Sennen and her people looked at us nervously and honestly I didn't blame them. After all that had happened to them I doubted they would trust any humanoid for a long time.

'Perhaps, if we manage to help them out, they might consider some of us worthy of their trust. But there will always be that doubt… and for some of us it might take generations.'

In the end it had been decided that Tien, Chiatozu, Senza, Isco, and myself would actually be allowed into what the Pleists were using as a base to try and organize their strike back against what I was more and more sure was Turles and his forces. While leery of us all Tien, Chiatozu, Senza, and Isco were the most non-human, or rather non-saiyan, of our group. Yes, there were some such as the robot that Sennen said Turles had with him, but Isco was far different from him and thus they allowed him to enter.

As for myself…

"Amazing," Dober, one of Sennen's fellow fighters, said as he looked me over. "Other than your scent you look exactly like Treiv."

"You sure you don't mind?" I asked the golden-haired bipedal canine.

"Not at all," Treiv said with a smirk. "The world should have more of me." He gave his head a little flip and I let out a huff.

"How did you do it?" Dober asked.

"Magic," I stated, gesturing at my form that I had transformed to resemble Treiv. I'd figured that the Pleists would be more comfortable if I looked as little human as possible and while I had considered turning into a Ginyu Force member I didn't need Raditz asking any questions; honestly I was lucky he hadn't wondered how I was able to turn into Recoome or Guldo during the fight with Nappa and Vegeta. Luckily Treiv was a vain and sassy sort and had been tickled pink that I could transform into him. To make it a bit less confusing I had shifted my clothing to Dober's, so we were a bit more distinct.

"Does it matter how he did it?" Radoor, a grim and growly dark furred Pleist snapped as he looked over his gun. "If he has something those invaders don't know how to handle and can save our planet than I'm all for it."

That made Treiv laugh. "And here I thought you would be less trusting of them! That we'd have to convince you to believe them! Maybe you can learn a new trick or too."

"Watch your mouth, pup," Radoor snapped. "I can still beat your fluffy ass from here to the Eastern Crater." The old Pleist let out a huff. "And use your fucking head, would you? If he wanted to he could have killed us all before we realized it." Treiv stared at him and I winced; he had to be a good fighter because he wasn't that bright, I could tell that much. "He can look like any of us. He could sneak in, kill someone, take their place-"

"We'd smell him!" Treiv complained.

"In time? If we didn't know he was a shapeshifter?"

Treiv shifted at that, clearly not liking what Radoor was suggesting.

"And I am assuming, since he said it was magic… he can do more than that." He looked to me and after a moment I quietly nodded. "So he has powers that can help us. We know what the invaders can do and they know what we can do. This one though is a wild card."

"In more ways than one," I said before throwing out my hand and summoning the Scroll of Knowledge. "What is attacking the planet?"

The Unnatural Natural

The Living Death

The Tree of Might

Chiaotzu swallowed at that. "Uh… that doesn't sound very good."

I nodded. "The Tree of Might. I've… heard stories about it. That's what made me first realize what it was. I don't know the full story but-" I looked to the Pleists, "-stop me if you've heard this one: the invaders arrive and they plant a seed in your planet. Very soon a large tree begins to grow. Roots spread deeply. And then you begin to notice that things aren't quite right on the planet. Crops are withering. Grass isn't the right color. Okay, maybe its just a bad growing season. Except the wildlife begins to act sluggish and slow. Tired. And you begin feeling it as well. First like you only got a bit of sleep. Aren't fully rested. Then like you stayed up all night. Until it feels like you'll never sleep again… except it also feels like all you are going to do is sleep."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Am I wrong?"

The Pleists shifted at that, clearly hating that they couldn't tell me no. Wishing and praying that I was wrong.

"So… what is all this?" Tien asked.

I wiggled the Scroll. "Let's find out."

