Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Chapter 21: Ginyu Force Assault

In front of the Base Camp Cave…

The Ginyu Force collided with Bardock's group with an intense burst of power. The five warriors each took the hit and glared at the Ginyu Force member that challenged them. Bardock stared into Captain Ginyu's eyes with hate, snarling at the captain's jovial grin. Ginyu chuckled. "Oh, come on now! Don't be sour~"

Bardock threw a punch at Ginyu, but the captain caught his fist and tossed the older Saiyan into the air. As Bardock free-fell back down, Ginyu fell to his back and began to spin, eventually catching Bardock on the side of the head with a massive kick and sending him flying, the captain jumped to his feet and saluted his men. "Have fun, boys!"

As Ginyu chased after his opponent, the other members of the squad took their opponents away from one another. Recoome punched Vegeta in the face and sent him flying across the island. Burter and Jeice booted Gohan and Krillin high into the sky. And Guldo remained to face Nail.

The Namekian warrior sighed and took a fighting stance. "So much for working together as a group..."

Guldo snickered. "You're going to die, insect!"

Nail narrowed his gaze. "We shall see..."

Up in the air…

Gohan and Krillin faced their opponents, knowing that they were at a disadvantage. Burter and Jeice dwarfed them in power, but with teamwork, the two fighters of Earth were able to keep up with their opponents. Burter and Jeice both remained confident and calm as these two smaller fighters staved off their attacks, merely chuckling as they both slowly ramped up the pressure.

Soon, they began to bust out their powers. Burter used his blinding speed to vanish from sight, only to appear behind Krillin and knock him away from Gohan with a high-speed chop. Gohan cried out. "Krillin!"

Gohan was stopped from going and helping Krillin by an extremely dense energy blast hitting him in the face. The boy moaned in pain and spat blood out before glaring at Jeice, who was spinning the energy blast on his finger. "What? I thought kids liked to play ball. Me and Bonyu always used to love playing squash when we were tots."

Jeice tossed the energy blast again and it slammed into the blocking Gohan, knocking the wind from him and sending him tumbling back.

Meanwhile, Krillin was doing his best to avoid being seriously hurt by Burter. The big, blue snakeman's speed was almost too much for Krillin to keep track of and the monk could tell that he wasn't even going half as fast as he could go.

Burter chuckled. "You're pretty fast! But you're no match for the fastest!"

Krillin leapt back, firing a ki barrage, but Burter was fast enough to weave through them. The monk dodged with a panic, barely avoiding a strike that would've split his head open. Krillin held his hands in front of his face. "Solar Flare!"

Burter's eyes widened and he hissed in pain, but quickly used his speed to avoid the brunt of the flash. He harshly rubbed his eyes. "That was dirty!"

Krillin shouted at him. "Who cares?! Eat this!"

The monk summoned a Destructo-Disc, but he knew Burter would dodge it. So he threw it... at Jeice instead! Higher up, Jeice was chuckling as he played dodged ball with Gohan, slamming several dense energy spheres into the boy and beating him pretty hard.

It was only at the last second that the Number Two looked out the corner of his eye and saw the Destructo-Disc. He held up his arm to block it and Krillin cheered. But that cheer quickly died out when the Destructo-Disc exploded into nothing. Krillin was confused. "Wh-What?!"

The smoke cleared and Jeice was still whole behind it. His arm that he used to block was covered in a very similar energy to the Destructo-Disc itself. Jeice glared at Krillin and scoffed. "Pfft. Get real. I'm from one of the Brench colonies, ya dingo. It's nothing to change me energy frequency to match that puny attack o' yours."

Jeice smiled. "Watch this!"

He summoned a Ki blast into his hand and ramped up the frequency to a very high speed. The blast was practically whistling as he flicked it and sent hundreds of high-speed Ki needles down at Krillin. The monk yelped as he was pierced and Jeice laughed. "See? Your attack may be neat for such a pathetic race, but it's nothing special to me!"

