Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Edited by: StevenBodner and SparkerLightning

Chapter 109: The Galaxy Soldiers

Back with Bulma's group...

Terrified screams and shouts echoed all throughout Gyosan Mane Island as the sights of the various martial artists corpses filled the screens. As everyone around them began to panic, Bulma's group was more confused than anything. Bulma stared up at the various invaders and cocked her head. "Their skin is bluer than my hair...do we know them?"

She looked back at the various warriors present. Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo all had nothing. Even Gine, experienced with various alien races, was at a loss. Piccolo sneered. "Whoever they are, they're not weaklings. Each of them is easily more powerful than Frieza ever was. And who knows whether they're suppressing any sort of power or not..."

The Namekian's face was twisted with fury. He glared from screen to screen, his focus especially locked onto Pamput and King Chappa's bodies. Gine frowned. "Is something the matter, Piccolo?"

Piccolo gripped his fists. "Two of those fighters are people my father had murdered before. They can't be wished back by the Earth's Dragon Balls."

The Namekian snarled and his eyes flashed, the screens all suddenly going black. Yamcha flinched. "Whoa!"

Piccolo motioned with his hands. "We need to get moving! Chiaotzu, I assume you're going to join up with Tien?"

Chiaotzu nodded. Piccolo nodded back. "Fine. You and I will head out. Yamcha! Gine! Android 16! I assume you three can sense all of the other power levels rushing towards this island right now?"

Android 16 spoke up. "Indeed. I am calculating roughly 50,000 of them descending upon this place."

Piccolo growled. "We don't know how many people on this island were victims of King Piccolo, Cell, or the Saiyans. We need to make sure that not a single one dies. It's up to you three to put a stop to anything those bastards try! And then, once they're gone, you need to find an isolated spot and dig graves."

Yamcha flinched. "F-For the martial artists that were slain?"

Piccolo ripped off his cape and cowl, tossing them to the ground. "No. We have the Namekian Dragon Balls for them. These graves are for those murderous scumbags that have dared to invade our planet!"

And then, without another word, Piccolo took off in a furious rage. Chiaotzu rocketed off in another direction, going to assist Tien. Gine cocked her head. "He's in a mood, huh?"

Yamcha nodded. "Y-Yeah. He doesn't show it a lot, but the things King Piccolo did do bother him when people bring them up..."

Suddenly, Bulma shouted. "GODDAMMIT!"

Everyone turned to look at the pregnant scientist. Bulma looked furious. "I always tell Vegeta to charge his phone and he never does! I can't reach him!"

Chi-Chi sighed and pocketed her phone. "I just remembered that Goku's phone got eaten by a fish...that got eaten by a bird...that got eaten by a dinosaur...that got eaten by Goku..."

Blonde Launch shook her head. "Raditz has been keeping his phone on silent. He's never in the mood to talk to people anymore..."

Gine rolled her eyes. "Typical. Bardock threw his phone at a wasp that was in the den and smashed it to pieces. Also, the phone broke apart too. But perhaps there's an alternate person we could call. We don't have any Senzu Beans. So if you and Suno could call Yajirobe and get some, that would be a big help, Bulma."

Suno looked worried. "Are you guys going to be okay?"

Android 16 removed his suit jacket, rolling up his sleeves and adjusting his sunglasses. Gine cracked her neck and took on a fighting stance. Yamcha joined in as well, as did Chi-Chi to the desert bandit's surprise. Ox-King looked nervous, but he took off his hat and sighed. "I guess I could fight a bit too..."

Blonde Launch chuckled, pulling a machine pistol out of her jacket and racking it. "That's the spirit, pops. 50,000 is a lotta punks to deal with, we're all gonna have to pull our weight~"

The various, rag-tag fighters lined up and glared at the sky, watching as a swarm of foes appeared over the skyline. Wasting no time, Android 16 and Yamcha took to the sky and rushed towards the foes. The battle was on for Gyosan Mane Island!

Over with Bardock...

Bardock leapt back with a nonplussed look as another sword swing harmlessly sailed by his head. The sheer force of the swing launched off behind Bardock and cleaved an entire building in half. Bardock snorted and rushed in, elbowing his opponent in the jaw. Gokua stumbled back, looking annoyed, and then rushed in again. He was swinging like a madman. A precise madman, but a madman nonetheless. Bardock continued to dodge and evade with little care, rolling his eyes and blocking a strike from the sword with the shoulder strap of his armor. The strap snapped in half, but Bardock easily charged in and kneed Gokua in the chest. Gokua went skidding back and snarled at Bardock. Bardock adjusted his wrist sleeves. "So, Kogu..."

Gokua snapped. "GOKUA!"

Bardock shrugged. "Whatever, Kogu. So, have you had enough yet? Ready to admit surrender and be on your way?"

Gokua sneered. "And miss the opportunity to gain vengeance on you? You're dreaming!"

Bardock rolled his eyes. "Still don't know who you are..."

Gokua roared. "You'll know when I slice my name directly onto your back!"

The Saiyan chuckled. "Pretty attached to that sword of yours, huh?"

Gokua screamed and lunged at Bardock again, ready to slice him in half. Bardock shook his head. "You figure you'd be better at using it."

Bardock ducked a swing of the sword and then rose up, getting right in Gokua's face. He reached over and grabbed Gokua's right fist, squeezing it hard around the handle of the blade and keeping both of them extended out. Gokua grunted in anger and Bardock smirked. "You're right-handed, right? So, that's your dominant blade hand. So, what are you gonna do if I just decide to deprive you of that, huh?"

Gokua snarled and tried to snatch his hand free, but he couldn't even make it budge. Bardock laughed. "Sorry junior, you aren't stronger than me. And you certainly aren't going to beat me with this sword of yours. I've met a better sword master than you that was no more than a teenager. You're nothing compared to him~"

The blue-skinned warrior opened his mouth to speak, but Bardock plowed him across the face with a punch. And then an elbow to the throat. Gokua coughed and wheezed out a furious statement. "Treacherous scum...we'll have your head for what you've done to us..."

Bardock was getting annoyed. "Are you deaf or just plain stupid? We've never met before!"

Gokua responded to that by shouting. "SHIGYA! NIKUJI! HANZAI! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THREE WAITING FOR?!"

Suddenly, three ki bolts came launching at Bardock's back. Bardock released Gokua's hand and jumped into the air to avoid being struck. Gokua retreated back and glared up at his subordinates. "If you see I'm in trouble, why don't you act?!"

The male subordinate, Hanzai, scratched his head. "You normally yell at us when we but in."

The larger female, Shigya, shrugged. "So, we try to wait for your command like good henchmen..."

The shorter female, Nikuji, spoke bluntly. "Also, if you die, Master Bojack would give one of us your position. So no offense, Master Gokua, but none of us would be that upset it this guy offed you..."

Gokua sneered. "You backstabbing little-"

Suddenly, Bardock fell from the air, his foot landing on top of Gokua's right fist and driving it into the ground. Gokua screamed as he heard the sounds of bones snapping. "Agh! Oh! Oh god! Oh my god!"

Bardock chuckled as blood oozed out from beneath his boot. "You're talking about slicing up my back, and yet you have a ton of knives in yours~ Boy, that sucks, huh?"

Gokua was frustrated, knowing that his dominant hand was pretty much dead. He loosened his grip on his sword and a vein popped out of his head. "How dare you mock me...?!"

And then, to Bardock's surprise, Gokua reached out with his left hand, grabbing the sword by the blade, and thrust it upwards right at Bardock's face. The sword finally hit its target, slicing into Bardock and sending an arc of blood flying out. Bardock stumbled back. Gokua stood and gripped his sword. "I'm ambidextrous, asshole!"

Bardock chuckled. "Ah~?"

He glared down his nose at Gokua, blood gushing from the slicing wound going across his face. Bardock stuck his tongue out and lapped up just a bit of the blood. "That's neat~"

Gokua was unnerved. With a sneer, he turned to his traitorous comrades and shouted. "Get your asses down here and help me! Once we kill this bastard, we can sort out the differences between ourselves! But, if we don't get rid of him, he'll kill all four of us!"

The three onlookers turned to one another, but then they all jumped down and stood by Gokua's side. Bardock cocked his head. "So that's how it is, huh? And here I thought your petty grudges would save me some effort..."

Nikuji smirked. "Even if we have our personal disagreements, the People of Hera stand beside one another against all outsiders~"

Shigya punched her fist into her palm. "And, as members of the Galaxy Soldiers, it wouldn't do to have a punk like you making us look bad!"

Hanzai pulled out a trench knife. "We're gonna slaughter you, man!"

