Chapter 5
After a couple days of being an accepted member of the group, Yamcha was starting to get used to the everyday antics of Vegeta, Goku and Bulma.
The Saiyans were both ticking time bombs ready to fight at a moment's notice over any and everything, whether it's big or small.
For example, shortly after his fight with Vegeta concluded; Goku and Vegeta started fighting too.
Yamcha wasn't completely sure what caused this brutal sparring match to happen but he remembered that before it started, he watched Goku sneak over and take a bite out of one of Vegeta's cooked deer
Other than that kind of scary and very amusing incident, the Saiyans have been acting very civil towards him and Puar.
They trained with him a few times and he could already feel the results. He has definitely gotten stronger in the past few days they spent traveling.
Oolong even apologized for the bullying he did to Puar during their time in Shapeshifting School.
Puar gladly accepted his apology and they often talked together during their traveling.
Bulma was an enigma to him. They spoke but she didn't seem to have any attraction towards him which seemed to ease Yamcha's nerves.
Yamcha had to admit that she was curing his overwhelming fear of girls, but he didn't understand how she was doing it.
He didn't know why but he was able to talk to her so comfortably without stumbling over his words or freezing up every three seconds; which is a completely new thing for him and he was grateful for that.
Bulma enjoyed Yamcha's company as well.
He was a tall and handsome (though Vegeta was much better) man and he is a Human.
Hanging around these Saiyan guys so often, Bulma forgot how a male of her own species was supposed to act and even though Yamcha is by no means a stereotypical human male; he was a breath of fresh air in comparison.
They were heading toward Fire Mountain to retrieve their sixth dragon ball but Yamcha had heard rumors about that mountain, and none of them were good.
"Hey guys…" He started gaining everyone's attention.
"Fire Mountain is home to the terrible Ox King!" Yamcha said much to the fear of Oolong and Puar.
Bulma had never heard the name 'Ox King' before but seeing the casual face of Goku and the bored expression from Vegeta, she wasn't all that worried about him.
"Yamcha you worry too much. We know all about the Ox King at Fire Mountain" Vegeta said much to the surprise of the bandit.
Yamcha was about to question the Prince on what he meant until Goku spoke up.
"That's Grandpa Gohan's old training partner back when he was learning under Master Roshi. He used to tell us stories about how training went" Goku started.
"At least the pitiful exercises that the old turtle hermit wanted to disguise as training. But from what I understand Ox King is weaker than Gohan, so even if he tries to attack us or something he'll regret his decision immediately" Vegeta said after Goku finished.
Yamcha blinked in amazement before laughing at his childish fear.
Of course Goku and Vegeta were stronger than the Ox King, there wasn't a person on this planet that could challenge them.
But suddenly Vegeta stopped moving followed shortly by Goku.
At the sudden stop of movement, the humans and the animals also stopped and looked to the Saiyans with the confusion clear on their faces.
Before any of them could question why they stopped moving, Vegeta looked to Goku.
"Do you feel that too Kakarot?" Vegeta asked looking towards the mountain.
Goku nodded before as he extended his senses to assess the situation more closely.
"There are four people fighting at the mountain and two of the power levels currently fighting are higher than Yamcha's" Goku said much to shock and frustration of the bandit.
"Well we can guess that one is the Ox King but who is the other one?" Yamcha asked.
"We don't know but we need to move and you're coming with us to take care of the other two lower power levels if they're hostile" Vegeta said before turning to Bulma.
"Take out one of your Capsule Cars and follow us with the pig and the cat. Kakarot, Yamcha and I are going ahead" Vegeta said.
Once Bulma nodded Vegeta grabbed Yamcha's arm and took off towards Fire Mountain with Goku following closely behind.
XxXxXx
When the three reached the mountain the scene they arrived at was shocking to say the least.
On one end the Ox King and a bald three eyed teenager were engaged in a fierce hand to hand battle though three eyed man clearly had the upper hand in the exchange.
And on the other end a little girl was firing energy beams from her helmet at a floating clown that was dodging all of them effortlessly.
