Dragon Ball: Insurgent

Earth's Defenders

"Victorious warriors win first then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first then seek to win."

-Sun Tzu

Radio waves can travel for an untold amount of distance through the vacuum of space. Interstellar communication has become possible thanks to innovations like advanced radio waves. Sounds, transcriptions, and even images can be sent millions of miles through the void to whoever needs them. Frieza's empire is able to stay in touch and under the tyrant's heel because of this very simple tool. A major problem, as a result, is the development of technology that allows less than lawful groups to intercept these messages. In a sort of shadow network, information sent through the Cold Family's empire is often picked up by third party sources.

Some of these groups are pirates. Like all great empires, the Cold Empire has its share of miscreants. The universe is a place large enough that even the concept of policing it seems like a fool's errand. So little acts of vandalism and looting go unnoticed outside the major trade lanes of the Empire. Soldiers are bribed and bought off while traders know to carry a little extra coin to pay the tolls set up by these groups. It is a simple system, but it works for all parties involved. And while many enjoy the life of going after poorly defended ships, other deal in the selling of information.

Lieutenant Leek is one of these people. Her fingers move across the com tables, monitoring scraps of data that migrate through the cosmos. Normally she would have one of the Gross twins do it, but they are sick with some kind of fungal infection. Her brown, monkey like tail acts as another hand and brings a cup of steaming caz to her mouth. The slightly bitter drink keeps her awake during the long hours aboard the ship. Black, spiky hair falls into her face, parting just before her eyes. She somtimes has to move it to keep it out of her face as she works. The endless stream of data bores her, as much as she would rather not admit it. She would much rather be out fighting against Frieza, or hunting down Prince Vegeta. She takes another sip of caz as her Prince's face occupies her thoughts.

The Prince, is a disgrace to their race. For as long as she could remember, she has harbored a hatred for his entire family. They had been the ones to allow Planet Plant to be destroyed by Frieza. The Prince had also been stupid enough to accept the lie, saying that a meteor had simply collided with their home world. Leek thanks her lucky stars that she had managed to be off world when it had happened. But, that does not mean her own anger was tempered. Something deep inside of her blood makes her want to rip the man limb from limb. Of course going after him would be suicide. Her lips curl into a smile as she pats the seeds in her pocket. A few bites of the Fruit, and she could easily reach or surpass his power level. The Captain had planted and eaten the Fruit on countless worlds, and his strength rivals that of even Frieza. Leek may only eaten it once, but her own strength had doubled as a result. A single bite had allowed her to even surpass her big brother. No, it was how close Vegeta is to Frieza that stops her from jumping in a pod and going after him. It would takes years of eating the Fruit to get her on Lord Frieza's level. With Vegeta being one of the Tyrant's top agents, it would draw unneeded attention. Sometimes, however, it is almost worth it. She licks her lips imaging what his blood must taste like...

The stylus she is holding snaps in two, bringing her attention back to her task at hand. She brushes off the bits of plastic and keeps working. There had been some interesting rumors going around that some of Frieza's agent had found something. The rumor was that it was the secret to immortality, which Leek knows could very well be a real thing. Some races like the Namekians seem to live forever, and the god like Kais must have come from somewhere. Leeks knows that the universe is a veyry big and weird place, and to dismiss anything as simple rumor could be costly. For that reason, she examines the date collected by a Frieza agent on one of Lord Cooler's planets. She intends to decode exactly what it is. Anything to give her crew a little bit of a leg up could be a huge help.

"And besides," Leek whispers as she leans back in her chair, "What girl wouldn't want to be young and beautiful forever?"

"Now, come to momma," Leek says under her breath as she inputs a series of commands. The code fails and she tries again. When that fails, she tries again. She keeps trying until she gets a result, "Let's see what your scouters picked up."

An image starts to appear on screen. It is a bit fuzzy, but she starts to enhance the image taken from the scouter.

What she sees causes her to drop her drink.

It is a picture of a boy, maybe a year or two younger than she is. The surroundings are that of a jungle, with wild looking plants as large as buildings around him. The boy is naked, but there is no denying his nobility. The cut of his chin, the piercing blue eyes. Even the way his tail hangs, the little things that only she would know. He had been in her dreams for as long as she could remember. His face is almost as familiar as her own by now.

Leek puts a hand to her mouth, "That's impossible, that's just impossible. You're dead, I saw you die."

Her tail wraps around her wrist as she continues to stare at the image on her screen. There is no doubt about it. This boy is him. He may looks different than when she had last saw him, but there is no mistaking it. Her fingers fly across the keyboard as she tries to scrounge up every single bit of data she can find surrounding the picture. In a few hours, she will have the name of the worker who put the glass in the damn scouter if that is what it takes. There is not a being in the entire universe that can hide from her if she wants to find them. Olve would be no exception.