Bardock cocked his head. "People of Hera? Galaxy...Soldiers...?"

He groaned and face-palmed. "Ugh...you people are so lame. You're like those dumbasses that name their swords, like that makes them stronger or something..."

Gokua snarled and raised his sword up high. "My blade does have a name! It is called Ressh-"

Bardock sped forward and slapped his hand over Gokua's face. He rolled his eyes. "I don't care!"

And then, with a strong kiai, Gokua was sent crashing back through a nearby window. Before the other three could respond, Bardock was already in action. He threw his fist towards Hanzai, but Shigya quickly rushed in and smacked it away. Using her rippling muscles, the large woman slammed both fists down to crush Bardock, but only managed to strike empty ground.

Having leapt above her, Bardock rained down with a heavy knee that drove Shigya's face into the ground. Nikuji came rushing in, charging a blast in her hand, but Bardock was quick to react. He ripped Shigya's face from the ground and used her as a shield against Nikuji's attack. With the blast safely defended against, Bardock drove his fist through the smoke and delivered a gut-check so strong it made Nikuji heave. As she stumbled back, Hanzai rushed in. "You won't survive being hit by these, chimp! My trench knife is called-"

Bardock kneed Hanzai under the chin, shattering his teeth. He grabbed the Galaxy Soldier by the nose and leapt up, kicking him hard in the chest and sending him flying back. Bardock snapped. "I already said I don't care about your weapon-naming bullshit! Quit trying to distract me with nonsense!"

Shigya cried out. "If not nonsense, then how about this!"

Bardock turned and watched in a bit of surprise as Shigya heaved an entire house at him. The massive building threatened to fall from the sky and crush Bardock, but Bardock simply blasted it to pieces with little fanfare. Shigya came rushing through the dust and debris with her fist drawn, but was surprised to find that Bardock wasn't there. Bardock quickly came rushing in from behind and kicked her hard in the back of the head, sending her slamming into a street sign and forcing it to bend over.

Nikuji, having recovered, tried to sneak attack Bardock from behind, but the older Saiyan quickly turned and sent her crashing back to the ground with a palm thrust to the chest. Hanzai then took his second shot at Bardock, but was easily dispatched with a kiai. Bardock put up his fists and began to dancing in place, throwing a few mock punches and wiping his thumb across his nose. "Come on, boys and girls, come on. I mean, I know I'm not the most challenging foe you fought today, I'm not a geriatric or anything like that...but you could put in some effort, ya know?"

Suddenly, from the shattered window, Gokua came lunging once more. His hand now firmly splinted with wood and torn fabric, the sword-wielding Galaxy Soldiers blade was glowing with bright, red light. He brought the blade down at the back of Bardock's head, but Bardock caught the tip with his thumb and index finger. The Saiyan turned. "Oh, Kogu's back~"

Gokua sneered. "GOK-"

Bardock leapt into the air and kicked Gokua right across the face, making him spin in place. And then, before Gokua could stop spinning, Bardock tossed in another punch and caught him hard in the ribs. Gokua went flying, dropping his sword in the process, and crashed into the front of another building. Bardock began to walk forward, but then stopped to pick up and examine the blade. Gokua quickly got back to his feet, looking around for his sword but then sneering at the sight of Bardock looking it over. "DAMNED SCIENTIST! UNHAND MY RESSHO AT ONCE!"

Bardock flinched. "Scien..."

And quickly, his face contorted into a mask of anger. He glared over at Gokua and snarled. "I don't know where you got the idea to call me that from, but congrats, Kogu...YOU'VE SUCCESSFULLY PISSED ME OFF!"

And then, in an explosion of gold light, Bardock's Super Saiyan form burst forth. Ressho, the sword in his hand, quickly reacted. The blade turned a gleaming gold and then began to radiate energy. It was practically humming as Bardock began to march towards its owner. "I'm going to smash you into pieces for daring to call me that!"

Gokua shouted. "Just try to, punk! I-"

Bardock rushed forward and slammed his foot right into Gokua's midsection. The sound of crackling bones and splintering ribs echoed out and Gokua was immediately sent flying back not only through the building he was standing in, but through several more behind it. The Galaxy Soldier gasped, sitting up and gripping his aching chest.

He glared through his blurry vision and saw that Bardock was marching towards him with purpose. Moving without thinking, Gokua reached down to a satchel hanging off of his waist and wrapped his hand around a small, glass bottle full of some kind of liquid. But then, a deep, booming voice rang out in his mind.

"If you waste this blessing that we've taken, I will personally kill all four of you. Understand?"

Gokua sneered. "No... I can't...but, what do I...?"

He wheezed as he stood. "I... I have to find someone to tell about all of this. Someone to...to help me kill this guy..."

And then, he called out. "SHIGYA! NIKUJI! HANZAI!"

Bardock came to a halt, watching as the three subordinates all landed around Gokua. He gripped the handle of the sword tight, preparing to be rushed by all four at once. Hanzai gripped his fists tight and glared at Bardock. "What are we doing here, Gokua? How are we gonna kill this guy?"

Shigya's muscles bulged. "We'll crush him together!"

Nikuji smirked. "A united front~"

Gokua nodded. "Yeah, about that..."

And then, without taking even a second to reconsider, Gokua turned around and went flying as fast as he could in the opposite direction. "HANDLE THIS GUY WHILE I GO GET ZANGYA!"

All three of the remaining Galaxy Soldiers, as well as Bardock, were left stunned silent and in utter disbelief as Gokua vanished into the distance. Bardock blinked a few times. "Ooooookay then..."

But then, the warrior's guard was right back up as the three underlings surrounded him. The three of them glowered at him with truly hateful glares. Shigya spoke. "Your presence is making our commander upset..."

Bardock rolled his eyes. "And don't you want him to die?"

Nikuji spoke up. "Irrelevant. Gokua is an extension of Master Bojack's will. If he's upset, then Master Bojack is upset. And that, we can't abide by!"

Hanzai cracked his knuckles. "You've spooked Master Gokua into going and getting another one of our commanders. When they return, you're gonna die. Unless, of course, we kill you first~"

Bardock snorted. "Yeah, cuz that went so well last time, huh?"

The three of them smirked and then Shigya spoke. "We might not have the Sacred Kaio Water, but we still have our own reserves of strength!"

And then, with a shout, all three of the warriors let loose their full power. Bardock nodded with a whistle. "Oh wow~! You three are about as strong as Frieza! Look at you go~"

The three of them put on proud sneers, but then Bardock quickly burst their bubbles. "Now hold on a minute, I think you're misunderstanding...that wasn't a compliment!"

A massive vein bulged from Shigya's head and she lunged forward with an angry snarl. "He is mine!"

Bardock smirked and gripped the sword with both hands, rushing right back at Shigya. "Eat your heart out, Trunks..."

Over with Tien...

Tien blocked a massive blow with his upper arm, shoving back and throwing out three precise strikes of his own. His opponent did not dodge, rather deflecting two of the strikes with his fists and taking the third one to the chest. And then, with a massive amount of force behind it, Bido threw a punch forward. Tien scowled and raised his arm again to block the punch. But, at the last moment, Bido's fist changed trajectory and struck the three-eyed warrior right in the elbow joint. Tien scowled and leapt back, avoiding a second over-head punch that would have driven him into the ground.

Tien glared at Bido and Bido glared right back, snorting like a bull and sending hot air out of his nose. Tien sighed and thought to himself. 'This guy's temperament is that of a brawler, and yet...'

The warrior's joints where he had been struck were twitching. Even the more nebulous spots where he had taken a blow were alight with a unique kind of pain. Tien swallowed a lump in his throat. 'Each strike is targeted. Whether it be at the weakness of a joint or over the high-tension point of a particular muscle, he's not only hitting hard but he's trying to tear me apart...'

Bido pounded his chest. "Well?! Come along! We have a fight to continue!"

Tien gritted his teeth and rushed forward. "EAT THIS! CRANE STYLE: COUNTED OVERHAND STROKE!"

The warrior rushed in and performed the technique flawlessly, jabbing Bido at several pressure points across his chest and then end it with a strike. Bido flinched as he felt the flow of energy within distort. His chest began to expand...but then the thug smiled wide. He let loose a massive belch and the distorted energy came blasting out of his mouth. And then, he harshly clapped his hands on the sides of Tien's head and sent the three-eyed warrior flying back with a hardy punch to the nose. As Tien went flying, Bido was suddenly right there. He twisted his fist and then delivered a solid right jab to Tien's flank, the angle of his fist serving to strike multiple ribs at once. Tien coughed up blood and then was punched by Bido's left fist, driving him into the sand. Bido leapt back and punched his fists together. "Well?! Come along then. Stand up and fight!"

