Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Chapter 48: K-Class

12 months ago, on King Kai's planet…

As Yamcha and Chiaotzu took a break, enjoying a glass of iced tea alongside Bubbles and Gregory, King Kai was watching the only student still standing and training on his little planet. Tien focused, pushing himself as hard as he always had. King Kai had been observing this one for quite a while now, watching as he silently gained leaps and bounds over his fellow Earthling warriors.

As the others monkeyed around over tea and cookies behind him, King Kai stepped up behind Tien and observed more closely. And what he saw gave the deity a genuine shock. "Wow...for a person born on the Earth to advance to such a level of Kaioken..."

Tien turned, his face dripping with sweat. King Kai pulled out a towel and gave it to Tien to wipe his face. The Kai stroked his chin. "What kind of human are you?

The warrior tossed the towel aside and went back to his training. A red aura covered his fist and he slammed it into the pile of bricks in front of him, sending a shockwave through the pile and shattering them. Tien took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I am a martial artist. There are no barriers I cannot overcome with discipline and training..."

King Kai nodded with a smile. "That's the spirit! So... it looks like you're at about a Times 6 right now. How much farther do you think you'll be able to go?"

Tien gripped his fist and focused. "Kaioken..."

Back in the present, on Kami's Lookout…

Tien shouted and a red aura exploded from his body. "Kaioken x12!"

Salt and Mustard were both taken aback by this sudden surge in power. And seemingly, Chiaotzu was as well. The psychic warrior stared at his partner in awe. "T-Tien..."

Tien trembled as he brought his arms down to his sides, focusing his energy squarely into his core and taming it to his command. This was the current maximum level Kaioken he was able to reach after all of his training since coming back to life. But he knew that it still didn't compare to the likes of Goku or his family. Beads of sweat trickled down Tien's face and evaporated into nothing. "Are you monsters ready to see what the people of Earth are truly capable of?"

Chiaotzu swallowed a lump in his throat and cried out. "Kaioken x3!"

Salt and Mustard, both bulked up from the power of the Makyo Star, tried not to let their shock overwhelm them too much. Powered-up or not, these two were still merely human. The two Makyans shot each other a quick glance, and then they rushed forward at Tien and Chiaotzu. The two warriors rushed back and the battle resumed in earnest. Chiaotzu was quickly overwhelmed by the force in front of him. In spite of his training, the warrior's strength paled in comparison to the other three. The sheer force of Mustard, Salt, and Tien exchanging blows sent him flying back. And this, unfortunately, left Tien outnumbered and in an unfair position. One which Mustard was all too happy to exploit. He raised his fist and the air and roared with vehement fury. "RARRRGH!"

Mustard slammed his fist onto Tien's shoulder and the warrior briefly buckled to one knee. He retaliated with an elbow strike that sent Mustard flying back, but it was clear that that move had hurt Tien more. He gripped his shoulder and snarled to himself. It was definitely broken. He stood, gripping his injured shoulder, and glared at Salt and Mustard. The two of them both had a triumphant smirk on their faces. But Tien wasn't done yet. "You broke my shoulder..."

The warrior cried out and two more arms erupted from his back. Tien waved his foes towards him. "Bring it on! Maybe my broken shoulder will give the two of you a chance to win this!"

Rather than let them charge, Tien was on the offensive this time. Kaioken power still surging, he tucked into the Makyans with a series of strikes that seemed to hit right on target. Mustard and Salt both snarled in pain as crane strike after crane strike sank into their pressure points. But even that was not enough. Severely roused by Tien's rough treatment, the two of them came back with force. Tien was still managing hits, but the two of them were clawing into him with strikes of their own. And it was clear that they were quickly taking the lead on the damage quotient.

Mustard went for a strike with his claws, but was very quickly counterattacked for his efforts. He snarled and clenched his teeth. "To hell with this!"

He leapt back and charged an attack in his hands. "Mustard Break!"

Salt chuckled and leapt into the air, charging an attack as well. "Salt Shower!"

