Chapter 21

Chaos

Tien was still breathing deeply when Popo's carpet flashed behind him with Popo and Dende aboard. Dende kneeled on the carpet and placed his hands in the middle of Tien's back, restoring energy to the three-eyed warrior as he went.

"You guys are the first to hit battle." Dende said, causing Tien to turn his head around quickly.

"What? Trunks and Goten are out fighting too, I can feel them from here."

"No…" Dende replied meekly, "They're…fighting each other. Freeza's reinforcements are on their way here, but Piccolo, Gohan, and Uub are going off to cut them off without them."

"Trunks…" Tien said, disgusted. "I don't have time for that. Thank you, please see to these four." he said as he gestured toward the Wolf students, "Hey, Shen! What'd you see?"

"Nothing you didn't see." Shen yelled back, having crept closer to the battlefield, "They tried to overwhelm us with blunt force, but I'll be surprised if they try that again. Be ready to adjust the formation."

Shisami was still deep in thought when one of the higher-ranking members of his force approached him, "Shall we wait for the reinforcements to arrive, General?"

"No," he replied, "they're hours away. The only reason I called them is because this group doesn't include the Saiyans, so I'm sure we'll hit them somewhere along our path. The only one here putting off any energy worth mentioning is that triclops in the back, and he's no threat to me. We'll get through this group shortly.

"Men! Triple Stack Formation! Go!" he yelled. Suddenly the force's rows began to shift in the air, going from a neat 10-row line to 3 separate lines hovering above one another. The new formation consisted of two 3-row lines sandwiched above and below a 4-row line in the middle.

"They'll have to choose which line to attack." Shisami announced to his men, "Whichever lines come clean out the other side, circle around and attack the formation from behind! We'll rip this thing to shreds before we move on to the city."

Shen and Tien fired to either side of the funnel formation, barking orders as they went. "3-Layer Stagger!" Shen was yelling, "You've been drilled on this! Move it!"

The men began adjusting, hovering higher and lower according to their assignments, creating two sides of the formation that were no longer mirrors, but opposites of one another. 17 looked on in bewilderment at the rapid shifting until Tien made his way back to him. "Just stay where you are." Tien said, "They'll bring them to you. But don't move. If you lose your position, everyone's backs are completely open."

"Hmmm…" Shisami said, "Not bad. But far too much distance between their men. They'll never hold us like this. Men! When you are engaged, fight to kill! We'll work our way through the middle this time. Now, charge!"

Shisami dropped his hand again, and the horde burst into another rush.

Piccolo, Uub, and Gohan touched down in a still valley and awaited the arrival of the reinforcement company, hiding behind a large cluster of bushes to launch their ambush.

"I can't believe them…" Gohan was stewing. "When we get out of this, I'm gonna…" Gohan was unable to finish his threat, but the message was communicated.

"It doesn't matter." Piccolo said, "It's the Saiyan in them, they can't help themselves; I've learned that much. Still, we shouldn't have a problem taking out this force without them if we don't waste energy. All we can do is hope they make it back before Freeza figures out what's going on."

No sooner had he spoken than the massive wave of troops, over 3000 strong, crossed into their vision.

"Uub, are you ready?" Piccolo asked.

Uub nodded his head and fidgeted nervously, and Piccolo noticed he was having trouble suppressing his power.

"Uub, calm down." Piccolo said, "You can handle this."

"I know." Uub said back, surprising Piccolo, who had expected the five-year-old to be a frightened wreck at first combat. "It's just…I can't stop shaking..." Uub seemed to be legitimately trying to control his body, but with the enemy now well within striking distance, it was as if he was fighting a primal instinct to throw himself into the fray of battle.

"Uub, settle down, they're not on top of us yet!" Gohan was barking in a hushed tone, as Uub visibly shook in his effort to restrain his body. The horde came closer and closer, but were still a good distance away when the leader's scouter went off.

"What?" The red alien said, "It's…it's huge! It must be the Saiyans! Men, retreat!"

"Let's go!" Piccolo yelled. He and Gohan burst into the air as the unit attempted to turn tail and run. Uub held a moment longer and then fired hard after them, a pink glow encompassing his body.

The trio closed the distance just as the horde was able to get completely turned around, and wasted no time launching into the massacre. Piccolo sought out the leader of the unit who had noticed Uub's energy, now at the back of the pack, and with a long slash from his right hand, severed the red man in two. From there, he continued his chase, cutting down each straggler with horrifying tenacity.