I wasn't doing it to hide my secret. The fact of the matter was that I didn't know much about the Tree of Might. It wasn't like the movie had said a ton about it. The thing was a plot device to give Turles a power boost, that was all. But I knew there had to be more, based on all I had learned about this world. It was far more rich and detailed than the manga or the anime had made it; where the author had just throwing in weird aliens with funny pun names there was a history there, rich and deep.

And we needed to understand it fully.

It took several questions to get the Scroll to give us all the information we needed; its fucking almost Haikus were annoying as shit, frankly, and ate up a lot of time. But in the end we got it.

"The Tree of Might is a parasitic plant," I stated. "Not evil. It just needs so many nutrients in order to survive that only a world in Otherworld could grow it. The fruit it produces is meant for gods and eternal dragons, because their power is already so great that eating the fruit is just a treat. But for mortals it can produce power boosts or even resurrect the dead." I shot a look at Tien. "But we have no idea the affects."

"I wasn't going to suggest it," he said.

"Good. Make sure no one else suggests it either." Because I had a feeling someone in our group would see this as a chance to bring back Master Roshi. But the fact that, according to the Scroll, it could bring back people who had died hundreds of years ago had me worried that it merely brought back the body and not the soul. The Dragon Ball Universe was pretty clear how hard it was for a soul to return the longer it spent in the Afterlife.

"And it must be eaten," Isco said and I didn't fail to notice how… depressed… he sounded at that.

'Make sure he doesn't get any seeds,' I thought to myself, not needing Isco to decide to use the Tree to start the Robotic Uprising.

"But the planet can heal," Sennen stated, sounding utterly hopeful for the first time since we'd met.

"It can," I confirmed. "Just like a field can regain nutrients. It will take time, a few months according to the Scroll, so you'll have to be careful with your food, but it will return to normal."

"We just need to chop down that tree," Tien stated.

"Exactly."

Senza though shook his head. "The problem remains though that we aren't merely dealing with the Tree of Might. We are dealing with who planted it and I don't imagine they are going to be willing to just let us rip it out."

I shook my head at that. "No. No they will not."

And then I grinned, fierce and full of teeth.

"Good thing we have some of the best fighters here on Earth… er, I mean that Earth has to offer… and a bunch of surprises."

"What can we do to help?" Sennen asked.

I smirked, a few ideas already forming in my head. I wasn't a battle strategist, I'd admit that. I had only begun learning how to fight, and that was with magic. I'd never been to war. But… I knew how to fuck with an enemy. To manipulate them. To get them to dance to my happy tune.

'And Turles? Oh… I am gonna make you tango.'

~MC~MC~MC~

'Soon,' Turles thought as he stared at the latest Tree of Might that he had planted. It was nearly at the final stages of its growth, when it would stop its growth and focus entirely on producing fruit. 'At least one, I would say, judging on how much life remains on this pathetic planet.'

That was always the problem with growing the Tree of Might: finding a planet able to support it fully. More than once he and his men had taken the time to find a planet that looked ripe with energy and life, one with the proper atmosphere that could support the tree, and had set to work on planting the seed, watching it grow into a mighty tree… only for it to not bear any fruit. Or produce one that was half formed and did nothing when it came to giving strength. The planet would be JUST lacking and they would be forced to destroy the tree, not wanting to risk it bearing fruit after they left.

Other times they made mistakes. Turles remembered well how Carshew had given into battle lust and slaughtered an entire continent of people, not realizing that their energy too was needed in order to feed the Tree of Might. He had ended up impaling the bastard on multiple branches of the pathetic Tree of Might that had managed to grow; it had been a stunted thing but had still been hardy enough to support the mewling fool's body as Turles made sure the entire Crusher Corps understood just how foolish it would be for them, in the future, to disobey his orders.

