Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Dragon Ball Z

Last time, the battle with Nappa continued on as Earth's warriors tried their best to defeat the Saiyan brute. Despite their best efforts, Roshi, Chiaotzu and Tien were all defeated and succumbed to their injuries

Tien looked up at the brute, blood flowing down his face as his vision started to blur. "Chiaotzu, I'll avenge you... Then, I'll join you. We'll never be apart!" He yelled as he thrusted his hand forward. All of the energy in his body concentrated into his hand as the energy flew towards Nappa. "Tri-Beam Cannon!"

The magnitude of the attack caught everyone by surprise, even Vegeta. The blast engulfed Nappa inside of it as he tried to brace for the attack but had no time to do so. Everyone stood where they were as they waited to see if Nappa survived.

"Phew." Nappa said as he started to pant. "Don't scare me like that. You're technique almost had me for a minute."

Piccolo stared on, shocked at the fact that Nappa was fine after the attack. "H-he's a monster!" He stated, his body starting to shake a little. But he immediately forced himself to stop.

Tien was the most visibly upset as his body was shaking from both anger and fatigue. "I... I... failed!" He said before collapsing dead from his injuries.

"Tien!" Krillin yelled as he saw his friend dead on the ground. "Tien!" he continued yelling, hoping that the fighter would stand back up. "Tien!"

"Krillin!" Piccolo stated, causing him to stop his yelling. "It's no good. He's gone, I can already sense that his spirit has left Earth."

Krillin gulped at the thought that Tien, one of the strongest people here was dead and that Nappa was still standing. "Goku! Where are you!?" He yelled out into the sky as he wished his best friend was there right now. "Th-this can't be happening, it's a nightmare." Krillin said as he stared at the two Saiyans. "I can't believe that Tien is gone. All of them, one after another. Roshi, Chiaotzu and now Tien, all of them are dead!"

"This isn't good. Yamcha's down, Gokai is unconscious and Gohan is too scared to fight." Piccolo said as he looked at their odds. "Krillin, it looks like this may be our last stand right here."

"You may be right, but if we can hold out until Goku arrives, we should be fine." Krillin told the Namekian.

Hearing the name Goku captured Vegeta's attention. "Hmm, this 'Goku', this isn't the first time I've heard them mention him." Vegeta said to himself as he started to get a thought in his head. "I wonder..." The Saiyan muttered quietly to himself.

Nappa meanwhile was gloating over the fact that another person was now dead. "Heh. Another one down." He said as he started to power up. "Now it's your turn. Although, I'll let the Namek live so he can tell us where the Dragon Balls are. Then I'll kill him."

Krillin positioned himself into a comfortable stance, trying to make himself able to counter any attack Nappa would send their way. The former monk had his arms out in front of his body as he tried to stay loose. "Lucky you, Piccolo. They think you're the only one who knows about the Dragon Balls."

Piccolo didn't feel lucky though. "It doesn't matter. They still plan on killing me eventually." He replied as he crouched down into his stance. "Now isn't the time for that, we have a fight to finish."

Krillin chuckled at the image before him. "You know, I never thought this would happen." Krillin said as his eyes looked towards Piccolo. "But, listen, I'm glad that you're on our side. Even if it is only temporary. Now, how confident are you that we can win?" Krillin nervously asked.

"To be honest. None." Piccolo said truthfully. He wasn't going to beat around the bush with that question, he knew that there was no way that the duo could beat Nappa by themselves. "I never thought they would be this powerful. They far outclass that other Saiyan from before."

Krillin looked at the Namek with a look of shock. "I-I guess this is really it then." The former monk stated as he started to sweat.

Up on the Lookout, Kami was starting to grow more and more nervous as each minute passed. "What is he doing?! How could he not be back by now?! Please, hurry Goku!" The guardian cried out as he tried to sense for Goku's Ki.

"He still isn't close enough to sense him?" Mr. Popo asked as he started to sweat.

"No..." Kami muttered to the genie before wiping away sweat from his own forehead. "But, I do sense that I have very little time left here. Death is approaching for me." He said as seriously as possible.

Mr. Popo looked on nervously as Kami told him this news. "B-but, that can't be. That would mean..." He started to say before Kami finished the sentence.

"Piccolo is about to die and by extension, myself." Kami told his assistant.

Piccolo stared down his adversary as he tried to think of a strategy to defeat Nappa. "Krillin, he's too accustomed to aerial battle. We need to fight on the ground!" Piccolo demanded before flying back towards the ground.

Nappa smirked as he watched the two figures retreat. "We'll fight wherever you want. But, the results will still be the same, I'll kill you all!" The brute yelled as he flew after his opponents. Krillin and Piccolo touched down onto the ground only to look up and see a speeding Nappa heading right for them. "Hyaaa!" Nappa yelled as he approached them.