"Give up Ox King! You can't defeat me, you're too old and too slow. The crane hermit will have your head!" The three eyed man said after knocking the Ox King down.
"Why is he doing this? What's the purpose of sending his students to attack me?" The Ox King asked as he rose to his feet once again.
The teen smirked before replying
"Master Shen has grown tired of Roshi and his pupils so he's on a mission to eliminate all of them!"
At the Ox Kings shocked face, the teen continued
"My name is Tienshinhan, the boy over there playing with your daughter is Chiaotzu and we were sent here to eliminate you. At this moment Master Tao should be disposing of Gohan and Master Shen went after Roshi himself" Tien finished with a smirk.
Ox King couldn't even respond to what the man had told him. He could only watch in fear as the teen pointed his finger at him in the signature crane hermit pose. Soon a yellow ball of energy could be seen coming from his fingertip causing Ox King to drop to his knees with obvious fear in his eyes.
"Now that you know why we attacked you, maybe you can accept your death more graciously. Now Die!" Tien said as he gathered more energy on his finger.
"DODON RAY" he screamed as the yellow beam soared towards the Ox King.
Tien's narrowed as he barely saw a figure zoom in front of the Ox King before the beam connected with his body. The collision created a cloud of smoke, but when the smoke cleared it revealed the form of the smirking Saiyan Prince, instead of a dead man.
"Sorry Triclops but I can't just sit back and allow you to kill Gohan's friend" he said much to the surprise of both Tien and the Ox King.
"How'd you survive that?" Tien asked frowning. He had by no means used his full power in the attack but he felt that it was substantial enough to kill any man save for Tao and his Master.
"Please I've been hit harder than that by my father's tail" Vegeta said laughing.
Tien was confused and was about to ask him what he meant until he saw the tail sticking out from his back.
"Who/ What are you?" He asked slowly
"I am the Saiyan Prince Vegeta and Gohan's oldest adopted grandson. Tell me what kind of Grandson would I be if I allowed his friend to be executed in front of my eyes?" Vegeta asked crossing his arms frowning.
Tien smirked at the Saiyan.
"Sorry Prince but this is one fight that you shouldn't have involved yourself in; now I'll have to take care of you as well" Tien said getting into his fighting stance.
Vegeta smirked and did the same, but as he was about to attack, Ox King grabbed his foot.
"Wait my daughter is over there fighting one of them too and he has strange powers" the Ox King said.
"Already taken care of" Vegeta said without looking at him.
"Alright well let me help you. Together we can surely take him down" Ox King suggested as he glared at the smirking Tien.
"Not necessary, just stay right there" the Prince responded.
Ox King wasn't sure if he was willing to allow Vegeta to fight by himself but due to his injuries he had no choice but to trust Vegeta.
"Okay sure I'm going to go check on Chi Chi" Ox King said running off leaving Vegeta and Tien staring at each other in anticipation.
XxXxXx
Chiaotzu was growing tired of the girl's annoying green beams being fired at him. He didn't really like hurting people but he was on a mission and he knew that he'd get beaten if he didn't follow his orders.
After hardening his resolve, he charged a bright yellow beam on his fingertips
"DODON RAY" a child's voice yelled as the yellow beam traveled towards the girl who screamed and closed her eyes.
"KAMEHAMEHA" another voice yelled.
The blue beam effortlessly overpowered the yellow one and sent it right back towards the floating figure who just barely managed to dodge it.
Goku stepped in front of Chi Chi protectively.
"You're not going to hurt her" he said glaring at Chiaotzu.
Chi Chi looked up at her savior. He was handsome boy with wild black hair and a tail, but even though that was weird to her, Chi Chi still believed that this boy was the cutest thing that she'd ever seen.
Chi Chi blushed and covered her face in embarrassment before thinking to herself 'I'm going to marry him'
Chiaotzu righted himself and was about to fire another beam at the two but before he could he heard another battle cry.
"WOLF FANG FIST"
When he turned to investigate the noise, he was hit with a barrage of punches and kicks that rendered him unconscious.