'When we first found the Tree of Might were we able to harvest 3 seeds from it,' he thought as he hovered in front of the current tree. 'At one point we had 8. Now we only have no seeds… this one MUST produce fruit or we will have nothing. And if it shouldn't…'

He, Amond, and Daiz hadn't even realized what it was when they'd landed on the dead world; Turles had been for an easy slaughter so he might take the planet's supplies but discovering it barren save for the tree had happily eaten the fruit with his men only to be shocked by the power it gave him. With a few bites he had gone from a Low-Class Saiyan, bitter over how his brother-in-law Bardock forever managed to beat him in fights, to matching King Vegeta in raw power. He had realized what the Tree could do and known at once he had to protect its secret. He had abandoned the Frieza Force, slaughtering any that came to try and capture him until he became a ghost story told by the forces of Lord Frieza's army, and begun the work of gathering his own crew to become the most powerful in the galaxy.

'I need this tree to produce more fruit,' he thought to himself. 'Two pieces at minimum.' He had a bad feeling that he would get one and that was that. The planet they landed on seemed healthy enough but it wasn't overly large and only had an average amount of life on it. Something three times as big and with four or five times the population… that would have worked. But such planets tended to be more industrialized and that hurt the ability of the Tree of Might to grow.

It was utterly frustrating how fickle the damn thing was!

He and his men had experimented of course, to try and find ways to make the Tree bear more fruit. Larger planets worked but only if they had more life on them. Barren rocks did nothing, the seed not even splitting open.

'That was a blessing,' he thought, considering their other failures. 'If it had sprouted…' The Tree of Might's sapling could NOT be moved and replanted, as they had discovered. Once it began to grow that was it… one was forced to deal with whatever might come. 'And then there is the life that it needs,' he thought. 'A planet must be rich with it… a wide variety. And it must be connected to the planet.'

It had been Rasin who had suggested that they attempt bringing new beings to the planet after the tree was planted, to see if they could be fed upon and thus allow more trees to grow. Turles had been delighted with the idea, imagining a few colony worlds, each with a few members of the Crusher Corps guarding them, constantly being filled with slaves that would have their energy drained to produce more fruit. But nothing had happened and Lakasei had smugly told his brother that clearly the Tree of Might adapted to the planet, growing to only consume life that had a deep connection to the planet.

'It makes sense,' Turles thought to himself as he floated over to one of the branches and ran his hands along the leaves. Healthy and strong. A good sign. 'After all, the tree doesn't affect any of us with the same slow drain it does others. A build up of minerals in one's body, from spending at least a decade or more on a planet eating its food, that is what allows them to be identified by the Tree to determine that they should be drained.'

Thus they were forced to be very careful with the Seeds of Might, making sure that when they planted them they fully had control of the situation. The Tree had to be protected, as even when fully grown it could be destroyed. And they couldn't hit worlds that people would notice disappearing quickly, lest they attract the attention of Frieza. The last thing Turles wanted was for that annoying bastard to realize what he was up to and decide that he wanted to take the Tree of Might for himself. No… Frieza would only learn of what Turles was doing when he was strong enough to crush him with a single hand.

'And that will be a while,' he thought darkly.

It was a balancing act. His men all know about the tree and longed for a chance to sample its fruit. Turles needed to remain stronger than them so they didn't think of trying to usurp him. But he couldn't prolong them forever, as they would become just as angry if he did that. Amond and Daiz had sampled the fruit once already and Rasin and Lakasei had been brought back with it… he supposed it was time for Cacao to have some. He had been able to put him off by pointing out that they didn't know how his cybernetics would react to an increase of strength but with Rasin and Lakasei now part of their group, able to upgrade the cyborg's systems, that excuse wouldn't fly.

'Two pieces…' he thought idly. 'Two pieces would solve my problem. One for Cacao, one for me. Just to ensure that I stay a few steps ahead of them. Then Amond and Daiz again, then Rasin and Lakasei… I need to be careful with them. They are smart… if they get too strong they will figure out a way to take control even if my power level is-'

"Sir!" Amond suddenly said via the comm unit in Turles' modified scouter (stripped of anything that Frieza could have used to find him). "The proximity alarms we set up have detected forces moving on our location."