Tien stood with a scowl, glaring at Bido. "Do you find enjoyment in this?! The suffering, the mayhem...the fact that you murdered that fellow who stood no chance against you in cold blood?"

Bido laughed a hearty laugh. "Of course! What other reason is there to live than for personal satisfaction?! I have worked hard for this strength, why should I not use it how I like?! The man that I call master, whom I have known since we were both quite small, has asked me to take my talents and use them how I see fit! So that is what I set out to do!"

He cocked his head. "And don't get all high and mighty with me. That'll force this fight of ours to leave a bad taste in my mouth. I can tell by the look in your eyes that you are no stranger to exploiting your own power for bloodshed. So, why not drop the act and just fight?!"

Tien bowed his head, thinking about the dark time in his life of serving Master Shen and Mercenary Tao. But then, he thought long and hard about how his life had changed since he befriended Goku and Master Roshi. Tien glared at Bido and wiped blood from his mouth. "I am nothing like you."

Bido flinched, his smile briefly leaving his face. At that moment, Tien's eyes snapped wide open and he thrust his finger forward. "SUPER DODON RAY!"

The beam crashed into Bido's chest, taking him off of his feet. At that moment, Tien held his hand aloft and threw another attack. "Destructo-Disc!"

As the deadly disc went flying forward, Tien sighed. 'Sorry to steal your technique without permission, Krillin. But-'

Bido smirked. And then, rearing his fist back, he threw forward a punch and smashed the Destructo-Disc to pieces. Tien flinched in shock. Bido chuckled. "Well, there it was~"

Tien flinched. Bido chuckled. "Come now, are you not going to pretend like that wasn't what I was talking about?! You used your powers how you saw fit. You caught me off-guard and seized the moment. You could have killed me! But, more importantly, you would have killed me!"

The three-eyed warrior snarled. "I never denied that I would do such a thing! And don't think I won't try again against an evil being like you! KAIOKEN TIMES 60!"

Tien exploded with power and red aura, making the sands go flying and almost kicking up a sandstorm in the process. The warrior rushed forward and drove his knee right into Bido's nose. The thug's head snapped back and blood erupted from his nostrils. Tien followed up that brutal knee with a cross-chop to the throat that drove Bido into the sand and then a stomp to sink him even lower. Tien leapt back and Bido struggled to his feet, but then Tien lunged in again to deal more punishment. Bido's body was assaulted from every direction by jabbing strikes, Tien moving fast enough that it appeared as if he had hundreds of arms. He went in for one last punishing kick, but then a fist shot forward and cracked right under Tien's jaw.

Bido smirked, blood dripping from between his teeth, and then he and Tien were back at it. Precise jabbing strikes were met on equal measure by the precise punching of a pro-boxer. The two of them continued their individual assaults until they connected with one another's face, sending each other plowing backwards through the sand. The two rushed one another again and, this time, their fists met in the middle, creating a shockwave that blew them both off of their feet. Tien stood and looked down at his fist, finding his knuckles shattered.

Bido stood and his arm hung limp. "Ah, you've dislocated my shoulder..."

Tien was uncaring, ripping a piece of fabric from his shirt and wrapping it tightly over his fist. Bido, meanwhile, held up his still functional fist. Tien watched as the red stone embedded into the glove on Bido's hand began to spark with energy. And then, with a massive punch and a crackling sound, the warrior managed to force his shoulder back into place. Tien was in awe. Bido chuckled. "I see you are curious about my gloves. Well, I like you as someone to kill...so I might as well explain..."

He splayed out his hands. "You see, we Galaxy Soldiers hail from a race known as the People of Hera. From a young age, we are encouraged to pour our energy and spirit into a special stone that comes from the lakebed of the Spring of Vitality. And then, once we come of age to become warriors, we embed that stone into a closely held effect of our choice and it allows us to focus ourselves into that effect and access even higher levels of power!"

Bido gripped his fists, two halves of the same red jewel glowed from their place, embedded into the leather of his gloves. "These gloves were gifted to me by my oldest friend! They resonate with me! Their names are Donteki and Gaisho! And they allow me to punch with the strength of my raging soul!"

The thug grinned from ear-to-ear. "The only way for a punk like you to beat me would be for your spirit to prove stronger than mine: a genuine impossibility!"

Tien sighed. "I wouldn't be too confident. I've been training in martial arts since I was two-years-old when my parents died. My soul burns quite bright!"

Bido chuckled. "How old are you?"

Tien sneered. "34."

Bido laughed out loud. "Ah, I see! Quite the old soul indeed. And yet, I still have you beat~"

Tien flinched. Bido smirked. "I am 12,000 years old."

And then, with speed and fury, Bido lunged forward. "AND I PLAN TO BEAT THAT EXPERIENCE INTO YOUR HEAD!"

Bido slammed his fist right against the side of Tien's head and a massive geyser of blood exploded out.

Over with Gohan...

Gently, Gohan sat the beaten form of Spike the Devilman on the ground. The Devilman, while horribly battered, was conscious enough to give a nod of thanks to the boy that had saved his life. Once Spike's safety was secured, Gohan leapt back out and faced down the little imp that had made the attempt on his life. Gohan glared. "So, do you have a name?"

The imp smirked. "Bujin."

And then, in a flash, Bujin cleared the space between himself and Gohan. He tossed a kick, but Gohan blocked it with his forearm. Bujin giggled. "You are fast, whelp."

Gohan looked unimpressed. "And you're impatient. Or...maybe you're just jumpy because you realize you're in over your head."

Bujin scoffed and tossed out another kick. Gohan ducked this one and then spiked Bujin up into the air like a volleyball. Bujin sped into the air with a surprised look on his face, but quickly halted his momentum and rubbed his sore back. "Ugh. Kids these days. So full of brim and vinegar..."

Bujin went into another fighting stance, but then Gohan spoke. "Hey. You should give up."

The little imp flinched. Gohan scratched the back of his head. "I'm not trying to be rude when I say that. On the contrary, I'm trying to save you some time and suffering. You're strong...at least as strong as 17 and 18 were when we met them. But, relatively speaking, that was a long time ago. You're, uh, outmatched..."

Bujin's upper lip twisted upward into an affronted scowl. "Little fool! You dare mock a Galaxy Soldier?!"

Gohan's eyes lit up. "You're called the Galaxy Soldiers?! That's so cool~"

Bujin flinched. Gohan's eyes were sparkling at the name. The boy spoke politely, but bluntly. "Look, you haven't killed anyone yet and we could keep it that way. You could tell me more about your Galaxy Soldier group and I could promise not to beat you senseless~! Do you guys, uh, have any cool poses or anything?!"

A vein streaked down from beneath Bujin's turban. He snarled. "Mouthy fledgling! You dare to mock me?!"

Bujin thrust both hands forward and charged a massive ki sphere. He snarled and began to fire. "Desolation Bullet!"

A storm of bright red ki blasts rained down on Gohan, but the boy simply began to smack them all away. The boy was pleading. "Come on! It's such a cool name! Let's not fight!"

Bujin sneered and thrust his finger towards Gohan's heart. "Finger Beam!"

The beam with shooting out at hypersonic speed. Gohan caught it with his palm and redirected it through the air, making it harmlessly crash behind himself. Bujin snarled and charged at the boy. "Damn you!"

He threw one kick, which Gohan blocked with his leg. He threw another, which Gohan deflected with his fist. He tried to throw a third, but Gohan simply hammerfisted Bujin in the side, slamming him to the ground and shattering his ribs. Bujin coughed and gagged, spitting up blood and Gohan looked down at his fist. "W-Whoops..."

Gohan knelt down and offered a hand in help. "Are you okay?"

Bujin snarled and leapt up. He tossed punch after punch at Gohan in an attempt to harm the boy. Gohan effortlessly dodged the attacks with a look of pity on his face. He caught Bujin's left fist, mid-punch, and then quickly seized the right as the Galaxy Soldier drew them back. Bujin sneered. "Unhand me!"

Gohan frowned. "J-Just stop, okay? You're not going to win like this."

Bujin snarled and his eyes began to glow. This would certainly catch this whelp off guard. Various pieces of carnival equipment raised up around Gohan, in his seeming blind spots. Bujin beckoned the structures forward to crush the boy, but Gohan sighed. "So, you're a psychic like Chiaotzu?"

Bujin gasped and Gohan simply punched him in the face. Blood erupted from Bujin's nose and all of the debris fell to the ground with a thud. Bujin snarled as he glared down at Gohan past his broken schnozz. "You...you little..."

