It was an unusually hot day on Namek. Somehow, miraculously, all three of the planet's suns had lined up across the sky. It was an event not witnessed for over 1000 years.

Today Just seemed like a day for lines…

Lines of suns.

Lines of soldiers..

Lines of bodies…

Blood-soaked battlefields of Namek

An explosion off in the distance shook the planet. The sky was dark and stormy, huge sections of Namek were erupting in geysers of lava. The home world of the Namekians probably had another hour left at best before it exploded and took them all with it. And that was a generous estimate.

Kakarot Coughed out a glob of blood. His head was cradled in his brother's lap. Raditz's armor had been all but destroyed and he looked as if he had been attacked by an angry mob. Both of the long haired saiyan's arms and legs were missing. But all he could focus on was the bloody hole in Kakarot's left rib cage.

"Come on, Kakarot! Don't be a sissy you can survive a small hole in your side! This is not what kills you!" He roared. Kakarot smiled up at his brother. His face was pale and his breath shallow. The eldest son of Bardock leaned in to hear what Kakrot was saying. "It's.. my.. heart." He whispered.

Raditz's eyes widened as he leaned back and processed what he'd heard. "Your.. heart?" He stammered. The only conclusion he could come to was that his brother must have been sick. And that he must have already known this was going to happen. Tears stung Raditz's eyes. "You stupid son of a bitch.. Just like our damn father. A hero till the end." He cried.

Kakarot smiled wide as his eyes slowly began to close. "Protect.. my.. son…"

His heartbeat stopped…

Roughly two hours earlier…

Five saiyans and five earthlings stood side by side on a seemingly disinteresting field of grass. Everyone present knew it would soon be soaked in blood, and they only hoped it wasn't theirs when all was said and done. From far above them, Frieza made a gesture with his hand and as he did so, nearly two thousand soldiers poured out of the two ships he commanded.

Krillin stepped foward. "Z-warriors!" He yelled.

Everyone turned to him with a frown but it was Yamcha who asked the question on everyone's mind. "What the hell is a Z-warrior?"

Krillin blinked several times. "Well it's.. listen this may very well be the last battle of our entire lives. We're all in this together. I thought our group should be named something a little more official then 'The resistance'." He said making quotation marks with his hands.

"I for one love it, Baldy." Nappa said with a booming laugh.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black you big dummy.." Krillin mumbled under his breath with a frown.

The others merely chuckled light heartedly and Krillin continued addressing the group. "Myself and the other humans.. we've gotten stronger but we're still not anywhere close to the league of you saiyans, let alone Frieza and his father. Things have changed and we have to adapt our plans a little bit." He noted.

"We'll leave the heavy hitting to you guys. In the meantime we Earthlings will keep the rest of Frieza's forces off your back, and also keep this planet safe! If things get out of hand we'll be the first ones to retreat so we can get the Namekians to safety. Everybody ready!?"

"Yeah!" They echoed. In unison the five Earthlings flew several hundred feet up into the air to meet Frieza's advancing army.

Speaking of Frieza…

The lizard-like man pulled out a scouter from.. somewhere and pressed a button, linking him to each member of his army. "Take care of the small fry. Leave the saiyans to my father and me." He ordered. "Affirmative!" Came the reply from the other side.

He pulled the scouter from his face and crushed it in his hands. "No more distractions. Time to finish this." He growled.

He turned over his shoulder and shouted, "Leave them to me, father! It's my destiny to finish what I started and destroy the rest of these miserable monkeys!"

Cold rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Very well.. But do try and hurry this along." He sighed. "And the green one is mine once he makes an appearance." He said sternly. "I'm sure he's waiting for the same thing. Me to play my hand as well." He said, crossing his arms with a smirk.

In his mind he couldn't help but think that for the first time in centuries.. He may be in for a real fight… and that prospect brought him immense joy.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Tsk, whatever!" Frieza quipped with an annoyed expression. It was like his father was purposely bringing up the one fighter they had he couldn't defeat.. That freak that rivaled his full power…

Frieza turned back to the saiyans and shook his fist in fury. 'I'll show them!.. I am the strongest!'

