A strong wind blew across the grassy plains surrounding the two fighters.
Piccolo stared at his opponent. The man was largely built and quite tall, possessing waist-length red hair and a red beard that gave the man an appropriate leonine appearance that was fitting considering the man's name.
Nearby Vegeta watched over his weakened son. Trunks' battle with Pisces left him both emotionally and physically drained.
"Rest my son. For now leave the fighting to us." Vegeta said with a light smile.
"Goten is dead father. It was an accident, but Pisces somehow replaced himself with Goten to save his own life." Trunks said weakly.
"I know, I saw the entire battle. We will find a way to bring him back Trunks, don't worry. For now though, let us hope the Namek is up to the challenge of fighting another one of these Neo Force members." Vegeta said.
Nearby Piccolo began the battle by firing his new attack in Leos' direction.
"Sacred Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled, firing a spiral beam of white energy towards the cat-like Neo Force member.
Leos easily sidestepped the attack, then charged Piccolo.
"A strong attack like that is useless if you can't hit your opponent." Leos said as he brought his right arm down and attempted to slam Piccolo with it. Piccolo leapt backwards onto the top of a large grassy hill, dodging the attack.
"I'm well aware of the weaknesses of my own attacks. I was trying to determine yours." Piccolo said, then dodged several hard punches from Leos after he reached Piccolo's location.
"I'm not like Pisces Namek. I will not be defeated as easily as he was." Leos said, sending his right arm around for another strong punch which Piccolo blocked with his left arm.
Pain shot up threw Piccolo's arm after Leos' attack landed.
"So far it looks like Leos strength is in melee combat, in which case I should try to keep my distance." Piccolo thought to himself.
Piccolo immediately flew into the sky, Leos of coarse, predictively following.
"Lets see how you handle this." Piccolo said, rapidly firing hundreds of small blasts of energy in Leos direction.
Leos easily avoided each of the fast moving energy blasts, finally crossing his arms and flying in midair, not moving from his current position.
"This attack again Namek? It did not work against Android 17, what makes you think it will work against someone far stronger such as myself?" Leos said
"You assumed I was using the Hellzone Grenade technique didn't you? Well I hate to disapoint." Piccolo said with a smile.
"Well then, if not the Hellzone Grenade than what was the point of firing on me as you did? You should know I'm far to fast to be easily hit by such a clumsy attack." Leos said.
"I am aware of that. I felt your strength when you punched me, I wanted to see how fast you were. It was merely a test of your abilities." Piccolo said calmly as the explosion from his attack finally occurred some distance away.
"I'm growing impatient with your tests Namek. Are you going to seriously fight me or not? Wait, don't answer that. If you will not put your all into this battle, than I will." Leos said, placing his hands in a familiar stance.
Piccolo immediately felt a sense of deja vu.
"My first battle after Kami and I fused was against Cell, and one of the first things Cell did in that fight was surprise me by using the Kamehameha Wave. Unless this guy either trained with Mr. Roshi, or possesses genetic knowledge of the technique like Cell, there should be no possible way he knows such a technique." Piccolo thought to himself.
"You know the Kamehameha Wave?" Piccolo asked
"Oh this isn't the Kamehameha Wave." Leos said as tiny fragments of orange energy collected in Leos' hands.
"It looks like the Kamehameha Wave to me." Piccolo said
"I developed this technique by watching films of you and your friends' many battles, particularly Goku's battles. I think you will find this technique far superior to a simple Kamehameha Wave." Leos said as an orb of orange, glowing energy formed in his hands.
Not saying another word, Leos launched his attack at Piccolo.
"Pyro Wave!" Leos yelled, firing his attack. Piccolo crossed his arms over his chest as an enormous energy beam of orange energy and fire streaked towards him.
Piccolo knew trying to dodge the attack would be pointless, considering the speed it was traveling at. He could use Instant Transmission, but the attack would likely then strike and do damage to the Earth itself. All the Z-Fighters had sworn not to rely on the Dragonballs after the Shadow Dragon incident. It was a wise policy, and one Piccolo intended on following.
Piccolo roared with pain as the Pyro Wave struck him. Moments later when the attack had run its coarse, Piccolo's gold and crimson outfit had burn marks over it.