But then, Bujin observed the damaged Devilman laying on the ground and adopted a wicked smirk. Gohan flinched and watched as Bujin extended his index fingers and they began to glow. Bujin cackled. "I wonder how you might fair with a broken spirit? Let's find out!"

The two beams fired, going quite fast. But then, to Bujin's shock, Gohan's hair suddenly lit up bright gold and his fists, moving faster than the eye could follow, smashed away the beams. Bujin stared in horror at his own reflection, staring back at him from Gohan's emerald eyes, and then Gohan clamped his hands over Bujin's chest. "MASENKO!"

The blast shot forward and drove Bujin from the top of the structure he and Gohan were standing on down to the ground below. The imp yelped as he crashed against the ground, his turban unraveling and flying off to reveal a bright red jewel embedded into the top of his head. As Bujin laid there, in pain, Gohan landed and glowered over him. "Do you surrender now?"

Bujin stared up at Gohan, seeing a cold steel to his eyes that wasn't there mere moments ago. The little imp instantly knew he was no match. "I do surrender! I solemnly swear that I do!"

Gohan narrowed his eyes. "And you mean it?"

Bujin rapidly nodded. "Yes, yes! Yes, yes! Look into my eyes, you will only see truth!"

Gohan glared into Bujin's eyes. And then, a crooked, triumphant grin spread across Bujin's face. His eyes went wide and he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Seishintekikutsu!"

The light that shined from Bujin's eyes melded with the light shining from the red jewel embedded into his head. And, like magic, Gohan's arms fell limp to his sides. The boy's pupils were still present, but they had gone totally white. Gohan stood there, Super Saiyan form still active and jaw slack. Bujin cackled, and then he punched Gohan right across the face. A trickle of blood oozed from the boy's lip and Bujin spoke. "Rather than place my Red Stone of Vitality into a mere object, I chose to have it grafted onto my own body. The result? Seishintekikutsu: my mind imprisonment technique!"

Bujin roughly grabbed Gohan's chin and shouted in his face. "How must it feel? Are you frightened?! It must be so hard for a young boy to be trapped all alone in his own head~"

Over with Krillin...

Krillin frantically yelped as he continued to dodge attack after attack from the mysterious femme fatale that had shown up in place of his expected opponent. Each of her attacks showed considerable might as she threw vicious physical strikes and attempted to punish Krillin and bring him down, but the fighter's shorter stature allowed him to evade.

Krillin dodged savage punch, after savage kick, after savage jab. The woman went for a chop and Krillin blocked it with his forearm, cringing at the sheer strength put behind it. This woman was a powerhouse, in spite of her lithe frame. Krillin leapt back and rubbed his sore arm. He stared at his opponent, taking into account her strength. If this was the limit of what she had to offer, and Krillin put in all of the effort her could muster...then he would probably be able to beat her so long as he was able to battle strategically. The problem was...

Krillin blushed and swallowed a lump in his throat. "Excuse me Miss... uh..."

She rolled her eyes, already knowing where this was going and getting annoyed. "Zangya."

Krillin nodded. "Miss Zangya. W-We don't have to fight here. Like, what you did to that man was unforgivable. But it's n-not too late to use the Dragon Balls and-"

Zangya let loose a guttural growl. "I swear, you men only come in two flavors..."

Krillin raised his hands. "N-No. I'm not trying to disrespect you. I just, I...uh..."

Zangya glared daggers at Krillin. "You sound just like that chump I murdered a few minutes ago. You don't WANT to fight a lady, is that it?! You think I'm beneath you because of what I've got between my legs?! Is that it?!"

Krillin gasped. "M-Ma'am, I swear that I'm not being arrogant! And it's nothing personal against you! It's just...a principle. Tournaments and sparring are their own beasts, but if I were to fight you after what you've done, I might be forced to...to...y-you know...I might be forced to-"

In a flash, Zangya cleared the distance between herself and Krillin. Even as short as Zangya was, she still towered over the monk. She stared down at him with cold eyes. "So, you've taken the chance to insult me twice, then?"

Krillin flinched. Zangya bent over, grabbed his fist, and drive it right into her cheek. She even twisted it for good measure. "Do you think I'm going to put up with this from you?! Pig-headed sexist! Arrogant fool! First you try to argue that you won't fight me because of my sex, and then you try to argue that you have a single, solitary chance at killing me?! Worthless midget! Stupid chromedome!"

Krillin shuddered. Zangya sighed, and then a wicked smile spread on her lips. "I granted that other fool a quick death when he dared to talk down to me. You? I don't think you deserve such a kindness~"

And then, the red gem on the clasp in Zangya's hair began to shine. An eerie red glow engulfed each strand of her hair and she spoke in a sing-song tone. "Face the power of my Kosatsu~"

Suddenly, Zangya's hair exploded out and rapidly ensnared Krillin. Unable to fight back against this sudden assault, Krillin cried out as the hair wrapped around his body and then pulled tight. Krillin was whipped about and tossed through the air, unable to get his bearings. He watched as he suddenly started plummeting to the ground, but then suddenly came to a stop. The monk was confused, until he looked back and found his hands and feet tightly hogtied with bright orange hair. Zangya smiled a sickeningly sweet smile and giggled. "Question for you, my little manlet, what's the worst pain you've ever experienced in your entire life?"

Krillin grunted and jerked at the hair that was holding him so tightly. "LET ME GO!"

Zangya kept the same honey-sweet look on her face, but her smile quickly cracked apart to a malicious grin. "I call this technique Sleeping Beauty, because you might feel a little prick~"

Krillin was taken aback. "Wha-"

And then, thousands of strands of Zangya's hair shot inward at him, piercing through his skin and sewing its way through his muscle tissues. Krillin shrieked in unimaginable pain and Zangya chuckled. "I love the screams of men, you know? Something about watching you pigs suffer. Something about watching all of that cocksure arrogance and bravado drain from your face as you die. It's all just so..."

Zangya opened her eyes a bit, as they rolled back. "...cruel~"

More strands of hair pierced into Krillin and he screamed even louder. "...sadistic~"

Zangya's hair threw Krillin into the air. And then, swirling around like the cords of a weed-whacker, the hair sliced into Krillin. Blood spurted from the various cuts and gashes that were dealt to the human as Zangya laughed. "So blissfully violent! But no one deserves any less! The universe is a cruel place, fool, and it's my pleasure to introduce you to that cruelty~"

As the crimson rain fell around her, Zangya simply allowed Krillin's lacerated carcass splattered against the ground. Krillin twitched and groaned, barely conscious. Zangya grabbed him by the neckline of his gi and yanked him up. "Now, all that's left is my favorite part. I..."

She was suddenly at a loss. "...I..."

Zangya stared at Krillin's face, seeing the spot between his eyes and mouth as a smooth, blank plane. Her eye twitched as she cocked her head. "Y-You don't have a nose?! But...how am I supposed to break your nose if you don't-"

Zangya gripped her fists tight as her hands began to tremble. "I..."

Suddenly, a voice cried out that broke Zangya out of her trance. "ZANGYA! HEY, ZANGYA!"

Zangya rolled her eyes and dropped Krillin to the ground. "This moron..."

As Zangya turned to face her comrade, Krillin stared through his blurry vision over at Pamput's discarded head. He saw that, in addition to the fear frozen in Pamput's eyes, the man's nose had been shattered and broken to the point it barely even resembled one anymore. Krillin groaned and tried to push himself up, but his muscles were shredded and he simply flopped back onto the ground.

Zangya, ignoring her former prey, marched up to her erstwhile comrade with a scowl. "You look like shit, Gokua. What happened?"

Gokua was having a bit of a struggle. He held his arm over his injured rib and groaned. "Look! I don't have time for your attitude, you stupid nymph! We've got a problem! He's here!"

Zangya knitted her eyebrows, planting her fists into her hips. "Not following."

Gokua sneered. "Him! Him!"

Zangya cocked her head. Gokua snarled. "I don't remember his damn name! I never even got to speak to him directly! But...the Saiyan! That Saiyan is here! And I..."

Gokua took in the incredulous look on Zangya's face. He shook his head. "He's way stronger than he was when we dealt with him! And that's even before his new transformation, Zangya! We need to put aside our differences and kill this guy!"

Zangya gritted her teeth. "The Saiyan is here?! What the hell are you talking about?! Even if he left the West Galaxy to come to the North, why the hell would that guy have chosen this planet out of all planets?! We chose this planet at random, Gokua! How in the hell could-"

Falling from the sky like a comet, a golden figure crashed into the ground on the outskirts of the flower garden and caused a massive explosion. Zangya and Gokua both turned to face the explosion, recoiling back from the force of the shockwave it let out. Krillin, unable to resist against the force, was sent flying into a patch of white tulips where he landed with a thud and a groan.