Discouraged from his position on the sidelines, Chiaotzu gripped his fists tight. "Tien..."

And then his gazed harshened. "I won't let those two beat you, Tien! No matter what it might cost me!"

And with that, Chiaotzu charged back into the fray!

Tien glared as the two attacks charged in front of him. He wasn't sure if he would survive being hit by both at once, but he knew that he would be severely damaged regardless. The warrior crossed his arms in front of his face for defense. Mustard and Salt both wickedly laughed. Mustard growled at Tien. "Enjoy Hell, human! Tell Ginger, Nikki, and Sansho that they're all washouts for me when ya see 'em!"

Tien braced himself. But before either attack could launch off, interference came in from the side. Tien watched as Chiaotzu tackled Mustard off balance. Salt shouted. "Hey! Don't interfere with me and Mustard's fight, you punk!"

Salt tried to charge and strike Chiaotzu, but Tien was quick to intercept and send the imp flying with a kick. As he handled Salt, Chiaotzu struggled with Mustard. The larger Makyan was frustrated, prying at Chiaotzu as the shorter warrior stayed latched to his chest. "Get the hell off of me, runt!"

Tien turned to help his partner, but was stopped short by sudden mental contact. Chiaotzu's tone was quick, but calm. 'Don't worry about helping me, Tien!'

The warrior was confused as to what his partner was asking. 'But Chiaotzu, that guy is–'

Chiaotzu fired back. 'I know he's stronger than me! That's why I'm doing what I can! I'm using my powers to leech a bit of the energy from that Makyo Star thing off of him. And then I have one more little surprise that should weaken him enough for you to finish him with the Neo Tri-Beam!'

Tien flinched. 'N-No! You don't mean…'

Chiaotzu smiled as Mustard's fist smashed into his face. 'I've learned a lot since the last time, Tien. We'll take the enemy out this time! We won't die for no reason!'

Tien was unsure, but Chiaotzu gently reassured him. 'Just trust me and be ready, okay?'

After a moment, Tien nodded. 'Okay, I'll leave it to you. Tell me when you're ready.'

Chiaotzu nodded. And then, as Mustard rained another blow down upon him, he surprised the Makyan with his psychic barrier. Mustard's fist bounced back and he snarled. "What are you... AGH! HOT!"

Chiaotzu smirked as his body began to heat up, the energy he was putting out searing against Mustard's flesh. Mustard growled in pain and frustration and shouted over to his partner. "Hey, Salt! Are you just taking a nap over there?!"

Salt popped up from the rubble, his face creased with anger. "These damned humans!"

He held up his hands and charged another Salt Shower. "Hold still and I'll blast him off of you!"

Mustard puffed out his chest, making sure that Chiaotzu was a clear target. "Hurry the hell up! It feels like this little creep is about to explode!"

Chiaotzu glanced over at Salt, watching as he charged his blast up to its full power. He waited for the Makyans fingers to twitch, a sign that he was about to fire the blast. Once he saw that, Chiaotzu smirked. "Not this time."

In a flash of light, Chiaotzu and Mustard disappeared. Salt flinched, genuinely confused. "Wh-What the h-"

And then, in another sudden flash, Mustard was suddenly right on top of Salt. The shorter Makyan cried out in shock and confusion and Chiaotzu mischievously smiled. "Looks like this is about over~"

With a telekinetic push, the little warrior propelled Mustard into Salt's blast and the blast exploded onto both of the wicked Makyans. Chiaotzu propelled back and joined up with Tien. He hovered up between Tien's arms, and put his hands into a familiar triangle position behind his partners as he started to charge.

The energy in Chiaotzu's hands and the energy in Tien's hands combined together into one massive, charged blast. Tien smiled. "Good plan, Chiaotzu."

Chiaotzu nodded. "Thank you."

