Time for a battle between the savage saiyan Oozaru and the protectors of the Earth!

Stuff;

DirtyShoes; Well, you're in luck, because this one is an extra-long chapter as a celebration for reaching chapter 50! [I'm including the prologue.]

Dimension Distorter; Raditz has at least as much control of his Oozaru as the average saiyan - you know what, Vegeta can explain this better than me, I'll leave it to him.

Chayera Hall; Well... (Hastily alters the fight scene) ...Now there will be!

FlameSparks7; That's true. The Ginyu Force would be around Oozaru level (~60k or so), so Vegeta'd want to know that his minions would at least be capable of fighting Freeza's minions.

TaitanoRules555; Keep reading to find out!

...

Nappa was the first to make a move, half-heartedly trying to stamp on Yamcha, who simply lunged to one side to avoid the clumsy strike. All four of the Z-fighters leapt away, intent on putting some distance between themselves and their massive opponents. A deep, booming laugh interrupted their attempts to come up with some kind of a plan.

"So," Vegeta rumbled, still capable of speech in his transformed state. "Where's all your confidence gone, Kakarot? If only you hadn't lost your tail, you might stand a chance." He abruptly cut himself off to snarl unintelligibly at the other two apes, Goku flinching instinctively at the noise. "At least some part of you remembers what it means to be a saiyan. There'd be no point in a low-class warrior transforming if they just went berserk and went after their own kind. Luckily, the Oozaru knows enough to follow the directions of its superiors."

Krillin clenched his fists, trying not to let his voice quaver. "Alright. So you've got some kind of control. At least enough to give them a direction to follow... or a target."

Vegeta cackled darkly, his warped voice echoing through the mountains. "Well, well, seems the bald one's capable of following such a simple explanation. Consider this a test. If you really have some kind of plan to take out Freeza, if you're not just wasting our time, then prove it! I'll even give you a chance: you have five minutes to take down Raditz and Nappa before I get involved."

Goku simply exhaled, allowing his full power to flare up slightly. "Alright. Yamcha, go grab Tien and Chiaotzu. Maybe Piccolo too. Chichi, Krillin, can you two keep Raditz off of me while I go for the big guy?" he asked, Yamcha simply nodding and vanishing.

"Of course." Chichi glared at the transformed Nappa with some disdain. This was no way to fight, turning into a mindless attack dog. The Ox Princess didn't consider herself a fighter by trade like her husband, but she still respected honour in combat.

"Count on it." Krillin confirmed, small white flickers of ki sparking in his hands.

The two apes roared at their diminutive opponents, who responded in kind, their voices completely eclipsing those of the beasts.

"KAIOKEN!"

OoOoO

"Tien! Chiaotzu! We're on to plan B," Yamcha called, appearing next to the small house built atop the rocky plateau. "Vegeta's holding back for now, but once we show off the Kaioken, that could change."

"Alright. What are we doing about Piccolo?" Tien asked, wearing a new navy-and-white gi with a cape, Chiaotzu wearing the same basic outfit, except with a puffy neck warmer instead.

"I'll grab him in a second, just get over here!" Yamcha snapped, one hand held up to his forehead as he extended the other to them both-

shff -depositing the two Crane Style fighters on the mountain near Goku's home, where three streaks of red were darting around the giant apes. Yamcha's hand opened as his ki sense turned westwards-

shff - and he instinctively ducked, as Piccolo's whip-like limb lashed out over his head. "Hey, Piccolo. We could use an extra pair of hands dealing with the saiyans."

The namekian scoffed, wrenching his arm back into place as Gohan and Videl noted the new arrival. "Keh, fine. You want to bring the brats, too?"

Yamcha glanced over at the children, forcing his features into a smile. "Not this time. Things are a little... hectic, you could say. We'll be back in a little while, guys. Just need to settle a couple things, first." He waved, vanishing in a whirr of displaced air before either child could say anything.

"Did..." Videl began, before frowning and starting again. "Does he really expect us to believe him? I mean, I can feel those powers from here." she glanced towards the east.

"They're attacking Mommy and Daddy," Gohan noted, clenching his fists. "And one of them feels like Uncle Raditz, but he's completely out of control."

"I'll take your word for it," the girl shrugged, taking in his tense stance and slowly darkening expression. "You okay?"

The demi-saiyan sighed in frustration. "What was the point in training so hard if we're not allowed to help? I know all the grown ups are stronger than us, but... it feels like I'm totally useless. Like I'd just get in the way."

Videl let out a small 'ah' of sympathy and understanding, glancing up at the clouds. "You know, we could always take your Nimbus to try and get a closer look. If we kept our powers suppressed and stayed high, we could get pretty close before anyone noticed we were there. Dad's not going to be back for another while, anyway, he's got to check out Bulma's new weapons for his suit. That'll take at least a couple hours."

