Chapter 10

The Sacred Land of Karin. For those blessed enough to make the trip there, they beheld a relatively large area, with trees strewn about its lush, green landscape, a small village that most assumed had been there as long as the land itself, and a fresh spring inside of an ancient temple that was said to have magical properties. No one was positive about the latter rumor having any truth to it, yet the residents there often claimed that the god cat Karin himself used the glittering spring to grow his magic beans.

Nonetheless, what attracted most people to this land was the tall, massive tower that hover over everything in sight and extended upward for as far as the eye could see. Many had attempted to climb it, for at the top, Karin himself was said to reside. The task, on the other hand, was as daunting as most would assume. Most challengers had neither the stamina nor resolve to scale it for very long and those that tried either badly hurt themselves or perished in the attempt.

Those that could make it to the top were promised power behind their wildest dreams thanks to the Sacred Water said to be given to those conquered the climb. This was a lie though. The real training was climbing the tower and those that shortcut their way to the top by using aircraft or other means received nothing whatsoever for their efforts. The water itself was solely that: plain tap water.

Luckily for Piccolo, he did not need the climb or the Sacred Water, so simply flying up Karin Tower saved precious time. Within minutes, he made it to the top: a circular temple with a multitude of pillars spiraling around its ledges. The moment he arrived, a small, blue-furred cat carrying a walking stick and possessing a pair of half moon glasses on his slit-like eyes came to greet him. This was Karin, the tower's namesake and an immortal feline. He grinned toward Piccolo, while his long whiskers twitched around feverishly.

"Back so soon?" he asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice. "I take it things aren't going well on Earth then. I've managed to pick up a few things going on down there with my sensitive ears, so..."

"Then you know why I'm here," Piccolo said impatiently.

"...Indeed I do. Don't worry, I have more Senzu ready. Here."

Karin tossed a brown sack at Piccolo, who caught it, opened it, and saw that there were about five or six Senzu within. He had hoped for more, but he knew beggars certainly couldn't be choosers and he closed the bag's mouth with a tight rope before pocketing it.

"That should be enough Senzu to get you through this crisis," said Karin, able to tell Piccolo's inner thoughts by his bothered expression.

"I'm not so sure about that, but I'll try to put them to good use."

"Hey, those things are rather difficult to grow, not to mention the fact I've had no reason to do so in a very long time!" Karin picked his paws at his spectacles, as flash of light reflected off of them. "Let's just say I've gotten a bit rusty."

"Hmph. I don't need you going senile on me in your old age."

Karin replied coyly, "Huh, you're one to talk."

The conversation died down and the two leered at one another for a short while. A group of birds then chirped by happily, painfully oblivious to the destruction and carnage down below on Earth. Piccolo suddenly brandished his cape and readied to leave with his business attended to, but the sound of Karin speaking again halted him.

"The ones fighting down on Earth...are they strong?" the cat asked softly.

Piccolo paused at the question. He then said, "They are. They have to be. They're the only hope this planet has now that Son Goku and the others are gone."

Karin stroked his furry chin. "Right you are. I sure do miss everyone though. Hard to believe they're really gone sometimes. It's rather quiet around here with that oaf Yajirobe gone too. He was a freeloader and loudmouth, but he was company nonetheless."

Karin sighed. Piccolo, not saying anything in response, knew exactly what the immortal cat was going through. The Z Fighters of old had succumbed to old age. Powerful martial artists they were, even they were susceptible to death. He had watched each of them die before him, Son Gohan's death in particular being nearly a crushing blow. He had been alone for some time now and he wondered if it was a curse for him to have had such a long lifespan, unable to see his friends again because of it.

"Right, I'll be going then," he said after a moment of reflection. He chose not to dwell on the matter for too long, lest he forget what he was supposed to be accomplishing.

Karin nodded. "Right, I suppose you're headed to Dende's then. Take care, old friend."

"You too. Thanks again for the Senzu. I'm off."

Karin watched Piccolo ascend higher and higher through the slits of his eyes, above his own Tower even, for Piccolo's next stop rested above the heavens themselves. The blue cat then peered down below to Earth. While most would be unable to see much, Karin could see everything that was going on and he became distressed at the state of things.

"Goku...what would you think of these people Invading our fair planet?"

The Lookout above Karin's Tower wasn't too far away, although most trying to reach it would have been plum out of luck. Assuming one's aircraft could make it there to begin with, the Guardian that made the Lookout his home repelled unwanted guests back down to Earth in an instant. Considering this, most people had given up on reaching it and finding out what secrets it held.