The smoke cleared around Salt and Mustard and the two of them both shakily stood. They were both damaged, and both quite angry. Mustard snarled. "I'm going to tear those-"

The sight before him cut the Makyan off. Tien and Chiaotzu were both hovering there, glowing with golden light and radiating with red aura. Tien's second set of hands joined his and Chiaotzu's already charged attack and added even more power to it. Fear froze Mustard and Salt in place. Tien smirked. "Get ready!"

Chiaotzu smiled. "Here we go!"

And then they both shouted in unison. "TRIPLE SCOPE NEO TRI-BEAM!"

The massive blast propelled from Chiaotzu's hands to Tien's hands to Tien's other hands and then fired out towards Mustard and Salt. Salt screamed in fear, Mustard's pupils shrank, and then both were engulfed by the full breadth of the attack. Two pained screams echoed out from the golden light, but then quickly fell silent. The blast shot off into the distance and exploded, creating a massive void in the far-off black mist. Mustard and Salt were both defeated and dead!

Over with Gine and Spice...]

Spice had his grip wrapped tightly around Gine's throat. The Saiyan woman struggled to break free as Spice mildly throttled her. The leader of the Spice Boys glared at the woman and studied her face closely. "I swear... I have seen you somewhere before..."

Collapsed under Spice's boot, Yamcha shakily attempted to push himself back up. But Spice stomped him right back to the ground. Yamcha cursed himself. "D-Damn... this guy is on a whole 'nother level..."

Spice studied Gine's face intently, covering each individual detail of her face and thinking back hard. And finally, after a few moments, it came to him. "Oh! Oh my word... It's you! I remember you!"

Gine flinched back in horror, her eyes widening. It was as she had dreaded. This was, indeed, the same Makyan from way back then. The one from the incident that had originally turned her into the famed "Makyan Disgrace". Spice chuckled. "To think... a pathetic fool like you would manage to live for such a long time since that day..."

Yamcha clenched his teeth. With all of his might, he shoved himself up and got out from under Spice's foot. The former bandit leapt back, regaining his bearings, and then leapt forward again towards Spice. "You leave her alone!"

Spice didn't even bother to look, holding out his hand and firing a blast that struck Yamcha dead center. The warrior went flying back and smashed into a pillar. Gine choked out from beneath Spice's grip on her throat. "Y-Yamcha..."

Her Makyan captor chuckled. "It has been quite a while, Madame K-Class. I see you've led a life of quiet shame since our last meeting~"

With a mighty heave, Spice threw Gine across the Lookout. She bounced like a rubber ball and eventually skidded to a stop in Mr. Popo's shrubbery. Spice marched towards her with purpose. "You have gained a bit of strength since our last encounter. But unfortunately, so have I."

Yamcha's eyes shot open, "Kaioken x8!"

The former desert bandit leapt up towards Spice once more. "I said leave Ms. Gine alone!"

Spice smashed his fist into Yamcha's face and the former bandit fell in a heap onto the ground, moaning and clutching his shattered nose. "Gine? So... your name is Gine, is it?"

Fresh off of their battle, Tien and Chiaotzu tried to intervene. But Spice easily put both of them onto the ground with a single kick each. "I'm happy that someone said it. In the back of my mind, I was always so upset with myself for never learning the name of you or that mongrel that came to save you. What was his name?"

On the ground, Gine fearfully slid back. She... couldn't make herself face this anymore. She was terrified. Her heart was beating out of her chest as stressful tears built in her eyes. Spice chuckled. "Come now. I'm sure that whoever he was, he's long gone, given that he is not here chaperoning you. Tell me his name."

Gine was still unable to speak. Spice's smile faded. "I said..."

Spice held out his hands and thin wires of red energy shot from them. They entangled Gine and began to radiate a red, electric aura. "Tell me his name!"

Gine thrashed around on the ground, screaming in anguish. The sound of this brought a smile back onto Spice's face. "Tell me, K-Class Gine! Tell me now!"

Over with Gohan and Vinegar…

Gohan and Krillin both rushed Vinegar together. Gohan kicked at the behemoth and Krillin threw a punch. But Vinegar was able to harshly rebuke both of their attempts. The two of them were both excellent warriors in their own rights, utilizing skill and technique to try and combat their more imposing foe, but Vinegar was a violent stonewall that refused to budge for them. He chuckled. "Come on, little flies! Aren't you ever going to try and hurt me?!"

