Filling gaps Chapter 17, a dragon ball z fanfic

DANGER, DANGER! The enemy approaches! Don't look at his face or you'll die! He's too ugly to look upon!

This is the very first critical point of this story, and a very long one indeed. Why is it a critical point? Now, now, that would be telling :)

Oh, and now rated M because of Blonde Lunch, I'm afraid. She sure is bad-mouthed indeed.

CHAPTER 17, VARIANT 1

THE FIRST CRITICAL POINT: GOKU SURVIVES

THE TERRIBLE PICCOLO DAIMAO

Bulma was about to wet her knickers in fear. If she was worried when Goku fought Piccolo's minion, now that he was about to fight Piccolo himself, she was much more than worried. She had the terrible feeling that Piccolo was much stronger than her boyfriend and, on top of that, she could not do anything at all to balance the situation. In fact, she could not even move, she was paralysed in fear, shivering uncontrollably. Even she could feel the massive energy of that being, even when she was still a novice in that perception.

Please, Goku, don't die, don't leave me, she thought, feeling some tears rolling down her face, but she could not even wipe them. She could not do anything but tremble behind that tree.

'So, you're the human who killed my underlings,' she heard Piccolo say. He was clearly upset, she could feel his rage. 'And I see you possess a Dragon Ball as well. I'm sorry, kid, but you have to die.'

'I'm not a kid, and as if you could kill me!' bluffed Goku, rebellious like the teenager he was. He was scared shitless nonetheless, but he would not show it to his enemy, of course. 'C'mon, slug, you'll die like the others!'

'How dare you, impudent brat!' boomed Piccolo. 'You'll be the dead one, I, Piccolo Daimao-sama, assure you!'

'Blah, blah,' mocked Goku. 'Show me, big talker.'

'Die!'

Piccolo attacked fiercely, showing a remarkable speed considering his age, but Goku was even quicker and avoided his attacks, counterattacking in a flash and giving him some blows with all his strength. Piccolo fell on the ground in mere seconds.

'Sugoi!' whispered Yajirobe, astonished. 'Incredible, unbelievable! Son's beating Piccolo Daimao!'

'He's what?' asked Bulma in a feeble voice, just in case she could be heard.

'Look at it by yourself.'

Bulma dared to move from her position and saw Piccolo on the floor and Goku calmly standing, with nothing but a little bruise in one arm. She could not believe what she was seeing. She smiled.

However, Piccolo was not defeated yet, as he demonstrated by floating suddenly to stand up, showing himself. After that, he took his cape off and threw it away.

'With or without your cape, the result will be the same, you know,' taunted Goku, now more confident. 'You won't survive.'

'No, you won't survive,' declared Piccolo. 'I let you attack to see what you're capable of. Just looking at a martial artist, especially one as proficient as you, makes me feel like killing him. No wonder my underlings could do nothing against you, but you've laughed enough. Now I, Piccolo Daimao-sama, will show you the most effective way to send an enemy to hell. Die!'

And he attacked again, but this time there was a difference from the other attack: his speed. Now Piccolo was so quick that Goku could not even see that coming. In a matter of seconds, Goku's possibilities changed from many to none. Now it was Goku's turn to fall on the ground, covered in wounds and almost unable to stand. Piccolo was, simply, too strong, and Goku learned it the hard way.

I can't believe it, he thought, feeling his head spin and his sight blur. How come he's suddenly so strong? I've never found anyone who surpassed me so easily. What can I do?

'Where's your fighting spirit, you bratty teen?' laughed Piccolo. 'Weren't you going to kill me or something like that? Come on, show me how you kill me! If you can't even move after some of my caresses, how can you defeat me when I get serious?'

'What do you mean? You're not fighting at full strength yet?' asked Goku, astonished.

'Of course not, I'm only showing half of my true strength,' said Piccolo, laughing again. 'You're pathetic, human. We Mazoku are invincible!'

'You demon…' slurred Goku, dizzy.

'Now you get it, and now you'll die!' exclaimed Piccolo.

'Not yet,' said Goku. 'I'll show you something interesting.'

And he prepared a Kamehameha with all the strength he could muster. Piccolo, at the beginning of the technique, stepped back in fear, but he sighed in relief when he saw it was not the terrible Mafuba that sealed him long ago. Bulma could see that reaction and recorded it in her head, just in case she or Goku could take advantage of that in the future… if they survived that day, that is.

The Kamehameha found Piccolo, who did not even move to dodge the supernatural technique, but Goku could see in despair that the blast of energy was ineffective against that terrible enemy. It was not the first time his technique failed, but this time he felt he would not survive, because the Kamehameha did not even burn Piccolo's robes. Goku was defeated and he knew it.

'I'm sorry, Bulma, I can't win this time…' he whispered, falling on his knees due to the lack of strength.

Piccolo was the winner, but he would not accept letting the human live. So, he accumulated power, just in case, and threw a ball of energy towards the teenager, who could barely avoid it with a jump in the nick of time. The second ball of energy, however, hit him directly and Goku fell on the ground with a thud. He was not moving.

Oh, no, Goku!, thought Bulma, crying desperately. Please, keep alive! Don't die on me, I beg you!

'Terrific, he's dead,' said Piccolo, after assuring himself of that fact by placing a hand on Goku's chest. 'His heart isn't beating. What a pathetic creature.'

He grabbed the Dragon Ball, ripping it off the rope it was hung in. After that, he recovered his cape and flew up towards the zeppelin, unbeknownst of the hidden survivors. Only when he went far away from the place, Bulma dared to show herself, tears rolling by her cheeks.

'Poor guy,' muttered Yajirobe sadly. 'He was truly brave. He died tryin' to protect us.'

'Don't say such a thing, dammit!' cried Bulma. 'He's not dead! He's only faking his own death to survive and fight him again!'

'Whatever you say, woman,' replied the samurai. 'Your boyfriend's dead, admit it. It's unfortunate, but it's a fact.'

'He's not!' insisted Bulma, glaring at him. 'I know it, I somehow know it! My Goku's alive!'

Yajirobe was surprised again, but not because of Bulma's declaration, but something else, something unbelievable.

'Am I your Goku, my Bulma?' asked Goku, who was indeed alive.

Bulma heard his voice and pinched herself just to make sure she was not dreaming. He was alive, critically wounded but alive, and she had the solution to heal him almost instantly. It was not, however, the fierce kiss she gave him.

'Don't make me think you're dead again without truly dying or you'll be very sorry, have I made myself clear?'

'Crystal clear, I promise,' said Goku, trying to smile, but he found it near impossible; he was too wounded even for that.

'Keep the promise, Goku,' she commanded before kissing him again. 'There, eat the senzu bean and don't you dare scare me like that again.'

'You should get used to it, he's reckless to no end,' opined Yajirobe. When Goku ate the bean and recovered, he simply raised an eyebrow to express his surprise. He was definitely getting used to seeing odd things related to that couple. 'Whatever did he eat, by the way? He's completely healed.'

'You don't sound very surprised,' deadpanned Bulma, looking at him with the corner of her eye, still embracing Goku. Not that he complained at all.

'I'm gettin' used to you guys and your freaky things,' he answered. 'Is that food tasty?'

'I've eaten better things, but it's not too bad,' she replied, separating from Goku just for them to hold hands. 'I can tell you where you can get some of these beans. Just go north until you see an extremely tall tower. Climb it and, if you can reach the summit, say that you went there as recommended by Goku or me. The talking cat up there won't ask too many questions.'

'The talking cat, yeah,' snarked Yajirobe, smirking, 'and the flying pig too.'

'It's true,' assured Goku. 'In the summit of the tower lives a hermit cat, he cultivates these beans. Go ask him.'

'Ain't you goin' with me?' asked the samurai.