Yamcha landed on the ground smirking.
Vegeta told him not to kill the boy so he didn't but it was a pride booster to know that he was useful in a fight with the Saiyans.
Goku, now that the threat was neutralized, turned and smiled at Chi Chi causing the girl's blush to deepen once more.
"Hi, my name is Kakarot but you can call me Goku. Are you okay?" He asked as he helped her to her feet.
She blushed again before covering her face and answering
"My name is Chi Chi and I'm fine. Thank you for saving me"
Goku smiled again but was then blindsided by what came next.
He looked down and saw that Chi Chi's arms were around him.
He froze because he didn't know what to do. But even though he was at a lost for what to do, his tail had a mind of its own as it wrapped around Chi Chi's waist causing the girl to blush deeper.
Goku himself couldn't stop the slight pink that dusted across his cheeks but he was confused as to what the feeling was supposed to mean. There was a weird churning in his stomach and even though he was hungry, he had a feeling that it wasn't because of that.
Goku looked over to Yamcha to see him smirking at him before he went to tie up Chiaotzu.
That was the moment when the Ox King arrived, he looked around with a panicked expression before his eyes finally caught sight of them.
He sent a warm smile at Chi Chi and Goku, surprising the Saiyan.
"Thank you for saving her" he said to Goku.
"No problem Ox King. Grandpa said to always protect girls" the Saiyan responded.
"What am I invisible? I'm the one that knocked this guy out" Yamcha mumbled to himself before shaking his head laughing before he heard a furious scream.
"CHIAOTZU!" Tien screamed before charging quickly at Yamcha who got down into a fighting stance.
Before any contact could be made Vegeta fazed in front of Tien kicking him in his stomach and knocking him back.
"I'm sorry but I don't believe I'm done with you Triclops. Your fight is with me and me alone, so focus on that unless you want your death to be quicker" he said smirking.
Tien was furious and panicked. He had to get to Chiaotzu as soon as possible, but he couldn't just ignore the clear threat Vegeta was to him.
He fired three quick Dodon Rays at the Prince who deflected all of them back at him with minimal difficulty.
Tien managed to dodge all of them and flew full speed at Vegeta who smirked and prepared himself.
The two exchanged blows and even though he was much much stronger than Tien, Tien's technique was near flawless.
Tien caught Vegeta off guard with low kick that knocked Vegeta off his feet before slamming an elbow into his sternum knocking Vegeta onto the ground.
If Vegeta was being honest with himself the blow stung. It stung his pride more than it did his body but nonetheless it stung.
The Prince recovered and levitated high looking to take the fight into the air to test his opponent's aerial ability.
As expected, Tien flew up and followed him eager to finish the fight as quickly as he could.
They flew above the clouds into the open sky where the sun was shining bright.
Goku followed to keep an eye on the fight, he wasn't worried about Vegeta losing, but he did want to see what kind of hidden techniques that three eyes had.
Tien charged at Vegeta again and the two exchanged blows. Now that Vegeta was aware of Tien's fighting technique, it was child's play for the prince to predict his moves and respond accordingly.
Tien was knocked back for the umpteenth time and was starting to get pissed. He had never felt so helpless in a fight and he was becoming desperate.
"That's it Vegeta! If you're really that strong then stay right there. I'm about to fire my ultimate technique at you" he said making a triangle shape with his hands.
Vegeta was curious about what technique Tien was talking about but nonetheless dropped out of his stance and waited. He figured that after he withstood whatever attack Tien planned on sending his way, the man would lose the will to fight.
Goku was also excited to see the technique Tien mentioned.
"Do hurry up three eyes. I'm starting to get bored of this fight" Vegeta mocked.
Though truthfully Vegeta was enjoying this fight because of the that Tien's fighting technique is on par if not better than his own. Though he'd never admit something like that out loud.
If he ever finds a way to get to his level of strength then he'd be the perfect training partner for Vegeta.
Veins formed on the top of Tien's head as he listened to the Saiyan's teases, but he remained focused on the task at hand.
