"Please don't go you guys!" Steven begged as he tugged on Piccolo's cape, "what if something bad happens while you're gone?" It had been a full day since they received the warning message from Lapis Lazuli, and the three aliens had been completely on edge. They figured that the gem coming for them was that nuisance Peridot, but what chilled them to the bone was the second part of her warning: she wasn't coming to Earth alone. No matter how many times they replayed the message, they couldn't find any hint as to how many gems were with her. It could simply be a small crew sufficient enough to pilot a space cruiser, or it could be an entire army! It didn't matter though. If Lapis, the gem that had the power to steal the entire ocean, was afraid of whoever was with Peridot, then they could very well be up a stream without a paddle.

But there was one option left for them to better their possible outcome: a few days in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. The three of them could get a few year's worth of training in. Of course, that also meant a few days without them around. Steven didn't like that idea much, and neither did Gohan, who was currently clinging to his father's leg.

"Please don't go, Daddy!" the little half Saiyan cried, "What if some monsters attack the city? Who's going to stop them?"

"Calm down," Goku soothed as he patted the boy's head, "It'll only be a day or two. We'll be back before you know it!" "As for the monsters, that's why I invited Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien over. They'll look after things while we're away," Goku explained, "You remember them, don't you? I know you do, Steven."

Steven nodded, but didn't look any happier. He liked the three warriors. They always showed up to his birthday parties along with Bulma and a few other of Goku's friends. Yamcha had taught him how to play baseball when he was little and Steven had always enjoyed seeing Tien and Krillin demonstrate whatever new techniques they had learned between their visits. Tein was also was amazing at volleyball and it was always fun to play against him whenever he stopped by and Krillin told some of the best jokes Steven had ever heard! As much as he loved seeing his mentor's friends, Steven couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding despite Goku's assurance.

"But what if the gems show up when you're gone?" Steven asked.

"That may very well be a possibility, but from what we can tell, it's highly unlikely," Piccolo explained, "We just received that message from Lapis and all the off planet warp pads are still down. Unless she sent the message after the gems left to attack us, they shouldn't be able to travel fast enough to get here before we're done with our training."

"But…" Steven started.

"Stop it," Vegeta interrupted, "At this point, worrying is only going to give you a headache, boy. It doesn't even matter if we stay or go train and have them arrive while we're gone. If we stayed and waited until they arrived we'd be just as screwed. If we don't at least try to prepare, then we're as good as sitting ducks, and I for one am not going to roll over and let some stupid rocks destroy what I've put a lot of effort into protecting without a fight."

Steven sighed. "Alright…" he grumbled, letting go Piccolo's cape.

Gohan seemed to think for a second before speaking. "Promise you'll come back?" he asked.

Goku smiled as he looked down at the two boys. "We promise," he said, putting a hand on their shoulders and drawing them in for a hug. After that he stood up and walked out onto the porch, looking up at the sky. Right on queue, the three human warriors streaked across the clouds as they came in for a landing.

Krillin dusted his pants off after he touched down and waved at his Saiyan friend. "Hey Goku! Good to see you again. Sorry about the wait. It took a little while to pack, and you would not believe the turbulence!" he called.

"That's alright! I'm glad you guys could make it," he said, floating down to meet them, "It's good to see you all again." The two other Z fighters followed after him, and the two half human children raced down the steps after them.

"You too, Goku," Tein responded with a slight grin.

"It's no big deal. I'm off season anyways," Yamcha said with a smile, "Hey Piccolo! Vegeta! How's it going?"

"Aside from being threatened by space rocks, absolutely wonderful," Vegeta commented, rolling his eyes. Piccolo scowled at Vegeta, but the prince ignored him.

Yamcha shrunk a bit at the bite in the Saiyan's voice. "Eh...sorry…" the scarred desert bandit muttered.

"Anyways…" Piccolo announced turning his eyes to the three humans, "You're free to do as you like while you stay here, but I ask that you leave the temple as you found it. We do appreciate you looking after the town for us while we're away. I'm sure Steven and Gohan will enjoy your company."

The two boys stepped out from behind the three aliens. Krillin smiled. "Hey you two! long time, no see!" he said walking up to them, "I heard you started training Gohan. I can't wait to see what you've learned so far. You too, Steven!" The boys smiled as the short warrior approached them. As they talked, Piccolo leaned in towards Tien. "Goku briefed you three on the evacuation plan, right?" the green alien asked quietly.