'No, we have other plans to defeat Piccolo Daimao,' said Bulma before Goku could even make a sound. 'I have an idea that might work. The most we can do is lead you to the tower, but you must climb it alone.'

'And I'll find miraculous food like those beans o' yours?' asked Yajirobe, and the couple nodded. 'Fine, lead on.'

Roshi, Tien and Chaozu had gathered five Dragon Balls without being disturbed by any of Piccolo's minions, which was, in Tien's opinion, strange at best. They did not seem too eager to get the balls after all, from his point of view, unless…

'Kame Sennin-sama,' he said suddenly, after a long time without doing anything but piloting the plane. 'Don't you feel something fishy in Piccolo Daimao's behavior? I mean, he's not looking for the Dragon Balls at all, what makes me think they're not his priority. Who knows how a Mazoku thinks though, now that I think of it…'

'His priority, as you say, isn't gathering the Dragon Balls,' confirmed Roshi. 'It's obvious he's afraid of the Mafuba technique, so he's killing all the martial artists listed in the tournament roster. Yesterday he's killed ten more, although I haven't heard of any other murder today, which is strange. I wonder what's going on…'

'Maybe Goku's hunting them,' theorised Chaozu. 'He was upset when that monster attacked Bulma and nearly killed him. I'm sure that's why they disappeared from the hospital, they're hunting Piccolo's minions.'

'It might be a possibility, but it's not likely,' considered Roshi. 'Goku was too wounded, there's no chance he's healed yet, not to mention he and Bulma are fugitives, so they need to disappear from view. Besides, the Daimao's underlings are strong enough to defeat an entire army of martial artists. I don't know if Goku could defeat one of them, even with Bulma's help.'

He looked for the next ball in the radar and gasped in surprise. 'What is it?' asked Tien.

'The two remaining balls are together,' said the old master, truly worried. 'Piccolo has gathered them and we have the other five. Our confrontation is inevitable, I'm afraid. We need a strategy to steal his balls or we're gonna die for sure. Piccolo's too strong.'

'What about the Mafuba?' asked Tien.

'Don't!' boomed Roshi, and Tien could observe the master was even more terrified at the mention of the technique than when he noticed that they had to confront Piccolo. 'The Mafuba isn't an option, Tien Shinhan. Don't even mention it as a possibility. Anyone who performs that forbidden technique dies. It's even worse than your Kikoho. Tsuru Sennin shouldn't have taught you that technique, it's simply too dangerous. If I knew how to perform the Mafuba, I assure you I wouldn't teach it to anyone. Forget its existence, Tien, seriously.'

'Yes, Kame Sennin-sama, I promise,' said Tien. The old master could not see that Tien's fingers were crossed when he promised.

I'm sure he knows the technique, he thought. He wants to sacrifice himself by using it, but why?

Eventually, Roshi's team encountered Piccolo; it was inevitable, as the old master said. Roshi had decided they had to meet each other in a desert, far away from any city, town, village or even a single house. Nobody needed to die because of collateral damage if they had to fight him. The idea was stealing the balls, not challenging the demon, but nobody knew how things would turn.

'Listen to me, both of you,' coordinated Roshi. 'Chaozu, you must hide, you don't have the level for this, your psychic powers aren't strong enough to affect Piccolo Daimao. Tien, your extreme sight will be helpful to know where Piccolo hid the Dragon Balls. I'll try to keep his attention on me, so every second counts. Steal the balls, place them with ours and make the wish of Piccolo disappearing forever. That's the only way to defeat him. I know it's the least honourable way to do it, but we have no choice. If we're lucky, we'll tell the tale tomorrow with the others.'

'Yes, Kame Sennin-sama,' accepted both Tien and Chaozu.

Suddenly, Roshi shivered for an instant and looked at the sky. 'Here he is,' he said, his voice trembling. 'Hide.'

Some seconds after they hid, the zeppelin arrived and Piccolo could see there was nobody in the surroundings, but he knew they were there, somewhere, and chuckled maniacally.

They're hidden somewhere, trying to ambush me, he thought, amused. Well, let's have some fun torturing them.

He swallowed the Dragon Balls, just in case, and jumped out of the zeppelin, floating for a second before he landed, as he did when he faced Goku. Tien had seen Piccolo's manoeuvre from his position, so the plan of stealing the balls was impossible. Roshi sighed and changed the plan on the fly, drugging Tien to make him sleep.

I have no choice but to die sealing Piccolo with the Mafuba, he thought, showing himself to his enemy. It's a pity that we can't resurrect the fallen martial artists he and his gang have murdered because I'd seal the two Dragon Balls he's just eaten. He sighed and looked at the unconscious Tien Shinhan. If I fail, at least you'll survive, Tien. I hope you understand why I did what I did. I can't allow you to learn this forbidden technique and, of course, I won't allow neither your sacrifice nor Chaozu's. A hollow sacrifice is too much already. If a life has to be wasted, it's better to waste the life of an old man.

'Well, I'm here, Piccolo!' he said, trying not to sound too scared. 'You have two balls, I have five. The victor makes a wish.'

'What it's the same, I make a wish,' corrected Piccolo with a smirk. 'Good plan, old man. Are you brave enough to fight me without wetting yourself?'

And now, the Mafuba plan, thought Roshi, sighing and somehow seeing all his life through his eyes, including… Although… he smirked, remembering a prophecy he heard three years previous, at his sister's lair.

'That, Piccolo, is my line,' he spat, his nervousness and fear gone. He had just come up with a plan C. He took his jacket out, dropping it to the ground, and massively bulked his body, disconcerting Piccolo.

I only have a few seconds, I'm not as strong and resilient as I was when I was young, he thought, while he threw a hook to Piccolo's belly, doubling him over and, miraculously, making him spit the Dragon Balls, which fell on the ground next to Roshi's jacket. The old master had clearly taken him by surprise, and he would exploit that advantage until he ran out of stamina.

After the terrible punch, in order not to waste any time, he continued by charging a Kamehameha with all his strength. I hope it's enough, he kept thinking. If I could destroy Frypan Mountain the last time I visited Gyumao, I reckon I can damage Piccolo enough for us to get outta here. If not, I'm dead, full stop.

Piccolo could recover from the punch in time to see the supernatural technique approach him. However, he recognised it as the same as the teenager he had just killed used before, so he grew confident enough. He knew that technique was useless against him, for he was Piccolo Daimao-sama and that was enough. He did not consider the strength of the technique though, and that was a terrible mistake, as he noticed when the blast impacted on him, making him fly away at supreme speed.

'Good,' said Roshi, panting due to the overexertion of his body. His muscles had turned back to normal and he was so tired that he could barely stand. 'I still can't believe I could do so much damage to him. Maybe he's gotten too old too?' he sighed and fell on his knees, exhausted. 'No matter, now's the time to go, before he recovers. Help me, Chaozu, please, I can't stand on my own.'

'Wow, Kame Sennin-sama! That was awesome!' exclaimed Chaozu, amazed, approaching him to sustain him with telekinesis. 'How did you do that?'

'Yeah, well, I'll tell you later, when we're far from here,' said Roshi, still trying to catch his breath. 'Please, get Tien and the Dragon Balls and let's go home, shall we?'

Chaozu nodded and, using more telekinesis, lifted the two Dragon Balls Piccolo had spat, plus the five found by Roshi, and when he found Tien barely conscious, he trapped him with his powers too without asking questions; there was no time for that. Next to that, he gently placed them in the plane, after decompressing it, and hopped into it. All of that without touching anything.

'Very good, Chaozu,' praised Roshi, when he found himself sitting on the pilot's chair. 'You've got an awesome control of your psychic powers indeed, if you've managed to do all of this without touching anything. I'm very proud of you. Now I'm feeling a little better, so I'm piloting the plane. Thank you.'

