Kakarot and Son Goku circled each other warily. Kakarot grunted. "I get it. You're who I'd be if I never met my family," he said, looking him over. "I woulda went to Master Roshi's for training, and… and, it's just a matter of time before someone cut off my tail, to keep me from turnin' Oozaru," he said. Then he smirked. "But, if that's the case, you got my weaknesses, too. Especially the ones I wouldn't have fixed," he said, thinking quickly.
Son Goku frowned. "I have a lot of strengths you don't have, either. For one thing… I haven't made myself a slave to a monster!"
Kakarot growled. "I am no slave!" he yelled, then attacked Goku head-on, causing the orange-clad Saiyan to crash into the trees. "I control my own destiny! I made a choice, of what to do with my life. Have you?" he asked, as Goku got back up and began to attack him. He blocked the fist going towards his stomach, and punched Goku across the face. "Or will you keep going through life, bumping into people and having accidental adventures, because you have no clue what's going on?!" he said, grabbing Goku's head and driving it through the next tree.
Goku's knee came up, driving into Kakarot's stomach, and Kakarot let go of his head for a split second. That was enough for Goku to get free, and punch Kakarot across the jaw, sending him flying back. "I know what's going on! You're lettin' yourself become one of the bad guys, because your family thinks it's a good idea, and you wanna make them happy. What's next, Kakarot? You gonna go around killing everyone on Earth so your little prince can take over the planet?! Or some other planet? Where will it end, Kakarot? What will you do when Prince Vegeta commands you to wipe out innocent people?" he demanded, scowling.
"Then I disobey!" Kakarot shouted, causing both Goku's and Vegeta's eyes to widen in shock. Kakarot scowled, fists clenched, as he turned away from Goku, and turned his eyes to Vegeta. "Prince Vegeta doesn't need to kill the innocent anymore. But… if he did command me to kill the innocent… then that would be the day I died for my insolence," he said, his gaze never wavering from the prince's.
The two of them locked gazes for a long moment. Then, Vegeta gave him a single nod.
With that, Kakarot turned to Goku, a victorious smirk on his face. "Now, you, on the other hand…" he said, cracking his knuckles. "You stand between us and the power we need to defeat Frieza. What do you say, we stop holding back, go all out in one attack? Find out who the strongest between us really is?" he asked.
Goku returned his smirk. "Sure. One final attack, winner take all!" he said, and in that moment, the two were one and the same, with the exact same look in their eyes.
As one, the two flew back from each other, and cupped their hands to their sides. "KA…" they said in unison. "ME…."
Prince Vegeta's eyes widened at the power being summoned here. This was Kakarot times two. Quickly, he flew back, trying to get as much distance from the blast as possible. "HA…. ME…"
Kakarot then appeared right behind Goku. "HAA!" he shouted, releasing the blast right into Goku's back.
When the dust cleared, the jungle was brighter, and Goku was nowhere to be seen. Kakarot shook his head wryly. "Blast like that would have destroyed the planet, idiot. Like I said… old weaknesses." He then looked to where Vegeta was hovering, as he came back to stand nearby.
"You tricked him," Vegeta said, raising an eyebrow.
"I tricked the jungle's version of him," Kakarot said. "The real Goku would never have endangered the planet in the first place. Well… not on purpose…" He sighed. "I remember what it was like to think like him. Black and white, all or nothing, seeing the world through a happy fog. No thought for what was practical, or what the bigger picture was. I did my best, with what I had, and tried to live the way Grandpa Gohan would want me to. Things always seemed simple to me… even if most of the time, they weren't," he said softly.
"Hn. You still seem pretty simple to me," Prince Vegeta responded, smirking at the glare Kakarot sent him. "You're also far too soft-hearted to be a proper Saiyan," he said, scowling.
Kakarot grinned at that, scratching the back of his head. "That's a part of me I hope will never change," he said, shrugging.
Vegeta shook his head. "It's going to get you killed, Kakarot. I won't have to kill you for insolence, your soft-heartedness will kill you long before then."
Kakarot frowned. "Maybe, Sire. But I learned somethin' from all this. As long as I stay true to what I am, I won't really become a monster," he said. Then he smirked. "Just like you won't," he said. At Vegeta's scowled glance, he said, "I saw your fight, too, Sire. You're a better person than you think you are."
Vegeta responded by punching him in the arm, hard. "Hey!" Kakarot exclaimed, holding his sore arm.
"Don't ever let me hear you talk like that again, Kakarot. I'm the Saiyan Prince, there is no one more fearsome than I!" he exclaimed.
Kakarot smirked at that. "You're right, Sire. You're pretty fearsome. Even when you're screaming from inside a needle worm. 'Kakarot! Get me out of this vile thing at once!'" he said, and did his best to avoid Vegeta's fists.
The two walked for about an hour before the first glimmer of sky shone through the trees. Vegeta stopped, glancing at Kakarot. "You say you remember everything about being Oozaru, right?" he asked.
Kakarot nodded.
"Well, taking control of your Oozaru form is a matter of will power, not memory. You have to be completely obsessed with control, unwilling to accept anything less. An uncontrolled Oozaru tends to recognize other Oozaru only, and if you don't control it, you may end up crushing your allies. Focus on your rage, Kakarot, on a single goal: becoming master of yourself," he told his guard.
"Becoming master of myself…. got it," Kakarot said, focusing. He had lost so much due to lack of control… it was going to stop here, on this planet. He would not be swayed.
"Good. And, Kakarot," Vegeta said, leveling his gaze at him. "Whatever noble sentiments that led you to follow me despite our difference in strength, those will all be gone when you are Oozaru. Only the strongest will rule. And I will accept the rule of no other over me. You and I will fight, and, if you do not gain mastery soon… you might kill me," he said, still finding it uncomfortable to say aloud what they both knew. "Should that happen…" he began, but Kakarot growled, stepping forward.
"No, Sire," Kakarot said, glaring. "I told you before, I'd rather die than let that happen. Your life's more important than just a life… it's the future of our people, people I care about. I ain't gonna mess all that up. We're gettin' off this planet together. Just… don't hold back with me. If I can't control it…"
"Then I relish the challenge of facing you at your fullest, Kakarot," Vegeta said, smirking. "We shall see who emerges from this planet after all is said and done," he said.
Kakarot gazed at him a long moment, then gave a single nod. Together, the two of them stepped out of the trees… and into the light.
A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short, guys. I did my best. I know you all wanted something epic, but between work, and getting ready for this new job, and parental duties, I'm feeling the strain. I hope I did it justice, I worked pretty hard on it. I wanted to show the differences and similarities between my version and Toriyama's, but this wasn't actually Toriyama's Goku. This was only a representation created by the jungle, with the express intent to test their resolve, this was not Goku from the normal universe popping over for a visit. I thought about doing that in a sequel, but as you can see, I'll be lucky to finish this fic before all the stress comes crashing down around me. So… off to the next part of the story…
