Chapter 12. Every Second Counts...

Justin had forgotten what it was like to be scared. Really scared. He felt it when he was a kid. When he first arrived on Frieza's ship and was delivered to Zarbon like a slave boy. He could still remember how he could feel his heart beating louder in his chest when Zarbon's icy orbs landed on him. Sometimes he hoped he could make himself invisible. If only he could disappear from sight so that nobody would be able to look at him like that. The first thing Zarbon did was introduce him to Frieza. And Frieza made sure to imprint a lifelong impression on the youngster. Justin could still remember how that slick tail curled around his shoulders, pulling him closer and forcing him to kneel down in front of the ruler of the universe.

Being shipped off to the camp didn't help either. He could still remember how scared he was, walking around in that camp, meeting the specialists. Luckily for him, he was introduced to Gohan really quickly. And Gohan showed him how to be strong.

For a moment, Justin wished for Gohan to be here so he could draw strength from his friend's presence. He would have to do it alone this time though. He had to stay strong and fight for himself and trust his friend to come and help him.

"Look what we found." Captain Ginyu appeared taller than Justin remembered him to be. The man seemed bulkier too. And meaner. Out for blood. Their blood. "Two traitors."

"Staying quite idle here while you two should have been running for your lives." Burter added cheerfully.

"Cut the crap." Katy called back. Justin glanced sideways to his friend. How could she stand there so like that? Her arms tensed and her stance wide and ready for action. She seemed confident. He admired her for that. "We know why you're here. Let's get it over with."

"Patience, little lady." Ginyu responded casually. He waved one of his dark purple hands at her as if waving her away. The gesture was demeaning and intended to insult her. "We're not here to fight. We're not brutes. We're here to offer you a choice." Ginyu spread his arms. "Come back with us, apologize to Lord Frieza, and we will forgive you."

Katy raised both her eyebrows while Justin took in a sharp breath of air. "Frieza is showing mercy?" Justin asked. He couldn't believe it. This had to be a cruel joke. "That's impossible."

Ginyu showed a pleased smirk – mistaking Justin's comment for interest in the proposal. "It is lord Frieza for you, and, yes, our master can recognize talent when he sees it. You two are young but promising soldiers. You've been trained well. We know you'll both be great additions to his elite team."

"And in return?" Katy responded.

Ginyu landed several meters in front of them. The two warriors tensed. They knew distance hardly meant anything as these people could travel great distances in mere seconds, but they also knew better than to let any of them get too close. The man studied the two warriors in front of them while the rest of the team landed behind him. They all looked ready to fight. It was as if they knew the two warriors would never agree to their terms.

Ginyu's dark eyes focused on Katy. "We won't ask anything in return. Only that you join us. And, of course, once you have, you can proof yourself in our match against the Saiyans."

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It looked almost like a tree, really. Multiple lines starting off in one particular place and branching out in pretty much every direction. Turles never really paid much attention to the scars his nephew casually carried around. It seemed normal to sport scars. It was part of a soldier's life. Still, when taking his nephew's young age into account, how could one consider so many scars as normal? Since when was torturing children normal?

"Turles? Turles!" Vegeta's annoyed voice sounded loud as Turles blinked and shook his head. The younger man looked over to his leader. "I hope you're not developing some sort of unhealthy interest in our youngest, because I don't want to be making the choice between you two."

Gohan was still changing into the armor he received from Vegeta. The young warrior now looked over his shoulder to Turles as he pulled the band of his armor into place. Raditz was holding the boots and gloves for the half-saiyan but his attention was also on his younger brother now.

"Sorry, Vegeta, I was thinking about something."

"Why don't you share it with the rest of the family if it's more important than the current situation?" Vegeta made a wide gesture to the rest of the group. Nappa couldn't help but smile as he leaned against the control panel – watching the scene unfold with some amusement.

Turles shook his head, lowering his gaze submissively. Vegeta kept his eyes on the younger warrior for a moment before he turned back to the matter at hand. "As I said, we're making good time for planet Earth. We're a couple hours behind Frieza so we know he'll have the time to attack our comrades while we're not there."

Gohan frowned as his mind briefly went back to his girlfriend. His heart ached for her as he wanted to be there to protect her. As his girlfriend, she was one of the main targets for Frieza. As a deserter, the death-penalty was awaiting her if they found her. She was the perfect hostage. The idea that Frieza would probably keep her alive if he caught her was almost a relief. It would give Gohan time to rescue her.

