Chapter 10

Biological Limitation

Tien and Trunks stood side by with their arms crossed and serious expressions on their faces, taking in Goten's power. "So, there it is." Tien said.

"Guess so." Trunks replied, keeping his attention on the arena, "Let's see what he can do with it."

Goten and Piccolo stared each other down, Piccolo with his standard serious expression, Goten with a wry smile that bore more than a passing resemblance for the one his father had worn for so many years.

"Not bad, kid." Piccolo said flatly, "I figured as much."

Goten smiled and sank into his stance, his golden aura pulsating around him, "Let me know when you're ready." he said.

Piccolo didn't hesitate; he lurched forward toward Goten and pulled back his right arm, forming a large glowing ball in his right hand. As the space between the two closed, he threw the ball directly at Goten's feet, forcing the Saiyan to retreat into the air.

Piccolo planted his feet and began firing blast after blast from each hand into the air around Goten, one after another. Goten, wary of the trap, began flying at blinding speed around the arena, attempting to set up a counterattack while refusing to stay in place long enough to be trapped.

Piccolo saw the maneuver and fired a blast far ahead of Goten's path, in an effort to force him back into the minefield he had laid in the sky. Rather than turn, however, Goten clasped his hands and batted the blast back toward the ground, forcing Piccolo to jump backwards as the ball detonated where he had been standing.

"Too smart for that, huh?" Piccolo said to himself, "Then try this!"

Piccolo returned to his strategy, firing golden orbs one after another into the sky. However, this time he wasn't trying to trap Goten; instead, he began firing ahead of his target's flight path.

Goten came across the first orb of Piccolo's new plan and reared back to bat it toward the arena again. Just as he began to swing, however, Piccolo closed his fist and detonated the blast, blowing Goten backward and out of control.

As Goten spiraled through the air, Piccolo fired blast after blast, detonating them all around his target. Goten struggled mightily to regain control of his momentum, as it was all he could to redirect his body away from the explosions. Time and time again, Piccolo launched his mines into the air, and time and time again, Goten wildly contorted his path, often performing awkward flips and spirals, but never allowing himself to take a serious hit from the firework display set off by the dozens of explosions.

"Well, if nothing else it's a good show, I guess." Yamcha said to Krillin.

"Just give him a minute, he'll figure it out." Krillin replied confidently.

Just as Krillin had predicted, Goten saw his opening. Desperate to try something new, he saw one of Piccolo's blasts appear directly in front of him. Rather than try to dodge it, however, and unable to reach an arm forward without completely losing his balance, he opened his mouth and screamed.

A stream of golden light shot out of Goten's open mouth at the orb, causing it to detonate on impact, too far away to impact his flight. Seeing his chance Goten shot ninety degrees upward, skying as high as possible to create space between himself and his attacker. Piccolo continued to fire away, but each shot had more distance to cover than the last as Goten flew higher and higher, finally in control of his body again. Finally, Piccolo abandoned the strategy as a lost cause, and stopped firing. He stood alone on the arena panting and sweating, with Goten so far into the sky that, if not for his energy, Piccolo wouldn't know where he'd gone.

"Wow! Ladies and gentlemen, did you see that!?" The Announcer howled, "What an incredible display of skill between these two amazing fighters!"

Up in the air, Goten was already planning his counterattack. In sharp contrast to Piccolo, he was holding up very well, despite the acrobatic display he had just been forced to perform. He was breathing heavily, but showed far fewer signs of fatigue, and looked to be greatly enjoying himself.

Goten divebombed down to the arena below, making a beeline for Piccolo, still trying to regain his stamina. Piccolo waited until Goten was only a few feet above him before jumping backward and going on the defensive. He managed to block Goten's initial punch, a strong overhand haymaker, but was quickly forced into a backpedal by an onslaught of punches and kicks by the blonde-haired fighter.

Piccolo blocked and dodged every blow that came, but was quickly reaching his limit. He continued to give ground, Goten's relentless attack pressing him all the while, until he felt himself reach the edge of the ring, forcing him to set his feet and attempt to match his assailant blow-for-blow.

For a moment, Piccolo held his own. A big left hook narrowly missed Goten's jaw, but forced him to briefly give ground; Piccolo jumped on the opening by firing two laser-like beams from his eyes. Goten saw the attack coming and attempted to dodge, but the beams hit squarely on his left shoulder, sending his body spiraling toward the ground.

Piccolo saw his advantage and threw a claw intended to pin Goten to the ground, but the blow never reached it's mark. On his way to the ground, Goten caught himself on his injured left arm and spun, deftly avoiding Piccolo's strike and continuing around until the lower half of his body was completely behind the Namekian. Goten kicked Piccolo's feet out from under him, shot to his feet and fired a devastating kick directly into his chest, sending him firing out of the ring.

Goten elected not to pursue, opting to allow Piccolo to save himself if he was able to do so. Piccolo, flying flat of his back away from the ring, tried to stop his momentum, but the force from the kick was too much to overcome. He was, however, able to sit up slightly and give his last ditch effort. He reached his right arm out and extended it, sending it snaking across the stadium and back toward the ring.

Goten, believing the arm was intended for him, shot back to the far side of the arena, but Piccolo's reach fell well short. It did, however, reach it's target. His hand clamped to the edge of the ring with enough force to crack the concrete. Piccolo stopped extending and hit the end of his self-made rope like a Rottweiler reaching the end of it's chain at a dead sprint. The force of the pull threatened to bust the concrete he was clinging to free, but his claws dug in and the ring held. Finally able to support his weight with his energy, Piccolo reeled himself back to the arena floor, releasing his grip just short to gracefully touch down.

