Author's Note: Hi everyone happy 2020! With the arrival of the new year, I'd like to take a second to thank everyone for reading my work. It's been a long road and while we aren't anywhere near the end, I'd going to repeat myself and remind you all of you how amazing you all are. This has been a team effort as there is no way I'd be able to do write this much without any support. Every review, favorite, or follow helps carry me further along this ridiculous path I've set out on and I'm so very grateful for the help.
This chapter has a lot going on as our heroes' inch closer to the final confrontation. I've already talked long enough but I hope this new year is treating you all with the respect and kindness you deserve. Thank you again for giving me your time and as always, please enjoy.
Come on guys you can't keep me in the dark like this! Bulma thought to herself as she prodded the communicator in her ear for the fifth time.
I fire one shot, and no one has the time to tell me what's going? At least I know they're all still alive.
Bulma had been following the fight with her new abilities the best she could. Feeling Ginyu's ki signature vanish confused her until she realized what the sensation entailed. At first, she had cheered the plan had worked! Her weapon had been successful, and she had helped her friends fight. However, as she sat with the knowledge of what she had done a chill ran up her spine.
I killed someone.
The young woman sat with this her mind split in two.
You had to, if you hadn't, they would have killed you.
Maybe there could have been another way. I'm supposed to be smart enough to figure that out.
This is what you wanted right? You wanted to fight. You told Krillin that he could rely on you.
He can! But…
She had never seen what Ginyu looked like and that somehow made this worse. She had taken the life of someone she had never met before. With no contact from the others and unsure how to help she had been left wondering what the person she had shot at was like.
I know they were evil but that doesn't make this better… Are…are we doing the right thing?
As if to answer that question four new ki signatures appeared.
What? Who are they? Wait…when did it get so dark outside?
It took the genius a second to realize what the night sky represented and then another to grasp who the four new fighters were. Yamcha felt eager his ki nearly jumping out of his skin with anticipation. Yajirobi felt more like a yawn his ki barely responding to his surroundings despite the danger. Chiaotzu seemed unsure, his ki bouncing around like a bundle of nerves, yet he remained with the others. Piccolo held a deadly calmness like cold steel yet Bulma knew that stillness could explode at any moment. As four new sensations washed over her the young woman couldn't stop a beaming smile from overtaking her face. Despite never have sensed the other's presence in this way there wasn't a doubt in her mind that they were here. Her friends had returned.
We did it Krillin. We brought them back.
Her thoughts on Ginyu fading into the background Bulma regained her focus the fight at hand taking precedence. Sitting back in her chair and closing her eyes she reached out with her newfound strength taking in the entire battlefield that lay miles away.
Alright. Bulma said to herself entering a series of commands into her console. Her weapon sputtered to life and repositioned itself according to its creator.
"Time to fight."
"You're hurt," Yamcha said looking over the monk. "Really hurt."
"I-I'm fine," Krillin answered wiping his eyes with his broken shoulder. "You guys need to help Tien and Gohan."
"We will, but we can help you too. Chiaotzu?"
"On it."
The smallest warrior floated over to Krillin while looking over his friend. "Have you tried dodging more?"
"Guess I didn't think of that," Krillin said with a small chuckle before wincing from the pain.
"You should try it, now hold still."
Reaching out with both hands Krillin sensed Chiaotzu's ki start to mingle with his washing over his wounds.
Wait, this feeling. It's just like when Tsuno healed me!
"Something I picked up while training with King Kai," Chiaotzu said sensing Krillin's confusion. "Don't go stealing this one too."
"No promises."
"Alright, Chiaotzu you stay here with Krillin while we get started," said Yamcha.
"Wait I can help, just give me a second." The monk started but was quickly cut off.
"Stay down." Krillin froze as he noticed Piccolo looming over him. "Right now, your main priority is to recover."
"But I-"
"Don't argue human. You've done enough." Without another word, the namekian charged forward toward the enemy.
"That was harsh," Chiaotzu said as his healing continued.
"Actually," Krillin said with a small laugh. "I think that was a compliment."
"We'll go back him up. Anything we should know?" Yamcha said smashing his fist together.
"Yeah, the small green one is Guldo. He's not very strong but it looks he like can move around quickly. Maybe a technique that lets him teleport somehow. He'll show up out of nowhere and he can stop your movements with just a look so be careful. The big one is Recoome he's strong with a lot of energy to spare and he's still got a scouter. The blue one is Burter he's the fastest, but I was able to cut off one hand that should slow him down a little. It'll be better if you keep them separated, they work well together."
