The group had decided to investigate this odd looking planet, this dead brown rock with a gigantic tree jutting out of one hemisphere. Kami was curious. When he made his trip to and from Namek he recognised this area quite well, a most beautiful planet covered in flowers and fields of vegetables. What had happened?
When the ship touched down, Kami told Bulma to head back up and leave the ship in orbit around the odd planet. She complied, surprisingly...It was odd, she seemed almost paranoid as of late, very protective of her body.
"Are you sure we can afford to waste time here Kami?" Yamcha asked as the group flew along the dusty rock. No cities, no plants. Nothing at all, stretching onto the infinite horizon.
"Assuming this isn't all Vegeta's handiwork, he will still need time to recover his strength. After all, he'd have to have been very injured to not come back and finish us off when he had the chance." Kami said.
That was when they reached it, the massive tree so large that it could be seen from outer space, it's roots like giant gnarled pythons cutting deep trenches into the once fertile soil. And there, resting on one of the large roots, were a group of off looking aliens, grinning as the Z-warriors approached. "Meh. Some of 'em are above average, but no threat." the hulking orange man remarked, tapping his scouter.
"They don't look like Planet Trade to me." one of the deformed purple dwarves chimed in.
"Are you the ones who've caused all this destruction?" Tien asked, two of his three eyes narrowing in disgust at their sneering faces.
"But of course." Daiz replied, running a hand through his dark hair. "But let me guess, you're all here to try and stop us?"
Krillin punched his palm with his powerful fist "Well at first we were here to investiate the destruction and this weird tree...But whatever you're doing, we're going to put a stop to it!"
Amanda stood up fully, grinning wickedly "Come and stop us then. We needed a way to kill the time anyway."
The two dwarves shot off the large branch and flung themselves at Yamcha, the scar face bandit flying backward and moving his arms to block and deflect the blows from their stumpy arms. One sweep of his leg and the two were sent hurtling upward, rubbing their bruised purple faces in pain.
The machine, Cacao, lunged at Tien next. The triclops could sense the cyborg's ki, and now able to tell he was outmatched at his base power level he powered up his Kaioken aura. The metal fist collided with Tien's guarding forearm, causing the Crane student to stumble back with a grunt of pain. he moved swiftly and kicked Cacao's legs out from under him, before grabbing the cyborg and flinging him skyward.
Cacao righted himself quickly, several missile pods bursting out of hidden compartments on his body. Nanotechnology? Seemed likely. A wave of missiles came pouring out from the orifices, and Tien had to start moving as swiftly as possible to avoid the tidal wave of missiles pursuing him, intent on mowing him down.
Daiz flew at Kami, and the two warriors started to exchange powerful blows, some scoring direct hits to their foe or some of their blows being deflected. Finally, Daiz managed to knee Kami in the gut, sending him hurtling upward. He was beside Kami in a flash, and his boot struck the Namekian in the jaw.
Kami was sent soaring down to the ruined earth, but suddenly his head snapped up and his jaws opened wide. A powerful gold beam of ki shot forth, striking the shocked Daiz in the chest. The beam carried Daiz away to the trunk of the mighty tree, and a powerful explosion enveloped him. He fell and landed on a branch with a thud, giving a grunt but managing to force himself onto one knee.
Amond's strong punch was swiftly dodged by Krillin, and the bald monk responded to the assault by burying his elbow into the giant's ribs, making him double over slightly. He gave a snarl and firmly gripped Krillin's bald head, smashing him in the face with his knee repeatedly, before flinging Krillin into the air.
The former turtle student gave a grunt and flipped through the air, entering into a kamehameha wave stance. He launched the blue beam at Amond after only a few seconds of charging, and while it hit the damage done only seemed to be done to the orange brute's armour.
A strong combined punch from Rasin and Lakasei sent Yamcha hurtling to earth, and the duo took a moment to cackle and gloat while Yamcha got back to his feet "Ngh...Let's see you laugh after this." he growled, raising one hand up. A crackling ball of red and gold energy formed just above his fingertips "Take this! Spirit Ball!" the former bandit yelled out, flinging the orb at the siblings. The duo grinned and both swerved to dodge the bolt.
