Author's note: Hey, guys, thanks for the reads, & the reviews. I love getting those alerts. Please feel free to keep them coming, & let me know your thoughts as the story progresses.

Written by: SparkerLightning.

Edited by: StevenBodner

Chapter 60

Inside the Full Moon

Turles shut the door behind him as he and Nappa entered the gravity chamber. Effortlessly transitioning from walking to flying, they went to the middle of the room. The walls were white in reality, but small, hidden, light strips made them appear red.

Nappa turned to face Turles, guard down. "Yes, Turles?"

Turles crossed his arms and lowered himself slightly. Toe to toe with Nappa he sternly looked up at the larger Saiyan. "What the hell was that, Nappa?"

Nappa raised his eyebrow and tilted his head. He opened his mouth to ask Turles what he was talking about, but the stronger Saiyan spoke first.

"I sensed what you were doing. I could feel everything that was going on at your gate. What, the hell, was that?"

A nostalgic smile crossed Nappa's lips before his face settled to a stubborn, righteous, glare. "I won. That's what that was. We're alive, the enemy is dead. We, won."

Turles narrowed his eyes, his mouth growing dry. "You butchered the Ryders, that's what that was." He ran his tongue over the inside of his lips. "You defeated the army, but..."

"I killed the soldiers." Nappa butted in. "There's not a single Frieza Force, or former Frieza Force, person alive at my gate. There's none at Raditz's gate either, and..."

"Yes, you killed the soldiers, good job, you can throw a punch." Turles tightened his fists and tensed his arms. He was mad, but he didn't want that to show, he couldn't lose his composure. Saiyans were different now. "You didn't even try to protect the Ryders. You threw your punches, but you didn't pull any of them."

Nappa leaned his shoulders forward slightly, hovering over Turles. "I killed the soldiers. That planet is safe. The survivors are safe."

Turles lifted his chin to maintain eye contact with Nappa. "Do not do that again. It was an absolute waste of life, and not what we stand for."

"It's not what we stand for?" Nappa bit back a chuckle. "We're Saiyans. We fight. We kill. It's what we do. Just because we're doing it for good now, to help others, doesn't change who we are, it doesn't change what we are. The enemy is dead. We're alive. The Ryders are alive."

"No." Turles stated. "Only some of the Ryders are alive. You killed them as well. What is the point in fighting the enemy, if we're just going to kill the ones we're fighting to free? And yes, we're Saiyans, we do fight, we do kill, we get stronger, and we fight harder, and we kill more, I agree with you. But who says that is all we can be. It's what my grandnephew is, too. But he's proven that we can put our, our Saiyan heritage to good use. There is no reason why we can't fight the enemy, and protect the people we're fighting for."

"Gohan? He isn't a Saiyan, he's..."

"He's half a Saiyan. His father, who shares the boy's heart, is a full-blooded Saiyan." Turles snapped. "And you can NOT tell me he's not a Saiyan. You can NOT tell me he's less Saiyan that we are. He IS stronger than us. He IS more skilled than us. He IS more capable than us on the battleground. His father was a brilliant warrior, and his uncle is as well, and his son is as well."

Nappa scoffed before keeping quiet for just a minute. "There are plenty of Ryders left. Their population will recover, and that planet will be completely infested again in no time."

"There could have been more of them." Turles rose slightly higher in the chamber, forcing Nappa to straighten up. "They could have recovered sooner. They could have REPOPULATED their planet sooner. You set them back years, generations. Entire bloodlines, entire futures, wiped out because you couldn't restrain yourself."

Nappa backed away slightly further. He didn't respond, however after a few moments he did avert his eyes.

"Are you ready to train?" Turles glanced at the control console. "You need it, and we're going to start with self-control."

"I served under Prince Vegeta for YEARS." Nappa barked the last word. "I survived being near him, for YEARS." Anger flashed in his eyes. "I have MORE self-control in my left..." Turles cleared his throat. "... than you do in your entire body."