"We'll have to go in blind. We don't know what we're going to find there. We don't know what Frieza's doing right now. Maybe he's waiting for us to come. He might be attacking the planet or he might be purging it already." Vegeta's eyes momentarily landed on Gohan's tightly clenched fists but he decided not to address it. Gohan tended to worry more than necessary. The boy would have to live with that for now. There were more important matters to think about. "That's fine. We've done that all the time. Purging planets wasn't always a picnic either. You all probably remember how we would go to a planet expecting a level 2 mission and then be thrown into a level 4 one. We always knew how to handle surprises like that. We've got no reason to believe we cannot handle this surprise."

"We're saiyans, guys. The greatest warrior race in the entire universe. Remember that. Draw strength from that. We were made for this battle. And it's our time to show Frieza just how much he should fear the likes of us."

Gohan couldn't help but smile. How was Vegeta making him somewhat excited for this battle? It almost felt like a game now, a challenge set for them to win. But this wasn't just a game. They were going up against the strongest warrior in the universe. How were they supposed to think this was going to be something they could survive?

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Back on Earth, Captain Ginyu spread his arms as he studied the warriors opposite him. "Well, what do you say?"

"Are you crazy?" Katy blurted out. The eyes instantly went to her and she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine. Making herself as tall as possible, she tried her hardest to sound confident as she spoke: "Do you really think we will betray our friends just to save our own skin?"

"Be quiet, honey, the men are talking." Burter's voice cut in from behind the Captain.

"Too much, as always," Katy shot back, "let's get down to business." She lowered her body into a fighting stance, raising her hands and positioning her limbs in such a way that she would be able to catch any incoming attack.

Despite their earlier dismissive attitude, several of the warriors now studied her with renewed interest as they saw her proper defense. Captain Ginyu's eyes ran down and up her stance before he looked to Justin again. "I think her answer is clear. What do you say?"

Katy allowed one of her higher raised arms to drop a little as she glanced to Justin. The man was visibly hesitating about his answer. He looked from Katy to the Ginyu Force and back as he considered the best possible way to respond. What if they gave in? Maybe they could strike a deal with Frieza and make sure the Saiyans wouldn't get killed.

No, that was an idiotic way of thinking. Frieza would never spare his friends. Vegeta, maybe. Justin had been around Frieza long enough to realize that Frieza preferred to keep Vegeta alive in order to amuse himself. He would enjoy making Vegeta watch while he tortured and killed the rest of the Saiyans, probably taking extra time finishing off Gohan.

"Justin!" Katy chastised when he didn't say anything.

"Shush." Burter was suddenly standing right in front of her-̶ his raised finger pressing neatly against her lips in order to silence her. Katy hastily stepped back to create some distance between them. Burter seemed amused as he placed his fists on his hips. "Let the man make his own decision."

Katy could feel her heart racing in her chest. How did he get to her so quickly? She didn't see him approach her. It must have happened in the split second that she glanced sideways to say Justin's name. Chastising herself for letting her guard down, she frowned at the man in front of her. Burter was keeping an eye on her now and she realized that he would be the first one to attack if it came down to a fight.

Could they defeat the Ginyu Force? Justin figured they could as long as the other Z-warriors would back them up. But they would have to fight Frieza after that. And there was no sign of the Saiyans. Making a decision, Justin looked towards Captain Ginyu. "So, considering we would take your offer," he started, "how much can we expect from you in return?"

Katy gasped for air as she looked to her best friend. Captain Ginyu grinned in response. "Ah, I see you're the smart one of the two. Figures."

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The five Saiyans were spread out in a large circle, their eyes closed and legs crossed. They had only a few hours before they had to confront the strongest warriors in the universe. Vegeta figured all they could do was mentally prepare. There was no more time to train. There was nothing more to gain from that. They would have to let their bodies rest while they set their minds to winning this battle.

And Gohan hated it.

The half-saiyan tried to focus on his mental training. He tried to clear his mind so he could step to envisioning his victory but his mind kept betraying him. Scenes of Katy being taken prisoner, Justin being tortured, his father being impaled by Frieza's tail, his mother screaming as the Ginyu Force knock down their door.

No longer able to bear these pictures, Gohan opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Placing his hands on the floor behind him, he leaned back and blew out a sigh. The rest of the team continued to meditate in silence ̶ aware of his sigh but completely ignoring him. It was only a matter of time before Gohan would give up on meditation. They all knew he didn't like it.