"Alright, anything else?"
"Keep one of them alive. I need to ask them a question."
"Just one?" Yamcha asked slowly.
"…yeah."
Yamcha nodded before turning to Yajirobi. "Ready?"
"No."
"Oh, Yajirobi before you go Tien has your sword." Said Krillin.
"Yeah, I know!" The pudgy swordsman said with bite. "King Kai told us all about what you guys have been up to. So, I know that three-eyes was waving around my stuff like it belonged to him! Getting it stuck in alien guts it'll take days before that thing is clean again."
"It'll be fine," Yamcha said with a sigh. "Now come on, let's finish this."
"Whatever," Yajirobi mumbled.
"Are you sure you don't need help?" Krillin said trying to get back onto his feet only for his strength to fail.
"…you've been through a lot Krillin," Yamcha said slowly. "We wanted to know if you were alright so King Kai told us about your fights. About the danger, you put yourself in for us. It made us push ourselves harder. To get stronger faster." Yamcha said looking over his friend and sharing a sad smile. "We know how you got those scars. So now it's our turn to help you. Let us."
"Alright," Krillin said giving up the fight. "Be careful these guys are insanely strong."
"Yeah, I can tell. Doesn't matter though," Yamcha said standing up. "We're stronger."
Krillin watched as the scar-faced man and the pudgy swordsman turned toward the fight. He could feel his friends gather their ki. Their auras blaring white as it encased them both. A symbol of their concentration as they continued to pulling strength from within. That same white aura flickered out as they said in unison.
"Kaio-Ken."
Their auras returned this time burning crimson. The flare of power generated a blast of wind that would have knocked Krillin over if he were standing. Instead, the monk could only watch wide-eyed as his senses struggled to comprehend the amount of strength pouring out from his friends.
"Let's go."
With one word from Yamcha, the two accelerated to a level of speed Krillin couldn't follow.
Damn, Burter cursed as he watched the number of enemies increase. Lord Frieza's report mentioned that he needed the dragonballs to make his wish. The Blue Hurricane glared at Porunga still towering over the rest of them. Looks like that thing is what grants the wishes. Not sure where Lord Frieza is but with the sky changing he's bound to notice this giant beast soon. Once he arrives, we'll be able to take back the dragonballs. No matter how many people they summon here they will all fall in front of Lord Frieza's might. Still…
Burter's gaze landed on the young half-saiyan laying on the ground shaking in pain due to his shattered ribs. Doesn't hurt to have some insurance.
The blue alien reached toward Gohan with plans to hold the boy captive yet again. Unfortunately, that plan would never be realized. A green hand grabbed Burter's only wrist and held it firm. The Blue Hurricane turned and locked eyes with a namekian, but it wasn't Nail.
"Die."
Piccolo applied enough force to snap the wrist in his hand and leaned into a punch that blasted a hole through Burter's armor. The blow ruptured a vital organ forcing the alien to hurl up blood. With his opponent's balance gone Piccolo took full advantage and tossed the Ginyu Force member into the air. Gathering his energy and focusing it directly into his open mouth Piccolo fired out a stunning blast of ki that shot straight at Burter. Despite the broken wrist and deep wound in his stomach the Blue Hurricane regained his focus and dodged the beam watching it fly off into the stratosphere.
What? Burter panted struggling to get his thoughts in order. This isn't the strength of a normal namekian!
Relocating the warrior who broke his remaining hand Burter watched the namekian kneel down and pick up the beaten child. The motion was gentle and the green warrior's concern was obvious. Sending Burter another glare Piccolo took off back toward the others with Gohan in hand.
He's leaving, guess he just wanted to save the kid. What was up with his speed? I couldn't-I couldn't keep up.
Burter's eyes went wide with the sickening revelation that he was fighting someone faster than himself.
I…I have to leave. I can find, find Lord Frieza and bring him here. It's the best move. The others will be fine. Yeah, they'll be fine.
Burter turned to run with plans to escape, find Lord Frieza, and return when victory was certain. Unfortunately, those plans would never be realized. As the alien whirled around to flee, he came face to face with the same namekian he just watched fly away.