Gokua sneered. "Shit! What are those three doing?!"

Zangya glared. "Oh great, another hotshot..."

But then, once Zangya really took in the situation, her eyes went wide and she gasped in shock. This new warrior stepped out of the crater, gold energy wreathing him like flames and a wicked smirk spread across his face. Over his shoulder was Ressho, Gokua's stolen blade. The golden warrior taunted Gokua. "Yo, Kogu! You forgot your sword when you bitched out! Don't worry though, I put it to great use~"

Bardock shot a menacing glare towards Zangya and Gokua. And hanging off the sword slung over his shoulder were three recognizable corpses: Nikuji was skewered directly through the heart, Hanzai was skewered directly through the throat, and Shigya was stabbed through the roof of the mouth, the tip of the blade sticking out of the top of her head.

Bardock lick the stream of blood pouring down his face from his head wound and smirked. "It's been a while since I've felt like this! Let's keep this shit going~"

Back with Bulma's group...

The various Galaxy Soldier grunts landed among the terrified masses of Gyosan Mane Island and immediately went for blood. One of the thugs, with orange dreadlocks and a machete gripped tight, landed in the path of a terrified mother and her screaming toddler. The thug cackled. "Time to spill some goddamned bl-"

A massive shoulder crashed into the thug and smashed him through a window. The mother and her toddler both stared in shock. Their savior, a massive man with a flaming red mohawk, lifted his sunglasses and smiled at them both. "The escape ships are only a few blocks down. Please do be careful."

The mother nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "Bless you, sir!"

As she ran off, the thug that 16 rammed shakily got back to his feet. "Why...you..."

16 didn't even look at the guy, pulling off his right hand and unloading a battery of missiles onto the callous goblin. 16 clamped his hand back onto his wrist and walked away, leaving nothing but a burnt skid mark where the thug once stood. As 16 marched to his next target, adjusting his tie, Yamcha continued a fight high above. Not seeing a need for Kaio-Compression quite yet, the former bandit simply activated Kaioken Times 10 and started going hard against the Galaxy Soldiers' fodder.

16 grabbed one of the larger thugs by the head, flooding his entire body with energy and then tossing him in the air like a makeshift hand grenade catching several others in the blast and watching as their bodies fell into the waters of the nearby canal. 16 frowned and then activated his scanners, sweeping over the sky and trying to count how many there still were within a five-mile radius. As 16 scanned, a thug with a sword quickly rushed him from behind and cleaved him in two with the massive blade. 16's two halves started to fall apart, but then they both stayed themselves.

The thug yelped in fear as the two 16s turned their heads to him. He stammered. "Sh-Shouldn't you consider d-"

One 16 completely regrew the other half of his body, including the clothing, and turned his attention back to scanning the skies. The other simply grew half of a metal skeleton from his damaged half, the hand of the skeleton forming into a crude ion cannon. "You are a distraction."

A scream of terror and dying agony rang out behind 16 as he stared up at the sky. "Why is a planet as nice as the Earth always a target of unnecessary foolishness like this?"

Up in the air, Yamcha formed a Spirit Ball with each hand and tossed them towards his foes. The two orbs, under Yamcha's control, zipped from thug-to-thug, smashing them all with the density and force of a shot put before clubbing them harshly down to the ground below. A grunt holding a gun appeared next to Yamcha and pressed the barrel of his pistol into the bandit's ear. "Now, why don't you-"

Without a word and without breaking his attention from the Spirit Balls, Yamcha lifted his leg up and wrapped it over the guy's neck. And then, with a harsh pull, he snapped every bone in the guy's neck. As the thug fell to the ground below, Yamcha flinched. "Oh! Uh...Wolf...Fang...break-the-guys-neck...I dunno. Not everything has to be named, I guess..."

Then, suddenly, something happened that did break Yamcha's attention. A shrill scream from Suno immediately forced Yamcha's hand. He descended from the sky with a fury that few had seen from the former bandit before and stomped down onto the skull of a Galaxy Soldier that was daring to threaten his beloved wife. Suno cried out in joy, sparkles appearing in her eyes. "Yamcha~"

Yamcha wrapped his arms tightly around her. "Suno~"

The two of them longingly stared into one another's eyes, and then they could resist no longer and shared a passionate, fiery kiss amid the explosions and destruction going on around them. Bulma shuddered, a sickened look on her face. "Yuck..."

Blonde Launch laughed out loud. "Don't be such a prude, Bulms! Love is in the air~"

One of the Galaxy Soldiers lunged at Blonde Launch with a mace and she immediately filled him full of ki-charged lead. "And bullets! Lots of friggin' bullets!"

Bulma cocked her head. "Those are the guns that you and the Ranch from the future made, right?"

Blonde Launch smirked. "Yup! My twin machine pistols: Ranch and Daikon! With them by my side, I ain't got nothin' to fear!"

And then, as if to prove her point, Blonde Launch whipped around and shot three more Galaxy Soldiers dead as they fled in fear of her. As Suno and Yamcha's lips separated, Suno seemed concerned. "W-We're still the good guys here, right...?"

Yamcha gently reassured her. "Of course we are, babe. Some of us might be more aggressive, but-"

Chi-Chi's voice rang out. "DAD! HOLD YOUR PANTS OPEN!"

Everyone turned to a nearby Miguel giftshop and saw one hell of a scene. Chi-Chi was holding some poor woman from the Galaxy Soldier's by the hair. Without even a bit of hesitation, Chi-Chi used the woman's head to bust open a cash register. She picked up the money tray with a wicked smirk and immediately poured all of the stolen cash right into Ox-King's pants. Ox-King, who was holding "spare lockpicks" tightly in a headlock for his daughter, groaned. "Chi-Chi! Are you sure about this?! What if you're scene on camera?"

Chi-Chi laughed. "Oh Dad~ Piccolo is a good uncle, he destroyed all of the cameras so I could pilfer to my heart's content~"

Ox-King's shoulders slumped. "I'm not sure that's why Piccolo did that..."

Chi-Chi ignored her father and picked up a safe, using her "lockpick's" face to bust it open before tossing her aside. She dumped all of the stored money into her father's pants and cackled. Ox-King teared up. "When did my little princess become such a thug? It must be that you hang around with that Bardock! Gine would never-"

Three beaten Galaxy Soldiers came flying through the window next to the Ox-King and Gine walked in holding a cash register. She split it like a nut and dumped the zeni into Ox-King's pants. Ox-King flinched. "Y-You too?"

Gine shrugged. "Why not? Cameras are gone. Piccolo is so sweet~"

Ox-King groaned. "I don't think that's why he destroyed the cameras..."

Chi-Chi rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, Dad. We're robbing X.S. Cash and the guy that stole Gohan's credit. I doubt they'll miss a few million here or there..."

Gine was optimistic. "Think about how we could use this money! We could expand the farm! Buy a couple more trucks!"

She gasped, and then her eyes lit up. "WE COULD BUILD A BOARDING HOUSE FOR THE FIELD WORKERS AND LET THEM LIVE RENT FREE!"

Chi-Chi smirked. "And we could send all of the kids to college!"

She and Gine both shot one another a thumbs-up, and then traded a massive high-five. Ox-King sighed and lowered his head in shame. And then, a Galaxy Soldier rushed in with a ki blast charged. "Die, bitches!"

Gine feinted back from the blast and grabbed the soldier by the head, slamming him face-first into the wall. The wall cracked in half, revealing another safe hidden behind the paneling. Gine pressed her hands to her cheeks and gasped in delight. "Chi-Chi! Wall safe!"

Chi-Chi took another "lockpick" from her father and slammed him face-first into the safe, smashing it open. And then, after tossing him aside, Chi-Chi and Gine went back to looting everything that wasn't nailed down. Meanwhile, Yamcha and Blonde Launch continued to defend Bulma and Suno. Yamcha kneed a Galaxy Soldier in the face and sent him flying, giving chase to finish him off. Suno swooned and blushed bright red. "What a man~"

As Yamcha beat the blazes out of his opponents, Android 16 came walking up. He sighed and spoke up. "There still remains 40,810 of the 50,000 fighters that approached the island initially. We are making a dent in their numbers, but quite an uphill battle remains."

A Galaxy Soldier rained down from the sky and tried to thrust a dagger into Yamcha's back, but a Rocket Punch quickly connected with his face and shattered his teeth out. As the thug went flying, Yamcha turned and smirked at Android 16. "Bros stick together, huh?"