Gohan launched into the horde, blending among them as they fled, chopping and kicking as he passed them one by one with lethal precision, like a sheep dog through the flock. Many attempted to fight back, but none could avoid his strikes, nor could they survive them once they made impact. Soon, he had severed a line through the mob, and cut a large chunk of the men off from their comrades. Upon reaching the head of this group, he turned to face them, and thrust his hands forward, emitting a devastating blast that swallowed them whole.

Uub, wide eyed and panicked, flew up above the mob and began hurling blasts one after the other in a high-octane, if inefficient, attack, his body running purely on instinct and adrenaline. As if the attack were therapeutic, his aura faded, and his body calmed, but he kept up the onslaught, taking large, sporadic chunks out of the force as he went. Then, with a burst of speed, he launched down into the fray, springing to and fro among the combatants at blinding speed, slashing and striking randomly, with devastating power.

All through the onslaught, the enemy horde was fanning out in all directions, trying desperately to escape their attackers. None had the strength to defend themselves, nor the speed to get away, but thanks to their massive numbers, the Earthlings simply weren't able to confront them all at once. Slowly but surely, several hundred men were able to bleed away and off into the distance while their remaining allies slowed their attackers with their lives.

"Freeza, we're receiving multiple reports that the reinforcement troops have been attacked by the Saiyans! They're in a full retreat!" Sorbet shouted.

"What? Retreat?" Freeza barked, "I thought you said the Earthlings were confronting Shisami?!"

"They are, sire! It appears they are in multiple units, and Shisami has been attacked by a squadron of humans. Perhaps the Saiyans simply happened upon our reinforcements."

"Errr…" Freeza gritted his teeth as he stewed, "Signal those that escape back here, I'll handle the Saiyans myself if they can't!"

Goten and Trunks were raging at one another, but neither was able to gain an advantage. Time and time again, they clashed into one another, only to reach a stalemate, or fired blasts only to have them deflected or canceled out by a blast of equal force from their opponent.

10 minutes into the furious pace, they charged again, and, finally, Goten made a mistake. Anticipating a meeting in the air with his opponent, he overextended on a flying kick intended for Trunks's chest. Trunks phased high and reappeared right above the now prone Goten, grabbed his throat in his right hand, and dive-bombed toward the ground, slamming Goten into the Earth by his neck and creating a gigantic crater on impact.

Goten was rocked by the impact, but managed to curl his feet beneath Trunks and kick him away, and rose to his feet to face him again. Both were bloodied and breathing deeply, and both seemed to content to take a moment's pause.

"Face it…Goten…" Trunks said between gasps. "The gap's gone…I'm stronger than you now…Don't make me hurt you."

"One…lucky move…How'd you get so strong anyway?!"

"I spent last night in the Time Chamber." Trunks replied. "It only took a few hours out here, but in there, it was months. I didn't even have to finish the day we started against Buu."

"All that extra work, just so you could pass me, and we're still tied. What a waste."

"You're wrong; we're not tied, I'm stronger. And all that extra work was to kill Freeza. And to be ready when Buu comes out of that kid, and you and Piccolo and Gohan try to stop me from doing what has to be done."

"You're out of your mind. We're supposed to take on Freeza together! We're supposed to be helping Uub together! You don't get to judge who lives and dies, get over yourself! Work with us!"

"I wish I could, but I'm done trying to reason with all of you. Now either get out of my way so I can get ready for my real fight, or let's finish this."

"Gah, you're so arrogant!" Goten yelled as his aura burst hard around him, "You're not better than me, Trunks! I'm gonna beat that into you, even if it kills both of us!"

"Kills us?" Trunks said, half shocked and half amused, "And you say I'm the one that's changed. Come on, then!" His aura fired around him as well, and the two fired off the ground at one another again.

Shisami's forces hit the eastern formation, but this time, didn't bypass the edges, instead opting to confront the Earthlings at every position, swarming around them like ants.

The Earthlings fought well, however. By keeping their space, even the weakest among them were able to fend off the dozens of soldiers they were confronted with, and worked diligently to force as many of their opponents as possible into the depth of the funnel. Though 17 and the interior fighters were holding up well, Tien was working at a breakneck pace to protect the weak exterior of the formation, where, as the battle drug on, cracks were beginning to show. No sooner would he finish clearing the swarm off one exhausted human than he would spot another, and bolt to alleviate him. Finally, he could take no more, and flew to meet Shen, despite the trouble his men were facing.