The first taste of Earth's atmosphere is extremely pleasant for Nappa. Having stopped by Arlia and smelled the stinking corpses of insects for hours, it is nice to finally land on a planet so similar to Planet Vegeta. A variety of foods waft through the air, making the big Saiyan lick his lips. One of the worst parts of the job is that he can never sample some of the local cuisine, often he has trashed the planet long before they can find any remains. Instant meals or a nutrient supplement just get old after a while. Unlike a younger Saiyan these thoughts of food are not a fixation, but rather a pleasant distraction for the imposing warrior. Having seen much of the cosmos, Nappa can appreciate, to a certain extent, the qualities of this planet. Where many worlds have had their environments destroyed by their obsession with industry, the Earth is a surprisingly clean place. The skies are a bright blue and the clouds are a wonderful confection of white. Smirking, Nappa looks around at the architecture of the city they have landed in. The structures are as high as any in Frieza's empire, though they lack the polish of more advanced worlds. Part of Nappa wishes they could spend a little more time in this place, such worlds are rather rare after all.

What is not rare, however, is the reaction of the earthlings around them. Though a variety of shapes and sizes, some even resembling anthropomorphic beasts, all of them are staring up at the two of them with looks of terror. Many of them are screaming for the police or hiding behind their transports or worse, each other. This is the sort of thing that Nappa cannot stand, and his admiration for the planet quickly becomes contempt. Had aliens landed on Planet Vegeta unannounced as they had, Nappa knows that his fallen Saiyan brothers would have attacked on the spot for such an act of disrespect. So many species in the universe seem to lack the Saiyan's concept of honor. He spits when he sees a female earthling hide behind her younger son, a boy of no more than ten by the look of him. It makes him think of his own son that had died years ago on Planet Vegeta. Nappa knows the boy's mother would have stood her ground. It is better to fight and be killed like a warrior, than to run and hide. Through his years of service in the Saiyan Army, and under Lord Frieza, Nappa had discovered a distinct distaste for such cowardly displays. A crackle of energy begins to form in his hand as his anger grows.

"What a bunch of sniveling cowards," Nappa tells his smaller partner. He taps his scouter, laughing at the number on his display, "Look at that Vegeta, not a power level over six! Can you believe that Kakarot couldn't handle them?"

"Looks can be deceiving Nappa. There is likely more to this than we know," Prince Vegeta reminds him, "Let's just find the Dragon Balls and be done with this."

"Like the bug planet," Nappa continues, looking around some more, "Remember that one Vegeta?"

"Damn it Nappa," Prince Vegeta tells him, "Find the highest power levels on this miserable rock. I want to meet the Kakarot that gave Raditz so much trouble. We should probably see if that boy Raditz found is alive as well, though I doubt it. What was his name again? It slipped my mind. Probably something lower class like Turles or Toma."

"Probably, I honestly wasnt paying too much attention when Raditz was talking. I wanna fight someone," Nappa says with a sadistic grin. He raises two fingers into the air, reveling in the feeling of power coursing through him, "Mind if I have a little fun with them first?"

Prince Vegeta begins tapping his scouter with a bored expression on his face, "Fine Nappa. Just don't overdo it."

Before Nappa can let loose with his energy, his scouter beeps to life. Two power levels of about 1000 are headed their way. Looking to his right, the burly Saiyan can see two white auras racing towards them.

"Well, looks like we're gonna have a little fun after all," Vegeta says with a smirk, calmly landing on the city street to wait for their challengers, "Though, these fighters are far stronger than any of the reports sent by Raditz."

"How could such a pitiful planet produce fighters like that all of a sudden?' Nappa asks as he relaxes and lands next to Prince Vegeta, "It's doesn't make any sense."

"Who knows, perhaps they've been preparing for us somehow. It makes no difference though, they are still no match for the two of us," Prince Vegeta reassures him, "Immortality is within our grasp. Then no one will be able to oppose me."

At that moment, the fighters arrive. One of them is a Namek of all things. The Namek is dressed in a bizarre looking tunic complete with turban. Reading his power-level gives Nappa reading of about 1,000, though the Namek does not seemed worried in the slightest. The second of the two is clearly Kakarot. Despite the strange orange outfit, the young man's dark eyes are the same as Prince Vegeta's or his own. Though lacking in cruelty, a fire for battle clearly burns within his fellow Saiyan. Kakarot's wild hair style marks him as a member of the lower class. His puny power level is also a testament to that fact. On his scouter he only registers at about 1,000 as well. Nappa almost laughs when the younger Saiyan clenches his fists, as if he could actually do something against two elites.