'My, it truly feels good when someone recognizes your work,' managed Chaozu, blushing, with a big grin on his face. 'You're welcome, master, I did my best. And thank you for the compliment, by the way.'

'You deserve it, you did really well,' concluded the old man, smiling warmly. 'Now let's go, before Piccolo comes back to kill us for real. I don't think I could defeat him; I just got a little time for us to flee.'

So, he took off the plane, and just in time, because Piccolo was approaching them at high speed. Fortunately, when he arrived, Roshi had fled already. All he could do was jump back to the zeppelin to pursue that impudent old man, swearing vengeance and a lot of pain for him.

Far away, fortunately, Goku, Bulma and Yajirobe were travelling comfortably towards Karin Tower, unaware of that event. Well, at least the couple were comfortable; Yajirobe, on the other hand, was complaining non stop because they were too close to each other for their own good, in his opinion.

At least, they ain't kissing each other's brains yet, he thought, annoyed; he could not help but hear them whispering to each other, as well as some giggles from the woman. But I can't stand them, all lovey-dovey in my car.

However, they stopped their courting when the young saiyan felt some hints of a terrible fight, but he could not figure out much about it; it happened too fast and he had yet to perfect his senses.

'All I sensed was a massive increase of energy for a few seconds, and then it dropped drastically,' he explained. 'I reckon it was a fight, but it was very far away from here, so I'm unsure of what happened.'

'Either way, that was awesome, Goku!' praised Bulma, after a quick peck on his lips. 'Can you teach me that sixth sense of yours?'

'You have it already,' he said. 'Just concentrate as I taught you and you'll sense energies just like me. For example, try sensing my energy, or Yaji's.'

'Hey, don't involve me in your silly games, you lot!' complained Yajirobe. 'Besides, where are we anyway? I don't recognize this place.'

'D'you see that line that goes towards the sky, on the horizon?' inquired Goku, and Yajirobe nodded. 'Your destination is atop that place.'

'What? But I can't see the end of it!' protested the samurai, pouting.

'Well, maybe you'll have to climb it, at least some part of it,' guessed Bulma, shrugging. 'It'd be good for you to lose some weight, y'know.'

'Are you callin' me fat?' he boomed, enraged.

'Of course not!' she lied, smirking with mirth. 'Just a little big-bottomed, but don't worry, the cat up there will make you fit enough.'

'Go fuck yourselves,' grumbled Yajirobe, gritting his teeth.

'Not yet, we've just started dating,' replied Bulma, clearly having fun. 'But maybe in a couple of months or so, if we survive the last battle against Piccolo…'

'Really?' asked Goku, thrilled.

'We can study it,' she said, shrugging. 'But it has to be after Piccolo's demise,' she conditioned. 'Otherwise, we couldn't live in peace, knowing that he would chase us to the end of the world.'

'Technically, he'd chase me,' said Goku.

'Yeah, but I won't leave you on your own against that monster,' she assured, determined. 'I prefer dying with you to living without you. Besides, it'd be some seconds, just before that madman kills me.'

'Heh, as if you'd kill that bastard,' mocked Yajirobe.

'Oh, he will,' stated Bulma. 'It's been prophesied.'

'A prophecy?' asked Goku, puzzled.

'Yeah, when you went after the seventh Dragon Ball, three years ago, Uranai Baba prophesied that you'd be the saviour of the world. And I remember the exact words of the prediction. It said: "In a moment of extreme darkness for the world, a teenager will be the key to salvation, the light that will guide us to three years of worldwide peace".'

'And this teenager is me?' asked Goku, and she nodded.

'Ain't it a little farfetched?' asked Yajirobe.

'I thought that too when she said it, but now I have the feeling it's true,' said Bulma, smiling. Now she knew that, despite the danger, everything would turn all right, for it was foretold by a prophetess with remarkable powers, considering that everything was happening according to the prophecy. 'My boyfriend will be the saviour of the world and I'll make sure it happens. It'll be my contribution to a better life.'

'Beware, Professor Bulma,' said Goku, smiling mischievously, and she stared at him in puzzlement. 'You're becoming a pure-hearted person. There goes the selfish and egomaniac girl who found me in Mount Paozu.'

'That's what you wanted, right?' she whispered, and they kissed.

'You'll have time for this when I'm climbing that stupid tower,' cut Yajirobe, and they laughed. 'Fucking lovers…'

'We're not lovers,' said Bulma, '…yet.'

'Yet?' repeated the samurai, starting to regret his words, for he had given them the idea.

'Give us time and we might destroy a house while reaching our climax,' purred the blue-haired beauty. 'But now it's not the time for this. We have to prepare ourselves to fight that son of a bitch, so hurry up and speed up this car. There's no time to waste.'

'Whatever,' grunted Yajirobe, doing as she asked.

They soon reached the tower but, instead of hopping out of the car, in order to climb the mountain, the samurai flew up, so he could avoid the extra exercise. Naturally, the couple complained because of his laziness.

'We're runnin' outta time, right?' he said as an excuse, smirking.

'Whatever,' said Bulma, sighing. 'The quicker you reach the summit, the better, I suppose. It's not my problem. Let's go, Goku.'

'Kinton!' called Goku, and when the cloud arrived, they jumped onto it. She had to cling onto him, but he did not mind and she was glad she had to do it, so everything was fine.

Yajirobe blinked in puzzlement, but he shrugged it off and kept flying upwards as if nothing had happened.

What a pair of weirdos, he estimated. Whatever…

'Hold me tight and lead on!' exclaimed Goku, once they were on the cloud. 'What's our destination?'

'First, let's go home,' she said. 'I'm worried about my parents. That monster you vaporised had the tournament roster, and it had our address. What if it destroyed Capsule trying to kill us?'

'I see,' said Goku, smiling at her. 'Definitely, you're becoming a very good person, and I love you for that.'

'I love you too, Goku,' she revealed, blushing severely and holding him tighter than ever. 'That's why we need to get rid of that monster, so we can live peacefully, together.'

'We will,' he assured her, determined.

On their way to Capsule Corp, they did not speak at all. Instead, they were feeling each other's breathing, as well as their heartbeats, and that was magical for them. There was nothing else but each other for that moment. That changed when they remembered why they were travelling, and Goku sped up the cloud, eager to reach the massive building.

'It seems that everything's all right,' estimated Goku, landing. She landed beside him and entered the house, concerned.

'Yeah, I agree,' she said, once she found out that everyone was working as if nothing happened. 'I don't know about you, but I need something to eat, and a shower, and of course a rest. I'm beat.'

'Yes, I could use some hours of rest too,' admitted Goku, stretching himself. While doing so, he heard a giggle. 'Hi, mum of Bulma,' he chirped.

'Hi Goku, hi Bulma,' she said happily. 'So you're finally together, eh? You're holding hands like there's no tomorrow, I'm happy for you.'

'Yeah, thanks, mum,' said Bulma, embarrassed, realising that she was true.

'You're welcome,' she said, giggling. 'And Goku, you know you can call me Panchy.'

'Yes, sorry, mum of… I mean, Panchy. I'll remember that.'

'Good boy,' said Panchy, smiling. 'If you've come to do this and that, you have my blessing.'

'Mum, we've just started dating, ok?' complained Bulma. 'You should be more concerned about those kinds of things, don't you think?'

'Why? Goku's turning into such a handsome man that I'm even feeling a little jealous, y'know?' Panchy laughed when they got startled. 'Just kidding.'

'Stop watching those operas, Panchy, for your own good,' advised Goku, after a sigh. 'They're messing your brain.'

'She needs a brain for that,' muttered Bulma, in a low voice, while Panchy was laughing. Fortunately, the blonde did not hear her daughter's comment.

Definitely, everything goes fine, thought Goku, shrugging, while they were heading to the dining room.

