Thank you, everyone, for your kind words in the fic reviews! Your engagement certainly helps me drive up even more enthusiasm to keep this story going further. Hopefully, the following chapters will be just as engaging as the story thus far.

Movie 5

Age 763

Planet Earth

A lone space pod rammed through Earth's atmosphere, speeding past a small forest and then landing atop a low hill, easily breaking through the soft earth and leaving a large crater. A metallic popping sound was followed by a release of suspended air, and the door of the pod opened, letting Gomana out of the ship. She stepped out and walked up to the edge of the crater, observing her surroundings. Being quite imprecise, Attack Balls only sent the pilot vaguely in the direction of their target – so, the power level she was after was still ten or so kilometres away.

The pod landed in a fenced off meadow, a pasture for cows. Though the impact initially startled a few of the animals and got them to run, the rest only barely paid attention and continued gnawing on grass. It was late in the evening, and the sky had turned reddish due to the setting sun. The leaves of the trees were turning yellow, and a faint wind rushing past would pick up a few with each blow, flying them across the sky. Earth was beautiful from afar, but it was just as easy on the eye when up close, as well.

Idyllic, and untouched by the depressing system that the Frieza Force once brought to the entire Galaxy. Yet, they were here to put it to the sword.

Gomana turned her face towards the Attack Ball that was now resting in the centre of the crater.

I could escape right now, and they would likely not even notice. They're busy paying attention to all the other Earthlings, after all. Then, she could leave for somewhere deeper in the Galaxy, return to the planets she has saved from tyrannical warlords and... and...

What am I talking about? I'm not going to become a fugitive.

Gomana shook her head to drive those thoughts away – they were unproductive and nonsensical. Instead, she returned her focus towards her mission. As soon as she pressed the button on her scouter, it began scanning the area, and swiftly picked up two power levels past the horizon. One was above average for Earthlings, yet still nothing much, whereas the other was considerably higher. That must be who I'm looking for.

With a faint light blue aura around herself, the soldier ran forward and then leapt into the sky, flying off past the pastures and forests.

The landscape soon unfolded to reveal a small solitary house, standing not far off from a forest and a river stream. Some turnip patches surrounded the house from the back and sides. There were only two people inside of the house, and they were both in the middle of a scene.

"No means no!" Chi-Chi yelled, the sheer vitriol in her voice forcing her half-Saiyan child to briefly wince and cower – yet, Gohan quickly yelled back at her:

"But, Mom! This could be a threat to the whole planet! I can't just stay here and study while all of my friends are fighting to protect everyone from doom!"

"Gohan, you are five! Just because you were kidnapped, for a year, by the literal reincarnation of an ancient evil demon and forced to fight once, does not mean you are going to be crawling out of your house and dropping your studies just so you can fight every single person who comes to Earth!"

"But, Mom-"

"Look, Gohan, do you think you are stronger than every one of our family's friends? Even Piccolo?"

"Well-well, no, but..."

"See, then you being there won't change anything, regardless. If there's another invasion of Earth, the adults will handle it. Calm down, take your edge off with some reason, and don't worry about it!"

"I..."

Gohan wanted to continue arguing with his mother, as dangerous as it was – he wanted to say that even if he was not the strongest of Earth's defenders, that title belonging to Piccolo, he could still help out, especially since there was more than one alien coming to Earth. Yet, he suddenly paused and shifted his eyes to the side. A frowning, determined glare was struck across his face, as if anticipating something.

"Um, Gohan?" Chi-Chi pointed it out, concerned by the sudden change in demeanour herself. "What are you-"

"Shh!" he whispered. "Someone's coming."

His ability to sense energy was still unrefined, but even then, he could feel someone quite powerful approach. Nowhere near as strong as Piccolo, sure, but far above average – and entirely unfamiliar. After some time in the sky, the energy signature dropped down and stopped. Whoever it is, they must have landed in front of the house now. Not wishing to wait any longer, the half-Saiyan ran for the exit.

"Gohan, wait!" Chi-Chi yelped. Her child did not listen and swung the door open, his eyes immediately meeting the gaze of a woman standing in front of the house, ten or so meters away. And, instantly, the boy froze in shock.

That suit of armour. That scouter, attached to the woman's ear. It invoked terrifying repressed memories of Namek, the nightmares of Frieza and his bloodthirsty underlings that terrorized him, the pain and near death he suffered at their hands, over and over again. Without a second of pause, Gohan yelled:

"Stay away, you monster!"