The half-saiyan suddenly felt incredibly thirsty. He closed his eyes again to try to focus on his breathing but now every breath felt cold and harsh against his dry throat. Was he coming down with something? He hoped not. He tried not to think of his dry throat. Breathe in. Breathe out. Focus on the air filling his lungs and leaving his lungs. Did they still have enough oxygen? Was this using up too much? He guessed not. This type of slow breathing would probably use up less than the fast type of breathing they let out during training.

Wait. Focus on the breathing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Air going in. Air going out. Cold air going in. Cold air going out. Man, his throat was dry. Maybe if he could just have a little sip. No, focus. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Gohan suddenly felt the urge to cough and he raised his hand to cough into it. The noise sounded loud in the quiet room.

"Wash your hands." Vegeta ordered without even opening his eyes.

"You didn't even see me coughing into my hand."

"You always cough into your hand. It's disgusting. Wash your hands before you make us all sick."

"It will take minutes off of my precious meditation time though." Gohan countered as he got up. He didn't mind getting out of the boring meditation for a moment but he also didn't feel like giving up without a fight.

Vegeta scoffed. "You're a teenager. You're already way past your three-second-concentration-span. Hurry up."

"Chill, I've been sitting here for thirty minutes. I need to stretch my limbs for a moment." Gohan stretched his legs and raised his arms up in the air.

Vegeta now opened his eyes and his tail released itself to wave high behind him. The aura of this action made the rest of the men open their eyes and look towards their leader. "Half-breed, if you think the upcoming fight will keep me from giving you a good smacking around right now, you're sadly mistaking. The rejuvenation tanks will undo any damage I can do. So if I were the lowest in rank, like you, I would be making my way to the sink and back really quickly."

Gohan clenched his fists for a moment. His tail waved behind him too, threatening to move up too high. Raditz and Turles made eye-contact briefly and they both saw in each other's gaze that they were afraid this was going to escalate. They'd hoped the tension between Vegeta and Gohan had weakened by now. Moments like this proved them wrong.

Vegeta raised both his eyebrows at the half-saiyan when Gohan met his eyes. The youngster unclenched his fists and lowered his tail submissively. "Fine." He muttered as he turned and walked out the room.

Raditz breathed out a sigh of relief. Turles showed a small but proud smile at his nephew's calm behavior. Nappa closed his eyes again. "Now that the entertainment is over, I'd like to get back to business." He stated.

"Good thinking." Vegeta responded as he closed his eyes too. The rest of the group followed his example and even Gohan sat back down once he' returned and closed his eyes. Gohan knew he couldn't afford to continue the quarrel with his comrades. They had to focus all their attention and energy on the upcoming fight.

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"What?" Katy exclaimed as she glanced to her friend. "What are you saying Justin?"

"Don't you see, Katy, we can't win from Frieza." Justin responded, looking to Katy too. "We're going up against the strongest warriors in the entire universe. Have you ever thought of that?"

"Yes, but we already knew that didn't we?" Katy responded. "We've been training for that, remember?"

"We've been training with the Saiyans." Justin spread his arms. "But do you see them now? Where are they? They're not here to help us. We're all alone."

"They'll be here." Katy made a stubborn face. "They'll be here to help us. They have to."

"I see your lover has left you all alone to fend for yourself, sweetheart." Ginyu taunted. "Some men just don't know how to handle their women."

"And after you gave up everything to join him." Jeice added, kicking Katy while she was down. "This is how he repays you."

"I remember seeing you at your inauguration." Ginyu continued. "You were just a little girl then but you've blossomed, haven't you? Honestly, I hope Lord Frieza pardons you. Killing you would be such a waste of entertainment."

Katy scoffed in response. "And that kind of talk is exactly the reason why I left the army and have no interest in coming back."

Ginyu shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"What about you?" Jeice looked back to Justin. The man's eyes widened for a moment when he realized the focus was on him again. He seemed to hesitate once more as he gave Katy an apologetic glance.

She frowned at him. "Go ahead. Say it." She stated.

"Katy…" Justin tried.

"No, I see what you want to do." She made a dismissive gesture. "It's your decision."

Justin looked to the Ginyu Force. "Can you promise you won't hurt Katy?" He asked.

"That's up to lord Frieza." Ginyu responded casually. His gaze went to the female Saiyan again. "But I promise we'll be very nice to her." He made the "very" sound way too lecherous and Katy could feel a chill run down her spine.

"If you think I'm going down without a fight, you're sadly mistaken." Katy snarled at them. "I'll take you all down no sweat."

"Katy, please reconsider." Justin urged.