"Piccolo, it's them," Kakarot says to the Namek, dropping down adjacent to them. The lower-class warrior stares directly at Vegeta, and the prince glares back in return. Something about seeing these two look at each other sends a shiver down Nappa's spine. Now Kakarot looks at him, "You two. There's nothing on this planet that you want. Leave, or suffer the consequences."

"Do you hear that Nappa? Looks like we're finished," Prince Vegeta sarcastically says, "If these two are here to stop us, we might as well just give up now."

"You shouldn't underestimate us," the Namek named Piccolo warns, his voice level and calm, "Doing so could be hazardous to your health."

Nappa suddenly feels very excited, "Vegeta! These two will be way more fun than any of these other earthlings! Let me have a crack at them."

"Not so fast Nappa," Prince Vegeta commands, raising a hand and addressing the two of them, "Kakarot, let me make something perfectly clear. I am aware that you are hiding your true power level. Perhaps you've hit your head harder than I would have thought possible, if you can't recognize an opponent as terrifying as Nappa or myself."

"Is that so?" Kakarot says with a cocky smile on his face, "I'll say this one more time, you're either going to leave here in peace or in pieces. This is my home, and I will protect it no matter what."

"Nice touch with that last bit," the Namek says to his comrade with a small smile on his face.

"Kakarot, see reason. I for one would not like to spill any Saiyan blood here today. There are so few of us left, what good would it do? However, it has been quite a long trip. I know that Nappa for one is hungry for a chance to fight the one that killed Raditz," Prince Vegeta tells the lower-class, a clear effort to control the malice in his voice. Nappa cracks his knuckles to emphasis Prince Vegeta's words, "Hand over the Dragon Balls. If you submit, I will allow you and your pathetic planet to live. Refuse, and you'll face the full power of the Prince of all Saiyans."

"We refuse, your highness," Kakarot immediately responds, flying into the air, "Follow us, there are too many people in this city for us to fight."

"And why the hell should we move?" Nappa retorts, taking a step forward, "Fight us here, coward."

"We can't fight at full power here. Like your Prince said, we're hiding our true strength," Kakarot tells him as he begins to slowly drift towards a series of mountains. He addresses Vegeta alone, "You do want to fight me at full power, right?"

With a little 'huff', Prince Vegeta begins to take flight with Nappa following suit. The Prince makes a small hand motion to signal Kakarot to begin flying, "By all means, lead the way then. It makes no difference to me where we fight. But know this, Kakarot, no tricks. We will have the Dragon Balls, or make you tell us where they are through more drastic measures."

Flaring up their auras, the four warriors take flight towards a pre-decided destination. The people of that city had been shaken, but are left alive by the intervention of Goku. Though it would have been fun to test his strength after months of travel, Nappa was more than willing to let the earthlings live for now. Kakarot and the Namek would prove to be far more entertaining than shooting the proverbial fish in a barrel. Still, there is no mistake in Nappa's mind that he will show the tailless traitor just how terrifying he could be. The way the low-class warrior had looked at him was enough to warrant a death sentence on its own. Before the destruction of Planet Vegeta, the other Saiyans had been wise to look at the ground when he passed. Back in those days, the name Nappa had commanded respect and fear. Today was a different story. More and more worms like Kakarot thought it just fine to disregard or mock him.

"Nappa, snap out of it," Prince Vegeta commands over the scouter so that only he can hear him, "Focus on the mission."

"Right, sorry Vegeta," Nappa responds, gritting his death as he watches Kakarot's back, "Won't let it happen again."

Tien awakens in a cold sweat the second he feels the two high energy signatures land on earth. The triclops begins cursing himself for sleeping so late. Last night he and Chiaotzu had worked into the wee morning hours training. It would appear that his body had simply given up, forcing Tien to sleep until about ten in the morning. In his groggy state Tien thinks that what he is feeling must be a sort of interlude to a nightmare. After a year of training Tien had imagined that they would ready to confront the Saiyans. Even if they could not outright defeat their enemies most of the humans believed that they would be able to win through guile or through their superior numbers. And that thought had been a comforting one for months now. But here was a sickening truth laid out before Tien's eyes; the Saiyans were stronger than they could have predicted. All of their hard-work would likely lead to nothing but death today.

