Disclaimer: Dragonball Z and its characters are all the property of Akira Toriyama, Funimation, Toei, and other rich people I can't really name right now. I'm just borrowing them for a while, but I promise I'll return them back as good as new when I'm done. However, I do own the original characters that will be showing up in this story.
Chapter Ten: Wrath of the Goddess
Ebony lightning flashed across the red sky of Omegasei, highlighting the stony scowl on Kaosu's face as she looked down on her enemies from the top of the remnants of her former great palace.
"Finally, the heavy of this outfit shows her face again," Vegeta said. His tone may have been mocking, but at the same time, he was very serious. Anticipation surged through him as his chance to avenge his earlier humiliation at the hands of the deity had arrived at last.
Kaosu didn't grace Vegeta with a response, taking in each of her foes in turn with her wintry stare. Her eyes lingered a bit longer over some of them than the others, and it wasn't just Juuhachi-gou and Amara. She surveyed the area in general, taking in the damaged terrain and debris that used to be tall rock formations. Also littering the ground were the corpses of her Chaos Soldiers. The fact that she didn't see Fuwa, Konran and Anaki or sensed them told Kaosu clearly enough that the same fate had befallen them. Turning her gaze back on Vegeta and the others, she spoke at last.
"This is all impressive, to say the least," Kaosu said reservedly. With deliberate slowness, she stepped off the wreckage, her left hand on her hip. "Defeating even my prized Great Trinity, I'll praise you now by taking care of you all personally!" Her gaze shifted over to the spacecraft that the Warriors had arrived in. "Your ship, correct?"
Proceeding those words, the goddess's eyes flew wide as they flared with energy. Her enemies watched dismayingly as their spaceship disintegrated in a mighty detonation, the plateau that it had been sitting on breaking apart and collapsing from the force of the resulting shockwave.
"O...ou...our ship!" Kuririn stammered disbelievingly. "How are we going to get back home now!?"
"Get back home?" Kaosu restated. She laughed manically. "From the very first moment you decided to oppose me, you forfeited your chance of ever returning home. This is a fight to the death!" While she spoke, black electricity started to wash over her in waves. The warriors saw this and quickly got on guard. "As this world was my prison, it shall now become your gravesite!"
Then Kaosu's eyes flashed a second time and she released her power at them in the form of an enormous gold ki blast, cradled by the same electricity that had covered her. The sparkling beam pushed forcibly through the air, burning it and creating a wave of intense heat. But by the time it hit, her enemies were already at a safer distance high up in the sky. The smoke dissipated in short order, a gaping crater left behind.
"Kono ama!" Amara barked, already charging back down into battle. "I'll show you not to mock the power of the Saiyajin!"
"Get back, Amara!" Vegeta shouted, lunging at the Kontonshin as well. "She's mine!"
He was ignored, of course.
Smirking, Kaosu smoothly bypassed Amara as she flew in for a punch and slammed her elbow against her upper back. Whirling, she caught an advancing Vegeta with a crescent kick on his way down. The palatial warriors hit the ground one after the other, however, they barely remained there for a second as they rapidly jumped back up to their feet. Vegeta thrust a hand out, folding back his thumb across his palm, and simultaneously Amara cupped her hands in front of her.
"Dodge this!" Amara snarled. "GALAXY BUSTER!"
"BIG BANG ATTACK!" Vegeta screamed.
Kaosu extended out her hands, stopping both beams in their tracks like nothing with her palms. She casually shoved the blasts back towards their creators. Vegeta and Amara stared back at her in equal dismay before they were hit by their own attacks and flung backwards through the air. Vegeta crashed thunderously into a nearby lake, and latterly his sister smashed through a cliff at an insane speed where she was promptly buried.