Tien's grin faded as he shared a serious look with the Namekian. "Yes. If the invaders get here early, there shouldn't be anyone within a mile of the city," he confirmed, "Especially these two." Piccolo nodded before turning to Goku and Vegeta and sharing a look with them.

"Alright then," Goku announced, turning to the children who had been happily chatting with Krillin and Yamcha, "We best be off. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get back."

The two boys turn to the warriors to say their goodbyes. "Bye guys," Steven said, giving them each a hug, although Vegeta didn't reciprocate it and simply nodded instead, "see you in a few days."

"See you later, Gohan!" Goku chirped as he ruffled the boy's hair, "Tell your mom I'll be back soon, ok?" The boy nodded in response.

With that, the three warriors flew off. As they disappeared into the sky, Steven couldn't help but feel his nerves rise up again. They subsided as Yamcha placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, bud!" he said, "You'll see them again soon enough. Now how about you show us around the boardwalk after we get settled in?" Steven smiled at them and nodded in excitement. The three of them had never really gotten a chance to go sightseeing before. Maybe things won't be so bad after all.

….

Things were not ok. Not at all. Just as Steven had suspected, the gems had shown up early. He and Gohan had looked on in horror as they saw the giant green hand first appear in the sky. What had brought them greater fear, however, was when Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha had sent them away with everyone else. It didn't matter how much they protested, the three of them wouldn't hear any of it. Chichi had been even less willing to listen, grabbing Gohan by the wrist and dragging him to the car with a firm "No way in hell," at the very first plead.

The three warriors assured Steven they would be fine, but as they got farther from the city and his father told him about the gem war, he realised just how much of his own fear had been mirrored in their own expressions.

Soon enough, he couldn't take it anymore. He forced Greg to stop the car and jumped out to race home. As he passed the Son family's car in the long line of stalled vehicles, Gohan decided to join him much to his mother's dismay. She chased them down for half a mile until Gohan called the Flying Nimbus. After that the two boys raced back to Beach City.

….

"Ka-me ha-me….HAAA!"

Yamcha and Krillin fired kamehameha waves at the giant hand ship at the same time. The twin beams of ki merely bounced off the hull of the ship. The two warriors gaped in despair as they saw the results of the effort. Tien stepped forward and positioned his hands in front of his face.

"TRI BEAM CANNON!" he shouted. A powerful beam of energy shot from his hands and rocketed towards the ship. As it hit its mark, the whole vessel shook violently, and dented in places, but it continued on its course.

"It barely left a scratch…" Krillin whispered, "There's no way we can beat them."

"We never stood a chance…" Yamcha lamented.

"At least we tried our best," Tien stated, "and we did what they asked of us. The kids are safe. All we need to do now is-"

"Tein!" a familiar voice called. The three warriors turned to look on in horror as as they saw Gohan and Steven flying towards him on the Flying Nimbus.

"What the heck are you two doing here?!" Yamcha cried.

"We want to help you!" Steven said with determination.

"Do you two have a death wish?!" Krillin snapped, "Get out of here! You'll be killed!"

"Do you?" Gohan responded, "You're fighting against impossible odds too!"

"This is no time for an argument," Tien said, pushing past the other two, "Get out of here, now!" He tried to push the children away, but as he started to do so, the ship came in for a landing. The hand unfolded and a marble of some kind appeared from the palm. It rolled down to the finger tip where it dissolved and two figures stood. One that Steven recognized as Peridot but the other he had no idea who they were. She was a tall, buff looking gem with a wild mane of white hair rolling down her back. Steven and Gohan froze in place.

"Is this them?" the figure questioned stoically.

"Peridot looked confused. "No...it's not. There were four of them. And one was a Namekian…" she said, brows knitting together.

The tall figure growled and pulled someone out from behind her. A lithe, blue figure Steven and Gohan quickly recognized as Lapis Lazuli. "I thought you said this was their base!" the tall gem hissed.

"It is! I swear!" Lapis assured as she tried to pull away.

"Wait, she's right!" Peridot spoke up as she pointed at Steven, "They have the same Steven as before!"