Krillin sneered. "Bastard."

He leapt at Vinegar once more. As Vinegar and Krillin exchanged blows back and forth, Gohan charged a blast in each hand. He waited until he had a clear shot at Vinegar and then threw both at the titan. But the blasts harmlessly bounced off of the brute's skin. Vinegar turned to Gohan and chuckled. "I'm disappointed, boy! You blew my hand off earlier! Where's that spark at?!"

He raised his elbow into the air and smashed it into the back of Krillin's head. Krillin bounced off of the Lookout floor with a gasp and then laid still. Vinegar laughed out loud. "Did that get your fire going, brat?!"

Gohan roared in fury. "Leave Krillin alone!"

He rushed at Vinegar, charging a blast in his hand, and fired it at the brute. The attack hit dead center into Vinegar's chest and sent him stumbling back. The smoke cleared and revealed a massive smile spread across the Makyans face. Vinegar touched his hand to the burn mark on his chest, as it started to heal, and laughed. "That was better! But still kinda weak! Try harder, boy!"

Vinegar stomped on Krillin's right hand and the monk cried out. The Makyan cackled. "I can do this all day!"

Gohan gripped his fists tight, glaring at Vinegar with enough anger to intimidate any lesser foe. Vinegar sneered back at him, looking extremely confident in what the result of this fight would be. Gohan summoned his power from deep within, ready to charge into the fray again, but then another pained scream echoed out and caught him off guard. The boy turned and looked across the Lookout to see a sight that pushed his anger over the edge. Spice was towering over his beloved Grandma Gine, torturing her with some sort of energy attack. Gine's piercing screams echoed out across the Lookout and Gohan immediately knew what he had to do. With Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu all down, plus Piccolo nowhere in sight, Gohan had to support his grandmother himself. Abandoning his fight with Vinegar, the boy started his charge over to Spice. But Vinegar wouldn't allow that so easily.

In a flash, the brute appeared in front of Gohan and punched him to the ground. Gohan landed into a skid and glared at the wall between him and assisting his grandmother. Vinegar wagged his finger at Gohan. "Don't you know how rude it is to abandon a fight like that! Come on, kid! We weren't done seeing how hard you could hit me!"

"Destructo-Disc!"

The deadly energy disc came flying through the air right at Vinegar. He sneered and held his hand up, blasting the disc into pieces. He glared over at Krillin, the monk's broken hand twitching and bleeding, and snarled. "Ain't you dead yet?!"

Krillin charged at Vinegar. "Gohan! I've got this! You go and save-"

Once Krillin was in range, Vinegar busted the monk in the face with his knee. Krillin went flying and smashed into the side of Kami's palace, busting through the wall and getting buried in rubble. The Makyan turned his attention back to Gohan. "See?! Ain't none of your other friends strong enough to dent me! So, I've got to rely on you for some fun! Come on boy, make this exciting for me! Hit me hard! I wanna have a real fight!"

Gohan was trembling, his eyes shadowed over. "Stop hurting my friends. And... get out of my way!"

Vinegar chuckled. "If you want me outta your way, then hit me kid! Hit me as hard as you ca-"

In an instant, Gohan cleared the space between himself and Vinegar and rocked the titanic Makyan with a clobbering blow to the face. Vinegar spun in the air as he flew back, feeling the strain on the muscles and bones in his neck. He laughed out loud as he landed. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

He looked up. "You nearly broke my neck with-"

Gohan was right on top of him, a massive Masenko charged above his head. Vinegar looked into Gohan's eyes, seeing a level of cold fury that he never expected. The brute felt a chill rise up his spine and he began to speak more gently. "Now... N-Now let's hold on just a minute!"

The young Saiyan threw his hands forward and pressed them right against Vinegar's face, and then he fired his blast. "MASENKO!"

