7: The Mighty Turles Meets The Eccentric Basil

The ship touched down without a hitch. The hulking metal craft loomed over the collapsed buildings and piles of rock like a skyscraper, towering over everything as if it were a God. The ship was a rather brilliant design. Made to be large and intimidating, yet not too big to make it impossible to properly function. The feet of the ship connected with the ground smoothly, and the ship rocked gently before coming to a stand-still. The vast ship was dark grey and black in color, with flecks of silver in random places, as if they were added as an afterthought. Dust swarmed around the ship like a shield, obscuring it slightly, though it was so large that hardly anything could hide it.

Basil hopped happily over a mass of rocks and skidded to a stop a few feet from the ship, her smile as wide as the moon. "Wow! That's a big ship!"

"BASIL!" Goku screamed at the top of his lungs. "Wait! Get back!"

"Why?" Basil asked, turning to face him. "New friends!"

"No! No new friends!" Goku ran up beside her, tried to stop, tripped, and face-planted right at her feet.

Basil stared at him for a second, blinked, then looked back at the ship. "Look how big that thing is! I bet...a hundred Saiyans can fit in that thing!"

"First of all, your math needs some work," Vegeta said as he flew up to them. He grabbed Goku by his hair and yanked him up to his feet. "Secondly, that ship does not look like a friendly."

"It looks like an...unfriendly." Goten said in awe. He picked up a rock and threw it at the ship. It clanged loudly and bounced away.

"Did you really think that would do something?" Trunks said.

"Kinda." Goten muttered.

"Third of all," Vegeta continued as if the others had never arrived nor spoken. He grabbed Goku by the front of his Gi and shook him aggressively. "WHO THE HELL IS TURLES!?"

A boom sounded from behind them, making everyone jump. Basil beamed as a large door opened up, the engine of the ship thundering before going silent. The door opened like a hatch, hitting the ground softly. Steam poured out as if the ship were a kettle, coating the ground before disappearing into the air. Goku tensed and stood straight, gritting his teeth. I remember you, Turles. How could I forget you. Well...technically, I did forget about you, but I remember you now! I hope you came here to fight, 'cause I've been itching for an actual fight for a long time. He narrowed his eyes as a figure came into focus, stepping out of the ship and walking down the ramp with a very upright posture that showed this person had a lot of confidence and thought of themself as better than everyone else. Oh yeah, that's definitely Turles.

Basil watched as the new man, who she guessed the Turles, came down from the ship to meet them. The white cape he wore blew behind him, adding another level of elegance to his form. He was tall, with rather dark skin and spiked black hair, very similar to Goku. He wore grey and black Battle Armor, and a scouter over his left eye with a red lens. Basil was confused by that. All of the scouters she'd seen had green lenses. Why is his red? Oh, that must mean he's extra special!

Behind Turles, more men emerged. Around five men, all wearing identical armor but none of them looking remotely the same. One was built like a boulder with semi-orange skin and brownish hair. Another had dark teal hair. The other two were tiny and plump. Basil was transfixed with the uniqueness of each of them. The fact that they were not of the same species, but they still worked together. It mesmerized her.

Turles stopped a few feet from the group, his hands folded behind his back. A smile decorated his face as he locked eyes with each of the Saiyans before him. The rest of his crew stood on both sides of him, each wearing a sinister smile. A silence overtook everyone. Goku wanted to start throwing punches, but he had to hold himself back. He wanted to see if Turles had anything to say that would be important.

Basil looked from her group to the other group across from her, then got bored of all the silence and jumped to the middle of both groups with a joyful laugh. "Wow, look at this! So many new friends." She turned and waved to Turles. "Hi, Turles. I love that cape, it looks so cool!"

Turles frowned, raising an eyebrow. Who is this girl? His eyes traveled down her body until they landed on her brown tail curled protectively around her waist. Ah. A female Saiyan. Those are fairly rare these days. I don't think I've come across one since before the destruction of Planet Vegeta. How interesting. I wonder how long she's been here. Since the destruction, perhaps? She does look pretty scrawny, even by female body standards. But, if she's been here for long enough, then I just might be able to convert her to my side. She doesn't have a very good power level, but that won't be a problem. I don't have to use her for fighting. I could keep her for...other uses.

Cacao spoke up from beside Turles. "What's the move, boss?"

Turles smiled. "Just stand back until I say otherwise." He took a step forward and spread his arms out at his sides. "Kakarot." He locked eyes with his old enemy, his haunting smile spread wide across his face. 'Long time no see."

Goku took a step forward as well. "What are you doing here, Turles?"

Turles laughed. "I could ask you the same thing, though I figure we're here for the same reason. I'm here to help a fellow Saiyan in need." He turned his gaze to Basil. "My crew and I intercepted your distress signal and we came to help."

"Ha! I knew you guys were friends!" Basil beamed.

