Hmm. Part of me wants to start this snarky, conversational, and controversial, but I don't want to bring politics here. Though, the other part of me remembers me stating multiple times my stance on the Vic Mignogna stuff, so bringing other crap into it wouldn't be much different.
So, who else wishes that DBS Heroes never existed? Just me? Nice idea, but man is it pretty terrible. I stopped watching a long time ago.
YAY Sean Schemmel is called out for being an ass. I mean, considering he's pressured conventions to cancel invitations to other dub Gokus, actively insulted TFS early on, and insults, not criticize, INSULTS fans that say anything he doesn't like? I mean... it's depressing how terrible a person he actually is.
DB Super Manga is actually being interesting from what I'm hearing. Might start reading again. Actual love to Yamcha, keeping androids relevant, and character love for Gohan? I mean... I've asked and still hear that Goten and Trunks are still worthless wastes of space... but small victories...
Not a typical DB conversation, but what's your least favorite DB ship? Which two characters being together, canon or fanfic, do you absolutely despise? …. mine is Future Trunks and Future Mai.
...Right, I'm writing a chapter. Sorry, everyone. Off my soap box, Brave Heroes!
His eyes stung. Blood spilled, his limbs lay lifeless at his sides. His first thought was the push himself up... but he can't feel his arm enough to push. A deep breath. A mistake. The man's entire torso felt as if ripped open from the swell of his gut with the air intake.
So, deep breaths are a no go. He opens his eyes. Mistake. The dirt beneath him wisps with the gusts of wind, irritating his bloodshot eyes. Still, this pain is nothing. A crippling weakness to a weakling, but only an annoyance to him.
He tries to move, a tensing of the muscles. There's his arm. Too bad it took pain to feel it. But again, the pain is nothing. The movement ends as his body collapses down, flat on his back. Vegeta stares at the sky above him.
The sky remained in day. So, it's only been a short few hours, or he's been knocked out for a whole day. His eyes widen at the thought of a day. "K-Kakarot?"
He moves again, bones popping and body protesting. Pain makes the strong stronger. The prince fights through it. He makes it to a sitting position, breathing heavily from the effort. Lungs raw from the screams of combat.
He looks out, seeing the craters leading to his resting spot. His eyes aren't focused, but he feels... something. It only takes a moment for him to guess.
"Damn it... I did not lose to you..." Vegeta pushes up.
One foot under him, then the other. The stands up, grunts and wheezes of pain coming from him. Despite it, he remains stoic, a subtle glare as he takes a step. It's a small one, but progress is progress. Any push that gets one further is a success.
What feels like ages, Vegeta keeps marching, coming upon a crater. He looks at the nearby plateaus, all cratered in. The craters all face the center over top the main crater on the ground. Where their attacks met.
He scoffs, an angry grimace coming on. "I don't care how much power he held in that attack. I refuse to admit defeat."
He continues his march around the edge of the crater. At this point, his eyes are adjusting, widening at the sight of a trail of impacts along the ground. Similar to the ones leading to his own resting place.
The man grunts in pain, but he quickens his pace. Sure enough, he finds a final break in the ground. Within the rocky ground, the man in his thoughts lays, completely motionless. Vegeta steps over, eyes wide, mouth open slightly.
The shock wipes away, face stoic once more. He looks down upon the clown's unmoving form. Eventually, a sigh releases. "Again... Just like last time."
His mind flashes, seeing a shirtless crippled Goku laying upon the ground. Vegeta was crawling towards his Saiyan pod, helpless at the mercy of the clown's father and friends.
"I may have been able to move, but it was you that broke me down. Not the other way around..." His teeth clench. "And yet, here I stand, having fought you, and still... I'm unsatisfied."
He growls out, clenching his hand to a fist, but pauses. His eyes leave the unconscious dead man, looking to the distance. "That fool of a father isn't around, either... A Buu is still on the loose." He looks on, locked on the distance. "Probably killing the people of this world as we sit here."
Two faces appear in his mind, one of blue hair, the other of lavender. "Hmph." He huffs as he looks up to the sky. One hand comes up, reaching to his forehead. His fingers gently rub the spot of the Majin M.