With the saiyans…

"Is it just me or does he seem.. distracted?" Kakarot asked his fellow saiyans with a raised eyebrow.

Vegeta nodded in concurrence. "Definitely seems to be trouble in paradise. Lucky for us… We may yet survive this debacle somehow." He finished with a frown.

"Last time we underestimated him. Our preparations were severely inadequate. This time we're much better prepared and we'll be careful and rely on teamwork." Turles insisted.

"Right." Nappa began with a firm nod. "We'll go at him one at a time while the others watch for any exploitable weaknesses and act as relief if things start to get dicey."

"Wow.." Raditz cut in with his arms crossed. "You know what else? With those Earthlings backing us up I don't think we'll have to worry about any of Frieza's minions getting in any cheap shots either… Look." He said, pointing to the valiant warriors defending them above.

With Yamcha…

Yamcha gasped as he realized he had gotten separated from the others and was now surrounded by nearly a hundred soldiers. Each of them was donning variations of the armor that the saiyans had first arrived in back on Earth.

The desert bandit looked left and then right before a wolfish smirk broke out across his face. "Perfect. If the others aren't around I don't have to worry about accidentally hitting anyone with my attack. Time to go all out! Spirit Wolf's Poison Fang!" He roared.

One of the warrior"s hands became coated in a vibrant golden energy while the other took on a putrid toxic affinity. He crouched low and the vestige of a savage wolf appeared behind the man. He burst forth faster than the eye could follow and a second later explosions filled the air as dozens of the soldiers began to melt or combust with each punch…

With Chi Chi…

"We've got her surrounded, men! Don't let up! It's clear she's the weakest of the bunch! We'll finish her off here and go help the others." A soldier barked as they closed off any chance of escape the Ox princess had. It was clear by his attire and demeanor that he was an elite amongst the ranks, a captain or something perhaps. His power was also a lot higher than the others.

The perfect kind of man to make an example of…

"Ha!" Chi Chi laughed. "A woman. The weakest of the bunch? I think not. Crimson Blazing Aura!" She yelled, crossing her arms in an X.

True to it's name a fiery, red energy exploded out around her like a massive candle flame. It cackled violently with red lighting and unstable energy, a testament to her battle power in this state. She cracked her knuckles as she slowly floated closer to the captain who was pale, sweating and shaking like a leaf. "Shall we?" Chi Chi asked sweetly.

With Tien and Chiaotzu…

"I'm sorry warriors. I only do what I must." Said captain Briareos. He was young for a captain, being only 30 years old by Earth standards but he was extremely powerful and talented. Frieza and his army ransacked Briareos's planet nearly a year ago. In exchange for the lives of his daughter, son, and wife, Briareos was personally recruited into the empire.

He quickly rose through the ranks in an effort to make good on his word to serve and stay on the emperor's good side.

As skilled as he was in Ki manipulation and as strong as these warriors were, it was child's play for the man to sense the exceptional power and skill of the two before him… However, he was much stronger. Not to mention he had nearly a hundred men backing him up. This was a fight they could not win, as long as he kept his guard up.

Across from him, Tien's mouth morphed into a thin line. "I'm sorry too.. I can tell you have a good heart. But I have my own precious people to protect. Look into my eyes." He said seductively.

Briareos raised an eyebrow as it was an odd and seemingly harmless request. However his honed warrior instincts immediately screamed something was wrong. "No, don't listen to him! Look away!" He yelled.

Unfortunately it was roo late.. Briareos and countless others found themselves magically emtranced and drawn to Tien's third eye.

In the reflection of the Z-warrior's mystical eye, Briareos saw that while he was here fighting for his family's sake, Frieza was currently sneaking off to his home planet to slaughter everything he knew and loved. "No please, no! I did everything you asked! Don't hurt them!" He pleaded desperately. His cries fell on dead ears as he saw his planet explode in an unimaginably violent ball of fire. He grabbed his head in his hands and yelled in anguish, "Nooooo!"