"Im-impossible!" Burter sputtered backing up. "You were over there! N-no one is that fast!"
"Maybe you're just too slow."
Dread wash over the Blue Hurricane but not enough to kill his spirit. With no hands to fight with the alien relied on his legs. With his well-earned speed, Burter sent out a barrage of full-powered kicks. Years of training, of battle, of conquest, fueled the assault as every attack held all of the alien's strength. Which paled in comparison to Piccolos. Catching both of the alien's feet out of the air the son of the demon king twisted inward snapping Burter's ankles like a twig. The immediate pain forced Burter to fall onto his back. Once he was there quickly discovered he had no way of moving.
Dammit! I should have just killed all of them from the start!
Burter continued to silently curse as Piccolo walked up to his side. Wordlessly, the namekian pointed two fingers at the alien and gathered his ki.
"Lord Frieza will destroy you for this!"
"Maybe," Piccolo answered calmly. "Either way you won't be there to see it."
The curt response was the final nail in the coffin as the fight finally faded in Burter's eyes. Forced to look up at the still black sky the Blue Hurricane knew that this would be his end.
"…this was supposed to be a simple job. How did this happen?"
"You underestimated us," Piccolo said sharply. "But if you want the reason as to why I broke your ankles and wrist without killing you. It's because I want you to suffer."
"Wha-what?" Burter said the fight in his eyes quickly replaced by fear. "Why?"
"…you hurt our leader."
Piccolo fired a blast of ki that slid in and out of Burter's neck digging a deep hole in the alien's throat. Without the strength to cover the wound, the Blue Hurricane choked, gurgled and faded away. The last sight of his life was the dark sky of Namek.
"Burter!" Recoome cried as he watched his teammate's power level fade to nothing on his scouter.
The brute moved toward Piccolo only to stop short as a Yamcha appeared in front of him.
"Sorry big guy," The scarred warrior said firmly his aura still holding its crimson flare. "You're dealing with me."
Recoome grunted in annoyance but lunged to attack, forgetting to track Yamcha's power level on his scouter.
"RECOOME KICK!"
With vengeance on his mind and power in his body, the largest member of the Ginyu Force charged at Yamcha. His knee speeding toward the human's face with the intention to blast it wide open. Only for the human to sidestep the lunge allowing Recoome to pass him unharmed.
"Wha-what?" Recoome said aloud shocked he had been avoided so easily.
Narrowing his eyes, the mountain of muscle refocused and went after Yamcha again.
"RECOOME ELBOW!"
The giant pounced with an elbow raised and all his weight behind it. Only for it be caught one-handed by the Taitan's shortstop. The ground shook and cracked under the power of the elbow yet it was stopped by Yamcha as if it weighed nothing. Completely bewildered Recoome backed off shaking with rage.
"You think your good little man?! Then try this!"
Smashing his right hand into a fist Recoome charged shoving his remaining energy into the attack and shot a hard punch at Yamcha's stomach while screaming.
"RECOOME PUNCH!"
The impact of the strike shook Yamcha and created a twister of wind as the collision echoed across the battlefield. Yet the baseball star was unaffected instead he let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew, you are strong. That almost broke through my barrier. With some training, you might actually be worth a fight."
Wide-eyed with disbelief Recoome staggered backward stunned into silence by the uselessness of his strength.
"Nothing to say? Really? You were shouting up a storm just a second ago."
"SHUT UP!" Recoome shouted. "I'll break you!"
"I'm not going to give you the chance big guy."
Holding out both hands with their palms facing upward Yamcha generated two small spheres of ki.
"Haven't had a chance to test this out so thanks for volunteering!"
Throwing both spirit balls full force had Recoome leaping into the air to avoid the attack.
"I don't think so!" Yamcha said using two fingers on both of his hands to take control of each sphere.
The balls of energy responded to the commands and quickly changed directions hurling themselves straight at Recoome. The giant was able to narrowly avoid the first sphere but the second crashed into his side where Krillin had cut into him. The force of the collision threw Recoome back onto the ground where he landed on his hands and knees.
"Gotcha!" Yamcha shouted throwing both of his hands downward.
The balls of ki dived toward the brute reaching new heights of speed. The orbs smashed into Recoome and detonated releasing every ounce of power held within. With an eruption of energy that cracked into the ground beneath them, Yamcha stood focused on his enemy's movements sensing that the fight was not yet finished.