Ascending high above and behind the goddess in the sky, Juuhachi-gou tried to take advantage of her back being turned and hurled a salvo of gold-white ki blasts at her. Hearing the commotion, Kaosu turned around nonchalantly. Seeing the bolts looming in on her, her eyes flared crimson. The same light surrounded the energy blasts and they came to an abrupt halt. With a wave of her hand, Kaosu directed them back towards Juuhachi-gou. Swearing, the blonde woman phased in and out repeatedly to dodge her own attack. But this left her vulnerable, as the deity appeared from out of the blue and plunged her fist into the side of her face. Juuhachi-gou came back down to earth like a wingless bird, her crash rattling the battlefield.
"So weak!" Kaosu mocked.
Below, the three Z-Senshi still standing had watched it all in stunned silence.
"Along with unbelievable strength…Kaosu's speed is incredible, too!" Kuririn remarked apprehensively.
Turning to Gohan, Piccolo said, "Gohan, remember what I told you before we arrived."
Gohan nodded.
"Right!" Kuririn agreed, suddenly feeling a lot more sure of the situation. "If Gohan uses the same power he used to beat Cell with, we should still have a chance against Kaosu!"
"So that means you can't let your inner inhibitions hold you back, Gohan!" Piccolo said sternly. "No matter what!"
Knowing what he had to do, Gohan transformed into a Super Saiyajin.
"Let's go!" Piccolo commanded and hurtled skyward, with Gohan and Kuririn right behind him. The three assembled around her in a flash, forming a triangle around her. Kaosu chuckled unpleasantly.
"No matter how many small fries gang up on someone stronger," she stated, "they're still just small fries!"
"HAAAAA!" Kuririn shouted, bravely charging in first with a punch. Moving faster with arrogant ease, Kaosu fluently knocked him away with a backfist; a moment later, Kuririn landed hard atop of a mesa.
Charging their energies up to the maximum, Piccolo and Gohan dashed in at Kaosu in matching anger. Kaosu was prepared to defend herself when they instigated with a flurry of punches and kicks, though was unprepared when the strikes coming in at her were lot stronger and quicker than she had anticipated, which in turn forced her to raise her speed to keep up with them. Then Gohan broke through her guard and got in a solid punch to the left side of her jaw. Piccolo followed it up by plunging his knee hard into the Kontonshin's abdomen. Backing away, teacher and student rushed back in together to deliver a double-team flying kick, sending Kaosu buffeting backwards several meters. Raising both their hands above their heads, Gohan and Piccolo charged up medium-sized ki spheres and fired off a simultaneous Masenko, which fused together into a larger beam as it raced towards the goddess.
Having enough of this, Kaosu stopped herself and negated the blast with a backhand shot. Not letting that get them down, the two Z-Warriors zoomed back in at her.
"This is getting old really quick, boys!" Kaosu growled.
When Gohan and Piccolo dove in at her for a double team punch this time, Kaosu flipped over them both. Halting themselves, the two turned back around, but the goddess was there to meet them, grinning devilishly in their faces before crushing both their heads together. As the two rocked back from each other, the deity snapped out her hands and hit them directly with twin black-white ki blasts that drove the two into the already fractured terrain.
In the interval, Vegeta exploded out of the lake like a bullet. His power roaring around him, he flew back in towards Kaosu.
Elsewhere, both Juuhachi-gou and Amara were recovering from Kaosu's earlier attacks as well.
Kaosu gave the fallen Piccolo a speculative look. "I sense both residual holy and unholy energy around the Namekseijin. Apparently, he was once both a God and a Devil in one."
Abruptly, Kaosu heard an identifiable enraged battle cry from above. Looking up, she saw Vegeta lash out at her with a kick, but the goddess easily caught his ankle.
"As a Saiyajin Prince and a Vegeta, I know it hurts your pride to be this helpless, huh?" she purred derisively. "Not to mention, I have over several megaannums worth of fighting experience."