"Doesn't take a genius to know either of us can stop Buu at our full power... And yet." His eyes lower, falling onto the clown. "Here we are. Me, a cripple, and you, a bastard, equally broken."
He scowls, eyes bore into the unconscious Saiyan. "Did I wake first because of the wizards spell on me? Did I succeed on my own merits?" His voice raises for a moment, but he contains it. "Or is fate laughing at me, knowing that one of us is needed, and I can't simply take what I need from you."
The prince's focus remains, the destroyed outside world nothing to him. "Ever the lucky one, aren't you? You get what you wish for, every time, in some way." And yet, the one time he takes assertion to get things his way... Another face appears in his head. The face of a younger raven haired boy, age varying as the age changes.
He scoffs. "Tch! Fine! I suppose it can't be helped." He drops down, kneeling over the orange and blue clad hero. Vegeta's hand reaches out, resting onto Goku's chest.
His vision blurs, dizziness hitting like a wave of sickness. He stops, breathing slow. His eyes close, thinking to himself as his hand begins to glow. "Wake up, Kakarot! This pathetic world needs you."
The statement gets nothing from him, Vegeta's scowling with his eyes opening. His vision blurs more, darkening. "Hmph... Don't you waste this, Kakarot... or I'll tear you apart in the next life."
His scowl morphs, a smirk coming on. The energy in his hand before to shine brighter, then begins fading into the low class Saiyan. "And don't think for a second... that I'm satisfied... with... a draw."
The energy fades into the dead man... all ki dispersing. Vegeta remains knelt by his rival... until his hand drops. A silent grunt, eyes closed, as the standing Saiyan falls over, dropping by the clown's side.
. . .
"I doubt this requires saying, but you get to go on keeping your body, kid. Should go check in with King Kai!" The massive horned red man speaks calmly. Yemma peers down from over his desk. He chuckles low with a smirk. "Goku gave the same look when he first came through. It's like deja vu."
In front of the desk, Gohan stood, outfit fixed after his death, and his eyes bugging out looking at the giant. A nervous sweat comes on, a hand coming up and scratching his head. "Um, thank you, sir!"
The boy glances around, seeing exits on either side of the room. Scratching his cheek in confusion, he looks back at Yemma. "Um, where exactly IS King Kai's place?"
"Ah yes! You'll head that way and find the beginnings of Snake- huh?" Yemma stops as a being flickers in place directly at the edge of his desk. The Supreme Kai stands at the head of the desk, facing the judge. He sputters, quickly straightening the papers before him. "S-S-Supreme Kai?! To w-what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Shin? What are you doing here?" The boy questions on the floor.
Shin glances over his shoulder to see the boy, lighting up. "Ah! There you are, Gohan." He turns back to Yemma. "Thank you for making this easy, King Yemma, but I require this boy's assistance. He shall be in my care."
The giant ogre laughs nervously. "Oh! Well, doesn't that just work out!" A quick look at Gohan. "You hear that! Off with the Supreme Kai, lad!"
Shin nods with authority, hopping off the desk and landing in front of the boy. "Hey, Shin! What are you doing here? Is everything okay on Earth?!"
The Kai holds his hand up to stop the questions. "The Earth is fine... for now. I've come to retrieve you for something that will certainly help in the long run. Please come with me, Gohan."
"Really? Of course, but what is it?"
Shin smiles, standing confident. "An ancient weapon that promises power to the man that can wield it, and I believe you will be the one to wield it." He turns his back to Gohan. "Place your hand upon my shoulder please."
Gohan does so. "If it will help, then I'm in."
And the two disappeared... in search of an ancient weapon.
The Z Sword.
. . .
The man's eyes open, slow at first. He blinks twice, eyes adjusting to the light. "h-...hn." He groans, limbs twitching and flexing. His body aches. "Huh?"
Goku's body, still injured, is numbed. Power? But he threw absolutely everything into that last attack. His eyes snap wide. He's alert as he rises. It hurts, but he resists the pain easily. He looks forward, seeing the destroyed ravaged landscape.
"Wow, we really ruined things, didn't we?" He moves to push himself up, nudging something beside him. He flinches away, gasping. "V-Vegeta?"