Piccolo and Krillin both braced for an impact, only to see him stop his assault as Vegeta called out to him. "Nappa! Stop right now!" The other Saiyan yelled, shocking everyone still alive.

"What's the matter, Vegeta?" Nappa asked as he hovered a few feet away from his victims. "I'm almost finished with all of them."

"Don't be in such a hurry." Vegeta remarked as he faced the group. "I have a question for them before you kill them all." He then looked directly at Piccolo as he continued speaking. "This 'Goku' you all keep mentioning, he's Kakarot isn't he?" He asked the Namekian, only to receive blank stares as his answer. "Am I right?"

Krillin's body tensed up as he spoke up. "Yeah, he is. So what!?" He asked back.

"Well, then. I'm actually impressed." Vegeta said as he placed his hands on his waist. "Then that means he really was brought back to life and that means the Dragon Balls actually work." He continued before laughing at the thought of Kakarot being strong. "It's funny, Kakarot, being your only hope. What good will he be when he wasn't even a match for Raditz!?"

Krillin started to grow upset at Vegeta for laughing at his best friend. He raised his left arm and closed his fist as he held it towards Vegeta. "You'll see. Goku has been training for the past year. He's undergone extremely harsh training just to beat you. He'll be more powerful than ever before!" He stated confidently as he protected his friend's strength.

Piccolo then stepped forward as he joined in. "Believe me. Goku is not someone you should ever underestimate."

Nappa was tired of hearing this group of an excuse of warriors try and stall any longer. "Really! Because if he was so great, why isn't he here!? Maybe he's just a coward and he ran away!"

Gohan's muscles tensed up as he heard Nappa make fun of his father. "He'll come, just you watch. My daddy always comes through for everyone. He'll beat you guys up!" The young boy cried out, defending his father from their insults.

"You have a lot of faith in Kakarot." Vegeta said as he walked over towards a rock. He sat down on the rock as he relaxed himself. "Alright, you've persuaded me to wait until he arrives to continue our fight."

Nappa looked on, shocked with Vegeta's decision. "Ve-Vegeta, you can't be serious! He's never going to show up, let me finish these weaklings now!"

Vegeta didn't even face his comrade as he lifted his hand up. From his hand stood three fingers pointed towards the sky. "We'll wait exactly three hours for Kakarot. If he hasn't arrived by then, the fight will resume.

Nappa wasn't too thrilled once he heard the news and showed it. "Three hours! Vegeta, do you really expect me to wait that long! I need to fight right now, I was about to end them if you didn't stop me!" Without a second thought, the brute charged towards the two fighters at his max speed. "To hell with waiting!"

Vegeta seemed to become annoyed with Nappa's antics as he looked on in anger before yelling at the brute. "Nappa! You will do as I say!" He yelled, striking fear throughout Nappa's body.

The brute stopped immediately once he heard Vegeta's voice aimed at him. "Uhh, s-sorry. I got carried away for a minute." Nappa replied as his whole body was sweating after Vegeta's yelling. The brute touched down onto the ground and then walked over to Vegeta.

Vegeta smirked at the fact that Nappa listened to his every command and there was nothing the brute could do about it. "There you have it. It is now official. We will wait and you all have three extra hours of life."

Earth's three fighters walked away from the Saiyans so they could talk in private. Gohan was the first to speak, having felt disappointed in himself since his earlier mishap. "I'm... I'm sorry. I just got so scared." Gohan pleaded with his teacher.

Piccolo was in no mood to play around with the boy however. "If you're too afraid to fight you might as well head home. There is no room for cowards here. I was a fool for thinking you could help us."

Krillin, seeing the disappointment on Gohan's face joined in on the conversation. "Take it easy, Piccolo. It is only his first fight."

Piccolo, however, wasn't listening at all, instead he was thinking about what he just saw between Nappa and Vegeta. "The way that the big one cowered... that must mean the little one is even stronger... It's hopeless now!" The Namekian thought to himself, wondering what they should do.

As the duo were talking, Gokai started to emerge from under the rubble of rocks that were piled on top of him. "Ughh... What happened?" He asked himself as he tried to loosen up his stiff body. "Last thing I remember was fighting Nappa and being launched away. After that, everything else is a blur." The half-Saiyan muttered as he walked slowly towards the others.

"So, you can still get up after that beating?" Piccolo asked once he saw the boy heading towards them. "Just being strong isn't everything. You need a plan when you go into battle. Hopefully you learned that, otherwise this might end quickly." The Namekian said sternly as he kept his eyes on the two Saiyans across from them.