"Hehe. That it, you dolt?" Rasin mocked. Yamcha smirked and made a finger gesture, and suddenly the Spirit Ball did a U-turn and struck the dwarf in the back of the head. Yamcha started flicking his finger, the ball following all his motions and smacking both his opponents around. He caught both the dwarves in one hit, the Spirit Ball carrying them to the earth whereupon it exploded in a flourish of light.
The two battle damaged imps came from the dust shrieking and flailing punches and kicks at Yamcha. Some of their blows struck and left some bruises on the bandit's body, but the duo seemed to lack the same punch they once carried due to their injuries. Yamcha gave a yell, decapitating Rasin with the flat of his hand. He started pummelling Lakasei in the face, knocking him backward "WOLF, FANG, FIST!" he howled, delivering a two handed strike that snapped the last dwarf's neck.
A series of explosions knocked Tien into the air, burns marking the triclops' body. He righted himself and glared at Cacao...Seemed he was out of missiles. Tien slammed his palms together and gave a growl, forming his fingers into a diamond-shape. His Kaioken aura flared up once more.
"TRI-BEAM! HAH!" the Kaioken-enhanced blast struck Cacao, blasting off large chunks of the shrieking cyborg's armour being torn off and parts of his chestplate melting slightly.
The two warriors righted themselves and flew back against each other, their fists colliding repeatedly and sending shockwaves across the lifeless horizon. Cacao headbutted the triclops and sent him soaring downward. He hopped back to avoid an eye beam from his foe and them shot straight back at Cacao with his Kaioken aura blazing back to life. He swung a punch at Cacao, but Tien's fist broke clean through his metal forearm, travelling further until it struck Cacao's fleshy pink face and splattered gore across the ground.
Tien gave off a sigh of exertion as his aura faded "Damnit...Just need a little...More practice with the Kaioken..." he said, rubbing his sore arm.
Another blow to the face and Kami was sent skidding across the dust, tumbling about before landing in a skid. He caught a punch from Daiz and then struck him repeatedly in the abdomen, shattering off more and more of the young conqueror's armour.
Daiz wrenched his hand free and fired off a ki blast which Kami narrowly dodged. The Namekian adjusted his hand, sharp nails jutting forth, he shot an arm out, stabbing them straight into Daiz' exposed gut. The young man gagged and wretched, clutching the gaping hole in his torso. he slumped to his knees, still retching blood.
Kami frowned and shut his eyes, placing his hands ont he sides of Daiz' head and rapidly snapping his neck to spare the poor boy a slow agonising death.
Amond caught Krillin's fist in his monstrously large hand, starting to thrash the bald monk through the dirt. He then flung Krillin into the distance and gave a roat, flinging a spear of lightning at the monk. Krillin managed to block just in time, but the explosion still sent him flying back another few feet.
Amond gave a grunt and rubbed his busted scouter, previously destroyed by a chop from Krillin, and was now unaware of Yamcha floating above him. "Kame...Hame..." he trailed off, a blue ki sphere swelling in his palms. Amond gave a shocked gasp and looked skyward.
"Oh no you don't you little bastard!" Amond growled, forming a white ball of energy in his hand. Suddenly Kami was beside him, a crackling gold sphere in both his hands. 'D-Damnit, who the hell am I supposed to hit?!' Amond yelled in his head.
A Kamehameha struck him in the back, and the hulking orange madman gave a howl of pain. He'd forgotten Krillin! Kami struck him in the side, and Yamcha's Kamehameha ave swooped downward. The maelstrom of ki surged around Amond's whole body, and he gave a death howl as the ki surrounding him caused a massive explosion and a following black mushroom cloud.
There was a moment of silence, and the group of warriors gathered together again "Well, that was an interesting distraction...I just wish I knew why those brigands had killed this once beautiful planet?" Kami asked.