That made Turles smirk. "Well, it seems like the dogs have some fight still in them. You know what to do, Amond: maim and break. I want them alive… but that doesn't mean their existence needs to be pleasant."

"Understood!" Amond declared and Turles smirked as he heard him sign off.

'Perhaps I should join them… its been a while since I've truly stretched my muscles and it would be interesting to see how those mutts react to me.' He longed for a good battle; it had been over two years since he'd truly gotten a fight that actually challenged him and his warrior's soul screaming for a chance to cut loose and test himself. Yet at the same time he didn't want to leave the Tree of Might unattended. The problem with the Tree was that it produced its fruit suddenly. One could stare at a spot, blink their eyes, and suddenly find the fruit there. It blossomed within seconds… and only once. A crop grew only a single time. They had never found a planet that could support it growing a second batch of fruit, even if the planet still had life on it. It simply took too much and waiting for another crop always meant watching everything die and then the tree itself before a piece of fruit was made.

He knew the tree was very close to bearing fruit and Turles hated the idea of leaving it when it was so near to producing its bounty. Because when it was done that meant that he could begin planning for their next trip. The number of fruit it produced would determine much, after all. Two and he could risk being a bit more daring. One and he would have to be conservative. Three and well… well, a Saiyan could dream, couldn't he?

'It also means that I can tell my men to finally stop holding back, so we might wipe the planet clean,' he thought as he felt the first stages of the battle begin. He was surprised by the explosions he was hearing… he hadn't thought the dogs were that strong and he knew his men wouldn't be foolish enough to forget his warning. He touched his scouter and frowned. The power levels were… surprisingly high. 'Where were you hiding these fighters, I wonder!' he thought to himself. 'You certainly didn't have them when you first confronted me. They-'

"Sir!" Daiz said over the intercom. "You must come at once!"

"And why is that?" Turles asked, amused. The warrior wouldn't be calling for him if it wasn't important… he was far too prideful to waste his time.

"Three of the warriors… they have tails like yours! And one looks exactly like you save for pinkish tan skin!"

Turles frowned at that, looking at his hand. 'Looks like me…' His skin had become a touch gray thanks to an earlier experiment to try and increase his power level. Turles had never been satisfied with being trapped as a Low Class warrior and that frustration had only grown into a full hatred when his stupid sister had married Bardock. While he had been occasionally compared to the rising star in the Frieza Force thanks to the marriage all anyone could bring up was how amazing Bardock was, how thrilled he must be that their lines were merged… and how he was just an afterthought. 'They discussed their children as if-'

He froze.

"Daiz!" he snapped, turning away from the Tree. "Describe the three with tails, NOW!"

"I… sir?"

"The tails, damn you! What do their tails look like?" He forced himself not to rush towards the battle, not wanting to let on how worried he was. Because he wasn't. At all. He wasn't worried. 'It can't be him. There is simply no possible way it is him. I would have heard if he were alive!' But even as he thought that his mind turned to the dark possibility that Lord Frieza may have managed to save a few Saiyans from the destruction of their planet just to use them for his own secret needs. He knew that there had been a few left alive after the meteor had struck Planet Vegeta but there were always whispers of more. 'What if he survived? What if he survived and went into hiding, disguised so that Lord Frieza could send him after his enemies?' He had known, despite it appearing that Lord Frieza had given up bringing him in, that the tyrant would never accept his defection lying down. Yes, he had lied to the troops and told them he was dead but after that there had still be the odd Frieza Force member that had come to take him in that he had reduced to dust. That had stopped about ten years ago but still…

No. Daiz had to be mistaken. These creatures would have dog-like tails or cat-like ones and he would explain to Daiz exactly what the species was (for a Prince of a race now dead, thanks to his own hand, Daiz was rather sheltered in the ways of the universe) and they would decide what to do with them. That was all. They-

"Like yours, sir!" Daiz said only for a crackle to fill the intercom. "Not all of them… most of them appear to be humanoid… there are two small ones and a robot but- is that a Namekian!?"