The Lookout itself was a circular platform that somehow floated in the sky of it's own accord. Trees circled around the edges of the place and lined the pathway that led up to the large building in the center. Smaller towers stood around the edifice, looking like small replicas of Karin's Tower and curiously, there was a ladder near one of the edges, though it would be impossible for anyone to use it to climb up or down the platform without knowing to use the Nyoibo connecting the Lookout with Karin's residence.

Piccolo touched down on the tiled, white flooring, as someone in the distance was watering a row of flowers. The black skinned, wide eyed individual tending to the plants peered over his shoulders at Piccolo and at once stopped what he was doing to scurry over to him. His red lips contorted into a smile, while Piccolo nodded at his presence.

"Welcome back, Piccolo!" the round man stated happily.

"Mr. Popo," Piccolo started. He was searching around for someone other than genie in front of him, yet the two of them were the sole ones present. "Where's Dende?"

"Is it...time for that already?" Mr. Popo asked in concern.

"Unfortunately. I hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but the Invaders have caused more damage than I thought they would."

"I see. Well then, Dende is waiting for you. Follow me."

The headed inside the Lookout's main building, through a number of corridors, and finally into a smaller room that was almost pitch black save for a small torch in the center wall. Standing inside holding a large, wooden stick was an elderly Namekian. He contrasted from Piccolo greatly, as his skin was darker and littered with wrinkles, the parts where Piccolo had pink were instead brown on this Namek, and his eyes were reddened somewhat. He was adorned in a white robe with a blue cape on his back. On the center of the formal robe was the symbol for 'God' in a red font. The Namekian limped forward on his cane and he and Piccolo exchanged a short, but heartfelt embrace.

"It's good to see you again, Piccolo," said the old Namek, smiling warmly. "For a moment there, I thought you had forgotten about me!"

Piccolo smiled at him in the same manner. "Dende, you're looking well."

"Hmm, you flatter me. However, you know as well as I do that I'm getting on in years," Dende stated, laughing cordially. He shifted away from Piccolo, paced around the room as if looking for something, and then made his way back over to his guest. "I take it you're here because..."

"Yes, and we don't have a lot of time. I need to get back down to Earth. I'm growing worried about the people I left."

Dende nodded at this. "Mr. Popo, will you fetch the figure of Shenlong for me? Hmm, I never thought I would be asking such a thing ever again..."

"Of course, Dende," said Mr. Popo, leaving the room.

"So, is everything set?" asked Piccolo.

"It should be," said Dende. "I just need to restore Shenlong and the Dragon Balls should be revived instantaneously. I'll ask you again though, Piccolo. Are you sure you want me to do this? We promised Goku and Gohan we would get rid of them if we thought they weren't needed anymore. You know if I restore them, I won't be able to deactivate them immediately."

"I'm sure." Piccolo crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "And they are needed now. The people on Earth may abuse the Dragon Balls afterward, but we need them now more than ever. People are dying for no good reason and I'm sure Goku would have wanted each and every one of the victims to have a chance to live out their days in peace."

Dende frowned at this, but agreed, just as Mr. Popo stepped back into the room. In his hands was a small statue of a dragon inside of a glass tin. The figure was in disrepair, with chips and cracks in various places on its cold, gray body. Mr. Popo placed the figurine on the table, bowed toward Dende and Piccolo, and stood back to watch what happened next. With everything prepared, Dende placed his hand over the statue and gave Piccolo one last look that said, "Are you sure?" Piccolo gestured, "Yes." with his head, causing Dende to nod back. Dende, stepping back, pointed a wrinkled finger at the tin. A thin beam then shot out of his fingertip, hitting the top of the container. The moment it did, the statue inside of it glowed and the miraculously shot out of its prison, out of the room, and then out of sight.

"There..." said Dende, exhaling. "The Dragon Balls should be active now. To think I would even need to reactivate them in the first place. Well, they should be able to grant three wishes like before, but if you're planning to bring back a lot of people, you'll be down to two."

"I still remember, Dende," chimed Piccolo, trying not to smile.

"Ah, of course," replied Dende, also trying not to laugh. "Forgive me. In my old age, I'm beginning to assume everyone is as forgetful as I am."

"You're not that old. If you're old, what does that make me?"

"Good point," said Dende in a joking tone. He then asked, "Are you going to gather them all now then, Piccolo?"

"No. I want to wait until we sort out this mess first. I'll start collecting them afterward. I figured it would be best, however, to have you revive them now, while I was still alive to tell you to do so.."

"P-Piccolo..." Dende stammered some at the idea that Piccolo felt his life was in danger from the Invaders. From his Lookout, Dende knew they were trouble, yet he never for a second doubted Piccolo's ability to defeat them. "A-Are they really that powerful?"

