(Saiyan Saga I)
To put it simply, the battle with the Saiyans was not off to a good start, if Yamcha being killed almost immediately by a self destructing Saibamen was anything to go by.
'That was way too close.' Tien and the others could only watch as Piccolo intervened in time to save Gohan from a Saibamen and hurl it into the air before finishing it off with a single Mouth Energy Wave 'I have to hand it to Piccolo, as much hell as he's put us through in the past, it's a big relief to have him on our side this time.'
"That… That was a close one." Gohan breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at Piccolo with a big grin "Thanks for me saving me Piccolo."
"You can keep your thanks runt, I wasn't trying to save you." Piccolo's gaze hardened as he turned away from Gohan, but then shot him a smirk "That was nothing but a warmup, keep in mind that the real fight hasn't even started yet. You'd better be smart and try watching your own back from here on out."
"O-Oh… But didn't Krillin just-" Gohan was cut off by the sound of laughter coming from within the smoke.
"Like I said, be ready."
"That's the best that these weaklings can do? This is going to be even more of breeze than I first thought." from within the smoke emerged Vegeta and Nappa, both of them having taken the full force of Krillin's Scatter Bullet without so much as a scratch "If you're finished with your little warmup, then why don't we get started? There really isn't any need for us to drag this out any longer than we have to. No need to worry though, this will be over before too long."
'You've gotta be kidding me…' Tien shared a look with the rest of the Z Fighters present 'The two of them took that hit like it was nothing… Krillin put everything he had into that blast, and there's not even so much as a scratch on them… I guess this is what Saiyans are capable of in a battle…'
"So how shall we go about this then?"
"I've got a pretty good idea of it myself." Nappa gave a cocky smirk as he made his way over towards the group, prompting them to drop into combat stances "What do you say you let me go at them Vegeta? I'm tired of just screwing around Nappa."
"Go ahead Nappa, feel free to knock yourself out. But remember that I haven't finished yet with the Namekian, so let him live for the time being. You can go ahead and have your way with him once we get him to tell us what we want to know about the Dragon Balls."
"Huh. Fair enough. In that case, I might as well as go ahead and take my time, enjoy myself for a change. Now then, I think I'll start with… YOU!" Nappa suddenly blitzed forward at full speed towards his intended target… Krillin.
"Not so fast! Destructive Wind!" Piccolo blitzed forward and fired a tunnel of pure Ki that he aimed at Nappa, only for him to stop in his tracks and dodge it at the last second, leaving it to blow up a nearby mountain instead "Dammit!"
"Don't tell me that's all you got!" Nappa blitzed out of view and reappeared in front of Piccolo, dealing him a powerful kick to the chest that sent him crashing into a nearby boulder.
"Piccolo are you okay?!" Gohan tried to rush over to Piccolo's side, only to find his way blocked by Nappa landing in front of him.
"Well what do you know, so the insects of this planet do have a few tricks up their sleeves. That works out just fine for me, it makes it a lot mor fun than I thought it'd be." and so Nappa quickly dropped into a stance.
'What the hell?' Piccolo quickly rebounded from Nappa's assault, pretty much unharmed, just in time to be met with the sensation of Nappa powering up before the group, his Ki spiking with enough force to make the ground around them shake violently.
"Dammit, this is bad…" Tien shared a look with the others "I've never felt power anywhere close to this before… It's almost suffocating…"
"Hold on…" Chiaotzu on the other hand stuck out his hands and let energy wash over his tiny body, only for nothing happened "Tien it's no use, I tried to use my telekinesis on him but he didn't even budge!"
"Chiaotzu stay back, I don't want you getting too close to him!" Tien ushered Chiaotzu behind him as he continued feeling the sensations of Nappa powering up and tried to brace himself 'This is bad… I thought that these Saiyans would be strong, but this is beyond anything I could've dreamt of… and to think I thought we were all but invincible after training with Kami… I guess that shows what complacency can do to you.'
"Tien, I… I think I have to try full power!" Chiaoztu raised his hands to Nappa as a blue aura enveloped his body.
"Chiaotzu keep your eyes open, he can blindside you like this!"
"It's okay, I can-" Chiaotzu didn't get to finish before Nappa suddenly launched a Mouth Energy Wave at him, sending him crashing into a plateau across the battlefield, much to Tien's horror.
"Chiaotzu!"
"Looks like you're all pretty eager to die. Fine by me, makes it all the more fun. But if I had to pick one, I guess I'll start with… YOU!" once Nappa finished powering up, his body enveloped in a golden aura and crackling with electricity, he charged at his next choice of victim… Tien.
'Shit!' Tien wasted on time in raising his guard to defend himself, blocking Nappa's first strike with his forearm, though this left the arm itself heavily scorched from the first blow 'So much power, just from one strike?!'
"Tien get out of the way!" Piccolo barked at him.