Gohan jumped at Jeice from behind. "Leave him alone!"

Jeice dodged and kneed Gohan in the stomach. The short, red one smirked and tossed Gohan down to Krillin. "Let's play another game! How about some ol' fashion Crusher Speed Ball!"

Jeice coated his hand in super dense energy and then summoned a ball of that same energy in his free hand. "Ready, Burter?!"

Burter, having recovered from the Solar Flare, called back. "Ready, Jeice!"

On the ground next to the water…

Vegeta was raging as he and Recoome traded blows. The Prince was much faster than the lumbering, yellow bastard, but that didn't mean much. For everything five hits the prince got in, one from Recoome quickly evened the playing field.

Vegeta tossed a bevy of desperate punches at Recoome, most of which were caught and blocked. Recoome chuckled. "Hey! You got stronger, Vegeta! That's really cool!"

Vegeta snarled. "Shut your damn mouth!"

Recoome headbutted the prince, busting his forehead open. The Saiyan grunted and wiped a gout of blood away from his eyes. Recoome snickered. "It's a shame you went and turned traitor, Vegeta! The captain was waiting for you to get strong enough to join the Ginyu Force. We need someone with black hair to do this pose we were planning and-"

Vegeta kneed Recoome in the nose. "I'd rather die than join up with you tacky losers!"

The Prince landed and formed a massive Ki blast above his head. Recoome smirked and ducked just as the blast was about to crash down onto his skull. "Well, that's the idea!"

Recoome drew his fist back and shouted the name of one of his 50 signature attacks. "Recoome... KNEE SHATTER!"

The yellow hulk slammed his fist into Vegeta's knee and a solid snap was heard. Vegeta roared in pain, but Recoome shut him up with a harsh punch to the face. And then, as Vegeta was wobbling back and forth in a daze, his opponent grabbed him around the waist and leapt into the air. Once they reached maximum height, Vegeta's senses came back and his eyes widened.

Recoome chuckled and twisted in the air. "Recoome... SUPLEX PILEDRIVER!"

Vegeta screamed in panic as the two of them plummeted back to the ground below. The brute was having a blast. He ditched Vegeta at the last second and landed with a dancer's grace as Vegeta slammed headfirst into the ground.

Recoome posed and shouted as loud as he could. "TOH!"

Over by the cave entrance…

Nail was growing ever more annoyed as he fought Guldo. The little, green slime ball was always just a split second away before being hit when, suddenly, Nail was the one taking the blow. The Namekian warrior charged forth and swung a massive chop at Guldo's neck. But a split second later, a punch smashed into Nail's cheek.

Guldo chuckled. "I bet you're so confused about what's going on, huh?"

Nail wiped his hand over his face and grunted. "No. You are briefly pausing time to dodge."

Guldo gasped. "H-how did you-"

Nail was dry. "You just sang a song about it."

Guldo was speechless. "Y-Yeah... uh... well..."

Nail wiped the last remnants of blood from his busted lip and then glared daggers at the froggy bastard. "Your tricks will only save you for so long, fool."

Guldo cried out in fear and Nail rushed at him. The Namekian thought to himself as he prepared to strike. 'I just have to bait him a little more. He's overconfident in his ability and it shows. Just a little more and...'

Nail threw a punch at Guldo and, a second later, a foot slammed into his face. Nail toppled over and Guldo smiled, digging his foot into Nail's cheek. "You're not so-"

The Namekian's eyes snapped open and he fired two bolts of electricity from his antennae. Guldo took the full-brunt of the shock and cried out. Nail took advantage, overtaking Guldo and harshly smashing him to the ground with his elbow.

Guldo panicked and quickly tried to crawl away. He turned to see Nail looming over him with a blast in hand. Terrified, Guldo held up his hands. "Time Free-"

Nail kicked Guldo in the face and then sent the blast chasing after him.