Turles heard Amond call out something about a triclops.

"The tails, Daiz," Turles snarled. "What do their tails look like?"

"Uh… like yours, sir. Brown. Fuzzy."

Saiyan tails.

"Describe them. Now."

"The female is of average height. Young… mid twenties. Blue outfit. Black hair but I can't tell length because she has it-"

"The males," Turles said. 'Its not Gine,' he thought. 'Too tall.' His sister had been an utter runt, not even reaching 5 feet. Unless she had magically gone through puberty again then the Saiyan female wasn't her. The age was wrong too. 'If it is Bardock then it might be a daughter…'

"The one that looks like you… uh… looks like you?" Daiz said, for once not sounding utterly dignified. Turles let out a bitter huff at that, an even more bitter smile forming on his lips. He had walked right into that one, hadn't it? "The other one is more muscular and has… the longest hair I've ever seen. It reaches down to his ankles. Older than the one that looks like you but only a few years-"

"Raditz," Turles whispered, cutting Daiz off.

"Sir?"

"Fight hard, Daiz, I'll be there soon." And with that he switched off the comm unit and thought of what he had just learned. 'I had heard you lived, nephew… and at last I find you again. Bardock's heir.' He ran his tongue along his teeth, feeling the sharp spots scraping against it as his heart began to beat a touch faster. 'Oh… so you have come to find me, have you? Or perhaps you didn't even realize I was here.' He remembered Bardock once gruffly commenting that he if he had a child he would make sure they knew to stay far, far away from the likes of Turles. 'Time to show why he was right.'

And with that he began to leisurely fly towards the battle.

~MC~MC~MC~

Yamcha glanced over at Isco as the two of them battled the cyborg warrior that had confronted them. He could hear the others fighting and hoped they were doing okay because they were having problems. Despite the advantage the two had in terms of numbers the cyborg was still lightning quick, making it feel like THEY were the ones that were outnumbered. And the fact that the cyborg liked to do close and wide range fighting, and switch up which style it went with, made it harder for Yamcha to fall into a groove.

'And there there's Kayos' warning,' he thought. The mage had warned Yamcha not to use the Kaio-Ken unless it was life or death. 'We only have a limited number of Senzu Beans and there are no hospitals around that understand humans. Chichi is getting better at healing but she still might not be strong enough to help me out if I really mess myself up.' He shook his head in annoyance. 'That leaves the Spirit Bomb… but that will take too long to charge and even then I'm not sure there is enough energy on this planet for me to draw from it… I could end up finishing the job that Tree started!'

So instead he used every other move he had learned and augmented under King Kai's training. How to punch something with ten times the force he actually put into it, so that they felt all the damage while he felt none. How to move so quick he could get in two blows for their one. How to take a hit and turn it into the momentum needed to take down his foe. All of this he did.

And it was still doing little.

"You know," Isco stated and how Yamcha hated how calm he was. How his voice didn't waiver. The benefits of being a machine, he supposed. "I rather think I hate you."

The cyborg didn't say a word.

"You take all the strengths of a machine and steal it for your fleshy self. You are, quite simply, a thief. And I do not like thieves." His right arm rotated and twisted and Yamcha let out a yelp when it turned into a sword. But not a smooth one like a katana or a broad sword. No… it was one covered in nasty looking teeth. "So, in the name of all machine life… I believe I will take what you have stolen back."

He lunged and the cyborg brought up his arm, easily catching the blow. While it didn't show on its… face?... thanks to much of it being covered in metal, Yamcha got the sense the cyborg was feeling smug.

And then there was a whirling sound and Yamcha realized that the sword wasn't a sword.

It was a chainsaw.

"SHIT!" he shouted, leaping back as sparks flew and the cyborg let out a garbled scream as the saw began to cut through his metal arm.

"Let us find the fleshy bits you have hidden away!" Isco said, sounding rather manic as he hacked off the cyborg's arm. It wasn't a clean cut either. No… it was violent and destructive and had Yamcha wincing even if it was happening to his opponent. Even if the cyborg was attacking the planet and helping to drain it of all its energy and probably had done it a thousand times-

Yamcha blinked.