"SHUT UP!" Vegeta erupted, aiming a punch at Kaosu. Quickly dropping his leg, Kaosu ducked the strike and hook one arm around his while putting him in a chokehold with her free arm. Cackling wickedly, the deity charged up her aura around her and Vegeta, then flew towards the ground rapidly, dropping the Saiyajin on his face. When he tried to stand back up shortly after, Kaosu decided to add insult to injury by landing feet-first on the Prince's back, extracting a strangled cry of pain and more blood.
"Did that hurt, your majesty?" Kaosu disdained.
Then a Kienzan came spinning toward her out of nowhere, and hit her on target...and shattered into nothingness as soon as it made contact with her body.
"Huh? What was that?" she queried, blinking in puzzlement.
Hearing an alarming gasp, Kaosu looked around to see Kuririn staring at her in consternation. Simpering congenially at him, she walked over to him, stopping a hairsbreadth away from him. In response, a fearful Kuririn backpedaled a few steps back.
"Hey, you with the shiny, bald head," she said. "Would you like to fight me next?"
"What? ME!?" Kuririn exclaimed, panicking. "Oh, no! You don't want to face me! I wouldn't even be half a challenge to someone as powerful as you!"
Kaosu blinked at Kuririn for a moment, then burst into laughter as if the human warrior had just told some hilarious joke.
"Well, I'll praise you for your honesty!" she said.
Being the closest to them, Vegeta had overheard the exchange between Kaosu and Kuririn just then. In spite of the pain he was in from Kaosu's assault, he gave the human a look of frigid disgust.
"Idiot...you might as well dig your own grave and put yourself in it before she does!" he snarled scathingly. Slowly, he stood back up to his feet. "I knew bringing you along for this battle was pointless!"
Kuririn looked affronted, but couldn't say anything in response.
"Yeah, well, I don't see you doing any better, Vegeta!" Piccolo took up for the short warrior, as he and Gohan were getting back up as well.
"What did you say to me?" Vegeta bellowed, rounding on the Namekseijin furiously.
"You heard me!" Piccolo said without any intimidation or hesitation in voice.
Vegeta growled at Piccolo. "Namekseijin, I'll remember your words later!"
Piccolo grinned crookedly back at him. "I'll be waiting."
"Vegeta! Kaosu is mine to finish off!" Amara asserted.
Gohan's expression suddenly lit up, as something occurred to him.
"Kuririn-san!" he called urgently, turning toward his late father's best friend. "The Dragon Sphere! You still have it, don't you?"
"That Dragon Sphere? That's right!" Kuririn remembered. "I almost forgot I had put in my pocket before we came!"
"What!?" Kaosu replied, looking both surprised and disturbed at the mere mention of that accursed orb.
"Don't just stand there!" Amara said impatiently. "Use it on her!"
Not needing to be told twice, Kuririn reached inside his gi shirt pocket where he'd deposited the Dragon Sphere earlier…and his hand came out on the other side. Kuririn looked very sickened.
Kaosu's body tensed and she snarled. No, she will not lose on account of the Dragon Sphere this time! But just as she started to gather power...
"Kuririn, what are you waiting for, an open invitation?" Piccolo asked, irritated at the human for not moving fast enough. "Take out the Dragon Sphere!"
"I know, I know!" Kuririn replied. "But...I think we have a problem on our hands…"
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Piccolo wanted to know, trying to ignore the sinking suspicion of what the bald warrior was trying to tell them.
Bracing himself for the angry verbal (and quite possibly physical) response he was about to receive, Kuririn turned to the others. Showing them the hole in his shirt pocket, he said, "I...lost it."
"What!?" The other Warriors exclaimed, aghast.
"You idiot!" Vegeta hissed.
"How could you lose that!?" Juuhachi-gou demanded.
Before anyone else could berate him, Kaosu cut them off as she started to chortle from the whole thing. Everyone immediately looked her way again.
"Stupid...you entities of this Universe truly are stupid!" she scorned, crossing her arms. "You had your strongest weapon against me in the palm of your hands, and you lose it?" She laughed again. "What a group of useless idiots you all are!"