"We're going to start with meditation and power control." Turles left Nappa floating in the air and went to the console. Not looking at the number as it climbed, he scrolled the wheel to increase gravity. It took a few turns, but Nappa began to strain to stay where he was, and with one more rotation he had to power up to maintain his spot. Two more rotations and he was fighting to stay on the same level as Turles.

"I… don't need… to learn to… meditate." Nappa struggled to speak as he struggled to stay in place. He didn't know where the gravity was, nor did Turles, but his body felt like it was made of, made of… he couldn't think of anything that felt as heavy as he did in this moment.

Turles effortlessly returned to his side. Crossing his legs in the air, he planted a hand on either knee. "Without control, power is useless." He said in a rather condescending manner.

"Look at how much power you're wasting just to not crash into the floor." He shook his head. "Until you can float here, without breathing hard, without sweating, without looking like you're going to die, and without powering up, I'm not going to teach you a thing."

Nappa growled in frustration, once more making intense eye contact with Turles. He quickly surrendered yet again and took a deep breath. For a moment, a blink, just a second, he planned to lower his power slightly. When he stopped pumping himself up, when he stopped filling the holey balloon that was his body with the breath that was his energy, he fell like a rock. Trying to catch himself, he over corrected, and went spinning, before rocketing into the ground.

When Nappa lifted his head, Turles was hovering in front of him, apparently not moving a muscle.

"That had to be some measurable amount of time, although I don't know if any computer would be able to detect it. Once you can make it an hour, then we'll start, okay?" He slowly began to rise once more, stopping near the top of the chamber. "Wake me up when you succeed, or a few hours have gone by. You're not the only one I have to train, you know?"

Later, in the same chamber

Four Turles hovered with their backs against the wall of the gravity chamber. Directly between them, Raditz slowly rotated. A blindfold covered the younger Saiyan's eyes, and a pair of ear plugs cut off his hearing. In unison the group of Turles raised their hands, slowly. Pushing their energy upward, each formed a ball of ki.

When the first Turles released his energy blast, large but light, Raditz snapped to face it. Ducking behind his arm he caught the blast on his elbow. The energy harmlessly washed over him, masking the approach of the second attack, which curled around him before slamming into the base of his spine.

Raditz immediately pulled his ki out, clearing the air around him. The third blast was launched. It was quicker than the rest. He wouldn't have time to put up a block. Swinging around Raditz smashed his fist into the attack. It burnt his skin, but better his hand than his body.

The fourth attack was launched, brighter, denser, than the other three. Curling into a ball and rotating freely in space Raditz repositioning himself in relation to the ball of energy. Managing to keep his arms crossed in front of him, he resisted the attack, for a moment. Eventually, fairly quickly, the energy became too much and Raditz was forced backwards, colliding with the wall of the chamber.

Now being supported, he found it much easier to hold the attack at bay. Bringing his leg up, infusing it his foot with ki, he kicked out. Releasing another pulse of ki he managed to keep the intense energy at bay, washing above and below him, around him, and away from him.

A moment later, when the room was clear, he floated back into the center of the room. The sweat running from every inch of his body fell like hailstones.

…

Again blindfolded, again deafened, and again in the center of the room, Raditz stayed perfectly motionless. Turles energy was low, but present, and in a flash he'd be able to raise it far above anything Raditz was capable of. Tracking the more advanced warrior, Raditz tensed his muscles.

When Turles was within reach Raditz struck out with a right jab. His form was perfect, and his guard was up, he wasn't punished. Nor was he successful though, as he was still too slow, and his attack barely brushed Turles' armor.

Not giving up he stepped forward, swinging his left fist wide, once again brushing against Turles' armor. Pushing the attack, lightly, he followed his target around the room. Keeping his guard up, he had near miss after near miss.

A fire was ignited inside of him. He felt the energy Turles needed to dodge his blows, and he knew it was higher than when they first set out, and higher than last week, higher than yesterday. Everyday Raditz was getting stronger. Everyday Raditz was getting faster. Everyday Raditz was learning…

"Dead." Turles muttered as he delivered a punishing roundhouse kick to Raditz's side, sending him flying.