Needless to say, the sudden door swing and the scream of a small child was unexpected for Gomana – briefly, it startled her and got her to make a step back. This house was already not meeting her expectations – hearing the order to take down the Earth's defences' fall-back warrior, she assumed that she will have to traverse a fortress, not visit a farmer's hovel. The appearance of the angry child caught her attention as well. The black hair and pink skin instantly reminded her of Articho. This child couldn't be a Saiyan, though, could he?

Chi-Chi peeked out from the door gap, taken aback by the soldier's appearance as well. "That armour looks similar to what the Saiyans were wearing..."

"If you're one of Frieza's soldiers, then your reign of terror ends here! We stopped you on Namek, we'll stop you here!"

"You... know of Frieza?" Gomana finally spoke. The readings on her scouter were clear – this child, this little child who was barely to her waist, was the high power level she was sent to eliminate. This child, who immediately went on the defensive when he saw her face, and declared that he had helped defeat Frieza's forces on Namek...

I'm not going to kill a child.

That much was clear in her conscience. The taint of service in the Frieza empire hadn't gotten that far.

Calmly, Gomana approached the half-Saiyan and his mother, immediately getting him to raise his hands in a fighting stance. Yet, as the soldier did not move to any attack, nor was she even ready for battle, Gohan did not try to attack her first. Once the distance between them was merely a single meter, Gomana suddenly went down on one knee. Her and Gohan's eyes were now at level.

"Uh...?" the kid muttered, confused for the first time in the confrontation. Gomana's stare at him was curious, rather than afraid or nefarious.

"Who... are you, child?"

In the northern wastelands, Articho's announcement was followed by an intense stare-down. The Saiyan waited for a response from the Earthlings, calmly observing them, while the Earthlings stared at him, shocked and baffled.

This race... They seem similar to Saiyans, but they must be something else. They have no tails.

Finally, mustering the courage, Krillin made a step forward and yelled out, his voice ringing across the dry air of the wastelands:

"If you're here because of Frieza, then don't bother – he was killed last year! So, you'd better turn around and leave!"

This immediately got Articho's attention, and he briefly raised an eyebrow.

"So, you know something about the fate of Frieza after all..." he muttered, barely audibly, then raised his voice to answer Krillin. "That is not news to me. Am I expected to believe that he was killed by one of you?"

"Well-well, no, he's not here..."

Hearing the bald monk's concerned response, the Saiyan flashed a faint smirk. Internally, however, he was considering his choices. Should he still go ahead with his invasion of Earth? If what this Earthling was saying was true, and they really were involved with the destruction of Frieza, then conquering this world, whether or not it truly holds the Dragon Balls and whether or not they do hold this mythical wishing power, would put them directly in this Frieza-destroyer's sights.

But that does mean I can divert them to King Cold, as well.

Sometimes, they would almost forget that there still was an authority ruling Frieza's race – Cold has been almost entirely absent from Galactic politics even after Frieza's death. Apparently, Caesa mentioned something about a project he was working on inside of his spaceship, but the Brenchian did not have high expectations for its result.

Surely, Cold still desires revenge for what happened to his son. That's the strategy, then. If they kill each other off, fighting while presumably destroying the planet under their feet... that's two less headaches for me to worry about.

"Since you Earthlings appear to be familiar with what used to be Frieza's empire, all you need to know, then, is that by the rule of might, rulership of the Galaxy has passed to me," Articho finally spoke, after almost five seconds of pause. Sure, that claim was really embellished, and was more of a pretension than reality, but the Earthlings did not need a lecture on Galactic politics. "I've been made aware that your planet has resisted our conquest in the past, and I held a suspicion that you may have been involved in what happened on Namek, a year ago. I've come here to settle the case on both, and finish your conquest where my peers failed."

"If you're here to avenge the other Saiyans, then-" Tien tried to shoot back, however, Articho stopped him almost instantly, interrupting:

"I don't hold any such feelings towards those simpletons, and I don't care what you did to them. Finishing your conquest is merely business to me."

Granted, if the Earthlings did spill the beans on how they crushed, humiliated and hopefully killed Vegeta, that would be a cherry on the top for this lovely cake.

The four warriors stared Articho down, each one taking the Saiyan's challenge in their own way. Tien briefly glanced to Yamcha, considering whether to make a last-minute poke about his suspicions proving correct – yet, the other martial artist stopped him, suddenly yelling:

"Alright, I've had enough! Guys, we gotta give this guy a welcome to Earth!" and suddenly charged forward.