The massive blast engulfed all of Vinegar and instantly the brute knew he was finished. The energy attack shredded him away into nothing, burning his flesh and searing a crater beneath him where he stood. Vinegar screamed in anguish, and then a massive explosion erupted out and he died, reduced to nothing but ash by Gohan's boiling anger. From the nearby rubble, Krillin watched this show of power in awe. "Holy cow..."

Gohan, meanwhile, couldn't care less about Vinegar. Instead, he continued on with his momentum, propelling across the Lookout like a bolt of lightning and delivering a massive kick to Spice's face. Spice went tumbling across the Lookout, crashing into a pillar and making it collapse and Gohan immediately went to check on his grandmother. "Grandma Gine!"

It did not take long for Spice to recover. He stood and wiped blood from his busted lip with a sneer. "Damn it, Vinegar! Can't you watch one-"

Spice turned to admonish his ally, but was shocked to see that, in addition to his other cohorts, Vinegar had all vanished as well. Spice sneered. "You must be kidding me..."

He turned back to see that, in front of him, the humans had all gathered around that woman. The younger Saiyan was frantically checking on her as the rest of them gathered up into one group. All of them stared at Spice with a clear intention on their faces, he was the last Makyan soldier that they had to kill to win. Spice splayed his hands to his sides. "No, please! Don't hesitate! Come at me, fools!"

As the four Earthlings stared down Spice, Gohan cradled his injured grandmother. "Grandma Gine, please wake up..."

Gine's eyes cracked open. "G-Gohan?"

The pain and fear were still spread all over Gine's face. Gohan smiled down at her, gently reassuring her as best he could. "I don't know what's going on, Grandma. But... we're here. Okay? All of us, your friends and family. You aren't alone! We'll beat these guys and fix the Earth together~"

A small, sad smile spread across Gine's face. She shakily got to her feet and nodded. "O-Okay, Gohan. Okay..."

Gine stood next to her grandson, behind her friends that she had made since coming to the Earth, but even with all of them supporting her, she still couldn't make herself look Spice directly in the eye. Regardless of that, the entire group took up fighting stances in preparation to finish off the leader of the Spice Boys.

Spice took an aggressive stance right back at them. "Do you lesser fools think that you can take me out? Even all together?!"

He snarled and lunged towards them. "How dare you insult me like that?!"

"Now hold on, Spice."

Spice instantly stopped, turning and staring into the entrance of Kami's Palace. "My King."

Garlic Jr.'s juvenile laughter echoed from the shadows. "To think, in my distraction you would go and lose the Spice Boys like that. Bad form, Spice, bad form."

Spice gripped his fists, his voice shaking in embarrassment. "F-Forgive me, Sire. I did not mean to bring shame upon the Garlic Family like this..."

Garlic Jr.'s hulking form stepped from the shadows, throwing the Earthlings off-guard with the radical change in appearance. "No! I'm not saying it's your fault, Spice. If the six of them were weak enough to die to these people, then they were not fit to serve me. We simply just have to get better replacements for them~"

Spice nodded. "I see your point, My King. And I wholeheartedly agree."

Garlic Jr. chuckled. "Excellent. Well, in that regard, I have made the first steps in regard to finding suitable replacements~"

He motioned into the shadows. "Meet the first of our new allies~"

And what happened next shook each of the remaining Z-Fighters to their very core. As to their shock, Garlic Jr.'s new ally stepped from the shadows. With eyes glowing pink and fangs salivating for blood, Piccolo the Makyan stepped forward. Krillin trembled. "N-No way..."

Tien growled to himself. "Damn it..."

Gine, however, instantly fell into an even deeper panic than before. Her hands shook like leaves and tears welled up in her eyes. "N-No... not again."