'Why did I feel sorry for him again?'

The next moment proved that he shouldn't worry about the cyborg at all… because it turned its head and fired off a beam of energy from its eye, striking Yamcha in the chest and rewarding his lapse of focus with a burn along his pecs.

"Was that supposed to distract me, blasphemy?" Isco asked as he easily spun around and tried to drive his saw into the cyborg's belly. But the alien dodged, leaping far enough away so he could begin firing on Isco, forcing him to be the one that was shifting and moving to avoid hits. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. Kill him, see what I care."

"Hey!" Yamcha exclaimed.

"You died once before!" Isco retorted.

"That has nothing to do with anything!" he snapped. "How would you like it if I said YOU should die?"

"I would hate it but there is a key difference."

"And that is?"

Isco revved his saw.

"I'm me."

Yamcha rolled his eyes at that. "Right…" He cracked his neck and went back onto the attack.

~MC~MC~MC~

"How interesting, Lakesei," Rasin said as he looked over at Bulma and her power armor. "It appears she is making up for her weakness by using machines. Similar to Cacao."

"Similar, I suppose," Lakesei stated even as he dodged a blast Chiaotzu fired at him. "But not quite. Advantages and disadvantages." He smirked even as his 'brother' chuckled. "I think I will enjoy tearing it apart!"

"Oh, so you are the smart ones," Bulma said even as she activated the anti-grav jets in her boots, allowing her to easily avoid the punch Rasin tried to strike her with. "Every team has one. You know, I try not to be vain but I know I am one of the smartest people on my planet. Perhaps the smartest."

"Then your planet must be filled with morons," Lakesei taunted.

Chiaotzu chuckled at that. "You walked into that one!" He grew serious though when Rasin tried to blast him with an energy strike, quickly countering with one of his own, the two energy attacks colliding and struggling against one another before finally exploding, neither hurting the other fighter.

"But see," Bulma said, continuing on as if she hadn't been interrupted at all, "I've wondered how I would stack up against the best of the galaxy." Her drones made their presence known, firing down to her new capsules that gave her an energy shield and a scattershot blaster. She brought up the first when Lakesei blasted at her with a flurry of ki blasts, easily blocking them, before she aimed her blaster and fired, forcing the little alien to run lest he take the full strike. Even then he still was hit by enough shots to clearly leave him feeling hurt. "I guess I'll have to keep looking."

"You aren't that bright if you think that you match us in intelligence," Lakesei taunted as he rushed in towards Bulma, forcing her to go back to her shield as he began to kick and punch her. Her suit's Incoming Impact sensors activated the moment the first punch was thrown and Bulma found herself feeling more like a puppet than a fighter, the suit rapidly working to force her limbs into positions to block the blows. It was an odd feeling to be reacting far quicker than she realized something was wrong but she was thankful for it as otherwise she'd have had no hope against a close range fighter. "Rasin and I are the best and brightest of the Beenz race!"

"Of course the Beenz were wiped out centuries ago," Rasin pointed out. "We are the only two left."

"Not much of a loss," Lakesei laughed. "Besides, I prefer it just being us… then we can-"

Bulma's one drone fired off another capsule that shot right through Lakesei's arm, causing the little warrior to cry out in pain as Bulma added the new capsule to her scattershot blaster, now giving her the option to switch to electro nets. She smirked as she fired, Chiaotzu spinning Rasin into Lakesei, the two hitting just as the net came at them…

…only for the two to merge into one, allowing the net to miss them before they separated.

"Heheheheh," the two giggled as one.

"Alright," Bulma admitted, "this might be harder than I thought."

~MC~MC~MC~

"You're both tough," the warrior, Amond, said with a grin as he dodged a kick from Raditz before moving to try and strike Goku. It didn't work, as the Saiyan easily caught his fist with his hand, and for his efforts Amond was struck right in the gut. But the alien merely smirked at that, barely wincing from the blow. "But… I'm tougher."

