*Chapter X*
The Colosseum was literally falling apart. Pieces of the floor and ceiling were flying in every direction as the battle between the two super saiyans continued. Every time a blow connected there was a new crater in the ground, a new hole in the wall, or a new sunroof in the ceiling. The fighters stopped for a brief second to gather themselves after an intense round of melee. They appeared and drifted to the floor a ways away from each other. Vegeta just stared at Goku, chest heaving as he tried desparately to catch as much of his breath as he could. His clothes ripped in several places, blood dripping from wounds on his body. Scratches and bruises covered his visible skin. His frustration was apparent as he noticed that Goku was hardly breathing at all, even though his body looked as bad, if not worse than his own.
'Damn. He's not even tired. I won't be able to wear him out so I'll just have to beat him with my strength.', Vegeta thought.
Vegeta slowly rose from his position and hovered in the air. He lifted his hand so that it was facing towards Goku as a small ball of energy formed on his palm. He drew back his arm as if he were to throw it, but he disappeared before he completed the action. In less than a second, Vegeta was in front of Goku with his hand, still holding the energy ball, flying towards Goku's face. There was no time for reaction and Goku was sent flying into the wall. Before Vegeta had time to laugh Goku appeared behind him and dug his fist deep into Vegeta's spine. Vegeta screamed in pain as his back was bent around Goku's fist. Goku quickly launched Vegeta towards the ceiling, but the prince managed to stop himself before he hit it. It was too little, too late, as Goku had his knee firmly planted in Vegeta's gut. As Vegeta hit the ceiling it cratered to the point that light was soon visible through small cracks. As Vegeta fell to the floor, Goku simply stared at the ceiling and noticed the sliver of light hitting his eyes through a small crack. It was a costly distraction as Vegeta returned and punted Goku straight through the ceiling into the bright of day.
* * *
"Oh man! There's Goku. Vegeta sent him right through the roof!", Krillen blurted.
"I hate to say it, but I hope Vegeta beats my dad.", Gohan said.
'The amount of energy they have. It's incredible. But Vegeta is getting tired.', Piccolo thought, 'His energy has dropped since they started, but Goku...his power is...almost the same. Why hasn't he shown any fatigue? Vegeta is surely giving him more than just a little trouble.'
Gohan looked up to notice Piccolo's concerned look. That look that he always got when he seemed to know the outcome of a battle. Gohan could tell that what Piccolo knew was not good news. He suddenly became aware of what Piccolo was sensing between his father and Vegeta.
"Vegeta's not going to win. Is he.", Gohan solemnly asked the iron faced namek.
"No. I'm sorry Gohan, but you're our only hope now.", Piccolo replied.
"Are you guys kidding? Vegeta is puttin' the whoopin' on Goku. How can you say he's gonna lose?", Krillen said.
Piccolo prepared to explain, "Vegeta is losing his energy fast. He's getting tired, most likely because he hasn't experienced his new powers for very long. Goku on the other hand is...well...his energy has barely decreased since they started fighting. Vegeta will lose."
Krillen swallowed a large gulp and turned back to the fight with a new sense of terror. He simply stood, eyes twitching and mouth agape, waiting for the hit that would end it. Gohan and Piccolo watched also with fateful eyes as the saiyans raged on in the sky.
* * *
Vegeta was running out of options. His attacks had been reduced to sporadic moments of rapid punches and kicks. Any other moment he was dodging the ever so close attacks of his powerful opponent. Vegeta managed to fit a chop to the side of Goku's head, but as he spun around from the blow Goku thrust his foot into Vegeta's side. They once again regained their composure and locked eyes. Goku was still not showing any signs of exhaustion, as Vegeta struggled for every breath. Just then Goku received a message from Durgan through the chip in his neck.
"GET BACK IN HERE!!! NOW!!!!!", Durgan commanded from inside the ship.