16 chuckled. "Bros indeed."

But then, catching everyone off-guard, eight Galaxy Soldiers landed on the pregnant women's unprotected flank. They both turned and screamed in terror, Bulma squeezing Ranch and Trunks close and Suno diving on top of Goten and Chika's stroller. The blasts came shooting in and Yamcha and 16 were just too slow. Yamcha's eyes went wide and he screamed at the top of his lungs. "SUNO! BULMA!"

He glared at the Galaxy Soldiers. "I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

16 grabbed Yamcha's shoulder. "Wait."

Yamcha glared up at 16. 16 glared towards the cloud of smoke surrounding where Suno and Bulma once stood. Once the smoke cleared, Yamcha gasped in shock. Safe behind a shimmering, green barrier was Bulma and Suno. Yamcha was at a loss. "What...?"

And then, a new but quite familiar voice spoke up. "Attacking pregnant women? For shame."

The thugs flinched back, but it was too late. The barrier shot towards them at high-speed and bashed into them hard enough that bones shattered. The lot of them crashed to the ground, one of them landing near a new boot containing a unique, green wool sock. The foot stepped over its fallen foes and the voice attached to it spoke. "16, my man! Are you wearing that suit or are you wearing the hell out of that suit?! Holy shit..."

Yamcha gasped. "You?!"

Android 16 simply smiled. The mysterious figure reached up and pulled the hood to his National Park Service hoodie down, revealing the smiling face of Android 17. Another Galaxy Soldier tried to attack the raven-haired Android, but he simply elbowed him right in the jaw, killing him instantly. 17 sighed and walked up to his compatriots. He grabbed 16's tie and looked it over. "Silk, eh? Look at you with the fancy clothes. You got a good job?"

16 smiled and nodded. "Indeed."

17 chuckled. "Well, it suits ya, bud. Now, why don't we get to work and kick the crap out of these guys?"

Yamcha tightened his belt, 16 adjusted his sunglasses, and 17 rolled up his sleeves. Quickly joined by Gine, Chi-Chi, and the Ox-King, as well as Blonde Launch with her guns freshly reloaded, the team stood as a united front in the face of being surrounded by enemies. Before they all rushed into battle, Yamcha turned to 17. "So hey, wait. W-Where's 18? I thought she was with you when you left after the Cell Games."

17 chuckled and shrugged. "You know how women can be...always springing into action when they feel their man is in danger~"

In Cash Tower, with Mr. Satan and X.S. Cash...

Mr. Satan's hands trembled with a mixture of terror and heartfelt anger as he watched this group of invaders terrorize his deceased wife's fans from the tower high above. He glared back at the screen, feeling genuine sorrow at the sights of Pamput, King Chappa, and Doskoi's corpses frozen on the screen after the cameras suddenly went out. X.S. Cash sighed and wiped his glasses. "Oh well. It is what it is, I suppose. The tower should hold for the time being, so why don't we sit down for our lunch and-"

Mr. Satan blew off Cash, immediately stalking towards the elevator. Cash smirked. "Going out to set a good example for that misbehaving little girl of yours, Marky m'boy? That's great~"

The hulking martial artist gripped his hands so tight that veins spider-webbed across the backs of them. Through gritted teeth, he snarled. "I'm going to clear a path, and then we're gonna get our kids out of here!"

Cash scoffed. "Oh please, my Monty is fine. But if you're afraid that something will happen to that girl of yours then...by all means..."

He chuckled. "It's your life, not mine."

Mr. Satan's hair stood on end. A blazing fire burned in his eyes. But he didn't have time to address those feelings right now. His number one goal, above all else, was to clear a path so that he and Videl could get the hell out of here and find a safe place. Mr. Satan pulled out his phone and typed out a message, pressing send and then giving his cheeks a couple of sharp slaps. It was time to show these fools the might of the World Champion!

At the top of the tower, with Videl and Monty...

Videl's phone buzzed. A message appeared on the screen. "From Daddy. Hey sweetie. Just checking on ya. We'll be leaving soon. Love you lots and lots. Daddy. 3"

Unfortunately, Videl couldn't hear her phone. She laid there, music player plugged onto her headphones, and sullenly listened to her mother's voice sing song after song. Her heart was still shattered and every moment she spent in this place plunged her even further into the pit darkness that opened the day they had buried Miguel. All of Videl's hope had disappeared into the void. She was lost.

But then, a hand roughly began to shake her. "Videl!"

She ignored, burying her face further into the chair with a grunt. The voice spoke again, sounding impatient. "VIDEL! COME ON!"

She still didn't respond. Monty shook her again. "I WORKED HARD ON THIS! NOW COME ON AND COME LOOK!"

As much as Videl didn't want to get up, she knew that he wasn't going to stop unless she did. Eventually, with a groan, Videl got up. Her eyes looked so tired, but she followed along after her annoying companion for the time being. What she saw once they got past the chairs, however, made her do a double take. The richly decorated Christmas tree that had stood so tall when they walked into this room before was now dark and bare. Monty twiddled his thumbs. "I... I wanted to fix your bad mood. So, even though it might make my father cross, I thought we could decorate the tree together like you said you wanted to..."

Videl was, to her surprise, genuinely touched. For the first time in the past month, her face managed a small smile. Videl was still exhausted. Still sad. Still raw and in pain. But, for this one moment, she spoke in a voice with some warmth to it. "Th-That would actually be nice..."

Back with Tien and Bido...

Tien was face-down in the sand, his body marked with hideous welts and dark, blue bruises. Standing over him was Bido, covered in bruises and welts as well. Blood trailed down Bido's head and he spat on the sand, watching his spit sizzle and evaporate in the hellish heat of the sun. He chuckled and wiped Donteki and Gaisho on his pants. "Fun fight, guy. But...you were still just a punk in the end..."

Bido took a deep breath and sighed out. He glowered down at Tien's unmoving form. "You know, in our little group, only Master Bojack is stronger than me. Even Zangya can't match my strength, despite what she is. And yet...you're the first person to push me this far since Master Bojack and I last fought..."

Bido leaned back, making his back pop, and then he turned to walk away. "So, maybe you ain't such a punk after all..."

But then, as he tromped away, Bido's ki sense suddenly detected a new foe flying in. He looked up and his eyes locked onto Chiaotzu. "Eh?"

Chiaotzu ignored Bido, rushing instead to check on his friend. "Tien!"

Bido turned around and tromped back towards Chiaotzu and Tien. As the little warrior shook his bigger partner, he noticed the shadow looming over him and turned to face it. He locked eyes with Bido, who looked dispassionate. "Who are you, little man?"

Chiaotzu was shaking, Bido sighed. "Ah, another punk. Well then..."

And then, in a snap, Bido booted Chiaotzu right in the chest, sending him crashing back into the sand and making blood erupt from the little warrior's mouth. Bido rolled his eyes. "If you can't even take a kick, then why would you come to the ba-"

A Dodon Ray whizzed by Bido's head and crashed into a cactus, causing it to explode into pieces. Bido grunted, reaching up to the side of his head and pulling his hand back to find it full of blood. He felt again and Bido quickly came to a realization: his left ear was gone.

Bido turned back around and saw Chiaotzu struggling to his feet, index finger defiantly pointed forward and one of his eyes half-lidded. Bido chuckled. "Oh, I see. You do have some fight~"

The hulking Galaxy Soldier smiled wide and punched his fists together, making the red jewels on them light up. His fists crackling with energy, Bido reared back and thrust his fist forward, firing an energy blast from it. "BRAVE SHELL!"

As the attack hurdled towards him, Chiaotzu immediately knew he was dead. In his head, images of Cell pointing at him and the beam firing towards him played in rapid succession. Chiaotzu yelped. "N-Not again!"

But then, to Chiaotzu's surprise, a foot stomped onto the sand in front of him. And Tien's voice cried out with unrestrained fury. "HIYAHHH!"

Tien thrust his hand through Bido's Brave Shell and smashed it to pieces. For a moment, Bido was taken aback. But then, a bloodthirsty smirk returned to his face. "Oh good! I was worried you were going to disappoint me!"

Tien glanced down at Chiaotzu with a smile. But then, his serious scowl returned to his face. "Chiaotzu, I need you to stand aside..."

Chiaotzu gasped. "A-Are you sure, Tien? We could team up and beat this guy together..."

Tien shook his head. "Absolutely not."

As Tien took a fighting stance, several of his joints popped. He was in rough shape. But still, the fires of determination flickered bright in all three of his eyes. "I can beat this guy. I know I can."

