Chapter Forty-Five

"Launch, any signs of Raditz on the television yet?" Bulma shouted from the other room, hard at work trying to fix whatever was happening with her Dragon Radar. Weirdly, no signs of any of the seven dragon balls were popping up on the homemade invention. This was strange but Roshi told her not to worry, his sister Baba could reverse any magical curse the demon king had placed on the orbs.

"Not yet B," The blonde and snarky Launch replied abruptly and loud enough for the scientist at work to hear. "Just your majesty talking all of Earth's ears out. How fast can Raditz technically fly, he left what like ten minutes ago?" She made sure to add sarcastically.

"I'm not sure, he never goes past a hundred and fifty in West City limits with all the people and sky traffic." Bulma answered while multitasking. Unscrewing a bolt from its place, she continued. "Wouldn't wanna cause an accident or a small sonic boom in the busiest city in the world, would we?"

The joke was definitely needed after recent events. Everybody was anxious and group morale was very much down. Yamcha's death had waged hard on a group of friends that had earlier lost the youngest of their own in Krillin. Mai had long walked out of the house with the biggest bottle of the turtle hermit's whiskey as she could find to drown in her miseries on the beach with Puar to make sure she didn't get too messed up. She had lost the love of her life, even Earth's protectors had to deal with things the way they wanted.

Roshi was still fast asleep. His fight from Tambourine had waged hard on him. 5 broken ribs. 9 blood contusions. And an entire second skin of bruises and second degree burns. The old master had been through many years of fighting. Even with a senzu bean, his worn body needed its rest.

Wiping a buildup of sweat from her mechanic goggles, the bluenette placed a hand on the preservation chamber that Yamcha's body had been put in and took a long glance over to the other one that Krillin was in.

'I promise we'll find a way to bring you guys back as soon as Raditz deals with Piccolo.' She thought to herself as a promise to the two noble fighters. They had fought their way through Baba's freaks to bring her back after her assassination by the evil Doctor Gero so now she wouldn't rest until they were back home. 'Even if it takes going to find some dragon balls on another planet.'

"Wait, it's that three-eyed freak from the tournament!" Launch said a few seconds later with a mouthful of popcorn. Chiaotzu, sitting to himself in the corner of the room, looked up to see Tien Shinhan on the television. "The one that Raditz put the beating on! No offense." She made sure to include.

"It's Tien!" The clown boy said with a smile, hovering in the hair. Frowning, he followed with. "I hope he watches out for himself against King Piccolo… he's my biggest friend." Chiaotzu thought in despair.

"It appears that our Saiyan friend won't be facing off against that wicked demon by his lonely," The voice of Master Roshi mumbled as the turtle hermit pulled himself through the hallway and into the living room. Still visibly hurt from his fight, the elderly fighter reached for his side as a cough painfully rang out his body. "Excuse me…" He kindly apologized through pain. "Only that maniacal fiend could force the turtle and crane schools into a team-up."

"You're nothing." The voice of King Piccolo spat through his fanged mouth in disgust at the three eyed man that had spoiled his live broadcast. "Don't tell me you came here to die like the rest of your race."

"Take that back." Tien Shinhan grunted as he lunged forward with all of his strength. The triclops attempted to strike before his opponent could raise an arm to block but his punch hit and went through a very real looking afterimage. "What the!" He cried upon realization. "He can't be that fast."

The next second, the giant demon king reappeared just outside of the triclops range. Grunting and flashing a cocky snarl, Piccolo reeled his arm backwards and brought it forward to slap his assailant through a nearby vacant building and to the ground. Teleporting the next second, the demon king phased back into vision several meters in the sky above Tien.

"Like I was saying before you thought yourself to be a hero like that teacher of yours." Piccolo growled wittingly. Flaring his energy, he focused his breathing and felt his throat begin to convulse. "The only thing big about you is your mouth and the size of pain in the ass your race has been to me." The demon spat angrily. "Here's a competitor I'm sure you'll find a challenge." He forced out through two more convulsions.

