So I thought of a What-If. Somebody get this one to Masako. What if Vegeta went Super Saiyan when Cell killed Trunks instead of back in the Android Saga? To be clear, not SSJ2. Just SSJ.
Chapter 12: The Dance Of The Ginyu Force. The Fabulous Five Take Flight.
"It is a pleasure to be working with you again." Frieza said.
"And the same is returned, Lord Frieza." Ginyu replied. "Now I can only assume something went wrong on this planet."
"It sickens me to say it, but Vegeta has managed to gain the upperhand." Frieza said. "In one fell swoop he simultaneously destroyed my ship's functions and stole my hard-earned Dragon Balls. Your mission is to find that traitor and bring him to me. Alive."
"That shouldn't be a problem, my Lord." Ginyu said, his scouter honing in on Vegeta. "I'm already tracking his energy. Seems he's in quite a hurry." His face turned to surprise as his scouter picked up two more energies.
"Something wrong, Ginyu?" Frieza asked.
"Looks like he's not alone." Ginyu replied. "There's two other power signatures traveling beside him. Both are pretty substantial."
"Must be the two pests from the village." Frieza said.
"What should we do about them?" Ginyu asked.
"Have fun with them. They're not all that important." Frieza said. "All I want is Vegeta brought to me on his knees."
"As you wish, Lord Frieza." Ginyu said. "They'll make good sport. And now for the scouters. Jeice?"
The red alien in the party stepped forward with a case in his hands.
"These are the scouters you asked for, my Lord." Jeice said. "The most recent model. These are some of the highest quality you can get."
"Perfect." Frieza said, taking the case.
"Now, men. Line up." Ginyu said.
The group of five stood one-behind-the-other, shortest at front and tallest in back.
"Let's do this, men!" Ginyu said.
The five began pumping themselves up before taking off into the sky, leaving Frieza stunned. "At least they bring results." He said.
The Ginyu's are on the move. Vegeta thought to himself. And they're gaining.
"Hurry up!" Vegeta yelled. "We don't have much more time!"
They soon came across the crevice that hid the Dragon Balls, Vegeta darting straight for it. "Now they're mine!" He yelled.
The trio stopped in terror as the Ginyu Force landed in front of the Dragon Balls, blocking them off.
"Pleasure to see you again, Vegeta." Ginyu said.
"G'day." Jeice said.
"Howdy." Burter chimed in.
"Damn it." Vegeta said as the Ginyu's snickered. "If we had just been faster."
"I don't suppose that's a Dragon Ball you're holding." Ginyu said.
"And looky here." Recoome said motioning behind him. "There's another five all together, ready for us to collect."
"Lord Frieza'll be quite pleased." Ginyu laughed. "Seven of these Dragon Balls in one place. Must've hit the jackpot today."
Krillin shook in his boots at these guys' energies. Vegeta wasn't kidding. He thought. There's no way I could match up to these guys. Especially the one in the center. They're all kittens compared to him.
Guldo stepped forward to grab the Dragon Ball from Vegeta, who simply held it above his head. "Get back!" The saiyan said. "My nose can't handle your odors."
Guldo's eyes strained as he went to charge Vegeta. "How dare you!" He yelled. Recoome picked Guldo up by the head and dragged him back.
"Now just hold on there, Guldo." He said. "Don't get greedy on us. I don't think we ever decided it was your kill, did we?"
"Vegeta, why don't you just hand over the ball?" Ginyu asked. "We're going to kill you anyway, so why not make the job easier?"
Vegeta looked at his reflection in the ball and laughed. "You want this ball so badly, huh?" He chuckled. "Then why don't you come get it!" He turned around and threw the Dragon Ball off into the distance with all of his power.
Nobody saw Burter move. Before Gohan and Krillin could turn to watch the ball, Burter had grabbed it and returned. The trio stared in awe as the Dragon Ball seemingly vanished with a glimmer of a person and were even more surprised to find Burter holding it.
"Did you think that was a clever idea, Vegeta?" Ginyu mocked. "I guess you forgot that nothing can rival Burter's speed. Now if you'll hand us the other one."
Vegeta whipped around to face Krillin. "Destroy it!" He yelled.
Krillin brought his fist down towards the ball. Unlike before, the ball truly vanished, having been there one second and gone the next. Krillin swung through his hands in disbelief.
Guldo let out a gasp for air and revealed the Dragon Ball in his hands.
"Damn it." Vegeta said. "So the rumours are true."
"What rumours?" Krillin asked.