"I know, I just-"
"Get a taste of why they call it the Arm Breaker!" Nappa leapt into the air and prepared to pounce on Tien, only to find himself stopped in his tracks as a blue aura enveloped him "What the hell is this?! Why can't I move?!"
As it turns out, Chiaoztu had managed to pick himself up after Nappa's blast, using another wave of Telekinesis to hold him back, albeit visibly straining and panting heavily as he did so "There, I got him… Hurry Tien, you have to get away!"
"You little shit!" Nappa rounded on Chiaotzu and prepared to fire another blast at him, until…
"Solar Flare!" thinking quick, Tien raised both of his hands and unleashed a quick Solar Flare, blinding Nappa and leaving him screaming in agony (though Vegeta was quick to cover his own eyes) and leapt into the air to gain some distance.
"You're gonna pay for that runt, I told you not to interfere in my fun!" Nappa immediately blitzed over towards Chiaotzu and landed a sharp kick to his head, sending him crashing to the ground in a heap, much to Tien's horror.
"CHIAOTZU!"
"No he can't do this, somebody has to stop him!" Gohan was equally horrified by Nappa's attack from his place on the sidelines.
'No… not like this… Not again…' Tien looked over to where Yamcha's corpse lay on the ground below, and then he immediately charged towards Nappa at full speed "I'm not letting it happen again! I'm coming Chiaotzu, just hang on!"
"I'll get to you in a minute Triclops, just wait your fucking turn! Blazing Storm!" Nappa turned towards Tien as he raised one arm with two fingers extended and unleashed an explosive burst of Ki, engulfing the area in a powerful explosion, the force sending Tien hurtling backwards while forcing Piccolo, Gohan and Krillin to take cover "I changed my mind, I'm gonna take my turn with the little Pokemon instead. Assuming I didn't blow him up just now."
'You've gotta be kidding me…' Piccolo released his hold on Gohan and Krillin as the smoke cleared to reveal the damage left by Nappa's attack 'He left a crater so deep that I can't even see the bottom… the amount of power that must have taken…'
"Now do you little shits get it? Do you see what what we're capable of?"
"Word to the wise Nappa, you might want to look behind you." Vegeta nonchalantly gestured to where Chiaotzu had floated onto Nappa's back and latched onto him.
"What the hell, get off of me you little shit!" Nappa tried to pry Chiaotzu off his back, which included slamming him into a nearby mountain albeit with little success, and then it was followed by him starting to glow "Hey!"
"Chiatozu, what are you doing?! Get off of him!" Tien could only look on in horror at the sight of Nappa's brutal attempts to free himself of Chiaotzu "Just get off, you have to get out of the way before you get yourself killed!"
"Tien, please… I need you to listen to me…" Chiaotzu began speaking to Tien via telepathy, his body glowing even brother "I just… I wanted to say thank you… for always being such a great friend to me…"
"What… what the hell are you talking about? Just get out of there now, while you still have the chance! Please!"
"Please Tien… whatever you do, just don't forget about me… I know I'm never going to forget about you… and I'm going to miss you…"
"Wait… Wait hold on Chiatozu, please tell me that you're not going to do something that you're going to regret!"
"I won't regret it… not if it means I can save you and the others…"
"So that's how you wanna play it? Fine!" Nappa flew into the air and soared down towards a nearby plateau topped with a series of spiked rockets.
"And Tien, whatever happens… just promise me that you'll stay alive, okay?"
"CHIAOZTU! DON'T DO IT!" but Tien's cries went unheard.
"Goodbye Tien!" and with that, Chiaotzu's body was fully enveloped in a white light, and both he and Nappa were engulfed in the blinding explosion that followed.
'Chiaoztu… no…' Tien was left frozen in despair and horror at the sight of the explosion, with images of Chiaotzu flashing through his mind, until he could do little more than let out a blood curdling scream of grief and sorrow.
"Hm… Good thinking on the little one's part, sacrificing himself to take the Saiyan with him. It was a little extreme, but it got results." Piccolo gave a smirk of approval, but then glanced down to see Gohan tearing up as he turned away from the scene "Don't look away Gohan. He died for something he believed in. Regardless of whatever side you're on, that deserves respect."
"I-I know, it's just that…" Gohan paused and looked up at the smoke "Hey Piccolo, didn't you say before how to sense an enemy, even if he's not there?"
"Yes, why do you ask?" Piccolo paused and followed Gohan's gaze… and then the familiar Ki signature washed over him, along with a sense of dread "Oh shit."
Sure enough, the smoke cleared to reveal Nappa floating in the same place he was before, without so much as a scratch on him "Well that was annoying, but it works out for me in the long run. It's one less earthling that I have to kill myself."
"But… But that's impossible… he's not even scratched…" Krillin was left frozen in horror at the sight "And Chiaotzu is dead… He just blew himself up for nothing!"
"Don't get so bent out of shape midget, they do that all the time. It gets really annoying after awhile."