"RECOOME!" A voice bellowed from the pillar of smoke that had formed after Yamcha's attack.
"ERASER!"
Having seen this blast before the dark-haired warrior sprinted forward toward the biggest member of the Ginyu Force. He cut through the smog to reveal Recoome charging a Namek-shattering beam. Focusing his ki into his hands Yamcha shouted.
"Wolf Fang-"
With quick movements and expert precision, he had gained from training Yamcha unleashed a barrage of claws and punches. The torrent of attacks smashed through Recoome's armor sending the brute stumbling back out of the dust storm. The attacks pummeled into Recoome with enough force that it knocked the scouter off sending it skidding onto the ground. Yet, Recoome still held onto his gathered energy and as Yamcha charged again the giant mass of muscle refocused and fired what power he had left in a powerful scream. But Yamcha was faster.
"WAVE!"
In addition to developing the ability to summon two spirit balls at once, Yamcha had also created a way to switch from fighting close-range to attacking with ki strikes in one motion. Generating ki into his hands for the wolf fang fist he had learned how to expel it out into a wide burst of energy. While this lost the deadly strike of the fist the wolf fang wave covered more ground and could deflect weaker energy attacks. Therefore, when Recoome fired out the eraser gun it was reflected right back into him along with Yamcha's own powerful ki. The wave of energy washed over the mountain of muscles dissolving his upper torso and everything above. Bursting out of the column of smoke the remains of Recoome landed onto the ground motionless and lifeless. Yamcha stared at the body of his foe or the last bits of it that still existed. The blast had been intense enough that only Recoome's waist and legs survived leaving the wolf with a sickening feeling.
No, if Krillin can do this then so can I. Yamcha thought to himself shaking away his doubt. I can't let this slow me down.
With the fight over Yamcha made his way over to Tien. The three-eyed warrior had passed out trying to stall the Ginyu Force which made it easy enough for Yamcha to carry him.
"All right buddy let's get you to Chiaotzu. You guys have some catching up to do."
I'm…I'm the only one left. Guldo thought as he cowered behind a nearby boulder. Captain, Jeice, Burter, Recoome. They're gone. I'm…alone.
The weight of thought pressed down on the small alien. The unbeatable team he had been a part of for so long had been dismantled one by one. The Ginyu Force was now beyond repair.
Then at the very least, I'll kill the bastard who killed us!
Holding his breath Guldo gathered his courage and rushed out scanning the battlefield for the despicable human who had tricked his team. With time at a standstill, it was easy to locate Krillin who was still being healed by Chiaotzu. Next to them lay Tien and Gohan who both needed immediate care.
Good! I can kill four of them with one attack! They'll never see it coming!
Flexing his power Guldo focused and fired a powerful burst of energy directly at the group of earthlings. As the blast flew Chiaotzu sensed the coming danger and turned toward the beam.
"Kaio-Ken," The small warrior said softly as his aura burned red.
Wordlessly Chiaotzu brought his strength to its peak and reached out toward the attack with one hand. Clothed in scarlet light the smallest warrior extended his psychic power and grabbed the blast. Whipping his hand to the left Chiaotzu curved the blast of energy away from his friends sending it hurtling into a nearby mountain.
Wha?... How did he do that? Guldo thought to himself unaware he had started breathing normally and lost his grip on time.
"Hey."
Guldo turned toward the voice coming from a blind spot and locked eyes with a tubby human wearing an orange yukata.
"You shouldn't have done that."
"Stay back!" Guldo shouted as he fired two full-powered energy blasts directly at the bloated samurai. The attacks connected and Guldo turned to flee but did not get very far until he ran into the same pudgy man. Acting on instinct Guldo held his breath and stopped time while looking for a way out. Only to realize that he was somehow surrounded by multiple copies of the same fat human. Every escape route seemed to be blocked by the wide body of Yajirobi. The entire area seemed to be blanketed with a Yajirobi's circling the smallest member of the broken Ginyu Force.
How is he doing this? Who are these people?! That was the only thought Guldo had time for before his strength failed him and his ability to freeze time faded.
With time moving naturally once more the small alien realized that the small army of tubby samurais started to flicker in and out of existence. Still confused Guldo felt an immense amount of weight smash into his back and bring crashing flat onto the ground.
"Almost got away there," Yajirobi said as he got comfortable sitting on top of the green invader.