As a large egg shot from Piccolo's throat, Tien was forced to get out of the trajectory of it. Jumping into the air, the triclops watched in horror as the egg cracked apart and a large and muscular green Namekian warrior came to life. With the face and fangs resembling a cobra and emerald colored skin, the newest minion of the demon king's army let off a thunderous screech.

"Xylophone, how about you teach our conceited visitor here a lesson in proper manners," The demon king said to his creation, watching as the creature released its power in an explosive burst. Now in his prime, Piccolo could create stronger minions to do his dirty work -not that he needed it. Xylophone was much stronger than his brother Tambourine had been yet just as deadly.

Tien staggered back in shock but raised his guard to fend off against the newly hatched monster. Just as quickly as it had hatched from its egg, Piccolo's new minion launched itself forward towards the outclassed triclops.

Xylophone shot forward towards Tien, lashing out with a punch that the triclops felt long before he could realize had been shot his way. Nearly punching straight through the man's gut, the emerald demon wasted no time in following up his attack with a knee to the chin.

"What's wrong?" The demon grumbled as the triclops raised his own knee to absorb the blow. Not letting up in the slightest, Xylophone opened his beaked mouth and began to charge a small purple energy beam in it. "Surely you didn't think that you'd defeat my master if you're struggling against me!" It squawked as a single sphere of charged purple ki shot from his mouth and towards the three-eyed fighter he was facing. "My strength is nothing in comparison to his!" The creature screeched.

Tien Shinhan quickly crossed his arms across his chest to block the energy attack. Feeling the slight burns forming in his skin as ki dug into skin before fading, the crane student winced and had little time to react as his alien foe, now closer, lashed out with another sudden mouth blast. Realizing just how much bigger this one was, the three-eyed assassin threw himself forward and rolled under the purple sphere and behind his foe just as it whizzed past where his chest had been.

"If I have to get through you first, so be it!" Shen's strongest student screamed as he switched to the offensive as his ki flared wildly around his body in a clear aura. His aura was wild and powerful enough to knock his opponent back and Tien knew this would give him a small opening to attack Piccolo's minion. "Take this on for size!" The triclops added, focusing his energy into his index finger. "Dodon-pa!"

Quickly channeling his energy to attack, Tien Shinhan shot a thin beam of golden energy at Xylophone. The winged monster was struck by the point-blank ki beam and crossed his scaly arms across his bare chest to protect himself. The son of Piccolo sunk his feet into the ground for steadiness and flared its energy out as the concentrated beam bore into skin. With a vicious roar, the dodon ray was pushed back and faded to nothing.

"That was a new experience," Xylophone said mockingly, panting slightly after tanking the attack from his crane opponent. Flashing a pair of red eyes at the triclops, the winged creature let off with a quick Soumasen attack that shot at Tien. "Now it's my turn." It added as it shot forward with unmatched speed just as two eye beams lashed towards the crane student.

As anticipated, Tien easily sidestepped out of the way of the incoming beams. Though, whether or not he had been too slow to see the demon seed or Xylophone too quick, just as quickly as he braced himself for what was coming next, Piccolo's child had already closed the ground between the two combatants. The crane student's eyes shot open as he was clotheslined by a muscular Namekian arm. Bringing both clawed hands up, Xylophone attacked with an ax-handle blow that smashed into his three-eyed opponent and sent the human fighter crashing into a man-sized crater in the ground.

"I can't believe this guy's speed and strength." The crane student said to himself, finding himself slow to pull his aching body from the tossed-up dirt. Xylophone was only the demon king's underling but still was giving Tien a run for his money. It was humiliating to the crane namesake! "I'm wasting too much energy on this buffoon. I have to wrap things up or I'm a goner against Piccolo."

The son of Piccolo snickered loudly, knocking the triclops from his thoughts as winds picked up from the Namekian warrior charging his ki meters above the human. King Piccolo watched the fight from the roof of a nearby building with genuine interest. He was certain that his child would come out victorious but the demon king was just interested in seeing the light leave all three of the triclops' eyes when he realized just how futile resisting his brand new world order had turned out to be.