Gokai rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he let Piccolo's words set in. "Hehe. Ya, I guess I didn't really think. I just wanted to put those guys in their places, but I let my emotions get the better of me."

"Hey, don't worry about." Krillin said reassuringly as he slapped Gokai on the back. "It happens to all of us, but from now on we need to be more careful." He said, looking at the dead bodies of Tien and Roshi. "Luckily, we have three hours to think of something, but Goku should be back by then."

Gokai looked at the former monk like he had three heads. "Why would we have three hours? It isn't like them to stop during a fight." The child muttered as looked at Nappa and Vegeta.

"Ya, we were surprised as well. I guess the shorter one really wants to fight Goku." Krillin said as his gaze fell upon the two Saiyans.

"Vegeta! Why did you interrupt my fight!?" The Saiyan brute asked as he sat down next to his partner. "I could have finished them all of by now!"

Vegeta didn't like the tone Nappa was using and made sure to put Nappa in his place. "You will mind your tone with me Nappa." The Saiyan said calmly as he looked at the brute. "It was my decision and you will accept it!"

Nappa gulped out of fear. He knew that Vegeta could kill him at any moment, so he tried to stay on his good side. "I understand, but why do you want to wait for Kakarot? He isn't anything special, just a low-class warrior." Nappa responded, his hands shaking a little due to his fear of Vegeta.

Vegeta smirked at his partner's question. "It's simple. He's a traitor to his people." The warrior said as he positioned his scouter onto his face. The shorter Saiyan then pushed a few buttons as numbers started to count down. "A traitor deserves to see his only son and his closest friends all die before his eyes. To see how powerless he really is when compared to us, how much pain and agony we can inflict on him. Then, we'll continue it for hours until he begs us to kill him, only to continue on until we grow tired of beating him."

Nappa's face formed a huge grin as he heard the words leave Vegeta's mouth. "I see! I shouldn't have doubted you Vegeta!"

"That's only if the fool decides to show up." Vegeta said to his towering partner.

"Ya, I understand." Nappa said as he grew excited from the thought of torturing someone. "Vegeta, you can Kakarot all to yourself, but can you leave the others to me?" He asked like a child asking for a cookie before dinner.

Vegeta looked uninterested with the question, in fact, he didn't care at all about the others. He just wanted to make Kakarot pay for his treason. "Do whatever you want, Nappa. But, do not kill that Namek until after he tells us about the Dragon balls!"

"Of course." Nappa stated as he stood up to loosen his muscles. "Oh how I hope he shows up soon."

Hours passed by with no sign of Goku arriving anytime soon. All hope seemed lost for the remaining warriors as they counted down the minutes to their death.

"Damn, what's taking Goku so long? He should have been here by now!" Krillin stated as he started to realize that they only had a few more minutes left. He then thought of an idea to try and help. "Why don't we just run away!? Why should we just stand around here and die!?" He asked the group around him. "Then, when Goku arrives, we come back and help him."

No one seemed to accept that idea, especially Gokai. The young child walked up to Krillin and looked at him. "You may call me crazy, but a part of me would never let me forget that I ran away. I trained for this moment and every part of my body is excited to continue." He said, giving Krillin a childlike smile.

"The child's right, Krillin." Piccolo stated as he joined in. "Even though it would be best to run, they're planning on killing everything on this planet anyway. Would you prefer to die running or fighting as a warrior?" He asked calmly

"Y-you're right." Krillin sighed in defeat. The former monk raised his fists in front of his body as he tightened them. "Ahhh, please hurry Goku, get here soon! And be stronger than both of them... please!" He stated as he tried to get himself under control.

Just as Krillin finished his sentence, a beeping noise could be heard coming from Vegeta's scouter. "Well, it's time. It seems Kakarot has stood us up. Three hours wasted, time we could have used to get our wish. But of course, a traitor would also be a coward." The Saiyan stated calmly as he removed his scouter.

"M-my daddy's not a coward!" Gohan yelled out as he heard Vegeta's statement.

"Ya, I've known Goku for years. He's a lot of things, but he isn't a coward!" Krillin added as he defended his best friend.

"Well, if he isn't a coward, where is he?" Nappa taunted the group of four as he stepped forward. Looking at each of them, he continued on. "I've waited long enough. It's time to end all of your insignificant lives. I just wish Kakarot was here to see all of this." He said as he cracked his knuckles.

"I guess I'm going to die again..." Krillin muttered as he watched Nappa approach them. He was broken out of his daze when Piccolo called out to him.

"Krillin, even if Goku isn't here yet, we still have a chance at taking out the big one." The Namekian said, getting everyone's attention. "The four of us combined should be more than enough to take him out. If we stick to the plan." Piccolo explained, looking right at Gohan as he finished his sentence. "Now, I'm going to attack him head on and gain his attention. Once I do that, you three will blast that guy with everything you have."