Bido chuckled. "That's it. That's it right there..."

And then, the hulking brute ripped his jacket off and lunged at Tien with his fists glowing bright red. "SHOW ME YOUR RESOLVE!"

?

Gohan's eyes popped open and he gasped. The boy looked around, seeing nothing but faded-out shades of gray vaguely shaped like things he recognized. All he could hear was the sound of his own breathing echoing back at him. Gohan scowled. "Damn it. Wh-Where...am...I?"

"FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT BUDDY~"

Back with Gohan and Bujin...

Bujin chuckled as he admired the contraption that he had spent so long constructing. "Foolish humans. Holding a competition of strength and skill in a children's play area? How infantile~"

Bujin reached up and gave the chain he had wrapped around Gohan's neck one last tug, making sure that it was nice and snug and hugging the boy's throat close. Bujin's eye trailed the chain, following it all the way over to the Merry-Go-Round. He sneered. "How dare a brat like you have such a resilient body even with your consciousness sealed. Arrogant brat."

Bujin looked down at his own hands, not strong enough to kill this whelp. But, with his intellect, Bujin made a contraption he was sure would work. With this chain connected to the gears of the Merry-Go-Round, it would function much like a chainsaw once it began fast enough. And that would eventually do the job that Bujin himself couldn't. Bujin cackled. "Pop goes the soda top~"

Bujin backed away slowly, keeping his eyes trained on Gohan. He wanted to witness every second of the boy's head being sawed off. As he backed up, however, Bujin failed to notice that Gohan wasn't his only enemy on the field. Standing in the shadows, a massive scowl on his face, was Spike the Devilman.

Spike sneered as he thought about the kindness and care that Gohan had shown him. Even though he was beaten, and even though one of his arms was broken, he couldn't allow this to occur to such a decent, pure soul. Spike snarled and lifted both arms, extending his middle and index fingers. "May your tainted soul extinguish against the might of the Devilmite Beam, cur! You will plunge straight to-"

The Devilman's words hung in his throat, his eyes going wide. He stuttered in utter shock. "K-K-King...King...Ki-King...King...P-P-Piccolo...?!"

Bujin reached up and felt around for the lever of the Merry-Go-Round. He found the iron bar rather quickly and tried to give it a tug. However, the damned thing refused to budge. Bujin sneered and turned. "What is the meaning of this?!"

And there, looming over the little imp, was one furious Piccolo. The Namekian had a vein bulging from his head as he shot a look at Bujin that very clearly stated one thing: you have made a grave error.

Back with Bardock, Krillin, Gokua, and Zangya...

Gokua stared in silent horror at the sight of his dead henchmen hanging from his own blade. In a low voice, he managed to force the words. "Oh shit...Master Bojack is gonna kill me..."

Zangya was more annoyed than anything. "You moron. You let him steal Ressho from you?! How can you screw up that badly?! It's beyond me..."

Gokua sneered. "Oh, shut the hell up! The last thing I need is Master Bojack's hand selected piece of ass scolding me! I know that a water girl like you can't close her legs, but you could try closing your mouth for once!"

Zangya sneered in utter fury at Gokua's mockery of her. Gokua, meanwhile, glared at Bardock. "I'm telling you; we need to quit wasting time and tell Master Bojack what's happening! He'd jump at the chance to kill this guy!"

Zangya countered. "You brain-dead idiot, I'm telling you-"

Bardock cocked his head. "Hold on...Ressho...?"

Both of the Galaxy Soldiers snarled at Bardock. Bardock looked at the sword. "You mean...you weren't kidding when you said you named this stupid thing?!"

Gokua shouted. "Of course not! Ressho is my-"

Bardock slapped his hand over his eyes and let out a combination of a sigh and an elongated groan. "Way to ruin the mood, you dumb brats. This is just pissing me off now..."

Zangya flinched. "Brats?"

Bardock ignored her, instead walking over to Krillin's beaten form. "I'm just gonna grab Krillin and leave. I don't have time to wrangle dumb kids that are out here naming swords and pretending to be real fighters. This is ridiculous..."

Zangya snapped. "Don't call me a kid, dammit! I'm 10,800 years old!"

Bardock waved her off as he picked up Krillin, tossing the monk over his shoulder. "Uh-huh..."

Gokua snarled. "And I'll have you know that, while I'm not as old as Zangya, I'm still OVER 9000!"

Bardock paused in his tracks, shooting Gokua an incredulous look. He blinked a couple of times. "Over Nine..."

Bardock shook his head again and groaned. "Everything about today is stupid and I don't wanna do this shit anymore."

The older Saiyan slashed Ressho to the side, sending the corpses of Shigya, Nikuji, and Hanzai bouncing to the ground. He groaned. "This is all just a pointless waste of time. You losers are too dumb and too weak to be any sort of credible threat."

He glared at Zangya and Gokua. "And you two are so dumb you'd probably trip and drown in a puddle before you'd bring any real harm to the Earth!"

Both of the Galaxy Soldiers were taken aback. Zangya sneered, looking genuinely angry. "Do you really think that we're just going to stand here and let you call us stupid to our faces?!"

Bardock quickly snapped back. "What else have you done since I got here?!"

Gokua and Zangya both flinched back in shock, their faces lighting up with a thick blush. Bardock snorted and chuckled. "Got you morons with that one, huh? Now then..."

Bardock turned his back to the two and started walking away. He only made it four steps before two furious shadows were at his back. He sighed. "I gave you an out and everything..."

And then, without looking, Bardock flared his Super Saiyan power and backfisted both Zangya and Gokua right in the face, sending them flying back and crashing to the ground. Looking around, Bardock found a nice bench to place Krillin on for a rest, and then he turned to face the two of them. Carefully, Bardock slid Ressho into the back of his armor. "Fine, I guess I can stand around and discipline you little shits for a bit..."

As they both got to their feet, Zangya and Gokua rushed at Bardock with a ton of killing intent. Bardock rolled his eyes and propelled himself forward with a burst of Super Saiyan power. Zangya threw a punch at him and Gokua went for a clubbing blow, but Bardock was easily able to dodge both. And then, with his full-strength, Bardock clotheslined the two Galaxy Soldiers and drove them harshly into the ground. As they both tried to get up, Bardock grabbed their faces and slammed their heads hard against the rock. And then, with a leap, Bardock got high above and charged two attacks into his palms. "DOUBLE SUNDAY!"

Zangya and Gokua, quickly recovering, both rolled out of the way and then chased Bardock high into the sky. They each began to attack from one side, throwing all manner of punches and kicks in a desperate attempt to show Bardock up. Bardock shook his head. "I don't care how many years you've been alive, there's something to say for your biological temperament. You both act like spoiled teenagers! Like worse versions of brats that I've had to fight before! But at least those brats knew how to work together as a team!"

Bardock seized Zangya by the wrist. "Your attacks are too linear, as if you're entering tunnel vision when you fight!"

Gokua went to knee Bardock in the ribs, but Bardock stopped that with his foot. "And you fight like you don't know how to without the stupid toothpick hanging from my back! That's pathetic!"

Gokua snapped. "Shut your damned mouth!"

Bardock leaned back and watched with satisfaction as Gokua fired his ki blast right into Zangya's face. And then, flipping and using the two as leverage, he delivered a kick to the back of both of their necks that sent them crashing down to the ground below. Having landed in a heap, Zangya groaned as the entire weight of Gokua rested on her back. Bardock landed mere feet from them and crouched down. "You okay? That was a nasty fall..."

Zangya screamed in frustration and raised her hand to fire a blast, but Bardock simply sent the both of them flying back with a kiai, sending them crashing into a wall.

Watching as the dust began to settle, Bardock called out. "Do we give up yet?!"

And then, to Bardock's mild surprise, a massive octopus made of orange hair came bursting out of the wall. The various hair tentacles rushed towards him with heaps of killing intent. Bardock leapt back and watched as the hair separated into separate strands and stabbed into the wall, making the entire ground look like swiss cheese in one move. He chuckled. "That's dangerous~"

The hair all changed direction and shot up at him, but Bardock remained cool-headed. He nimbly dipped and dodged as stinging death came towards him from all direction. Never landing flat on his feet, Bardock sprang around like a rabbit as Zangya's hair attempted to slice, spear, and crush him to death. Bardock nodded. "A bit better, but still nothing more than a troublesome distraction~"

Pulling Ressho from the back of his armor, Bardock gave the sword one mighty swing and sliced away an entire wave of hair in front of him. It was at that moment that Gokua chose to strike. Ignoring safety and appearing right in front of Bardock, Gokua grabbed onto his stolen blade. "Give me Ressho back, dammit! You thieving bastard! Is there anything you won't steal?!"