"But the so called 'powerful warriors' you were so scared of are nowhere to be seen…" the buff gem hummed in disappointment, "Just a bunch of humans. Pathetic. Not even Rose Quartz herself even though her temple is right there."

"You need to leave! Now!" Tien ordered bravely, stepping forward, "We are the defenders of this world and we won't let you harm it!"

The buff gem raised an eyebrow at him before laughing. "Oh this is rich," she grinned a toothy grin, "They really think they they can take on a quartz." "Still, they ain't worth my time," she said, turning to walk away.

"Jasper!" Peridot protested, "You were sent on this mission to aid me!"

"Yeah, and you don't need my help," she said waving her hand, "Fire the basters."

"Steven, Gohan, RUN!" Lapis called as Peridot prepped the cannon.

"She's right, you two need to get out of here now, while you still can!" Yamcha said.

"But what about you?" Gohan questioned.

"It doesn't matter what happens to us," Tien shouted, "Just get out of here now!"

"No!" Steven yelled, "All of this is my fault! And I'm not about to let you die because of me!" As the light cannon was about to go off, Steven jumped in front of it.

"STEVEN NO!" Krillin cried as the light rocketed towards him. Gohan gripped Yamcha's leg and hid his face. But instead of blowing Steven to bits, it resounded with a heavy clang against something. The three humans and the three gems looked on in shock as a massive pink shield stood between them.

"That shield! It bares the mark of Rose Quartz!" Jasper cried in surprise.

"Did you know he could do that?"Krillin whispered to Tein. The three-eyed man simply shook his head as he looked on.

As it receded. Steven fell to the ground, panting. Gohan rushed towards him. He didn't look hurt, but that didn't stop the buildup of anger inside the five year old. "YOU…." he growled as he looked up at Jasper, "You tried to kill my FRIENDS!" Before anyone could stop him, he lunged for the giant quartz, headbutting her straight in the chest and sending her flying back. His dragon ball hat fell off his head and to the ground. The other gems and the humans present looked on in surprise.

"Get off, runt!" Jasper roared, flinging Gohan off of her and face first into the sand. She huffed in anger as she got up, but her eyes lit up in surprise as she saw the boy get up. "He has a tail…" she breathed, "He's a Saiyan!"

Peridot turned to her in confusion. "That's impossible! The Saiyan race is extinct!" she denied.

"Apparently not…" Jasper growled before grabbing Lapis again. "You knew about this, didn't you! About the quartz creature! The Saiyan brat!" she bit out, narrowing her eyes at the smaller gem.

"It wasn't relevant to the mission!" Lapis frantically reasoned.

"Whatever…" Jasper muttered, tossing her aside. She then stalked over to Gohan and grabbed him by the tail. He squealed before going limp.

"No!" Steven cried, "Don't hurt him!"

"Let him go!" Krillin ordered, jumping at her, foot aimed at her head. However, she simply grabbed him out of the air by his foot and tossed him into the side of the temple, knocking him out.

"Take this one back to one of the cells," Jasper commanded, handing the half-Saiyan child by his tail to Peridot, "I'll get the abomination. Yellow Diamond is going to want to see this." Peridot tentatively gripped the boy by the tail and began walking back to the ship as Jasper advanced on the rest of the group. Tien slammed his fist against her cheek. She wiped some spit from her mouth before kneeing him in the stomach and slamming him across the head. She left his unconscious body on the ground as she moved on to the last of the three. Yamcha managed to dodge a few of her blows, but then she smashed Yamcha's leg and threw him across the beach.

She then picked up Steven by his shirt as he struggled to get away.

She grinned evilly at him, but the smile faded for a moment as she glared at him. "I was there, you know. At the first war for this garbage planet. I fought against your armies. I respected your tactics. But this...?" she spat as she shook him slightly for emphasis, "This is sick!" "I don't get what you're planning, Rose, or how you managed to get a Saiyan. But look!" She continued smirking, "Your base is taken. All that's left of your armies are a bunch of quivering meat sacks! You have failed!" She then slammed her head against Steven, knocking him out cold.

Well this ended up longer than I have expected. I've been wanting to include a few of the other Z fighters for some time. They don't get enough of love, particularly Yamcha. So here you go! Don't worry. Goku and the others will be back soon. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. let me know what you think!