"Only the Four Generals in charge" said Piccolo. "Still...we can never be too careful. Fortunately, they don't seem to be aware about the Dragon Balls."

"Right then. I've been watching you fight alongside those people down on Earth. To think there would actually be two more Saiyans on this planet. Where do you suppose they came from? You don't think..."

"No. I don't think they're related to Goku or Vegeta or anyone from their bloodlines. Still, there shouldn't be anymore Saiyans out there at all, yet, I also saw one working for Icer just yesterday."

"T-Three Saiyans?!" Dende exclaimed, nearly stumbling over his walking stick. "G-Goodness! I-I wouldn't have imagined..."

"Agreed. Somehow, warriors from the Saiyan race are popping up again."

Dende glowered a bit at the statement. "I don't know if that's a good thing..."

"Well, with people like Axel and Gohei, it might just be a blessing in disguise. I can't say I'm particularly fond of Saiyans, but I certainly won't complain with a few more on my side. You've seen what they can do, Dende. You've seen how they face impossible odds and come out stronger than before. We'll worry about how there are more around all of sudden later and just focus on dealing with the people invading the Earth right now."

"Y-Yes. I suppose you're right. Huh, some Guardian of Earth I am," said Dende, half smiling, half groaning. "There isn't much I can do to help the people down on Earth right now."

"It's fine. You bringing back the Dragonballs is good enough." Taking one more look at the now active statue of Shenron, Piccolo headed for the exit. "I have to return now. I promised the others I would return."

"Right. Take care then, Piccolo, good luck," said Dende.

His cape wavered behind him and soon enough, Piccolo had departed. For a split second, Dende wondered if this was the last time he would be seeing his friend, while he watched him take his leave. He hastily banished the notion from his mind. If there was anyone he had faith in enduring something like this and living to tell the tale, it was Piccolo. He had done so a number of occasions and Dende took this to heart, calming down.

"Still..." he began, placing his hand on his chin. "Just who are these Saiyans down there fighting on Earth? How alarming. Goku, if only you were here to help us out right now..."

Just outside the Dende's residence, Piccolo collapsed to his knees and began rasping for air. Anyone watching on would have been under the impression he was dying. His quivering hand reached for something inside of his clothing and with sweaty hands, he lifted a bottle filled with clear liquid up to his mouth. Finishing the bottle in a few heavy gulps, he let if fall from his grasp and it shattered to pieces on the ground. Whatever had been plaguing him had been stopped thanks to the liquid. He looked around soon after and was relieved to see that neither Dende nor Mr. Popo had seen a thing. The last thing he wanted to do was explain this mishap to them. His strength returning to him, he got back up, wiped off his mouth, and grunted.

"N-Not yet. I can't let it happen yet..."

How Axel and Soyl had managed crashing into an entirely separate area of the round ship, neither of them knew. Perhaps it had been when Axel was trying to stop Soyl from going after Gohei, or maybe it was when they had thrown one another through a number of the vessel's wall. Whatever the case, they were now smack dab in the middle of a common room, where the soldiers who had moments ago been enjoying their day off and talking among themselves were now roused into a complete panic. Axel and Soyl paid them no mind, as Soyl slugged Axel across the face right before Axel paid him back with a kick that sent his foe into a bookshelf.

"W-Why you...!" Soyl growled, as a dozen encyclopedias crashed onto his person.

"Do you give up?!" Axel demanded.

"To the likes of you, monkey?! Don't make me laugh!"

They ran at one another without another word and continued trading blows, all while a blue skinned Invader looked at his Meatian friend, pointing at the speed of Axel and Soyl's punches with a lowered jaw.

"H-How the hell are they doing that?!" he said.

"S-Should we help?" The Meatian asked, just as amazed.

"I-I don't know...should we?"

"B-But...I don't want a pay deduction. I nearly got my head chewed off the last time I tried to help General Soyl in a fight..."

Soyl went sailing past them and into yet another wall. Some of the other men in the room, their paychecks having never been affected by the Namek's temperament, attempted to help him to his feet. He scornfully swatted them aside however and muttered something about them being eyesores.

"Hmph! You're not bad!" he said to Axel behind a bloodied smile. "Still, you're not beating me! Not today! As if I could lose to a monkey!"

"You seem obsessed with calling me that, but Saiyan or not, I am not going to lose here today! Too much is at stake for me to die here!" Axel snapped back in defiance.

"Interesting! Let's how you stand up to this then!"

Axel was ready to fight again, but Soyl instead charged a large amount of energy into his palm, unleashing it without a moment's delay. His men screamed in utter terror, as the entire room was blown to pieces. Having barely gotten to safety, Axel leaped out of the smoke and rolled outside the ship. He looked up to the burning section of the craft, unsure as to why Soyl had done what he just had. Soyl turned up soon enough and he jumped out to join his opponent with the same confident smirk plastered on his features.