The overweight little scum took the blast to the face and smashed into a nearby rock. Guldo shakily pushed himself up to see Nail standing over him. He recoiled in fear at how badly the Namekian was outclassing him.

Back in the air…

Gohan and Krillin were both facing a lot of pain as they dealt with the Crusher Speed Ball attack. If it was just one of the Ginyu Force doing this, it wouldn't be so bad. But Burter and Jeice were in perfect tandem. And that dense ball of energy sent flying back at Gohan and Krillin at the speeds Burter was hitting it was enough to rupture muscle and splinter bones.

The ball came flying back at Gohan, but Krillin jumped in its path. It smashed right into his stomach and sent him flying into Gohan before crashing both of them aside and flying back towards Jeice.

Krillin doubled over in pain and coughed up blood, but Gohan turned to Jeice and charged an attack. "Masenko!"

Jeice gasped, surprised at the sudden burst of power from the little run, but Burter rapidly made the save. Using his speed, the blue snakeman flew in front of Jeice and harshly slapped the Masenko away, sending it right back into Gohan's face.

The boy went tumbling in the air, but Krillin caught him. "Gohan, are you-"

Burter was behind Krillin in a flash, landing five heavy kicks to the human monk's back before he could react. Krillin turned to face Burter, but the speedster was ready. He landed 20 consecutive punches to Gohan and Krillin each before letting them both fall to the ground.

Jeice hovered down next to Burter and the two best mates high-fived each other. The Number Two chuckled and, once Gohan and Krillin hit the ground, he gave his order. "Charge!"

The two squad-mates smirked and then flew down at Gohan and Krillin ready to strike again.

Back with Vegeta and Recoome…

Recoome whistled a merry tune as he walked up to the spot Vegeta had landed. The only part of the prince sticking out of the ground was his legs. Recoome poked Vegeta's foot and smirked when the prince's leg began to twitch.

With a single yank, Recoome pulled the beaten prince from the ground and quipped. "So... does this make you a Vegeta-ble?"

Vegeta coughed in pain and Recoome chuckled. "Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

Recoome raised Vegeta above his head and began to swing him around like a toy. "Recoome... LASSO!"

The brute spun Vegeta around for a full 10 seconds before tossing him into the sky. The prince was fading, not having enough wherewithal to even attempt to fly. But he got his wake-up call as he fell back towards Recoome. The brute reared his right fist back and, once Vegeta was in range, he shouted. "Recoome... STRONG RIGHT!"

Recoome's massive fist slammed into the side of Vegeta's head and Vegeta was suddenly wide awake. The force of Recoome's punch rang the Prince's bell and made the eardrum it collided with explode. Vegeta tumbled across the ground, raking his gloved fingers into the soil to halt his deadly momentum and eventually came to a stop.

Vegeta groaned in agony, but Recoome didn't let up. "Recoome... KNEE DROP!"

The hulking brute slammed his knee into Vegeta's back and then sat on him and grabbed his legs, pulling them up. "Recoome... CRAB HOLD!"

Vegeta was gurgling with pain as Recoome sank the Boston Crab hold in more and more, twisted and torquing the prince's back into the most horrifying of angles.

Recoome prepared to dish another move, but then…

Over by the Cave Entrance…

Guldo screamed for his squad-mates to help him as he desperately tried to flee Nail. Being the physically weakest Ginyu Force member, Guldo was no match for the seasoned and powerful Namekian.

Nail shot another blast and hit Guldo square in the back, leaving the roly-poly frog-man helpless on the ground. He then raised his hand to strike Guldo when, suddenly, the foe cried out again. "Burter! Recoome! Jeice! Support!"

Burter and Jeice both stopped their charge on Gohan and Krillin. Burter seemed concerned. "Guldo?"

Jeice palmed his face. "He is so lame..."

Over with Vegeta, Recoome stood up. "We really gotta make Guldo go to the gym more..."