Goku quickly dashed over to Vegeta and threw a punch directed at Vegeta's face. Vegeta was just quick enough to block it, but was not prepared for Goku's knee as it followed up into his stomach. As Vegeta bent over from the pain, Goku pounded him back into the Colosseum, creating yet another hole in the ceiling.
"He could've at least sent him back in through the hole he came out of.", Durgan muttered to himself.
Vegeta slowly picked himself up out of the crater he left in the ground as Goku descended through the hole left in the ceiling. Vegeta looked up at the one man who had plagued his thoughts ever since he came to earth. He couldn't believe that he was losing to such a low-rate saiyan. The thought of being defeated at the hands of Goku again were unbearable. His rage once again built up inside of him. He pushed his hands out, held together with fingers erect, and let out a tremendous roar. An enormous beam of solid golden energy shot from his open hands and rushed towards Goku, still coming down from the hole. As the beam raced towards him, Goku calmly held his hands out as if he were to catch it. When the beam struck his hands, he began to ascend, but he quickly charged up as his ki began to swell around his body, and he stopped himself. Vegeta continued pumping energy into his attack, grabbing every little bit he could to keep going. When Vegeta finally maxed out, Goku began to make his way down to Vegeta, pushing the beam down with him. Vegeta's roar continued as Goku slowly, but surely, pushed his way closer and closer. He was almost there when Vegeta gave out and had to stop his attack. Goku, charged with monstrous momentum, flew at Vegeta with lightning speed and decked him across the jaw, sending him spinning around, face first, six feet into the ground. Vegeta began to lift his hand, but it fell to the ground as he passed out. His golden hair fading to its natural black.
"Excellent! Now finish that nuisance off, quickly!", Durgan yelled down to his slave.
"You'll have to kill me first, dad!", Gohan said as he slowly descended to the floor. His hair already set ablaze in a golden aura. The electricity shot randomly from his pulsating ki and his face grim, showing that he intended to stop his father.
"You again, boy!", Durgan shouted, "Can't you see that I've found my ultimate warrior? I have no need for you now. Slave, you may destroy both of them."
'If I can just knock him out, then I'm sure we can take him to Bulma. She'll be able to help him.', Gohan thought.
As Gohan finished that thought, Goku was on top of him. His flaring red eyes burning into Gohan's deep ocean eyes. Gohan tried not to show any sense of fear of his father. But the eyes were so cold, so dark, so evil. He couldn't help to think that this truely wasn't his father standing before him, no matter how much he wanted it to be. They stared for a second longer before they both disappeared.
Gohan had experience fighting his father before when they had sparred with each other. But this was different. He couldn't think that his father would go easy if things got rough. He had to constantly remind himself that his father was trying to kill him. He was able to block or avoid most of his father's attacks, but was hesitant to fight back, which cost him a few scratches and bruises. Gohan was quickly losing any advantage he had as Goku became much more fierce with his assault. As the fight endured, with Durgan distracted, Piccolo was retreiving the fallen Vegeta. He managed to quickly grab him and make it back outside without notice where Krillen had a sensu bean ready.
Gohan found himself on the receiving end of one of Goku's fists and was sent to the floor. Gohan got up quickly, but Goku was right there, continuing his flurry of fists. It was not long before Gohan was backhanded and then kicked into a wall. He was slow to pull himself out, but Goku waited for him. Gohan looked at him with one eye open, too injured to open the other. His legs bent as if he could not carry the burden of his body. Goku seemed disappointed that his opposition was so easily dealt with. A frown crossed his face as he darted towards Gohan and kneed him in the gut. Gohan simply fell to his knees, holding his stomach in anguish. Goku bent down and picked up his son by the throat. As he lifted him up, he noticed the tears streaming down Gohan's face. Goku seemed to flinch at the sight, but he didn't give it a second thought and began to squeeze Gohan's throat. Gohan began choking and spitting up blood, the tears from his eyes leaking into his open mouth. He could taste the salty drops that mixed with the stale taste of blood. His life was slowly ending, but he couldn't give up. He knew his dad would never give up at a time like this. His father would rise to the challenge. His father would defeat the evil that lie before him. His father would never give up. He would never give up. Never give up.