Raditz smashed into the wall, quickly being dragged down by extreme gravity to the bottom of the chamber. He let his mind wander, he got distracted, and he lowered his guard. This was offensive training, a time for Raditz to hone his senses, practice his attacks, and gain power… but that was no excuse for being sloppy. Dropping his guard in training could lead to dropping his guard during combat. A painful lesson now was better than a lethal one on the battlefield.

…

Raditz stood in a burnt desert, patiently waiting for the start of combat. Turles, a few dozen paces away, planted four seeds in the ground. Taking a vial from his pocket he watered each in turn. Nodding at Raditz, he seemingly vanished. A few moments later the four seeds had expanded, and a group of Saibamen burst from the ground.

Turles watched from above, willing himself invisible and intangible in the mindscape as Raditz brawled with his minuscule foes. The first time they did this exercise he only lasted a minute before being completely overwhelmed. The second time they toned it back, and Raditz was barely able to defeat a single Saibaman. Now, now he was almost holding his own against the squad.

While Raditz was stronger than any individual Saibaman, faster as well, he could only block so many attacks, he could only deliver so many strikes at a time. As he'd throw one Saibaman away from him, he'd be blasting a second, while a third raked its claws across his back, and the fourth grabbed onto his leg.

He'd then kick the one on his leg with his free foot. While he did that he'd wrench the arm of the one on his back and throw it to the ground. While he did that the other two would recover and lash out once again. He'd deal with them, while the other two recovered. He'd deal with them, as the other two recover. He'd deal with them, as the other two changed tactics.

Grabbing onto both his arms with both of their hands, they wrapped their legs around his. He fought to free himself, lashing out wildly, but couldn't shake off the creatures. He pulsed his ki, nothing. He built up his ki, preparing an Explosive Wave, but the other two were already on him.

One of the Saibaman attacked his face. It's talons ripped gouges from his forehead to his chin, cutting through his eyes and cheeks as it did so. The other went for his backside, biting onto his tail with all of its might. At the same time the second began thrusting small energy blasts into the small of Raditz's back, the back of his legs, and between them as well.

A moment later the two Saibamen on his arms and legs began to glow, and then it was over.

Later…

Several weeks had passed since Planet Ryder was freed. Turles had spent a majority of his time training his companions. With Nappa he worked on mental discipline and power control. With Raditz he focused on the basics, tactics, and power. He didn't spend much time training himself, as he felt it was more important to get the others close to his level first. As of now he couldn't think of a single member of Cold's former empire that could stand against him, while his teammates were still only around the level of an elite soldier. They were strong, but still not at the level they needed to be at.

While Nappa and Raditz took turns training with Turles, they also took turns manning the helm. Occasionally, but uncommonly, Raditz and Nappa would train together. When that happened, Turles would take control of the ship. It was on one such occasion that a message reached the ship.

They were on their way from Planet Ryder to what they expected to be the hub world of a new empire. One planet fell silent, followed by another, and another. By now nearly a dozen worlds have gone dark, all assumed to have been overtaken by the same shadow. When they neared the empire's void, a message began to come through.

"Flee." The message stated. "Do not fight. Do not resist. It is coming. It is too powerful. Flee. Survive."

The empire had been expanding out in a line, not omnidirectionally. The intent was to go to their seat of power, dethrone their leader, and follow their warpath, freeing the planets they captured as they suffer from a destroyed supply chain. But one word changed their course.

"Coming..." They hadn't been invaded yet, they were evacuating. They needed help.

Pressing the comm button on the captain's chair, Turles began broadcasting within the ship.

"Change of plan." He spoke into the gravity chamber. "They're either invading, or about to invade, another planet. We're going there, now."

A moment later a distant hum slowly lowered in tone as the training room powered down.

"How soon?" Nappa asked through the same comm system.

Taking a moment to respond, Turles let the computer do the work for him. The signal was continuing, and they were moving quickly enough that during the brief exchange the ship was able to triangulate a source. It was in line with the other planets.

"Twelve hours." He answered. "Cool down and then rest up, we're going to have a battle on our hands when we get there."

The distant hum fell silent as the gravity chamber was turned completely off.

"Do we know who the enemy is?" Raditz asked.