Gohan was ready to deny it, before one of the powers in the battle suddenly flared up, then rapidly dropped back down. Even from here, he could tell that his mother had taken a heavy hit. "Okay, let's go. But we're staying out of sight unless someone gets really hurt," he agreed, ignoring the prickling of worry in his gut. "NIMBUS!"

Within seconds, they were heading towards the rising sun, their ki as low as they could push it. Heading directly towards the battlefield.

OoOoO

"Shit!" Yamcha swore, as a yellow wall of energy appeared just in front of him, emanating from Nappa's mouth as the ape lunged at Goku, surrounded in his burning crimson aura.

"Why did you teleport us into his damned attack!" Piccolo snarled, leaping away and already looking a little singed.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" the ex-bandit yelled back, drawing his sword and spinning on the spot, slicing a second attack in half. "You know what, I don't have time to argue about this. TIMES THREE! KAIOKEN!"

Krillin jumped into the air, drawing Raditz' attention upwards and away from Chichi, who'd been clipped by a flailing fist and smacked to the ground. "Hey! Donkey Kong! Up here!" he taunted, waiting until the ape was focused on him to snap his hands to the side of his face. "SOLAR FLARE!"

His opponent blinded, the monk slammed downwards, pulling the dazed Ox Princess' arm over his shoulder and rushing away from Raditz. "You okay? Hey, take a breather." He instructed, letting her back down just out of sight, in a small scar in the landscape. It had seemed so simple, he reflected with a groan. The Oozaru left a saiyan as a creature of instinct, so it should have been easy to outmaneuver Raditz and grab his tail.

A pity that Raditz had had proper martial arts beaten into him, sometimes literally, by Roshi. While he lacked any real tactical ability, the enormous beast remembered enough to guard his weak points, and just as annoying, he remembered how to sense energy.

Luckily, it seemed reinforcements had arrived, as a pair of Kikoho slammed into Raditz from two separate directions. The ape reeled backwards, knocked off-balance by the sheer force of the attack. Now they had the numbers advantage, things would get a lot eas- Krillin bit his tongue, trying to cut himself off before he tempted fate too much.

"So, you've called for help from the rest of these earthlings," Vegeta rumbled. "Makes sense for weaklings to have to group together to stand a chance."

"What's wrong with that?" Tien snapped, scowling at the armoured ape. "Anyone too proud to use teamwork is an idiot."

Krillin could have facepalmed at that. Of all the people to say something stupid to ruin things, he hadn't expected Tien. It did make a certain amount of sense, the triclops had been the only one of them to never truly forgive Vegeta for his actions.

"Well, then," the Prince of All (four and a half) Saiyans growled out. "Let's see what you can do against a truly superior warrior."

Krillin shouldn't have tempted fate.

"HAAAAAA!"

He really shouldn't have.

OoOoO

Goku flipped backwards, reducing a small boulder to rubble as he kicked off of it, and dashing between Nappa's legs. His head snapped up for a second as he swerved around the thrashing tail, hearing Vegeta's howl reverberate through the entire battlefield. It hadn't been five minutes already, had it?

His thoughts were cut off as Nappa swung at him again. The ape was by no means slow, but its sheer size and simplistic movements meant it was easy enough to evade while using a Four Times Kaioken. But then, any of the glancing attacks he'd managed to land seemed mostly ineffective, and he didn't have enough time to try and charge one up. While he could hold the enhanced state for a while, it wouldn't do any good if he couldn't hurt the giant saiyan stumbling around after him.

He'd have to risk pushing things even further. "TIMES FIVE!" he cried, his aura intensifying to the point where his entire body seemed to be either blood-red or black silhouette. He'd only be able to hold this for a few minutes before the recoil built up too much to keep fighting. "HYAH!" he bit out, tossing a massive sphere of energy into the beast's face and detonating it with a second, faster shot. Nappa stepped backwards, obviously not having expected to be hurt by the little shrimp dancing around its strikes.

But still, the damage was mostly superficial, a few burns marring the flesh on its snout. That was fine, as his real intention had been to create the cloud of smoke that followed the explosion. It had managed to stun not only Nappa's vision and hearing, but also his sense of smell. The ape's head flicked from side to side, fists pounding against its chest as it let out a challenging roar.

Goku intended to answer that challenge, allowing his aura to dim slightly around his entire body, except for his forearms and hands. He'd have one shot before the Oozaru noticed him, and unintelligent as it seemed, he doubted this hiding place would work twice. The only spot in this open plateau where it wouldn't be able to see him.