All these thoughts ringing in Gohan's mind, as his life was squeezed from his body, began to swell within. He wanted his father back. His father who would always come to rescue him. When it seemed he could suffer no more, he gave one last attempt as he managed one final word.
"DADDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!", the word flew from his mouth in one desparate breath. It echoed throughout the entire colosseum. It bounced off every wall and seemed to go on forever. Goku's face changed from one of anger to completely blank. It hit Goku like a freight train, he was completely stunned. Something went off in his mind at that point and he released his grip on Gohan's throat. He staggered back as his son fell to the floor in a heap, gasping for breath. Goku began to stumble, bringing his hand to his head as if he were in pain. He finally fell to his knees, bringing his other hand to his temple. His mind was at war, his paternal feelings struggling with his orders from Durgan's microchip. The mental war raged inside Goku's head and he began to growl in pain. He could stand it no longer and he let out a terrifying scream. His energy exploded from his body in a massive wave of ki. Gohan crossed his arms in front of his body but was still thrown into the wall. The floor was completely ripped to pieces and was no longer the color of dirt, but the color of cold steel. As the wave hit the walls they depressed forming one giant dent in each side. Pieces of the ceiling shattered and fell from the pure force of the blast. When it was all over, Goku was standing in the middle of the floor, his hair back to normal and his eyes fading from the fiery red to his normal jet black. He stood there a moment before he collapsed on the floor and passed out.
"NO! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!! I CAN'T LOSE A SLAVE LIKE THIS!!!", Durgan was going insane from his box.
'He did it. He broke free.', Gohan thought.
"GOHAN, HURRY! GET OUT OF THERE!", Krillen yelled from above.
Gohan knew what he had to do and he ran to his father, picked him up over his shoulder and flew towards the porthole.
"NONE OF YOU ARE GOING TO LEAVE HERE ALIVE!! YOU'RE ALL DEAD!!", Durgan screamed furiously. He scrambled to open every door in the colosseum and unleash all the rest of his fighters upon the earth.
Gohan managed to make it to the porthole before any of the colosseum warriors were released. As he flew into the open air he was blinded by an intense light directly above him. But it wasn't the sun for it was late in the afternoon and the sun was already setting in the far distance. Gohan could feel the tremendous energy coming from this light and he dashed out of the way to where Piccolo and Krillen were waiting. He turned around once he put Goku down to see the man behind the energy. It was Vegeta. His golden hair swaying violently against his blazing ki swirling around him in a frenzy. His hands were thrown out in front of him. His hands together, palms facing the colosseum with the fingers curled as he held a brilliant mass of energy in the center. His veins popping out in every place on his body as he took all the strength within to create his ultimate attack. Lightning was flying every which way and struck the colosseum roof, tearing it to pieces. As the fighters began to flood from the ship, Vegeta made his last preparations and began to call out his attack.
"FINAL FLASH!!!!!"
The seemingly small mass of energy within his hands quickly expanded to the size of the colosseum and became a solid beam that struck the ship with extreme force. The fighters leaving the ship were immediately disintegrated as well as the ship. It slowly, piece by piece, fell apart and was turned to dust. Vegeta detonated the attack before it sank into the earth and everything within the area was engulfed in an immense blast. There was a dome of smoke that spread like wildfire across the area where the Colosseum once stood. Vegeta flew down to where the others where standing and faded back to his normal state.
"Hmph. That should take care of that fool.", Vegeta mumbled.
"Well now that it's over, let's go home and help my dad.", Gohan said.
They began to walk away, but Vegeta remained. He turned around and continued to watch the smoke billow from the smoldering remains of the Colosseum. The smoke was still thick and covered everything that was once there. Piccolo stopped when he noticed Vegeta was not following. He wondered if the saiyan prince had sensed something. But Piccolo realized what was wrong. His pride had once again been shattered under the foot of his rival. Piccolo left him alone and joined Gohan and Krillen as they made their way home.