They did not plan to stay at home too much time, but they did not realise how tired they were until they stopped in Bulma's laboratory. Fortunately, there was a large bed there, because they barely reached it before they fell asleep. So, when they woke up, after some hours of refreshing rest, Bulma saw the clock and paled.

'Oh, my! We've been sleeping almost twelve hours flat!' she gasped in horror. 'And you've slept in the same bed as I? How in blazes–?'

'Chill out, honey,' he said, trying to soothe her. 'I haven't done anything to you, I swear it for my honour.'

'I know,' she said, just when she saw his eyes. 'You'd never do anything like that to me without my consent. I overreacted and I apologise.'

'Bah, don't mention it,' he sniffed. 'Now that we're refreshed, where are we going?'

'We'll go to Uranai's.'

'Why are we going to Uranai Baba's place?' asked Goku, puzzled, looking at her to express his confusion. 'She can't help us, she's not strong enough.'

'But she can bring people from among the dead for a day, for example your grandfather three years ago,' explained Bulma. 'Maybe among the dead we can find someone to train you, so you can kill that son of a bitch.'

'I hope so,' said Goku. 'Everybody's right, that Piccolo Daimao is too strong. He's quick, skilled, powerful and merciless. I need a miracle to win. He's truly a demon, no human being can reach that amount of power.'

'But you're not a human being,' replied Bulma. 'When you fought Piccolo, I noticed he was afraid of the Kamehameha, at least of the first move to perform it. Maybe someone from among the dead has a similar technique to destroy him. Let's get something to eat, and after that I'll look for some info about our enemy. While I get my research, it'd be good if you watched the holos, for example. It'll take some time.'

Goku nodded and, after a kiss, he left the lab, looking for some food. But he did not eat alone. Instead, he brought her some food too and she beamed at him in appreciation, just to keep reading endlessly, to the extreme that he had to feed her up just for her to eat.

'Watch out, darling, you almost ate my hand!' warned Goku, laughing.

'Sowwy,' she apologised, her mouth full. 'Man, this guy's the worst,' she added, once she swallowed. 'Apparently, no one knows about his origins, but he's a monster no matter what. He destroyed nations, killed entire armies and nobody could face him without losing their lives. Not even the best martial artists, such as Roshi or Tsuru could even land him a straight hit.'

'So nobody could defeat him?' asked Goku, reading from over her shoulder.

'No, but there was a person who could seal him in an electric rice cooker,' she read, and he looked for the text eagerly. 'Look, his name was Mutaito, and he was Roshi's martial arts' master.'

'I see,' said Goku. 'That's why you want us to go to Uranai's. She can bring dead people back for a day, and she surely knew Mutaito, so your plan is for her to bring him back to the living realm to train me.'

'Exactly,' she said, smiling at him. 'I'm glad to see you're starting to use your brain. Not at the same pace as mine, of course, but anyway…'

'Yeah, yeah, Earth to Bulma,' he mocked, laughing. 'Modesty isn't your thing, eh?'

Both of them laughed at that one, but Bulma's laugh was abruptly cut when she kept reading.

'Uh oh,' she muttered, worried. 'I think it's better looking for a plan B, I'm afraid. Mutaito died sealing Piccolo.'

'What?'

'He used a forbidden technique named Mafuba to seal him, but at the cost of his own life,' she explained. 'His sacrifice meant the freedom of the entire world, and it'd be worth dying for by any martial artist, but I don't want to die that way, and what's more, I don't want you to die that way either. Now that I finally found the perfect person for me, I won't lose him like that, no matter what's at stake, if I can help it.'

'But…'

'No, Goku, I'm not giving up,' she cut out, almost reading his mind. 'I'm still convinced that you can do it, and I'll be by your side no matter what. If there's no other option, so be it, but if there are other ways to deal with him, I won't lose you.'

'That means we won't go to Uranai's?'

'Oh, we'll go,' she said, determined. 'If Mutaito's technique is so dangerous that it kills the user, we'll look for another warrior who can help us. We'll ask her for the perfect warrior to teach you, and I'll pay whatever she asks for just to be sure you kill him, so we can live happily ever after. Deal?'

Goku did not answer, but he grabbed her head and kissed her. She smiled.

'I'll take it as a yes,' she said, laughing. 'I'm sure Baba will find someone suitable from among the dead to teach you the ultimate technique to destroy that monster.'

'In a single day?' asked Goku. 'Thanks, but I'm not that good, honey.'

'If anyone can do it, it's you,' assured Bulma, hugging him. 'Well, maybe Tien can learn quickly too, but he's not here and I trust you more.'

'Ok, your plan, your rules,' accepted Goku, kissing her again. 'Sounds fun.'

'Let's do it then,' she decided, standing. 'Now's as good a time as any.'

And they left the lab, went down the stairs and almost bumped against Panchy, who looked at them with a smile on her face.

'Have a good date, sweethearts,' she said, mischievous.

'Sure thing,' joked Goku, before Bulma could make a reply of her own, usually tactless.

It's not a date, dammit!, thought Bulma, blushing, while they left the house at high speed. We're preparing for a war! How can she be so dumb? Luckily I've inherited my father's intelligence.

During the journey, they decided not to talk until they reached their destination. They had to focus on their mission and they were determined to do whatever needed to accomplish it. Not only their lives depended on that, but also the lives of the entire population of the planet. The task was too important, so Goku asked Kinton for its full speed; there was no time to waste any longer, they had that feeling.

An hour later, they could see Uranai Baba's facilities. There was nobody in the queue. In fact, there was not even the ghost assistant there, so they simply crossed the door and found the old woman sitting on her crystal ball, sipping from a cup of… something.

I doubt she's drinking tea or coffee, thought Bulma, trying to conceal her disgust, especially when she saw the content of the cup. I think that I don't want to know what that green thing is. It's not likely to be green tea.

'Oh, customers. How can I help you…?' muttered Baba, without looking at them, but when she finally did it, she froze. 'Goku, Bulma-san! What're you doing here?'

'We thought we could use your help, Uranai,' said Bulma. 'Could you go to the afterlife and look for someone?'

'Right now?' asked the fortune-teller, but she answered herself. 'Of course, right now. What I was thinking? It's for that issue of Piccolo Daimao, isn't it?'

'As always, you're right,' said Bulma, grinning.

'Yeah, whatever,' grunted Baba, rolling her eyes. 'Well, who do you want to meet? I can see things, but I can't read minds, you know.'

'I was thinking of Mutaito, the inventor of the sealing technique Mafuba,' said Bulma.

'If you want to learn this technique, ask Roshi,' said Baba. 'He knows it.'

'Perhaps, but he's as much a target as we are,' said Goku, frowning. 'Besides, we don't know where he is and I think we don't have enough time to look for him.'

'On the other hand,' continued Bulma, before Baba could reply, 'I said I was thinking about that technique, but now I'm against the idea. That technique kills its user.'

'True,' confirmed Baba, pensive. 'And you're right about the lack of time too. Piccolo wants the Dragon Balls and Roshi has them. It's only a matter of time that Piccolo finds Roshi and my brother won't be so lucky this time. He fought him yesterday and caught him by surprise, but Piccolo learns from his mistakes.'

'How do you know this?' asked Goku, surprised.

'Since the series of assassinations started, I've been watching some parts of the future,' explained Baba. 'It revealed to me exactly what's happening. It confirmed something I felt three years ago as well, when you were right here.'

'The prophecy?' asked Goku, and Baba nodded. 'So it's true, I'm destined to save the world.'

'Yes, but it won't be easy,' said Baba. 'I doubt I can bring Mutaito back to our world even if you wanted, though. He isn't in the right place, I mean, the afterlife, but in the limbo, suffering in a hollow place, unable to rest. That's the destiny of those killed by a Mazoku, especially the Daimao.

