Chapter 55: Final Preparations
(Planet Totaun 2 days after the battle with Taiga)
Gohan, Raditz and Burter stood outside of the backwater world's somewhat antiquated med-center. On the entire planet they could only afford a single healing tank, which currently housed the now disposed former Emperor of the galaxy.
It had been a hard 2 day journey to this world, during which there were several moments they collectively weren't sure Turles would survive, somehow he managed to though.
Of the other members gathered Raditz was the only one that that looked like he was at full strength. Burter had a stripe along his neck where his normally blue skin was dyed purple from the bruise from being choked. Gohan was nursing a 2 broken ribs in his back and had multiple ice-packs tied to his still bruised and swollen face. He'd be taking a turn in the healing tank as soon as Turles was stable to hopefully avoid permanent structural damage to his face.
The amount of damage they had collectively taken left a cold feeling in Raditz's stomach as he thought back to the end of the fight, as he saw Taiga escaping the doomed planet with an arm full of Tree of Might fruit. They could only hope he was foolish enough to eat all of the fruit in one go, only save one or two for emergency. If he was smart enough to start his own fruit harvesting system they'd have to go to extreme measures to catch back up to him.
"How far out did you say Ginyu was again?" Raditz asked Burter a slight tinge of irritation sneaking into his voice.
"Look it hasn't changed since the last 3 times you've asked me. They're about 2 weeks out from our current location." Burter replied his voice still hoarse from being attacked 2 days ago.
Raditz tapped his foot impatiently, 2 weeks was too long given the situation they found themselves in. Even if they were to heal back to full strength the amount of training they could do was limited. They would have little to no warning if Taiga had managed to track them here. To make matters worse at the moment the only one of the three to have kept their scouter intact during the last fight was Burter, making them just that much more vulnerable to an ambush.
"Uncle Raditz...you should just calm down. Turles will be healed soon and will be stronger than ever." Gohan finally said.
Raditz was stunned that Gohan had actually acknowledged him as his Uncle after all they had been through. The elder Saiyan had never really expected a sign that things were improving between them, much like they had been back while working under Shizen. And before Raditz was forced to kill his first real friend.
All he could do was respond, "Yeah, you're right." And try to swallow the nervous feelings that continued to build up within him.
(Planet Earth)
Two fists collided with one another with enough force to send a massive wall of dust flying out in all directions. It had been well over two years since their training had begun but after all of that time and effort Krillin immediately knew he was still behind the warrior he was fighting for supremacy against, in fact he may be falling further behind.
On the other side Yamcha stared back the same determined, almost possessed look in his eyes he had had ever since they had found out about the upcoming Android threat. Even after all of this time the former bandit wouldn't talk about what had changed him so much, leaving the other human warriors with no other choice but to believe he was desperate to not die again.
Finally the difference in strength proved too much driving Krillin back, faster and faster as Yamcha began to use Kaioken, Krillin desperately tried to keep up, but was quickly overwhelmed, causing the former monk to collide back first into a nearby cliff wall.
"That was kinda over kill don't you think." Krillin muttered as he rubbed the back of his now bruised head.
"Do you think the Androids are going to go easy on you? The Saiyans sure didn't, Frieza made sure not to go easy on us, and we all know how Garlic Jr. treated everyone." Yamcha growled the mad look in his eyes turning slightly dangerous when he mentioned the Saiyans.
Krillin wasn't sure how to respond for a moment before doing what he had done for the last year and simply agreed "Yeah, I guess you're right. How about we take a break and grab some food." He added trying to diffuse the situation.
"Go ahead man...I'm going to keep going." Yamcha responded coldly before flying towards Tien's clone who was working in the distance.
About a mile away Tien had split using his multiform technique allowing him to train with the recently wished back Chiaotzu, while his cloned body continued to train by himself.
The smallest of the human warriors tried to keep up with Tien as best he could, but in the months since he had been wished back he had used up almost all of the techniques he had learned during his brief stay training with the dead heroes allowed to keep their bodies on Grand Kai's planet.
Tien just seemed to absorb every technique he threw at him and use it against Chiaotzu the next time they fought.