"What about Vegeta?" Gokai asked as he looked at the other Saiyan. "He's much stronger than any of us. And after being tired out by Nappa there is no way we could take him on."

Piccolo looked at the child with a scowl on his face. "Listen, we worry about the brute first. Hopefully by the time we're finished with him, Goku will be back and can handle the short one all by himself." He said as he dashed out at Nappa.

"I-I won't run away this time. I promise!" Gohan yelled out as he ran to his spot. "The fate of the Earth is counting on us. I have to be brave for now!" He thought to himself as he found a rock perch to stand on. Krillin and Gokai did the same, but in different locations and away from Gohan.

"Well, it seems that the group is starting to fight as a group now." Vegeta muttered as he watched them all get into position. "This should be interesting, but Nappa should be able to handle it easily."

"So, Namekian, you want to be first." Nappa remarked, cracking his neck in the process. "Unfortunately, I can't kill you. So instead, how does it sound to be beaten to the brink of death and then watch all the others be killed?" He asked, charging at his opponent.

Piccolo swung a kick at Nappa, only for it to be blocked by the brute's arm. The Saiyan then countered with a punch to Piccolo's face, causing the Namek to stutter backwards. Piccolo was a little dazed and didn't have time to block Nappa's next blow. The Saiyan swept Piccolo off his feet by kicking both of his legs out from under him.

Nappa then continued the assault by swinging his right fist down towards his opponent, who managed to dodge the attack by rolling to his left. Piccolo then swiftly jumped up onto his feet as he fired a Ki blast at the brute.

Nappa thought nothing of it as he backhanded the ball of energy off into the wasteland where it exploded upon contact. "Let me show you a real blast!" Nappa yelled as he extended his open palm towards Piccolo. Yellow energy started to grow inside of it until it was about as large as his head.

Piccolo smirked at seeing Nappa completely distracted by charging his attack. The Namekian quickly looked at each of the others, signaling for them all to attack now as that was their best shot.

"Well, here goes nothing." Krillin thought as he cupped his hands together and pulled them back towards his side. "This is for everything you've done. Chiaotzu, Tien and especially Master Roshi!"

"Stay calm, Gohan." The young child thought to himself as he raised his arms above his head, one over the other. "Piccolo trained you for this, he trusts you to follow through. Don't let him down!"

"Dad, I don't know if you can see this, but I might be joining you soon. Vegeta and Nappa are just too strong for us." Gokai thought to himself as he raised his hands up over his head as energy started to form into both hands. "But, no matter how bad things look, I'm going down as a fighter!"

"Any last words, Namek?" The brute asked as the sphere was now larger than Nappa's chest.

"Actually, just one." Piccolo said as he glared at Nappa. "Now!" He yelled out as the others all fired their attacks.

"Kamehame-Ha!"

"Masenko!"

"Volcanic Barrage!"

The three attacks all rained down onto Nappa as the brute was showered in energy. Even Vegeta was surprised by the might of the attack. "They might have actually done it..." Vegeta muttered to himself as he watched the bright light intensify. All three attacks were not ending, the group was putting everything they had into this. The three attacks merged into one giant one as it became a huge sphere that engulfed Nappa.

After a minute, the three fighters all stopped their attack as they looked at the spot Nappa was standing before. They couldn't tell if the brute was dead or not as they kicked up a lot of dirt and dust with the last attack, actually creating a crater in the middle of the field.

"D-do you think we got him?" Krillin asked as he floated down near Piccolo. "I mean, there's no way anyone could survive a blast of that magnitude."

Up on the Lookout, Kami was watching the battle when something caught his senses. "It's him, Mr. Popo! I can sense Goku, he's almost back to the Check-In Station!" He stated excitedly

Mr. Popo became just as excited as Kami himself once he heard the news. "Quick, Kami, go and get him!" The assistant cried out in joy, but before he even finished his sentence, Kami was already gone.

Goku was running out of strength as he saw the end of Snake Way. "Haha, there it is, the end! I can see the end!" Goku yelled out as he wiped sweat away from his face. "Hopefully I'm not too late. Hold on for just a few more minutes guys, I'm almost there!" He cried out as he used the last of his strength to force himself to move even faster. His breathing became even heavier as he started to tire out. Finally, Goku reached the Check-In station just as he collapsed in front of Kami. "Kami!"

"There's no time for talking, Goku, hold on!" Kami said as he reached his arm out to Goku, who eagerly grabbed on. Within a second, both figures were gone.

King Yemma sat there with a shocked expression. "Th-that human actually returned from King Kai's..."