"One Namek, Extra Crispy." Leos said, laughing at his own joke.
"I can't hope to defeat this guy if I have to worry about possible damage to the planet. In that case there is only one option. I will have to take this guy to another planet, or at least another location." Piccolo thought to himself.
Leos approached Piccolo. Piccolo could not tell if the Neo Saiyan was going to attempt melee combat again or if he had something else planned. Regardless, Piccolo placed a hand on Leos, and before the red headed warrior could react, Piccolo used Instant Transmission to transport the two of them to some sort of hellish volcanic place.
This world had been one of many visited by Piccolo as he searched for a stable and uninhabited world where he could use the Black Star Dragonballs freely without worry. The planet was actually a moon, and could be best described as an unstable, fiery hellhole as far as Piccolo was concerned. The sky was lit on fire by the world wide volcanic activity, glowing always a warm orange-red color. The moon's surface was black as obsidian, with rivers of orange magma breaking up the otherwise completely black surface. In the sky was an enormous orange gas giant world, as well as two other moons, one of which was blue in coloration, the other a dull grey.
On arrival both fighters immediately noticed the temperature. The moon's climate was much warmer than Earth's normal temperatures. Even at the moon's coldest areas, the climate made the hottest tropical climates on Earth seem like the artic circle.
Piccolo hated the heat, it reminded him of his time in Hell. Before Niiro Shenron had gifted him with his new powers, Piccolo was certain that the temperature alone would quickly overwhelm him, but while uncomfortable, Piccolo was otherwise unaffected.
Leos on the other hand seemed to enjoy the heat. The two fighters separated seconds after arriving on this world. Each stood facing the other on large plateau made of obsidian.
"Thanks for the change in scenery Namek. I have to say this is a much better location for our fight, for me that is." Leos said
With no further warning Leos launched himself at Piccolo. The two then engaged in a furious exchange of punches and kicks. Piccolo managed to dodge one punch, which caused Leos to strike the obsidian plateau they were previously standing on. The plateau cracked apart almost like ice.
Leos then roared, and to Piccolo's surprise Leos next two attacks took the form of two fiery fists. Dodging the attacks as best he could, Piccolo yelled and sent a strong yellow beam of energy into Leos' chest, an attack which sent Leos far into the distance.
Piccolo flew as fast as he could and managed to get behind Leos. Piccolo then proceeded to grab Leos arms and reorientate the two of them so they were both head-first towards the ground.
Leos yelled as both he and Piccolo plummeted towards the ground as Piccolo executed a Piledriver attack on his opponent. In seconds the two fighters slammed into the hot surface of the moon, and from the smoke created from the attack, Piccolo flew upwards.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Piccolo quickly prepared and fired another attack.
"Sacred Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled as he launched a white spiral beam into the smoke cloud where Leos was located.
"Just to make sure." Piccolo said, then fired hundreds of yellow blasts of energy into the smoke cloud. The blasts caused a large explosion followed by a volcanic eruption in the area.
Piccolo could no longer sense his opponent, but he knew from experience that that did not necessarily mean the battle was over.
Piccolo instincts proved correct as Leos suddenly emerged from the lava and flew to a location near Piccolo.
"Not only did your attempt at destroying me not work Namek, it made me stronger. I don't know about you but I'm done with the warm ups, how about we fight for real." Leos said.
"I couldn't agree more." Piccolo said with a smile as he grabbed his turban with his right hand, then threw it down onto the ground. The turban slammed into the ground as though it were a metior. Piccolo wasn't done yet however, and used his left hand to rip off his cape and throw it to the ground just as he had done with his turban seconds earlier.
Piccolo then landed on the ground near Leos and clutched his hands into fists as he prepared to power up.
"Come Piccolo, show me your full power." Leos said
Piccolo ignored Leos and began to yell as he began powering up. A visible aura of light materialized around Piccolo's body as his power grew. Soon the area shook from Piccolo's growing power. Finally Piccolo stood at the top his game.
"Not bad Namek, now its my turn." Leos said, then yelled as a flame-like aura of orange and red energy erupted into existence around him. In seconds Leos' form changed so that he resembled molten metal. Leos' eyes became red orbs of flame as he gazed upon Piccolo.