Grunting in pain Guldo watched as the copies of Yajirobi started to fade one by one.
"How, how did you do that?" Guldo asked unable to believe this fat creature had been able to catch him so easily.
"They're afterimages," Yajirobi said casually. "Saw Korin do it enough times on the tower figured I should learn it too. Plus, nobody's going to expect a fat guy like me to move that fast. Be even better with my sword."
Guldo didn't understand what the fat man was saying so instead he put his efforts trying to escape.
"Stop squirming. I'm not going to hurt you. Our leader just wants to ask you a question."
"Y-your leader?"
"Yeah, though don't think he's a very good one. Last plan of his got me killed."
Guldo was about to ask what Yajirobi was talking about before he saw Krillin approach him. The monk's wounds had fully healed thanks to Chiaotzu's efforts and stood above the small alien still pinned by the weight of Yajirobi.
"You?! You're the leader?" Guldo shouted. "BASTARD!"
Guldo started to charge his energy in a final attempt to kill the man who had destroyed his team. Only for Yajirobi to shift his weight and stop the attack.
"Calm down," Krillin said. "Answer my question and I'll let you go."
"What? There's no way I'm going to tell you an-"
Guldo's refusal stopped cold as Piccolo joined the crowd the body of Burter thrown over his shoulder. The namekian wordlessly dropped the Blue Hurricane onto the ground with a dense thud. The green alien stared at the remains teammates and started to shake with fear.
"How many forms does Frieza have?"
"Wha-what?" Guldo asked stumbling over his words.
"How many forms does Frieza have?" Krillin repeated.
"I-I don't know!"
"I may have believed you," The monk said crossing his arms. "But all four of your eyes are looking away from me. That's a bad tell."
"I can't…I can't tell you."
"You should," Piccolo said his patience running out.
Guldo squeezed his hands into fists hating the situation he found himself in. As the moments passed with escape seemingly impossible Guldo sniffled as the fight finally left him completely.
"…4."
"4?!" Krillin said losing his composure. "Are you sure?"
"…yeah. He told the captain once. Said he had to keep it a secret. But the captain said, there shouldn't be any secrets among teammates."
"4 forms? What is he talking about Krillin?" asked Yajirobi.
The monk didn't respond Guldo's answer had him shaking as he tried to imagine just how powerful Frieza could become.
"You can't win," The small alien continued. "He'll kill all of you for what you did to us!"
"We're done talking," Piccolo said slowly charging a blast of ki in his hand and aiming it at Guldo.
"Whoa! Let me move first!" Yajirobi said.
"Wait! You said you would let me go if I helped you!" Guldo sputtered
Krillin paused as he looked at the little alien his decision already made. "I said I would let you go. I didn't say my companions would."
"Y-you!"
"Bastard, I know. You're right I am," The monk said cutting Guldo off. "But I have important people I have to protect. I have a team, just like you did."
The word team made Guldo flinch but said nothing as Piccolo approached him holding enough to kill to wipe him away. However, before he could the black sky faded and was replaced by green. Porunga eyes flared with power before it shot downward its energy being reabsorbed by the dragonballs until it had vanished completely.
"What? What's going on?" Krillin asked turning away from Guldo his attention shifting.
The small alien saw this and recognized it as a golden opportunity. Having taken a moment to regain his strength and feeling Yajirobi's weight lightened as the rotund warrior moved to avoid Piccolo's blast Guldo acted fast. Holding his breath to freeze time once more the smallest member of the once-great Ginyu Force sprinting away and spied the scouter that Recoome once wore lying next to the bits and pieces of the brute.
I can use this to contact the rest of the Force!
Picking up the scouter as he ran by it while refusing to look at what remained of Recoome Guldo continued to run away. Taking to the sky Guldo entered the frequency needed to speak with the base of operations.
I should be far away enough by now. Guldo thought as he released his breath to speak.
Planet Frieza 79 wha-
"Danger! Danger on planet Namek!" Guldo shouted into the scouter interrupting the operator on the other end. "This is Guldo of the Ginyu Force we ne- I need immediate reinforcements!"
We've got a lock on your location Guldo. We'll send out a squad to Namek as soon as we can.