Goku and Kami reemerged on the Lookout in front of Mr. Popo, shocking the genie as he wasn't expecting them to appear where they did. "Hi, Mr. Popo." Goku said as he started to leave. "I'm going to see if Korin has any senzu beans ready." He said behind himself as he jumped over the edge of the Lookout.

"Please hurry Goku, you're our only hope." Kami stated as he watched the young man start to free fall.

"Everyone, Gohan, please be alive!" Goku yelled out loud as he continued his decent, beginning to see the top of Korin's tower.

The martial arts master watched as Goku approached his tower. "Well, here comes Goku. He looks pretty tired though." The cat said to himself as he reached for the burlap sack that had the senzu beans in it. He saw Goku about to pass by the tower when he threw the sack at him. "Catch Goku, those are the last four beans I have!"

Goku caught the bag easily as he continued towards the ground. "Thanks, Korin! I really needed these!"

"Don't mention it, Goku. The whole world is depending on you!" The cat yelled out, unsure if Goku even heard what was said.

"Flying Nimbus!" Goku yelled out as he waited for his magical cloud to catch him. After a few moments, the cloud appeared underneath the fighter and caught him. "Thanks Nimbus, now, we need to head that way. Towards the powerful energy levels." He said as he pointed towards the fight. "I'll have one of the senzu beans now, that way I'll be ready to fight when I get there." He thought, pulling a bean out of the sac and eating it. Immediately Goku felt his fatigued muscles be filled with energy.

Minutes passed as the fighters waited to see if Nappa was dead. Gokai and Gohan had by now joined Piccolo and Krillin, standing near the edge of the crater. "W-we did it guys! We beat him!" Gohan cried out in joy before he grew even happier. "Do you all feel that?" He asked, laughing joyously.

"Y-ya, I feel it too. Goku's coming!" Krillin cried out, he was shaking with joy now. It seemed as though their luck was starting to change for the better. "Goku can now fight this other guy easily!"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, baldy." Vegeta said as he pointed towards the crater where Nappa was. "Someone has something to say to you first."

"Hmph, nice try, Vegeta, but even Nappa couldn't handle that attack." Gokai stated arrogantly only to have to eat his own words once he saw Nappa appear out of the crater without his armor. "B-but, how? We put everything into that?"

Nappa rolled his neck as he loosened his stiff muscles up. "Oh, you had me for sure. My armor took most of the impact and shielded me from the blast. I am impressed though. I never thought that you weaklings could have that much power. Tell me, how'd you use your bad arm?" He asked, pointing at Gokai's left arm.

"I forced myself through the pain to see your ugly face dead!" Gokai stated as a kick met his waist, sending him flying across the wasteland and head first into a rock formation.

"Hey, that was a cheap shot! He wasn't even ready to fight!" Krillin yelled as stared down Nappa.

Nappa meanwhile laughed at the human's response. "Fair? This isn't a fight for fun, you are fighting for your life! There is no such thing as fare!" He said, appearing behind Krillin and punting him like a football right into Gokai, who was trying to standup.

Vegeta wasn't amused with how Nappa was playing around, especially after that last attack. "Nappa!" The Saiyan yelled to get Nappa's attention. "Don't play around any longer! You saw what could happen when they get the chance, you nearly died just now! They said that Kakarot is nearby, so kill them all. We'll head to Namek to make our wish!"

"Vegeta, you sure know how to ruin the fun." Nappa said as he cracked his knuckles. "I guess I'll start by tormenting the Namek and then baldy, followed by Potat and I'll save the brat for when his coward of a dad arrives." Nappa said before he was kicked in the side of the head.

"My dad isn't a coward!" Gohan cried out as he went on the assault. Punch after punch, kick after kick, his barrage was pushing the brute back and actually hurting him. Nappa's body was starting to bruise from the attack but no serious injuries were forming.

Gohan jumped backwards by doing a backflip before placing his hands over his head. "Scum like you don't deserve to live! Masenko!" he yelled as the yellow beam left his hands and collided with the Saiyan brute. "Don't... call my... dad a coward." Gohan demanded as he started to grow tired from his outburst.

Out of the smoke appeared Nappa once again, only this time he was bleeding from his forehead. "You know what, you just pissed me off! I think it'll look better for Kakarot to arrive to a dead son!" He yelled as his muscles all started to bulge as he pulled his left fist back. His fist started to glow with energy. Just as he was about to launch it, Krillin kicked Nappa right into Piccolo who blasted Nappa in the back with a Ki blast.

"How are you getting back up!?" Nappa asked as he reacted from the blast. "You're stronger than you look, I'll give you that."

Vegeta meanwhile was enjoying the fight. "This is too good!" He cried out while laughing. "Having a hard time, Nappa?"