"Why does he look just like you, Kakarot?" Vegeta said, then he groaned. "This isn't another Black, is it?"

"It's kinda trippy." Goten said, then shivered.

Goku ignored them and walked up to Basil, grabbing her arm. "Basil, I mean it when I say that Turles is bad news."

Basil raised an eyebrow. "How? He came all this way. Clearly, he wants to help."

Diaz, a member of Turles's group, chuckled and leaned over to Amond. "Jeez, can she make this any easier?" Amond shushed him.

Turles stepped up to the other side of Basil, a warm smile on his face in an attempt to further win her over to his side. "Define bad news, Kakarot. Bad news to my enemies, yes. But bad news to those in need of a helping hand? I think not."

"Don't talk all poetic and stuff." Goku snapped. "It's confusing."

"I believe I heard your name was Basil, correct?" Turles looked down at Basil, his eyes showing warmth and interest.

Basil nodded. "Yep! And you're...Turles. That's a cute name."

"Stop being nice to him!" Goku pulled Basil away from Turles. "He's not a good guy. What part of that do you not understand!?"

"Every part." Basil said without blinking.

Turles laughed. "You don't have to worry, Kakarot. I didn't come here to fight."

Rasin blinked, then turned to Lakasei. "Wait, we're not fighting them?"

"Apparently," Lakasei said with a huff.

Vegeta stomped over to Goku and grabbed his ear, pulling him down to whisper in his ear. "This is the Turles guy you fought back when Gohan was a child, right? The one that forced him into his Great Ape form?"

"Yeah, now let go, this hurts. Chi-Chi pulls my ears all the time back on Earth." Goku whined.

Turles looked down at Vegeta and frowned. "Now, you don't look familiar." He looked past Goku to Trunks and Goten. "They don't look familiar, either. I see you still have a knack for making friends, Kakarot."

"Enough idle chatter." Vegeta snapped, pushing Goku aside. "I highly doubt you're here to help, so let me make this simple. We can manage just fine on our own. Unless you want a fight you won't forget, turn tail and head back the way you came."

"He's tiny and feisty." Daiz snickered. "Come on, Turles. Don't tell me I can't at least get some action on him. His power level is interesting."

"That sounds weird." Vegeta said, wrinkling his nose.

"Wait, are you a Saiyan?" Basil asked as she hopped around Goku and bent over to stare at the tail around Turles's waist. "That's so cool! Now there are six Saiyans! Yay!"

"She's hopeless." Goten said as he and Trunks came up beside Vegeta and Goku.

"Whatever your planning, Turles, you can forget it." Goku said firmly. He dragged Basil away and plopped her behind him and Vegeta. "Basil is staying with us. We'll get a ship working on our own and be long gone soon enough."

"But they have such a big ship that-" Basil began, but Goku shot her a look that made her instantly shut up.

Turles crossed his arms. "Have you learned nothing from our battle so many years ago? I always get what I want."

"How are you even still alive?" Goku growled.

Turles laughed. "You really thought I was dead? Oh, I feel sorry for you, Kakarot. I really do."

"See? He's sorry, which means he's a friend!" Basil said happily.

"Stop being so gullible!" Vegeta shouted at her.

"That's it." Diaz spoke up, pushing past Amond and Cacao. "I'm tired of waiting. I'm ready for a fight."

"Calm down, Diaz." Turles said in a warning tone.

"I know what you're doing," Vegeta said with a smirk. "You're trying to take advantage of how stupid Basil is and get her to join you."

"Stupid?" Basil asked.

Turles's smile never faltered. "What makes you think that?"

"Oh my god, this is getting annoying!" Vegeta threw up his hands. "Basil is staying with us. End of story."

"Dad, I have a plan." Trunks said, and dragged Basil back a few steps. "Hey, you know what Turles really loves?"

"What?" Basil asked with intense interest.

"He loves getting shot with a bunch of Ki blasts."

Vegeta and Goku exchanged a look.

"Really?" Basil looked down at her hands with raised eyebrows.

"Y-yeah!" Goten chimed in. "Totally loves it. So just shoot him and his men with as many blasts as you want. We'll all do the same."

"Your son is a genius." Goku whispered to Vegeta.

"What exactly is the holdup, Kakarot?" Turles asked, his tone one of impatience.

"Go on, you don't want to leave him waiting." Trunks said, pushing her forward.

Basil didn't waste a second. She bounded past Goku and Vegeta, smiling wide to Turles, who stared at her with a confused and slightly irritated look. She held her arms out in front of her, charged up as much Ki as she could, and, without saying a word, fired a barrage of concentrated blasts of Ki straight at his chest. Vegeta and Goku followed suit, firing their own Ki blasts at Turles's lackeys with joy. Trunks and Goten charged up a dual blast the size of Jaco's ship and fired it at Turles's ship. It nailed the front with great force, pushing it backward a few inches, but not doing much other than that. Basil's blast hit Turles with so much force that it shot him back, sending him slamming into his own ship as if he had been thrown. Turles's crew all cried out in shock and rage, doing their best to block on oncoming assault.