His ultimate technique was almost charged then he wouldn't be able to mock him ever again. He smirked to himself, Vegeta's overconfidence will ultimately lead to his own downfall.
Vegeta saw a vicious yellow energy glowing in Tien's palms that had a great amount of power behind it. At least by human standards.
Before he could observe the energy behind the attack more, he heard Tien speak.
"It's done. Now almighty Prince stay right there if you're as strong as you say you are" Tien said
Vegeta smirked and spread his arms out ready to tank whatever Tien fired at him.
Tien scoffed, Vegeta wouldn't be so cocky after his attack incinerated him.
"TRI-BEAM HA!" Tien screamed as the massive amount of energy traveled toward Vegeta.
Vegeta smirked before yelling over Tien's scream
"BRING IT ON TRICLOPS. SHOW ME YOUR TRUE POWER!"
The blast collided with the Prince.
From the ground Yamcha, Chi Chi, Ox King and the now awake Chiaotzu all saw the flash of light in the sky. Even Bulma, Oolong and Puar, who had just arrived, saw the magnificent light and wondered what had happened.
'Please be safe Tien' Chiaotzu thought knowing what move Tien just used, and what the consequences were of using that move.
The smoke cleared leaving Vegeta floating there with his clothes partially torn and with scratches and burn all over his body but he was otherwise fine.
He looked up before smirking at Tien
"I'm genuinely impressed with that attack Tien. If you were to fire that same attack at someone like Gohan now he'd be in critical condition if not dead" Vegeta said
Tien was shocked that someone could survive his Tri-beam at all, but its not only the fact that he survived, it's the fact that he was completely uninjured.
He just hurt his own body more than he hurt Vegeta and he was quickly running out of options on how he would defeat Vegeta.
He looked at the sun before smirking to himself as he finally figured out how he could gain the upper hand in this conflict.
He quickly flew up higher putting his body in between the sun and the Saiyans who were still staring at him wondering what he was planning.
He put two hands on either side of his head and gathered some of his energy
"SOLAR FLARE" Tien yelled before a bright white light blinded the Saiyans.
"Vegeta I can't see" Goku said rubbing his eyes.
"What the hell did you do triclops? Vegeta said rubbing his eyes as well.
'Good I got both of them' Tien thought as he flew past the Saiyans back down towards where Yamcha had tied Chiaotzu tied up.
'I have to get Chiaotzu back and we have to escape. I have to train until I'm strong enough to take Vegeta on' Tien thought as he picked up his speed.
Yamcha noticed a battered and bruised Tien flying towards him and the others. He knew that the Saiyans weren't dead because that was impossible but somehow Tien found a way to temporarily take them out of commission.
Yamcha looked at the bruised Ox King and Chi Chi then looked at Bulma, Oolong and Puar and he knew he was the last line of defense.
"Hey, look just give Chiaotzu back and I won't have to kill you" Tien said trying to reason with Yamcha.
Yamcha scoffed before smirking at Tien getting into his fighting stance.
"Do you really believe I'll allow you to pass? The Saiyans aren't the only warriors in this group three eyes" Yamcha said.
Tien frowned before also getting into his fighting stance, he had to make this fight quick if he was going to escape before his technique wore off.
"Get him Yamcha!" Bulma, Oolong and Puar all said said cheering the Bandit on.
Yamcha charged at Tien and the two exchanged blows.
Tien was having trouble keeping up with Yamcha's movements. He knew that if he was at 100% then he would've been able to take care of Yamcha with no problem but the Tri-beam had injured his body more than he thought it had.
Yamcha was enjoying the fight. At this rate he might be able to take care of the injured Tien by himself.
Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his stomach making him double over in pain before Tien elbowed him in the face knocking him down.
Yamcha got up stunned and tried to charge at Tien again before feeling the same pain in his stomach once again.
Tien capitalized and launched a furious attack on the bandit.
Yamcha coughed from the ground in pain holding his stomach.
Tien was charging a Dodon Ray at him ready to finish the other man off.