The three stronger Ginyu Force members shrugged... and then they all charged to go and help their friend. Jeice called out. "Ginyu Force Special Triple Attack!"

Meanwhile, over with Bardock and Ginyu…

The captain and Bardock both traded blows as they fought. Bardock was fuming and Ginyu was happily countering his every attack. The older Saiyan was well-aware that he was outmatched, but he fought on regardless. He just had to wait for someone to come and help him even out the odds.

As the fight wore on, Ginyu eventually sighed. "Bardock... why are you so damned stubborn? Why can't you just give up and let the Saiyans die?! Huh?"

Bardock tossed a punch and shouted. "Shut the hell up, you brown-nosing piece of shit! This has nothing to do with my race! This is about making that bastard, Frieza, pay!"

Ginyu caught the punch. "I'm not a brown-noser. I'm just committed to my job. Ya see, as long as you're loyal and do your job properly, Lord Frieza will show you the proper respect in return!"

Bardock snarled and charged a Riot Javelin. "So, kiss Frieza's ass and be his slave and you get results, huh?!"

The Saiyan slammed the blast into Ginyu's chest and sent him sprawling back. The Captain shook it off with no ill effects. "I am not Lord Frieza's slave! I am happily employed!"

Bardock growled at Ginyu and heaved for breath. He was totally winded and Ginyu seemed no worse for wear. Bardock grunted and took a knee. "Damn it guys... hurry the hell up and beat those other four..."

Ginyu rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Seriously? Do you... seriously think that your Loser League will ever be able to beat my Ginyu Force? The dregs of this universe's society standing up to the five most elite warriors it has ever seen? You're delusional, Bardock."

The captain stretched his shoulders as he walked towards his opponent. "You should've just burned up in Lord Frieza's Supernova with the rest of the Saiyans. You'd probably be in for a lot less pain if you were in Hell right now..."

Bardock sneered. "Didn't I tell you to shut your damned mouth?!"

He took a deep breath and then roared. "KAIOKEN!"

Ginyu's Scouter suddenly went on alert, shocking the Captain at the sudden rise in power that his opponent showed: 135,000!

Back over with Nail and Guldo…

Nail loomed over Guldo with no spite and no malice. He stared down at the terrified, green bastard and calmly addressed his foe. "I pray that you have a peaceful afterlife."

Nail swung his arm down at Guldo, aiming for the kill, but his strike was quickly blocked by Recoome's shoulder. The armor on the yellow hulk's shoulder cracked off and Recoome began to bleed. The brute chuckled. "This Namekian is strong!~ Recoome... KNEE!"

While shocked by Recoome's sudden appearance, Nail easily sidestepped the mighty knee attack. He quickly returned fire, sending Recoome skidding several feet away, falling to one knee, but still fine. As Nail kept his pressure on Recoome, a solid blow struck into his lower back and sent him flying. He was taken by surprise from a mighty spear kick from Jeice. Before Nail could land properly, Burter dropped from the sky and slammed his foot onto the Namekian's's face, land-surfing the Namekian warrior across the ground until he stopped moving.

Burter leapt off of Nail and scoop-kicked him into the sky. The warrior opened up his eyes and locked eyes with Recoome as the brute brought both his fists down on the helpless Namkian's gut. "Recoome... Hammer!"

The assault sent Nail falling back down where Jeice added to his plight. Jeice held aloft a mighty hammer made of surging, red energy. He cried out. "Magma Crasher!"

The thundering assault smashed Nail into the ground, causing an enormous crater with the Namekian at the epicenter.

Landing near the downed foe, Burter and Recoome were thirsty for more action. The two squad-mates allowed Nail to stand. They even allowed him to take a fighting stance. But then, Jeice snapped his fingers and the three descended on him. Nail held his own for a moment, but soon he was being helplessly pummeled while his original opponent, Guldo, stood on the sidelines and cheered.