"NO!" Katy now gave him a sharp glance. "How dare you, traitor! I'm not going to reconsider! You reconsider!"

"You two are like a married couple." Ginyu seemed quite amused by the situation. He had his broad hands placed on his hips as he studied the scene.

Jeice scouter gave a reading and Jeice glanced sideways. "Sir. There's something you ought to see."

"Don't bother me, Jeice. I'm enjoying the show." Ginyu responded casually.

Katy raised her fist to Justin. "I'll take you on first!" She said angrily. "Come on, traitor!"

"Fine." Justin responded, suddenly angry as well. "Let's go then."

The two warriors sank into fighting stances. Katy once again showed off her terrific defense and Justin now almost mirrored her defense, showing just how well these two warriors had been training. A silence fell over the group and Ginyu gave an annoyed huff.

"Well," he stated as he made an impatient gesture with his hands, "what are you waiting for?"

Several beeps of scouters noticing high power levels went off at the same time. The Ginyu Force looked around hurriedly in response to this. Ginyu was distracted by the smug smile on Justin's face.

"We're waiting for our backup."

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Why were they doing this? The half-saiyan could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he stared at the screen. The countdown felt like he was counting down the last seconds of his life. Was he? Maybe. Probably. The moment they landed, they would have to confront Frieza.

The warriors were all strapped into their seats neatly as they were now preparing for landing. In a matter of seconds, they would be breaching Earth's atmosphere. That atmosphere was earth's main defense and every ship seemed to find it quite a challenge to break through. Still, they always managed to do so without breaking down.

Vegeta's eyes were trained on the smaller computer screen in front of him. He was in charge of the landing. His pupils were busy keeping an eye on everything, from their speed to the damage the ozone layer was doing to their shield. The atmosphere would always do a little damage to the ships' shield. It was nothing that couldn't be mended while they were on the planet. The main issue was making sure the damage wouldn't get too great. And a smooth landing would ensure minimal damage.

"Wave at earth's pathetic little space station." Turles said cheerfully as they zoomed past the International Space Station. The rest of the men waved as well. Gohan rolled his eyes in response to the slight to half of his existence.

Vegeta didn't join in but he did allow a smirk to cross his face. He had to focus on his task. Gohan crossed his arms over each other as he glanced to his uncle. "Honestly, the saiyans would have been even less of a civilization than the humans if it hadn't been for the Planet Trade Organization." He countered.

Turles laughed heartily in response. "And do you know why we got involved with the PTO? Because Frieza saw how strong and valuable we would be." He spread his arms. "The companies were fighting over our race. The whole universe knew about us." He now lowered his arms and pointed to his nephew. "And what about the humans huh? I'll tell you what. Nobody knows about the humans because they're weak. Earth's entire population wouldn't even be worth half a credit."

"If the entire population isn't even worth half a credit, why am I worth 10 million and I'm only half a human." Gohan shot back. Raditz tilted his head as he thought this over and he had to admit his nephew made a valid point.

"It's your saiyan blood that got you this far, nephew. Don't you forget it." Turles returned easily.

Vegeta listened to the argument as he gently helped the ship through the landing. A slightly vibration ran through the ship as the entered earth's atmosphere. However, the Saiyans were distracted by their conversation. And Vegeta figured that would be just fine.

"It's the combination of my Saiyans blood and my human perseverance that allowed me to keep up with the adults around me." Gohan responded.

"Keep up? Don't make me laugh, kiddo. You're still miles behind all of us." Turles taunted – waving the youngster away.

"Guys, this argument is not helping us at all." Raditz was trying to soothe his relatives, as he always tended to do.

"No, let them, Raditz." Nappa had his head tilted backwards to lean against his chair. "I'm enjoying the entertainment."

Gohan and Turles sent each other poisonous glares but they didn't continue the fight. Vegeta blew out a sigh. "I'm glad you're all done with your complaining." He stated. "Cause we've arrived."

Gohan looked forwards to see the shimmering blue ocean right in front of them. The ship tilted and suddenly they were confronted by the landscape that they knew so well. The blue of the ocean was interrupted by a light brown beach, which casually flooded into the vivid green of Earth's nature. Gohan couldn't help but feel a sensation of happiness course through his veins as he surveyed the view. Raditz gave a smile as he studied his nephew before he noticed Turles was looking at the youngster as well. Making eye-contact, Turles rolled eyes as if to call Gohan a softy, but it was easy to see the softness around the edges of his mouth. Oblivious to this, Gohan's smile returned to his face as he sat up in his chair.

They were home.