"Times eight..." he hissed through his teeth as the energy in his arms burned his skin and muscle. Nappa's ears twitched, listening intently as it tried to pinpoint his position from sound alone. "Kame...!"

Under normal circumstances, it would be patently obvious where the attack was coming from. The glow of an energy blast was hard to hide. "Hame..."

Unless, of course, you hid it in plain sight, lining up with an even brighter light source. "HAAAAA!" Nappa shadowed his eyes with a hand, too late to do anything but roar as a cylinder of light emanated from directly overhead, almost like the midday sun had delivered its own judgment. With the attack this widespread, the damage it dealt would be reduced, but it made up for that by hitting Nappa everywhere at once.

Goku panted, his fingers twitching painfully. Seeing Nappa struggling on the ground, the Earth-raised saiyan forced them into fists, cannoning towards the ground and slamming into Nappa's exposed stomach like a supersonic missile.

THWOM! Krk!

The massive impact was louder than anything else on the battlefield, and the armour shattered into fragments as Goku made contact. He pushed himself back up, taking in his opponent's form. Nappa's tongue was lolling out of his mouth, his eyes half-lidded and unfocused. Absently, Goku turned the ape's head to the side, nodding in satisfaction as he remained steadfastly unconscious. Taking another couple of moments to catch his breath, the tailless saiyan turned his attention back over to where Vegeta had begun to fight.

OoOoO

"What the hell is going on down there?" Dodoria demanded, as the ship's sensors all screamed in protest. The rapid appearance and disappearance of those massive power levels was causing some kind of error messages to flash up on the screens.

"I-I have no idea, sir," one of the technicians babbled, frantically typing with clawed fingers in an attempt to solve the problem. "All these rapid increases in power, it seems almost like the saiyan transformation, but it's so erratic. Could Vegeta have found more saiyans? Maybe it's some kind of corrupted transformation effect?"

"I don't want maybes, I want answers!" Dodoria boomed, spittle flying as he panicked. It would be almost impossible for them to fight against just Vegeta's peons if they transformed. Against Vegeta himself, they'd need heavy hitters like the Ginyu Squad. If they'd found more saiyans capable of using that giant ape form, it would be damned near impossible to beat them...

"Sir?" Cui stepped in, looking thoughtful. "I know it looks bad, but Vegeta has no idea we're here. All we need to do is wait until he changes back. Then, they'll be powerless, and we'll be able to take our time with things. Even if they've got reinforcements, we can just plant some of our cultivars and hold them off until we can clear things up."

Breathing deeply, Dodoria grunted an affirmation. "Fine. You, what's-yer-name, Appasas. Get your shit together and start writing a report for Lord Freeza. He wants to know why the hell Vegeta turned on him, and I intend to get the answers sooner rather than later."

Appasas nodded, his bird-like head dipping with the motion. Surreptitiously, he tapped the side of his own scouter, beaming everything he could see and hear across the galaxy to his true master.

Whatever Vegeta and Freeza were about to fight over, Lord Cooler would want to know about it.

OoOoO

Tien groaned in pain, discarding the top half of his gi as two extra arms burst out of his shoulder blades. He threw all four limbs forward, his hands forming a diamond shape between them. "Full Power Kikoho!" he bellowed, the massive ki wave flattening everything in its path and knocking Vegeta back slightly. "I should have known you'd take that one easily enough. What about a TIMES THREE FULL POWER KIKOHO!"

The sky briefly flashed yellow as a solid mass of power erupted forwards, blasting off the entire side of the mountain and continuing forwards, Vegeta being dragged along by the sheer physical force of the attack.

"Damnit, Tien, get it together!" Yamcha suddenly cried, materialising right next to his rival with hiss sword drawn. "I know you still don't trust him, but-"

"That's not the Vegeta you knew," Tien spat. "That Vegeta, I didn't like him, but I could trust him to eventually do the right thing. That..." he gestured to the distant sight of the Oozaru. "That's just a monster who looks like him. I can see it in his eyes. Maybe, maybe, we could convince him to join us. But either way, I intend to make sure that monster knows he's only getting one chance. If he's going to be a liability, I won't hesitate to put him down."

"What... God-fucking-damnit!" Yamcha swore as Tien's aura burned red and he barrelled towards his target. "Krillin, Chiaotzu! Tien's not gonna work with me, so you two need to try and get to Vegeta!" he directed the other two warriors, diving forwards to slice one of Raditz' attacks in half.

"It's about time you got back," Piccolo growled, blood oozing from a shrapnel wound on his forehead. He was surrounded in a fiery purple aura, his muscles pulsing and bulging under the effects of his Daimaoken technique. "Get the tail, I'll keep him distracted." Without waiting for an answer, Piccolo snapped into the air, sliding along Raditz' arm as the ape tried to swat him out of the sky. Pushing off of the beast's forearm, he spun in mid-air, firing a widespread barrage of ki blasts to completely disrupt its vision.