"The fat, green, little blob can stop time at will." Vegeta said. "Or at least slow it down."
"But that's impossible." Krillin gasped.
"Don't be so sure of yourself, buddy." Guldo chuckled.
"Now that the opening act has finished. I say we get on with the main event." Ginyu said. "It's showtime, men!"
"Yeah!" Jeice said. "And when he says 'showtime' he doesn't mean a nice ballet. He means we're gonna murder you!"
"I think they got that, Jeice." Ginyu said.
"So are we really gonna fight them?" Krillin asked.
"I think it's obvious we can't outrun them." Vegeta said. "It's best if we stand together right now. Based on what I saw on Earth, you two won't be worth much, but it's better than nothing."
"I'll take Vegeta." Ginyu said. "You four can play 'Rock Paper Scissors' or something for the little guys."
The trio watched in a scared amusement as the other four started complaining to their captain.
"You always get the big guy." Guldo said.
"How come we always get stuck with the little guys?" Recoome asked.
"It's not fair, Captain." Jeice and Burter said.
"Fine. Fine." Ginyu said. "I'll just take the Dragon Balls back to Lord Frieza and explain the situation. I trust you four can share your toys evenly."
"You got it, Captain." The other four said.
"First place'll get Vegeta." Guldo said. "And second place'll get-"
"The rest." Recoome said. "There's no fun in fighting just one weakling at a time. I want more of challenge."
"Ready!" Jeice said.
The four of them began playing 'Rock Paper Scissors' to decide who got who. Each time they met in a draw and threw out their hands again.
"Shouldn't we be running away, right now?" Gohan asked.
The four drew away from each other with Recoome as the winner.
"Yeah!" He yelled. "I get to fight Vegeta!"
"And I have to deal with the runts." Guldo said.
"It's better then nothing though." Ginyu said.
"Tell ya what, Guldo." Recoome said. "Once I have my fun, I'll let you have a turn."
The Dragon Balls began floating around Ginyu. "Now if you'll excuse me, gents. Lord Frieza has a date with immortality." He said, flying off.
"No!" Gohan said, ready to fire at Ginyu.
"Calm down!" Vegeta said. "You'll just waste your energy. Deal with these goons and then worry about him."
He motioned towards Krillin, beckoning him forward. "Don't let ol' four-eyes fool you." Vegeta said. "He might not have power, but his psychic abilities make him very dangerous. Don't let your guard down around him."
"Right." Krillin said.
"Is it true you came here alone?" Vegeta asked. "Kakarot isn't with you?"
"It's just us." Krillin replied. "But he's coming. He'll be here soon."
"'Soon' isn't good enough." Vegeta said. "As much as I hate him, we need him here now. With his strength we'll easily gain the upperhand."
Guldo and Recoome stepped forward, ready to fight.
"So who's first?" Recoome asked. "Why don't you take the honors, Guldo?"
"You just want me to clear out the runts so you big boys can play." Guldo said. "Some honor."
"It doesn't matter who's up first!" Vegeta called out. "Let's just get on with it!"
Gohan and Krillin ran forward, ready to face off with Guldo.
"Just follow my lead." Krillin said.
As Guldo approached, the two of them began unleashing all of the power they had, surprising the Ginyu Force.
The two lept high into the air and fired off two ki blasts at Guldo. Before the blasts could hit him, Guldo took a deep breath of air and stopped time. He ran across the plains away from the blasts. When he looked back he was shocked that he couldn't find them.
Where'd they go? Guldo thought. He searched the sky frantically before finding the two flying away. They got pretty far. Now all I have to do is- Guldo's face turned red as he began running out of air. NO! Not yet! He let out a deep gasp and time resumed.
The three other members of the Ginyu Force flew above the explosion from the blasts hitting the ground.
"What d'ya know." Recoome said. "The little runts got some fight in 'em after all."
"Their power levels are far higher now then a little while ago." Burter said. "Seems they can raise and lower their power levels without transforming. How odd."
"You got some weird friends, don't cha, Vegeta!" Jeice called out.
"Seems like your power is rising by the minute, Gohan." Krillin said.
"I wouldn't say that." Gohan said. "But the Elder's power up is helping a lot. I'm still nowhere near as fast as this guy is. He's already over there."
"Must've been that time-skip ability or something." Krillin said. "Let's go again."
The two of them charged at Guldo and vanished, moving faster then Guldo could keep up with. He tried watching their movements but ended up making himself dizzy. In a last attempt he closed his eyes and drew in as much air as he could. When he opened his eyes, Gohan and Krillin were right in front of his face.
