhere amidst this chaos?

The camera finally focused on a fleet of gigantic war tanks, brutally advancing through the rubble of the city. Dozens of soldiers emerged from openings in the tanks, weapons ready to shoot at anything that moved.

Nobody in that room dared to utter a word. Our eyes were fixed on the horrific scene of war unfolding before us.

The cameraman was permitted to climb onto a tank alongside a uniformed General to broadcast their maneuver, which made the footage shaky due to the constant jolting. They inspected the city for a while until they suddenly halted in a completely devastated area.

"Huh? What on earth is that?!" we heard the General exclaim.

The camera focused on a point in the sky.

Everyone in the living room gasped in horror. I nearly fainted.

There, floating between the clouds, was Piccolo, held tightly in the arms of the most repulsive creature I had ever seen.

A tall, green-skinned monster with a huge tail and cockroach-like wings was holding him from behind like a vicious predator. The camera zoomed in, and I could see the pain and anguish on my fiancé's face.

"Piccolo…" I whispered, collapsing to the floor with a thud.

All I could make out was Gohan screaming my name and several worried hands lifting me gently and laying me down on the couch.

"Her blood pressure must have dropped," Master Roshi said urgently. "Quick, Oolong! Bring me some salted water!"

Still groggy, I drank the water and continued murmuring my fiancé's name, struggling to focus my attention back on the TV. I needed to know what was happening!

"Hey, you!" came the General's commanding voice; the camera remained focused on Piccolo and the creature. "You're completely surrounded! Release that man and surrender immediately!"

"HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT MY MEAL?!" the creature roared in reply.

Wait. What did he mean by "my meal"? He wasn't referring to... Piccolo, was he?

I had no time to get my answer, because the creature's eyes suddenly glowed with a fierce red light, and the next second, two laser beams shot from them, blasting the tank next to the camera into pieces.

Panicked shouts erupted among the soldiers; then, the General ordered them to attack with full force.

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I lunged towards the television. "PICCOLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The camera focused on the bombardment. Dozens of projectiles launched by the war tanks exploded against their target: my fiancé, trapped by the creature.

My tears could no longer be held back. They streamed down my face, my eyes glued to the screen showing that merciless attack against the man I loved.

"NO!!! NO!!! NO!!!" I began pounding the TV screen so hard that a small crack appeared.

I'd never felt so furious at my own helplessness. What good was being a warrior if I couldn't even reach the one I loved?

Only then did I realize that, for the second time, several hands were restraining me, holding me back.

"Calm down, Aunt Lettie!" said Gohan.

"Look, the attack stopped!" Yamcha added.

With blurry vision, I stared at the television again. A cloud of smoke enveloped the spot in the sky. Where was Piccolo?! Where was the creature?! My heart pounded so fiercely that it felt like it might leap from my chest!

As the smoke cleared, I saw them: unharmed.

The footage captured the soldiers' shocked reactions. No one could believe the creature and my fiancé were still alive.

Slowly, I placed my hands on the screen and smiled through my tears. "Piccolo…"

"Wow…!" I heard Gohan behind me. "Uncle Piccolo is really strong!"

"But that also means the creature is extremely powerful," Master Roshi completed.

I didn't care about the creature. To hell with it. Piccolo had survived the bombardment!

"Unbelievable!" the General shouted from somewhere off-camera. "Fire the missiles again!"

What?!

The tanks launched a second wave of projectiles.

Not again!!!

However, just as I was about to panic once more, the creature roared angrily and unleashed a flash of energy from its hand, instantly stopping the missiles mid-air and causing them to fall toward the ground.

Chaos erupted.

Soldiers began running and screaming as projectiles rained down everywhere, exploding whatever they hit—war tanks, ground, rubble. The camera shook violently, betraying the cameraman's panic.

After a few of the most agonizing seconds of our lives, the explosions stopped. Only the moans of injured soldiers, twisted metal tanks, and settling dust could be heard.

I had to admit: the cameraman deserved a raise. He quickly emerged from his hiding spot and managed to locate Piccolo and the creature ahead, in an open area surrounded by the debris from the second bombardment. Both had landed nearby, separated by a few meters. I cried out with joy upon seeing my fiancé finally free from that vile creature's grasp; yet, my relief turned to horror as I covered my mouth—the camera zoomed in, revealing that his left arm was completely… shriveled. Yellowish. Pale. Without muscles or bones.

As if all the life had been drained from his arm.

When the camera turned toward the creature, I noticed the tip of its large tail—thin as a needle. Something told me that tail had caused what happened to Piccolo's arm.

The problem was, we couldn't hear what they were saying. Piccolo and the creature were too far away for the camera's microphone, which only captured the cameraman's frightened breathing and the breeze blowing through the ruins.

The only thing we could see clearly through the footage was a frustrated and tense Piccolo speaking to the creature. He also seemed to be in tremendous pain because of his shriveled arm. Poor thing. What I wouldn't give to have Goku's teleportation ability right now. If my brother weren't sick, I'd definitely ask him for that favor.

Suddenly, without warning, Piccolo ripped off his shriveled arm.

Everyone in the room screamed at his action. Even the cameraman shouted.

In the next second, Piccolo gritted his teeth, grunted, and a new arm grew instantly—perfect, healthy, strong.

Wow… Sometimes I forgot that his regeneration ability included regrowing amputated body parts.

The creature looked just as astonished as we were. In fact, for some reason, it seemed angry. Knowing Piccolo, he had probably pretended to be weak and defenseless and managed to extract valuable information from the monster.

He had fooled us completely. It made me smile.

Piccolo and the creature continued their conversation, but we still couldn't hear anything. The only thing we were sure of was that the creature wasn't happy at all with my fiancé's trick.

"Hey!" Gohan exclaimed beside me. "What's that?"

My nephew pointed at a spot on the television screen. We crowded around to get a better look, and even the cameraman seemed to have heard us because he zoomed in to where Gohan had pointed.

Two figures were approaching.

They were none other than Trunks and Krillin.

"They must have met and followed Piccolo and the creature's Ki," I said.

"At least there's backup," Yamcha noted. "If a fight breaks out, it'll be three against one."

We silently agreed, but tension still gripped me. We didn't know the true power of that creature. Were three warriors enough to defeat it?

Barely a minute passed since I wondered that when the creature suddenly jumped into the air. The shaky cameraman focused on it as it hovered, hands open in front of its face.

"SOLAR FLARE!" it shouted, and it felt as if the sun itself had exploded.

We couldn't see anything, just a blinding white light on the screen, forcing us to step away from the television due to its intensity. Screams from the three warriors and the cameraman echoed through the room.

"B-B-But…" stammered Master Roshi, pale with shock. "How does that monster know that technique?! Impossible! Only Tien, Goku, and Krillin know how to use it!"

Gohan and I exchanged worried glances. The intensity of that light could easily blind someone. Were Piccolo and the others alright?

Our answer came as the image gradually returned to normal. The cameraman gasped in shock, and in the distance, we saw Piccolo, Trunks, and Krillin hunched over, rubbing their eyes.

My shoulders relaxed when I saw none of them appeared injured or, worse, blinded; but as the cameraman scanned the surroundings, we saw no one else.

"Oh no…" I whispered.

The creature had escaped.