"Give me a senzu!" he yelled, and Shen handed one over as quickly as he could. Tien popped it into his mouth and turned to assess the formation, only to find himself horrified. In his absence, three human warriors, one sporting a Shinhan eye, had been backed into a group by a mob of enemy soldiers. They fought valiantly, firing and fighting as the mob closed in, and Tien bolted to meet them, but long before he reached his mark, the enemy overtook them, cut their throats, and sent their lifeless bodies to the hard ground below.

Tien's eyes lit up with rage as he charged the group. He came to a screeching halt some 15 yards away, and as the mob turned to charge him, threw his hands together as he issued a loud "KIKOHO" that engulfed the mob and rendered them lifeless. Tien doubled over in pain at the blast, but managed to shake it off and reentered the fray, determined not to allow his weakness to permit any more casualties.

Inside the formation, the Wolf Students hand their hands full, but were doing well. Nein and Naken had been assigned to the right side of the formation, and for all intents and purposes, were fighting as one cohesive unit, often switching places on the fly and coordinating attacks, repelling enemy after enemy with deadly efficiency. Hammur and Gorra, for their part, were not coordinating attacks, but had gone to fighting back-to-back, thereby cutting off the angles at which they could be attacked, and were rotating circularly, dispelling their opponents with overwhelming power all the while.

17 was especially busy, catching the bleed-off of every warrior his allies could throw his way, and was horrifyingly efficient at disposing of them. His seemingly limitless energy kept him fighting at a torrid pace, and his kills soon numbered in the hundreds. Still, he frequently left his post to momentarily pursue combatants, which allowed enemy troops to slip through and attack his allies from behind. Thus far, Shen had been able to halt these troops with precisely fired Dodon Rays, but their frequency was increasing with the growing workload 17 was being tasked with.

Shisami was in a rage. Despite vastly outnumbering an inferior opponent, his troops were being worked over, and their numbers were dwindling significantly. "Fine! I'll do it myself!" he roared, and launched into the fray of the battle.

Before he could reach the activity, however, he found himself face-to-face with Tien. "Feeling strong, human?" he asked.

Both fighters were able to sense the other's energy, and both knew Tien stood little chance in a dual. Still, Tien squared to the behemoth, and held his ground. "Not really." he responded. "But that's nothing new."

Shisami charged forward and Tien drew his arms into his chest again, and issued a loud "KIKOHO!" The blast hit Shisami squarely across the front of his body and blew him back some 50 yards before he was able to halt his momentum, the entire front of his body burned from the blast. Tien doubled over again, and this time was unable to regain control of his body. Before Shisami ever stopped his backward momentum, Tien was free-falling from the sky, clinging hard to consciousness.

Shen saw Tien go down and, with Dende keeping his distance while the battle was still raging, caught him and popped another senzu bean into his mouth. As Tien came to, Shen began to lecture him,

"You're abusing that technique, Tien. Even if you have learned to concentrate it, you can't overdo it like this. It takes too great a toll on your body."

"I don't have a lot of options!" Tien yelled in response, as he watched Shisami regain his balance and launch into the fray of battle, quickly slashing through one of the Earth's newly recruited warriors, killing him instantly. Tien fired into the sky behind Shisami and landed a hard roundhouse kick into the small of his back.

The kick did virtually no damage, but succeeded in moving Shisami into the middle of the formation. Before he could turn around, Tien fired another Kikoho into his backside, driving him forward directly in front of 17's zone. Tien doubled over again as the pain hit harder than ever before, but after it subsided, found himself able to continue.

Despite the irritation at Tien's incessant blasts, Shisami turned his full attention to 17. 17 quickly dispelled the remaining warriors he was responsible for and squared up to his new hulking, red opponent.

"So, you're the boss, huh?" 17 said, smiling confidently as the battle raged all around the pair.

"And you're the fulcrum. Strange, I haven't sensed a bit of energy from you."

"You won't. Until it hits you."

Tien moved to back up 17, but as he did, his path was cut off as both the mummy and vampire from Baba's Elite were pulled into the middle of the fray by their adversaries, each only moments away from succumbing to the force as their respective skirmishes meshed into a giant scrum. Tien gritted his teeth and dove into the fray to free them, leaving 17 to his own devices.