As Nail was being beaten, his allies all slowly regained themselves.

Over with Gohan and Krillin…

Gohan was crying his eyes out as he helped his friend stand up. "Krillin... why did you take all of those hits for me? You're so hurt..."

Krillin shrugged, barely able to move. "Y-You're a kid, Gohan. And even more... you're already so much stronger than me..."

Gohan sniffled. Krillin continued. "Y-You... You need to survive and... be okay so that you can fight. We... we can't outrun the five of them. They're too strong. So... we have to survive until Goku can get here and... do what Goku always does..."

Interrupting the moment, Vegeta dragged his injured body up to Gohan and Krillin. "Do you fools really think that Kakarot will be of any help here...? That low-class scum and his family-"

Krillin finished. "Kicked your ass on Earth."

Vegeta glared at Krillin and the monk glared right back. Vegeta coughed up a puddle of blood and then glared at Guldo. "That little toad..."

The Prince didn't address Krillin any further. Instead, he dragged himself past the two humans and up to the distracted weakling. As Guldo cheered for his comrades to dismember Nail, Vegeta reared his fist back and punched the little grease-spot hard enough to make blood spurt from his two extra eyes.

Guldo screamed as Vegeta charged a blast. But unfortunately, Recoome turned his head and noticed that his meat had gotten back up. The brute was quick to backflip from the beating Nail was getting and save Guldo with a heavy attack. "Recoome... NECK CHOP!"

But before the attack could land and take Vegeta's head off, Gohan and Krillin leapt into the fray. Krillin tackled Vegeta in the legs, knocking him from the attack's path. Gohan, meanwhile, sent Recoome flying with a kick. The brute tumbled over, only to land on his feet and smile at Gohan. "Let's play, kid!"

Gohan roared and tossed a punch at Recoome.

Meanwhile, Krillin checked on Vegeta. "Hey! You aren't dead, are you?!"

Vegeta snarled and punched Krillin off of him. "I might as well be! My leg is bum and I can barely move! Why didn't you help the boy or the Namekian by going after another enemy, damn it?!"

Krillin opened his mouth to respond, but then he gasped. Vegeta sneered. "What?!"

Burter spoke in a mocking tone. "Now Vegeta... hitting your friends isn't nice."

Jeice landed behind Krillin, spooking the monk. "Get off it, Burter! Vegeta don't have friends!"

Vegeta and Krillin both shakily stood to see two things: Nail bloodied and beaten on the ground and Jeice and Burter surrounding them and cutting them off from helping Gohan. But before either of them could react, Burter booted Vegeta in the face and Jeice slammed a handful of explosive-frequency energy into Krillin's chest.

As that fight started, Gohan and Recoome continued to fight off on their own. Gohan was trying his hardest, but Recoome was clearly just playing with the boy. "So, you seemed to really like our poses! Any suggestions for how we could make them better?"

Gohan shouted, his voice cracking as tears built in his eyes. "Shut up!"

He held out his hands and used a flurry of Ki blasts to stave Recoome off. The hulking brute shook his head. "You're being super rude!"

Gohan's eyes shimmering. He sobbed. "You're trying to kill me and my friends!"

Recoome shrugged. "Not my fault. If you all hadn't bothered Lord Frieza, then the Ginyu Force wouldn't even be on this mudball of a planet, ya know?"

The brute stepped forward. "This is kinda all your fault for attacking Dodoria in the first place, from what I've been told."

Gohan snapped. He leapt at Recoome with a blast in hand. "Go to hell!"

Recoome sighed. "Nah. But you can. Recoome... KICK!"

The hulking monster's kick hit Gohan square in the face and, just like that, the boy's neck snapped. Gohan hit the ground with a thud, his eyes white, and he didn't move beyond a small bout of twitching.