Goten, much like the audience, was in shock at what he had just seen. "Wow, Mister Piccolo!" he said, "I didn't know you could do that! That was awesome!"

Piccolo was breathing deeply and sweating profusely, and his antennas were drooping low over his forehead. His whole body ached, particularly his chest; Goten's kick had knocked the wind out of him, and he was fairly sure he had cracked a rib. His right arm and hand were significantly weakened from the effort of stopping his fall, and it was all he could do to open and close his fist. Standing in front of him was a young Super Saiyan, healthy and full of energy, and already sinking into his stance for another exchange.

Piccolo dropped his guard before speaking, "Alright, kid. That's enough."

"What'd he say?" Krillin asked in disbelief. Trunks and Yamcha's faces shot to looks of shock, Tien and Videl raised their eyebrows, and Gohan smiled.

"Huh? What do you mean, 'That's enough'?" Goten asked, "We're just getting started!"

"Like I said, Goten, I'm here to measure you and Trunks, not win a tournament. I've seen what I need to see."

"But we're still fighting!" Goten protested, "At least let me win fair and square!"

Piccolo cracked a smile, "You've already won, Goten. I can't keep up with you anymore. If I keep fighting, I'm just gonna end up getting hurt. I could probably make you work for it, maybe even land a big hit, but I'd just hamper you against Trunks. Start getting ready, I'm planning on learning a lot from that fight. This is as far as I go."

Goten looked on in disbelief as Piccolo coolly stepped off the edge of the arena onto the grass below and began quietly strolling back to the tunnel. Gohan picked up his training clothes and followed him, careful to give him a wide berth.

"Umm…Ladies and gentlemen, Ma Junior has touched down outside the ring." The Announcer said, remembering his duties. "That means the winner of the match is Goten! What a match! We'll have another short break to repair the arena and let the fighters recover, and then begin our final match! It's Trunks vs. Goten! Can you feel the energy?!"

The crowd erupted into a violent mixture of cheers and boos as Piccolo made his way to the tunnel. As his friends around him burst into confused chatter, Roshi stroked his beard and nodded solemnly.

"Master Tien," Trunks asked, "why'd Piccolo do that? He's supposed to be a warrior; warrior's don't give up while they can still fight."

"Not every fight's about winning, Trunks." Tien replied, "Sometimes it's about completing a mission. Piccolo completed his, there was no reason for him to continue."

Videl was perplexed as well, "Hey, Gohan." She began, "Piccolo's supposed to be stronger than a Super Saiyan, and he's been training with you. Plus he was winning for most of that fight, and then he just quits after one kick? What gives?"

Gohan thought for a second before replying, "Well, Piccolo's not quite as strong as he used to be, for one. He's in great shape, but he's starting to get pretty old, and I think those fusions were pretty hard on his body. Plus, even when he was stronger than our Super Saiyans, they were all new to the transformation. Once we perfected it, we were all stronger than him. He's strong, but he saw the writing on the wall; Goten's just too much for him."

"So Goten's already perfected being a Super Saiyan?" She asked.

"I wouldn't go that far." Gohan replied, still thinking deeply, "He still doesn't seem totally comfortable in it to me; almost like he's not used to fighting in it. He's no rookie, though, so he's probably somewhere in the middle. Vegeta used to call it being 'ascended'."

"That sounds…confusing. Is he stronger than Trunks?" She asked again.

"Well, Trunks hasn't turned into a Super Saiyan yet, so it's hard to tell." Gohan continued, "But I haven't felt anything from Trunks yet that makes me think he can put off the kind of energy Goten just put into that kick."

Goten walked off the arena floor and began walking toward the coach's seating to find Krillin, but stopped short to catch Trunks's eye across the ring. Trunks gave a half smile and nodded. Goten returned with the same, and continued on his way.

"So, tell me what you saw." Tien said, getting a jump on his game planning with Trunks.

"He's strong." Trunks replied dryly.

"Maybe stronger than you." Tien noted.

"Raw strength, maybe." Trunks replied, "But you felt how much energy he was using. He's strong, but he's not efficient. No way he's mastered the form yet."

"So what, then? Try to outlast him?"

"If I have to." Trunks said, cracking a smile, "But it's been a long time since I've been pushed to my limit as a Super Saiyan. I might just surprise myself."

Krillin greeted Goten coming out of the ring. "Hey, great fight, man! When'd you learn how to do a mouth blast?"

Goten smiled and scratched the back of his head, looking for all the world like his father, "I dunno, I just kinda did it. I wish Mister Piccolo hadn't quit, though, I was just starting to have fun!"

"I wouldn't worry about that, Trunks oughta give you all the fun you want and then some." Krillin replied, "You two feel like you're gonna be real close."

"Yeah! It's gonna be great!" Goten yelled excitedly, "I bet Trunks has all kindsa moves he hasn't shown yet! And he better, cuz I'm not losin' to him two times in a row and I'm way stronger now, too!"

Back in the locker room, Piccolo had removed his shirt and was gingerly wrapping his rib cage with some tape he had threatened away from a staffer. He winced as he tightened the tape across his broken rib, but the pain made him crack a smile through his gritted teeth. Thanks to that pain, for the first time in years, the world felt a little safer.