"You need more than a squad! Bring the whole Force! Bring everyone yo-"
Guldo never finished his sentence as he would never speak to anyone else ever again. In that instant, a spike that was once attached to a namekian spaceship descended and sniped him out of the air. The force of the collision speared through him, pulled him out of the sky, smashed him into a river, and started to drag him to the bottom. The scouter that he held fell with him still sending out his message.
What? What happened? Guldo asked himself as he fell further into the river's depths. They got me, just like they got the captain. Guess Jeice was right, we should have gone after whoever that was first. Now we're all gone. Despite the situation, Guldo sneered. At least Lord Frieza will still win. The call went through and they'll be here soon. With Lord Frieza's power and the Force by his side, he'll kill them all!
Sinking further and further into the dark Guldo screamed out into the green water of Namek.
"We will be remembered as the ones who gave Lord Frieza his wish! We'll be heroes! Everyone will know who we were! The Ginyu Force will never die!"
It was the last cry the little alien held before he hit the bottom of the lake. With his life fading the smallest member of the Ginyu Force joined the rest of his teammates.
Bulma? How did she do that? I didn't give her a signal. And it doesn't look like Tien did either. Krillin thought to himself.
He had been caught off guard by Guldo's escape attempt as he had been distracted by Porunga's sudden disappearance. It's a good thing she did. Glad she stopped him before he made the situation any worse.
"What was that?!" Yamcha asked floating over to Krillin after dropping off Tien. "That thing came out of nowhere!"
"That was Bulma," Krillin said reaching into his ear and pulling out his communicator. "She built a rail gun using the namekian spaceship we arrived in and has been helping us throughout the fight. Though, I don't know how she made that shot."
Looking over the communicator Krillin noticed that the small machine had been crushed during the fighting. There was no way to tell when exactly but no matter what the monk did he couldn't seem to get it working.
It's completely broken, so how did Bulma know when and where to fire?
"Can you not sense her?" Krillin turned to see Piccolo touch down next to him. "She's been following the fight by sensing our energy."
"Bulma? But ho-" The monk stopped his question as he arrived at the answer.
Her potential! This must be thanks to the Guru's help, but it hasn't even been that long since we saw him and she can already sense energy? Krillin turned toward Bulma's direction now able to sense the blue-haired woman's power. Small as it was, he could tell it was slowly climbing with every passing moment. Geniuses are scary.
"Wow, that's incredible," Yamcha said slowly. "Then again Bulma's always been incredible."
"I could say the same about all of you," Krillin said with a smile. "You've all gotten so strong."
"Of course we are!" The former bandit said thumping his chest. "We trained our butts off with that crazy kai!"
"Weirdo had us chasing a monkey," Yajirobi grumbled to himself.
"Sounds like you had it pretty rough," Krillin said with a smile but his thoughts were clouded with worry. They've all gotten a lot stronger that's for sure, but it's still not enough. As it stands Frieza will still wipe us out and if he does have two more forms…
Krillin was so deep in thought he nearly missed his senses blare a warning.
"-learning the Kaio-Ken was hard enough," Yamcha continued unaware that no one was listening. "But all of us came up with new techniques as well. Even Piccolo made a new-"
"Enough of your blubbering human," Piccolo said cutting the former bandit off. "He's here."
The group looked upward to see Vegeta descending toward them with Tsuno quietly following
"Oh great, this guy," Yajirobi said with some spit.
The saiyan prince did not pay the fat samurai any attention but scanned the battlefield slowly locating what remained of the Ginyu Force.
"Vegeta, Tsuno, you made it."
The namekian and prince turned to see Krillin walking up to them both.
"Is…is the battle over?" Tsuno asked looking around.
"Yeah, Bulma got the last one. Thanks, fo-"
Krillin stopped as the saiyan prince shot a heavy punch that smashed against his cheek. The follow-through tossed him off on his feet and onto his back.
"How dare you make a fool out of me!" Vegeta shouted and pointed a hand at the fallen monk. "I should kill you for that!"
"That was a mistake."
Vegeta turned to see Piccolo holding a fistful of ki aimed at his head.
"Wonderful, the namekian from Earth has returned," Vegeta said rolling his eyes. "Seems like the human's plan succeeded. You've gotten stronger as well, how quaint. You're still beneath me slug so stand down before you get hurt."
"You should take your own advice, jerk." Vegeta grimaced as Yajirobi also aimed a hand at his back.