"Chiaotzu… he's really gone… He's gone forever…" Tien was left snarling like an animal as he levelled his furious glare on Nappa "He's already been wished back to life once before. There isn't anything that can bring him back now, not even the Dragon Balls! You're going to pay for this, I'll make sure of it if it's the last thing I do!"
"Is that what you want? Then fine." Nappa gave a smirk full of bloodlust "If you still haven't figured out how pointless it is to try and fight against a Saiyan, then I have no problems with giving you one more demonstration. The downside of it for you is, that's gonna be the last thing you see in the land of the living!"
"I… I don't believe it…" Krillin was still left in a horrified daze from where he stood off to the side with Piccolo and Gohan "What the hell are we supposed to do? He's too strong for us, there isn't any way we could beat this guy!"
"See, at least you're smart enough to figure that out. Too bad the same can't be said for your Triclops buddy here. Not like you have to be worried about your buddy being lonely in Hell, because I'll make sure that the rest of you join him soon enough."
"Chiaotzu, you… I'll kill you! Do you hear me?! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH WHAT YOU'V DONE" with his grief and anger clouding his judgement and focus, Tien let out a primal roar as he charged at Nappa in a blind rage.
"Nope." Nappa was quick to dodge and block every attack Tien was throwing at him with ease, dodging his last attempted punch and leaving it to shatter a nearby plateau, which prompted him to knee Tien in the gut and send him hurtling into the air "And he's gonna come crashing down right about-"
"SOLAR FLARE!" rather than crash to the ground, Tien managed to rebound and raise both arms to his head, unleashing a blinding white light that stopped Nappa in his tracks and left him screaming in pain.
"Son of a fucker, MY EYES! What the hell did you do?"
"That was the Solar Flare, and now you get a load of this. Volleyball FIST!" seeing how his opponent was stunned by the Solar Flare, Tien hurled himself at Nappa, sending him flying into the air with two strikes, then launched himself into the air and gave a final blow in the form of an elbow to the spin that sent Nappa crashing to the ground, before Tien returned to the ground himself a short distance away.
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Meanwhile, on the sidelines…
"Holy crap, that was awesome!" Krillin's face lit up at the sight of Tien managing to land a successful attack on Nappa "If Tien is able to keep this up, we might just have a chance to win after all!"
"Don't get your hopes up so soon." Piccolo cast a sharp look in Krillin's direction "If the earlier display with Chiaoztu was anything to go by, it didn't actually damage the Saiyan. All it did was make him angry, and that can only end badly."
"Oh man… So won't be able to hold out much longer unless… Unless one of us jumps in to even the odds!" Krillin prepared to charge into the fray, only to be stopped by Piccolo grabbing him by the arm "What the fu-"
"You going out there on your own is only gonna get you killed. The best chance we have is for all of us to strike together when he moves to make an attack, not before. And frankly, it might be the only chance we have. And you got that too, don't you Gohan?"
"R-Right." Gohan gave a shaky nod "I understand."
"You had better, if this doesn't work we might as well all be dead."
"Interesting, that actually sounds like it might work." Vegeta got their attention from where he stood off to his own side "I hope it actually does for your sake. And do yourself a favor and keep your eyes on the battlefield, you're only going to have one shot at this."
"So you think. But it's not going to be too much longer before Goku gets here, and you can be sure he's going to wipe that smug smirk off your face."
"Is that right? How terrifying a prospect, but also peeks one's curiosity at the same time. I take it this guy is your ace in the hole?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
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Meanwhile, with the main side battle…
"YOU COCKY LITTLE FUCKER!" it didn't take Nappa long to recover from the effects of the Solar Flare and Volleyball Fist, and he immediately charged at Tien in a rage and landed a swift yet brutal blow to Tien's gut, sending him crashing into a plateau behind him and leaving him to fall to the ground "Congratulations, all you did was piss me the fuck off. Plus tossing around guys like you gets pretty boring after awhile, so why don't we go ahead and end it already?" with that in mind, he rose high into the air and prepared to dive bomb towards Tien "NOW DIE!"
"This is our chance, now SCATTER!" Piccolo and Krillin were quick to blitz towards the main battlefield at full speed, albeit with Gohan staying on the ground frozen in fear.
"Say hi to that little shit friend of yours when you see him in hell!" Nappa let out a roar as he hurtled down towards Tien at full speed, until…
"HEY!" Piccolo suddenly blitzed behind Nappa and dealt him a claw strike to the face, sending him flying towards where Krillin was waiting to land a smash attack on his head, which sent him hurtling towards the ground "NOW GOHAN, DO IT! HIT HIM NOW!"
"R-Right!" Gohan took a step forward and prepared to fire a Ki blast… only to falter at the sight of Nappa's furious gaze fixating on him, leaving him frozen for a few seconds before he made a move… which was to cower behind a nearby rock "I-I'm sorry, I can't do it!"
"Dammit you worthless little- Krillin time for plan B, blast him now!" Piccolo wasted no time in firing at Nappa with a quick Makosen.