"One Thousand Fires" Leos yelled, as tiny fireballs emerged from Leos' aura and flew towards Piccolo. Piccolo in a display of great speed leapt from his location, not only avoid Leos' attack but landing a fierce uppercut to Leos' head.
While Leos looked hurt from Piccolo's attack, Piccolo also found his hand was slightly burnt.
Leos opened his mouth and fired a beam of yellow and orange fiery energy point blank at Piccolo, who yelled as the blast carried him far away from his previous location on the moon.
An enormous explosion occurred as a vast stretch of territory was obliterated all at once due to Leos' attack.
Leos teleported over Piccolo, attempting to land a punch with his right fist to Piccolo's face. Piccolo however blocked Leos' attack with his left arm, brought his right arm around and slammed Leos with his own punch. Leos was sent flying backwards threw several active volcanoes.
Piccolo then used his speed to fly above Leos and fire a yellow beam of energy into Leos, who managed to block using both arms.
Leos and Piccolo landed on a flat plain of blackened soil. Leos immediately on landing fired another flaming orange and red blast from his mouth. In response Piccolo quickly fired a yellow beam from his right hand. The two were then locked in a beam struggle, each fighting against the strength of his opponent.
Soon it was apparent that Piccolo was winning the struggle, as Piccolo's beam soon overtook Leos. In seconds both attacks slammed into Leos. After emerging from yet another cloud of smoke, Leos began to laugh.
"Whats so funny?" Piccolo asked.
"I did not think fighting you would be this much fun Namek. I could do this forever." Leos said, his molten metal face twisting into a smile.
"I don't know about you Leos, but this is not a game to me. One of my friends, a former student, was killed by your associate Pisces. So you will excuse me If I'm not exactly enjoying myself right now." Piccolo said
"Your friend can be wished back, so why worry about such things and not dedicate yourself fully to our battle?" Leos asked.
"We can't just use the Dragonballs every time something like that happens. If we do another group of Shadow Dragons could appear." Piccolo said
"And the problem with that is?" Leos asked
"It could lead to the destruction of the entire universe." Piccolo said, not sure where this conversation was going.
"You and your friends have saved the universe before, if that happened you could no doubt do so again. If you thought fighting the Neo Force would mean no sacrifices on your part, you were wrong. I'm about as strong as you or Vegeta. Hydrus is easily more powerful than both of us. Nevermind Aquila or Neo Force Seven and Eight. Some of your friends are going to die, so unless you stop holding back and commit everything you have to this battle, lets just say things won't end well." Leos said
"I will take your advice under consideration. Now how about we continue?" Piccolo said
"Sounds like a plan Namek. How about I show you my strongest attack?" Leos said
"Bring it!" Piccolo yelled.
When Piccolo had begun this fight, he had expected a cold blooded killer or sadist like Pisces was. Instead it seemed Leos enjoyed fighting, not only that, but he seemed to have a sense of honor, even justice.
His anxiety over the battle seemed to melt away, and Piccolo decided to let himself enjoy the fight. It was a feeling he had not had in years.
"Alright Piccolo, lets see how you do against this. Meteor of Apollo!" Leos yelled as he rose into the air.
Suddenly all the heat and flames in the region seemed to collect in the form of an orb above Leos, who was now high above the moon's surface.
The flames and heat formed into a gigantic fireball, which Leos slammed with both his molten fists, an act which sent the meteor plummeting down towards Piccolo.
"Sacred Beam Cannon!" Piccolo yelled, sending the new and improved version of his old Special Beam Cannon up for a collision coarse with Leos' meteor. The white comet-like Sacred Beam Cannon collided with Leos' Meteor of Apollo, and in seconds both attacks disappeared in a tremendous explosion of heat and light.
Piccolo quickly blocked a series of punches from Leos after he teleported to his location seconds after the explosion. Soon afterwards the two fighters began yet another furious exchange of punches and kicks. The force from the battle sent shock waves outwards which destroyed several nearby volcanos.
Soon the entire area was reduced to a sea of orange magma. Piccolo and Leos continued their furious battle above the magma sea.
Leos teleported some distance away from Piccolo and yelled: "Pyro Wave!" sending his fiery interpretation of the Kamehameha once again in Piccolo's direction. Piccolo dodged the beam, but was caught wide open for Leos' next move.