"W-Why did you just do that?!" said Axel, horror struck.

Soyl stretched his neck with his hand. "Do what?"

"Y-You just killed all of your men! Why?!"

"Tch! Isn't it obvious?! They were in the way! Regardless, I can get new subordinates. That's not a problem, so it's no loss."

"Your actions are cowardly, Soyl!" shouted Axel, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, you think so?" Not once did Soyl's grin fade away while he spoke. "Showing sympathy for the enemy now are you, monkey?"

"W-Why you!"

Axel's temper flared and his sleeping Ki was awakened. A blue aura enveloped him and the ground beneath his feet quaked and quivered. Already alarmed by this, Soyl's Scouter activated and made him even more worried at the reading it was giving him.

"T-Ten thousand and growing?! Ten thousand, five hundred! Eleven thousand! How is that even possible?! Someone from Earth shouldn't be this strong! I see now how he managed to get the better of Plinto!" Soyl followed Axel's lead and started to channel his energy as well. The Spinach Wastes shook even more violently from this. "However, beating Plinto means nothing to me! He was by far the weakest out of us Four Generals!"

"W-What?!" said Axel in shock. Was Soyl merely bluffing? Surely, Plinto wasn't as weak as Axel was being led on to believe. It had taken everything Axel had to beat him, yet here Soyl was claiming him to be a mere weakling.

Casting this out of his mind, Axel launched off a yellow wave of Ki, one that Soyl had no problem sidestepping. In return, the Namekian stretched one of his arms toward Axel, something that caught him off guard, as he had no clue his foe could do such a things. The limb wrapped around his neck and promptly began choking the life out of him. He gagged for air before employing the Ryunaru, the orange Ki flaring up around him.

"What?! His power level just shot up again?!" Soyl yelled. "Twenty one thousand?! So, these Earthlings can hide their power level and change it without transforming then?!"

Axel easily got himself out of Soyl's death vice thanks to his new found strength and with a burst of speed, he streaked at Soyl and got close enough to swing his fist. Soyl parried and the two threw a blurring array of punches, kicks, and whatever else they could at one another. Neither could lay a finger on the other, until Soyl managed to block one of Axel's hooks. He then delivered a punishing uppercut that sent the Saiyan flying back like a kite in the wind. Axel landed on both feet, just as Soyl appeared right behind him. The advantage Soyl thought he had was ruined when Axel kicked him from behind straight in his mouth, following this up with a spin kick, and then finally a punch to the gut. Purple blood leaped out of Soyl's throat and dripped down his lips. However, this did not slow him down and he countered all of this by ax handling Axel in the back and straight into the ground.

"DIE!" he shouted, launching off a point blank blast of energy. An explosion that threatened to destroy even Soyl went off, sending dirt and earth everywhere in its wake. The smoke cleared around him and Soyl caught his breath. "Good! That should take care of..."

His Scouter went off again, this time reading a power level of twenty four thousand. It couldn't have been coming from anyone but Axel, yet Soyl saw no sign of him. It was only when an orange glow began to blind him did he realize Axel was hovering above him, charging a Ryuho that was ready to go. Holding his hands up, Soyl started to hold off the blast, but much to his surprise, it was putting up one hell of a fight. His feet dug into the ground and Axel turned up the heat, enough that Soyl was now crouching down to hold it up enough not to destroy him.

"H-How is this possible?!" he said with the Ryuho pressing against his face. "N-No! I will not lose to such trash! I will not be beaten by a mere Saiyan!"

Feeding off his anger, Soyl managed to toss the orange ball elsewhere and it soon crashed down into a far off part of the Spinach Wastes, obliterating it instantaneously. Axel, in disbelief his blast had been deflected landed on the ground and sighed.

"He is...just as strong as he claimed he was," said Axel between shallow inhales. "Still, I do not understand why I am so excited."

It was true. Adrenaline was coursing through Axel's veins and what he wanted more than anything was to keep fighting. Even though Soyl was trying to take over his planet, even though this was a life or death battle, he was still pumped. Fighting such a powerful foe was all he could ever ask for and his body was practically screaming at him to stop sitting around and go at it with Soyl some more. This was nothing new. Even when he was younger, training with his master had often been the high point of his days. He, and his Master in turn, had always found it peculiar, but never as much as right now.

"Hmph! You had best take this seriously, Saiyan!" said Soyl out of the blue. It was as if he had been probing through Axel's mind. "That is, unless you really want to die!"