"Sire, don't you think we should leave for Sector 28 to arrive before the sun sets? Genocide waits for no man," Piano alerted his creator as the two watched the assault that Xylophone was putting the three-eyed fighter that was Tien through. Turning from the fight, the weak attendant squawked awkwardly. "There's no reason to stick around for the end of this fight. We know what the outcome will be."

"Wait, not yet," The demon king snarled with a grin and his eyes focused on just how many steps ahead of the crane student his youngest seed seemed to be. If he could produce more offspring with the capability of the ferocious Xylophone, then his army would never be thwarted. "Relax Piano, there's always time to enjoy a good slaughter." Piccolo said with a sinister laugh. "Watch how easily the human skin bruises."

Tien groaned in pain as Xylophone's foot slammed into his chest. The triclops coughed out some blood as the Namekian continued to stomp on his down body. He could feel his insides howling as the earth shattering blows smashed into his ribcage and more blood shot from his mouth. Seeing a faint light, the three eyed man slowly began to close his eyes as the source of light began to grow dim. He had failed Ranfan. He had failed Chiaotzu.

"Finish him, Xylophone!" Piccolo spat out venomously, his impatience wearing thin watching his son toy with the human fighter. These humans were dangerous when given time to strategize, that much was sure. "We have other obligations to attend to, my creation." The demon king reminded the brutal fighter.

Xylophone reached down and grabbed the beaten fighter. Flashing a devilish grin and roaring viciously as he bore his claws into the human's guttural area, the son of Piccolo glared into his feeble foe's barely open eyes. Just as the Namekian overlord's son prepared to finish off Tien, the crane student was saved and found the grasp that Xylophone had on his body released as the monster was struck suddenly and sent flying through several skyscrapers.

"Sorry I'm late." Raditz apologized to the triclops, reaching down and helping the man to his feet. The Saiyan grimaced at the bloody aftermath of Xylophone's beating and reached into his pocket to grab another senzu bean for his friend. Holding it to the man's mouth, Raditz forced Tien to eat the bitter bean and laid him down softly on the ground. "Try this." He said as the man began to swallow the bean. Almost instantly, the bruises on the fighter's body seemed to vanish.

"Another challenger huh?" The demon king said from the sidelines, immediately raising an eyebrow at the new fighter that had appeared. The boy was fast -that much was sure! Even Xylophone had not seen the blow coming until it was too late. "To think he almost took off Xylophone's head without even stopping his flight course." Piccolo said in realization.

"I'm so glad to see your face." Tien grunted as he felt all of his energy jolt back into his body. To his surprise, all of his injuries had healed in seconds. "Is this the doing of the bean you just fed me? That freak wasn't stopping until he broke an arm."

"Can you still fight?" The World Champion asked the man who'd come as a runner-up to his title. Scanning the area, Raditz took stock of the two figures watching from above before diverting his position to the crumbling buildings he had knocked Tien's assailant into. "Piccolo's minion shouldn't be much of a problem but the big guy could cause some issues." He reminded the triclops fighter.

"Are you serious, I'm not letting you have all the fun." Tien spat in shock, surging his replenished energy in a sudden burst. Wiping the dried blood from his once busted lip, the human fighter clenched his fist at his side. "You take front and center and I'll try to distract both of them." He told the Saiyan. "Keep an eye out for that other guy. These things sure can take a beating."

Raditz smirked and at the beeping of his scouter, the Saiyan suddenly flipped backwards and cocked two fingers forward. Although it seemed like he had swung at nothing from the look of any observers, by the time his arm had been fully extended, the martial artist's fingers had found themselves lodged into the body of an approaching Xylophone. As Tien watched on in utter shock, he noticed that he had not even seen the creature begin his path towards him. He saw the purple blood leaking from the hole in the right side of the creature's chest where Raditz had struck precisely. As he caught eyes with the son of Piccolo one final time, the cold yellow eyes of the monster rolled to the back of its head.

"Fight if you can but stay out of my way." Raditz looked over and told Tien as he dislodged a purple-stained hand from the monster's limp body. Turning to face the hovering demon king, the Saiyan ferociously flared his aura and made sure to project his voice loud enough for the Namekian to hear. "Piccolo, no more playing castle. You're going down." The long-haired Saiyan grunted.