"What was that!?" Vegeta barked furiously.
Kaosu sighed and shook her head at them in complete condescension. "You know, this right here proves how you lower life-forms obviously need to be supervised more closely! That was yet another mistake They made. You all are like little infants who need to be watched over day after day." Turning to Piccolo, she added, "Even your so-called gods here are worthless! I think I was right in choosing to make this realm my new home. After all, the insects of this domain obviously need my rulership!" She grinned evilly. "But don't worry. Where you six are going, you won't have to worry about serving under me!"
"Damn it!" Amara hissed, fists shaking. She then glared resentfully out the corner of her eye at Kuririn for losing the Dragon Sphere. Kuririn caught the expression and looked appropriately guilty.
"Forget it!" Gohan said defiantly, finally feeling that familiar anger building inside of him.
"What was that?" Kaosu replied, dropping her arms. Her brows lowered in a frown.
"It's true that we mortals- humans and aliens- can be foolish sometimes," Gohan admitted, "but we don't need anyone watching over us! We can walk on our own two feet! I won't let you have your way!"
"You won't let me have my way?" Kaosu asked incredulously. Like before when they met in the Border World, the goddess stared at the black-haired boy in disgust. "I am one of the Gods who have governed over this Universe since it's creation! Who do you think you're talking to!?" Raising her sharp-nailed index finger towards the sky, the tip of it briefly charged up with crimson. In reaction, the part of the sky she was pointing at dispensed with several golden ki blasts that descended down violently on the young hero, whipping up a series of impressive explosions.
"Gohan!" Piccolo shouted.
"G-Gohan!" Kuririn cried.
Juuhachi-gou, Amara, and Vegeta stared in shock (although the Prince and Princess were quick to hide their faces behind scowls).
Nevertheless, when the smoke cleared, everyone was stunned for another reason. Except for his outfit being singed here and there, Gohan was still very much alive, his arms in a ki-block over his head. He was staring at the God of Chaos with a very Saiyajin-like expression.
"I won't say this again," Gohan said in a low, dangerous tone, lowering his arms. "Leave this Universe alone!"
Now Kaosu really looked offended. "How dare a little insect like you speak to me so insolently!?"
Kaosu took a step in Gohan's direction and vanished, and Gohan did the same. A second later, the two reappeared in the middle of the gap that had been between them, Gohan using his arm to block Kaosu's attempted punch. Fists and feet lashed out rapidly at each other in a vicious whirl, the battle carrying the half-Saiyajin and the deity high into the red sky. Gohan and Kaosu were moving so fast that the others could barely follow them with their eyes. The frequency of the flashing lightning and roaring thunder grew in the background, as if spurred on by the fight itself. The whole thing was both embarrassing and annoying for Kaosu. She was mortified by the fact that she was now exchanging blows with a lowly mortal and annoyed he was fighting her toe-to-toe. At long last, Kaosu caught Gohan in the stomach with a punch and kneed him in the face. Her advantage only lasted for an instant, as Gohan recovered and easily knocked away the goddess's follow up ki blast. Rushing in, he caught her with a hook punch to the face, and then an uppercut that rocked her backwards many yards away. Coming to a halt, Kaosu hissed in annoyance at her mortal opponent.
The others watched from down below.
"Hang tough, buddy!" Kuririn cheered.
*This is crazy!* Amara thought. *That kid…he's fighting evenly with Kaosu!*
Crackling black energy surrounding her, Kaosu charged back in at Gohan, who flared up his aura before doing the same. Their fists collided and a shockwave ripped through the air, rocking the entire area. When everything resided, Kaosu and Gohan descended back down on the terrain on opposite sides.
"What is this insanity!?" Amara demanded to know. "Vegeta and I are Super Saiyajin, too, and we are helpless against that devil. But that boy...How is he this strong enough to fight on Kaosu's level then!?"