17 and Shisami locked eyes for another long second as the chaos swept around them, and then fired forward to meet one another. With Tien caught in the ruckus in the middle of the formation, and the Wolf fighters surrounded on all sides, only Shen was able to watch. To his horror, 17 blasted into the middle of the formation for the clash, completely abandoning his post. Shen yelled for him to return, but could not be heard above the roar of battle; the formation was open.

Piccolo finished off the last of the warriors he could see and finally landed, calling Uub and Gohan back as he did. Of the more than 3,300 soldiers they had originally encountered, over 2,800 now lay dead in the valley below them. Uub and Gohan were breathing heavily, but were untouched. Piccolo, however, was hurting for air, and was covered in fresh scrapes and bruises, but decided to forego a senzu bean, electing to wait for Dende to arrive instead.

"Why aren't we cleaning up the others?" Gohan asked.

"They're too close to Freeza now. If we give chase we'll likely end up meeting him head-on. I don't want to do that on his terms." Piccolo replied, to which Gohan nodded in agreement. "Uub, are you alright?"

Uub was sitting down, his body visibly shaking again. For the first time in his life, he had been faced with real combat, and it had drawn out an unfamiliar sensation. He was calm now, but his body was unsettled, shaken by a mixture of adrenaline and blood fever. Still, he had controlled himself, and had forgone the rampage his anatomy seemed to be willing him toward. He nodded his head to reassure Piccolo, and willed his body to stillness.

The remaining 500 or so members of the Reinforcement Company slowly trickled back to the mother ship, many of them covered in fresh wounds and all of them breathing heavily. Freeza slowly rose from his chair to address the crowd as they settled on the ground.

"I should kill you all for your cowardice right now." He said coldly, "Luckily for you, you may still have some use left. Sorbet, see to it these men are returned to fighting shape at once. If Shisami's worth keeping alive he won't need reinforcements to defeat mere Earthlings, anyway. As soon as these men are ready, they depart again, this time under my command."

"Yes, Sire!" Sorbet yelled, and went about distributing medical equipment to the men, in preparation for the coming offensive.

"You!" Freeza yelled, calling out a random soldier who seemed to be in good health, "What did you see? How many were there? Were they the Super Saiyans?"

"No, sire!" The man responded frantically, "There were three, the Namek, a young boy, and another man. None of them had the blonde hair we were warned about."

"I see…" Freeza said as he waved the man away, "That last one may be Goku's brat from Namek, but that still leaves two Saiyans unaccounted for. Sorbet, alert Tagoma that he may be confronted yet!"

"Yes, sire!" Sorbet responded, and quickly transmitted the message.

Tagoma received the message as he rounded a corner in the mountain pass through which he had been leading his men, when he suddenly called them to a halt. Before him stood over thirty Earthlings in a funnel formation with a woman at their fulcrum and two bald men at their back. Tagoma quickly evaluated them, and as his men came to a stop, he threw his head back, and laughed loudly.

"You guys get ready." Krillin said to the group around him, anxiousness dripping from his voice.

18, Roshi, Yamcha, Yajirobe, Chiaotzu, Videl, and Tao were all within earshot, and all nodded resolutely.

Tagoma stopped laughing long enough to give an order, yelling "Spread!" to his men. The horde's clean formation dissipated, as the men broke apart in every direction: some high, some low, some left, some right, and many scattered sporadically across the middle.

"Net Formation!" Roshi screamed to the funnel, prompting his troops to dissipate into what appeared to be a wildly sporadic formation of their own, with the troops at seemingly random heights and massive gaps of space between them. This, however, was a familiar position for the force, one they had rehearsed many times, and they showed no discomfort in their new arrangement.

Tagoma raised his arm, and then dropped it as he barked a "Charge!" order to his force. With a mighty yell from the horde, and an echo from the Earthlings, the Western front came under attack.

As Dende arrived and quickly healed Piccolo, Uub, and Gohan, Trunks and Goten continued their battle, increasingly aware of the world around them. Each grew more frantic by the moment as they sensed the war gaining momentum, while their opponent refused to cede ground in the skirmish, causing them to ratchet up their intensity with every strike. Krillin dug in his heels, Tien slashed through another pod of soldiers, and Freeza made final preparations for his entry into battle.