Finally after pulling Chiaotzu's defenses down with a well times feint Tien landed the blow that decided their latest bout, as his fist hit come against his best friends face, sending the psychic warrior sprawling down.
Tien dropped to the ground before his friend could hit the ground and managed to catch the small warrior.
"Sorry Tien." Chiaotzu managed to say, his head still spinning.
"No you did great Chiaotzu. You're improving a lot." Tien replied a proud smile on his face.
Chiaotzu had come a long way, he was still well behind the other warriors, but Tien was nearly using half of his strength now, showing just how far the small warrior had come.
The group of four had chosen to set up their camp near one of the few oasis in the otherwise barren wasteland they had chosen to train in. Bulma had provided each of them with a basic capsule house so they weren't really roughing it. They still would have to fly back into town every once in a while to replenish their supplies through.
It was a simple life but it was one they were all used to after spending their entire lives training for the next tournament or more recently the latest threat to Earth.
Krillin laid out on his couch and pondered the entire situation he found himself in. At this point he still wasn't sure he'd be any help to Goku, Piccolo and the other heavy hitters of the group. Even with the advantages Kaioken afforded them it felt like the gap between himself and Goku just kept growing. Vegeta and Nappa's training seemed to be accelerating the last few months as well. He had no idea how Piccolo was doing since he was forced to baby sit his own training partner but he could only assume the Namekian warrior was making great progress on whatever world Goku had dumped the two of them on.
He let out a sigh and cracked open a cold drink. He had half a mind to go visit Master Roshi at some point to see how the training of the other fighters were going. He knew it might raise his spirits about how his own training was going. He took a long drink and let out another sigh. '6 months...I've got 6 more months to try and get strong enough to help.' At that point he finished his drink stood up and left preparing to rejoin the others with their training.
(Planet Totaun 2 days later)
The first emotion Turles felt as he slowly came to was rage, indescribable rage. The Frieza look-a-like had made a complete and utter fool of him. Not only that, but his palace was destroy, along with his entire capital planet. Worse still he was aware his supply of tree of might fruit had vanished in the flash as well. He could only hope Ginyu and his men stayed loyal enough to bring back their latest harvest.
In the fraction of a second since awakening Turles' power spike from his unyielding anger completely shattered the glass window of the healing tank, before pulling himself out of the tank.
Burter and Raditz burst into the room, but were frozen in place by Turles' scowl. "How long was I out? Has Ginyu arrived yet?"
"No, he uh...he's still over a week away sir." Burter managed to say under Turles' relentless stare.
"Not good enough. Get us a ship. We're meeting him along the way." Turles ordered before starting to get dressed.
Burter immediately left to get their ship ready for launch. Raditz though stayed behind trying to decide if he should bring up Gohan's need to take a turn in the now damaged healing pod.
"Got something to say, cousin?" Turles asked while not looking at the maned Saiyan warrior
"I...uh…" Raditz's mind couldn't get his tongue to speak. Turles seemed to be in an especially bad mood. Raditz cleared his throat "Sir, I know this shouldn't be a focus but I think Gohan might need some time in a tank as well. He-" Raditz was cut off.
"The kid needs time in a healing tank you say? Is he really on death's door after all this time?" Turles asked his tone clearly mocking. "Actually bring him here. I want to see for myself." He added his tone leaving no room for discussion.
"Yes sir." Raditz said before quickly leaving the room.
It was only a few minutes later he returned with Gohan, whose face swelling having gone down quite a bit, but the massive bruise on his face hid the true extent of the structural damage to his face.
"Well the kid does look rougher than I thought." Turles commented after looking Gohan over. Making sure to grab the child by the chin and roughly turned his face side to side.
"Ow that hurts." Gohan muttered.
"Oh it does? What about THIS!" Turles asked as he slammed his fist into Gohan's abdomen
The Saiyan child let out a gasp as all of the air was forced out of his lungs. In the same instant Turles's hand grasped the child by the throat and lifted him up to eye level.
Tears were building in the corners of Gohan's eyes as his face felt the force if Turles's crushing grip. His already damaged facial bones threatening to slide further out of place, potentially making a round of surgery necessary before even trying the healing tank.