"Right!" Krillin was quick to follow up with a Kamehameha, the two blasts combining and hurtling toward Nappa, until…
"NOPE!" Nappa managed to get out of the way of the blasts at the last second, leaving them to hurtle into the distance and create a blinding explosion.
"Dammit it didn't work, we were just a second late!"
"Wouldn't have mattered if you did." Nappa floated back into the air and wiped the new bruises formed on his face "I'll give you a little bit of credit for that one, it was a decent move. The two of you almost had me there for a second. So here's the deal, I've decided that I'm gonna change up the order in which I'm gonna kill all of you."
"Shit…" Piccolo let out a low growl as he and Krillin dropped into combat stances.
"It's a damn shame the rest of you aren't going to live long enough to learn from this. Now the big question, which one of you wants to die first? Anybody but the Namekian I mean, apparently I'm not allowed to put you out of your misery just yet. Not until you've told us everything that you know about the Dragon Balls.
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Meanwhile, on the Lookout…
"Kami, what is it?" Mr Popo glance over at Kami "Please tell me, what is it that is bothering you so much?"
"Forgive me Mr Popo, it's just…" Kami paused and breathed a sigh "It would seem that my life is about to come to an end. The fact is that my death is upon me, and it is inevitable. I can feel it with all of my being."
"But if that is the case, then that would mean…"
"Yes… Piccolo's death in the current battle is inevitable. And I fear that the same fate will fall upon everyone else."
"But then… what about Goku?"
"I'm afraid that I still cannot sense their presence… and they are running out of time…"
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Meanwhile, back on the battlefield…
'Chiaoztu… I'm sorry… I should've been able to stop you…' Tien slowly pulled himself back onto his feet, still overwhelmed by the sorrow and grief of Chiaotzu's death 'We've faced so many challenges, and we've always managed to come through them… Together, just like we've always been… But this time… No… I can't let myself be rash, not again… You made me promise that I wouldn't forget about you, not that I ever could… and you asked me to make sure that I stay alive… So I will… and so will the others… HEY SAIYAN!" he was quick to draw Nappa's attention "No one else is going to die today, not so long as I have a say in it! But if you want to try your hand, then take it out on me! Chiaotzu, no matter what happens I won't let your sacrifice be in vain. I promise you. No matter what, I WILL make sure this Saiyan goes down!' Tien began charging Ki in the tip of one index finger, then the other, and then he slammed both of his hands together with index fingers pointed outwards, combining the two smaller Ki blasts into one much larger one.
"Is that right?" Nappa glanced down at Tien as his cocky smirk grew ever wider "Looks to me like someone got their second wind. Fine then, go ahead and give me your best shot. See if you can do better than that little shit friend of yours did."
"You self righteous… piece of shit… his name… WAS CHIAOTZU! HYPER DODON SLASH!" Tien let out a primal roar as he fired the much larger Dodon Ray, but he swung his arms while the blast was in mid-air, slashing across Nappa's front just as he was engulfed in the blinding explosion that followed, before Tien fell to his knees in exhaustion, and coughed up a small amount of blood 'Chiaotzu… that one was for you, my friend… and I promise, I will make sure to survive, and to protect the others… Like you would've wanted… And I will NEVER forget about you…'
When the smoke cleared, Nappa was revealed to be alive, but not unscathed, as indicated by the severe damage to his armor… and a bloody gash where one of his eyes was meant to be, not to mention that he was seething with rage "You… You… YOU LITTLE SHIT! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!"
'Dammit… I put as much power as I could into that attack, and he's still alive…'
"Honestly, you really are a fool." Vegeta let out a chuckle "All you had to do was stay down and play dead, but you had to try and be the hero. You just proved that you weaklins have a death wish."
"That's where you're wrong… I just proved that… even you monsters can be hurt…" Tien gave a bitter smirk as he glared at the Saiyans with defiance "If you think that was something… then you haven't seen anything just yet… Just wait until Goku gets here…
"Goku huh? That name again… I wonder…" Vegeta frowned in thought for a moment, until a realization suddenly dawned on him "Hold on a minute…"
"What?"
"Forget about him, we have bigger problems to worry about." Piccolo and Krillin returned to the ground and yanked Tien onto his feet "You get points for actually managing to deal some kind of damage to this bastard, but in the long run all you did was piss him off."
"Yeah, I'm starting to notice that…" Tien staggered back onto his own two feet "So do we have some kind of plan from here?"
"Right now we need to focus on getting him back onto the ground, if we fight him in the air then he clearly has the advantage."
"So what, you really think that's gonna make any kind of difference?" Nappa let out a loud snort from his place in the air when he heard this "Whatever you want Namekian, but it isn't gonna change one thing… TRICLOPS DIES FIRST!" he started hurtling towards the group in a blind rage, his remaining eye fixed solely on Tien, until…
"Nappa wait, stop right there!" the sharp command from Vegeta caused Nappa to freeze in mid air, much to his dismay.
"Hey what gives, why did you stop me? Let me at them!"
