Grand Elder's Hut, Namek
December 21, A762

"Elder...Do you sense that?" Nail said.

"I do," Guru said.

"Freeza is headed straight for the Earthlings. If he gets all the Dragon Balls, he could get his wish. Moori has the password." Nail said.

"I know. We cannot let this come to pass. Nail, you must assist them," Guru said.

"And leave you unguarded?"

"If Freeza obtains the Dragon Balls, I will willingly pass on. The balls will be inert. Even if it means the destruction of our people, of our world, I will not allow that tyrant to have his wish. But if you are able to help them, then, maybe, they will find a way to succeed. Either way, I will die soon. Ensure that the Dragon Balls do not fall into the wrong hands, Nail," Guru explained.

"Yes, Grand Elder! I won't fail you!" Nail said, taking off.

"Don't worry, Grand Elder! We'll protect you until Nail returns!" Molsc said. Guru gave them a kindly smile.

"I know I am in good hands."

XXX

Dragon Warrior Camp, Namek
December 20, A762

Vetgeta and Tien arrived first. Vegeta pulled off his glove, which had been soaked with blood, and studied his Demsu injury.

"Vegeta! Are you all right?" Bulma came out of the cave, having taken watch.

"I'm fine," Vegeta insisted.

"Nonsense, you look like you've been mauled by a dog! I've got a first aid kit, come inside. Tien, are you hurt?" Bulma asked.

"No, I'm okay."

"Do you mind taking watch while I take care of Vegeta?"

Tien nodded, and Bulma pulled Vegeta into the cave. Inside, Master Roshi had Cargo and Dende heating a teapot with just their hands and their Ki.

"Oh, Vegeta! You're ba-WOAH, what happened to you?" Roshi shuddered at the sight of Vegeta's arm.

"I'm fine!" Vegeta growled, but Bulma was already running water over the injury. Vegeta threw the Dragon Ball into a corner with the one from Guru's. Bulma cleaned the wound, ignoring Vegeta's squirming, and she wrapped it up in gauze after drying the injury.

"You know Moori's going to be right back, right?" Roshi said.

"You want to risk an infection he can't cure?" Bulma said, "What happened?"

"Freeza has Demsu. They're big, mean beasts that can use energy blasts. Triclops and I fought three of them. One of them grabbed my arm, and another got away," Vegeta explained, "I had figured they were extinct, but Freeza must have kept some. Figures, Doctor Kikono was obsessed with the things. Never fought one until now, though."

"Good job getting the Dragon Ball, though," Bulma said.

"Don't get too excited. They had cameras on them. They know where they were, and they'll be searching for us again," Vegeta said, "This place might not stay safe."

"What?" Bulma yelped.

"He's right," Roshi said, standing, "We're going to have to make our move soon."

"Heya guys! Look at what we've got!" Krillin entered, holding up the Dragon Ball, "Score's three to four, and we're going for the steal next, am I right Master Roshi?"

"Might be sooner than you expect," Roshi said.

"You didn't happen to fight any energy-using beasts in armor, did you?" Vegeta asked.

"Yeah, a whole pack of 'em, how'd you know?" Krillin asked.

"Vegeta, you're hurt again," Moori observed.

"Oh, no. Did you guys kill them all?" Bulma asked. Krillin shook his head.

"Roshi, we need to leave now, or they're going to triangulate our position!"

Bulma frantically started to shove things back into their cubbies.

"Maybe, if I take the Dragon Balls into the ship, we can keep them away from Freeza deeper in the solar system, until you can recover the others!" Bulma thought aloud.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Krillin said.

"Coward's way through this," Vegeta grumbled.

"But it's pragmatic," Moori said, taking Vegeta's arm and healing it, "Let's do it."

"Hey, everyone? We have a problem out here!" Tien called into the cave. Everyone rushed out, and Bulma let out a groan.

In the sky was a whole fleet of ships. Most of them were smaller craft, but one of them was a massive behemoth, an ovoid vessel in the same style as the others, but with a long, relatively thin pole sticking out the front. It also had a symbol painted on the side which only Vegeta recognized. It was firing at the other vessels in a massive battle.