"Listen you two, the Earth doesn't go down easily." Piccolo said as he started to charge up another attack. "We won't give up until we can't breathe any longer!"

"You're all idiots!" Nappa yelled at each and every warrior still standing. "I was going to make your deaths quick and painless, but now, I am going to make you all suffer! I'll make it that you all beg me to be killed, but I'll leave you barely alive! Just enough where you can feel the pain and torment!" Nappa yelled, his voice filling with rage as he spoke.

Piccolo meanwhile was distracted by something he felt off in the distance. "That power... To think, Goku has gotten that strong within one year." Piccolo stated out loud.

Krillin also could sense the huge amount of energy Goku had as well. "Wow, when I first felt him, I never imagined him to be this powerful!"

"See, I told you my dad was coming! He'll save the day just like I said!" Gohan cried out joyously.

"Hmm. It only figures Goku would make us all wait." Piccolo said as he let out a sigh. "He always knows how to make things interesting."

"Vegeta, I don't see Kakarot anywhere. Can you see him?" Nappa asked as he looked around the sky.

Vegeta meanwhile picked his scouter up and turned it on. "You fool, these humans know how to sense energy. Kakarot is still a distance away. Just far enough for you to kill them all before he arrives." Vegeta explained as he took the scouter off. "His power is about equal with yours so it should be interesting."

"This isn't good. I can sense two large Kis, two gigantic Kis and three small Kis. That isn't enough! Please, let no one be dead!" Goku cried out in his mind as he raced towards the battlefield.

"Hmm. I wonder if that reading was correct. If it is, someone with a power level of close to 5000 will arrive in under four minutes." Vegeta thought to himself before a new thought came to him. "Wait! These guys all know how to suppress and increase their power. This reading could just be the beginning of his strength." "Nappa, hurry up and kill them like I demanded! Don't worry about anything else, finish them all before Kakarot arrives in four minutes!"

"I guess your partner is starting to worry." Piccolo remarked as he got ready to fight. "Krillin, Gohan, we just need to survive for another four minutes. Got it!?"

"Ya, but can we last that long?" Krillin asked as he flew over to Piccolo.

"Vegeta, I think your scouter is broken. There is no way Kakarot could be anywhere near 5000. He's just a low-class warrior." Nappa said as he got ready to fight again. "But, if it allows me to kill them all, so be it."

"Piccolo! Get out of here!" Gohan called out from his spot. "I'll hold him off until my daddy gets here. I can't allow you to die, if you do then Kami will die as well and then we can't use the Dragon Balls."

"Don't be ridiculous, kid, you can't hold them by yourself." Piccolo replied as he got into his stance.

"So, Kakarot's brat thinks he's going to hold me back. Interesting." Nappa yelled out as he started to charge towards Gohan. "Don't make me laugh!"

Gohan watched as the brute drew closer. As Nappa approached, Gohan's demeanor changed once again, the look in his eyes was like that of a true fighter. Gohan stared down Nappa as he approached before striking the brute with an appropriately placed kick to the side of the head.

The blow sent Nappa flying all the way across the battlefield. Everyone watched the power behind the kick. They weren't surprised that the boy did it, but with the power that came with the kick. Nappa continued flying until he crashed into one of the remaining rock formations.

"Interesting. The brat seems to have some power that he can call upon from within him." Vegeta thought to himself as he looked to where Nappa had landed. "But, it seems he can't use it at will quite yet. Nappa is lucky for that. I'll have to reprimand him for being careless today."

Everyone watched as Nappa flew out of the pile of rubble with ease, but he seemed even more pissed off. Instead of the few cuts he had before, he now sported a few more on his head which were bleeding down the side of his face. His body was also covered in deep bruises due to the constant assaults he had been taking all day. "Now, I've had enough!" He yelled as he pulled his left hand back.

The hand was covered in energy and everyone could sense just how powerful the oncoming attack was going to be. Nappa thrusted his hand forward and straight at Gohan. The boy could only look on in fear as the blast quickly approached him. His body wouldn't move, frozen in place due to his fear.

Without thinking, Piccolo ran over to help the boy that he had grown close to. Jumping in front of Gohan, the Namekian shielded his pupil from the powerful attack and instead took the whole attack head on.

Smoke and dust covered the area where the duo were standing and once it settled, the scene before everyone was Piccolo standing bravely in front of Gohan. Piccolo's body looked horrible, his gi was torn to shreds and his body was a mess as every muscle had expanded to its max to protect Gohan. His entire body was now smoking due to the attack.

"Piccolo?" Gohan asked the figure standing before him, wondering if he was still alive.

Piccolo just stood there as he continued breathing. "It's alright, kid, just run aw-." He replied before falling face first into the ground. He had been killed by the powerful blast.