The Colosseum was literally falling apart. Pieces of the floor and ceiling were flying in every direction as the battle between the two super saiyans continued. Every time a blow connected there was a new crater in the ground, a new hole in the wall, or a new sunroof in the ceiling. The fighters stopped for a brief second to gather themselves after an intense round of melee. They appeared and drifted to the floor a ways away from each other. Vegeta just stared at Goku, chest heaving as he tried desparately to catch as much of his breath as he could. His clothes ripped in several places, blood dripping from wounds on his body. Scratches and bruises covered his visible skin. His frustration was apparent as he noticed that Goku was hardly breathing at all, even though his body looked as bad, if not worse than his own.
'Damn. He's not even tired. I won't be able to wear him out so I'll just have to beat him with my strength.', Vegeta thought.
Vegeta slowly rose from his position and hovered in the air. He lifted his hand so that it was facing towards Goku as a small ball of energy formed on his palm. He drew back his arm as if he were to throw it, but he disappeared before he completed the action. In less than a second, Vegeta was in front of Goku with his hand, still holding the energy ball, flying towards Goku's face. There was no time for reaction and Goku was sent flying into the wall. Before Vegeta had time to laugh Goku appeared behind him and dug his fist deep into Vegeta's spine. Vegeta screamed in pain as his back was bent around Goku's fist. Goku quickly launched Vegeta towards the ceiling, but the prince managed to stop himself before he hit it. It was too little, too late, as Goku had his knee firmly planted in Vegeta's gut. As Vegeta hit the ceiling it cratered to the point that light was soon visible through small cracks. As Vegeta fell to the floor, Goku simply stared at the ceiling and noticed the sliver of light hitting his eyes through a small crack. It was a costly distraction as Vegeta returned and punted Goku straight through the ceiling into the bright of day.
* * *
"Oh man! There's Goku. Vegeta sent him right through the roof!", Krillen blurted.
"I hate to say it, but I hope Vegeta beats my dad.", Gohan said.
'The amount of energy they have. It's incredible. But Vegeta is getting tired.', Piccolo thought, 'His energy has dropped since they started, but Goku...his power is...almost the same. Why hasn't he shown any fatigue? Vegeta is surely giving him more than just a little trouble.'
Gohan looked up to notice Piccolo's concerned look. That look that he always got when he seemed to know the outcome of a battle. Gohan could tell that what Piccolo knew was not good news. He suddenly became aware of what Piccolo was sensing between his father and Vegeta.
"Vegeta's not going to win. Is he.", Gohan solemnly asked the iron faced namek.
"No. I'm sorry Gohan, but you're our only hope now.", Piccolo replied.
"Are you guys kidding? Vegeta is puttin' the whoopin' on Goku. How can you say he's gonna lose?", Krillen said.
Piccolo prepared to explain, "Vegeta is losing his energy fast. He's getting tired, most likely because he hasn't experienced his new powers for very long. Goku on the other hand is...well...his energy has barely decreased since they started fighting. Vegeta will lose."
Krillen swallowed a large gulp and turned back to the fight with a new sense of terror. He simply stood, eyes twitching and mouth agape, waiting for the hit that would end it. Gohan and Piccolo watched also with fateful eyes as the saiyans raged on in the sky.
* * *
Vegeta was running out of options. His attacks had been reduced to sporadic moments of rapid punches and kicks. Any other moment he was dodging the ever so close attacks of his powerful opponent. Vegeta managed to fit a chop to the side of Goku's head, but as he spun around from the blow Goku thrust his foot into Vegeta's side. They once again regained their composure and locked eyes. Goku was still not showing any signs of exhaustion, as Vegeta struggled for every breath. Just then Goku received a message from Durgan through the chip in his neck.
"GET BACK IN HERE!!! NOW!!!!!", Durgan commanded from inside the ship.
Goku quickly dashed over to Vegeta and threw a punch directed at Vegeta's face. Vegeta was just quick enough to block it, but was not prepared for Goku's knee as it followed up into his stomach. As Vegeta bent over from the pain, Goku pounded him back into the Colosseum, creating yet another hole in the ceiling.