"How many times do I have to tell you to be patient? There's something I want to ask them about first." Vegeta turned his attention to Piccolo and the others "This Goku that I keep hearing you and the others prattle on about, he's really Kakarot isn't he?"
"Don't call him that, he's Goku now!" Krillin shot a glare at Vegeta, earning only a cocky laugh from him in response.
"You seriously think that Kakarot would be the only hope you have. He died against someone like Raditz, and Raditz wasn't half the fighter that Nappa is, let alone myself. What could he hope to do against the two of us?"
"You'd be surprised." Tien shot a look of defiance at Vegeta "I thought I'd beat Goku easily when I fought him, but he's always been the self improvement type. He's far stronger than you think he is, and even if you don't believe us now, you'll find out soon enough. When he finally gets here, you'll see for yourself what he's capable of. The first rule of a battle is that when you underestimate your enemy, you're as good as dead."
"Is that right?" Nappa gave a smirk "I might actually believe some of what you're saying if he wasn't too much of a coward to show his face here, are you sure your precious Goku didn't just run away like a dirty little coward?"
"Hey, that's my dad you're talking about!" Gohan shot a glare up at Nappa "He's gonna get here and then you'll be sorry! He's gonna be so big and strong, you'll wish that you never messed with him!"
"Big words kid, not like it'll mean anything."
"But it's intriguing if nothing else." Vegeta gave a smirk "I guess it wouldn't hurt to give this big hero of yours a little bit more time to show up."
"Wait what?" Nappa glanced over at Vegeta "What's the point of something like that? Can I at least go ahead and kill his little buddies in the meantime?"
"Again with being impatient Nappa. Just give them about 3 hours, but that's all they get. After that you get to do whatever you want to the rest of these peons."
"That's ridiculous, no chance in hell I'm waiting for anybody!" Nappa charged down towards the others with murder in his eye, until…
"NAPPA! ARE YOU DISOBEYING A DIRECT ORDER FROM YOUR PRINCE?!" that sharp reprimand was enough to make Nappa freeze on the spot.
"No sorry Vegeta, I just got carried away for a second, that's all."
"Well for your sake, see to it that it doesn't happen again." Vegeta shot a glare at Nappa, then a smirk at the rest of them "Kakarot isn't going to be able to save you, but he did manage to stall your deaths for the next three hours. But once that's up, you're all as good as dead."
"I think we'll see about that soon enough." with that in mind, Tien and the others made their way over to a spot across the battlefield to regroup, which quickly led to Piccolo glaring at Gohan with disapproval.
"Okay I know what you're thinking, but it's not his fault." Krillin was quick to speak up and defend Gohan "He's never been in an actual fight before."
"It's pretty obvious with that pathetic display earlier." Piccolo let out a scoff and hardened his glare towards Gohan "What a waste of time, I was a fool for expecting more out of you."
"If you're going to reprimand him then do it later, I think it's safe to say we have other problems right now." Tien cast a glance over towards the Saiyans "You saw it didn't you? The way the big one was cowering a second ago…"
"Yeah, I noticed it. It probably means that little runt Vegeta is even more powerful. Assuming that is the case, even if we do beat the big guy, we're gonna be in serious trouble. As much as I hate to say it…"
"You don't think we have any chance of winning this without Goku. I know." Tien gritted his teeth and clenched his fist 'I hate being so helpless like this… But as much as I hate to say it, he's right. Goku, you have to hurry. We don't have many other options at this point. If he doesn't show soon, it's going to be all or nothing.'
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Meanwhile, with the other party…
"Okay seriously, I don't get it." Nappa shot a look at Vegeta "How the hell can you just sit there and act so calm? Don't you wanna kill these guys as much as I do?"
"Of course I do, but we hav to be patient." Vegeta calmly sat down on a rock and put his own scouter back on "Keep in mind that we've waited a whole hear, three more hours aren't going to kill us. And once that's up, the real fun can begin."
"Well I already hate standing around for this. Why the hell do we have to wait for Kakarot of all people?"
"Because as a traitor to the Saiyan race, he deserves to get special treatment. Believe me when I say that the two of us are going to savor doling out punishment on that fugitive, by making him watch as his friends and loved ones die right in front of him. And that's just going to be a taste of what's in store for him because he's going to follow their lead, only much slower. We'll be sure to remind him of what it means to be a Saiyan as he writes in agony. Surely a mere three hours won't be too long of a wait for that kind of entertainment, now is it?"
"Okay, now I get what you're going for here. Now I get it, this is gonna be awesome."
"Of course keep in mind, that's assuming he'll be brave enough to show his face before the three hours are up."
"If he does then how about this, you can take on Kakarot and I'll use the time to sink my teeth into the four of them over there. I still owe the Triclops for what he did to my eye."
"Suit yourself, but don't forget about our main objective for being here. We still need to get that Namekian to tell us what we need to know about th Dragon Balls before you kill him."
"Yeah, I know. But serioulsy, this is gonna be one hell of a party."
