Warrior Instinct
Ch.14- Goku defeated!? The proud warrior brought to the brink!
xXx
How many years had it been, since he had last breathed fresh air, or felt the wind on his face; Piccolo did not know. Yet it must have been many, because the hand that was stretched out before him was old and wrinkled, and he could feel the loss of power that came from countless days of being sealed away.
Clawed fingers curled into a fist, and purple blood oozed as their tips pierced the leathery flesh of Piccolo's palm. Just thinking about that damned old man, and his disgusting, cowardly technique set the Demon King's entire being on fire. He grew hot with rage, and large yellow eyes bulged as they filled with fury; how dare that pathetic human stand in his way!
A rush then, of power untapped for so long, and the very earth beneath his feet shook from the pressure. Cracks splintered across the land and clouds began to gather as a scorching tornado of aura swirled up and around Piccolo's towering frame, yet even as the harsh winds began and whipped at the elderly conqueror's cloak he snarled.
This was not his power; not even close! The hands of time had stolen from that which made him mighty, age sucked the very essence of strength from his bones, and whatever paltry amount remained was likely to be lucky enough to demolish a single city let alone lay waste to all of mankind!
Oh, he could still do it, with the help of children all the world could be made to kneel before the might of Piccolo Daimyo once more; but this was not enough! The Demon King wanted to crush every last spec of hope those pathetic fools had with his own bare hands, and he couldn't do that as an old man!
But then...perhaps, he wouldn't have to.
That weakling who'd split himself apart, who'd given birth to Earth's greatest plague, had created those wonderful orbs hadn't he? The ones who granted any wish; even the restoration of youth. It didn't matter who gathered the balls, or what their wish, so long as it was within the dragon's power they would have it!
He would have it!
And then the whole world would once again know the unstoppable might of King Piccolo once again!
"AHA-AHAHAHAHAHAHA-"
"Um, excuse me, but...I-I'd like to t-talk to you."
Large, yellow eyes snapped down in search of whoever had just interrupted his scheming and, when they found a grisly little imp sided by a human girl and a dog, Piccolo snarled.
"Who are you; what sort of death wish do you have to interrupt the Demon King!?"
"A-Actually," Pilaf stammered, "I-I'm the one who released you; I am E-Emperor Pilaf, these are Shu and Mai, my a-associates."
"You released me? Not very smart for an Emperor; freeing your competition. Tell me, Pilaf, what's keeping me from vaporizing your pathetic existence from the world of the living? Surely, if you went through the trouble of finding me, then you know who I am."
The nervous little imp wrung his gnarled hands together as he fell under the mocking leer of the world's most terrifying scourge; this was not going how he'd planned.
"I-I do, your most malevolent, a-and that's exactly why I sought your tremendous power; I-I am in need of your...assistance-"
The laugh that echoed through the empty air was cruel and chilled the three to the bone. Even aged by time, King Piccolo was every bit as imposing as his legends foretold.
"Tell me," the vicious giant spat, "what makes you think, now that I've been freed, that I have any intention of simply picking up where I left off and taking this world for myself?"
"A-Ah, but, I-I freed you-"
"Which simply means you'll receive a swift death," Piccolo smirked as he raised his hand, "rather than the long and painful one I'd originally had planned."
Pilaf began to sweat as he fell back onto his haunches in fear. Looking up at the towering green monster, the pitiful little imp had just one last thought as he screamed in terror; he should have never left home.
Off to the side Mai and Shu watched as their 'leader' was turned to cinders before their very eyes, with nothing left but an ashen patch of ruined grass to mark that he'd ever even existed. The young woman felt her heart leap into her throat a moment later when Piccolo turned to look at them.
"N-No," Shu whimpered, "I-I don't wanna die too!"
The talking dog howled and turned to start running away, desperate to save himself, yet this seemed to only excite Piccolo who's eyes began to glow...and then Shu joined Pilaf in the otherworld.
Mai dropped to her knees then, all hope leaving her as she then became the target of this demon's heartless attention. This was it. All of the terrible things she'd done in life, all the lives Mai had taken, it was all about to come back around and complete her circle of violence...
or at least, that's what she thought.
As he turned to wipe away the last living creature to know of his return Piccolo stopped at the last moment, claws raised, and thought about it for a moment. Yes, he knew about the Dragon Balls, but the Demon King didn't know where to find them, and wanted to keep his resurrection a secret until youth had been restored to him. He would need...help.
Just the word alone was enough to turn the monster's stomach, but there was really no way around it at this point. Even the birthing of children could alert the martial-arts community to the return of their world's greatest bane, leaving Piccolo with only this girl to gather the wish granting orbs for him.
It was sickening, but he would make do.