"You should do the same then, Soyl," Axel snapped back. In response to this, Soyl raised his eyebrow and appeared as though he wanted Axel to drop dead on the spot. "If you underestimate me, you will regret it, I promise you."

"...Ahahaha! Ahahaha! Quite the comedian, aren't you?! I'm glad though! It's been quite a long time since I've been able to go all out! Monkey, I will enjoy ripping you apart!"

"Talk is cheap! Let us do this!"

The real battle would be beginning in mere seconds, as Axel and Soyl squared off.

"So, where are you taking me again?"

Kain had been flying behind Lilma for quite some time around the interior of the round ship and he wasn't sure if she was actually leading them to their battlefield or just wasting his time having them go around in circles. Rather than an reply, Lilma looked back at him and winked, making his eyes roll in a circle in their lids. The two of them turned down another corner and Kain figured they must have arrived to their destination.

"Here!" Lilma declared, as if proudly showing something off to a parent.

"Here?" Kain glanced around. "This...is the same place from yesterday."

It was clear Lilma hadn't noticed this herself, since she peered around her greenhouse and then to the gaping hole in the ceiling she herself had made just yesterday. She chuckled nervously, causing Kain to palm his hand across his face. He didn't really much care where they fought, it was just that Lilma had made it seem like she was taking him somewhere special.

"Er...n-not this place. I don't want to mess up my babies," she stated, referring to the various plants and greenery scattered around the room. "Follow me."

"Sheesh. Try not to get us lost again, okay, doll face?" Kain tiredly said.

They didn't have to venture far to get to the spot Lilma had referred to. It was simply across the greenhouse and through a sliding door. Once they got inside, Kain saw that the area was basically the same as the other, being just as wide and big, but lacking vegetation.

"This is where I usually put the rest of my plants," Lilma explained. "Luckily though, I was cleaning the room before this, so we should have plenty of space to go at it!"

Kain cleaned out his ear using his pinky and appeared quite bored. "Yeah...uh...interesting story, but if we're going to do this, then let's get this over with. I have better things to do today, lady."

"W-What?! O-ooooo-oh! You're asking for it now, buster!" she shrieked, her lips pressed against one another. She cracked the knuckles on both of her hands and told him, "I'm going to pound your face in real good for that one!"

"I don't care, lady." Kain gestured his hand like a mouth and made the 'lips' flap up and down. "This is all you do. Are we fighting or what?"

Lilma's entire face turned as red as a beet. "Y-You cocky son of a...!"

"Look, it doesn't matter where or when we fight. You're not going to win!" Kain declared, as he smiled and raised his fist. "And you say you're going to 'pound my face in?' That's funny because you sure were having a hard time doing that yesterday."

That was the last straw. Fuming with anger, Lilma repeatedly stomped her foot into the floor, waved her finger at Kain, slammed the rows of her teeth so hard against one another, it was a miracle they didn't shatter like glass from the pressure. This reaction was exactly what Kain had been hoping for, if not for strategy, then just to see her get so upset.

"Y-You...! You insufferable...y-you just got lucky yesterday!" said Lilma, stamping her foot even harder. "If your Namekian friend hadn't shown up, I would have won for sure!"

Kain shrugged. "You don't have your tail anyway. No tail, no giant monkey. That was your only ace in the hole and now it's gone. Me, on the other hand, I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve!"

Lilma, wanting to lash back, managed to bottle up her frustration instead. She forced herself to smile prior to saying, "I see. So, you think just because I don't have my tail and because you roughed me up a little yesterday, you're going to win?"

"You aren't as dumb as you look, I see," said Kain casually.

A vein popped up on Lilma's forehead. "O-Okay! That's it! I'm going to show you why it's a bad idea to mess with a Saiyan when she's having a really bad day!"

Kain didn't have time for this. If he had to listen to her ramble on like this any longer, he was afraid he would kill himself. He didn't really care what Lilma said or did in the first place, as it had nothing to do with Elastro, the person he was really after. Even so, he found himself startled when Lilma was no longer in his line of sight, leaving only an afterimage. She certainly hadn't been this fast the day prior and Kain wondered if she was using some new technique to increase her agility. Nearly splitting his head open like an egg, an elbow collided with the top of his skull, sending him crashing through the metal flooring.

"W-What?!" he shouted. His legs felt more like jelly than flesh at the moment. He stood with his vision blurred, yet there was no sign of Lilma or whatever had hit him moments ago. "G-Gah! M-My head! How did she...?!"

Lilma was standing in front of him now. Where she had come from, he didn't know. All he could react to was the powerful kick that sent him skidding across the ground. He managed to flip to his feet, but Lilma simply dashed behind him and slammed her fist into his chin, sending him upward. She then appeared above him this time, knocking him back down with the swipe of her hand. After the stars had stopped spinning around his head, Kain got to his feet and rubbed the blood out of his eyes.