"Dodon-shower!" Chiaotzu's voice cut through the air. Briaroos's eyes widened and he grunted harshly as a small beam of energy pierced his heart a moment later. "You!.. Tricked.. me.." He gasped, slowly falling forward until he fell face first to the planet below. He was dead even before the dull thud his body made when it hit the ground.

Tien's fists shook violently. "I wish.." He grit his teeth and shut his eyes. "...Things could be different."

With Krillin…

"What are you going to do now, baldy!? My men and I have you surrounded!" Taunted the large brutish warrior leading the 77th division of the empire's army. Krillin's head was bowed and shadows covered his eyes so the man didn't quite catch what the short monk said when he had whispered, "Chain destructo-disk Barrage.."

The captain frowned and cleaned his ear out with one finger. "What was that, baldy!? Are you giving up?" He laughed boisterously.

Krillin raised his head and a grin broke out across his face. Rather than fear like the captain expected, Krillin's eyes glinted with mischief and excitement. He stretched his arms out on both sides of him and said, "You should have brought more men."

Suddenly two gyrating disks of energy erupted across the monk's open palms, seeming to hover along side the man. With a smirk Keillin crossed his arms which in turn flung the disks doward at lightning speed.

"Gah!" The captain dashed out of the way mid air, just in time. It was only his instincts, honed through decades of battle that had kept him alive. As it were he had received a rather nasty gash along his left arm and leg which were squirting blood through the air.

He would need to finish this quickly and seek medical attention or else find a healing pod. He looked up at his short opponent with a snarl. "You little shit! If all you can do is talk trash and throw cheap shots then there's nothing left to say! Die for your insolence. Charge men!" He yelled, pointing a finger at the Earthling.

The large oaf frowned in confusion when he didn't immediately see his orders being carried out. Instead the soldiers he could see were all staring in visible shock in horror at something…

"You should probably look behind you." Krillin chuckled. The captain's eyes widened and he slowly turned around to see a truly gruesome sight. Before his very eyes dozens of the soldiers were being torn asunder by krillin's deadly attacks. Screams and severed body parts filled the air.

It seemed that the small but mighty warrior could somehow control each of the individual disks in a manner similar to the wolf bandit's spirit ball. These were men whose names, faces and stories he'd come to know by heart. Tears stung his eyes. 'How!?' He lamented internally. 'How could our data about these warriors have been so far off from just a year ago?.. They shouldn't have been nearly this strong..'

He was snapped from his thoughts as Krillin's voice echoed in the air behind him. "Oh and I should probably mention.. My current limit is ten of these disks at once." He said in a bragging tone.

The captain turned towards his opponent once more to see the man levitating four more of the deadly attacks beside him to prove his point. At first defeat and resignation filled the man's face. But then he sighed and a look of determination and anger crossed his features. "77th division! I said chaaaarge!" He demanded, flying foward with all his might.

The last thing he heard before his world went dark was the roar of his loyal soldiers following their commander to the bitter end…

With Piccolo…

"Jesus it's a mess down there." The towering Namekian murmured. Currently he was hovering roughly ten thousand feet above the battlefield in the Lotus position. His two clones had their hands on his shoulders and were gathering energy for their creator. He figured with most of the army being unable to sense energy, the chances of anyone finding him in this exact location was rather slim. At least until he made his move anyways.

By communicating with his friends on the ground he had learned that Cold was staying out of the fight for now.

Piccolo reasoned he should do the same, and take this time to make sure his preparations were as meticulous as possible. They couldn't fail here.. "Come on Kami.. We really need those dragon balls just in case things go south here… Where the hell are you?"

End of chapter 54

Earthling power levels post unlock:

Yamcha: 150k

Chi Chi: 100k (blazing crimson aura) 1 million

Tien: 200k

Chiaotzu: 125k

Krillin: 300k