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Katy could feel a sensation of relief as she felt the power levels landing around her. Piccolo was the first one to arrive. The Namekian landed right next to Katy. "Have you been waiting long?" He asked, glancing to the female.

"Not really. We knew you would be coming here as fast as possible."

Goku, Krillin and Yamcha arrived together, which implied they were training or hanging out together when Frieza arrived. Krillin made a face. "Geeze. And I thought Piccolo was terrifying." He stated as he studied the Ginyu Force.

"Piccolo and Justin are nothing compared to these goons." Yamcha agreed.

Katy smiled as she listened to the humans. She figured it was the first time for them to see real aliens that actually looked nothing like the humans they were used to. She'd been living among aliens all her life, and so it was interesting for her to see the reaction of people who weren't used to that way of life.

Though warriors kept appearing around them, Ginyu's attention was on Goku. "Turles?" He moved up his hand to touch his scouter and the green appendage beeped frantically as it gauged Goku's presence. "No... but you're a Saiyan, aren't you?"

"Biologically, yes." Goku responded in a clear voice. "But I'd like to consider myself human as I've been living on planet Earth all my life."

Katy couldn't help but smile again. If only the Saiyans could hear him say that. They wouldn't let him live it down. Eighteen landed on the ground and she winked at Katy. "So, I see you rounded up the bad guys for us, Katy. Good job. It will save us the job of having to hunt them down." Katy grinned in response to Eighteen's comment.

Ginyu's focus was still on Goku. "You're a Saiyan... But you didn't join the team. You've been living on planet Earth all this time?" The realization dawned on his face. "You're the half-breed's father!" The rest of the team widened their eyes and gasped at this comment.

"Really?" Jeice stepped closer to study the Saiyan warrior. "We thought you were dead!"

"Yes, the story went you perished along with this planet." Ginyu crossed his arms. "We should have realized that the existence of this planet also implied that you survived the ordeal." He rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable, really, you fit right in with the rest of the monkeys."

"I'm only missing a tail." Burter added. "What happened? Did someone cut it off?"

"I never knew they could actually come off." Jeice laughed. "If only we had known, we would have pulled it off of one of the Saiyans long ago!"

"Enough talking." Piccolo snarled. The man was already dressed for battle in his purple gi and he lowered his body into a defensive fighting stance. "Let's get down to business."

"Oooh, I thought Namekians were a peaceful race." Jeice teased.

"I've never been one to conform to the rules of society." Piccolo shot back. "So, what about it, red?"

Jeice shrugged before he looked to Ginyu. The Captain motioned for Jeice to go ahead. Jeice didn't need any more encouragement as he jumped up in the air. Piccolo's gaze followed Jeice's movements and within a second he was floating opposite Jeice. The alien smiled as he studied his opponent. "Namekians aren't usually known for their fighting skills. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Piccolo decided the best response to this type of bullshit was to power up. And so he did. The warriors on the ground were all distracted by his power up. Jeice raised an eyebrow as he pressed a button on his scouter. The man tilted his head sideways as he watched the numbers shoot up. A smirk appeared on his face again. "This just got interesting." The man motioned for Piccolo to attack him. The fact that he wasn't even trying to defend himself was an insult to Piccolo, but the Namekian could care less. He was way too eager to take advantage of Jeice's foolishness.

Piccolo was the first to attack. He crossed the distance between them within a second and moved up a fist to punch Jeice. Jeice avoided first few punches before he saw an opening. Gathering energy in his palm, he sent the blast to Piccolo. The Namekian dodged the blast by jumping up. Jeice followed him up, moving his arm in slashing way in order to hit the Namekian. Piccolo dodged this attack by kicking his legs back and allowing his body to fall forwards. Curling his hands together, he was in the perfect position to slam them down onto Jeice's head. Jeice didn't see this one coming and so all he could do was cross his arms above his head to catch the punch. A burst of energy shot away from them as they both tensed their muscles and gathered energy to push the other away.

Ginyu frowned as he looked up at the fight. "Okay, you guys are stronger than we hoped. Nothing we can't handle." He stated. The man looked down at the others on the lawn. "I'd say we get stuck in too. What do you say, guys?"

"Yes!" Burter, Guldo and Recoome screamed as they pumped their fists in the air. The four warriors spread out in a long line as they all stared at their opponents. The earth-bred and alien warriors all got in a defensive fighting stance in order to protect themselves from a surprise attack.

Ginyu smirked as he surveyed the group. These people didn't know whom they were dealing with.

"Ginyu Force... ATTACK!"