"Listen closely Gohan, I'm only going to say this once more. Because you're one of the last Saiyans and because your family, I've already given you more chances than I would've tolerated for any others under my command. You need to learn control. Do you understand me? You have to think through your actions or you are going to get everyone killed!" Turles' tone gradually changing from a snarl to a shout.
Gohan couldn't speak, his throat was being completely closed by Turles's crushing grip; he couldn't refill his emptied lungs.
"Fortunately for you I know of one last thing I can try to get you under control." Turles muttered a sinister tone to his voice.
"Turles I know Gohan was rash but-" the rest of Raditz's plea for mercy was cut off as a singular blast was fired from Turles's hand, hitting the elder Saiyan in the stomach and launching him backwards out of the room.
"If I wanted your opinion cousin I would've asked for it." Turles replied coolly before turning his attention back to Gohan.
"Your days of eating fruit are over. You're not to eat, or even be close enough to smell a fruit from the Tree of Might until you can prove to me you can control yourself. I will not allow you to keep being a liability." Turles snarled before tossing Gohan into the remnants of the healing tank he had just destroyed moments before.
"Raditz you and the brat are to meet back up with us in no more than 3 days after I arrive. If you are 1 minute late I will end both of you." The enraged Saiyan ordered before storming out to find whatever ship Burter had commandeered this time.
The room was deathly silent for a moment before both Raditz and Gohan let out groans in unison.
(10 days later)
It had taken Raditz becoming the temporary ruler of the planet in order to get things moving fast enough for their tight time-frame, but with the threat of planetary destruction hanging over them the natives had proven quite capable of rebuilding the damaged healing tank in under a day.
In the next 24 hours both Gohan and Raditz had not only been able to heal completely, but also managed to gain control of a somewhat new trade ship that was supposedly even faster than the one Turles had taken.
The ship had surpassed either Saiyan warrior's expectations though allowing them to arrive in orbit around world destined for their meet up with Captain Ginyu's team and Turles just in time to see the Tree of Might finish spreading out across the once lush world's surface.
It was the first time either one had watched a world die such a slow death from space. The planet started withering away within minutes after the Tree finished growing.
It was only a few more minutes before they were able to meet up with Turles and the others. "Finally...I was just about to start our strategy meeting." Turles said seemingly in a much better mood than the last time the three Saiyans had meet.
Raditz and Gohan both stood by silently not sure what Turles was going to say next, in all of the time they had served under him he had yet to have an official strategy meeting. The closest thing they could think of was the times in which Turles would set up games to bet their fruit.
"I'm going to make this short. I'm taking control of all the fruit we gather for the time being. For the first time we have someone that can grow in strength as fast we can. If we don't act fast to correct this oversight…" Turles paused for a moment staring straight at Gohan who could only look away, his fist tightening slightly in resentment of all the blame being on him. "There's a chance our prey could become the hunter."
His announcement was met with only silence. Even those who held Turles with at best contempt, like Pyros could only accept their leader's decision or face his potential wrath.
"No complaints? Good, you're all as smart as I expected." Turles added before taking a bite out of one of the leftover fruits Ginyu had brought with them from the latest harvest.
(On the remains of a remote jungle world around the same time.)
Taiga sat on the massive branches of his newly formed Tree of Might, a sinister smile on his face as he ate another bite of the magical fruit. With each one he felt more and more power rushing through his veins. At the rate he was going he would likely surpass Tundra, the leader of his house in under a year. If he wanted to he could find some lackeys who could help him accelerate his gains even more. Possibly allowing him to reach the levels of the likes of Frieza and Cooler in just a few years.
His chuckle was the only sound left that could echo across the now barren landscape.
(Above the remains of Turles's previous Capital Planet)
It was a long, long journey across the galaxy for Paragus and Broly. Even with the crown controlling his son's more powerful outbursts, the entire trip Paragus was afraid his son's impatience would eventually overpower the sedative effects.
They had to allow for extra pit-stops on otherwise out of the way worlds just so his son could vent his frustration.