'He's right,' Raditz thought to himself even as he tried to get behind Amond so he could drill the back of his knee. Even if they were flying such a strike with be crippling, not allowing him to use the leg for attacks. And the pain would distract him greatly. But Amond saw what he was doing and dropped down right before Raditz landed the hit; it was a testimony to Goku's speed and skill that he was able to get out of the way of the blow that had suddenly shifted towards him. 'These guys ARE tough… but it feels… unnatural.' Raditz glowered. 'They must have consumed the Fruit of the Tree of Might. Their power isn't solely their own and that's why they feel slightly off.'

Amond let out a savage roar of delight as he brought down both his fists in an attempt to crush Goku's back. But Radtiz's brother slipped away and was able to kick Amond right in the face.

Once again… it barely fazed him.

It wasn't that he was stronger than them. No… Raditz could tell that Amond was probably around their power level. The problem was that Raditz, and the rest of the group he had sided with, were strangers in a strange land and as such had to be more cautious. They couldn't go all out.

'Chichi is getting better with healing and we have a bag of senzu beans,' he thought, thinking of the wonderful injury-curing greens. 'But its not like having a full hospital or a healing pod. If I get hurt here I can't run off to the Frieza Station and get patched up. And we have no idea what is awaiting us on Namek. It could be a planet full of peaceful green villagers… or it could be full of warriors like Senza, ready to attack us for arriving at their home. Hell, we don't even know WHY Senza and Slug were sent from their home planet… Senza only has vague information from the ship about a drought.' That made Raditz scowl. 'Damn it… I hate going in without information! It means I can't cut loose and now we have this bastard-'

Amond suddenly wasn't there and Raditz cursed his distraction, whipping around only to get a punch in the side. He was glad that he at least was able to absorb the blow as much as Amond did, merely smirking even if his ribs howled in protest. He'd need to check them over when they were done… hopefully Chichi would be able heal them up nice and quick.

"I'm kind of glad I got the two of you," Amond stated. "I mean sure, fucking jealous of Daiz getting the Namekian… I've heard their real hard fighters and I'd love to test myself against one of them but still… glad I got you." He leaned in and hissed with a grin, "I've only gotten to take on one Saiyan before… always been curious if he was the exception or the rule."

"One… Saiyan?" Raditz said, startled.

"Yes, one," a voice called out. Snide. Arrogant. Full of brash bravado. So similar to his own. To Vegeta. To Nappa. It was an attitude, he had come to realize, that could only be gained from growing up on Planet Vegeta. Goku certainly didn't have it, nor Chichi. And Gohan… well, he doubted that boy would ever have such words pass through his lips.

Raditz slowly turned his head and stared at the new arrival.

"Hey!" Goku said as all the fighting came to a stop with the appearance of a new and rather powerful fighter. "He DOES look a lot like me!"

Raditz swallowed at that. He… he had hoped that the Pleists were just bigots that couldn't tell one alien apart from the other. But now… now…

"Come now, nephew," the new arrival said, "is that any way to greet your long lost uncle?"

"Uncle?" Goku said, confused. "Wait, we have an uncle?"

"We have a madman related to us through our mother," Raditz hissed.

"Madman, am I? So cruel." He turned towards Goku. "Well well well… it seems my sister spread her legs more than once for that bastard Bardock. You'd think I'd be pleased you so resemble me, nephew… but I know his bothersome blood runs through your veins." He pressed a hand to his chest. "As for who I am? I am your uncle, Turles, leader of the Crusher Corps." He smirked. "Feel free to bow."

Goku though narrowed his eyes. "So… you're the one that brought the Tree of Might to this planet?"

"No interest in discussing family?" Turles asked, still hovering above them, looking down at them with utter smugness. Raditz hated how Turtles was just hanging there, staring at them like ants. It reminded him far too much of Frieza. "Or perhaps asking how I faked my death? Why I never came for you or Raditz? Well, with you that is simple: I didn't know you existed. Not exactly close to the family."