'But we don't have time to chat,' she went on. 'Maybe I can't stand Roshi, but he's my brother nonetheless, and not even him deserves such a fate. Piccolo's been looking for him very avidly since he lost the Dragon Balls, so we can't waste any minute. I can't bring Mutaito back, but I think I can bring someone even more valuable to you than him, someone stronger. She can't kill Piccolo for you, she's not allowed to do so, but she might be able to train you so you can kill him.'

'She?' asked Bulma. 'Who's she?'

'Her name's Gine,' informed Baba. 'She's trying to contact me since Son Gohan-san went back to the afterlife. I bet they've been talking lately. If you want her to help you, I'll see what I can do.'

'Of course,' accepted Goku, thrilled. 'She's my mum, I want to see her!'

'And I'm sure you have tons of questions to ask her, but you have no time to waste,' insisted Baba. 'The future of this planet is at stake, and it rests in your hands, you must train and defeat Piccolo Daimao no matter the price.'

'Of course, bring my mum back, I beg you,' pleaded Goku.

'Wait a second, now you talk about prices,' stopped Bulma, suspicious. 'How much will it cost?'

'Save the world and we're even,' accorded Baba. 'Wait for me while I'm bringing her. See you later.'

After that, she simply disappeared from sight before the astonishment of the couple. Some minutes later, though, she appeared again, and she was not alone.

By her side was a beautiful woman with a halo over her head. Brunette and with short, shaggy hair, she was dressed with an armour that covered her thorax and part of her thighs, as if she had a skirt made with the same material as the armour. Dark trousers, as well as white boots and purple armbands completed her outfit. She was waving her tail in thrill, looking around and, when she saw her son, she rushed to "glomp" him with a tight hug.

'Kakarotto!' she exclaimed, tightening her hug even more. 'Oh, how I missed you, my son! Do you know you're a carbon copy of your father? Even the scar on your face is the same!'

'C-cannot… breathe…' gasped Goku, looking desperately for air. Gine's hug was so tight she was crushing him without noticing it.

'Wow, mama bear's hug,' joked Baba, laughing. 'Stop tightening, Gine-san, or you'd kill your own son.'

'What? Oh, yes, sorry, I'm so thrilled that I wasn't measuring my strength!'

Goku gasped for air while Gine was looking around, exploring. She seemed out of place somehow, although she appeared not to care too much about that. She was smiling, astonished, waving her tail frantically.

'This is a beautiful planet indeed,' she mused for herself. 'I like it. It's different from planet Vegeta, of course, there are plenty of life forms and the sky's blue. And there's water everywhere. Curious.'

'Curious?' repeated Bulma, surprised. 'Is Earth that different from your planet, Gine-san?'

'Why, yes,' she assured, smiling. 'I would get used to it. Too bad I can't stay here more than a day though. By the way, who are you?'

'I'm Bulma, nice to meet you in person,' she introduced herself, shaking the saiyan's hand. 'I found your holographic recordings, they're very useful. Thanks to them, Goku and I…'

'Goku? Is that the name of my son here?' asked Gine, and Bulma nodded. 'A good name to conceal himself. Nobody out of here could identify him as a saiyan by that name. Very clever. I assume you know what I'm talking about…'

'Yes, thanks to the holograms,' repeated Bulma. 'That's what I was trying to say. We discovered that Goku's from another planet because of them. We know what's going on out there, I mean, that issue with Freezer and so on…'

'Yeah, right, better not to talk about it,' cut Gine. 'Baba-san told me that Kakarotto needs my help, but she forgot to tell me why.'

'Yes, it's about a terrible enemy,' explained Goku. 'He's extremely strong, far stronger than me. I survived a fight against him by luck.'

'He was dead for a minute,' added Bulma. 'Thanks to Kami-sama he resurrected somehow. I-I couldn't live without him… he… he's my boyfriend, you know…'

'Oh, you're dating a human, Kakarotto?' asked Gine, dubious.

'Of course, Bulma's the best,' praised Goku, smiling. 'I can't live without her either. Besides, if there's any prejudice about dating someone from a different species, I have no choice, I'm the only saiyan on Earth. In fact, I consider myself as earthling as any other inhabitant of this planet.'

'And you're proud of it,' completed Gine, and Goku nodded with confidence. 'Bardock would've said almost the same. Like father, like son. I'm proud of you, Kakarotto.'

'Uh… thanks, I guess…' muttered Goku, hesitantly. 'By the way, about that enemy…'

'I can't defeat him, son,' cut the female saiyan. 'I'm not alive, do you remember? I'm not allowed to interfere directly in any matter of the living.'

'That means you can't train me either?' asked Goku, disappointed.

'I said "directly",' specified Gine, smiling. 'Of course I can train you. Only for a day, but a day is a day. Let's start. Fight me, I want to see what you're made of.'

Goku nodded, thrilled. He was about to spar with no less than his deceased mother, one of his kind. He hoped he did not disappoint her.

Half a day had passed and plenty of things had changed, especially in the part of the planet where the sun was shining. In other words, in a desert island, only occupied by the Kame House.

Considering Piccolo Daimao and his minions had stolen the list of participants of the tournament, in which the address of each competitor was included, the Kame House was moved far away, in order not to be found by anybody but their friends, of course, except Goku and Bulma, who were unaccounted for since they left the hospital. So, only Yamcha, Krillin and Lunch lived in the house, hidden, waiting for Tien's group to give them good news, but none of them appeared or made any signs of them being alive. They were starting to think that Tien's group could not make it, and the same could be true for Goku and Bulma.

'No problem,' kept saying Blue-haired Lunch while doing the housework. 'I'm sure they'll come back safe and sound.'

However, that morning seemed to be different somehow. To start with, when Krillin switched the TV on, he could see an unusual program, in which a very old green-skinned guy with antennae and pointy ears was speaking about some rubbish nobody cared about, in his opinion. Nonetheless, he started to pay attention when he heard the name of Piccolo Daimao.

'Oi, guys, you have to see this,' he warned.

'Show some respect, you freak, or I'll let Laura speak,' spat Blonde Lunch, showing the AK-47 she was cleaning.

'Tell your Kalashnikov to be quiet,' said Krillin, unimpressed. 'This is important. They're speaking about Piccolo Daimao.'

'And what's up with that cunt?' barked the blonde woman.

'This is Piccolo Daimao-sama, making my first speech as your new king,' they heard from the TV.

'What? New king?' yelled Yamcha.

'Shut up!' barked Lunch.

'My only rule as a king is that there will be no rules but mine,' continued Piccolo. 'Words and concepts like peace, freedom, harmony and the like will be anathema under my rule. In other words, concepts like murder, theft or kidnapping among others will not only be allowed, but strongly encouraged. If someone favours peace and similar concepts, they will be breaking the law and extreme force will be used against them. Criminals, this is now your world! No one will stop you! On the contrary, crime is now law!'

'It's horrible!' exclaimed Yamcha, trembling. 'This is anarchy, the law of the cruellest! This is the end of the world!'

'Stop your faggoting whines, it's pretty interesting,' opined Lunch.

'And what if they try to kill you, kidnap you or rob you?' asked Krillin. 'Is that interesting?'

'I admit you have a point,' complied Lunch. 'It's only interesting if I do it, not if I suffer from it. This way is a fucking annoyance.'

'I abolish all kinds of protection, especially the police and the army,' Piccolo kept saying. 'Furthermore, if anyone tries to protect someone, they'll be breaking the law as well, so they can be executed for treason, like an old man with long, white beard, dressed in a black kimono, who defied me a couple of days ago. I want that old man to be brought here, so I can kill him myself as an example of what'd happen to anyone who breaks my laws. I encourage you to act towards him as violently as you see fit, as long as you don't kill him. And that's not all…'

'Enough of this crap!' cut Krillin, switching the telly off. 'Guys, we must do something! I'm sure the old man he was referring to is Muten Roshi-sama! We can't stay here! We have to help!'