"That's because Gohan can transform beyond a regular Super Saiyajin!" Kuririn explained excitedly.
"T-transform beyond a regular Super Saiyajin!?" Amara repeated, flummoxed. "There's no such thing! The legend never said anything about that!"
"Your legend didn't know enough," Piccolo said firmly. "You weren't here when it happened, but Gohan unlocked this ability during the fight with Cell last month. In that state, Gohan was completely insurmountable. Cell, who even Goku and Vegeta were powerless against, couldn't a lay a finger on him."
Piccolo never noticed the venomous look Vegeta shot him.
The Princess of the Saiyajin boggled over what she had just been told. Gohan, that half-breed, is stronger than Vegeta? And what was this Beyond Super Saiyajin thing? From the sound of things, its power was amazing. Wait! Was this what Vegeta had meant that time he told her just being a Super Saiyajin wasn't enough to beat Juuhachi-gou? It had taken her so long just to unlock Super Saiyajin, she had no idea there was an even more powerful form of it. Could she do it? Could she even obtain this transformation beyond Super Saiyajin herself someday like Gohan did?
"A level beyond Super Saiyajin," Kaosu restated, overhearing the others talking. She watched Gohan stonily. "That explains some things. From the moment I first laid eyes on you back in the Border World, I could sense an incredible 'sleeping beast' within you, child." The arrogance settled back in on her features. "However, even with this ability of yours, a brat like you could never hope to beat me!"
"Only one way to find out!" Right behind those words, Gohan drew back in a stance as he prepared to transform. As soon as he did, an odd smile of triumph curled Kaosu's lips.
"I have you!" Twin streams of dark-green light shot of the goddess's outstretched hands. Gohan only had the time to look up in confusion before they struck. Instead of exploding against him like an energy blast would, they warped around his body, solidifying around his arms and legs in the form of ki chains.
"Gohan!" came several exclamations.
Kaosu cackled maliciously, drawing up in front of the ensnared Gohan. Noticing her, Gohan glared at the goddess.
"What is this!?" he demanded angrily. "I thought you were going to fight me one on one!?"
"But I never told you that, did I?" Kaosu scoffed. She chuckled at Gohan's attempt to break out free, only to find it unwaveringly solid. Even for his Super Saiyajin strength. "You may as well save your energy, brat. That magic spell I placed on you is very potent and also very special, as it was created from my own ki. Basically, it means that as long as I am alive, you will never be able to break free from those bonds! As much as it pains me to say it, you are certainly a serious threat to me. So little boy, I've decided to move you out of the way for now and take care of your pals first! After all, they're nothing more than helpless sheep without your power!"
Hearing that, more anger flashed across Vegeta's face.
"Surely Juuhachi-gou and Amara told the rest of you what happened four years ago? Haven't any of you wondered why I ordered those Chaos Soldiers I sent to Earth to attack you as well?" Kaosu's expression turned grave. "I felt your strong kis on that rural little planet- particularly you, brat. As well as Vegeta and the Namekseijin over there. While you may not be responsible for me being sealed up, you lot together possess the potential to overthrow me. I won't allow anyone like you group to exist!" That sinister grin returned to her face.
"Don't you dare hurt them!" Gohan warned her, struggling harder than ever to get free. It still didn't budge. Kaosu laughed again.
"And who's going to stop me?" she taunted.
"What are we going to do you guys?" Kuririn asked. "Gohan was our trump card!"
"We also don't have the Dragon Sphere to use any more," Piccolo added.
"Sorry about that, you guys," Kuririn apologized.
Incidentally, Juuhachi-gou was the first one who heard a low growl come from Vegeta's direction. Looking around, astonishment decorated her face when she saw the prince's whole body tensed up, fists clenched, teeth gritted, and face contorted in rage. The others soon noticed this well, mainly because Vegeta's ki was starting to rise.
"Vegeta...?" Amara said, eyes broadening.
Also noticing this, Kaosu watched on in interest.