Years ago, on Planet Vegeta…

YOung Gine sighed as she stared into the mirror at her new armor, specifically at the new badge that adorned her chest. Her first real assignment from the higher ups since the Warhammer disbanded and she joined up with Bardock and the others. Handed down from a commanding officer, the Saiyan woman had been conscripted into a new type of unit for the latest invasion that King Cold had tasked the Saiyans in assisting: the invasion of Planet Makyo. Gine had been taken into a new type of squad. One that she had never heard of before. For the sake of this invasion, she had been forced into joining a K-Class Squadron. Apparently, from what she had been told, it was because of her low power level.

K-Class Squadrons, she was informed, were stealth units. Contingents of soldiers picked for their low power to sneak behind enemy lines for tasks such as intel gathering and planting of devices that would assist the Cold Force and Saiyan Empire in conquest.

Plain as she was as a warrior, Gine was honored to have been noticed for anything as such. She was eager to prove that she was worth something to the Saiyan Race, to go out there and perform to the best of her capabilities. But... she couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness at this reassignment. Gine produced a picture from the breastplate of her armor and traced her finger over each face in it. It was a picture of old Taro's retirement party. She looked at everyone in it: old Taro, Leek, Panbukin, Totepo, Toma, Fasha with her arm wrapped over Gine's shoulder and her lips pressed onto Gine's cheek... and him, sitting in the background with a scowl on his face.

Gine blushed as decidedly un-Saiyan-like thoughts entered her mind, but was quickly snapped out of it by a voice behind her. "Hey there, new teamster!"

She turned and saw two other Saiyans approaching behind her, an older, chubby woman and a rather unimpressive-looking young guy. Gine smiled. "Hello there. P-Pleased to meet you..."

The chubby lady spoke in a grumpy voice. "Spara! Introduce yourself to a new face properly!"

She smiled at Gine. "Hello there, young'un. My name is Ayam. And this little ankle biter is Spara. What's your name?"

Gine folded the photo, putting it back into her armor. "G-Gine. My name is Gine."

Back in the present, on the Lookout…

Gine was broken from her daze by the sudden crying out of one of her current allies. Krillin screamed in panic. "No! Tien!"

The Saiyan woman flinched at what she saw. In her brief moment of distraction, the vampirized Piccolo had descended upon them, overpowering Tien and sinking his fangs into the warrior's neck. Tien sputtered, gasping in pain. But it didn't take long for those pained gasps to be replaced by a psychotic brand of laughter. Piccolo dropped Tien to the ground and he quickly got onto his feet, his broken shoulder healing back into place. Tien turned and glared at the others, his three eyes glowing pink and fangs displaying prominently in his toothy grin. He was joined in his glowering at his former allies by an equally bloodthirsty-looking Piccolo. And then by a confidently grinning Spice.

Gine flinched back, retreating a few steps. "No..."

Piccolo and Tien both got into lunging positions. Spice raised his finger and pointed at the remaining Z-Fighters. Gine stammered. "W-We have to..."

Spice smiled. "Attack!"

Gine acted quickly, grabbing a surprised and confused Gohan by the wrist before turning tail and running the opposite direction. "RUN! WE HAVE TO RUN!"

Gohan cried out in confusion and he was dragged. "G-Grandma?!"

He tried to fight his way out of her grip. "S-Stop! We can't just abandon everyone like this!"

Gine couldn't hear Gohan over the sound of her own frantic heartbeat in her ears. At this particular moment, everyone else on the Earth didn't even register in her mind. Her thoughts were briefly scrambled by the sound of Krillin screaming behind her, but she didn't have time to worry about the others. Not in a nightmare like this. She had only one mission. She had to save Gohan!

In one smooth motion, she scooped the resisting Gohan off of the ground and tossed him over her shoulder before continuing her sprint towards the edge of the Lookout. As they watched her flee, the remaining Z-Fighters all came to the same conclusion. In this case, in this hopeless scenario that they had found themselves in. Yamcha and Chiaotzu couldn't be mad at Gine for just running off like this. Yamcha took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, Chiaotzu..."

Chiaotzu both looked up to his taller ally. Yamcha put on a brave smile. "Ms. Gine's trying to keep her grandson safe. Let's buy 'em some time to get out of here!"