"O-Okay, what the hell?!" he said.

"Fufufu! What happened to all your vigor?" Lilma's feet hit the ground and she crossed her arms, laughing at Kain's sorry state. "I'm dead serious this time around, jerk. You're going down this time!"

It was strange for Kain to hear her so determined because it was different from her usual airy demeanor. He wasn't backing down though. "Oh yeah?! And who in the world is supposed to defeat me?! Not your sorry ass, that's for sure!"

"Oh yeah?! We'll see who's ass is sorry in the end!" Unfolding her arms, Lilma formed a ball of purple Ki in her fingertips. "Scatter Shot!"

Kain had seen this before. When Lilma fired off her attack, it quickly detached into five separate ones. He told himself that he wasn't going to fall for this stunt again, as he dodged the first beam with ease. The second one he had to jump to avoid, while the third singed the top of his hair as it flew over him. The final two were closing in, but he dispelled them both with a one handed Ryuho. His efforts did little to deter Lilma, who made two more of her patented Scatter Shots and Kain was soon dealing with ten different beams. He screamed in annoyance at this, leaping out of harms way, while a group of them blew up in his wake. The rest he was forced to deflect with his bare hands, but Lilma was nowhere near being done. She lifted her arms above her head and formed a giant violet-shaded ball of energy that kept growing and growing until it's shadow loomed overhead.

"Give me a break!" Kain bellowed, as he watched the sphere of Ki head his way. "Cho Ryu Tekken!"

His arm was coated orange with energy and his uppercut managed to dispel the large orb. All the same, he could hardly call this a victory, considering he was already on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. Wanting to end things quickly, Kain activated the Ryunaru technique and shot up to Lilma in a flash. He unloaded a flurry of punches at her, but even with his speed boost, she was having little difficulty warding him off.

"You were beating me with this trick yesterday, but you don't seem to be having as much success this time!" she said, knocking another blow away from her with the flick of her wrist. "Are you holding back or something?"

"D-Don't think I'm done yet!"

The two locked their hands together and electricity was generated from the act. They then took turns slamming their knees into one another's, which in turn caused shock waves to vibrate the whole room. They each bore their teeth, glaring into each other's eyes intensely, and without warning, they slammed their foreheads together. In perfect rhythm, their bodies separated and flew apart as if they were paper wafting in the wind. Then, at exactly the same time, they fired off energy waves that clashed intensely. Neither beam could gain the advantage over the other until Lilma used both of her hands. It was then that Kain's eyes widened, as his own force was overtaken and Lilma's hit him dead on, sending his smoking body straight into the ground. It was much harder to stand than last time, yet Kain did so anyway, as Lilma dropped down feet away from him.

H-How is she so strong all of a sudden?! Yesterday, she could barely lay a finger on me, but now it's the complete opposite! Even my Ryunaru isn't enough...

"Finished already?" she said with a cordial cackle.

"Tch! Like hell! Say, have you been drinking your milk or something?"

"Oh, so you noticed how powerful I've become!" she said excitedly. She had been wanting him to touch on the subject and she was more than eager to explain where her newfound strength had come from. "We Saiyans have this nifty ability, you see. You gave me quite the beating yesterday, but that turned out to be a good thing! You see, when we Saiyans are near death or badly injured and recover, we gain a massive power boost! It's called a Zenkai and it's really coming in handy now, as I'm sure you've noticed!"

Kain's whole expression darkened at the news. "T-That's not fair! H-How in the hell is that even remotely fair?! I had all the bones in my body broken by your giant ass foot and you don't see me getting any stronger from it!"

"Haha! Cry some more!" she said exultantly. "Bet you don't feel so confident now, huh?"

As she was talking, Kain had failed to notice her crafting a sphere of Ki in her hand, one that had gotten constantly bigger as their discussion continued. By the time she had mouthed her last statement, it had grown three times in size.

"Heh, I've dealt with worse!" Kain wheezed. He was lying, though he tried his best not to let Lilma know. "I don't care if you got a Zenkai or whatever! I'm still going to win, doll face!"

"Oh yeah?!" Lilma snapped back. It was then that Kain took heed of the amount of energy she had been gathering and his jaw dropped as such. "Chew on this!"

Whipping her hand in his direction, she fired off the largest wave of purple energy Kain had ever seen in his entire life. It warped the air around it and his body froze on the spot at the mere sight of it. He managed to begin holding it off by holding out his arms, but naturally, it shoved him back almost instantly. He could feel his footing leaving him, his arms growing tired, and sweat drenching every part of his body. For a split second, he didn't know if he would be able to survive this time. It was taking everything he had simply to get pushed into the wall behind him, so how was he supposed to turn it away?