Bulma noticed Chiaotzu's hands pointing towards the downed Yamcha and easily put two and two together before turning to Puar.
"Turn into a hammer" she whispered to the cat.
Puar was confused but listened nonetheless transforming into a giant hammer.
Bulma grabbed Puar and hit Chiaotzu in the head with all her might rendering him unconscious once more.
The pain in Yamcha's stomach was suddenly lifted as he dodged the Dodon Ray and sped towards Tien.
'WOLF FANG FIST'
Yamcha sent a flurry of punches and kicks at Tien
Only a few connected as Tien dodged as many as he could but he had a fair amount of bruises and scratches on his arms and face after the attack.
Both Tien and Yamcha were wounded and tired but neither wavered as they were eager to defeat the other.
They both charged each other once again to engage in a melee battle.
Tien was forced on the defensive as Yamcha sent a kick to the side of head.
Tien recovered and sent a small Ki blast at Yamcha who flipped out of its way.
Before they continue their battle, Goku and Vegeta both landed between the humans, effectively ending the fight between Yamcha and Tien.
"I'll admit that was a resourceful technique but unfortunately you've made mad" Vegeta pointing towards Tien.
Tien was shaking in both anger and determination as he stared at Vegeta. He didn't know what to do, but he couldn't just give up. With no other options, he charged at the Saiyan Prince with all that he had.
Vegeta side stepped the attack and elbowed Tien's back sending him crashing hard towards the ground.
The Prince then stepped on Tien's back before pointing his hand towards him charging energy into his palm.
"Any last words triclops?" Vegeta said to the defeated man.
Tien shut his eyes tight and stayed quiet accepting his death. He had many things that he had wanted to accomplish but he could do nothing but embrace the fact that Vegeta was the superior warrior.
Vegeta fired the blast and an explosion was heard.
….
Tien opened his eyes to see the ground beside the right side of his head destroyed.
He looked up at Vegeta in surprise. He was positive that the Saiyan was about to end his life, but he sparred him. He was looking at Vegeta for an explanation.
Vegeta shrugged before putting his hand out for Tien to grab.
Tien looked the Saiyan skeptically before accepting the hand. Vegeta pulled Tien to his feet.
"I've decided that it would be too much of a waste to kill such a strong, determined human so you have two choices" Vegeta started.
Tien was listening closely, knowing that he didn't have much of a choice.
"Option 1: you willingly join my brother and I's army against the evil man that destroyed our home planet and renounce your loyalty to the crane that sent you on this suicide mission…" Tien's eyes widened at that
"…or Option 2: I hold you as a prisoner and you're forced help me anyway. Oh and I'll kill clown here" Vegeta finished.
Tien looked at the now awake Chiaotzu. Goku was next to him with a charged energy ball in his hands ready to be released on the order from Vegeta.
Tien weighed his options carefully before looking at everyone in attendance. Eventually his eyes landed on Yamcha's.
"I would join willingly if I was you Tien. You're strong and besides it's not that bad of a deal. Goku and Vegeta aren't bad if you get to know them" Yamcha said smiling at Tien.
Tien thought some more before walking up to the Ox King and Bowing low.
"Chiaotzu and I are sincerely sorry for invading the security of your home and attacking you. I hope you can forgive us" Tien said.
Ox King smiled before putting his massive hand on Tien's shoulder causing the teen to twitch slightly.
"It's okay. I know you were just following orders" Ox King said.
Tien looked up with a gleam in his eyes before smiling and walking back over to Vegeta.
"I'm going with option 1, besides I want to train with you and get as strong as I possibly can. I won't rest until I defeat you Vegeta" Tien said.
Vegeta smirked at Tien before nodding his head.
"I agree, you must get stronger than me if you want to keep up with Frieza" Vegeta said.
Goku let the energy dissipate before untying Chiaotzu and introducing himself.
"Hi, I'm Kakarot but you can call me Goku. Sorry that I had to do that; I don't really like killing or nothing like that, but I get serious when it comes to Frieza" Goku said smiling warmly.