They got so close! He thought, running away from the two. He stopped running and looked back. Why am I running? I'm a member of the Ginyu Force. I can handle two runts. Starting with the brat. He put his hands out in front of him and prepared an attack. Suddenly, the ground beneath him broke away, knocking him onto his back, the air leaving his lungs.
Time returned to normal and left Gohan and Krillin confused. They looked around the area for Guldo. Krillin noticed the green blob lying on his back not far away.
"Over there!" He yelled. He charged a Kamehameha and fired it at Guldo, who narrowly dodged it.
Gohan fired off a Masenko which hit the ground near Guldo and sent him flying.
"Damn it!" Krillin yelled. "We almost had him!"
"Hey, Guldo!" Recoome said. "Stop messing around!"
"Yeah!" Burter said. "You're making us look bad!"
"If you can't deal with two pests, then we're gonna have to have a talk about kicking you off the team!" Recoome yelled!
"At the very least you'll have to sit at the kids' table for lunch!" Jeice said.
"That's not all that necessary!" Guldo said. "I was just caught off guard, that's all!"
"Now! While he's distracted!" Krillin yelled.
The two fighters charged Guldo, who fumbled for an attack.
"Alright then!" Guldo said. "I guess it's time for my special attack!"
He put his fingers together and placed his hands above his head while letting out a scream. His voice resonated withing Gohan and Krillin's minds, who stopped in mid-air, unable to move.
"What-" Krillin said. "What happened? I can't move."
"That's my paralysis spell." Guldo laughed. "You won't move unless I let you!"
"Guldo must really be in trouble." Recoome said. "He never uses his paralysis trick unless he needs to."
"And against these runts no doubt." Jeice said.
"Now I'll show you what happens when you mess with the Ginyu Force!" Guldo said.
The rocks around him began swirling into the air and flew towards Gohan and Krillin, pelting them in the face.
Guldo used his psychic powers to turn a nearby tree into a long stake.
"Oh no!" Guldo mocked. "A big ol' stick is heading your way. You better move if you don't want to get skewered."
Gohan and Krillin struggled against the paralysis as the large stake moved closer towards them.
"Come on! Hurry!" Guldo said. "It's getting closer!"
Vegeta watched from above as Guldo slowly moved the stake towards them. "Idiots." He said. "I warn them about Guldo's psychic powers and they still go running in."
"Well if you're not going to move I guess there's really nothing else to do." Guldo said. "And it looks like the one in orange'll be the first to get stuck. I'll think of something for the brat later."
He threw his hand forward and the tree flew faster towards Krillin.
Everything seemed to move slowly as a bright blue beam shot the tree before it could hit Krillin, stopping it in place. The beam shot straight through Guldo's neck, severing it. The paralysis wore off and Gohan and Krillin dropped to the ground.
Vegeta landed behind Guldo, whose head rolled from his body. The Saiyan knocked the body over as he approached the head of Guldo.
"No... no fair!" Guldo stuttered. "You d-damn cheater! This... this was be-between me and the runts."
"Those were your rules, Guldo. Weren't they?" Vegeta said. "I never agreed to them. Besides, all's fair on the battlefield. You should know this by now."
"I... I never thought I'd go d-down like this." Guldo said. "At the hands of a d-damned ape. This is em-embarressing."
"I'm sorry for you, Guldo." Vegeta said, extending out his hand. "Let me ease that pain of yours."
Guldo let out a gasp as Vegeta fired on his head, blowing it to pieces.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but," Krillin said, approaching Vegeta, "thanks, Vegeta."
"Save your breath." Vegeta said. "I only saved you because it's easier to explain. I'd have a hard time getting Kakarot to help if you're dead. If it was any other time I'd've left you for dead."
"The hell happened out there!" Jeice yelled. "Guldo just went and got himself killed!"
"This is bad." Recoome said. "Without him, our signature Ginyu Force fighting pose will off."
"The Captain's not going to be happy about this." Burter said.
"Nevermind that." Recoome said. "We need to finish off these runts. And since I still got Vegeta, you two have to decide which of you gets to go."
"Alright, Burter." Jeice said. "Let's go!"
Krillin, Gohan, and Vegeta watched as Burter and Jeice began playing "Rock-Paper-Scissors" to decide who goes.
"What's with these guys?" Gohan asked. "It's like it's just one big game to them."
"I think that's what scares me the most." Krillin said.
"Be ready." Vegeta said. "I have a feeling this is where Hell begins."