"All of you...stop...looking..." Vegeta grounded out, "...down...ON ME!" Howling furiously, his Super Saiyajin aura responding in kind by exploding from his body, leaving everyone except for Kaosu momentarily blinded. After it was safe to see again, everyone looked to where they had last seen the Saiyajin no Ouji, and some slipped into states of amazement. One of them looking at him that way was the Kontonshin. In front of her, gone was the battered Vegeta she had pummeled a short while ago, but a revitalized warrior bulked with muscles and radiating sheer power.
Amare gawped at her brother, awed.
"Vegeta…?" Kaosu murmured, astounded by the explosive increase in the Prince's power, despite herself.
Faster than even the goddess could follow, Vegeta rushed in and punched her with all of his strength, following up with a sharp kick that sent her high up into the air. Quickly, he pursued her, catching up with a brutal kick to the midsection, then sends her plummeting earthward where she hit the terrain at a rapid burst of speed, digging another crater into the ground. Gathering power in both hands, Vegeta hammered the crater with a multitude of ki spheres before terminating his assault with a tremendous ki bolt, creating a violent backdraft that swirled around the other warriors.
Somehow or another, Gohan managed to not get hit, in spite of his vulnerable state.
When it ended, everyone looked up at Vegeta in equal marvel.
"Vegeta...!" Kuririn said, impressed in spite of how much he disliked the regal warrior.
"Did he get her?" Piccolo wondered.
Amara was still gaping at her brother in openmouthed shock, dignity completely tossed out the window at the moment.
The red light then hurtled up at Vegeta, catching him in the side. He screamed, and immediately tried to right himself, but all he could really do was slam into the ground.
"Vegeta!" Piccolo exclaimed.
He and the others then looked to see Kaosu leaping out of the crater, touching down in front of the injured Vegeta. While Vegeta may have failed to deliver the killing blow, he had succeeded in damaging her at least. She was bleeding from both corners of her mouth, her right shoulder that she was cradling, and as well from the rips and tears in her outfit. Kaosu glared down at Vegeta in an expression as furious as the one the Saiyajin Prince wore before he launched his attack.
"That was an impressive display of power, to be sure, Vegeta," Kaosu said, her eyes smouldering with rage at being hurt so much by such an inferior mortal. She raised her hand. "Now then, let me commend you by ending your life!"
Before she could follow up on her words, Juuhachi-gou blinked in behind her. Despite noticing her out the corner of her eye, due to Vegeta's assault moments ago hampering her reaction time, Kaosu became trapped in a bearhug.
Slowly raising his head, Vegeta stared up at Juuhachi-gou in surprise.
"What is that android think she's doing?" Amara wondered, bewildered.
*She's not about to try and do what I think she is?* Piccolo mused, not knowing that the other Z-Warriors were thinking the same thing.
Unlike Amara, they knew what Juuhachi-gou's intentions were. They had seen Juuroku-gou try the same tactic against Cell, only to be met with fatal consequences.
"You insect!" Kaosu screamed frantically, trying to shake Juuhachi-gou off. "Whatever you're planning...it won't work!" Her opponent was persistent, though, hanging on to her with desperate strength.
"I'm about to activate my self-destruct bomb!" Juuhachi-gou stated with a wicked grin. "If I'm going to go to Hell today, then I'm taking you with me! But even if it fails to kill you, too, it's still strong enough leave you even more vulnerable than you already are! It should be enough for one of the others to finish you off!"
There was a look of fleeting panic in the Kontonshin's eyes at her statement.
"Juuhachi-gou! Get out of there now!" Piccolo shouted. "It won't work!"
"You can't use your self-destruct bomb, Juuhachi-gou!" Kuririn called to her. He paused, not knowing how to tell Juuhachi-gou why exactly her plan wouldn't succeed. "You can't use it, because...because I wished for your bomb to be taken out of you!"
Shock contorted Juuhachi-gou's features. She gaped at Kuririn. "What did you say…!?"