Raditz snarled, backhanding a half-dozen blasts aside, and biting down on another, smoke rolling from between his fangs. He swung his arms out in front of him, the clap sounding like a cannon being fired and creating a shockwave of rippling air. Piccolo's flight was disrupted for a split-second, just long enough for Raditz' arm to flash out again and close around the namekian's legs and torso.

"Gah!" Piccolo grunted as his limbs were suddenly bound in a crushing grip. Working one hand free, he fired a final yellow blast, the orb grazing the ape's cheek and making it growl even more. "Urgh... It's really a pity... that you can't understand me right now. Maybe then..." Piccolo suddenly grinned, his still outstretched hand suddenly tensing. "Maybe then you could have seen this coming."

The ape's ears flicked, still hearing the distinctive humming of ki energy near its head. Glancing to the side, its ki senses were likewise just beginning to notice the trap it had found itself in.

Piccolo's hand clenched into a fist, all the orbs converging on their target as he called out the name of his newest technique. "Hellzone Grenade!" Since he was (currently) so much weaker than his opponent, the attack wouldn't do much in the way of actual damage, but that hadn't really been the intent.

shff shing pthlt-thud

Yamcha reappeared mid-swing, his enchanted blade easily cleaving through flesh and bone even without being surrounded by ki. He resheathed his blade with a flourish, nodding in thanks to Piccolo and tossing the namekian half of a senzu bean as Raditz slowly shrank back down to his normal size. "Hey, uh, think you could give him some, uh..." the Wolf Style fighter rolled his hand at Raditz' lack of... covering.

"Fine," Piccolo flicked a finger at their opponent, who was suddenly garbed in a dark green gi and new boots. "What are you doing?"

"Tails are a big deal to saiyans," Yamcha replied, taking the other half of the bean and forcing it into the unconscious saiyan's mouth. "So I'm going to give him a senzu before he realises what I just did." He continued, nodding to himself as a freshly-regrown tail flopped onto the ground.

"Hang on one second," Piccolo mused aloud, chewing his own healing bean and pointing at Raditz again. This time, a thick band of cloth appeared around his eyes and forehead, effectively leaving the saiyan blind. "It's not going to last if we start fighting again, but at least he won't look at that fake moon the second he wakes up."

Yamcha blinked, then chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, that'd suck. Good thinking-" his praise was cut short as he felt Vegeta's energy spike and a pale purple glow appear in the distance.

"Better get going." Piccolo commented off-handedly. Yamcha vanished from sight, leaving the namekian to regain his stamina.

'Still, that was easy enough. The humans should be able to deal with Vegeta, especially now Goku's joined them...' he mused, folding his arms and looking around him. Chichi was limping over, her helmet missing.

"Where-?" she began, before shaking her head and refocusing. "No, never mind, I can sense them now. Why aren't you with them?" she asked, her frown deepening as she spoke.

Piccolo rolled his eyes. Give the woman a chance, and she'd work herself into a frenzy without any input from anyone else. "Goku needed to head over there as quickly as possible, and he'd need to know someone was here to keep an eye on you." he muttered back. Not technically a lie, despite him blatantly making it up on the spot.

"Ah," she muttered intelligently, wincing as a Kamehameha tore through the atmosphere overhead. Piccolo simply folded his legs underneath him, trying to let his mind fade into a meditative state. "Can I ask you something, Piccolo?"

"Clearly. You just did." he retorted instantly.

Even with his eyes closed, he could tell she was giving him a 'look'. She barrelled ahead anyway. "Can- Do you... Gohan. What do you think of Gohan?"

That got his attention. "What's that mean?"

"I mean... what do you think of him? Is he happy? Is he angry with Goku and I for all the times we've left him behind this past year? Is he just doing this training because he thinks it's what we want?" Chichi asked, turning away from the namekian as she spoke. " I've thought about this a lot, and I realised I need to ask someone who's not going to automatically try to console me. I need an honest answer."

Piccolo closed his eyes again, his cape and turban rematerialising on him as small pebbles began slowly orbiting him. "The brat's stubborn. He's got a lot of power, so his biggest problem so far has been trying to regulate it properly. Half the time, he'll end up running himself into the ground trying to get his techniques down perfectly, which sets him back as much as it helps.

"As far as I can tell, he's happy with how things are working out. But then, he's too naive. You could both abandon him without a word and he'd still think you were the greatest parents on the planet. Hell, I don't think he's even capable of getting angry. It's disturbing, frankly."