"Book it!" Goten shouted and spun around on his heels, darting across the ripped terrain.

Goku snatched Basil's hand and ran after Goten, laughing. "Nice work. That oughta buy us some time!"

"I hope Turles liked it." Basil agreed happily.

"Where's Jaco's ship?" Vegeta asked as he ran along beside them.

Basil pointed to the right. "That way. Are we going to Earth now?"

"We're gonna try." Goku said.

Jaco, who had been helpfully hiding, poked his head out the doorway when he heard an entourage of thudding footsteps. Upon seeing an angry group of unfamiliar aliens charging after Goku and the others, he panicked and tried to dart back to his hiding spot when Trunks grabbed his arm, dragging the tiny alien along with him. "What did you guys do this time!?" He cried.

"Don't worry 'bout it!" Trunks said. Then he threw Jaco over his shoulder. The little alien flew several feet before crashing to the ground not two inches from his ship. It was as he had left it, untouched and as pristine as ever. "You need to focus on piloting."

"Piloting?" Jaco repeated. "You guys won't fit!"

"We'll try!" Vegeta snapped at him. Then he picked up Basil and hauled her at the ship. "Get in, Basil."

"Yay! I can't wait to see Earth. Is it big?" Basil said as she crawled inside the ship, her tail wagging freely behind her.

"Sure, sure, whatever." Jaco waved his hand dismissively and scrambled into the piloting chair of his tiny ship.

Turles was angry. He didn't like being angry. But, then again, who did? He hated not getting what he wanted. Sure, Basil was weak and simple-minded, but he was in need of getting more soldiers on his side. Basil was the perfect candidate. She wasn't aware of what was going on outside her wreckage of a home. She was inept and clearly unacknowledged of how things were supposed to go. What he didn't understand was why Goku was so adamant in protecting her. She was virtually useless. Goku was too kind-hearted. Turles knew that, eventually, that would be his downfall. Goku made too many friends, which meant that he was also making too many casualties. He couldn't keep his eye on all of his pathetic little buddies all the time.

Speaking of pathetic little buddies, he thought as he flew up into the air, his menacing glare landing on a slightly familiar young boy. He looks very much like a little brat I met years back. Gohan, I believe his name was. Could it be that Goku had another offspring? Hmm.

Goten dodged a punch from Diaz, landing a powerful kick to the side of his head. Diaz gritted his teeth and grabbed Goten by the hair, slamming his head against an overturned and out of commission Attack Ball.Goten cried out, which caught Goku's attention, who was currently at odds with Cacao.

"Goten!" He shouted, shoving Cacao away and shooting over to Diaz. He delivered a rage-fueled punch to the side of his head. Diaz stumbled with a loud groan, then smiled at Goku.

"I hope you put up a better fight than that weakling." Diaz snickered, cracking his knuckles.

Goku shot across the short distance between them, firing Ki blasts while dodging several punches. He kneed Diaz in the chest and sent him flying back, crashing into concrete and metal. Rage boiled in Goku's chest. Electricity swirled around his feet and arms, and a strong wind warped around him. His hair sharpened and turned green momentarily before flashing into a blinding yellow, spiking upwards with a few bangs across his forehead. A golden, spiked aura sparked around his body, lighting up the area like a searchlight.

Basil's jaw dropped. Her eyes widened. Her excitement got the better of her and she jumped out of Jaco's ship, running over to Goku. "Holy moly, what is this?" She poked at the aura, then giggled when it shocked her slightly.

"Basil, you're supposed to be in the ship with Jaco!" Goku exclaimed. His aura sparked sharply before vanishing.

Basil pouted. "Hey, bring the cool light back."

Lakasei and Rasin charged at the two, their Ki charging up rapidly.

"Basil, get back!" Goku grabbed her arm and shoved her behind him as Lakasei and Rasin grew closer.

"Why?" Basil asked, tapping his shoulder. "Do they like Ki-blasts, too? Seems like a weird thing to enjoy, but who am I to judge?"

Goku perked up, then smiled, looking over his shoulder at her. "Actually, these guys like to get beat up. Can you do that?"

Basil beamed. "Anything for a friend!" She skipped around Goku and intercepted Lakasei, grabbing him by his ankles and spinning around, letting go after a good many spins. Lakasei flew like a frisbee, his shouts slowly becoming inaudible. Then, she went after Rasin. The tiny, chubby elite soldier skidded to a halt and turned on his heel, attempting to run away until Basil tackled him like a football player.

Goku watched with wide eyes, but was forced back to reality when Turles landed in front of him, a wide, visous smile on his face. Him and Goku locked eyes, their energy swarming around the other like an unchecked wind storm.

Turles simply said one word.

"Rematch?"