Meanwhile, Burter and Jeice were giving the final beating to Vegeta and Krillin. Switching and alternating between the monk and the prince, the two goons kept themselves fresh while never letting Vegeta or Krillin get comfy.

The battered two warriors were desperate, totally unaware of what Recoome had just done. After a prolonged beating, each of them managed to get a lucky hit on their opponents and then gain some distance. They skidded away and then stood back-to-back, both glaring at their Ginyu Force adversaries. Krillin twisted his hands into position. "Kame...hame..."

Vegeta did the same. "Galick Gun..."

"HA!" "FIRE!"

Jeice and Burter both dodged the beams, but were then surprised to see the attacks follow them. They both raced in the opposite direction, with the beams in hot pursuit. Jeice chuckled. "Can you believe these rascals?!"

Burter nodded. "Pulling out such a maneuver in the 11th hour. They're actually pretty cool~"

Jeice sighed. "Finish 'em off?"

Burter nodded. "Yup."

The two Ginyu Force members flew away from one another, taking the beams on a chase. But then, they charged their red and blue energies up high and detoured to collide into one another. "PURPLE CYCLONE CRUSHER!"

The cyclone that Burter and Jeice made did two things. It started firing Ki bolts at Vegeta and Krillin, forcing them on the defensive. But it also absorbed the Galick Gun and Kamehameha. The two soldiers swirled these beams in their energy vortex for a moment, letting the energy stew, and then they aimed right at Vegeta and Krillin. "PURPLE REFLECTOR!"

The Galick Kamehameha fired from the center of the vortex and right at Vegeta and Krillin. The prince and the monk both stared in horror, and then they screamed.

Meanwhile, with Bardock and Ginyu…

Bardock and Ginyu continued to clash. Bardock now had a distinct advantage against Ginyu. However, despite this boost, Ginyu remained surprisingly calm. He was more interested, and genuinely so, about the technique that the older Saiyan had pulled out. "Kaioken? What the hell is that? Some kinda... amplifier to your physical, energetic, and mental capacities?"

Bardock didn't answer, roaring and slamming his elbow into Ginyu's face. The Captain leapt back and wiped the blood from his nose. He smiled with delight. "Impressive, Bardock. You are the first person to push me to the limits of my 120,000 power level."

The Saiyan scoffed, trying to maintain his composure as the strain of the basic Kaioken was quickly catching up with him. "I'm just getting started, asshole!"

Captain Ginyu's smirk broadened. "Good. Because 120,000... is only my base power level! My true maximum is 160,000!

Bardock flinched. "Wh-What?"

And then, Ginyu's power began to grow. Bardock shuddered. He knew he was still too inexperienced in using higher levels of the Kaioken. Just a double multiplier in power from the technique pushed him to his limits against Vegeta back on Earth. He could only handle a single attack with a triple before his body was overtaxed. What's more, he was already too exhausted to try such a feat.

As Ginyu prepared to say something, he looked past Bardock and sighed. "Well, damn... looks like the cavalry's here..."

The Captain leapt back again, appearing to retreat, and Bardock thought optimistically. The older Saiyan turned and shouted. "Guys-"

He was met by a high-speed punch to the jaw from Burter. The force of this surprise hit not only took Bardock out of Kaioken, but it sent him sailing across the field and right into Jeice. The Number Two smirked at Bardock and summoned a baseball bat made of his Ki. "Magma Grand Slam!"

Bardock quickly guarded, wincing as the bat cracked against his arm. He went to blast Jeice, but his body suddenly froze and Jeice chuckled. The red foe took another swing, this time cracking the armor around Bardock's ribs and sending him into the air. "Magma Pop Fly!"

The Saiyan tumbled into the air, but he wasn't down yet. He tried to charge a blast, but was frozen again. This time, however, he managed to look over and see that giggling rat, Guldo, was the one trapping him. Bardock sneered at Guldo, but that was the least of his worries. From behind, Recoome jumped onto him. The brute wrapped his arms around Bardock's neck and shouted. "Recoome... K.O.!"