Chichi seemed to puff up, ready to defend her son, but she just exhaled, releasing the tension. "Thank you, Piccolo. I appreciate that you were willing to hear me out."

"Just don't make a habit of it. I have enough distractions in my life without playing the motivational speaker for you people." And that dry statement actually caused her lips to twitch upwards slightly. As she opened her mouth to speak again, Piccolo twitched, abruptly turning to stare into the sky. Barely visible, hidden amidst the handful of clouds overhead, was a small golden dot, upon which both of them could see a dark shape. A dark shape that was beginning to radiate power.

A dark shape that was growing into a terrifyingly familiar form.

"Is that-?" the Son matriarch gasped out, as the golden dot streaked away from the still growing Oozaru.

Piccolo clenched his jaw. "Yeah. It's Gohan."

OoOoO

Videl gaped at the battlefield below them as Nimbus reached the mountains. "Wow, it's almost over already?" she shook her head disbelievingly at the sight of the still unconscious Nappa. "And where'd the giant monkey come from? Is that, like, some super alien robot in disguise or something?" When she didn't receive an answer, she tilted her head to look at the other passenger. "Gohan?"

The boy was breathing heavily, eyes unfocused as he stared at something out in front of them. A white, pulsing orb hung in mid-air, the soft light reflected in Gohan's eyes. A faint noise, like a rumbling, was coming from his throat, as he suddenly spasmed wildly, his power skyrocketing. His gi abruptly tore to shreds when his whole body ballooned in size, fur sprouting all over his body, his pupils fading into uniformly scarlet eyes and teeth wrenching themselves into fangs.

Videl only froze for a second, but it was long enough for a swinging tail to smack her in the chest and knock her off of the golden cloud. Gohan, too, was falling, his new form simply too large for Nimbus to even attempt to carry. She glanced below her, the ground coming closer and closer before she managed to propel herself sideways, redirecting her momentum to come to a halt in mid-air, about forty or fifty feet above the ground. She wasn't able to fly too far yet, but she had enough energy to hover for a few minutes, at least. She turned, her movement stalling when she found herself only a few metres away from a monster, bigger and more terrifying than any made-up story.

"Grraah!" Gohan roared, the sound slamming into her and shoving her head-over-heels through the air. Really, there could only be one response to that.

"HELP MEEEE!" Videl screamed, flying away as quickly as she could, with the monster easily keeping pace. Her only saving grace was that it was so clumsy, every grab for her was falling short, but getting closer each time.

A single finger clipped her leg, throwing off her balance and sending her spiralling to the ground, rolling painfully across the earth. Videl looked up, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. "Gohan! Stop! Please!" she begged, the beast slowing in its attack for a single second, and she felt a spark of hope fluttering in her stomach. Then the giant opened its maw, energy glowing from behind those fangs, and Videl's hopes were crushed.

'I don't want to die! Please, somebody, anybody...' "HELP ME!" she cried, her voice drowned by the pulsing, burning screech of a massive energy pulse. As the light blinded her, wiping everything else from her vision, she thought for a second that she could see someone standing in front of her. Then warm hands wrapped around her, the soft touch reminding her of something... "M-Mom?" she whispered, closing her eyes as the tears finally fell freely.

Was this heaven, then? Videl's thoughts changed direction abruptly, to her father. How could she do this to him? He'd been so protective of her, even taking on Piccolo to try and protect her, even though he knew he'd be outmatched. And now he'd be devastated, because she'd encouraged Gohan to break his parents' rules, because she'd been so stupid-

"Get up and stop crying!" a harsh, unforgiving voice barked, Videl stiffening automatically. That was... "Call the damned cloud and leave Gohan to us!" Piccolo commanded, growing taller and taller with each passing second. Videl glanced around,seeing that they were still in the mountains, a circle of unharmed ground below them, with the rest of the ground scorched and torn around them from Gohan's attack.

And the arms holding her... Chichi gave her a small smile, her expression darkening as she turned to look up at Gohan and Piccolo brawling. "He was rude about it, but Piccolo's right. You hop on Nimbus. We can handle Gohan."

Piccolo glanced down at Chichi as he deflected a punch from the young Oozaru. "We?" he asked, raising a brow and looking her over, clearly unimpressed.

In response, the black-haired warrior exploded with red energy, the Kaioken infusing her body. "He's my son. Your student. That means he's our responsibility."

OoOoO

"Gallic Cannon!" Vegeta roared, firing a massive ray of purple ki from his hands and scattering the Z-fighters. His eyes narrowed as he found the loudmouthed triclops, all four hands trying to line up for another one of those forceful blasts. "Got you!" he cackled, stone shattering underneath him as he lunged, slamming his palm down onto the freak and pinning him to the ground.