A brush of wind sweeps over the two, hair flowing. Yet, Vegeta doesn't stir. Goku snickers. "Oh, wow. You got to your feet first, huh? Guess you wo-..." He stops, eyes widening.
He nudges the unconscious man. "Hey... Vegeta." He pushes with more force. "Vegeta! Hey!" His teeth clench as his senses reach out...
The man gasps, hand withdrawing from the unconscious man. Except... he's not unconscious. Goku turns and looks over his hand, clenching to a fist. His power, even now, is nonexistent. Hell, even half of what's left would be rendered useless until he'd bleed out.
Except it' not just HIS energy. Goku looks at the man. Looks at the body. "Vegeta... you-" He doesn't even have an end to the sentence. All that's left is shock.
"I see... Thank you, Vegeta..." He pushes up, rising to his feet. He sways, nearly falling over. "Ugh! I can barely stand!" He glances down at the man beside him. "Jeez. How did you manage to walk over here in that condition?"
He stops, staring intently at the body just a moment. "I know how. You simply ignored your body tearing apart and kept going." He chuckles to himself. "Really should have taught you Kaioken at some point, huh? It's right up your alley."
The relaxed smile falls soon after. "You know... it seems like we've been here once before. I didn't think it would become a habit of yours." The man's expression turns down. "And unlike last time, I doubt I even have the power left to bury you... I'm sorry."
"Well..." He continues. "At the very least, I can guarantee we'll get you back." He stands as tall as he can, one arm pressuring his side as he winces. His other puts two fingers to his head. "I promise."
He flickers away with Instant Transmission.
And he appears at his destination, The Lookout. Goku drops the hand, looking up in confusion to see everyone there. Likewise, they look at him with wide eyes and dropped jaws.
He blinks once before giving a weak wave. "Uh... hey guys?"
"Goku!" The group cheered, rushing the with laughs in their outcry. Particularly the man's wife, mother, and son.
. . .
It took a while, but the group brought him up to speed. "So, Gohan's training with Shin in Otherworld? That's good to hear. I'll have to check in on them once I go back."
Piccolo huffs. "Well, so long as we survive that long. Buu and Babidi habe already started moving about. With just the group of us, we're pretty outclassed."
"All except you." Raditz growls out. "First I hear it from Father, then both you AND Vegeta go and double ascend on us! How bout you go and deal with the fat bastard now?"
Goku's smile turns apologetic, regretful. "I'd like to, but... I can't."
His brother grabs him by the shirt. Fully healed and reclothed by Dende and Piccolo, Raditz has free reign to jerk the bastard. "What do you mean you 'can't'?! You said Vegeta gave hos life to save you, and now you say that you can't do what's needed?!"
The outburst brings all their focus onto the hero, the Saiyan shrinking away from them. "Well, I know that wad probably Vegeta's thought process, too... but I physically can't."
"What do you mean?" He looks over to Krillin, who waves his hands incredulous. "I felt how strong you were! There's no way you could lose to Buu if you go out there now."
"Except I don't have the time." Goku says with his hands up in defense.
"Don't have time? What, are you too busy to avenge Gohan?" Erasa mutters off to the side.
Goku points up, the group's eyes trailing to his halo. "That's why..."
"What do you mean? You still have well more than half a day left." Gine speaks up from Goku's side. This only got a Son family nervous neck scratch.
"Well, I tried to tell Vegeta, but he was so enraged from Babidi's magic, he didn't listen. Using Super Saiyan 3 is too hard on the physical realm. I mean, you all felt it, right?"
"It was like a magnitude 8 earthquake and a category 5 hurricane had a baby." Roshi states, humming after. "I'm a little scared to see if my home's still there..."
"Exactly." Goku says. "King Yemma said I wasn't allowed to use it, or doing so would burn up a lot of my time here much faster. I can't guarantee that I could use it again long enough to actually finish the job if I wanted to. I'd just be forced back to Otherworld."
"That bureaucratic bastard!" Raditz shouts out. "Damn it all, if I die again, I'm REALLY going to rip that giant red man to pieces!"
Goku looks up in confusion. "Didn't he lock you in his drawer last time?"
"Shut up!" The elder brother screams back, defensive.