Bardock chuckled. "You're right. I'm being greedy! Here..."

The older Saiyan delivered a harsh kick to Gokua's chest, sending him flying back onto the sharp points of Zangya's hair. "You can have that, though! It's all yours!"

But then, to Bardock's surprise, Zangya's hair stopped advancing. Rather than run Gokua all the way through, the hair quickly receded back, leaving only superficial prick marks dotting the swordless swordman's shirt. Bardock landed on his feet and smirked as Zangya came walking out of the crumbled remains of the wall. She scowled and touched her hair where it was sliced. Bardock mocked her. "Gonna throw a fit that I messed up your 'do?"

Zangya grunted and, with the glowing red aura of her hair clip, she quickly restored her locks to their former glory. Bardock nodded and stroked his chin. "Ah! I see..."

And then, Gokua stood back up. The swordsman ripped off his shirt and screamed in fury. "GIVE ME BACK MY DAMNED BLADE SO THAT I CAN GUT YOU!"

Bardock thrust the tip of Ressho's blade into the ground, looking unimpressed. "And why would I do that when I can just keep it and not be gutted?"

Gokua was both flustered and frustrated. Barely able to form a coherent sentence, he snarled over at Zangya. "Hey! We need to go and get Master Bojack! Once the Master sees this guy, he's dead! Why won't you listen to me when I'm telling you that the Master'll kill him in an instant?!"

Zangya sneered. "You are such a goddamned moron..."

Gokua shouted. "Why do you keep calling me that?!"

Seeing the two getting ready for another shouting match, Bardock simply leaned over onto Ressho and watched as the bickering began to get underway. Zangya grabbed Gokua by the chin and shouted right into his face. "Listen to me, dolt! And listen well because this is the last time I plan to repeat myself!"

She held up her finger. "First, if you used your brain, you'd know very well that Bojack would KILL us for our failure if we ran back to him with our tails between our legs! He might kill this guy too, but he would definitely kill us first!"

She jabbed her finger at Bardock. "And second, and far more importantly may I add, this guy isn't even who you think he is!"

Bardock rolled his eyes with a dull, bored expression on his face. "Well duh..."

Gokua flinched. "But it clearly has to be the Saiyan filth! How else do you explain that look?!"

Zangya bit her lip, a vein popping out of her head. But then, she simply sighed. "You're right Gokua, he does look exactly like our guy...except for his tan, non-ashy skin, his lack of a cybernetic eye modification, and...and I want you to look closely because you might miss this one if you aren't careful...THIS GUY DOESN'T HAVE A ROBOTIC ARM, YOU DIPSHIT!"

Gokua gasped in shock. Bardock shook his head. "Morons..."

Bardock stood up straight, pulling Ressho from the ground. "Enough, are you ready for us to-"

Zangya ignored Bardock, continuing to scold her comrade. "So just to drill this into that concrete-thick skull of yours, Gokua, this guy might look like him..."

Bardock heaved the blade over his shoulder. "Screw this, I'm not just going to stand here and be ignored! Time to finish this!"

The older Saiyan started to lunge forward, but then Zangya finished her sentence. "BUT THAT IS NOT TURLES!"

Bardock stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wide. All of the strength leaving his body, the Saiyans grip on Ressho slipped and the sword harmlessly clattered to the ground. That sound caught the attention of both Zangya and Gokua and they stared over at Bardock, flinching in surprise at the ghost-white pallor of the Saiyans face. Bardock could barely speak above a whimper. "T-Turles. Did you...no, they're just mocking...but, how would they even know his...h-how...?"

He looked at them again, his face becoming dire and his pupils shrinking. "D-Did you just say...T-Turles...?!"

Zangya and Gokua were both confused, Zangya immediately taking notice of Bardock's thousand-yard stare. Within the Saiyan's pupils were fire and pain. The crumbling wrecks of buildings. The burning embers of a battle gone wrong. The echoing screams of so many. Bardock's Super Saiyan form dispersed and he spoke again. "Turles...is alive...?"

Gokua and Zangya both looked to one another, not quite believing the sheer, childlike hope in Bardock's voice. For a brief moment, it was like the older Saiyan had become a different person. Not that they cared. The two of them both shot Bardock a truly wicked grin and then lunged at him with more killing intent than they had exuded at any point prior. Zangya's hair rose to life and then it shot forward all at once, piercing thousands of times into Bardock's chest and shooting through him like sharpened needles. As Bardock capsized back, Gokua picked up Ressho and drew it to the side for a swing, the blade glowing bright red. "Now you pay!"

Gokua took his swing. "Devilish Bladework!"

The full length of Gokua's sword slid through Bardock's armor and flesh like butter, slicing a massive gash from his left hip to his right shoulder. The blood exploded out and, as Bardock fell back, Gokua's foot stomped down and pressed the injured Saiyan harshly to the ground. Bardock groaned in agony and Gokua shouted at the top of his lungs. "I WIN! I WIN, YOU STINKING MONKEY FILTH!"

Gokua lifted his Ressho high into the air, pointing the glowing red tip of the blade right at Bardock's throat. He shouted at the top of his lungs as he thrust down. "Swallow Trigger!"

But Gokua's senses quickly locked onto an oncoming attack and he jerked his head to the side. The swordsman grunted in anger and annoyance as a slit opened on his cheek and blood erupted out. Glaring out of the corner of his eye, Gokua saw Krillin sitting on the bench, struggling to even hold up a single finger. Krillin mumbled. "Destructo...Dart..."

Gokua snarled. "Hey, Zangya! Why don't you get off your lazy ass and kill your guy, huh?!"

Zangya nonchalantly flipped Gokua off, but did go to finish handling her business. Her hair quickly sprang back to life, slithering over and wrapping around Krillin's wrists, ankles, and throat. As Zangya went about her business, Gokua reached down and dragged Bardock up by his hair. He sneered into Bardock's ear. "I don't care whether or not you're that bastard Turles! You look like that traitor, so that's more than good enough for me~"

Gokua pressed Ressho to Bardock's throat and sneered. "I'm gonna slit your throat nice and slow for what Turles did to us~"

While that was going on, Zangya drew the barely living Krillin close. "Poor, ugly gremlin~ Have you ever even experienced the pleasure of a woman's soft, supple lips? Well...I suppose I could grant you a small mercy before I wring your neck~"

Zangya closed her eyes and started to lean in for a kiss, slowly compressing Krillin's throat tighter and tighter as she got closer to his face. Krillin's head turned red, then purple, and then a disturbingly dark shade of blue as his windpipe became more and more cut off. He could feel the muscles in his neck straining and even starting to tear and he was powerless.

Gokua sneered and started to pull. "Now, let's see more of that blood!"

But, before the swordsman could complete his slitting motion, a massive, leather boot covered in belts and spikes shot up and caught him right between the legs. Gokua's eyes bugged out, followed by a yelp and a whimper as he fell to his knees. Ressho clattered to the ground as Gokua pressed his hands to his crotch, groaning in pain. He could do little more than watch as a delicate hand reached down and grabbed Bardock, tossing him over their shoulder.

And then, this mysterious person marched a warpath directly over to Zangya. The blue-skinned nymph was blissfully unaware, mocking Krillin as her lips got closer and closer to brushing against his. A harsh shove plowed into Zangya's shoulder, making her stumble off balance. She glared at her assailant. "Who the hell do you-"

A fist slammed into the center of Zangya's face, crushing her nose inward and breaking several teeth. The impact of the blow seemed to go on for ages, the ripples from the force of it sending shockwaves across Zangya's face. With a massive boom, Zangya was sent flying back into a nearby greenhouse, crashing her into the building and bringing the entire structure down onto her. Gokua barely managed to get back to his feet, still tenderly gripping his nethers. "What the hell is going on? Wh-Who's this broad, and why can't I sense her energy?!"

Zangya rose from the rubble of the greenhouse, wreathed in shadow. She looked like a demon possessed as blood poured down her face. She shrieked with pure, undiluted fury. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

The mysterious assailant stood there, dressed in a pair of spikey, black leather boots, a faded pair of denim jeans, and an orange-and-pink hoodie adorned with a heart-shaped chestnut emblazoned across the chest. This mysterious attack raised her hands up and lowered her hood, revealing blonde hair, hoop earrings, and a pair of icy-blue eyes.

Android 18 stood firm, Krillin gently cradled under her arm and Bardock slung over her shoulder. She sneered at Zangya with a look of frigid fury. "Skank."