"Gah!" Tien choked, feeling his bones creaking under the insane pressure Vegeta was exerting. He'd made a serious mistake, letting his anger at Vegeta get the better of him. He just couldn't understand how easily the others could allow the man a chance to join them. Had they forgotten what Vegeta was like before his years on Earth? How much of a remorseless monster he'd been?

'Then, I was trained to be an assassin, a killing machine just like him. Damnit, I should have had more control...' the Crane fighter chided himself, all three eyes closing as he concentrated his ki. Vegeta was dragging him along the ground, tearing through layers of stone, and he'd need to focus to reinforce his defenses.

"I've already seen you at your best, fool," Vegeta mocked him, using his free hand to block a Kamehameha from Krillin. "You had more power than I thought, but you're still nothing to me."

"Really?" Tien stated calmly. "Then this won't hurt a bit." As he said that, his third eye flicked open, firing a pencil-thin ray directly upwards, cutting into the bottom of Vegeta's eyelid and scorching the vulnerable flesh.

"You little bastard!" Vegeta stumbled back, howling. "I'm going to tear you limb from limb!"

Tien flinched as the punch approached. He'd have to roll with the blow, guard himself with as much energy as he could drag up from deep down...

"TIMES EIGHT!"

A solid thoom sounded just before the attack would have hit him. Goku was stood straight, his Kaioken aura like an inferno as he pushed it higher than he ever had before. He gave Tien a quick nod before addressing Vegeta, his hair flicking around his head in the updraft of his energy. "Last chance, Vegeta. Either we stop wasting our time here, or you have to deal with one of our most powerful warriors."

The ape's mouth twisted into a sneer, arrogance practically oozing from his voice. "Really, Kakarot? Trying for a bluff? I know you're the most powerful of all your little friends, and the second-strongest is lying there like the maggot he is. Tell me, who are you going to bring up next? Your mate?"

Goku ignored him, standing silent for a moment as Yamcha appeared and slung Tien over his shoulder before vanishing again. After a moment, the tailless saiyan sighed and sat down. "He's not planning on listening to us, guys! Go ahead!" he called to someone behind Vegeta. The Prince whirled around, half-expecting to see some new mutant Earthling-

-And saw, standing a few feet apart, the two midgets of the group. As he watched, the orange-clad one closed his eyes, something in the air shifting (was that what it felt like when energy changed?) before the pair moved, forming a bizarre series of poses that even the Ginyus would find ridiculous.

"FU-"

"Please, how is dancing supposed to scare me? 'Oh, no, they know ballet'!" Vegeta drawled sarcastically, raising a hand to blast away the annoyances. Goku was there in a flash, kicking the attack away, but wincing as the impact jarred his bones uncomfortably.

"Don't interrupt..."

"-SION-"

"...or you'll miss something amazing."

"-HAAA!"

A flash of light engulfed the area, consuming both of the smaller fighters. In their place was a new figure, this one also bald, with pale skin and six red dots on his forehead. He was wearing white pants tied with an orange sash, a dark blue vest with yellow trim, and black boots.

"Alright, Vegeta," the newcomer spoke, his voice odd, like two voices layered over one another. "Since you asked so nicely..."

Another aura erupted around the bizarre new warrior, a darker red colour than even Goku's Kaioken. "We are Chaolin!" He cried, the air shattering as he slammed shoulder-first into Vegeta, pushing the saiyan into the air and following it with a massive kiai. His hands began to shimmer, surrounded by an eerie blue energy. "You should have accepted our offer earlier. Now, we're going to stop being nice. Times Four Kuukyohameha!"

Some small part of Vegeta, buried deep down under layers of pride and anger, reflected that he was possibly outclassed, as a massive blast of azure ki erupted underneath him, catapulting him upwards with no way to stop himself.

A pity, that that part of him was promptly overwhelmed by a wave of UNYIELDING RAGE!

"ENOUGH! You will die here, all of you! GALLIC..." The purple ki forming in his hands was easily twice the size of any other attack he'd used in his time on this waste of a planet. Enough to tear the crust from the mantle, and leave whatever chunks of rock remained afterwards completely uninhabitable.

Chaolin roared back, pushing their power even higher. "Times Six!" A bizarre light show erupted around the fusion; red, yellow and blue ki spiralling around their outstretched hands. "Super..."

"...CANNON FIIIRREE!"

"... KIKOHAMEHA!"

OoOoO

Piccolo grunted, taking up a different stance as he analysed his opponent critically. The Ape was trying to fall back on instincts, but Gohan's ingrained martial arts training was designed for a much smaller form, not to mention one with wildly different proportions. Piccolo raised his fists in an imitation of a boxing stance, planning to focus on defending for the moment, at least until Videl was clear of the battlefield.