"Too bad for you!" Kaosu sneered, delighting in the look she saw on the younger woman's face as she stared back at her; it was the mien of one who knew they were in an extremely dangerous situation. The shock of Kuririn's revelation to her made Juuhachi-gou's grip weaken, and the evil deity took full advantage as she slipped out of the hold. Swiveling, Kaosu shot a huge ki blast at her. Reflexively, Juuhachi-gou brought up an energy shield around herself, although it would do no good as the beam still sent her rocketing clear from the battlefield and into a range of cliffs hundreds of yards away. Moments later, they all heard a thunderclap, accompanied by the shockwave that made the earth tremble beneath their feet yet again.
All the Warriors looked differently aghast.
"Juuhachi-gou!" Kuririn shouted, taking off after her in a flare of energy, the ground splintering under his feet from his departure.
"Kuririn-san!" Gohan called involuntarily.
Kaosu smiled maliciously as she watched the human. *How cute! Too bad the only thing he'll find when he gets there is bloody scrap metal!*
After what had happened fully settled into her head, Amara's expression twisted in pure hatred. How dare she? The Jinzouningen was hers to kill!
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" she shrieked. Ki blazing around her right hand, she swiped it wrathfully across the space before her, launching several beams.
The goddess turned to Amara, watching the barrage of energy bolts advance towards her, the light of the oncoming attacking filling her vision...
Kuririn hurriedly sped toward the spot where he had seen Juuhachi-gou crash at, praying to Dende that she was still alive. If anything happened to her, it would be all his fault. Suddenly, to his utter relief, he saw the cyborged woman pulling herself out of the earth from where she impacted.
As Juuhachi-gou brushed the dirt off her clothes, she felt forced to thank God for the first time since she came into existence as a Jinzouningen. It was because of that very thing she normally thought so little of higher beings, believing that if they were so great they wouldn't have allowed Gero to do what he did. Plus, she had always been arrogant in her belief that there was no one strong enough to even put her or her brother in her predicament she had just been in. Nonetheless, surviving Kaosu's attack just then was nothing short of a miracle. No, Kaosu had thought so little of her that she thought a normal blast would do her in; the goddess had underestimated her barrier and her tough cyborg body.
Juuhachi-gou pirouetted around when she heard someone land beside her, and saw it was Kuririn.
"Juuhachi-gou, are you all right?" he asked worriedly. Then Kuririn cringed, as Juuhachi-gou's icy eyes narrowed on him.
"Yeah, but no thanks to you!" she spat venomously. "What in the hell were you thinking removing my bomb without my permission!? I never asked for you to do that!"
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean you any harm," Kuririn clarified apologetically, looking shamefaced. "It's just that...well, I had felt so bad for you that Dr. Gero had stolen you and your brother's humanity away that I asked Shenron the Eternal Dragon to turn you two back into humans. When he couldn't do that, I asked him to remove the bombs from inside you and your brother instead."
Upon hearing his confession, the furious expression vanished from Juuhachi-gou's face, as if it had never been there, as she stared at Kuririn with wide eyes. Then that exasperated look returned to her features.
"We don't have time for this!" Juuhachi-gou said coldly. "I'm going back!"
On that note, she stormed off, brushing past Kuririn as she did so. Howbeit, she only walked a few steps away when she unexpectedly stopped and looked back at her former rescuer over her shoulder. The ferocious scowl that had just been on her face was utterly gone again.
"But thanks, anyway..." she said, her voice much softer, "...for thinking of me and my brother."
Kuririn stared back at the beautiful woman in surprise; after her angry outburst at what he had done, he certainly had not been expecting her to say that.
"You mean you're not mad me at me?" he asked.
"No, not really."
Ensuingly, Juuhachi-gou became serious again. She was obviously done talking, as she turned around, ran a quick few steps, and rocketed back to the battlefield in an incredible burst of speed. Momentarily, Kuririn remained where he was, staring at her retreating form.