"Yamcha!" Tien yelled, following after him. Krillin took to the sky as well. At first, it seemed as if their combined battle power was going to be enough to overwhelm the Saiyan – even if he was stronger than each of the Earthlings individually, the advantage was not absurd. Yet, the trio quickly learned that it wasn't just them who were able to relax and hide their battle power. Yamcha's punch struck Articho's raised left upper arm, Tien's struck the raised right, and Krillin's kick was blocked by his knee. Each of the strikes was blown back as if hitting an impenetrable wall, or, in this case, a suddenly massively jumped up power level.

Without a second of pause, Articho clenched his fists and unleashed an invisible burst of energy, easily swatting all three of the Earthlings aside, sending them all flying across the air.

"Tien!" Chiaotzu screamed out and lunged forward as well. A forward assault wasn't going to work, so, the tiny white fighter immediately resorted to one of his techniques – he held his arms forward, displaying both of his palms and focusing on the Saiyan.

No chirp on the scouter came, so, as Articho figured, it was not a ki attack – and the display quickly reminded him of something. Caesa uses something similar, too – to restrain opponents that are much more powerful than he is himself. Assuming it operates the same way... its weakness is concentration. If I move fast enough, he won't be able to concentrate on my movements.

With that in mind, Articho flashed forward, moving faster than the Earthlings could track – from Chiaotzu's point of view, at one point the Saiyan was standing on the roof of the spaceship, and after a blink he was already a hundred meters away, ramming his knee into Tien's gut.

"Agh!" the martial artist gushed out in pain, wind immediately forced out of his lungs. Articho did not wait in place – using Tien's body as a springboard, he propelled himself across the sky, this time ramming into Chiaotzu with a jab across his face. Yamcha was already raising his hands and gathering ki in his palms, but before he could fire anything, the Saiyan charged against him as well, smashing his elbow into the man's ribs.

"E-eek..." Krillin yelped, watching three of his comrades get dispatched with complete ease – yet, even with his legs shaking, he chose to not back down and began gathering golden ki in both of his palms. A beep in Articho's scouter alarmed him that the last of the Earthlings standing was building up his ki, so, as soon as he finished beating back Yamcha, he flew straight at the bald monk – then right past him, dropping down on the ground on both feet and right hand. Krillin briefly stopped, freezing in motion, then was suddenly overtaken by a delayed energy explosion.

Steaming and burned, the Earthling crashed to the ground behind Articho. The other three of his comrades fell immediately after. Articho rose back to full height.

I'm... almost a little surprised. Though he couldn't find as much time for training as he used to while running his clique in the Galactic Rim, Articho still improved considerably since the final battle with Trombone – moreso than he realised himself before he displayed this level of speed against the Earthlings. After letting those thoughts run for a second, he turned towards the Earthlings.

"Well, then," Articho said, planting his foot down on Krillin. He, much like the other Earthlings, was not knocked out yet, but a single strike knocked the wind out of him and left him lying on the floor, groaning from the pain. "Let's see if you reconsider your attitude. I have been informed that this planet holds an artefact with supposed mythical wishing power, and I'd like you to begin your cooperation by telling me what you know."

"You... you know about..." Krillin mumbled, then suddenly changed his tone, upon realisation. "I-I don't know anything!" Articho's foot pressed down with a bit more weight in response, getting the bald monk to grit his teeth.

"You know of Frieza's style of rule, so you can surely tell that I am being very generous with you," the Saiyan explained. "I am not torturing you, executing your families, I have no plans for blowing up your planet. Those worlds who understand this favour are allowed to operate autonomously, under their own rulers. But all of these are favours that can be taken away if you do not cooperate."

The other three Earthlings slowly raised their heads from the dirt – though, their bodies were still pulsing with pain.

"So... tell me about the Dragon Balls."

Instead of an answer, however, Articho received an alarm. The scouter on his ear beeped, pointing to the side. A fifth power level? Initially, he did not even question that only four Earthlings met him when the ship had registered five high power levels in the hemisphere they were landing on – but, if the fifth was only approaching them now, all he will need is a short break from the interrogation. The Saiyan remained silent, briefly glancing to one side and the other, keeping tabs on the readings of his scouter. The mysterious fighter was moving around him, and, suddenly, descended down on him.

"Hah!" Articho yelled, turning around and throwing a punch forward – instead of beating back an assailant, however, all it did was pierce through a turban and white cloak, falling behind him. For the first time since he arrived to Earth, the Saiyan recoiled in confusion. Two boots stepped down behind him, between the fallen Earthlings.