"Tell me, human, I'm sure you've heard of the Dragon Balls before; do you happen to know how to track them down?"
When her imminent doom was thwarted by this one inquiry Mai's eyes widened with hope; a chance to be useful, and escape death. She jumped at the opportunity.
"Y-Yes, Your Most Terrifying, i-in fact I was the one w-who built the radar for Pilaf during h-his search. He...he was originally just going to collect them again to attempt his wish a second time before, w-well, before he thought of you."
"And now he is dead; such things do not interest me, human. All I need is for you to create this device and use it to find all seven balls so that I may make my wish; do this, and I shall allow you to live even after this world becomes mine."
Tears pricked at Mai's eyes as she listened to the bargain, and nodded jerkily in acceptance before telling the fiend that it would take time. "A-And even then, i-it could take at least a full y-year before I can manage t-to get them all for you."
Piccolo wasn't happy about it, not by a long shot, but a single year was well worth it after waiting what felt like an eternity for freedom.
Yes, a single year was nothing, and at the end of that short road would be the beginning of the end for these pitiful humans!
xXx
At the same time, Goku was struggling to gain the upper-hand against Tao as their fight continued on.
The martial-arts champion had tried nearly every trick in his arsenal, but the mercenary seemed able to counter everything Goku threw at him with ease; even the after-image had been rendered useless. So now, barely standing as blood pooled in his mouth, the alien warrior decided that there was only one thing left to do...
the Kamehameha.
If that didn't work, then nothing would.
On the other side of things, Tao was honestly impressed with his opponent; the boy had lasted far longer than any other fighter he'd been contracted to kill. It was almost too bad that the martial-arts champion needed to die, but then Tao thought about all of the money he'd lost on account of this same upstart and those feelings were washed away.
However, as he watched the younger fighter begin a very familiar set of movements, Tao found himself interested enough that he was willing to let things play out just a little longer.
"Ah," he called, "so then you really are a true student of the arts then; to know such a technique at your age. Truly, if you can manage it, I'll be quite impressed Kakarot. Enough so, that I may let you live."
"You'll regret those words," Goku snarled as his entire body tensed as he gathered every last drop of energy the young teen could muster. "I've played this game on your terms long enough Tao, now you'll learn what happens to those who underestimate my strength!"
The mercenary just replied, "We'll see, boy."
Off to the side, Bulma could feel her heart thundering behind her chest while Lazuli found herself unknowingly experiencing the same horrible feeling. The two girls eyes were gleaming with worried tears, and their bodies trembled as the sight of their friend in such a perilous position ate away at their spirits.
'Come on Goku, you can do this!'
Just like during his fight with Roshi, the monkey-tailed martial-artist allowed himself to focus only on the enemy in front of him as the power swelled up inside. A small flame turned into a raging inferno, one that swallowed Goku whole and warmed his entire body to such a degree her was soon sweating. The blood that trickled from every open wound began to hiss and bubble, turning to a crimson mist as a dark orb of energy began to shine brightly between the teen's cupped hands.
"Ka...me...ha...me..."
Dark, narrow eyes widened at the feel of just how powerful this next attack was, and for the first time since their fight had begun Tao felt a twinge of fear in his own heart. How could the kid still have that much power!?
"HA!"
'I-If that hits me straight on I'm finished!'
Immediately the beak-nosed assassin began to build up his own energy within, but instead of forming into an attack the man let the power cover his entire body so as to better ward off the full force of the incoming beam. However it had been done in haste, so even as Tao put up his arms in a cross-block he could feel his body beginning to suffer under Goku's own technique.
The light show was blinding, but once it was over one could see both combatants were heavily battered from their scuffle; something the mercenary could hardly believe.
With nothing but torn trousers remaining from his ensemble Tao could be seen now covered in intense burns as well as numerous openly bleeding sores. Bruises dotted the man's torso and forearms, while a slight bit of color had been added to his face; Tao's right eye had even swelled so much that it had forced itself closed.
But he was still standing.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said about poor Goku. The wild-haired fighter had dropped to his hands and knees, gasping for breath as those muscular arms shook from having to support the boy's weight. Blood dripped from Goku's busted lip, and his own body had long-since suffered a number of contusions of its own, it was easy to see though that last attack had indeed been the alien's last shot at victory.
He was finished.
He...had lost.
"Goku!"
The two girls rushed onto the battlefield at the sight of their shared friend down on the ground; Lazuli wrapping her arms around the clearly exhausted boy while Bulma knelt with tear-filled eyes and kept her pistol trained on Tao.
"Alright, that's enough," the blue-haired genius shouted at him. "If you take even one more step towards him, I'll blow your damn head off; you hear me, not one step!"