Turles turned his attention back to the message. Silence filled the air. Raising the volume, silence continued to emanate from the ship's speakers.

"Not a clue." He responded. Swiftly navigating through the computer's menus, he set autopilot and stood.

When Nappa and Raditz had completed their cool down, Nappa headed for the helm while Raditz headed to his bunk. Once dismissed, Turles went to the gravity chamber for some intensive image training, before calling it a day and heading to bed as well. When he got there Raditz was getting up, preparing to take over for Nappa.

Once the twelve hours had passed, everyone was rested, and the planet was visible through the massive front windows, the Saiyans gathered in the helm.

"What can you tell us?" Turles asked Nappa from the captain's chair.

"Not much, Turles." He answered with frustration in his voice. "This planet wasn't worth capturing by the Frieza Force, and was just glossed over. Its inhabitants were left alone to fight among themselves, previously."

Turles scrunched his eyes shut for a moment. It didn't really matter, not knowing what they were going in to, but any information would be better than no information. "What do we know about the inhabitants then?"

"Again, not much." Nappa's eyes scanned the display. "There were two dominant species, unnamed by the Frieza Empire, that occupied two different major landmasses on the planet. Looks like they spent most of their time warring against each other, but on a very primitive level. Both are listed as barely sentient."

Turles nodded before turning his attention elsewhere. "And Raditz, what can you tell me about the current status?"

Raditz looked over his shoulder at Turles, before returning to his station. "Still two landmasses, obviously." He sighed at himself. "The southernmost one is barely populated. We've got a few dozen small clusters of energy, villages. I'd say average power level of twenty or so. It looks like there's a squad of high-powered soldiers currently engaging in combat, average power level of three or four thousand. On the northernmost landmass, we've got one large cluster of life, average about the same as the rest, with a few sitting in the five thousand-range."

Turles furrowed his brow. "When you say a few in the northern city, how many are you talking about?"

Raditz scrolled a wheel on his computer. "It's hard to tell for certain, they're all close together and the ship isn't liking that. I'd say five, maybe six."

Turles let out a slow breath. Crap. "And to the south? How many in that squad?"

"Twenty plus." Raditz answered immediately. "No more than thirty."

Turles pondered his options as the blue and brown planet grew in their window. Both Nappa and Raditz have come a long way from where they had started, but neither could hope to fight those kinds of numbers alone.

If he were to send them to the south, they'd be overrun. Raditz could stand his own against a few enemies at that strength, but twenty plus? No, he'd die. Nappa could probably take them by surprise, kill half of them while they were regrouping, but he'd meet the same fate as Raditz.

If he sent them to the north, Raditz would be at an extreme disadvantage. He could fight at that level, one on one, but that'd be about it. Nappa wouldn't be able to steamroll them either, but he'd be able to work through them all, as long as they didn't gang up on him.

Jointly, sending them both to the south would be a disaster. Sending them north though, Nappa could focus his attention on one soldier at a time, while Raditz distracted the rest. Raditz was fast enough, had enough tricks up his sleeves, and could keep their attention on him. Nappa was strong enough he could take them out… then Turles could head south, wipe out that group, and join them to the north.

Alternatively, he could just land to the south. Send Nappa and Raditz north to get started, and catch up as soon as he was done with the larger attack group. He may even beat them there. But that would leave the civilians to the north undefended for too long.

No. It was riskier to split up here, but their first priority was the safety of the noncombatants. Their lives weren't a priority. But, if anyone dies on this planet, there would be less people to fight on the next. They needed to play it safe, losing half the population of a hundred planets was better than losing none of one, and everyone on the next ninety-nine… they'd stick together…

"Alright." Turles said as he took manual control of the ship. "We're going to leave the ship near the southern shore of the northern landmass. You two will work as a team against the higher-powered enemies. Nappa, you will be responsible for a majority of the combat. Raditz, you'll be responsible for making sure he's not ganged up on. Nappa, kill the enemy is quickly as possible. Raditz, don't die, and don't let Nappa die. I'll race to the south, take care of that group down there, and rejoin you as quickly as possible. Hopefully you'll be finished by the time I get to you. If not, I'll mop up. Understood?"