"He could've at least sent him back in through the hole he came out of.", Durgan muttered to himself.
Vegeta slowly picked himself up out of the crater he left in the ground as Goku descended through the hole left in the ceiling. Vegeta looked up at the one man who had plagued his thoughts ever since he came to earth. He couldn't believe that he was losing to such a low-rate saiyan. The thought of being defeated at the hands of Goku again were unbearable. His rage once again built up inside of him. He pushed his hands out, held together with fingers erect, and let out a tremendous roar. An enormous beam of solid golden energy shot from his open hands and rushed towards Goku, still coming down from the hole. As the beam raced towards him, Goku calmly held his hands out as if he were to catch it. When the beam struck his hands, he began to ascend, but he quickly charged up as his ki began to swell around his body, and he stopped himself. Vegeta continued pumping energy into his attack, grabbing every little bit he could to keep going. When Vegeta finally maxed out, Goku began to make his way down to Vegeta, pushing the beam down with him. Vegeta's roar continued as Goku slowly, but surely, pushed his way closer and closer. He was almost there when Vegeta gave out and had to stop his attack. Goku, charged with monstrous momentum, flew at Vegeta with lightning speed and decked him across the jaw, sending him spinning around, face first, six feet into the ground. Vegeta began to lift his hand, but it fell to the ground as he passed out. His golden hair fading to its natural black.
"Excellent! Now finish that nuisance off, quickly!", Durgan yelled down to his slave.
"You'll have to kill me first, dad!", Gohan said as he slowly descended to the floor. His hair already set ablaze in a golden aura. The electricity shot randomly from his pulsating ki and his face grim, showing that he intended to stop his father.
"You again, boy!", Durgan shouted, "Can't you see that I've found my ultimate warrior? I have no need for you now. Slave, you may destroy both of them."
'If I can just knock him out, then I'm sure we can take him to Bulma. She'll be able to help him.', Gohan thought.
As Gohan finished that thought, Goku was on top of him. His flaring red eyes burning into Gohan's deep ocean eyes. Gohan tried not to show any sense of fear of his father. But the eyes were so cold, so dark, so evil. He couldn't help to think that this truely wasn't his father standing before him, no matter how much he wanted it to be. They stared for a second longer before they both disappeared.
Gohan had experience fighting his father before when they had sparred with each other. But this was different. He couldn't think that his father would go easy if things got rough. He had to constantly remind himself that his father was trying to kill him. He was able to block or avoid most of his father's attacks, but was hesitant to fight back, which cost him a few scratches and bruises. Gohan was quickly losing any advantage he had as Goku became much more fierce with his assault. As the fight endured, with Durgan distracted, Piccolo was retreiving the fallen Vegeta. He managed to quickly grab him and make it back outside without notice where Krillen had a sensu bean ready.
Gohan found himself on the receiving end of one of Goku's fists and was sent to the floor. Gohan got up quickly, but Goku was right there, continuing his flurry of fists. It was not long before Gohan was backhanded and then kicked into a wall. He was slow to pull himself out, but Goku waited for him. Gohan looked at him with one eye open, too injured to open the other. His legs bent as if he could not carry the burden of his body. Goku seemed disappointed that his opposition was so easily dealt with. A frown crossed his face as he darted towards Gohan and kneed him in the gut. Gohan simply fell to his knees, holding his stomach in anguish. Goku bent down and picked up his son by the throat. As he lifted him up, he noticed the tears streaming down Gohan's face. Goku seemed to flinch at the sight, but he didn't give it a second thought and began to squeeze Gohan's throat. Gohan began choking and spitting up blood, the tears from his eyes leaking into his open mouth. He could taste the salty drops that mixed with the stale taste of blood. His life was slowly ending, but he couldn't give up. He knew his dad would never give up at a time like this. His father would rise to the challenge. His father would defeat the evil that lie before him. His father would never give up. He would never give up. Never give up.