'And where do we start searching, if he doesn't want to be found?' asked Lunch. 'Fuck, I would hide underground if I were in his situation!'

'But…'

'Think, baka!' she continued, exasperated by his idiocy, in her opinion. 'This world is now a world of darkness and fear, you'll be fucked unless you adapt yourself to the circumstances. Personally, I'll do so. I won't let anyone of these freaks fuck my pussy as if I were a mere whore. If you're with me, let's go kill some bastards, the more the better, so they can't kill Roshi by overwhelming him. If not, just stay here and rot.'

'B-but this is an atrocity!' babbled Krillin. 'We don't need to kill them, only incapacitate them!'

'We're living in an atrocious world right now,' insisted Lunch. 'Evolve or die. This is the only truth I know. Kill or be killed. There's nothing we can do but adapt ourselves to the new environment. What do you want to be, hunters or prey?'

'You… you have a point…' muttered Krillin. 'I mean, if we kill criminals, or if at least we incapacitate them, they wouldn't kill innocent people.'

'It's a start,' said Lunch, sighing. 'Let's go.'

'But on the other hand, we can't let the criminals take our home,' replied Krillin, hesitant. 'My leg still hurts but I can manage; Yamcha, however, can't fight, and what about the rest of our friends? Roshi's group is missing, and I hope they keep like that, but what about Goku and Bulma?'

'They're dead, Krillin!' yelled Lunch. 'Hell, assume that fact! We're alone! That Piccolo has fucked our arses really hard!'

'Lunch, stop swearing, all right?' cut Yamcha.

'Fuck off, you faggot!' she spat. 'Be a man, not a pussy!'

'But…'

'Listen to me! I have something clear! I'm not spending the rest of my life sucking that motherfucker's cock! I won't surrender to anyone, I won't be a slave of that son of a bitch! If I have to die, I'll die screwing the more bastards' arses, the better! And…!'

Suddenly, the door opened and several convicts invaded the house, armed to the teeth. It was obvious they were extremely dangerous.

'Gimme the dosh, you cocksuckers!' yelled the leader, armed with a shotgun. They were not aware of where they were trying to rob.

'Who's the cocksucker, arsehole?' hissed Lunch, aiming her Kalashnikov to the convict's balls, and he froze instantly. He was not expecting such a reaction, especially from an apparently fragile woman. Finding someone armed was not within their plans, especially if the weapon was a high-calibre automatic rifle. 'Get outta here unless you want to hear Laura's voice!'

They did not cooperate though. In fact, that threat was nothing but the fuel for a short-scaled war within the house.

'Lunch, do you have any more friends like your AK?' asked Krillin, who was dodging the bullets of two Ingram guns at the same time, no small achievement at all. 'If you call them it would be appreciated, you know!'

'Consider it done,' said Lunch, grinning evilly, and she took from out of nowhere no less than two Colt Commando, one for each hand, while Yamcha "borrowed" the AK for a while. 'Say hello to the twins, scumbags! Luke, Leia, sing for me!'

And she started to shoot indiscriminately towards anything that moved. Luckily, she could now distinguish between friends and foes and she only shot the convicts. Nevertheless, when they managed to kick the convicts out – some of them literally, the house was almost destroyed due to the massive amount of ammunition they used.

'Consider yourselves lucky I haven't shot to kill, jerks!' she yelled. 'Get outta here before I start killing!'

'I don't know if they're gonna make it till tonight,' muttered Krillin. 'Good riddance though. What a bunch of jerks…'

'Thanks for the help, Lunch,' added Yamcha, bringing her back her Kalashnikov. 'By the way, why did you call the twins Luke and Leia?'

'What can I say?' she said, shrugging. 'I love giving names to my weapons and I love Star Wars as well. Their father is Darth Vader the machine gun. Fitting, eh?'

And she started to laugh, promptly imitated by Yamcha, while Krillin rolled his eyes and joined them too. Those were dark times, but there was still some time to laugh by adapting to her kind of humour.

The other half of the day passed quickly, especially for Goku, who was being really entertained by his deceased mother. When she considered her son was fit enough for her training, she started to teach him several advanced techniques she had not recorded in the holograms. He was sure those techniques would come in handy to kill Piccolo, so he made an extra effort to master them in astonishing time.

'Very good,' praised Gine. Goku was so exhausted he could barely keep on his feet, but he smiled at her anyway. 'You're as talented as your father, maybe even more. By my reckoning, you've multiplied your strength three times, more than enough to defeat any opponent on this planet. Although I'm still wondering how on Vegeta could you be defeated by a human being? We saiyans are stronger than any human.'

'Maybe because he's not human,' said Goku, panting. 'He's green, extremely tall, with antennae and pointy ears…'

'Wait,' she interrupted. 'Are you telling me you're fighting a namekian? What's a namekian doing here?'

'A what?' asked Bulma, dumbfounded. 'Piccolo's an alien?'

'He's most likely an inhabitant of planet Namek considering your description, yes,' confirmed Gine. 'Why? Anything against aliens?'

'Not at all, I'm in love with one, aren't I?' replied Bulma with no hesitance, but trying not to show too much of her face due to the extreme blush. 'It's simply I couldn't imagine he was an extraterrestrial, that's all.'

'Easy, Bulma-chan, I was only teasing you,' laughed Gine. 'However, no wonder you couldn't imagine he's an alien, especially a namekian. On my planet I learned Namek suffered a terrible climate change that killed almost the entire life on its surface. I can only assume that that Piccolo guy is a survivor. But namekians are supposedly pacifists, even though they're very capable fighters. It's strange. But no matter now,' she floated above them, ready to continue with her training. 'Come on, attack me, both of you. We have little time left.'

'Wait, you mean flying?' asked Goku. 'We can't fly.'

'Are you kidding me?' she said in disbelief. 'Why didn't you tell me that before? You should've mastered your flying technique long ago! I thought you were fighting on the ground because you liked it, not because you had no option!' she sighed. 'Oh well, I'll teach you how to fly.'

And she spent an entire hour for that, which surprised Bulma to no end. She had assumed flying was impossible until she saw Tien and Chaozu floating as if they weighed nothing. Since then, she had tried to concentrate on placing her energy on her feet, as if she wanted to perform a Kamehameha with them, but with no success. The energy simply did not obey her. However, thanks to her might-be mother-in-law she managed to float in only thirty minutes! Mastering the technique to actually fly, though, was not that easy, at least to her. It was, in fact, frustrating to no end.

'Gees! How do you do that?' she complained.

'Come on, you've got it,' taught Gine, patient. 'Simply add more energy onto your feet and push.'

'I'm trying!'

'Don't stress yourself or you'll never fly properly,' advised the saiyan. 'Relax and focus, that's the key.'

Yeah, sure, you saiyans are extremely gifted for this, but we humans…, she thought.

'Consider yourself lucky,' continued Gine. 'If I were like the rest of the saiyans, you wouldn't be learning how to fly, you would be grabbed, lifted until you lacked oxygen to breathe and, suddenly, released.'

'What? But you can't learn how to fly like that!' exclaimed Bulma, stunned.

'That's the way I learned,' said Gine. 'We need to learn quickly, we're slaves of Freezer, do you remember? If you don't learn quickly, you die. Many saiyans died in that test, but the ones who survived became stronger.

'I should've died long ago, longer than when I died I mean,' she continued. 'But thanks to Bardock I survived until the end of my planet. I'm not strong at all compared to any other warrior, so I decided to supply food to the warriors. Bardock himself, in spite of being one of the strongest saiyans on Vegeta, was a third class warrior. Life there was pretty tough. If you want to live like that, simply give up on the likes of Piccolo Daimao. If you want to live a comfortable life, just fight, bleed and survive by killing your opponents.' she sighed. 'My, I'm starting to talk like Bardock. Now I know why. He was protecting me, making me stronger, tougher, independent… Now I see it clearly.'