"So, we're back to square one with no plan really?" Krillin sighs, shaking his head. "We're all gonna die..."
"Not necessarily." Goku speaks up. The man glances up in wonder, scratching his chin. "There might just be a way..." He frowns a moment. "That's right, where is Yamcha?"
Gine points to the edge of the Lookout. Dende stands, intently watching. "He's searching for the dragon balls after he had to go to West City. Dende is on watch for him."
Goku frowns.,, He looks over the group. Many of them have gone into groups, occupying themselves. His eyes trailed up to Android 18 watching over the four kids with Bulma, Chichi, and Launch.
And that frown turns upside down. "I have an idea." He giggles to himself. "Yeah, it's perfect!"
Krillin raises a brow at him. "Really now? Care to explain?"
The man seems to think, Piccolo trying. "Uh, Goku... You care to explain?"
"Yeah..." Goku mutters to himself, barely paying attention. "If Yamcha isn't here, we can't use him and Raditz."
"Excuse you and that weakling. What are you talking about?" Raditz grumbles out.
Goku, still oblivious, looks around again, landing on Nappa. "Hmm. The size difference and power difference would be hard, even for those better with their energy."
Nappa perks up, eye twitching. "What's he doing? I feel insulted somehow."
"Uh, Goku?" Piccolo starts.
The Saiyan then looks at his mother. The woman blinks, flinching back. "Um, what is it, Kakarot?"
But he's already looking back towards the kids and mothers. "Hey, Krillin, how trained in energy control is 18? You know?"
Krillin recoils his head, surprised. "Uhh... I think we left off with her sensing energy and learning some of my moves. Goku, what are you-"
Goku frowns, looking up. "Ah, there's a lot of gray area there. She would have to lower her own power, and I don't know how the android parts would really factor in."
"Goku!" Piccolo snaps.
The Saiyan jerks towards the Namekian. "Hm?"
"What... are you talking about?"
Goku chuckles, scratching his cheek. "Ah, well, you should know of all people Piccolo!" He smiles wide. "Fusion!"
Alright! We got it moving. We're alright! We're in the fluff between the action still, though. Apologies! It's also why this is a shorter chapter, as I can interject small passages of time between chapters, hence the shorter chapter.
Powers:
No change.
Reviews:
Reaver216 – Well, technically, and there are some faithfuls that will fight over it, but only in the anime does King Kai know Instant Transmission. That scene was only put in to pad out the runtime of that episode. So, some will do the, "Well, actually, in canon he doesn't know it," ordeal. But, for me, if it doesn't conflict with a more official source, then it counts as canon, so I like King Kai knowing it.
TheDarkChronist – Actually, only Pan counts there. Goten and Trunks both died when Kid Buu blew up Earth, and Goten technically died in the Goku Black timeline when Black killed Goku's family. Pan, though, is safe... unless we count Frieza blowing up the planet in Revival of F, but that was undone by Whis. She wins via technicality.
AzulSora (Review on chapter 70) – A good point, as that used to be telling, but...
Here we have a conflict of which character understands the powers more. I previously made the example that Vegeta stating he could destroy the planet, cause he destroyed planets for a living, was a better statement than Kefla wondering if she could destroy the universe, when both parts of her couldn't even fathom SS2, let alone fusion.
Goku suggests the fusion dance and uses it in multiple scenarios, canon and not, at different points without ever having to sync power levels with Vegeta, like Trunks had to lower his for Goten. The implication is that Goku and Vegeta are absolutely equal Buu saga and onward, and Babidi himself didn't even understand Super Saiyan transformations, given Goku's first transformation to SS3.
Since Vegeta is directly shown as equal or on par with Goku, implied by Goku when suggesting fusion, and directly shown in every instance after, that quote only works in the context of Vegeta UNLOCKING super saiyan 2 thanks to Babidi's power... but that's been retconned since then by the daizenshu, so these days, now, that quote means nothing unfortunately.
Toryama loves ruining character bits with retcons. Android 16's character was assassinated thanks to DB Super's manga without 16 ever being mentioned. Just something they do. That quote used to mean something, but now it's shown and demonstrated false.
… Any time something stupid affects Dragon Ball these days, I simply answer "Toryama wills it!"