Chapter 10: The Genki Dama

Bulma glanced over at Gohan. They had been flying for about an hour now, and he had since stopped looking behind him in the direction of Vegita and Goku. They could all still sense the two titans clashing back there, however, and all three of them were very uneasy.

Suddenly Gohan stopped and turned around. Bulma could see some new fear in his expression, so she slowed and called for Kuririn to stop. She turned to ask Gohan what was the matter, and in doing so she noticed what he was staring at. There was a strange, silvery-white light hovering in the sky above the battlefield.

"What is that?" Bulma asked. "Have you ever seen anything like it before, Kuririn?"

Kuririn flew up next to them and studied the strange light source. "I don't know what it is, Bulma," he replied, "but I don't like it. Whatever it is, I'm sure it isn't good news."

"Kuririn, is it just me," Bulma asked as an expression of horror spread across her face, "or does that kind of remind you of moonlight?"

The same expression appeared on Kuririn's face. "B-Bulma," he said. "Vegita has a tail, right?"

Bulma nodded. She and Kuririn looked at the strange light source again. They were sharing the same thought. Gohan didn't know what they were driving at, but he had a feeling that something very wrong had happened. He turned back around to face Bulma and Kuririn, and his face was set with resolve.

"I'm going back," he said firmly. "Something is definitely wrong."

"Kuririn, I'm afraid I have to agree with him," she said nervously. "You know as well as I do that if that is moonlight, then Goku could be in terrible danger. If there's anything we can do to help him out, I want to be there to do it."

Sighing, Kuririn focused his chi sense in the direction of Goku and Vegita. "One of those powers is really weak, and getting weaker by the minute," he said. "As much as I hate to say it, you're right. We'd better hurry. I have a bad feeling that Goku doesn't have much time left."

"Come on," Bulma said. "Each of you take one of my hands. I think I can teleport us there."

"Are you sure?" Kuririn asked, remembering his last encounter with Bulma's teleport technique and frowning at the memory of the disorienting experience. "Do you think you can teleport us all at once?"

"Yes," Bulma answered. "But for how far away, I don't know. It'll take a lot of energy, but I'm sure I can at least take us most of the way. It's the only way to get us there in a big hurry, Kuririn. We've been flying for nearly an hour already, and if we do the same thing back, I doubt we'll be much use to Goku, because we'll all be exhausted. This way, only I'll get myself that worn out. You two will still have a lot of fight in you."

"I trust you, Bulma," Gohan said. "I'm willing to give it a shot, so let's hurry, before something happens to my dad!" He grabbed her hand and stared expectantly at Kuririn.

Bulma looked at Kuririn for his answer. Shaking his head, he grasped Bulma's other hand and shut his eyes tightly.

"All right, Bulma," he said. "Let's go!"

Bulma grinned. "Here goes nothing!" she said. "Rapid teleport!" Instantly, Bulma began to fight against the heaviness and exertion of halted time as she propelled them toward the battlefield. It was much more difficult to fly this way, and she had already been pretty tired before she'd even started. She was able to sense the chis up ahead, but that did little to make things easier for her. After some thirty or forty minutes, she was painfully aware that she wasn't going to be able to take them all the way out to the battlefield. Her breath was coming to her in heavy gasps, and although neither Kuririn nor Gohan was very heavy, they both felt like leaden weights on her arms. When she had brought them to within a few miles of their destination, she just couldn't take anymore. The strain had become too great to bear, and she had to stop. As she snapped back into real time and let go of Kuririn and Gohan, she began to fall toward the ground, having all but pushed herself to unconsciousness with her efforts. Kuririn grabbed one of her arms before she sank too far, and he held her up on his shoulders.

"Are you all right, Bulma?" he asked her, noting the way her complexion had lost most of its color, and her breath was so labored. "Did you overdo it or something?"

"Maybe a little. I'm fine, though," she assured him. "I just have to catch my breath. That took a lot out of me."

"How close are we?" Gohan asked, glancing up ahead at the glowing orb in the sky and feeling amazed that they had come all this way in an instant.

"We have two or three miles left to go," Bulma panted. "I'm sorry, but I just ran out of steam. It'll be better if you let me run the rest of the way. You two can fly on ahead and I'll catch up to you."

"Don't sweat it, Bulma," Kuririn said. "You just have to catch your breath, right? Come on; hang onto me and I'll give you a lift there. We may need your help when we get there."