"Arrows of Apollo." Leos yelled, pointing his right hand in Piccolo's direction. From the sea of magma five arrow-shaped missiles composed of fire emerged and took flight, each heading for Piccolo.
Piccolo quickly moved and dodged each arrow, then pointed his right hand towards Leos and yelled. "Masenko!"
A giant yellow beam of energy streaked towards Leos, who promptly flew threw the attack towards Piccolo, much to the later's surprise.
Leos slammed Piccolo with a fierce uppercut, sending Piccolo soaring upwards. Leos next slammed Piccolo with a series of fists encased in fire.
Piccolo managed to block Leos final punch, and then spun his left leg around and slammed Leos with a strong kick.
Leos fell into the sea of magma. Piccolo was beginning to think perhaps that bringing the Neo Saiyan to this moon had been a mistake.
No sooner did Leos fall into the magma then did he emerge again.
"Now we approach the moment of truth Piccolo. I sense you are almost at the point where you will begin to tire. I admire your desire to spare the Earth harm by transporting us here. However, this environment gives me a huge advantage over you." Leos said, crossing his arms.
"Then perhaps it is time once again for a change in scenery as you said." Piccolo said, then flew towards Leos.
"Oh no you don't. Apollo Meteor!" Leos yelled. This time his meteor attack was fueled by the sea of magma below them. All the lava traveled upwards, defying gravity itself as it formed a perfect sphere of fire above Leos.
Before Piccolo could get in range to transport the two of them somewhere Leos sent his Meteor downwards by slamming it with both fists directly towards Piccolo. Piccolo barely was able to dodge the attack, which soon crashed into a volcano in the distance. The entire moon soon began violently shaking, as fire and magma erupted from every volcano on the moon.
"Well Piccolo, it looks like your about to get your wish for a change in scenery, just not in the way you had hoped." Leos said with a smile.
"The moon is going to blow up, we need to leave now." Piccolo yelled.
"No. I say whoever survives the explosion of the moon is the winner of our fight." Leos said
Piccolo attempted to use Instant Tranmission, but for some reason the technique would not execute. Instead, Piccolo used all his remaining power to shield himself from the explosion he knew was coming.
From space, the fiery red moon orbiting the orange gas giant suddenly exploded. The force of the explosion caused a chain reaction which destroyed the blue and white moons nearby.
Piccolo awoke hours later. His body was extremely cold. He didn't even bother to open his eyes, as he knew he was in space.
Nearby Leos flew, still in his molten form.
"I owe you an apology Piccolo. When I destroyed the moon I did not tell you I could survive in outer space while in this form. It looks like your still alive though, so I guess our fight is a draw." Leos said
"We..aren't done..yet." Piccolo said, placing a hand on Leos right leg when he got close enough.
Quickly using instant transmission, Piccolo transported he and Leos to another world. This time they were on a rocky world with brown soil and a violet-hued sky. The world was neither too hot nor too cold.
Piccolo laying on the hard soil, let go of Leos' leg and got back onto his feet.
Piccolo's regal outfit had been badly torn from the explosion. It did not matter to Piccolo, as clothing could be replaced. Focusing, Piccolo used another of his new found abilities gifted to him by Niiro Shenron.
Using his regeneration abilities, Piccolo now had the ability to heal himself once every twenty-four hours. Leos marveled as the beat-up looking Piccolo began to heal, the smoking wounds and cuts disappearing.
In seconds Piccolo was back up to full strength.
"I underestimated you Piccolo. I promise you though, this world will be our last battleground." Leos said, forming a circle with his hands and pointing towards the violet sky above.
Piccolo recognized this as the artificial moon technique Pisces had used earlier. All of Piccolo's experience told him to not allow Leos to transform, but he ignored it. For some reason, he wanted this.
Leos fired a white orb of light into the sky, and quickly afterwards turned his full attention towards it, letting the artificial Blutz waves strike every part of his being. Leos' molten form glowed a bright white as the planet began to shake.
Leos had been incredibly powerful before, easily equal to Vegeta in his Super Saiyan Five state. However Piccolo felt his power increase by ten. A fiery collumn of energy reached into the heavens, expanding as Leos changed.