Gohan crawled over to the dead body. "N-no, you can't be dead Piccolo. Not like this. You weren't supposed to die trying to save me.

Piccolo managed to open his eyes for a minute as he spoke to Gohan. "Go-Gohan, get out of here, run away while there is still time."

"Forget about it." Gohan cried back, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I'm not going to run away if it means leaving you here like this. Just hold on, my daddy's coming."

Nappa looked on at the duo with a grin on his face. "Those idiots, making us kill them in the wrong order. Oh well, it all ends here."

"Oh no, one of the Kis I feel is getting smaller, someone's dying!" Goku said to himself as his magical cloud picked up speed. "Faster flying Nimbus, we have to get there soon!"

"So, this is how my story ends after all." Kami muttered while breathing heavily. He was hunched over his stick and was sweating like crazy. "Goku couldn't make it in time to prevent Piccolo's death. But in his last moments, my evil counterpart outdid myself, sacrificing himself for a child."

"Kami, no, don't leave!" Mr. Popo cried out, tears filling his eyes. He could only watch, however, as Kami started to fade away.

"What a sorry excuse I've become... Demon King Piccolo, giving up his life to save a whiny little kid. And out of every kid, it's the son of my enemy." He said to Gohan while coughing. "Gohan... you're the only person... I've ever known who didn't treat me like a monster." Piccolo said, recounting the past year he spent with Gohan. "Tr-truth be told... this past year wasn't so bad. Thank you, Gohan." The Namekian said as he closed his eyes for the last time.

"No! Piccolo, no!" Gohan cried out as tears started to flow down his face.

"Mr. Popo, you were an excellent assistant all these years... and now I leave the rest for you." The elder guardian stated as his body faded away to Otherworld.

"Kami!" Mr. Popo cried out, visibly upset over the guardian's death.

"No. No. No!" Gohan continued to yell, catching Gokai's attention as he shook himself out of the daze he was in.

Gokai flew over to Krillin and landed next to the fighter. "What happened? Why is he yelling?"

"Pi-Piccolo died, while protecting him." Krillin stated weakly. Unknown to Gokai, if Piccolo died that meant Kami would die as well. "And, there's no way to revive him, since Kami and the Dragon Balls are gone as well."

Hearing this shocked Gokai. "What!? What do you mean Kami is gone?"

"Well, Kami and Piccolo used to be one being, but when they split into two people, they created a link between their two souls where if one ever died the other would as well." Krillin explained to Gokai as they watched the upset Gohan.

"Hmm. His power is rising again." Vegeta mentioned as he used his scouter. "Just as I thought, his power jumps based on his emotions. It's all the way up to 3000 now."

"Only 3000!?" Nappa asked back, receiving a nod from Vegeta.

Gohan channeled all of his energy into his hands as he placed his right over his left before raising them up over his head. "Masenko!" He yelled as the beam left his hand and shot straight for Nappa.

The brute just stood there and watched as the attack appeared even closer to him. Without thinking, Nappa merely swatted the blast away with just his hand alone. "N-not bad for a kid." Nappa said as he grabbed his hand. "Heh, that actually stung a little bit."

Gohan could only look on in surprise as he saw that his blast had next to no effect on Nappa. Vegeta meanwhile was scanning to see what his power level was now. "His power has dropped to almost nothing, it seems he used it all up in a final attack just now."

"I'm sorry, Piccolo..." Gohan said while looking at his teacher's body. He was sweating now and his breathing was getting heavier now due to his fatigue. "I... I couldn't beat them for you and now I can't even run away anymore.

Nappa slowly strolled over towards Gohan, wanting to make Gohan wait for his death. Slowly, he reached the exhausted boy and was ready to end his life. "Hahahaha! I can't wait to see Kakarot's face when he finds his son crushed to death!" He cried out as he lifted his boot above Gohan's head.

"We have to do something, Krillin, before it's too late!" Gokai yelled out desperately before charging at Nappa.

"Wait! We should come up with a plan first!" Krillin yelled out before racing after Gokai. The duo were now approaching Nappa. Krillin stopped in his place as he lifted his hand above his head, his palm opened and facing towards the sky. "Well, I might as well try it out now." Krillin thought as he concentrated his Ki into forming a blade. "Th-this is for everyone you've killed!" Krillin yelled out, capturing everyone's attention. "Ahhhh, destructo disk!" He yelled as the disk shot towards Nappa.

"Another simple attack?" He said, moving his foot away from Gohan. "You just got lucky, brat, baldy wants to die first." Nappa said as he prepared to catch the disk.

Vegeta, however, saw through the attack and tried to warn Nappa. "You idiot, dodge that attack, it could kill you!"

"What!" The brute called back as he went to position his body to dodge, only to be struck unexpectedly.