"All right," she sighed, too tired to argue. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed herself to be carried along as he and Gohan took off toward the battlefield. It wasn't so bad, really. Although Kuririn was a good deal shorter than she was, he kept a solid hold on her wrists, and she didn't shift around much while they flew. In the matter of only a few minutes, they had reached their destination, and they saw with no small degree of horror a strikingly familiar figure looming ahead of them.

"What is that?" Gohan asked nervously.

"Kuririn!" Bulma shouted. "Please tell me you don't see what I see!"

"We were right, Bulma. That weird orb really is giving off moonlight. Vegita's transformed himself," he said grimly. "This was what I was afraid of."

"Me too," she said. "Let me go; I can fly now. Let's get down lower and hide behind some of those rocks down there. I can't see Goku yet, and we'll have to know where he is before we do anything."

He did as she asked, and they flew out behind Vegita and hid behind the boulders. They couldn't see Goku anywhere, and he was so weak that they could barely feel his chi.

"What are you guys doing here?" someone hissed behind them, making them all jump in surprise. They spun around to find Yajirobe crouching behind them and glancing fearfully up at Vegita.

"You're not going to try to attack that monster, are you?" he asked in a fierce whisper. "Even Goku couldn't beat him! Don't be a bunch of idiots!"

"Where is Goku?" Kuririn asked him quickly. "What's happened to him?"

"He's in that big ape's hands, that's where he is!" Yajirobe growled. "And the same will happen to you guys if he sees you, I'm sure."

"We've got to stop him!" Gohan exclaimed. "He'll crush my dad!"

"That's impossible!" Yajirobe said firmly. "No one would be able to stop that thing; not even me!"

"But if we cut off his tail, he'll turn back into what he was before!" Bulma said suddenly. "Kuririn, we've got to get at that tail. It's the only way. He's much too strong to attack head-on."

Suddenly, the most frightening, agonizing yell came from Vegita's massive hands. It was Goku! Vegita was crushing him to death!

"I'm going to kill you slowly!" Vegita's deepened, thunderous voice laughed evilly. "You deserve nothing less for what you've done to me!"

Like a bullet, Gohan shot out from behind the rocks and out in front of Vegita before anyone could stop him. "Let go of my father!" he screamed at Vegita.

Vegita stared down at Gohan in surprise for a couple of seconds, then let out a booming laugh. "Oh, I'll let him go all right," he chuckled. "It might be one piece at a time, but I'll definitely let him go!"

"Gohan!" Goku called weakly. "Please, son, get out of here. This isn't your fight."

Kuririn and Bulma watched anxiously. Gohan had really gotten himself in trouble this time. Suddenly an idea hit Bulma.

"Kuririn!" she said excitedly. "Gohan's given us the perfect distraction! Now's our chance to cut off Vegita's tail! Can you manage it?"

"No problem," he muttered, glaring at Vegita. "Kienzan!" He formed a large, flattened disk of chi energy and held it high over his hand. "My kienzan was made for a job like this. You get ready to catch Goku when Vegita drops him. Can you teleport in there and get him out of harm's way?"

"You've got it," she cried, her determination a far greater force than her fatigue. "Leave it to me, Kuririn."

"All right Bulma," he said. "Teleport now!" He flung the sharp, rotating disk just as Bulma teleported.

Bulma reappeared a few yards directly below Goku. She realized all at once that Kuririn's loud command had been heard. Vegita jumped at the last second, evading the Kienzan. It sailed underneath Bulma and sliced the rock that she and Gohan were standing on in half, narrowly missing them both. In frustration, Bulma flew up by Vegita's fist and fired a blast of chi at his wrist in an attempt to get him to drop Goku. Surprisingly, she had caught him off guard and had actually managed to hit him with it. Unfortunately, she did little more than singe his fur.

"Is that all you can do?" he laughed at her. "Go ahead and gather your strength, foolish woman! Let's see if you can do better!"

"Don't tempt me!" Bulma yelled. "Now let Goku go!"

"I'm not through playing with him yet," Vegita cackled, grinning cruelly. "Maybe when he stops screaming I'll think about..." His sentence was cut short when he suddenly spun around and smacked Kuririn to one side with his tail. He had tried to sneak up behind Vegita to try again. Bulma shot down to her groaning friend.