As Leos grew, his form became increasingly cat-like. His hands changed into claws, his face became like that of a huge lion. As the pillar of fire disappeared, Leos emerged as a giant golden lion with a red mane. His size easily rivaled that of a Great Ape.
The Lion spoke.
"In mythology there was a story depicting a lion which could not be harmed by mortal weapons. It was called the Nemean Lion. I think you will find my body is similar to that creature." Nemean Leos said with a large and loud voice.
Piccolo laughed seeing the huge beast. It had been a wile since he used the technique which he was about to use, years in fact. His new powers allowed him to increase his size while not losing speed, so the main weakness and reason he had not used this ability since his battle with Goku years ago had been removed.
"I think it is time you picked on someone your own size." Piccolo said, then began to grow until his size put him on equal footing with Nemean Leos.
"Impressive Piccolo, however my power is still greater than yours." Nemean Leos said.
"Lets test that theory." Piccolo said, beckoning Leos forward.
Nemean Leos leapt into the air at Giant Piccolo, who caught the beast. The two then fell backwards and rolled on the ground over mountains and large craters as each tried to overcome the other's strength.
Piccolo threw Nemean Leos as hard as he could into the distance. The huge lion collided with a large mountain. Piccolo pointed both his hands at Nemean Leos and yelled.
"Giant Masenko!" Piccolo yelled, sending two giant yellow blasts of energy in Leos' direction.
Nemean Leos roared, causing Piccolo's attack to dissipate harmlessly.
"Your power is nearly equal to my own. Not bad Namek." Nemean Leos said
Piccolo stretched out his arms and grabbed Leos by the head, then spun him around and tossed the giant cat into yet another mountain, which crumbled on impact.
Leos quickly righted himself and roared in Piccolo's direction, sending a giant orange beam of fiery energy towards the giant Namek.
Piccolo grabbed a nearby small mountain and tossed it at the incoming beam. Nemean Leo then leapt into the air towards Piccolo, attempting to pounce on the giant namek.
Piccolo saw the flash of light from Leos' claws, and immediately knew he did not want to be cut by those claws.
Piccolo grabbed the beast's head and the two fought in a contest of strength. Piccolo managed to force the giant lion backwards, then kicked the beast in the chest. Leos soon righted himself and dashed at Piccolo.
Piccolo fired a giant beam at the lion, who responded by jumping into the air.
"Leo Meteor!" Leos said, spinning around rapidly in the sky. In seconds Nemean Leos became a meteor which promptly headed towards Piccolo.
Piccolo knew if that attack struck the planet, it, much like the fiery moon earlier, would be destroyed. Piccolo knew if that happened he likely would not survive another world exploding, so he did something that was seemingly insane, and grabbed the meteor with his bare hands.
Piccolo next leapt into the air as best he could in his giant body, and delivered a strong kick to the underside of the meteor, an act which sent the meteor flying out of the planet's thin atmosphere and into outer space.
Pointing both hands in the direction of Nemean Leos, Piccolo fired the largest attack he had ever created.
"Well done Piccolo. This will be, a warrior's death. At last we will be together my love." Leos thought, thinking of a woman with scarlet hair as the beam of energy sent by Piccolo approached.
The attack, which took the form of a incredibly enormous blast of white energy, streaked into space and collided with the Meteor, which promptly exploded in a display that lit the rocky planet's dim surface.
Piccolo, exhausted from the battle and nearly out of power, promptly shrunk back down into his normal size. He knew he had won. Unlike the last battle, Piccolo felt good about winning. It was a good fight.
On Earth, Hydrus looked upwards into the sky.
"Looks like that fool Leos finally lost. In that case its my turn." Hydrus said in a voice that sounded both craven and cowardly. The thin, creepy looking Neo Saiyan flew a short distance and pointed towards the group of Z-Fighters just as Piccolo appeared.
"Which of you fools is next?" Hydrus said, fighting the urge to laugh at how pathetic the group looked.
"Your buddy killed my brother, I want justice. That means I will be your opponent." Gohan said, casting a sharp gaze in Hydrus' direction.
Piccolo, laying on the ground near Trunks, weakly spoke.
"Gohan..be careful, he is strong." Piccolo said weakly.
"Thankyou for the warning, but I have to do this Piccolo." Gohan said.