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Meanwhile, with the remaining heroes…
"Okay you know what, I'm just gonna say it." Krillin glanced over at the others "What do you say we just get out of here while we still have the chance? We don't have a chance in hell of actually beating them, so I say we live to fight another day."
"Forget it, that's not going to work." Tien told him flatly "These guys aren't like King Piccolo, they aren't in this to conquer the planet. They're in it to destroy us all. If we give up now then there won't be another day to fight them, for us or anyone else."
"But… But what else are we supposed to do? There's no telling how much longer we have before Goku actually gets here, and I don't know if we can hold out until then."
"I don't think we have another choice. We just have to do everything we can. I'm sure Goku would agree."
"Tien's right." Piccolo turned to the others "We got lucky that they agreed to give us three hours, but even then there's no guarantee that Goku's going to show up before then. Assuming that he doesn't, we have to be ready. Perhaps take his example."
"How do you figure?" asked Krillin.
"He said it himself, that little show of his earlier may not have done much, but it did prove that they can be damage. Now we just have to figure out how to do that ourselves."
"Good call, taking the time to strategize. In the meantime, I'm going to meditate on the matter, maybe try and get some strength back." Tien sat down in a lotus position on the ground and prepared to enter a meditative state, but paused when he noticed Gohan slowly making his way towards him "What is it? Did you need something?"
"I… I wanted to say I'm sorry." Gohan muttered quietly as he looked at the ground in shame "I was… I was too scared to help the others and… You got hurt…"
"Oh. That." Tien paused as he looked at the various bruises across his body, and then his gaze softened slightly "Don't worry about it, okay? I'm the one who let my anger cloud my own judgement, I charged at him without thiking. If anything, I did this to myself. But tell me something. This is your first real battle, isn't it?"
"Y-Yeah…"
"I expected as much. You know my original teachers… It took me a long time to realize that they weren't the people I thought they were, but they did teach me a lot. I still remember one of the first lessons I learned from them about striking an opponent. Let me put it this way: Have you ever seen anything like those warriors that break ten blocks of wood with a single strike?"
"I think I read about something like that in a book once."
"Okay. The main idea of id is that they don't look at all ten pieces, just the one on top, because that's the only one they directly strike. The point of impact. The next tim w fight that Saiyan, you don't have to look at how tall or how strong he is. Just focus on the point of impact. Okay?"
"Okay, I… I'll try."
"Good. Now if you need me, I'll be meditating." and so Tien closed his eyes and began his meditation as Gohan made his way back over to the others.
Despite having his back turned, Piccolo looked over at Gohan and gave a discrete smirk 'Now that's more like it. You have to rise above it Boy. What you think you need, you already have.' it was then that something else caught his attention by making his ears twitch "What the hell?"
"What's the matter?" asked Krillin.
"Looks like we have some incoming, in the form of a few idiots who don't know how to leave well enough alone."
Sure enough, that group was in the form of a reporter and his camera crew, inching towards the battlefield in their jeep "Alright ladies and gentlmn, we're trying to get as close to the action as we can. There's no obvious rason for the sudden calm, but it looks as though they may be taking some sort of break from the combat, in order to recoup if I had to guess."
"Huh. Looks like some of the locals don't value their lives." Nappa was the first one to take notice of the news crew, then looked over at vegeta "What do you say I go ahead and have a few laughs with these guys? No chance in standing around doing nothing while I've got a perfectly good chance to stretch my legs right?"
"Very well, do what you have to." Vegeta gave a shrug "Just remember to watch yourself and try not to get carried away, I know how you are."
"Oh come on, don't be like that."
"Don't argue with me, we want to save our strength for the big event don't we?"
"Hm… Yeah okay, I get what you're saying. Fair enough. In that case, I'm gonna just have to make this a friendly little meet the press then." so with that in mind, Nappa promptly took to the air.
"This is incredible, one of the aliens has leapt into the air and appears to be flying! Where he's headed we can only speculate at this time- Wait a minute." the reporter cut himself short as he realized something "He's changed direction now. Again I hesitate to guess, but… but I think he's flying directly towards us! Oh dear god he is, GET US OUT OF HERE!" and that was enough to send the news crew driving away as fast as they could, with Nappa hot on their trail… until they ended up going over a large crevice and crashing into a ditch.
"That's one group of pests down, now where are the others?" Nappa cast a look around and gave a wide smirk as he closed in on the news crew's camp site nearby.
"Oh crap, he's coming his way!" the remaining members of the news crew wasted no time in freaking out at the sight of Nappa heading their way "Quick, swing the camera around!"
"Hey guess what? I HATE THE MEDIA!" Nappa promptly fired a shot of eye beams at the camp site and… well to make a long story short, the group watching a Kame House wouldn't be able to follow the action anymore.
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Meanwhile, with the heroes…
"I HATE THE MEDIA!" could be heard in the distance, followed by the sound of screaming, and then a sizable explosion."
