18: Frieza Launches An Attack

All was calm and peaceful in West City. People strolled about on the decently crowded sidewalks. The fluffy clouds took on the shapes of animals during their voyage across the sky. Children played in the grass without a care in the world. Under the protection of the Z-Fighters, the civilians of West City were free to live without fear.

Of course, like everything else in the world, fear would always reclaim its stake to those who doubted it. If one forgot fear and succumbed to the happier emotions such as joy or happiness, then fear itself would rise up and overcome you. Fear will always have a rightful place in the universe, for it was the one force that motivated us to act. To protect those we loved out of fear of them being hurt. To push ourselves to study for a test out of fear of falling behind everyone else. It was a basic emotion that all possessed, though few were unfamiliar with it. The brave and the cowardly were the most accustomed to such an emotion, for the strong one feared being too weak would result in death, while the cowardly one feared a strong force would destroy it. It was also an emotion that kept many alive. It charged up their instincts and drove them to run away, or defend themselves. Instilled in our bodies, it was the root for survival.

And this was the one emotion felt all around West City when an achingly familiar platoon of ships found their way to a suitable landing position in an open field that had originally been used for planting. The crab-like vessels were a painstaking reminder that peace was never permanent. Once the doors to those menacing ships opened up, steam pouring out and coating the ground, those all-too-familiar soldiers in Freiza Force Battle Armor stepped out onto the bright green grass with their blasters and scouters. Screams danced around like an unpracticed symphony, which only delighted the soldiers. They fired their blasters as well as Ki blasts at houses and cars and the people retreating from them.

A soldier grabbed a man by the back of his shirt, pulling him up to eye level. The man was visibly shaking like a tiny dog. The Freiza Force soldier looked the man up and down, then spoke in a menacingly low voice that made the man quiver even more. "Answer my question correctly and you might live. Where is the female Saiyan?"

The man stumbled over his words as he fumbled for an answer. "I-I-I don't k-know w-w-what you're taking a-about. Please, don't k-kill me!"

The soldier looked over his shoulder at two other soldiers behind him. "What do you think?"

"Just do away with him, he doesn't matter. If we play our cards right, the female Saiyan will come right to us." One of them spoke in a raspy voice.

The soldier shrugged and turned back to the man. "Welp, you heard him. We don't need you anymore."

"W-wait, don't! I don't know what a Saiyan is, please!" The man cried, gripping at the hand holding him suspended in the air.

The soldier ignored the pitiful cries of the man and threw him up into the air, already bring his other arm up to fire a fairly small Ki blast at him. He knew humans weren't as durable as Saiyans, or anything else, really, so they didn't take much effort to take down. The yellow glow swirled around his palm before shooting forward, high into the air to the flailing man.

An orange blur jumped up into the air, catching the man and flying off over the treetops. The Ki blast shot, aimless, into the air, disappearing into the blue sky and white clouds. The cries of the panicked man soon faded into nothing as if he had never been there in the first place.

The soldier growled low in his throat. "What the hell was that?"

"Probably one of the pesky Z-Fighters Lord Frieza told us about." Another soldier chimed in. "Don't pay them any mind. They're mostly humans, anyways."

"Mostly?" The soldier said with a raised eyebrow.

"Forget him." Another slapped the soldier on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go blow up a building, huh? We won't find this damned female Saiyan just standing here, will we?"

...

The man screamed long and loud until he was eventually set down onto the comfort of the grass. He stopped crying and opened his eyes, his cheeks stained in tears. He saw an orange Gi, a black Obi, and a bald head.

"Who're...you?" The man asked, trembling.

"I'm the man whose ear you screamed in for three minutes." Krillin said, rubbing his ears. "Jeez."

"You...flew." The man looked around him with wide, panicked eyes. "Where am I?"

Krillin looked around as well, his hands on his hips. "I don't know. I just flew you somewhere as far from those Frieza Force guys." They were directly in the center of a field surrounded by cows and horses. The animals continued with their business as if the men had never appeared. Krillin scratched the back of his head, then turned back in the direction of the soldiers. "Stay here, will you? You'll be safe."

Without another word, the short man shot into the air with a shout, leaving the stunned man alone with a dozen cows and horses maneuvering around him.

...

Tien dodged a punch from a tall and bulky Freiza Force solider and fired a beam straight through his chest, spilling green blood along the concrete of the now deserted street that was usually busy during this time of day. He side-stepped away from the body and moved onto the next soldier.