"Are you all right Kuririn?" she asked him. Miraculously, he managed to pull himself up onto his feet.

"I'll be okay," he grumbled. "But I've lost my only other chance to get at his tail. I think we've lost."

"Not yet," Bulma said. "I'm not going to give up until I can't fight back at all anymore." She turned to attack Vegita, but Gohan had beaten her to him. He savagely pummeled one of Vegita's arms, causing the large ape to yell in pain and anger. Vegita dropped Goku and immediately began swatting at Gohan. Bulma flew into the air and caught Goku on his way down. Once she had a secure hold on him, she teleported with him to the same hiding place they had used previously, thoroughly startling Yajirobe in the process.

"Goku!" she said frantically. "Are you all right? Please say something!"

"Ohh..." Goku groaned. "I've been better, Bulma. I had no idea that guy could do such a thing. He said that all Saiyans do that when they look at the moon. Did I ever do such a thing, Bulma?"

"You... well, let's worry about that later, Goku. Can you move at all?" Bulma asked, deciding that this wasn't the best time to tell Goku that he had been the very one who'd killed his grandfather after going giant ape all those years ago.

"I can't stand at all," Goku said, wincing painfully. "He smashed my legs. Almost all of my energy is gone."

Suddenly they heard an enraged roar. To Bulma's utter surprise, Vegita's tail had been cut off by...Yajirobe?! Somehow, he had managed to sneak out onto the battlefield while they were talking, and he'd sliced Vegita's tail off with his katana while the large ape was occupied with trying to grab Gohan. How uncharacteristically selfless! Bulma was very impressed, even despite the fact that Yajirobe turned tail and ran for his life afterward.

"Hurry Bulma!" Goku said. "Go get Kuririn! I have a plan, but I'll need his help."

"No problem!" Kuririn exclaimed as he slid behind the boulder. "I'm already here! I hope you have one major trick up your sleeve Goku, because that guy is extremely pissed off and he's got chi to spare!"

"I'm going to go help Gohan," Bulma said. "Vegita's pretty steamed now, and he's going to kill him if I don't help."

"All right Bulma," Goku said. "I'm counting on you. Just keep your eyes open, though. There's going to be some major fireworks in a few minutes and you two won't want to get in the way."

Bulma grinned at him before racing out to join Gohan. Vegita was enraged beyond reason now.

"Who did it?" he screamed savagely. "Who cut off my tail?"

"I don't think he'd appreciate it very much if I told you who or where he is," Bulma laughed, grinning and panting as she ran up and joined Gohan on a rocky platform nearby. "But I'd be willing to bet that he's on the other side of the world by now."

"Whoever did this to me is gonna pay with his life!" Vegita raged. "He'd better run!" Vegita drew menacingly closer to them. Bulma stood her ground, but she pulled Gohan behind her. In a movement so fast she couldn't follow it, Vegita darted forward and grabbed one of her arms in one hand. He drew his other hand up in the air and formed a potent ball of chi energy above it.

"Where's Kakkorot?" he snarled. He brandished the frightening ball of chi at her and she felt a sudden chill run through her body. She was staring into the eyes of a killer, and she was very afraid. However, she wasn't about to just tell him where Goku was, either.

"I teleported him far away from here, to a place where you won't find him," she lied defiantly. "And you can just go to Hell, you monster! I'll be damned if I'm going to tell a beast like you where he is!"

Vegita cackled evilly. "You know, I'd find you amusing right now if it were under different circumstances. I might even think you were somewhat enticing. But I'm in no mood for games! That fool has committed the ultimate crime against me, and I intend to make him pay for it in blood! Tell me where Kakkorot is, or I'll..."

"Or you'll what?" Gohan said angrily. He darted around Bulma and kicked Vegita squarely in the jaw, knocking him a few paces away and causing him to let his chi ball disintegrate. "Just try to touch her and you'll regret it, you creep!"

"It's over, Vegita," Bulma said coldly. "You've lost. Your tail is gone, and you can't transform anymore. Accept your defeat and leave this planet. If you leave now, you can leave with your life. If you don't, you'll lose it. It's your choice."

"Infernal brat!" he snarled, rubbing his chin and spitting some blood out on the ground. "I haven't lost. I can still destroy the lot of you. I don't need to be transformed to do something so trivial!"

Gohan's chi flared angrily. "You'll have to destroy me first!" he snapped, poising to attack.