All these thoughts ringing in Gohan's mind, as his life was squeezed from his body, began to swell within. He wanted his father back. His father who would always come to rescue him. When it seemed he could suffer no more, he gave one last attempt as he managed one final word.
"DADDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!", the word flew from his mouth in one desparate breath. It echoed throughout the entire colosseum. It bounced off every wall and seemed to go on forever. Goku's face changed from one of anger to completely blank. It hit Goku like a freight train, he was completely stunned. Something went off in his mind at that point and he released his grip on Gohan's throat. He staggered back as his son fell to the floor in a heap, gasping for breath. Goku began to stumble, bringing his hand to his head as if he were in pain. He finally fell to his knees, bringing his other hand to his temple. His mind was at war, his paternal feelings struggling with his orders from Durgan's microchip. The mental war raged inside Goku's head and he began to growl in pain. He could stand it no longer and he let out a terrifying scream. His energy exploded from his body in a massive wave of ki. Gohan crossed his arms in front of his body but was still thrown into the wall. The floor was completely ripped to pieces and was no longer the color of dirt, but the color of cold steel. As the wave hit the walls they depressed forming one giant dent in each side. Pieces of the ceiling shattered and fell from the pure force of the blast. When it was all over, Goku was standing in the middle of the floor, his hair back to normal and his eyes fading from the fiery red to his normal jet black. He stood there a moment before he collapsed on the floor and passed out.
"NO! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!! I CAN'T LOSE A SLAVE LIKE THIS!!!", Durgan was going insane from his box.
'He did it. He broke free.', Gohan thought.
"GOHAN, HURRY! GET OUT OF THERE!", Krillen yelled from above.
Gohan knew what he had to do and he ran to his father, picked him up over his shoulder and flew towards the porthole.
"NONE OF YOU ARE GOING TO LEAVE HERE ALIVE!! YOU'RE ALL DEAD!!", Durgan screamed furiously. He scrambled to open every door in the colosseum and unleash all the rest of his fighters upon the earth.
Gohan managed to make it to the porthole before any of the colosseum warriors were released. As he flew into the open air he was blinded by an intense light directly above him. But it wasn't the sun for it was late in the afternoon and the sun was already setting in the far distance. Gohan could feel the tremendous energy coming from this light and he dashed out of the way to where Piccolo and Krillen were waiting. He turned around once he put Goku down to see the man behind the energy. It was Vegeta. His golden hair swaying violently against his blazing ki swirling around him in a frenzy. His hands were thrown out in front of him. His hands together, palms facing the colosseum with the fingers curled as he held a brilliant mass of energy in the center. His veins popping out in every place on his body as he took all the strength within to create his ultimate attack. Lightning was flying every which way and struck the colosseum roof, tearing it to pieces. As the fighters began to flood from the ship, Vegeta made his last preparations and began to call out his attack.
"FINAL FLASH!!!!!"
The seemingly small mass of energy within his hands quickly expanded to the size of the colosseum and became a solid beam that struck the ship with extreme force. The fighters leaving the ship were immediately disintegrated as well as the ship. It slowly, piece by piece, fell apart and was turned to dust. Vegeta detonated the attack before it sank into the earth and everything within the area was engulfed in an immense blast. There was a dome of smoke that spread like wildfire across the area where the Colosseum once stood. Vegeta flew down to where the others where standing and faded back to his normal state.
"Hmph. That should take care of that fool.", Vegeta mumbled.
"Well now that it's over, let's go home and help my dad.", Gohan said.
They began to walk away, but Vegeta remained. He turned around and continued to watch the smoke billow from the smoldering remains of the Colosseum. The smoke was still thick and covered everything that was once there. Piccolo stopped when he noticed Vegeta was not following. He wondered if the saiyan prince had sensed something. But Piccolo realized what was wrong. His pride had once again been shattered under the foot of his rival. Piccolo left him alone and joined Gohan and Krillen as they made their way home.