"I believe I can explain that." a mysterious, harsh voice said, emerging from the shadows. Everyone gaped at the figure that now floated down to meet them.
He was...Well, the spitting image of Kakarot, except for his darker skin tone and the Saiyan armour he was wearing. "This, is the Tree of Might. Once planted it sucks out the energy of a planet and can syphon that into it's fruit. Whoever eats that, becomes incredibly powerful."the stranger paused, seeing the looks of shock on the groups face, and then he grinned "What's wrong? You all look like you've seen a ghost."
"He looks just like...Hmph, so this is what Kakarot would have become if I didn't raise him..." Kami muttered. "A cruel pirate who killed off entire planets for his own power."
"I am Turles. And those men you killed were my Crusher Corps." he said, walking closer to the group. His ki dwarfed that of his now dead allies, but he didn't really seem much stronger than Vegeta had been on Earth.
"I'm both annoyed and...slightly pleased that you killed them. At first I stayed back because I felt they could handle you. Now that they're dead, I'm coming out of the shadows to make an offer to you. If you bow down before me and apologise, I might just forgive you and let you join me." Turles said, crossing his strong arms over his armour-covered chest.
Krillin gave a grunt "Like hell! We're not serving a monstrous bastard like you!" Turles frowned, before grinning again. He dashed forth, faster than Krillin could react to, and his knuckle struck the human's jaw, sending him soaring across the dirt and crashing into a large boulder.
Kami flung a flurry of rapid punches at Turles, but the malevolent Saiyan soon caught Kami's fists with a vile smirk on his face. Kami's eyes flashed white and two hot energy beams shot out. Turles gave a grunt and moved his head just in time, though the beams still cut through Turles' shoulderpads and cut into the upper portion of his shoulder.
The Saiyan despot gave a snarl and rammed his knee into Kami's ribs, winding the former Guardian and allowing Turles to fling him across the horizon as if he were weightless.
Turles paused for a moment, seeing Yamcha and Tien on either side of him. Weak compared to the other two he supposed. Almost in unison, the two warriors yelled out "KAIOKEN TIMES TWO!" their red aura's splitting the earth beneath their feet.
The group flew skyward, Turles using one arm on each of his foes to block their strikes. Yamcha gave a blow to Turles' shoulder, making him grunt and stagger slightly, which gave Tien the opportunity to punch Turles as hard as he could in the gut, shattering away large chunks of his armour and leaving a purple bruise on the dark skin.
Turles gave a snarl,a mixture of rage and pain, and slammed both his fists onto the human foes, sending them hurtling and crashing to the ruined earth. Turles raised his arms high above his head and suddenly a ring of gold light formed between his hands. He flung the bolt straight down, and just as Tien and Yamcha made a move to flee, they were caught from behind by the explosion's shockwave, sending them hurtling away from each other.
It was at that moment that Krillin reappeared, wreathed in the same red aura as his two allies. He managed to strike the manic Saiyan a few times in rapid succession, splattering blood on his knuckles whenever he hit Turles in the face. But Turles quickly regained control, catching one of Krillin's fist and punching him in the gut, before fling the winded Krillin into the great bark of the world-killing tree.
His head whipped around, and he rapidly deflected a blast from Kami. "That all you've got, Namek?!" the conqueror spat.
Kami smirked in response "No. That is though." Turles turned and was promptly struck by a powerful golden beam being fired by...A second Kami?!
"GOD'S LIGHT!" the Kami duplicate snarled, his aura seeming to tripple in size, it's red hue drowned out by the golden sheen of the energy blast. The beam carried Turles down and down, until he crashed into the earth with a thunderous explosion, leaving a deep black crater in the earth.
The two Kami's floated to one another and merged back into one entity, panting heavily from the strain "And he's not done yet..." he grunted weakly.
Indeed, Turles did fly from the smoke with an enraged snarl on his face. The entire upper portion of his armour and his scouter had been blown off entirely, and his body was covered in bruises and smoking burns. He'd lost a fair bit of his power, but far from enough to put him down for the count.