Tien shakes away those thoughts and begins to get dressed. Protecting the people he loves takes precedent over any fear for his own life. Maybe a few years ago he might have hidden away, but today he was a different man. Pulling up the green pants of his gi, Tien looks down at the sleeping body of his lifelong partner. Chiaotzu is only a few years younger than him, but still reminds Tien of a child. For that reason, Tien had always felt protective of him. For that reason, even though it kills him inside, Tien begins to silently walk out the door. The small white fighter had not been able to obtain the new heights that he and Yamcha had. He'll be safer here, Tien justifies to himself as he readies himself to step outside.

"Tien?" Chiaotzu's small voice suddenly says. The three-eyed human turns around to see his friend beginning to sit up in their bed, "Where are you going?"

When Tien does not answer, the small fighter fills in the blanks, "The Saiyans are here, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," Tien admits, unable to look his friend in the eye, "I'm going to fight them Chiaotzu. You should stay here, or go to Kame House. That way you can protect Launch and the others…"

"You're leaving me behind, aren't you?" Chiaotzu asks in a meek tone, "You don't think I'm strong enough."

"Yes, I'm sorry Chiaotzu but I need to do this. If you go you could be killed," Tien tries to make his next few words as cold and cruel as possible, "You'd only get in the way."

Instead of shrinking back like Tien had expected, Chiaotzu begins to get dressed. Before Tien knows it the small fighter is by his side. Smiling up at him, Chiaotzu begins floating upwards. "Mr. Tien, we're going to do this together okay? I want to be there for you."

Smiling despite himself, Tien takes his place next to his partner, "You're right Chiaotzu, let's go."

Piccolo cannot summon up the confidence that his ally seems to be radiating the closer they get to the battlefield. While the bigger Saiyan is the more menacing looking of the two, it had become clear to Piccolo early on that he was far weaker than the one named Vegeta. In fact, Piccolo is happy that his year of training with Goku had given him the power up he would need to take that one. Raditz had not been a particularly skilled adversary, having simply just thrashed him about like a barbarian. Piccolo is betting that the one called Nappa will fight in a relatively similar manner. Should that be the case, the former Demon King has no trouble believing that he will be able to claim the head of another Saiyan before the day is through.

Yet, and Goku must feel it too, the smaller Saiyan is disconcerting. His energy levels are just insane, easily dwarfing both of them even together. While Raditz had posed a similar challenge in some regards, this is something beyond facing a powerful warrior. Vegeta seems to be a living embodiment of death, as though he were some kind of hellish messenger sent to Earth for the sole purpose of destruction. It is not so much the sheer amount of power coming from the Saiyan that frightens Piccolo, but just how evil the energy seems to be. While no saint himself, a fact that Piccolo relishes, there is something so far removed from this Saiyan prince and the Demon King Piccolo. Their enemy seems to have the face of an arrogant tyrant; the way he looks at them reminds Piccolo of how he looks at ants. They are insignificant, they are a distraction or an amusement from this monarch's ultimate goal.

"Hey, Piccolo," Goku suddenly says, giving him a thumbs up, "I felt it too, but don't worry about it. We've prepared for this. We're ready."

Smiling despite himself, Piccolo stays fixated on their destination, "I hope you're right, Goku."

"Here, this place will do," Goku says as they pass over a barren wasteland.

Their field of battle would be a mountain pass. This place gets very little rain, so it is less populated by animal life than other spots they could have chosen for battle. The nearest human settlement was several mile south of this place, so the odds of them hurting someone is pretty low. Piccolo had actually been the one to pick the area out a few weeks ago, claiming that it was one of the nicer wastelands he had spent time in. All Goku cared about was getting these two aliens as far away from other people as possible. When they fought, he wanted to make sure it would be at his full power. Having any of the other humans get in the way would rob him of some of the satisfaction of revenge.

"So, this is where you've chosen for your final resting place?" the Saiyan named Vegeta muses as he and Nappa touch down, "Not exactly what I was hoping for given our scans of the planet. You should know, Kakarot, that if you do not give up this little maverick streak that we will be forced to kill you. It is in your best interest to simply hand over the Dragon Balls. I'll even spare your life and the lives of the people on this planet."

"As if we'd let you just waltz out of here with the Dragon Balls," Piccolo spits, "Besides, I don't trust a word that comes out of your mouth. You Saiyans are disgusting."

"Except me, right Piccolo?" Goku asks with a grin.

"Especially you Goku."

"Enough clowning around," Vegeta snaps, reaching into his belt, "I think it's only fair that we give you a chance to warm up. Besides, if you can't beat these, then there really is no point to us getting our hands dirty.