"You didn't forget about me, did you!?" Gokai asked teasingly as his head collided with Nappa's gut, causing the Saiyan to be stunned long enough to have him struck by the disk.

Krillin's attack wasn't able to slice any major organs, however he managed to hit a major part of the brute's body. To everyone's surprise, Nappa grabbed Gokai by his hair before tossing him right into Krillin and knocking the duo backwards. Immediately after, however, Nappa reached for his left arm only to feel it missing from his elbow down. "You'll pay for that, baldy. But first, I think I had a deal with Kakarot's son." He said as he lifted his foot off the ground again. "So long, kid, there will always be a soft spot on the bottom of my boot for you." The brute said as his foot started its descent.

To everyone's surprise, Nappa completely missed his target. Under his boot was just dirt, but right beside him was Gohan, who was sitting on a yellow cloud. "Flying Nimbus?" He asked the cloud, confused as to why it was here.

Just then, a new figure flew out of the sky and landed on the battlefield. "Sorry I'm late guys." He said to Krillin, Gohan and Gokai. "You all fought well, but where is everyone else?"

"Goku, the large one killed them all. One after another, Roshi, Chiaotzu, Tien, even Piccolo." Krillin explained. "We tried everything but he just kept getting back up! I'm sorry."

"Krillin, now isn't the time to be sorry for anything. You did everything that you could to beat them. In fact, you should be proud, you guys didn't run when it started to get tough." Goku told him as he tossed the burlap sack to his best friend. "There are three senzu beans in there. You three eat them and head to Kame house. I'll handle the rest from here."

"Goku, what if you need these beans for yourself?" Krillin asked as he pulled them from the sack. "You're going to be fighting, not us."

"Don't worry. I already had one. Besides, you three are pretty banged up." He said, pointing out the injuries to each of them.

"Wait! But, what about Yamcha!?" Gokai remembered before anyone ate their bean. "I remember that he wasn't dead the last time we saw him, just that his energy is really low right now."

"You're right, I forgot about Yamcha since he's been out of this fight for so long. Let's go get him and then figure out what to do." Krillin said as the trio headed off towards Yamcha's unconscious body.

Gokai looked down at the scarred face of Yamcha and then at his own bean. Without a second thought, he broke the bean in half and forced the former bandit to eat it. The half-Saiyan ate the other half on his own and it immediately healed his injuries and relieved him of his fatigue.

"Gokai, why'd you break your senzu bean? One of us could have done it. You're much worse off than we are!" Krillin stated once he saw what the boy did. "Here, take my bean as well." The former monk offered as he extended his hand.

"No, it's the least I could do. A year ago, I was traveling across the galaxy being forced to listen to those two. Now, I'm fighting alongside true allies and friends to bring an end to them. Even though my dad attacked you guys, you welcomed me with kindness and treated me as one of your own." He explained as Yamcha sat up.

"Ughh. What happened, did we win?" Yamcha asked as he steadied himself up. "Whoa! Who has that incredible power!?" He yelled out once he felt Goku's Ki.

"That's my daddy's. He just got here and he's going to beat the Saiyans all by himself." Gohan stated excitedly.

"Let's hope so." Yamcha said as he stood up to get a better view. "I take it that we're the only survivors."

Krillin sadly shook his head to reply. "Unfortunately, everyone fought hard, but this guy just kept getting up. We don't know what to do."

"I don't know about you guys, but I still want revenge against Nappa." Gokai said as his Ki started to rise. "We need to teach him a lesson to not mess with Earth!" The young boy said as he flew back towards the battlefield.

"Wait! Didn't you say he killed everyone else? Let Goku handle this!" Yamcha called out before chasing after the boy. "I swear, this kid will be the death of me" He said as he flew back as well.

"I'm going too, for Piccolo!" Gohan said as he soared off as well.

"Guys, this is crazy. We can't handle him, we barely survived last time." Krillin tried to explain, only for everyone to already be gone. "Oh I know I'll regret this." The former monk stated as he chased after the others.

First off, sorry for taking a while. I have just been busy between School and work, especially with finals starting up soon. I can't guarantee many updates during December, but come Christmas break I should be able to type a few chapters out before I go back to school.

The fight with the Saiyans is getting even more tensful with Goku arriving on the scene shortly after Piccolo is Killed by Nappa. Now without the Dragon Balls, what will the Earth's fighters due about their fallen friends?

Thank you to everyone who continues to read and support this. Please leave a review to let me know where I can improve.

Next time, the fight continues on as Goku begins his battle against the two Saiyans. As the fight continues, backup arrives for Earth's last hope and help even the odds. Now with Nappa taking on the four remaining warriors while Goku focuses solely on Vegeta, what could possible happen.