'Gine-san… I…' started Bulma, trying to find the best words to express what she was feeling, which was rather difficult.

'Yes?'

'I… I'm… flying?' she completed, astonished, and the saiyan smiled and nodded. 'I'm flying on my own! How…?'

'You just focused on following me while I was floating higher and higher,' said Gine, grinning. She had started lifting since she started the monologue, and Bulma had been following her without noticing anything weird. 'Piece of cake.'

'Unbelievable!'

'Now the final test,' continued Gine, adopting a fighting stance. 'Think fast!'

Two quick sucker punches destabilised her, making her fall. Gine flew towards her and kept punching, while Bulma tried to dodge the blows. Some of them impacted, but others were deflected and, bit by bit, she adapted to the fight while flying without even realising it.

Nice, Bulma, you're a very quick learner, thought Goku, floating near them. He had passed that very same test before and he knew it was difficult, but he was surprised. Bulma was adapting very quickly and without noticing it, maybe because she was not thinking about what she was doing, but she simply was doing it.

'Ok, you can rest for a while,' stopped Gine, just when Uranai Baba approached them, levitating thanks to her crystal ball.

'No time,' said the fortuneteller. 'Gine-san, your time here is over.'

'Already?' asked the saiyan, surprised. 'It's been quick. We have to repeat it in better circumstances, it's been very fun.'

'I'll see what I can do,' said Baba. 'Say your farewells and so on, you have to go.'

'Mum…' muttered Goku sadly, flying towards her.

'I'm not good at saying goodbye,' said Gine, 'so I'll say it clearly: take care, I'll miss you and all those things. Oh, and goodbye.'

And she disappeared, leaving them with their reply. Baba sighed. 'Saiyans…' she said. 'She's the most sensate of them all, but still…'

'Goodbye, mum,' muttered Goku, trying not to cry. 'It's been fun getting to know you. I'll miss you.'

'Me too,' added Bulma, hugging him to comfort each other; both of them needed it now. 'Thanks for all your lessons. Now we have a chance to save the world thanks to you. I hope we'll see each other again in better circumstances, as you said, so I can show you my planet.'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever,' grumbled Baba, spoilsport. 'Now go, you have a world to save and little time to do so. Your destination is the king's palace and you have half an hour. Be late and West City will be destroyed to the foundations.'

'What? West City?' shrieked Bulma. 'Capsule Corp is there! We live there! My parents live there! My friends and students from the university too, and Capsule employees! And so many other people! We can't let that happen!'

'Then stop your whims and go,' insisted Baba, pointing towards the direction they should take. 'I'll contact Roshi to help you if he can. I know where he is. Take this communicator,' it was a device small enough for anyone to put it in their ear, and Bulma took it. 'You can coordinate with him with this. Now go, and good luck.'

'Right,' accepted Goku, while Bulma put the communicator in her ear. 'Kinton!'

When the cloud arrived, he placed himself on it and Bulma held him, like before. After that, they ate their two last senzu beans to recover completely and Goku set a destination. They could now fly, but Kinton was quicker and safer, and they would need all their energy to survive. The final fight was about to start. Piccolo Daimao had to die.

CHAPTER 17, VARIANT 2

THE FIRST CRITICAL POINT: GOKU DIES

THE TERRIBLE PICCOLO DAIMAO

'I'm sorry, Bulma, I can't win this time…' whispered Goku, falling on his knees due to the lack of strength.

Oh, no, Goku!, thought Bulma, crying desperately. Please, keep alive! Don't die on me, I beg you!

'Terrific, he's dead,' said Piccolo, after assuring himself of that fact by placing a hand on Goku's chest. 'His heart isn't beating. What a pathetic creature.'

'Poor guy,' muttered Yajirobe sadly. 'He was truly brave. He died tryin' to protect us.'

'Don't say such a thing, dammit!' cried Bulma. 'He's not dead! He's only faking his own death to survive and fight him again!'

'Whatever you say, woman,' replied the samurai. 'Your boyfriend's dead, admit it. It's unfortunate, but it's a fact.'

'He's not!' insisted Bulma, glaring at him. 'I know it, I somehow know it! My Goku's alive!'

But, no matter what she tried to revive him, it did not work. Not even the senzu beans were effective this time. Goku had simply died fighting Piccolo to save her, and there was nothing she, or any other by any extent, could do to fix that fact.

Better not saying how it affected Bulma.

At that very instant, the telephone in the plane rang. When Roshi answered the call, he could hear the broken and very hoarse voice of Bulma on the other side, giving them the terrible news.

'Goku's dead…' repeated Roshi, in a feeble voice. 'I… I can't believe it… h-how…?'

'Piccolo killed him,' said Bulma, almost voiceless. She had cried until her vocal cords got seriously damaged, and now even talking was difficult for her. 'But I'll take revenge, no matter what. I'll kill him or die trying.'

'Wait, don't rush things!' warned Roshi. 'You're not prepared! You heard me?'

'I don't care,' she said. 'I'll fight no matter what you say. That's decided. Goodbye.'

And she hung up the phone. Roshi looked at it for some seconds, lost in thoughts, crestfallen, before hanging it up. He could not take the thought of Goku's demise from his head. It was simply catastrophic.

'Kame Sennin-sama…' started Tien.

'Not now, Tien, please,' begged Roshi, and the large fighter noticed that the old master was crying in silence. He noticed as well that Chaozu was trying not to do the same, judging by his hiccups. 'Now is not the moment.'

'I know,' said Tien, in an urging voice. 'What I wanted to say is that Piccolo has gathered the remaining Dragon Ball. The two of them are together, and approaching us.'

'Dammit,' whispered Roshi. 'Our confrontation is inevitable, I'm afraid. We need a strategy to steal his balls or we're gonna die for sure. Piccolo's too strong.'

'What about the Mafuba?' asked Tien.

'Don't!' boomed Roshi, and Tien could observe the master was terrified, but not as he was depressed by the news. 'The Mafuba isn't an option, Tien Shinhan. Don't even mention it as a possibility. Anyone who performs that forbidden technique dies. It's even worse than your Kikoho. Tsuru Sennin shouldn't have taught you that technique, it's simply too dangerous. If I knew how to perform the Mafuba, I assure you I wouldn't teach it to anyone. Forget its existence, Tien, seriously.'

'Yes, Kame Sennin-sama, I promise,' said Tien. The old master could not see that Tien's fingers were crossed when he promised.

I'm sure he knows the technique, he thought. He wants to sacrifice himself by using it, but why? Isn't Goku's death enough?

'And what about Goku?' asked Chaozu.

'If we resurrect Goku, Piccolo destroys everything,' assured Roshi. 'No, the priority is getting rid of Piccolo once and for all. Goku's resurrection can wait till next year.'

'Yes, Kame Sennin-sama,' accepted both Tien and Chaozu, albeit reluctantly.

Suddenly, Roshi shivered for an instant and looked at the sky. 'Here he is,' he said, his voice trembling. 'Hide.'

Some seconds after they hid, the zeppelin arrived and Piccolo could see there was nobody in the surroundings, but he knew they were there, somewhere, and chuckled maniacally.

They're hidden somewhere, trying to ambush me, he thought, amused. Well, let's have some fun torturing them.