"So he hates the media… Not like he's wrong on that one." Krillin shared a quick look with the others "Here's hoping he never discovers Twitter. Then again, it's not like losing any of those guys is gonna be a huge loss."
"You realize that amounts to people dying and us just watching." Piccolo pointed out dryly.
"Yep."
"Just checking."
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As the three hour ceasefire turned into one hour, and King Kai continued to grow impatient at how long it was taking, Goku was nearing the end of Snake Way with the Check In Station in sight, knowing that he didn't have any time to lose if he wanted to make it back to Earth and save the others.
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Meanwhile, on the main battlefield…
"Well good news, time is up and it's time for you to die." once the timer went off, Vegeta pulled himself to his feet and threw his scouter to the side as he shot a smirk at the Z Fighters "Looks to me like this mighty champion of yours isn't going to be coming to your rescue after all."
"Well that's a giant load of crap." Nappa gave a scowl as he landed on the ground "So what then, is Kakarot afraid or something?"
"That would be the long and short of it as far as I can tell."
"There's no way that he would be afraid of guys like you!" Gohan shot a dirty look at the two of them "My dad is going to be here any minute now, just wait and see!"
"I'd like to say the same, but I don't know for sure what's taking him so long." Piccolo gave a scowl 'Dammit come on Goku, this is the worst possible time for you to do this to us.'
"Big talk brat, I'll believe it when he actually shows up." Nappa rolled his eyes as he tore off his armor, leaving it to fall to the ground with a loud crash "I don't know about you guys, but all of that waiting around sure as hell got my bloodlust up. It's a damn shame the four of you are all that I have to take it out on."
"Don't think we're going down without a fight." Tien's eyes snapped open as he got out of his meditative stance and pulled himself to his feet "So probably the wrong time to ask, but do we have a plan?"
"Not a great one, but better than nothing." Piccolo told him through gritted teeth "Now listen up, because we have one shot at this and that's assuming that things go smoothly. This is us playing for keeps right now, so make sure to pay attention. Tien I've seen some of the techniques you have at your disposal, like your duplication, so you'll be the decoy. Do whatever you have to in order to draw his attention away from me. As soon as the opportunity presents itself, I'll make a go for the onle weak spot hat Saiyan brute has: his tail. Assuming that works, when I grab him he won' be able o move. Once that's done, I want Gohan and Krillin to charge him with everything the two of you have. Got it?"
"R-Righ." Gohan gave a shaky nod, the same with Krillin "And I promise, I'm not going to run away this time."
"I should hope you won't. Keep in mind that right now, the fate of the Earth and its people rests in our hands. You have to have faith in yourself and your teachings, brush aside those childish doubts you have and then you'll be able to tap into a power even greater than mine."
"Right, I… I know." Gohan took a breath and braced himself as he saw Nappa making his way towards them 'Piccolo's right, I can do this. And remember what Tien said, just focus on the point of impact…'
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Meanwhile, at the Check In Station…
"So King Yemma, I'm sure you understand." Kami stood in the main office of the Check In Station before King Yemma, with two familiar figures standing by his side "That is why these two noble warriors are standing here before you today, to follow in the footsteps of Goku. Like him, they deserve to seek even greater heights in their training, so on their behalf I beg you to call upon King Kai once again for guidance."
"So you said their names are Yamcha and Chiaotzu right?" King Yemma frowned as he looked through the files in his hand "Impressive, not to the extent of Goku but they lived good lives and died with honor… More friends of yours I take it? You're making a habit of this Kami. Do you really want to risk sending more people to run along Snake Way to meet with King Kai? Keep in mind we still don't know how Goku faired and-"
"I'm here!" this was when Goku came rushing into the main office and promptly screeched to a halt… but not before crashing into one of the giant legs of Yemma's desk "Ow…"
"Goku, you okay man?" Yamcha was quick to pry him off of the desk leg, and tried not to laugh at the newly formed bruise on Goku's nose "Sorry, uh…"
"Yamcha… Chiaotzu… aw man…" Goku's face fell at the sight of the halos hanging over their heads "So they got you too?"
"One of them caught me off guard, Chiaotzu blew himself up to take out another one. But that doesn't matter, everybody else is still alive and they need you. Now get down there and kick some ass."
"Got it. And hang tight, I'll get the Dragon Balls and bring you guys back to life the first chance I get. Come on Kami, let's go."
"Agreed, now hurry and grab on." Kami quickly ushered for Goku to latch onto his arm, and the two of them disappeared in a flash.
"Yeah, wish us back huh. I'm cool taking my time to be honest, not looking forward to all the drama with Bulma that I gotta deal with." Yamcha breathed a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, but then he glanced over to see Chiaotzu looking downcast, and then he gave a small smile and patted him on the shoulder "Don't worry buddy, I'm sure we can figure something out."
"...Huh. Well I never." King Yemma finally broke the silence "That is to say, I never would've been willing to put money on that Goku kid being able to make it there and back."