"Gladly!" Vegita replied. They promptly took to the air and began exchanging blows.

Suddenly Bulma sensed an extraordinary level of chi over by Kuririn and Goku. She whirled around to find out what it was, and she saw Kuririn standing on the boulder with what felt like an enormously powerful energy ball, ready to strike Vegita.

Vegita and Gohan had come back down to the ground, and as Bulma darted out of their way, Vegita fired an energy blast directly at Gohan, nearly hitting him. Yelling in fury, Gohan dove at Vegita and they rolled around a bit, grappling and striking at each other on the ground. Although most of Gohan's blows were being blocked, so were many of Vegita's. Finally, Gohan got another strong punch in on Vegita's jaw. Vegita recovered quickly and flew back to fire an energy blast, only to dodge the one that Gohan had shot at him first. One after the another Gohan fired blasts of chi at Vegita, each time without success. Bulma knew that Kuririn couldn't throw that energy ball at Vegita while he was dodging around like that. How were they going to get him to hold still?

In frustration, she watched as Vegita quickly closed in on Gohan. He had backed the boy up against a cliff face and was less than fifty feet away. Panting and furious, he began walking towards Gohan, who had become fairly well winded by now. Vegita was still remarkably capable, despite his own obvious fatigue.

Bulma still had no way of defeating Vegita, but she couldn't just let him kill Gohan, either. Although her muscles were screaming at her and her energy was nearly spent, she managed to teleport to Gohan's side, and she hastily assumed an attack stance. Glaring at Vegita, she stepped forward and blocked his path to Gohan. She was thoroughly exhausted, but she wasn't out yet.

"Get out of the way," Vegita snarled at her. "This is between me and him. If you don't want to accompany him on his trip to the afterlife, I suggest you move."

"The only way you're going to get to him is through me," she panted, bracing herself on wobbly legs for the attack she knew was coming. "I promised his father that I'd protect him. You'll have to kill me first."

Vegita scowled. "I've been lenient with you so far," he said, taking another menacing step closer. "In fact, I've never been so lenient with an opponent before. I'm warning you, though, woman. My patience is not limitless. I'm only giving you one more chance to move!"

Bulma stayed right where she was. "Finally," she growled, sneering at him. "Does that mean you're going to stop talking and start fighting already?"

Before either of them made another move, they were interrupted by a yell from Yajirobe. "What are you waiting for?" he yelled impatiently at Kuririn. "Just throw the damn thing!"

Kuririn angrily shot a curse at Yajirobe and heaved the glowing ball of energy at Vegita. It was too late. The damage had been done. Bulma watched in horror as Vegita leapt up and out of the way as the ball zoomed harmlessly beneath him, and made a beeline for her and Gohan. Panicking, she spun around and grabbed onto Gohan's arm, hoping she had enough strength left to teleport them both to safety. He jerked his arm away from her, and she really began to panic.

"Come on, Gohan," she shrieked. "There's no time for this! We have to go now!"

"No!" Gohan exclaimed. "We have to deflect that Genki dama! It's searching out evil chi, and if we clear our minds and think pure thoughts we can deflect it toward Vegita! It's our only chance to beat him!"

Bulma had no idea how Gohan knew this, not to mention why he called that thing a "genki dama," but something in his voice told her that he knew what he was talking about. Rolling her eyes and groaning, she leapt to his left side and braced herself. They both stretched their arms out in front of them and waited for the impact.

"Get ready," he shouted. "Here it comes!"

Bulma rigidly stood her ground as the potent energy ball slammed into their outstretched hands and as if by divine intervention, neatly ricocheted off of them. She and Gohan slammed roughly into the rock wall behind them from the force of the blow, but they were unharmed nonetheless. Bulma watched in anticipation as the genki dama shot closer and closer to the unsuspecting Saiyan, who was preparing to fire a chi blast at the terrified Kuririn. When it was less than a second away, Vegita must have heard it, because he whirled around. For a brief moment there was a look of surprise on his face, but it soon changed to one of fear as the genki dama enveloped him and propelled him skyward. The last thing Bulma could hear coming from Vegita as he soared into the sky was an enraged yell of profanity and hatred.

Unable to hold back any longer, she jumped into the air and whooped for joy. "We did it, Gohan!" she cried, seizing him in her arms and swinging him around and around in a circle. "He's gone! We beat Vegita!"