"G-Goku," Lazuli whispered hoarsely to the battered form cradled against her chest, "hey, can you hear me? I-It's going to be okay, w-we're not gonna let anything else bad happen to you-"
"No!"
It was strained, and tired, but there was no mistaking the sound of an angry Goku as he pushed himself away from the blonde girl and stumbled to his feet. Pushing past a horrified Bulma, the boy staggered out into the open and glared at the still-standing mercenary.
"I-I won't...I will not run from this! If I...if I c-can't defeat this human here and now then I deserve to die; either I win, or I lose!"
"Goku, no!" Bulma went on to try and convince her friend that he didn't understand what he was talking about, that he needed to get away and rest because the fight was over. But this kept the girl from noticing the way Lazuli now looked at the boy; eyes filled with knowledge, gained from an early morning talk.
Lapis stood off to the side, curious to see what would happen next, sharp blue eyes intense in their intrigue.
"Ha," Tao chuckled as he began to raise his pointed finger. "That's truly quite admirable of you, Kakarot, far beyond the weak cowards I'm usually paid to take from this world; I really am impressed now. So much in fact, that I'll give you a swift death..."
A yellow ball of energy began to build at the tip of the man's outstretched finger, it was slow, but there was no denying what the intent was behind Tao's next move and both girls could now be heard shouting at Goku to come to his senses.
"It truly was an...interesting match, Kakarot, but this is the end; Dodon Ray!"
No one could truly see what happened as the attack came crashing into its intended target, only that when the smoke cleared Goku was on his back with nothing but the whites of his eyes showing and a hideous scorch mark over the thirteen-year-old's heart.
Amid the bellowing cries of his female companions Tao whipped his pig-tail up off his shoulder and then turned to walk away; his vengeance sated.
"Be grateful, fools, that boy's bravado saved you all; had it not been for him, I'd have killed every last villager in my anger. Give him a heroes burial; it's the least you could d—ack!"
It was silenced by the attachment left on during the Red-Ribbon mission, but Bulma's shot rang true in her own righteous fury and hit home in the mercenary's cold, black heart. Ironically, had the man not just used his signature technique, he would have been alert enough to avoid the shot. As it were, however, Tao had been drained to the point of an ordinary man...one with no hope of stopping a bullet.
And so it was, after years of killing and merciless murder, Mercenary Tao met his end; not at the hands of a worthy opponent, but through heart-broken revenge by an angry woman.
But while their enemy bled out mere feet away, the rest of them gathered around the downed martial-arts champion, two pairs of eyes brimming with tears while the third had a brow raised speculatively.
"I don't think our usual treatments will work this time," the male twin grunted. "We're going to need something a bit more...mystical if there's going to be any real chance of saving him you two."
"And just where do you expect us to find something crazy like that," Bulma screeched with tears rolling down her face. "Even with my radar, there's no way we'll get the Dragon Balls together in time Lapis!"
It was Lazuli who answered, "Then we wont use them; we'll have to take him to Korin's Tower."
"T-The what tower?"
"It's a place not too far from here," Lapis explained further, "a tower said to reach so high that it'll take you to the realm of the gods. What my sister seemed to have forgotten is that the foot is guarded by a chosen warrior who's been imbued with the powers of Sacred Water; and there's no telling how they'll react to us even if Kakarot's dying."
"Well," his sister sniffed, "we wont know until we try, will we?"
Bulma had apparently had enough though, because she rounded on the twins with bloodshot eyes filled with rage. "Enough already; if there's any chance that this tower could save Goku's life we're going right now!"
And they did. After Lazuli released the capsule she'd brought from the house, they all piled into the small jet-car and sped off in the direction of Korin's Tower with Lapis doing the navigating. Thanks to Bulma's frantic piloting they made it in record time, though true to the dark-haired boy's warning there was indeed a triangle tent pitched at the bottom of the structure and a very large man seated in front of a small fire next to what could only be his son.
Upon hearing their approach, the mountain of dark-skinned muscle stood and made sure to pick up his spear on the way.
"Who are you; what do you seek coming here?" His voice was thick, and deep, booming through the open air like thunder. "Answer quickly and true, or feel the wrath of Bora the Defender!"
It was Bulma who answered first, making sure to leave her weapon in the car.
"Please, Bora, we've come because our friend is gravely hurt and needs the help that only Korin Tower can give him. I-I don't know how much it'll cost, but please, I-I'll pay whatever price if you'll just please help him."
The warrior chief walked over to the floating vehicle and peered inside to see a beaten and bruised Goku laying across the backseat with pinched brow settled over a mask of pain. His wild, dark hair splayed over the cushions like a flame and there was sweat glistening from nearly every pore. Bora could hear the ragged breathing past wet coughs, and quickly identified the intense burns littering the young teen's muscular frame.