"No more whitty comments then, pretty boy?!" yelled Lilma. "No snappy comebacks anymore either?! What happened to you winning, jerk?!"

Kain ignored her. It wasn't as if he could spare turning his attention from her attack to listen to her taunts anyway. The blast was literally pressing against his face now. He was becoming desperate, unable to think clearly. Was he really going to die here? After everything that had happened, after everything he had said, was it all over for him? Were Sarai and the rest of the his fellow students at Master Daigu's dojo going to die in vain after all?

"N-NO! Not today!" he screamed through gritted teeth, as he found a second wind. An orange aura sprouted up around him and Lilma gasped in surprise! "Ryunaru! RYUHO!"

The orange blast managed to pierce right through Lilma's and then headed straight for her. However, without batting an eyelash, she knocked it aside as if swatting a fly and it instead blew up the wall behind her, illuminating the room momentarily. Kain was thunderstruck. While the aura around him disappeared, his entire body began to tremble, yet no one had lowered the temperature.

"B-But I put everything I had into that blast!" he declared adamantly. He had expected Lilma to have been in pieces right now, not blowing on her hand like she was drying her nails.

"Well, it did sting a little. That's about it though," she admitted.

"W-What?! Tch! Don't fuck with me, lady!" Kain's leg took a step back for him.

Lilma's eyes flashed when she noticed this. "Fuu, fuu, fuu! Don't tell me you're getting scared? Fuu, fuu, fuu! I never would have guessed! Oh well. I suppose you've entertained me as long as you could. What do you say we end this?"

Kain didn't like the sound of that at all. As he took another couple of hurried bounds backward, Lilma closed in on him. It was painfully apparent to him that he was running out of options.

While everyone else was busy fighting, Gohei was busy getting himself lost with the hulls of the Invader's ship. He walked past a large device that made funny noises and sounds, but as he did so, he realized this had been the fourth time he had seen it. He was certain it was the same one and as he pressed his head toward it, he came to the irritating conclusion that he was running around in circles. That was mostly because to him, everything on the ship looked the same no matter where he went. Sighing at this, he wondered how anyone got anywhere they needed to in a prompt manner. He was no closer to finding Tyla or Master Daigu than when Axel had told him to make a run for it, and that had been an hour ago. Gohei, wishing he had some sort of map to steer him in the right direction, put his hands in his pockets and decided keep moving.

"Tyla!" he then bellowed, feeling that if he couldn't find Tyla, perhaps she would still at least hear him and he would then be able to follow the sound of her voice. "Tyla! Can you hear me? Say something if you can hear my voice! Tyla-aaaa-aaa!"

There was no answer. He frowned at this and hoped her not answering was simply because she was unable to hear him, versus something preventing her from responding. He was distracted by the sound of footsteps and voices and he automatically assumed that his audible shouting had attracted some unwanted attention. The disturbance was down another corridor and Gohei quickly hid behind a corner to see what was going on. A group of armored soldiers appeared from down the hallway, talking in loud voices, and Gohei saw that they were led by none other than Elastro himself, the very person Kain had been itching to have a chat with. A low gasp exited his mouth, but Gohei covered it post haste and it was clear no one had heard him. He doubted they even knew he was there. Elastro's voice was the loudest in the area, considering it took very little effort at all for Gohei to hear what he was shouting about, loud snorting coming from his nose while he spoke.

"...And so then I discovered the location of the enemy base and single handedly defeated everyone there! Naturally, they were no match for my strength! They didn't lay a hand on me!" he proclaimed, tapping his chest with his fist as he did. It took everything in Gohei's power not to burst out laughing at this. "After that, I called for reinforcements, though naturally, I only did so because it was standard protocol to do so! I pretty much had the situation under control before anyone else got there!"

"W-Wow! That's amazing!" said a humanoid looking soldier, awestruck.

A purple skinned, horned alien added, "You really showed them what for!"

"How did you manage to discover the location of their base?!" said a shorter, stumpier soldier possessing green skin and four eyeballs. "I bet you found out some secret intelligence from one of the Earthlings and acted on that!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Elastro bowed gracefully, not remotely hiding the fact that he was loving every bit of the praise he was receiving. "Naturally, I tortured the information out of one of their warriors and acted on it without a moment's delay! Naturally, I even used my patented kung-fu action on them!" He then karate chopped the air, making his three associates cry out, all of them thoroughly impressed. "Oh, and those intruders from yesterday, I took them down as well!"

"But, I though General Lilma fought them off?" said the humanoid soldier, scratching his head. There were a number of his colleges that had attested to that too.