He hadn't been too busy that day when the soldiers burst into the city, wrecking as much havoc as they could. He had spurred into action long before he heard the screams and explosions. It had been a long while since the Freiza Force had attacked Earth, and Tien was unsure of their intentions. This attack was so out of the blue that they had to have a goal. Usually, Frieza wanted them to know of his upcoming appearance to encourage a fight he was sure he'd win, though it never went in his favor. The soldiers had arrived in vast amounts, though Tien was sure that it wasn't all of the men Frieza had on his side. He wouldn't send everybody on his force without arriving himself, and Tien wasn't seeing the tyrant anywhere.

He must have sent them to do his dirty work, Tien thought with a grimace. He wants his soldiers to take care of everything on the ground so he can waltz in when all is said and done, having not had to do any work. I'll admit, he never ceases to surprise me. But what doesn't make sense is that they are simply attacking. It doesn't seem like they have a motive, at least not one I can see. What are they after?

Chiaotzu floated above Tien's head, firing his own blasts in all directions. He managed to knock several enemies down, and Tien finished them off.

"What do we do, Tien?" Chiaotzu asked in his high-pitched voice.

"We must alert the Z-Fighters. Though I have a feeling they already know." Tien looked up into the sky, watching a group of soldiers flying overhead.

"Krillin is taking care of the batch on the other side of the city, but I don't know about Goku or Yamcha. Yajirobe is off somewhere, who knows if he'll be back in time to help." Chioatzu said. "Should we go to Bulma?"

"No, then we'd be risking her getting in danger." Tien jumped back to avoid a cluster of blasts. "We stay here and defend the city. I have no doubt that Goku and Vegeta already know of this attack and are taking action."

"Shouldn't we get the Z-Fighters all together?" Chiaotzu cried. "These guys are strong! And they just keep coming in huge waves!"

Tien turned to where Chiaotzu was pointing, and gritted his teeth when he spotted ten or more Freiza Force soldiers thundering towards them. "Nevertheless, we must hold our position. If they take over the city, then our chances of winning will be dwindled. Frieza isn't with them, so we don't have to worry about him."

"Why would Frieza send so many soldiers?" Chiaotzu asked.

"He must be after that new Saiyan Goku brought back from Planet Vegeta." Tien said as he fired a volley of energy blasts, cutting off the soldiers in their charging rampage. "That's the only logical explanation. Chiaotzu, go to Piccolo and alert him. That Saiyan should still be with him."

"But what about you? There are too many soldiers for you to fight by yourself." Chiaotzu said with a firm shake of his head. "I need to stay with you."

A large blast shot between them, making them both jump back to reality. Tien took a step back and fired a beam at a truck a few feet in front of him but directly in front of the incoming soldiers, sending it into a gigantic explosion that nearly took a three-story building down with it. Smoke and fire swallowed the soldiers in an instant.

"Chiaotzu, just go! I got this! We must protect the female Saiyan. Don't let them follow you." He gently pushed Chiaotzu higher into the air. "I'll be fine."

"Okay, Tien!" Chiaotzu took off into the sky. "Please don't die!" And with that, he left Tien alone in the middle of the street.

...

"So, you guys are doing alright up there?" Bulma asked with a smile.

"Yep. We've actually got some seeds planted, so we should have some carrots and celery and even cabbage soon." Cheelai reported over the blue holo-screen.

It had become a daily goal for Bulma to check on the residents of Planet Vampa. She hadn't actually met Cheelai or Lemo or Broly in person like Goku had, but she was starting to become close friends with the green alien girl from their talks each day. Ever since the epic battle in the snow-turned-lava disaster of Earth, Bulma had called the three to check up, make sure they didn't need anything, and see what she could help with. Cheelai was a nice girl, though she seemed like she was slightly bossy, what with how Bulma overheard her yelling at Lemo to fetch her things.

"How's that Legendary Super Saiyan doing? Does he still have anger issues?" Bulma chuckled.

Cheelai shrugged with a sigh. "Oh, he's still plenty irritable. But, on the bright side, he got his little green creature thing to like him again. He spends all his time with that thing. It's adorable."

"Well, that was the first friend he ever had, right?" Bulma said. "At least, that's what you told me, and if your word is anything to go on, Broly seems to be very attached to his animal friend."

"Yeah. He actually taught it how to play dead. How cute is that?" Cheelai laughed.

Just before Bulma could reply, the doors burst open and in stormed Chiaotzu, his face coated in fear and worry. Bulma looked him up and down, then stood. "Chiaotzu? What's the matter?"

"Where's Goku?" He asked quickly.

"Uh...out training with my husband. Why?" Bulma replied with a raised eyebrow.

"We're gonna need him."