The two of them slammed into the ground at a high velocity helped along by Guldo. After the dust cleared, Recoome leapt up and cheered. "Recoome K.O. outta nowhere!"

Bardock struggled to get up, staring at the Ginyu Force with visceral hatred. The Ginyu Force all looked down at him, smiling and waving as if Bardock had just bid them farewell. The Saiyan was confused, but then they leaped out of the way and he saw why. Captain Ginyu was hovering above with a Milky Cannon glowing in his palm.

Bardock groaned. "Shit..."

And then Ginyu fired. The Milky Cannon smashed into Bardock and exploded on the screaming, older Saiyan. The plume of smoke was massive, but Bardock quickly shot out of it, landing hard on the ground and tumbling until he was right in front of the cave entrance.

Just inside the cave…

Bulma and Talus could only watch on in shock and horror. The five strongest warriors on their side, the five greatest hopes for Planet Namek, had all been picked apart and soundly beaten by the overwhelming might of the Ginyu Force.

Talus swallowed a lump in his throat. "N-Namek will die if those five do..."

Bulma quickly nodded in agreement, her hands shaking so hard it made her blaster rattle. "Yeah, but... what do we do?! If we draw their attention, those five will slaughter us..."

Talus watched on, considering his options. He had to save those warriors, but how would he convince the Ginyu Force to leave and not come back? The warrior thought over his options and soon came to the conclusion that he only had one choice. "Earth woman..."

Bulma turned to Talus. "Huh?"

Talus clenched his fist hard enough that his palm split. "I... I need you to be ready. Do you understand?"

Bulma was confused. "Be ready for what?"

Talus turned tail and ran back towards the Capsule House. "Just be ready!"

Bulma was about to follow the Namekian, but then she heard the Ginyu Force gathering. The Earth woman watched in horror as Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta, Nail, and Bardock were all thrown into a pile. Once that was done, the Ginyu Force gathered around them in a circle and each of them charged up a blast.

Bulma was panicking. "No no no! They're going to execute them! No! What do we do?! What do we-"

Suddenly, Bulma was interrupted by Talus, the two other Four-Star warriors, and four Namekian farmers flying over her head. Talus screamed at the top of his lungs. "FOR THE GREATER GOOD, BROTHERS! FORWARD!"

This exclamation caught the attention of the Ginyu Force who all looked up to see the Namekians rapidly circling overhead. Talus stared down at Captain Ginyu with utter hatred and then addressed his fellows. "Now, my brothers! Scatter!"

The Namekians all flew off, each in a different direction. Ginyu shrugged. "Damnable cowards. I'm not saying I have any love for Bardock and his crew here, but those insects could at the very least stay and fight like these five did..."

Once sufficiently far off, Talus turned and shouted. "Captain Ginyu!"

Ginyu glared at him again and Talus held up both hands, which were revealed to be holding the gleaming form of the One-Star Dragon Ball. "I believe we have something that you miserable pirates want! RIGHT?!"

The Captain flinched. "W-Wait... Seven Dragon Balls...Seven Nameki-SHIT!"

Ginyu quickly began to direct his confused subordinates. "The Dragon Balls! They're fleeing with Lord Frieza's Dragon Balls! Those damned, dirty Namekians!"

He roughly shoved each of his men. "Quit standing around! Hurry the hell up and chase them! NOW!"

Recoome complained. "But Captain... we have our enemies right here, dead to rights, and-"

Ginyu cut him off. "Lord Frieza's desires are paramount! A top priority! Our first priority! We could lose the Dragon Balls forever at this rate! Hurry the hell up!"

The Ginyu Force members all started squabbling, but they followed their captain's orders and rose into the air. Bulma was quick to respond to this development. In a rush, she ran out and began to save her allies. First, she grabbed Gohan and Krillin and brought them back into the cave. And then she retrieved Bardock. And then she retrieved Nail.