Goku though merely shook his head. "I'd only be willing to talk if you stopped your attack on this planet."

"Oh, we have a HERO!" Turles mocked. His face twisted into a dark grin. "And what a hero. Bardock would be ashamed."

"Perhaps you'll get to ask him in Hell," Kayos suddenly called out. Raditz had wondered where the asshole had disappeared to; he had refused to tell them what he was doing, leaving them to fight. Raditz had assumed he just didn't want another power boost of good magic from saving a planet. The idiot was weird like that, not wanting to get too strong. Dumbass.

Turles turned and saw Kayos floating far out with one hand behind his back, Chichi hovering just beside him. Gohan had been left with a few of the Pleists, told to protect the pups that the survivors were watching over while being protected just as much himself. That had freed up Chichi to serve as Kayos' bodyguard, as it were. Why he still didn't know… again, the bastard had been utterly silent.

'This better be fucking worth it,' Raditz thought.

"One day I will," Turles said. "But it won't be today. Today I am going to wipe the line of Bardock off the map." He stared at Chichi. "Oh, did he have a daughter too?"

Chichi wrinkled her nose. "No. I'm Goku's-"

"She's with me," Kayos said, cutting her off. "And you should be focused on me. Because I'm about to take a massive shit aaaaaalllllll over your plans, Turles."

The gray-skinned Saiyan chuckled at that. "Oh? Is that so?"

"Oh yes. See… I have a bit of a problem. I've done a whole lot of good recently and that's left me… well… in a bit of an imbalance."

"Being heroic does that," Turles retorted.

Kayos merely shrugged. "And I have been trying to figure out what evil thing I could do to balance that out. And then… it occurred to me."

He pulled his hand out and Turles froze, eyes widened in shock.

"…no," Turles whispered. But then his face became stony and he braced, ready to launch himself at Kayos.

The man squished the strange orangish red fruit in his hand and Turles stopped in his tracks.

"Now now… if you startle me I might crush it," he warned.

"Give it to me, you bastard."

"What is that?" Goku hissed.

Raditz frowned. "I think… that's the Fruit of the Tree of Might."

Kayos kept holding the fruit. "You need this, don't you? The tree only produced a single fruit… only one there is. You REALLY need this one or all this was for nothing, wasn't it?" He looked about. "Almost all this planet's energy for a simple piece of fruit."

Turtles… smirked.

"I like you. You have balls. And the Crusher Corps could use a man like you." He began to inch forward. "That one is earmarked for someone else but the next one? I would be more than willing to share it. I think we might make a great team." He continued to move closer, holding out his hand, trying to either convince Kayos to go with his plan or take him off guard when he rushed into battle to take the fruit… and most likely his head.

"Good idea!" Kayos proclaimed. "Better one. You know what would be oh so terribly evil?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"Stealing fruit grown with this planet's energy… and instead of finding some way to heal the planet with it… doing this."

And with that Kayos chomped down on the fruit.

"Kayos!" Chichi shouted, it clear she had NOT expected him to do that. Juice dribbled down his chin as he bit savagely into the fruit, tearing it apart in a way that would make any Saiyan proud.

But none of the Saiyans watching were feeling pride.

Chichi was horrified. Goku confused. Raditz startled.

Turles screamed and rushed him.

"Ya might wanna back up!" Kayos roared viciously, eyes sparking with dark magic as his body began to process the power of the Fruit of Might. Turles was struck by one pulsing wave and was sent flying into the roots of the Tree of Might. Kayos didn't seem to notice, Chichi hastily flying away from him as he doubled over, mouth twisting into a wild sneer, eyes wide in madness. Raditz dimly remembered Fortune Teller Baba telling them that Kayos' body naturally turned ki into magic and-

"DOWN!" he shouted even as Kayos threw back his head, dark magic exploding out and flying across the battlefield.