"Hey believe me, Goku never stops amazing people. At this point it's normal for him to all sorts of crazy stuff that people think isn't possible. He's been like that since day one." Yamcha let out a chuckle "Kinda hard to believe I was trying to kill him when we first me."
"Wait, really?" Chiaotzu glanced over and gave him a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, you guys know I used to be a former bandit. Plus you guys wanted to kill him to avenge your old teacher when you first met him, remember?"
"Well yeah…"
"Not to mention that when Bulma first met him, she hit him with a car and shot him square in the face."
"Serioulsy?"
"Yeah, now we've got Piccolo in the mix apparently. Actually now that I think about it, if you don't count Roshi and Krillin, most of Goku's friends are people that tried to kill him at one point or another." Yamcha paused and glanced up at King Yemma "So… talking about this stuff isn't gonna make us go to hell is it?"
"If I was going to send you to hell then I would'v already." King Yemma told him dryly, then gave a smirk "But if you know Goku as well as you claim to, why don't we see if you can live up to his legacy?"
"Wait, you mean…?"
"Yes. If you're that insistent on it, go ahead and take Snake Way, see if you can make it all the way to King Kai. Now get out of the line, I've got dozens of journalists behind you just waiting to be sent to hell."
"Works for me. Alright Chiaotzu let's do this, Kenpachi and Yachiru style." Yamcha positioned himself so Chiaotzu could latch onto his back, and the two of them took off out the door.
"And there they go." King Yemma watched as they left, then looked back at the line of dead humans in front of him "They come from a strange little planet."
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Meanwhile, one quick trip between dimensions later…
"Yes, we made it!" Goku let go of Kami's arm the second they touched down on the Lookout, and he turned towards Kami and Mr Popo, still panting slightly "Alright… looks like it's finally time for me to meet those Saiyans… and show them what I'm made off… This right here is what I've been training for!"
"Hurry now, there's no time to wast." Kami urged him, then gave a small smile "Best of luck down there Goku, and make us proud."
"You got it!" so on that note, Goku took off running at full speed and leapt straight off the edge of the Lookout, diving down towards the Earth below 'Gohan, you and the others had better still be in one piece! Seriously, there's no telling what your mom is gonna do to me if she finds out you're dead!'
It was at this moment that Korin could see him coming down from his tower 'Here he comes. But damn, after travelling all the way along Snake Way I can only imagine how worn out the poor guy must be. Goku!"
"Hey Korin, you think you could help me out?!"
"Sure thing, how about giving you guys my last two Senzu Beans? And quick piece of advice, they still work even if you only eat half, so you might wanna do that and try saving the rest for th others!" and so Korin tossed the beans in question towards Goku as he plummet downwards.
"You're the best, thanks a ton for the help!"
"No problem, give those brutes a good thrashing for me!"
"On it! with that in mind, Goku split one of the beans in half and downed the half in question, causing him to perk up "Oh hell yeah, now that's exactly what I'm talking about! FLYING NIMBUS!" there was a pause, and then a golden streak appeared, allowing Goku to land on a fluffy golden cloud below him that subsequently took off "Hey, long time no see buddy! No time to lose, we gotta get down to the battlefield, over that way!" and so Nimbus sped off into the distance, Goku's mind racing as they took off 'Keep it together you guys, I'm on my way so just hang in there a little while longer!'
Power levels:
Tien: 1,830
Tien (Dodon Slash): 3,700
Tien (post-Dodon Slash and Nappa's assault): 900
Krillin: 1,770
Piccolo (without weights): 3,500
Chiaotzu: 610
Chiaotzu (self destruct): 3,050
Gohan: 980
Saibamen: 1,200 each
Nappa: 4,000
A/N:
I don't think I need to say how big of a loss the death of Akira Toriyama has been, nor can I say anything that hasn't already been said dozens of times. The man is an icon, he created something that's shaped entire generations, and will most likely continue to do so even after death. Dragon Ball defined my childhood, most of ours really. It inspired me, many of us, to reach for ever greater heights, to improve ourselves, to become something better. But with that being said… it's not perfect, I don't think anyone can deny that. It has its flaws, and I think that the biggest flaw it has is that certain characters become irrelevant over time.
Those who know me know I feel that most great anime has at least one character (maybe two) that has far too much wasted potential: Chad and Tatsuki from Bleach, Rock Lee from Naruto, Rogue and/or Gajeel from Fairy Tail, and Dragon Ball has far too many to count, but if I had to pick one it would be Piccolo. At least, that's how I felt before the Super Hero movie came out, and that gave him the spotlight he deserved after so long. Now I think that honor goes to Tien, the only human that trains almost as hard as Goku himself and actually keeps training consistently over the course of the series, which can't be said for the likes of Krillin or Yamcha, or even Gohan. And yet he, along with Chiaotzu, has been treated so poorly, both by the fanbase and by the writers. This is my way of trying to rectify that, starting with him not losing his arm or dying in battle against Nappa.