"Times Two!" Chichi bellowed, turning into a blazing ballistic missile that collided with Gohan's midsection. The beast grunted, but seemed mostly unhurt by the attack. Piccolo stomped forwards in the same moment, his arm expanding even further as he fired out a powerful right cross.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped down at the black-haired woman. "You won't do anything with that level of power! I know you can hit harder than that!"

"He's my son!" she repeats herself. "He's not in control of himself right now!"

Piccolo growls, ducking around a clumsy punch, repositioning himself behind Gohan and trying to pin the ape underneath him. It won't hold for long, Gohan's new form might be slightly shorter than Piccolo at the moment, but he's bulky, his torso wider than the Namekian's shoulders. He's almost a solid ball of muscle, and his sheer mass makes him almost impossible to grapple effectively as it stands.

"Exactly! He's not in control! If you waste your time trying not to hurt him, he'll end up killing you instead!" Piccolo is snarling, ignoring the traitorous voice in his head, as it notes how defensively he's been fighting, avoiding most of the openings he'd seen. It was different, his whole style was about brutality, and killing Gohan would cause so many more problems than it would solve. "Do you want that? Do you want Gohan to go through that?"

Chichi froze for a second at the question. Piccolo internally swore. The woman was infuriating. She had the fire to be a warrior whenever there wasn't a battle going on, but she picked then of all times to lose her resolve- Piccolo fell back, a dark blur having smashed into his face, his nose cracking painfully as the elbow strike landed perfectly. Gohan roared ferally, barrelling towards the frozen human floating in front of him with sheer malicious instinct.

"Masenko!" came a cry from above, a thin blast of yellow ki erupting from the clouds above and catching the corner of Gohan's eye. Videl was panting, one hand in front of the other, her palm smoking slightly where she'd forced the energy out.

"Why is she still here?" Piccolo hissed, not expecting an answer as he stood up again. He hated how sluggish his movements were, having to lift so much weight with even the smallest motion. His eyes widened when he felt two - three separate power levels suddenly exploded, growing higher and higher. The first two, almost on top of one another, were over where the other battle was still raging.

The last one wass burning inside Gohan, light streaming between his teeth as energy built in his throat. Piccolo forced himself to his feet, letting himself shrink down as he took to the air, because Videl was right there and he had no chance of reaching her before the attack hit. All he could do wass throw himself between them, extending his arms as far as they'd go and wrapping them around his torso, because maybe that extra layer of defense would mean he wouldn't just die there -

"GROARGH-" THOOM! Gohan's mouth beam spiraled out and way off-target as he doubled over. A crimson blur erupted from somewhere around his stomach, Chichi's hair whipping wildly around her hair as the Kaioken flared around her.

"You're right, Piccolo. If I'm going to save Gohan, I can't hesitate. Times Three!" She rushed down, weaving between two punches and a kick as she ducked into one of the craters left behind from earlier. Piccolo blinked at the sight, managing to catch a glint of silver as Chichi flew behind Gohan, dimly aware of Videl hovering behind him on the Nimbus.

THMP! The sound echoed through the air as Gohan froze, stumbling forwards. As they watched, the fur covering his entire body began to retract, his snout warping back into a human face. The entire process lasted only a few seconds, leaving an unconscious young boy held in his mother's arms.

Piccolo dropped to the ground next to her. "Is he...?"

"I-I..." Chichi swallowed thickly, gesturing to a small spot of blood near the base of Gohan's spine. "His tail... I got rid of it." she whispered, clutching the sleeping Gohan closer to her as tears filled her eyes. A blood-spattered crescent of metal was on the ground next to her, the blade from her helmet.

Piccolo flicked out a finger, materialising some loose-fitting clothes around the boy. "Good. At least we won't have to worry about him losing control again," he commented, in a softer tone of voice than he was used to using. His eyes flicked over to his other student before Chichi could say anything. "And as for you. When we tell you to get somewhere safe, that does not mean attacking someone a hundred times more powerful than you."

"I'm not sorry," Videl retorted, refusing to flinch under the heat of Piccolo's glare. "The whole reason I wanted to train was so that I could fight. What's the point if you won't let us help?"

Piccolo opened his mouth to reply, before a shockwave seemed to rattle the entire world around them. A white light tore open the sky in the distance, almost blinding them in its intensity. "We'll talk about this later," he decided. "In the meantime, it looks like they finally beat Vegeta."

OoOoO

Vegeta could feel himself slipping, having to pump so much energy into his attack that he could barely keep himself aloft. But he was winning. He could defeat this combination-fusion-whatever freak! Then, the rest of them would be easy to kill-

"Kamehameha!" Two voices echoed from behind him, as Kakarot and the scar-face fired two red-blue beams into his shoulder blades.