"I feel so safe with Raditz watching my back." Nappa said dryly, intentionally holding back the sarcasm.

"Shut it, Nappa." Turles said. "And, Nappa, let's not have a repeat of Planet Ryder. There are a lot less enemies, and you two should have no issue drawing them up or away from the city. Minimal casualties, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes." Raditz said without hesitation.

"Sure." Nappa growled. "Minimal casualties."

On planet:

The trio once again left their ship. Nappa first, then Raditz, then Turles. Exchanging few words, they split up. Nappa and Raditz would race north, as non-stealthily as possible. They would draw the enemy away from the population center, and engage them then. Turles would head south, holding back as much power as possible as to not scare the enemy away, destroy them, and race north under full power. Once clear of the ship, they split up.

Turles felt out with his ki sense, and quickly locked on to the migrating soldiers. They didn't seem to be in combat at the moment, but were instead moving from one village to the next. Pushing his power perhaps a little higher than he should have, Turles moved to intercept them. He quickly left land behind as he shot towards the southern landmass.

It was a small planet when compared to most of the others he had been on, but it was still massive. It took him roughly ten minutes to cross the ocean, and about another two before he began to close on his target. Throwing his senses backwards he tried to see if the other Saiyans had begun their battle yet, and they hadn't. That was good, the longer it took them to start, the better chance they'd have of him getting involved. That was bad, every minute they weren't attacking the enemy, the enemy would be attacking the locals.

Lowering his power further, and dropping nearly to the ground, Turles covered the last few miles. The terrain was no longer flat jungle, but instead rose into rolling, grass covered, hills. Rising and falling sharply, the ground almost appeared to be green waves. After just a minute of this new setting, Turles found who he was looking for.

A group of over two dozen aliens, as diverse as any other he'd ever seen, were flying ahead of him, eastward. Their leader, a tall, light green, man was several body lengths ahead of the rest, who firmed a tight formation behind him. While no two were the same species, they all wore the same armor, Saiyan armor, black with gold, complete with the traditional crimson trident and crescent. Turles didn't know who these people were, but they would pay.

Slowly he let his anger rise, but kept his power in check for now. Charging forward he appeared in front of the group. His open palm faced them. He could easily just launch one ki wave, slow, wide, and heavy, turning them to dust. But no, he'd look these ones in the eye as he ripped their hearts out. The Saiyans were back, the Saiyans were changing, and that symbol was not theirs to use.

Their leader was slow to react, barely managing to stop before running into Turles. His goons weren't much better, having to pull themselves out of a tangled mess of limbs before regaining their formation.

The leader's face quickly flashed from being startled indignance. "Look, boys, an off-worlder." He tapped his scouter, which immediately beeped in his ear. "Fifteen hundred. Pathetic."

"I don't have a scouter." Turles said. "But you're, what, three thousand each? Maybe four thousand? PATHETIC!"

The leader raised a purple eyebrow. "Who do you think you are, calling us pathetic? I'm going to..."

Turles flared his aura, letting his power crash out and flood over the battlefield. The enemy scouters beeped madly before bursting on their wearer's ears. He loosened his tail around his waist, and let it curl to his side.

"I am Turles. I don't care what you think you're going to do, because you're going to die." Borrowing a technique from Turles he brought his pointer and middle fingers together in front of him, focusing his energy. Slowly, he curled his pointer finger in.

The men in front of him looked at each other, uncertainty abound. The leader acted first, dropping to one knee. "Saiyan?"

"Saiyan." Turles confirmed as he continued to build his power. "And that's my people's armor. That's my people's symbol."

"We are bringing back the glory of the Saiyan Empire." The leader said, putting his right hand on his heart, over the emblem.

"Very good for you." Turles snapped his hand down, centering a massive, white, Explosive Wave on himself.

"I'm not." He said as the energy carried outward, reducing the troop in front of him to dust.

Rising into the air he kept his power high and locked on to the energies up north. Nappa and Raditz were there, next to the enemy, but they weren't battling. What was going on?