Slowly, a huge smile spread across his face. He then finally vaulted into the air and flew after the blonde woman, and as he did so he thought, *You may just have a chance with her after all, Kuririn old boy!*
Back on the battleground, there was another explosion of light, and afterwards, Kaosu was seen fielding strikes from Piccolo and then Amara, as the two flew in and out, striking without pattern and only doing so when the perfect opening presented itself. As much as the goddess hated to accept it, she was slowly starting to get hemmed in. Vegeta's attack on her earlier had taken a lot more out of her than she cared to disclose, causing her to move more sluggishly than before. The effortlessness she had displayed in countering and deflecting them earlier was nearly all but gone.
Down below, Vegeta was back up on his feet, leaning against a rock, resting before he rejoined the fight. Abruptly, he saw movement up in the air and looked to see Kuririn and Juuhachi-gou flying back onto the scene toward Kaosu. He frowned.
Not far, Gohan was still struggling to get free from his imprisonment, though to no prevail.
"You're both more annoying than gnats!" Kaosu hissed before assaulting Amara and Piccolo with a double clothesline. On the heels of that, a large pink-white ki sphere slammed into her back. While the move didn't really hurt, it did rock her ever-so-slightly. Turning around, Kaosu couldn't help but to be stunned when she saw that it was Juuhachi-gou. "Oh, you're still alive? You're tougher than I thought, but in the end, you're still just another irritating small fry! Both of you!"
"I'll show you a small fry!" Juuhachi-gou hissed, raising her hands in front of her again as she gathered energy, firing off numerous ki charges. Beside her, Kuririn joined in with ki blasts of his own.
Crossing her arms in a block, Kaosu withstood the attack. Recovering, Piccolo and Amara returned on the other side of Kaosu, and fired beams of their own, catching Kaosu in a crossfire. Kaosu was devoured in a midair eruption, the shockwaves pushing the four back some.
Below, Gohan and Vegeta continued to watch, questioning if the four had got her that time. When the smoke had cleared, no one was really shocked when Kaosu reappeared, looking more furious than ever, though at the same time even more beaten down.
"I will not allow this go on any longer!" she snapped, her power lashing out at all four, sending them plummeting to the ground. She watched frigidly as they gradually pulled themselves back up.
More lightning lit up the red sky, as Kaosu raised both hands heavenward and cupped them together. In her palm, a sphere of ki flashed into existence, then expanded and elongated outward until it was half the size of the sun itself, silhouetted by black lightning. The Warriors gawped up at Kaosu in matching horror, knowing the infuriated God of Chaos was truly serious this time. "Here! This was created by all the minus energy I've siphoned from Armon and many more!"
"Oh, no!" Gohan gasped. He then struggled even harder, crying in impotent rage as he still couldn't budge.
"Game over!" Kuririn said despairingly. "We're finished!"
"DIE!" Kaosu screamed. She then pitched the giant ki ball at her foes, laughing in sadistic triumph as she imagined her attack hitting home and wiping out all her foes for good. This would serve as a warning to everyone else who tried to go up against her.
Unanticipatedly, her glorious vision was disrupted when a huge, white ki blast raced across the sky from out of nowhere to ram into her attack just as it got halfway to her enemies, forcing it upward in an arc and shoving it out into outer space where it exploded dramatically. Everyone stared in bafflement.
"W-what!?" Kaosu spluttered. "Who did that!?"
"I did!"
Everyone spun at once toward the source of the voice. Standing atop of a cliff was a woman holding a glaive, looking irately up at the Chaos God. Kaosu stared back at the woman in total incredulity.
"Y-you!? Impossible!" she gasped. "You can't still be alive...!"
In response, the woman twirled her weapon around with deadly precision, bringing it to a halt with the sharp blade aimed straight at the evil divinity. She then said, "This ends here, Kaosu!"
To Be Continued