"YES! I knew it! I knew he'd show up! I knew I was right!" Vegeta cheered, "Listen! I had help getting here, a Saiyan named Bardock! I don't know how, but he survived the destruction of his homeworld! He helped me escape, and he left me this note, along with directions to Namek. It also says, 'The Legend is Real.' He wants us to use the Dragon Balls to turn me into a Super Saiyan! Then, I can destroy Freeza, and Namek will be free!"

"Why would he want to turn you into the Super Saiyan?" Tien asked.

"He's psychic? I don't know! But he's been one step ahead of all of us! This is our best plan! It's the only plan we have!" Vegeta insisted.

"Why should we trust some random Saiyan we've never even met?" Moori asked.

"Because of who Bardock is! This was Gine's plan, too! I can't believe I didn't see it before! You see, Bardock is Kakarot and Raditz's father! Gine knew about the Super Saiyan, and her mate brought her in on it! Even if you don't trust me, trust in your friends! It's like she's always saying, we're in this together! I finally get it now!" Vegeta said.

"It's a bit of a stretch...But from what Meys said about Gine…" Krillin said.

"It's the only plan we have," Vegeta said, "We use this chance to attack Freeza's ship, and get the Dragon Balls! Make me a Super Saiyan, and we'll be done with this!"

"We need to bring back Piccolo, though, or we don't get our Dragon Balls back! Everything revolves around that!" Tien said. Moori shook his head.

"No, Vegeta is right. Destroying Freeza is the priority. Besides, using one wish will not stop you from bringing your friend back; our Dragon Balls have three wishes, not just one," Moori said, "We have use one wish to bring back your Piccolo, another to make Vegeta a Super Saiyan, and a third wish to do with as we please. I recommend we move all the Namekians to Earth, so Vegeta can battle Freeza without interruption."

"I know Freeza's ship," Vegeta said, "I'll lead the assault. Moori, you'll be with me. Roshi, baldy, Triclops, we may need you to distract Freeza."

"Hmph. I think we're covered on Freeza," Roshi said, "At least for a while. But we have another problem. Those powers I mentioned were approaching...They're here. There's five of them, and they're more powerful than any of the opponents we've faced so far."

"Five? Oh, no...The Ginyu Force...Well, if Freeza is distracted, then all the more reason to move quickly!" Vegeta said.

"We'll handle this Ginyu Force, then," Tien said, "Boys, take Bulma and find a new place to hide."

"Wait, let me grab the house!" Bulma said, rushing into the cave with Dende and Cargo. A moment later, she came out, pocketing a Capsule box, and each of them held a Dragon Ball. Dende floated up, allowing her to wrap her hands around him. Cargo grasped her from behind, and the Namekians took off, wrapped around Bulma like a little green boy jetpack.

Moori took two Dragon Balls, while Vegeta took one, and the pair were ready to take off, when five Attack Balls landed before them.

"No...NO!" Vegeta said, dropping his Dragon Ball, "We are dead men."

"Don't be so sure," Roshi said. The pods opened, and five figures popped out of them, energetic and flamboyant. As they jumped out of their pods, they lined up, shouting their names, standing in order of their height.

"Recoome!"

"Burter!"

"Jeice!"

"Shive!"

"And Captain Ginyu! And together we are!"

The five struck a communal pose.

"THE GINYU FORCE!"

"Wait a minute,that's one's a Saiyan!" Krillin said, gesturing to Shive.

"If you could ever call a traitor a Saiyan," Vegeta spat. Shive crossed his arms, but said nothing, instead looking to Captain Ginyu.

"Now, now, Vegeta, I was prepared to offer you Guldo's spot years ago, if you remember. It's not my fault that your comrade had the sense to take me up on the offer you refused," Ginyu said, wagging his finger, "Since then, Shive has been most eager to earn his place on our team. It's just not been the same without good old Guldo, but I think Shive really brings the team together, wouldn't you say, Ginyu Force?"