But they had finally arrived, only to find an asteroid belt where a thriving, technologically planet should've been. It almost was as if Broly had already come and gone to the world.
"Kakarot…" Broly seethed at being denied a chance for revenge after such a long trip.
'Broly...please calm down. We will find him he couldn't have gotten to far based on how fresh this debris is." Paragus said, his voice on the edge of trembling, much like the ship was due to his son's power emerging.
Slowly the shaking subsided. "Find...Kakarot…" Was all Broly could manage before returning to his seat slightly calmer than before.
Paragus immediately started ordering his subordinates, while silently praying the object of his son's hatred was still alive. It might be the only way for his son to vent enough to keep him under control in the future.
(5 months later)
Goku stared out of his small mountain home, staring up into the starry sky, remebering the teary eyed reunion between Videl and her father some time back as he and the other fighters who had died fighting Frieza and his father Cold, were wished back. He couldn't help but think that somewhere out there was his son still trapped with his brother, doing who knows what. 'Don't worry Gohan, this mess will all be over tomorrow and then we can bring you home.' The Earthborn Saiyan warrior thought to himself, before realizing he had forgotten to bring someone else home too.
Without saying a word his hand rushed to his head and he disappeared.
At the same instant several light years away Goku appeared on a relatively deserted world. Now more so because of the new inhabitants he had had to sustain for over the last year. Newly formed craters covered wide-swaths of the planet.
It didn't take Goku long to zero into the two main power levels of the planet either, as he arrived above a sparse camp.
Down below was a pile of bones from the various wildlife Cooler had caught to sustain himself during his extended stay on the world. The Frost Demon in question was just finishing up such a meal, as he ate a small rabbit like animal. A short distance away a tattered-clothed Piccolo floated deep in meditation.
When Goku arrived though both looked up instantly, the same question coming to their lips but for different reasons. "Is it time?"
(Deep inside a mountain back on Earth)
"It's finally time!" Dr. Gero shouted with a sinister laugh as he and his two associates looked out over there creations. Even with Goku's friend's frantic preparations he was sure his androids would be up to the challenge. "Finally I can have my revenge." He whispered quietly to himself.
Hey everyone! I can finally say without a doubt we are finally onto the Android Saga with next chapter! Exciting times I know :)
Thanks to everyone who has continued to stick with the story despite the long pause during last semester, I don't anticipate there being another pause like that in the future but I will do my best to keep everyone informed on my account page if there is.
Reviews:
RKF22 - Nicely done trules will get a big zenki from this and so will Gohan
Glad you enjoyed it. Yes Turles and Gohan will both be receiving zenkai's after that fight. The gap between the two should be growing both due to the difference in damage the two took and because Gohan is now firmly in the dog-house though. So the next stage of their arc should be interesting :).
Luke - Ha, some days you get a pleasant surprise...thank you for the update! It's like a Xmas gift to all of us!
Hopefully this chapter counts as a good surprise too :). I'm hoping there will be many more pleasant surprises for everyone for the coming semester.
The Lord of the Pies - Well that escalated quickly! I completely forgot about Kuriza dying, but seeing a brand new clan would be cool, hah! Puns, since we only ever saw Freiza's bloodline in cannon. Not gonna lie though, I feel like if Turles was ever going to go super saiyan, it'd be now. I mean he's backed into a corner, with an enemy far stronger than him, I think that qualifies as a need, not a want. As for that ending, I love it! It reminds me of the ending to Empire Strikes Back. Heroes, or I guess anti-heroes, on the run, villain stronger and with more control than ever. I know this probably won't happen, but it'd be cool if they ran away to earth out of desperation. Well, this was a long review, but man, s$&t just got real in this chapter.