"So, it's me the flea wants?" King Piccolo snickered, crossing his arms across his large chest as he looked over to the last of his minions, Piano. He hadn't expected for Xylophone to be bested so easily and this annoyed him. These humans were definitely beginning to irritate him. "This should be exciting." The demon king bellowed as a faint orange aura began to cloak his body.

"Umm, sire… do you really think we should waste more time fighting?" Piano began to counter, until a giant green hand pushed him to the side just before the demon king's brilliant orange aura surged violently and disintegrated the small minion into charred remains.

"No more." The demon king growled ferociously. Charging an enormous supply of his ki into his hand, Piccolo grit his teeth in disgust as the electricity began to cackle as his Explosive Demon Wave formed. "No more fleas. No more bugs. No more maggots." The Namekian screamed as his arm shot forward and the terrifying wave of energy was launched downwards onto the remains of Capital City.

"Bulma, it's Raditz!" Launch squealed as they watched the news broadcast onto Roshi's television. Seconds later, the entire house had their eyes peeled on the match to determine the fate of Earth.

"We are sending you this broadcast at great risk to our lives but, as always, Channel 7 news is committed to getting you all of the latest news fast and firstly." The voice of the newscaster commentated as footage of the battlefield continued to show on the millions of televisions across the world. Everyone was watching after news dropped of King Furry's death. King Piccolo was supposed to be a ghostime story, like the boogieman! "We're live from Capital City and although the wicked King Piccolo vowed to destroy Sector 28, it seems as if he's now locked in battle with none other than the back-to-back World Champion, Son Raditz!"

"At least West City hasn't been destroyed yet." Bulma said with a sigh, knowing that her parents and the largest population of citizens stayed in the city where Capsule Corporations had been founded. "Thanks to Tien Shinhan and now Raditz at least holding them off."

Suddenly a huge flash and a louder bang echoed across the television and the signal was lost from the news. Just as things seemed to be heating up, all insight on the fight was lost.

"No, what gives!" Bulma spat as the screen faded to static. Her stomach was telling her that something was wrong and she only hoped that Raditz was still holding off good against the demon king.

"Don't worry, Bulma, all those energy attacks must've sent a rogue wind towards the helicopter." Roshi tried to soothe the Capsule Corp heiress. Patting her back warmly, the turtle hermit continued. "With Raditz and Tien Shinhan fighting together, I have a feeling that Piccolo has his hands full. The two of them were just fighting for the title, don't forget that they're our two strongest fighters."

Author's Notes: I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far and the changes from our canon universe that I've taken. I know everyone is having questions about Kakarot and his role in this universe and how he made it to Earth. More on his backstory will be revealed in the next saga when he and Raditz bond through their training on the lookout. As you can see though, he is currently the Guardian of Earth!

Another reviewer asking about why Raditz is so weak in the earlier chapters has to remember two things. 1) Raditz is a low-level Saiyan that only reached 1200 through many intergalactic battles and brushes with death. In our universe, at the time, a 6-year old Raditz had only basic training before his planet's fate and for the next decade or so, his strongest and only opponent was an elderly Earthling far past his prime that didn't have the passion for fighting that a Saiyan teenager needed in a competitor. It makes sense also that Gohan would never beat Raditz enough to trigger the boy's Zenkai and until he left Mount Paozu years later, Raditz never had the chance to meet more powerful foes and grow in power like he did. Also Earth's gravity is 10 times under that of Planet Vegeta's so it would make sense that his growth in power level would be moreso similar to Goku's in canon because of this. It isn't until Bulma builds the gravity machine that we see Raditz take new jumps in his power level as his body quickly becomes accustomed to the higher gravities. 2) If I had Raditz gain power like you guys would want, then I've have a mary-sue with no sort of personality or character development. Even now, Raditz has barely met anyone capable of keeping up with him in battle aside from Tao, Piccolo and a select few others.

Power Levels

King Piccolo: 850

Raditz: 725

Tien Shinhan: 500

Xylophone: 680