"YES CAPTAIN GINYU!" they all shouted together.

"Now, Vegeta, let's make this easy on you. If you hand over those Dragon Balls, I'll be sure to make sure you go back in your containment pod, and stay there this time. After all the hard work Shive put in trying to bring you in alive, too! It's just rude," Ginyu said. Vegeta's fists twitched as he tried to hold back his rage.

"Let's take their power levels, Captain!" Jeice said.

"Of course, Jeice, do us the favor," Ginyu said.

"Let's see...Little bald one is at fifteen thousand...Tall bald one is at, oh-ho-ho, twenty five thousand! Let's see, old Vegeta's rocking an impressive thirty five thousand. The Namekian is also at fifteen thousand, leaving the old man at…"

Jiece stopped, clicked at his Scouter again.

"Jiece?"

"Hold on, Captain, something's not right. Berter, can you confirm my numbers for me?" Jiece asked.

"Sure," Berter ran through the numbers again, "Uh...That can't be right...All the others match, but the old man…"

"Oh, come on, don't lollygag," Ginyu rolled his eyes, checking his own scouter, "WHAT? Two hundred thirty thousand? There's no way!"

Roshi chuckled, "Sorry, is my head shining light into your little device there? Don't want to throw off your numbers."

"Y-yes! Of course! That m-must be it! Hah! How silly!" Ginyu said with a quiver of fear in his voice.

"Listen, you boys are impressive and flashy, but we're really in the middle of something, so if you don't mind, we'd like to get back to wishing our dead friends back," Roshi said.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that! Scouters or not, we are the Ginyu Force, and we will see our task through to the end! Ginyu Force! Take those Dragon Balls!" Ginyu ordered.

"YES, SIR!" the Ginyu Force bellowed, and they charged at their opponents. Moori picked up a Dragon Ball and threw it as far and hard as he could, but Berter leaped up and snagged it out of the sky.

Jeice was upon Krillin first, and swung a punch, but Krillin ducked it. Surprised, Jeice went for a series of punches, which Krillin dodged easily, before reaching his hands out and blasting Jeice in the stomach with a Ki blast.

"Oh, that might have worked, if you weren't fighting me! I've got your frequency, that trick won't work!" Jeice said.

"Then I'll just have to settle for this," Krillin said, punching out, but Jeice caught the blow, and kicked Krillin into the cliffside.

"Recoome, I'd like your help with the old man," Ginyu said, "Just in case the Scouters weren't glitching," Ginyu ordered. Recoome stood next to his Captain.

"Wouldn't be the first time we've teamed up against a power level like that. Won't be the last," Recoome chuckled.

"Oh, trust me, you don't want any of this old man," Roshi warned, shrugging off his jacket. Recoome was the first to charge, feinting to the right, while Ginyu feinted left. Roshi took a deep breath, bulked up suddenly, and started blocking the attacks from both warriors on the left and the right.

"It seems Berter and Jeice have your friends in hand. I guess that leaves you to me, Vegeta," Shive shrugged.

"I'm surprised Ginyu didn't kill you with a sneeze, Shive. That was a cheap trick you pulled on Earth, you won't get the chance again. You've always been the most pitiful Saiyan in our group, even Gine surpassed you. You're a coward and a traitor, Shive, and I'm going to wipe you from our history," Vegeta said, charging at him. Shive took a wide stance, and started to power up.

"Hee-YYYYAAAAAAAHHHH!" Shive bellowed, and Vegeta stopped just outside of arm's length from Shive. Vegeta didn't quite have the energy sense converted to power levels, but with that power-up, Shive leaped from his old power and shot straight past Recoome's.

Faster than Vegeta could follow, Shive grabbed the Prince by the throat and charged him straight forward, slamming him into the rock face. The force knocked Krillin out of the same formation, and he landed on his hands and knees, coughing.

"Aww, don't tell me it's over already! I was just getting started!" Jeice said, standing over Krillin. Moori had put up a Ki shield and was keeping Berter's attacks at bay. Despite Tien trying to peel him off, Berter was simply too fast for either of them.