Yes it's always cool when more Frost Demons show up ;). Turles did have a good chance to go Super Saiyan here, in my mind just based on how the fight was going he didn't have much time to think over his situation before he was wrecked beyond fighting condition. The tables turned on him so fast he barely had time for his life to flash before his eyes before he was on the ground being tortured. Now that you point it out I suppose it does have a Empire Strikes back feeling to it good catch :). Hopefully this chapter helped tie up all the loose ends that need to be before we transition to the next part of the Gohan-Turles arc. One final thing, don't worry about review length, I love long reviews :)
super mystic gohan - ha turles got schooled lol anyways if they find medical centre he will come back stronger and so will gohan will have to see and thanks for answering my questions if you can't do a chapter focusing on the humans because you want to get to the androids maybe do a flash back off them training while your brining the androids in
Glad you liked the fight. Yes both Gohan and Turles got fairly large boosts this chapter, Turles more so than Gohan. I hope the short view of the human's training fits what you were after :). I'll be providing a power level list soon with everyone's updated standings.
guest 16 - im wondering but isint it that Frieza have son? that is alive? when a read about another Frost demon (is that what race are called?) in this chapter i thought that it was him i think his name was Kuriza not sure.
You are right about Frieza having a son named Kuriza, he made a brief appearance when Cooler returned to their homeworld about 10-15 chapters ago. The other time he was brought up in this story was just to show that he died in the early stages of the civil war raging across planet Frost. As the different Frost Demon clans fight to see who will be the new lead clan with the Frost line seemingly wiped out. Taiga is from either the 3rd or the 4th most powerful families, because they made an alliance after both nearly being wiped out by Cooler and Frieza's mother's families (the two strongest families left on planet Frost). They went for the, while we keep our heads down and let the other families fight it out, we'll just go ahead and stake our claims to the remnants of the Planet trade organization by sending a low level soldier from one of their families aka Taiga. Anyway I hope that cleared up any confusion you had, and that you enjoyed this chapter too. Thanks for the review :).
JOEL -This is an amazing story I very impressed at how you set everything story is certainly up there with bringer of death.I however have a few doubts to ask you.
Q1)The fruit of the tree of might allowed Turles to defeat Goku even when he used Kao ken x15. Before eating the fruit Turles struggled to keep up with Goku's base. That scene alone we can clarify that fruit gives the user at least a strength multiplier of twenty. When Turles ate the fruit when he fought Abo and Cado shouldn't his power have jumped in a similar fashion.
(I well aware of the fact that the tree requires a planet with a lot of energy to make the fruit that powerful but surely there are many planets like that in the cosmos).
Q2)How are the z fighters going to defeat the androids if doctor Gero is observing their training? (In the dbz cannon universe the androids still defeated the z fighters even though doctor Gero only observed them till the Sayian saga). Keep up the good work!
I apologize
No need to apologize I think I got the gist of what you were asking with your first review :), I had actually just finished writing this response before I saw your second review come in clarifying things :) I think my response below should still cover all of your main points though. If you are still uncertain about anything let me know and I will try to explain better either through a PM or at the end of the next chapter.
Thank you for the review :) I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. I know how I have the tree of might working in my story is a bit of a stretch based on what we saw in the movie. In my story instead of having it be a multiplier, I figured it made more sense for each fruit to add a certain amount of power. Just like how Super Saiyan has been working, it's an additive effect, an unleashing of a well of power inside of them, instead of a multiplier effect. So the richer the planet is with life the bigger the strength boost each fruit will give the eater. In this story the average fruit adds about 10,000 to the eater's power level. So if we assume Goku and Turles' power levels were relatively low when they fought, and the quality of the fruit produced on Earth was exceptionally good you can maybe, kinda make it stretch so it works. Hopefully that somewhat makes sense.
the tl;dr version is I fudged how the Fruit work because it makes more sense to me for it to work that way and it works better for the story.
I hope that answer works for you on part one. As to your second question I can answer this alittle better. Basically the Z fighters have their work cut out for them. With additional fighters like Cooler giving them a boost and other fighters like Piccolo, Chi Chi, Tien etc learning Kaioken they will hopefully have a fighting chance. Dr. Gero knows how strong the mid-tier fighters like the humans are and has been keeping an eye on the Saiyans, but he has no idea what kind of training has been going on in space with Cooler and Piccolo. Those two have the potential to be Earth's trump cards. I'll be able to answer this question more in depth in a chapter or two I believe. So hopefully that makes sense for now :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter too :)