Bulma rushed out one more time to grab the final person, only to realize who it was. She glared down at the inert form of Vegeta, her gaze pure ice. She recalled everything he had done, all of her friends that he had ordered dead...and then she aimed the blaster on her hand square at his face. Vegeta was out, there was no way he would survive against this.

Meanwhile, up in the air, the Ginyu Force had managed to lock their Scouter's onto the fleeing Namekians. Now none of them could escape. They all prepared to take off, but then a familiar voice called down to them from below. "FLAMBOYANT COWARDS!"

On the ground, Bulma recoiled in shock and quickly hid herself behind a rock. Vegeta, perhaps not totally aware of what was going on, was absently mocking the Ginyu Force from his spot on the ground. "Where are you pathetic bastards going, huh?! I'm... not... dead yet!"

Up in the air, the Ginyu Force all sneered at Vegeta. Except for Ginyu. "Men! He's unimportant right now! Just-"

Guldo immediately plummeted to the ground. The green scumbag was still furious at Vegeta for punching him in the head, so he grabbed the prince with his telekinesis and then flew back into the air.

Ginyu was furious. "Guldo!"

Guldo smirked and began to summon a pillar of ice. "Don't worry, Captain! It won't take long! You guys go after the Dragon Balls and I'll catch up!"

Ginyu snarled. "Dammit Guldo... FINE! But you are in for a serious punishment later for defying a direct order!"

Guldo chuckled as his teammates took off. "So, I don't get ice cream for a week... SO WHAT?! Knowing that Vegeta is dead will fill my stomach more than any sweet!"

The green gremlin finished summoning his ice pillar and he centered it directly over Vegeta's heart. Bulma, still on the ground, spitefully watched on. She was more than happy to just sit back and observe Vegeta get what he deserved. Bulma smiled as Guldo ranted on and on about what a bastard Vegeta was...but then she began to think.

Nail and Talus both had called for the greater good. Neither of them liked Vegeta and yet... Nail was willing to put that aside to work alongside him... and Talus was ready to lay down his life to make sure that Vegeta was safe.

"Namek will die if those five do..."

With a heavy heart, Bulma swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat. Talus was right. They needed all the help they could get and if Vegeta was anything, he was strong. Bulma looked over to see that Nail was emerging from the cave, shaky and beaten, but conscious. And then, she made a choice that killed her on the inside. "FOR THE GREATER GOOD!"

Nail turned to see where Bulma was and was shocked at what he saw. The Earthling woman had stood up, aimed her blaster, and the beam had fired out. Nail watched, in awe, as the laser blast exploded from Guldo's chest. The green psychic's powers faltered and he dropped Vegeta like a stone. Nail then knew what he had to do. The Namekian warrior drew his arm back and then he fired a massive ki wave right at Guldo.

The Ginyu Force's weakest member screamed in terror, clutching his bleeding chest with an animal look of terror in his four eyes, and then he was reduced to ashes. Already quite a ways away, Burter and Jeice and Recoome all stared in shock and horror. Captain Ginyu also took a moment to look back, a small mournful gasp escaping his throat, but then he continued on.

Burter was livid. "You bastards!"

But before the Blue Hurricane could speed off to avenge his teammate, Captain Ginyu shouted into their Scouters. "DRAGON BALLS!"

Jeice and Recoome, getting the message, immediately took off. Burter stared hatefully at Nail and shouted. "I'll get you for this you, Namekian scum! This is not over!"

Burter then turned and began to give chase for Talus and the other Dragon Ball carriers as well.

The battles were over for now. Bulma knelt on the ground, damning herself for saving Vegeta's miserable life. Nail hobbled from the cave and wistfully looked out in the direction Talus had flown. The members of Team Bardock were broken and battered and beaten senseless. And now, the Dragon Balls were gone as well.

This battle was a definitive loss.