"Cowards!" he bit out, his instincts railing for him to rip them apart. "You really have lost your pride, Kakarot! A true saiyan would never resort to stabbing his enemy in the back!"

"I can live with that," the traitor replied, looking almost... disappointed through the pain lining his features. "If a true saiyan is the kind of person petty enough to blow up a planet over some insult they imagined."

"Damnit, Vegeta..." Scar-face wore a similar expression, whispering under his breath. A pity that Vegeta was a true elite, able to discern the sounds even through the thrumming of energy in the air. "I should've known you'd make this harder than it needed to be..."

Vegeta didn't get any time to reflect on that odd statement, as Kakarot pulled his hands back to his hip, his aura coalescing around his forearms, almost completely opaque from the sheer amount of energy he was building up. "Chaolin should be able to handle you, but I can't stand by while you're threatening the Earth! Times TEN! KAMEHAMEHAAA!" There was no speck of blue this time, a blood-red, angry wave of energy blasting from Kakarot's position.

Maybe, if Vegeta hadn't been pinned down trying to keep the midget's attack from reaching him, he could have fended off this attack.

But he was. And he couldn't.

"DAMN YOU ALL!" he screamed, as his body began to burn.

And then-

Nothing.

OoOoO

"He's down!" Yamcha called, drawing the attention of the other two (Three?) fighters over to himself. Chaolin was breathing a little more heavily than normal, but seemed to be fine otherwise. Goku, though...

"What did you do to yourself?" Yamcha couldn't help asking. While the saiyan was only somewhat bruised and bloody for the most part, his arms were a very different story. From the elbows down, they were scorched and bleeding, and it seemed like the skin had burnt away entirely in a few patches. His hands were held rigid in front of him, with good reason, Yamcha noted, as one finger twitched and sent a spurt of blood to the ground.

"I... might have overdone it," the Saiyan admitted, clenching his jaw. "Do you have any senzus on you?"

The swordsman rolled his eyes, flicking the last bean he had on him over to Goku, who was forced to catch it in his mouth. The two of them flopped onto the ground, panting in relief. Chaolin was floating a couple of feet above the ground.

"So..." the fusion drawled, sounding far more like Krillin than Chiaotzu. "Where are we supposed to put this guy?"

Yamcha paused at that, looking at the massive form on the ground and trying to make some calculations in his head.

"...Crap. I'll call Bulma."

OoOoO

"Sir!" one of the minions reported dutifully, saluting Dodoria. "We've managed to reboot our scouter system, and it would seem all the power levels have vanished, aside from the saiyans, who we believe have dropped out of their transformed states."

Dodoria and Cui ignored him, instead examining the screen themselves. It was true, the only power levels exceeding a thousand were the ones they assumed to be the rebellious saiyans. One was resting at around ten thousand, one at five and one at three.

"Must have glitched when we came out of hyperspace," Cui shrugged. "In any case, if there were any other powers on that planet that could pose a threat, it looks like Vegeta's taken care of them for us."

"I don't like it. Why would he just cut his transformation off like that? A moon that size, normally those monkeys'd be running around for hours," Dodoria replied, before shaking his head. "Screw it, I don't care. Take us in. I want to see Vegeta's face when he realises how screwed he is."

Course laid in. a robotic voice confirmed. Estimated time until arrival; thirty eight minutes local time.

It was time to finish the saiyan race for good.

...

So, double length chapter!

Please don't rely on future updates being this big. Maybe if and when I get to chapter 100.

Power Levels;

Vegeta; 160k Oozaru, 240k Super Gallic Cannon

Nappa; 60k Oozaru, 6k base form

Raditz; 54k Oozaru, 5.5k base form

Goku; 15k base, 60k (X4), 75k(X5), 120k (X8), 150k (X10 Kamehameha)

Krillin; 11k base, 33k (X3)

Yamcha; 11.5k base, 34.5k (X3)

Chichi; 3.5k base, 7k (X2), 10.5k (X3)

Tien; 12k base, ~50k (Full Power Kikoho), ~150k (X3 Full Power Kikoho), 5k (injured)

Chiaotzu; 7.5k base, 22.5k (X3)

Piccolo; 8k base, 33k Daimaoken, ~20k (Giant Namekian, tiring)

Gohan; 2k base form, 20k Oozaru, 28k Mouth Beam

Videl; ~250 (375 Masenko)

Chiaolin; ~40k base, 160k (X4 Kuukyohameha), 240k (X6 Kikohameha)

Lots of people this time, and even more to come.

... Why did I do this to myself?

Anyway, let me know what you think.