Chiaotzu nodded. "Right!"

The two humans turned to their former allies and Spice and all charged. The six warriors slammed into each other and began to fight. Chiaotzu tried to stall Tien with his psychic powers and shoulder-rammed into Piccolo's chest. and Yamcha smashed his fist into Spice's fist and kicked Krillin to the side. As these fights took place in front of him, Garlic Jr. coldly stared across the Lookout at the fleeing Saiyans. He smiled a sadistic smile. "Piccolo! Is that boy on her shoulder the Saiyan-Human hybrid you informed me of?"

Piccolo cracked his fist across Chiaotzu's face and sent the little warrior flying. "Yes Master! That's the one! He has so much potential as one of your servants!"

Garlic Jr. chuckled. "Excellent~"

And then, leaving the two remaining humans to his thralls, Garlic Jr. charged across the Lookout. Gine didn't notice as the King of the Makyans charged up behind her, and as a result, she absorbed a powerful punch to the back of the head. Gine slammed face-first onto the ground and she and Gohan both went skidding across the Lookout floor, stopping just short of both of them tumbling over the edge.

Garlic Jr. landed before both of them with a massive stomp, shattering the stone beneath his feet. Gine slowly got back to her feet, woozy and with a bloody nose, and glared at her latest attacker. "Wh-Why?! Why can't you Makyans just... just leave us alone? What did we do to deserve this?!"

The imp chuckled. "You personally? Not a thing. I have no idea who any of you cretins are. But, unfortunately... you and that boy both have a particular feature jutting from your backsides that I just cannot ignore..."

He held out his hand. "But don't worry. It's a nearly painless transformation. And you get to join the most powerful empire this universe will ever know! You... and that powerful brat behind you... will become immortal Gods of this pathetic universe alongside me as we go and annihilate that bastard King Cold and his miserable empire together!"

Gine was shaking, fear instilled into every fiber of her being, but her eyes steeled at the hulking brute in front of her. "You... you won't touch him! I won't let you! Y-You hear me?!"

She shook her head, her voice cracking and sounding utterly frantic. "I'll n-never let you take my grandson!"

Garlic Jr. sighed and shrugged, a confident smirk on his face. "I am afraid... you don't really have a choice~"

The psychotic Makyan shrieked, charging at Gine once more. Gine tensed up, gritting her teeth, and shouted back in defiance. "KAIOKEN x20!"

The red flames of Gine's aura erupted around her and she charged into her foe. To her surprise and horror, Garlic Jr. was able to easily smack her to the ground. But that did not deter Gine. She stood back up, her nose flowing with blood and two teeth chipped, and attacked again. Garlic Jr. growled in frustration and delivered a shattering blow to the stomach. As Gine buckled over, Garlic Jr. started to approach the still prone Gohan, but Gine was on him again. She tackled his legs, trying and failing to knock him over. Garlic Jr. snarled. "You're starting to annoy me, woman!"

Garlic Jr. picked up Gine by the sleeve of her qipao, but Gine responded with a sharp kick to the Makyan's jaw. Garlic stumbled back and Gine began to charge and energy blast. "Mother's Bur-"

The Makyan King's hand shot forward and plunged into Gine's blast, breaking through and wrapping tightly around her throat. Gine choked, gagging in pain as Garlic Jr. forced her to the ground and started to throttle her. "I have decided! You are not welcome into my empire, wretch! You die for daring to annoy me!"

Gine desperately fought back, prying at Garlic Jr.'s fingers with all of her strength. But to her horror, they didn't budge. Was... this really going to be it? Gine's struggling slowly began to fade, her eyes rolling back. Was this how she was going to die? Strangled to death in a failed attempt to protect her grandson? What would that make her? What would her family and friends think of her in the afterlife? What would... he think of her?

But just as Gine began to black out, an attack shot forward that saved her life. Her vision was so blurred that she could barely make out what it was, but a purple bolt of energy shot through the air, crashing through Garlic Jr.'s surprised face and accompanied by a mighty cry. "SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!"