Chiaotzu blinked at the sudden change of his demeanor but smiled back.
Yamcha put a hand on Tien's shoulder and looked at him with a serious look before smirking at him.
"Welcome to the group Tien, it's nice having another human fighter in the group, besides we didn't get to finish our fight earlier" the bandit said.
Tien looked to the other teenager and smirked back nodding.
"Sure, anytime" Tien responded.
He was then approached by the teenage girl that hit Chiaotzu in the head with the hammer.
"Hi, I'm Bulma and I'm the leader of this group. Good to have you on board" she said shaking his hand.
Tien gave the girl a surprised look before he looked at Vegeta.
"Is she really our leader?" He whispered.
"No but I got tired of correcting her simpleminded claim, so just go along with it" the Prince responded.
"I heard that!" Bulma said causing both teenage boys to cringe.
Ox King cleared his throat before asking something that's been bothering him since he's seen them.
"So, what were you kids doing here in the first place?" He asked.
Bulma opened her mouth before anyone else had a chance to.
Showing Ox King a dragon ball she asked him
"Do you have one of these?"
Ox King looked at the ball and then thought over it.
"I think I do. It's in my castle up on the mountain" he said.
Bulma looked at the burning mountain before turning to Vegeta with a pleading look.
Vegeta saw the look and sighed knowing what she was asking of him.
"Fine. How do I put the flames out?" He asked the Ox King.
"Either the banzo fan from Master Roshi or by destroying the mountain but I don't know if the dragon ball will survive that" Ox King said.
"Well it's only one way to find out" Vegeta said smirking cupping his hands together.
Goku took a few steps back and after seeing him do it, everyone else ran back behind Goku, knowing that they wouldn't be able to survive an attack from Vegeta.
"GALICK GUN"
A bright purple beam formed in his palms and sent it towards the mountain completely obliterating it.
Ox King and Tien were astounded by the amount of raw power that the Prince had.
When the smoke cleared the rubble was searched and the dragon ball was eventually found.
"Woohoo only 1 more dragon ball needs to be found until my wish" Bulma said.
"Wish?" Tien said confused.
"We'll explain later" Vegeta replied.
The group was ready to leave and were saying their goodbyes to the Ox King and his daughter.
Chi Chi walked up to Goku.
"So, um do you think that you'll miss me when you're gone?" She asked covering her face.
"Of course I will! Do you think you'll miss me?" Goku replied causing Chi Chi to blush and nod her head
Chi Chi shyly wrapped her arms around Goku hugging him.
'I don't know why she keeps doing this, but it feels nice… now I know how Vegeta feels when Bulma hugs him' Goku thought mimicking her actions while also wrapping his tail around her.
Bulma smiled at the two before turning to Vegeta.
"How come you don't hug me like that!?" She said with a fake pout.
Vegeta looked at Goku and Chi Chi before laughing at the scene.
"Because I'm a Prince and its undignified behavior to wrap your tail around someone else" He responded.
"Whatever Prince" Bulma said walking closer to Vegeta before holding his arm
Vegeta didn't know why she thought it was okay for her to touch him, but he decided that he was okay with it for now.
He looked at Tien, Yamcha, Oolong, Puar, and Chiaotzu talking to each other before smirking and looking towards the sky.
'I'm making more than just an army… I'm making friends' Vegeta thought as the group departed from Fire Mountain towards the location of the last dragon ball.
TBC
Sorry for the wait everyone. I meant to have this out earlier but please continue to read & review! Bet you didn't see this twist coming ;-). Also let me know if you guys want a special chapter on Tao vs Gohan or Shen vs Roshi. Or just let me know if you'd prefer me to just say who won. Without further to do here are the power levels
Power Levels:
Vegeta: 17,250
Goku: 10,750
Yamcha: 90
Tien: 180
(Tri-Beam): 280
(After Tri-Beam): 80
Chiaotzu: 50
Ox King: 116
Chi Chi: 7 (but her helmet beams make her dangerous and Chiaotzu wasn't trying to kill her)