Vegeta is holding up a little vial filled with what Goku thought at first were Senzu Beans. The smaller of the two Saiyans tosses the vial over to Nappa, smiling at the two of them in a sinister manner. After shaking it a few times, Nappa begins to plant them in the arid soil of their battlefield. Too curious to stop them, Goku watches as Nappa soaks each bean with a few drops of water. After a minute, the ground begins to shake where Nappa had planted his alien seed. Cracks begin to form and from those cracks the heads of six green creatures begin to break through to the surface. The little green monsters are about the size of a human child with a malformed looking large head. They chatter and chirp in some sort of strange language, more animalistic than rational. Their power-levels are also quite surprising considering their sudden appearance, clearly much stronger than they look. All of them sniff the air before turning towards Goku and Piccolo with a hungry expression.

"They're…they're hideous!" Piccolo says, taking an involuntary step backwards, "What kind of monsters are those?"

"These? Well these are what we like to call Saibamen," Nappa explains, patting one fondly on the head, "They grow in the soil of planets that we want to conquer, pretty useful shock troopers if you ask me." The burly Saiyan grins, "All of them are about as strong as Raditz himself."

"What?! No way!" Piccolo yells, gritting his teeth and clenching his fist. Regaining his composure, Piccolo simply begins taking off his weighted turban and cloak, "Fine, grow as many as you want. If you must know, I'm the one that killed your friend a year ago. All of these things are nothing to me."

"What do they taste like?" Goku wonders out loud, scratching his head, "Probably like broccoli, or lettuce. Not every good I bet."

The other three fighters simply stare at the Saiyan in a sort of stunned silence before Nappa speaks up, "Well…anyways you're still no match for our Saibamen. They'll tear you apart!"

Moving faster than any human eye could follow, Goku engages the Saibamen. His sudden movement catches one of them by surprise and his fist crashes through its head with a satisfying 'squish'. Three of the five begin to realize what has happened and begin lounging towards the Earth raised Saiyan. Smiling to himself, Goku pushes out with a large kiai blast. The powerful air currents send the Saibamen flying in all directions. Instead of relenting though Goku pursues the one to his right. A blast of blue energy ends the creature's life without as much as a scream. Charging up a Kamehameha, Goku fire the beam directly at the Saibaman on his flank. Like its brother, this creature simply eases to be under the intensity of Goku's attack. The blast leaves an ugly scar on the planet's surface before destroying a mountain behind the creature. The other Saiyans seem to be watching the scene with a reserved amusement, neither looking surprised that two Saibamen had just been taken down.

Looking over, Goku sees Piccolo engaging the other two. The green creatures had tried to gang up on the Namek. Clawing and biting like wild dogs seems to be the only semblance of a fight style. Almost lazily, Piccolo flies upwards to avoid the green creatures. When they pursue, a manic looks seems to come over Piccolo's face. He grabs one of them by the arm, evidently breaking it judging by the quick spurt of blood. With a yell, Piccolo tosses the Saibaman towards its companion, sending both crashing to the ground. In a disgusting display, Piccolo lets out a bellow of yellow energy. Goku briefly wonders if those two might taste better now that Piccolo has deep-fried them.

"So, is that really the best you've got?" Piccolo taunts, landing next to Goku, "We're not the same earthlings we were before."

"Oh, I think we have exactly what we need," The one named Vegeta tells them, smiling at the two of them with an unsettling smile, "Yes, it is as I predicted."

"And what was that?" Piccolo continues, gritting his teeth.

"That you've been hiding your power-levels. So congratulations on reaching a power-level of 5021 Namek," Vegeta laughs, "And to you to Kakarot, 5456 is very impressive for a low-class warrior like yourself."

"Yep, they sure are strong Vegeta," Nappa comments while taking off his own scouter and tossing it aside, "Heck, Kakarot is even stronger than me. I hope they know how to fight, because I'm excited to test my strength for the first time in a long time."

"Well we already beat your Saibamen without any trouble," Piccolo taunts, "Looks like your little trick didn't work as well as you planned."

"Beat our Saibamen?" Vegeta asks with a cruel grin on his face, "Oh no my dear Namek, I'm afraid your fight with them is going to end in our favor after all.

"Wait, weren't there six of them?" Gou asks, suddenly looking around.

As soon as the words leave his mouth, the remaining Saibamen suddenly latch onto him. Try as he might, Goku cannot seem to shake the creature off of him. A sickening feeling comes to his stomach as the creature begins to pulsate a sickly green energy.

AN: We are now entering the Vegeta Saga, which will be very action heavy. I hope that you all will have an awesome time, because I sure am excited. Saibaman fans, I apologize. The little guys just couldn't handle Son Goku himself it seems.

As always, thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a review! Love ya guys!

Power Levels:

Goku - 5456

Piccolo - 5021

Saibaman - 1200

Nappa - 5100

Vegeta = 18000