"As weird as this may sound, I'm almost glad that one of you came to Earth," Piccolo spoke, catching Articho's attention and getting him to turn around. "I didn't get to destroy any of Frieza's minions on Namek – so you'll fill that lost chance for me."

Articho glared straight at the new arrival. A... Namekian? Certainly, he looked a lot like Trombone – the facial features and the clothes were different, but the green skin, the two antennae sticking out from the forehead, and the pink natural armour pods sticking out from the flesh immediately got him to recall the immortal space pirate.

"Well, this brings back memories..."

The Saiyan removed his foot off Krillin, instead stepping back, and, seeing Piccolo by their side, the Earthlings slowly rose back to their feet. Rubbing his neck and gritting his teeth from the slowly weakening pain, Tien called out:

"Of course, you just couldn't be with us when he first appeared and we pointlessly charged at him, Piccolo..."

Piccolo ignored the bald warrior's frustration, merely offering a sneer, then turned to Articho with his arms crossed.

"It's five on one now, you bastard!" Yamcha yelled, moving into a combat stance. Krillin and Tien followed. Even when confronted by all four of the Earthlings back up, and a Namekian who was clearly superior to the rest, Articho remained calm. The confusion and shock of seeing one of Trombone's kin in front of him had long since faded. In response to Yamcha's confidence, the Saiyan briefly struck a smile, then answered:

"I think you're miscounting."

"-Look out!" Piccolo suddenly yelled, both his and the Earthlings' sixth sense flashing in full out of nowhere. Less than a second after the warning, Margar slammed straight into Tien. The martial artist reacted barely fast enough to raise his arms and block a full force blow that sent him backwards.

"Tien!" Chiaotzu yelled, flying after the physical clash.

"Tien!" Krillin yelled as well, but right as he was about to jump after his teammate, both him and Yamcha suddenly found themselves completely paralysed and suspended in place by an unseen force. Immediately, the bald monk got a flashback of the battles on Namek, and how helpless him and Gohan were made before one of the members of the Ginyu Force by the same type of technique. Caesa was approaching in the corner of his eye, holding his hand up and pointing it towards the two martial artists.

"About time! And here I thought Captain was going to hog all the fun," Margar yelled, watching Tien slide across the ground and slowly rise back up on his knee. The three members of the Articho Force all stood with their back turned towards one another, staring down their chosen opponents.

"Indeed, it would have been a shame. I almost thought that Earthling was going to reveal all the information about those artefacts so easily," Caesa added. While still maintaining the psionic grip, he reached for a vial of seeds from inside his glove – a vial which Yamcha immediately recognised.

"Oh, no no no..."

"What... are you still... worried about those Saibamen things...?" Krillin gushed out, struggling to speak under psychic control. Caesa briefly raised his eyebrow – them recognizing a vial of Saibaman seeds meant they had faced the biomechanical creatures before. Considering that they presumably fought the Saiyans, it made sense – and the bald monk's confidence got the Brenchian to let out a brief laugh.

"Oh, I'd join your friend if I were you – you'll soon learn that these children are nothing like the crude prototypes you faced before."

"Your... children...?"

On the other side of the battlefield, Tien placed his hand on Chiaotzu's shoulder, speaking in between heavier breaths:

"I'll... need to you to do something. Go, and get to Gohan. Bring him here, as soon as possible. We'll need all hands on deck, if we want to protect this planet..."

"T-Tien, are you sure?" his comrade muttered with concern. "Do you really think you can fight this man alone?"

"Please, don't worry about me... I'll be fine, I promise. I have a plan."

Margar could hear the three-eyed warrior's pleading – and so, interested by his confidence, the soldier let Chiaotzu fly past, keeping all of his attention on his newfound opponent. Briefly grinning, he placed his hands on his waist and announced:

"You have a lot of expectations to live up to with that claim, you know, Earthling. I haven't had a good fight for over a year, and now you're going to be my best hope to scratch that itch."

"...Sure," Tien answered without much flare, merely rising to his feet and moving to a combat stance yet again. "But don't regret coming to this planet later."

While both of his allies stood off against his Earthling opponents, Articho stared down Piccolo, standing at ease, even allowing himself to carry a very faint smile, unlike his usual seriousness. Everything had been going mostly according to plan, after all, and nothing has truly challenged his orchestrated play.

The Namekian appeared intent to, slowly removing his arms from his fold and allowing ki to course through his veins. The power level registered by Articho's scouter, already considerably higher than that of the Earthlings, was only shooting up. Even at this state, however, it did not wound Articho's confidence.

"See, it's three against four, not one against five. And I'm intending to whittle that number down further."