"You know? I was just about to say the same thing," Krillin said. He stood, focused his energy, and Bulked, getting taller, stronger, and larger. Instead of firing Ki from his hands, he fired from his feet, propelling him at Jeice and landing a devastating punch which sent him back. Krillin kept at him, landing a second blow, and then a third, until the pair had disappeared from the immediate battlefield.

"Roshi! We cannot keep them at bay! We need help!" Moori called out. Indeed, while Krillin had punched Jeice over the horizon, Tien and Moori were struggling with Berter.

"You know, you boys are a good workout, but I've got more important things to do right now," Roshi said, and he let out a whistle.

As if on command, a ship flew overhead, dropping three figures from it. One landed an elbow straight on Berter's head, bouncing him off the ground. Another landed a double-kick against Ginyu, forcing him away from Roshi. The last one landed a punch right on Recoome's face, and started swinging kicks and punches.

"Grab the Dragon Balls! Throw them up here!" Gohan called from the ship. Without missing a beat, Moori started throwing the Dragon Balls up to the vessel. Raditz flipped off Berter, landing next to the third stray Dragon Ball, and threw it to his nephew.

"Go!" Tien ordered Moori, "We'll handle this! Get the Wish!"

"Right!" Moori said, jumping up into the ship.

"Whew! Glad you all made it. I was worried I was gonna have to start breaking a sweat," Roshi said to the Saiyans.

"Woah, Master Roshi! Where'd you get all that power from?" Goku asked. Roshi tapped his staff to the armor Goku was wearing. Instead of the Saiyan emblem on it, the Turtle School symbol was drawn on the breast.

"Better question, where'd you get that ridiculous thing?" Roshi asked.

"Hey, is that Shive?" Raditz asked.

"Shive!" Brussa called out. The distraction was enough for Recoome to grab Brussa by the tail and start to slam her on the ground, which only served to infuriate her brothers. Goku and Raditz rushed at Recoome, one grabbing the arm that held Brussa, and the other holding his leg. Once Brussa was released, she jumped up onto Recoome's back and started hopping up and down with all her strength.

"As much as I'd like to stick around and kick you boys about for a while, I've got something more important to deal with," Roshi said to Ginyu, bulking down, "But Goku and his siblings have you all handled for now. I'm gonna go have a word with your boss."

"What? Do you really think I'm going to-" Ginyu started, but Roshi kicked him into Recoome while Brussa was up in the air. She landed on top of Ginyu's head when she came down.

"Master Roshi, I could still use your help over here!" Tien shouted.

"Guru's unlocked all the power you need to defeat him, Tien. You don't need to be faster than him. You just need to predict him, and there's nobody better at that than you," Roshi said, and then he jumped off into the distance.

I just need to predict him… Tien thought, and he closed all three eyes. Sure enough, with his enhanced ability to sense Ki, he was, in fact, able to predict where Berter was going to strike next. Berter wasn't fast, he was almost 'drilling' forward through space with his Ki, which allowed his body to move into the vacuum and strike with the power of the implosion. Once he realized he could predict the Ki, Berter's movements quickly became predictable.

"Well, Vegeta," Shive peeled him out of the rock, "It looks like my teammates have bitten off more than they can chew with our old friends. Why don't you and I go somewhere private?"

"Shive, get back here!" Ginyu ordered as Shive flew off, carrying Vegeta with him.

"Shive you traitor!" Raditz bellowed, firing Ki blasts at him, but Shive just ducked and weaved. Raditz turned to Ginyu.

"We'll deal with him later," Raditz said, "For now, you're mine."

"Hah, you think you can match my power, Saiyan? You're the weakest of the weak! I am Captain Ginyu, Elite-"

"Hey, Kakarot, Brussa Baseball!" Brussa called out, jumping into the air. Goku held up Recoome by the legs and smacked his sister with him. Brussa kicked off Recoome, and slammed straight into Captain Ginyu.

"HAH! Good one, Brussa!" Raditz laughed.