"Seems like all the insects are crawling out of the woodwork," Vegeta spat. "You should have stayed crushed fat man."
"Well, we couldn't miss the opportunity to see the prince of all two saiyans," Yamcha said as he joined the others. "I'm surprised you're already back on your feet after what Krillin did to you."
Vegeta's demeanor twisted as the insult hit home. Wordlessly the saiyan let his power flare out as he readied for battle.
"Piccolo, Yajirobi, Yamcha. It's alright I'm fine," Krillin said standing up while massaging his cheek.
"You sure?" Yamcha asked not taking his eyes off of Vegeta.
"Yeah, we have more important problems ahead of us. We need to figure out what happened to Porunga. We only used two wishes so why did the dragon disappear?"
"The dragonballs are still active yet Porunga himself has vanished," Tsuno said meekly. "It-it must have something to do with the Elder."
"The Grand Elder? What do you me-
"Tsuno!"
The group turned to see Nail flying toward them and land.
"Nail!" Tsuno said pushing past the others.
"I am relieved that you are unharmed," Nail said before noticing the others. "You must be the friends the small bald human wouldn't stop talking about."
"That's us!" Yamcha said with a grin while Yajirobi grunted. "You're Nail right? We heard about you."
Nail nodded before turning his focus to Piccolo.
"Which means that you must be the child of Katas the Grand Elder mentioned."
"Katas? I don't know who you're talking about. My name is Piccolo."
"Ah, your memory must have faded when you separated. Perhaps your other half still carries it."
"Humph, you'll do well not to mention that weakling in front of me," Piccolo spat.
Guess he still doesn't care for Kami. thought Krillin but kept it to himself.
"I do not wish to fight Piccolo," Nail said with respect. "We cannot afford to. There are so few of us left."
"Nail," Tsuno said slowly. "What of the Grand Elder?"
"…he…does not have long."
"What? Nail what do you mean?" Krillin asked surprised at the news.
"The Grand Elder is dying," Nail said slowly. "I kept this from you as it would have otherwise distracted you from the battle at hand."
"Is that why Porunga disappeared?" Yamcha asked.
"Possibly. If he had passed the dragonballs would have turned to stone. They are still whole but Porunga's vanishing means his strength is fading fast. Which is why we must return to his side at once. Now that the dragonballs are ours we can-"
"If you think I'm just going to let you leave with my dragonballs then you are sorely mistaken," Vegeta said with some bite.
"They are not your dragonballs saiyan," Nail said his eyes narrowing.
"Argue all you want," Vegeta scoffed and pointed to Krillin. "But I plan to use that last wish for my immortality. None of you have the power to challenge me. I'll destroy all of you even if it's eight against one!"
The threat was real and the group silently recoiled. Piccolo, Yamcha, Yajirobi, and Nail prepared themselves for a fight, but it was Krillin who broke the silence. The monk had noticed something in the green sky of Namek and let out a wild laugh.
"What is so funny, human?" Vegeta said his tone laced with anger.
"Nine," Krillin said slowly. "There are nine of us."
The prince shot the monk a glare and was about to respond when he sensed the reason he had been corrected. Whirling around Vegeta caught sight of an object speeding toward the surface of Namek. It was a spaceship and the saiyan prince knew who was on board.
"You've gotten a lot stronger Vegeta," The monk said his laugh returning. "You're strong enough to fight the entire Ginyu Force on your own. But even you aren't ready to fight all of us, Frieza, and him at the same time."
"Bastard!" Vegeta seethed clenching his fists. "You knew he was coming!"
"I did, lost track of when exactly but figured if I stalled you long enough he'd get here eventually. Looks like I was right. Guess you'll have to stay with us a little longer if you want to survive."
Snarling Vegeta clenched his fists his eyes narrowing as they tracked the falling starship.
"Tsuno, can you help heal my friends?" Krillin asked. "If we're going to see the Grand Elder then we need everyone ready to leave as soon as we can."
"Y-yes of course!" Tsuno answered dashing toward Chiaotzu who was currently checking on Gohan.
This is it. The monk thought to himself. Everyone's here. Everyone's stronger. Despite everything that's happened as long as we're together we can do this…I have to believe that. I do believe that.
Looking up at the spaceship from capsule corp Krillin let out a heavy sigh before smiling.
I've been waiting for you to catch up with us. Should have guessed you'd be the last one to arrive. You always are.