Kami threw a weak punch which was swiftly dodged, and Turles responded by smashing his fist into Kami's ribs and then roundhouse kicking Kami toward the tree. He struck the branch and began falling, hitting every branch on the way down before landing into a bloodied, battered heap on the dusty ruined ground.
Krillin burst from the shade and smashed both his feet into Turles' face, making the Saiyan snarl in pain. He managed to deliver a series of rapid yet powerful punches and kicks to Turles' torsp and face, but in the end Krillin was beaten back down by a strong elbow to the face and a point-blank energy blast to the chest.
Wordlessly he landed, breathing heavily "That all?" he asked aloud, wiping the blood from his face. He looked up and grinned wickedly, seeing the golden spiky fruit begin to sprout from the branches high above. Despite the sheer size of the tree, it only ever produced a few fruits at a time.
"Finally. All those too myself, should make me strong enough to kill Frieza-AAAAAAHHHHGH!" The Saiyan's cocky words turned into a blood-curdling shriek of agony. He felt as if he were being flayed alive, as if a railroad spike was being jammed up his nostrils, as if all his nails had been torn out at once...He looked down in horror at the golden beam piercing through his heart, slowly fading away.
He started to turn as he fell to the ground, seeing Tien's outstretched insex finger, his whole body covered in sweat and various injuries. he fell with a flat thud, looking up at the fruit...The fruit he was so close to attaining, but so very far from ever holding.
Tien looked up to the fruit and gave a grunt, flying up as quick as he could and plucking one of the fruit of the branches. He munched on it and gave a muffled gasp as he swallowed it. Ir was sweet and sour, bitter and sugary,unlike anything Tien had ever tasted. It healed his wounds and caused his muscles to bulge out for a moment as his power skyrocketed "God...I feel thrice as strong as before..." he said, quickly zipping around and plucking fruits for his downed allies.
He gave Krillin the smallest of what he'd plucked and then handed Yamcha and Kami fruits similar in size to what he had eaten. They hopped up, amazed at their newfound might and stamina "Not bad...I just wish you hadn't given me the runt of the fruits." Krillin remarked.
"Seemed appropriate, all things considered." Tien teased, placing a hand on Krillin's chrome dome.
Kami furrowed his brow "I'm not fond of doing this, but we need the strength. There are horrors out there worse than Vegeta, of that I am certain." he said, using his magic materialisation to form a simple wooden box with a lid. He retrieved two more fruit from the tree and set them in the box "And I'm certain Kakarot and Raditz will want some of the fruit too." he added, closing the box up.
"Well. Let's message Bulma, and we'll be back on our way." Tien said simply, turning to leave the scarred, dusty ground.
30 days after Vegeta's defeat on Earth.
The football-shaped Capsule Corp ship rumbled and rocked as it broke the atmospheric layer and began rocketing through the solar system. Damn fine craft, even Raditz admired the humans technical abilities.
They had beds, a fridge stocked up with enough food to feed an army and enough Senzu Tonic to heal said army...but what both Saiyans loved most was the gravity chamber aboard the craft.
Raditz propped Yajirobe's sword up against a wall of the chamber and walked to the control panel "Now then little brother, what will we start training at?" he asked.
Kakarot paused in thought and then gave a grin "20. If you think you can handle it, I mean." Kakatot said, continuing to grin. Raditz smirked in response and did as his sibling bid, setting the gravity to 20 times beyond Earth's own. The weight was immense, and both nearly doubled over. They glared at each other and then dove forth, starting to strike at each other as fast as they could.
A/N: Next chapter, the first group arrive on Namek. What kind of threats await them? As if you didn't already know.
Power Levels:
- Turles: 17'500
-Krillin (Tree of Might): 19'400
-Kami (Tree of Might): 21'375
-Tien (Tree of Might): 11'670
-Yamcha (Tree of Might): 10'725
-Kakarot (Post-Zenkai): 13'350
-Raditz (Post-Zenkai): 14'525