In the city to the north

As Nappa and Raditz grew closer to the city to the North, they both instinctively lowered their power levels until they'd read as nothing more than livestock on the enemies scouters. Neither knew why, but as the once thriving metropolis came into view both of their stomachs sank. They understood the challenge that was ahead, the power of the foes they would face, and how they could be overwhelmed, but something, something deep lurked just out of reach.

Raditz began to slow as they barely flew over the city's ancient border wall. "Nappa, wait." He spoke quietly as he dropped to the ground just inside the city limits. To his surprise, Nappa touched down beside him, not raising a fuss.

"What is it?" The elder Saiyan asked. "Why are we stopping, Raditz?"

The typical venom Raditz expected before a battle was nowhere to be heard.

Raditz took a deep breath before speaking. He knew he was going weak, but he was about to confirm it for his former commanding officer.

"Something seems, off." He slowly said, forcing the words out of his dry mouth.

Nappa forced a barely present smirk. "You're not afraid of a little battle, are you?"

Raditz narrowed his eyes, every cell in his body wanting to agree. "No, it's not that."

His mouth was suddenly moist once again, as the urge to vomit rolled over him. He was making a mistake. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be on this planet, he shouldn't be with Nappa and Turles, he wasn't a fighter, not like this.

"Because we can go back to Turles if you're afraid?" Nappa tried to sneer, but couldn't hide the little gleam of hope in his eye. He'd been in countless battles. He'd fought countless enemies on his own level, and higher. He'd survived them all… most of them, and while he was anxious before his first mission under Prince Vegeta, he'd never been afraid.

Raditz shook his head, already regretting the disagreement before he even spoke the word.

"No, we can't stop now." He swallowed, both his fear, and to dry his mouth. "I don't know why they haven't started the purge yet, but they could any moment. We have to stop this before it starts."

Nappa internally cursed his luck. Why did he have to pick now to grow a spine?

"Good." He slammed a nod. "Now, let's get moving again. Hopefully for your sake, Turles will be here soon."

Turning his back to Raditz he began running towards the center of town. He could have flown, he could have blasted a path between himself and the other high power levels, but that would be too quick, it would be over by the time Turles arrived if he did that.

A few minutes later, the two Saiyans had regretfully found their way to a main street, along with a growing number of locals. While the natives were completely indistinguishable from one another due to heavy robes that covered nearly their entire bodies, a haze of fear was thick in the air. Nappa and Raditz were completely ignored as they were swept along with the crowd. They could have flown up into the air, they could have blown up the street, they could have done something, but anything would have drawn attention to them, and neither wanted to do that.

Shuffling along with the swelling crowd, they were eventually deposited. A large open parade ground. Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of locals were already gathered, and there was no sign their gathering would slow down.

As the crowd reached capacity the caped man drew to his feet. Skulking forward he ran his one remaining eye over the mass assembled before him. Stepping to the edge of the stage, flanked on either side by three kneeling locals, he grinned.

"WELCOME!" His voice boomed.

"For countless generations you have been locked in a bloody civil war with your neighbors to the south." Silence range out as he paused. "Today marks the end of the war! An end to the deaths of your fathers, your brothers, your sons, over a little, insignificant, rock!"

A subdued applause came from the group.

"Right now, my men, my soldiers, are slaughtering every last man, woman, and child, that opposed you!"

The applause came to an abrupt end as gaps replaced them.

"We have descended from the heavens. We have saved your inferior race. We have chosen you. You, are in our debt!"

The edges of the crowd began to thin as locals began to flee.

"As one last act of charity..." he drew energy into both of his hands "... I will free you from the tyrants who profited off your meaningless suffering!" In a flash he shot a blast to either side, decapitating the kneeling aliens. No blood fell from their limp bodies. Their detached hoods fell, empty, to the ground."

"Now, your lives may have meaning! Now, you may be productive! Now, you serve the glorious New Saiyan Empire! And I, Paragus, am your king!"

He received no reaction.

Lowering his gaze to the nearest row of civilians, he uttered one word. "Cheer."

Obediently, they did so.

Author's note: Nothing to say here. We'll see you next chapter.