Chiaotzu felt as if his chest was on fire. In order to keep his energy completely unnoticeable he could not fly. Running was something the little emporer was not used to. To add to the difficulty, he was carrying someone almost as big as himself and only able to use one arm. As he neared the base of Korin's tower, he realized a slight problem with the plan.
"I'm supposed to climb up there with a broken arm and Gohan? Well, there are people living here... Maybe no one will notice if I supress most of my power so I can fly."
With no other choice, he floated slowly to the top.
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"Burter, Recoome?" Ginyu was furious.
"Yes sir?" Both men answered at once.
"Regroup with me, NOW!"
"Yes sir!"
Ginyu's aura whipped violently around him. Two of his elite fighters had been killed by weaklings. Obviously they knew some special technique that could kill someone regardless of strength. He would not allow any of their attacks to hit him. Suddenly his two remaining troops were in front of him. He was so angry that he hadn't noticed them arrive. He looked at each one and began instructing them.
"From now on, no one goes anywhere alone. We can not risk them catching us off guard again. Both of you know what happened to Jeice and Guldo. There was no surge of power strong enough to kill Jeice, which means that they have some sort of technique that can kill anyone." He clenched his fists. "If I see any attack hit either of you, you're out of the group. You will dodge or shoot your own attack to intercept. Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir!"
"Good. Now let's go kill these weaklings."
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Tien turned his head and frowned. "They're coming, and it looks like they're coming in a group."
"Great." Yamcha said as he stood up.
"Listen, I know their weakness. They rely on the devices they wear over their eye."
"Yeah, I noticed." Krillin laughed as he too stood shakily.
"Take out the devices and they won't see our attacks coming. We might still win if Krillin can get off another one of those disks."
"I'll try. But first we need to get rid of the devices. We should all focus on that first."
"Listen guys..." Yamcha said somberly. "If it comes down to someone taking one for the team, I'm your man."
"Yamcha," Tien explained. "you have loved ones to go home to. Your life is just as important as ours."
"But I've made mistakes that I have to atone for."
"That doesn't mean you have to kill yourself. I've spent years atoning for my past. Just promise me you won't sacrifice yourself unless it will take one of them with you."
"Yeah, sure."
"I mean it Yamcha."
"Enough guys." Krillin interrupted. "They're here."
The three friends looked at their new opponents. Two didn't feel much stronger than the one who just died. They could probably stand up to their attacks. But one felt twice as strong at least. He was the one to watch out for. Captain Ginyu chuckled as he saw the worried looks on the Humans' faces.
"Remember what I told you." The purple man said as he flew toward Krillin.
"Yeah, remember the plan." Tien said as he made to intercept Ginyu.
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"Korin!" Chiaotzu yelled as he lay Gohan's body down.
A yawn came from a few feet away. "Do you know what time it is?" Yajirobe asked angrily.
"It's an emergency. I need Senzu Beans."
"What for?"
"These really strong guys are here and we're fighting them. My arm is broken and the others are hurt too."
"I'm sorry." Korin said as he stepped into the moonlight. The beans have not sprouted yet. They only sprout once every fifty years, and they have about five years left to grow. I have three left from the last harvest if they will help."
"If that's all you have, then I will give them to the others."
"You might want to take a half of one to repair your broken arm. I'm sure someone will be able to take half and still be able to fight for a while."
"Really? Then I will try it." Korin handed Chiaotzu a bag. The small man pulled out one of the beans and broke it in half. He ate one half and his arm healed itself. "I'm not completely healed, but my arm feels fine."
"See. Give the other half to the one who needs the least healing. I hope it will be enough."
"Me too. Please watch over Gohan until the fight is over. I don't want him to get hurt again."
"Of course."
"You watch him." Yajirobe told the Korin. "I'm not a babysitter. I'm going back to bed."
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Burter blocked a punch from Yamcha and watched the numbers on his scouter flash. "Heads up Captain, there's another one coming."
Tien took a hit to the gut from Recoome. 'Why haven't you taken a Senzu Bean yet? You'll need all of your strength for this fight.' Tien thought as he was hit again. Recoome was without his scouter now, but the other two still had theirs. Krillin had managed to crack Ginyu's armor, as well as tick him off. All in all, they were not doing well. If Chiaotzu was returning without Senzu Beans, then they had little chance of winning. Tien grit his teeth and attacked.
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Unnoticed by anyone, a large round ship descended toward the planet. Three doors opened on the underside of it and the landing legs began to extend. Two fully extended but the third remained inside. The ship landed roughly and rolled on its side. The occupant cursed and opened the hatch. It extended sideways and the man flew out. He manually forced the third leg out and lifted the ship into a normal position.
He looked east as he felt the powers fighting. He felt the energies of several people fading. He sighed, dusted off his red pants, smoothed out his black shirt, and lifted into the air. Hopefully it was just some people training, but he had to investigate. Too many times had he been forced off of a prospective home because of fighting. Demas was not in the mood to start looking for a new planet again.
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A/N: The last section was the first appearance of an original character who has his own story. His story is called Destined for Greatness, and it helps make sense of some stuff that revolves around him in Bardock's Legacy. Since no one seems to read Destined, I hope that doesn't mean you will stop reading this one just because the original characters have begun arriving. There are 3 in the story now, 2 more by the end of the android saga, and at least 3 more by the GT timeline. That makes 8 permanent OC's by the story's end. If that is a problem for you, just stop reading now.