Garlic Jr.'s massive body crashed backwards and Gine could suddenly breathe again. She looked up, her vision clearing just a bit, and saw the worry-stricken face of her beloved grandson. Gine opened her mouth, managing to croak his name. "G-Gohan..."

Gohan once again gently cradled his grandmother in his arms. In spite of her fear and trepidation holding her back, she still tried to defend him. The boy looked up from his broken grandmother to his friends in the distance. In spite of their best efforts, Chiaotzu and Yamcha had both fallen, the two of them struggling as a pair of fangs sank into their necks. As much as he hated to admit it, his grandmother had had a point. Retreat was the only option they had right now. Gohan picked up Gine. "It's okay, Grandma. I'll get us out of here."

The boy, carrying his grandmother, ran to the edge of the Lookout and leaped over the side. He didn't know where they would end up hiding, but they would find somewhere to regroup. As they started to descend, a hand came shooting out and grabbed Gohan by his ankle. The sudden stop nearly sent Gine flying, but Gohan just barely managed to snag her hand. The two of them dangled there, off of the side of the highest point on Earth, over the sheer oblivion beneath them.

Gohan craned his head back to see what had snagged his foot. And to his horror he saw the still healing Garlic Jr. The Makyan chuckled. "You really are as strong as Piccolo said you were. That's good! I can use that~"

Garlic Jr. hoisted Gohan back up, still dangling him over the edge. The sudden jerk nearly made Gine's grip fall loose, but she held on tight. She was badly injured, unable to concentrate enough even to fly. Garlic Jr. glared down at her and mocked her. "Poor Saiyan woman! You had to have realized that this was inevitable! Your race and King Cold will pay! You will pay for every transgression that you have committed! You Saiyans, in particular, will answer for your sins in helping King Cold extinguish my father's life!"

Garlic laughed. "First Planet Vegeta! Then Planet Cold! The Revenge of Planet Makyo is nigh!"

Gine wanted to shut him up. She wanted to leap into his face, grab him by the ear, and scream as loud as she could that the Saiyan Race was gone, that he was fighting for nothing. But she didn't have the strength for that. She glared at Garlic Jr. and choked out one meager sentence. "I won't let you have my grandson..."

Garlic Jr.'s face twisted from psychotic smirk to psychotic sneer. He shouted at the top of his lungs at Gine. "THEN I WILL TAKE HIM!"

And then, raising his foot high into the air, Garlic Jr. stomped down. He slammed the bottom of his boot into Gine's jaw and her grip slipped. Gohan cried out in horror. He and his grandmother locked eyes as she was kicked off the Lookout and plummeted down, disappearing into the roiling black mist.

Garlic Jr. chuckled, holding up Gohan like a freshly caught fish. He looked back towards Spice and his new servants, the vampirized Z-Fighters, and tossed Gohan towards them. "Do me a favor, boys! Beat the fight out of this one~!"

Gohan was barely able to get to his feet as his former friends descended upon him. As that fight began, Garlic Jr. walked up to Spice and smiled wide. Spice smiled back. "Excellent acquisition, My King."

Garlic Jr. nodded. "Thank you, Spice. Now, I have a separate task for you."

Spice nodded. "Sire?"

Garlic Jr. pointed to the edge of the Lookout. "That woman. If she survives that fall, she'll be in no condition to resist. But I would rather not take the chance. Find her and return with her head."

Spice chuckled and began to walk toward the edge. "Just her head, Sire?"

Garlic Jr. shrugged. "That depends on how brutal you wish to be. I just request that you kill her and find the recently stolen Dragon Balls. Otherwise, have your fun with her, Spice~"

Spice smirked as he leapt over the side. "Gladly."

With Gohan being beaten by his former allies and Gine being hunted by Spice, Garlic Jr. retired back into Kami's palace. He sat on the throne and held up the Four-Star Ball, looking at it with eyes full of greed next to the blood-red tinted sky and the hauntingly red evening light. "Yes... our revenge is nigh, Father~"