So, they were telling the truth, but...
"While I feel for your plight I'm afraid I cannot help you; Master Korin only comes down once a season to deliver senzu beans to my tribe. Unfortunately for your friend, we have just used the last of our bag to heal an elder of their own terrible sickness. There may be more, but they would be at the top of the tower...and the only way there is to climb."
This was not what anyone wanted to hear, and Lazuli took a step forward in defiance as she told Bora so. "You can't be serious; can't you see that Goku is about to die!? We don't have time for some outdated tradition, he needs help!"
"I truly am sorry," the man lamented, "but there truly is nothing I can do; you either climb, or find a way to bring Master Korin to you. There are no alternatives, no short cuts, as the magic of this tower negates all flying machines technology. It is meant to test true warriors and, as such, has been crafted so that only those worthy may reach the top."
It was quiet then; no one knew what to say at that point.
A heavy blanket of despair began to descend upon the group now, their shoulders slumping and fire dimming from their eyes as hope left them. Yet just it seemed like Goku would be lost forever...
"I'll do it then."
Lazuli's pretty face was a mask of pure disbelief as she stared into the hard facade of her twin brother.
"Y-You? But I thought-"
"It's not about my feelings," the dark-haired teen sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "it's about yours; I know how messed up it'll make you if this guy dies, especially if it happens right in front of you. So, I'll climb the tower, and bring back whatever I need to heal him."
With his mind made up, Lapis pulled his shoulder-length hair into a pony-tail and rolled up his sleeves before striding over to the tower with a look of sharp focus. Craning his neck to look up into the clouds, those white balls of fluff hiding the rest of the structure, Lapis turned to look at Bulma and his sister one last time...
"Well, wish me luck."
...before jumping up, and beginning the arduous task that was climbing Korin's Tower.
xXx
The journey to the top was truly a grueling experience, and by the time he'd managed it Lapis understood just why so many people had failed to complete the endeavor.
His shirt was in taters from the high winds that tore at him as he climbed higher, and he'd cursed himself a thousand times over fro not bringing gloves as the palms of Lapis' hands were raw and bleeding. Muscles were sore, and some even might have torn after he'd nearly fallen halfway to his goal. There were scrapes along the boy's knees from that occasion as well, and just as the top was in sight Lazuli's brother had lost his hair-tie.
All together, there was only one thought that ran through Lapis mind as he finally pulled himself up into the home of this 'Master Korin'.
'That damned monkey-boy had better appreciate this!'
However, Lapis wasn't given much time to get his breath back before a gruff voice called to him, drawing the boy's tired eyes over towards the center of the oval-shaped head of the tower.
"So, you made it after all huh? If I'm being honest, I half expected you to give up after nearly falling, while the rest of me thought you'd go splat young man. But, you humans were always good at exceeding my expectations I must admit, so I suppose there's only one thing left to say..."
Even as Korin spoke, the teen couldn't believe his eyes at just what that voice was coming out of; it was just...impossible!
"Welcome to my tower, Lapis of Jingle Village."
After all, how could this 'Master Korin' be a talking cat!?
xXx
A/N: Another chapter done swiftly, though only because I was in a very good flow after last chapter. I'd started writing this one last night and just managed to get it done today, so here you all go; don't expect it so often though, cause even I don't know how often it'll happen.
King Piccolo has been reborn! And, yes, it's a little bit of a stretch for the whole 'year' plot-line but it's for a very good reason; one that I'm absolutely sure you'll all enjoy once the time comes!
Btw, the Mai I'm using is more modeled after Super's version rather than Dragon Ball as far as imagery, just so everyone knows. She's a much more serious and increasingly important character because..why not?
Anyway, yes I had Bulma be the one to kill Tao, as this will be the thing that sends Tien on a collision course with Goku. Also, I didn't really see a point in them having a rematch; it just seems better for Goku's strength to be tested by someone he hadn't fought yet rather than re-hash a fight for the sake of power-scaling.
Originally I was going to have Lazuli be the one to climb the tower, but two things stopped me: her shoulder, and the desire to have Lapis' character further explored.
With her fracture still healing there was just no conceivable way to have Lazuli be the one climbing that tower, and Bulma wouldn't even make it half way, so that left Lapis and I'm honestly okay with that.
It, hopefully, shows that he'd willingly help someone he didn't really like that well because his relationship with his sister is more important; Lazuli comes first, no matter what, when the chips are down. Also, I feel like this is a good way to start bridging that gap between him and Goku.
Anyway, not sure what else to say here, other than hope you had fun reading this chapter!