"Nonsense!" Elastro replied defiantly. "T-That's just a silly rumor going around! Naturally..." Gohei thought he would come out there and show Elastro what for if he said the word 'Naturally' one more time. "...I held them off without breaking a sweat! There was this one guy...er...some blond haired guy, who went down in the blink of an eye!"

The humanoid soldier said, "Y-You mean the one that pushed General Lilma to her limits?!"

"Wow!" the four eyed alien cried. "Y-You're amazing, Elastro!"

Unknowingly, Gohei had been making gagging noises with his throat, though luckily, no one down the hallway had heard him. To think that anyone was stupid enough to refer to someone like Elastro as 'amazing' really was enough to make him want to vomit. The fact that Elastro was also telling tales that rivaled the sort of lies kids at the orphanage would say if they were picking on him or doing things they weren't supposed to made Gohei shake his head. He had driven Gohei and the others away yesterday? The last time Gohei had seen him, he was sniveling on the floor, crying like a baby. Now he was proclaiming himself to be the champion of the world. It was infuriating enough to make Gohei want to make an unwelcome appearance, but opted to hold his position a little while longer, just as Elastro began to talk again.

"Alright guys!" said Elastro, as the voices died down some. "I gotta go on guard duty now..." He stated the last part with an air of exasperation. "See ya later!"

Elastro's party said their goodbyes and left him, while Gohei watched to make sure they really were leaving. He then leered at Elastro again, who soon disappeared behind a different door. He had mentioned something about being on 'guard duty' and an idea popped in Gohei's head.

"G-Guard duty? Wait a second! That's it!"

There was no other choice but to follow him to make sure. Checking that the coast was clear, Gohei trailed after Elastro, making sure to take every step he had so not to get lost again.

After a bit, Gohei was amazed to see himself in a totally different looking area. The rest of the ship had become so monotonous that the sight of this room made him gape his mouth. The room he had stumbled into must have been some sort of prison. Scattered about the medium sized area was a number of what Gohei could only believe were cells except that there were no metal bars. Instead, pinkish lasers filled their place, Gohei under the impression they were a lot more effective than the usual affair. Above him was a catwalk and another level that matched the one below it. There was no mistaking it. This was where the Invaders placed their captured prisoners, though Gohei was relieved a little to see that almost all of them were empty at the moment. He figured they saw no point in taking captives on a planet they were going to conquer anyway, at least, not during their invasion. They were more likely to execute anyone causing trouble on the spot.

"Whoa. How didn't I find this place before?!" he said, his head whipping around the place. He thought there would be guards lying around, although he quickly remembered that there were no prisoners here, so guards would be pointless. "I wonder if..."

There was a trio of voices echoing not to far off and Gohei's eyes darted over to the noise. There was someone here presently. Exercising caution, he tiptoed forward and peeked around the corner of a cell to see a sight that made him intake a burst of air. Sitting in a cell and being currently yelled at by Elastro was none other than Tyla and Master Daigu, the both of them with pain expressions of their faces from having to endure their's guards wrath. Gohei hastily hid himself once more and found himself unable to stop grinning. They were alive. Tyla and Daigu were alive. He mumbled this to himself a few times, almost wanting to cry from joy. Poking his head back out, he then noticed that Tyla nor Daigu seemed to be harmed in any way, other than having to listen to Elastro anyway.

"Alright!" he whispered. He couldn't believe how quickly his luck had turned around. "It doesn't look as if anyone else is here. I should be able to take down that Elastro guy easy. He wasn't that strong anyway..."

Gohei, preparing to throw his plan into motion, found himself unable to move. His brown eyes enlarged, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight, and a sense of being weighed down by an invisible force began to affect him. The biggest power level he had ever sensed was looming around him and as his horror stricken face slowly turned, he understood that the person in question was standing right behind him.

END

A/N: This was one of those cases where I didn't know whether to use the Japanese name or to just use the perhaps more well known dub one. Korin vs Karin. I've sort of been mixing and matching the Japanese names with the dub names of most of the locales (West City, the Sacred Land of Karin, etc), so I couldn't figure out what to do. Eventually, I just settled on using his Japanese name, as I've basically been doing the same with everyone else's names and because I was taking forever to review this chapter. I also Karin/Korin blue skin, just how it was in the manga. I never did get why they made it white in the anime.

It's also come to my attention that I've been forgetting to put linebreaks after I scene transition or focus on someone or something else, so I aplogize for that. I will remember to do so from now on and I will also go back and add ones to the older chapters, so if you were confused about something, you may wanna go back and check them out.

Enough rambling though. Thanks again for reading and until next time...