I have no choice but to die sealing Piccolo with the Mafuba, he thought, showing himself to his enemy. It's a pity that we can't resurrect Goku and the other fallen martial artists he and his gang have murdered because I'd seal the two Dragon Balls he's just eaten. He sighed and looked at the unconscious Tien Shinhan. If I fail, at least you'll survive, Tien. I hope you understand why I did what I did. I can't allow you to learn this forbidden technique and, of course, I won't allow neither your sacrifice nor Chaozu's. A hollow sacrifice is too much already. If another life has to be wasted, it's better to waste the life of an old man instead of the life of another young one. I'll be the last casualty in this war if I have something to tell about it.

'Well, I'm here, Piccolo!' he said, trying not to sound too scared or too depressed. He failed. He was not even thinking straight anymore, but he did not notice that fact. 'You have two balls, I have five. The victor makes a wish.'

'What it's the same, I make a wish,' corrected Piccolo with a smirk. 'Good plan, old man. Are you brave enough to fight me without wetting yourself?'

'That, Piccolo, is my line,' spat Roshi, throwing a Hoi-Poi capsule that contained a pot with an "ofuda", a magical seal, attached to it. Piccolo saw the seal and screamed in horror, trying to fly for his life, but Roshi simply could not allow that. 'Mafuba!'

A massive wave erupted from Roshi's hands and engulfed Piccolo, forming a formidable tornado controlled by the old master, who aimed it towards the pot. Unfortunately, he failed by centimetres.

'What a pity,' panted Roshi, feeling how his life was abandoning him. 'I failed. I'm sorry, Goku, I couldn't avenge you. I gave my life for naught.'

After that, Muten Roshi died valiantly, fighting the horror in person. An honourable death, albeit hollow.

However, the drug he gave Tien to sleep was not as effective as it should have been and the three-eyed warrior could see everything. He could not move at all, being his body totally paralysed, but he could see both the forbidden technique, the Mafuba, and Roshi's death.

Dammit!, he thought, his head spinning. We have to do something or this is the end of the world! But what can I do now? Dammit, dammit!

Piccolo found the five balls and joined them with the two he had, after spitting them out. With all the balls together and nobody else disturbing, he could make his wish, so he was exultant.

'Shen Long, I, Piccolo Daimao-sama, summon you! Come forth this instant!' he boomed.

Now both Tien and Chaozu could see a column of light emerging from the Dragon Balls, a light that was taking the form of a dragon, and soon they could see Shen Long in its full glory.

Chaozu, listen to my mind, thought Tien as hard as he could, trying to communicate with his partner by telepathy.

I hear you, Tien, thought Chaozu. What's happening?

Later, now I need you for something vital, thought Tien. Kame Sennin-sama has drugged me and I can't move, so you have to do this alone, sorry. Try to make a wish before Piccolo, or the world will end. Say "please, remove Piccolo Daimao from this world". Did you get it?

Got it, Tien.

Hurry up!

Before Piccolo could say anything, Chaozu showed himself and started his wish. However, the Demon King was quicker and, with a blast of energy, he killed Chaozu in a flash. After that, he made his wish and, in seconds, his body started to change, to rejuvenate, to make stronger. Tien witnessed that with sorrow, for his best friend had died for nothing too and it was his fault. But he could not mourn him because, after the wish was granted, Piccolo killed Shen Long as well, making the Dragon Balls useless forever.

Kame Sennin-sama, Chaozu, Goku, and surely Bulma… I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything, thought Tien in grief. But I'll avenge you, I swear. I think I've learned how to perform the Mafuba and I'm going to seal Piccolo. I'll do it for you. Your deaths won't be meaningless.

However, things were going from bad to worse. Bulma had informed Krillin about Goku's death and what she was about to do, and that was such a heavy blow for them that they forgot their injuries and started to prepare to fight the evil demon. Krillin was relatively fit, his damaged leg almost recovered, but Yamcha's was still healing. Despite that, he joined his friend in the hunt for Piccolo, as well as Lunch, who gathered all her weapons for the occasion. After that, they called Bulma and joined her, forming the last group of resistance against the Daimao.

When they were about to go hunt, Tien called them, giving them the terrible news.

'We're going after him, Tien,' said Lunch. 'We're gonna fuck that cocksucker's arse or die trying. Join us at the king's palace, we're heading there as we speak.'

'Why there?' asked Tien.

'Turn the telly on and you'll see why,' said Bulma. 'We have dialled channel 210.'

Tien did it and greeted his teeth in rage. The nerve!

'This is Piccolo Daimao-sama, making my first speech as your new king,' they heard from the TV.

'What? New king?' yelled Yamcha.

'Shut up!' barked Lunch.

'It's horrible!' exclaimed Yamcha, trembling. 'This is anarchy, the law of the cruellest! This is the end of the world!'

'Shut up and keep listening,' barked Tien from his plane.

'Enough of this crap!' cut Krillin, switching the telly off. 'He won't rule if he's dead.'

'Yes, and we'll make sure he dies the most painful of deaths,' added Bulma, enraged.

'Kami-sama, he's completely crazy,' they heard from Tien's side. 'He's gonna destroy a city per year, starting with Metro West!'

'Ah, no, he won't!' yelled Bulma, and instantly she regretted that, when her throat started to hurt. 'Dammit,' she whispered; she could not speak louder.

Luckily for them, Yamcha was the co-pilot and he could control the plane, because Bulma was so hurt that she could not do anything but coughing, which was even worse for her voice.

So, they eventually arrived at the King's palace, where Piccolo was located. The city was almost destroyed, there were corpses everywhere, and that was nothing compared to what would be expected from Metro West if the group could not do anything to prevent that. With that in mind, they landed the plane and left it. At that moment, Tien arrived too, with a capsule in hand.

'Tien, you've come!' exclaimed Lunch, carrying no less than a machine gun. 'Good, let's give that monster a massive dose of pain, shall we?'

'Sure,' said Tien, 'but let me do something first. I have a technique to get rid of him. I'm not sure I can handle it though, so be prepared to cover me just in case, alright?'

Bulma nodded and made some signals to him, with a hand crossing her throat and pointing at the palace. It was obvious she was voiceless, due to the massive hurt of her vocal cords.

'He's all yours,' said Yamcha, limping. Bulma sighed and gave him her last senzu bean, in order for him to be fit to fight. After instructing him to eat it, she glared at Piccolo, who was already leaving the palace.

'Hey, Piccolo, not so fast!' yelled Tien, enraged. 'Before the city, you have to deal with us!'

'Oh?' mocked Piccolo, staring at the group with mirth. Bulma noticed that he was younger than she expected and tried to ask why, but she remained voiceless. 'And who might you be?' he asked, grinning evilly. 'Sacrifices? Good. I'll make an example with the likes of you, so nobody else has the same idea in the future.'

'You can try, but you'll die now,' spat Tien, throwing the capsule. After the cloud of smoke, it revealed the very same pot Roshi had used when he performed the Mafuba technique. When Piccolo saw it, he recoiled.

'No! You too know that damned technique?' he yelled, panicking.

'That's right, Piccolo,' said Tien, concentrating. 'Prepare to be sealed for all eternity, a destiny worse than Muten Roshi's. Mafuba!'

The execution of the technique was perfect. Tien conducted the massive wave towards the pot and, this time, it entered perfectly. However, the pot had a small hole and Piccolo could escape, panting heavily. When Bulma saw he was weak, she launched towards him without a second thought, enraged, and landed some blows upon him… to no avail.

'That's all?' mocked the Daimao, cracking an evil grin full of malice. 'My turn now. I'll show you how to kill a person, woman.'

And he threw a massive blast of energy that ended Bulma's life, disintegrating her in a flash, at the same time that Tien died due to the aftereffects from the Mafuba technique. Meanwhile, Krillin and Yamcha could not believe what they were witnessing. That monster had killed Bulma in the blink of an eye! But, even before they could raise their defence to face him, Piccolo grinned again and raised a hand towards them. The blast of energy that followed that gesture was the last thing Krillin and Yamcha saw before they died. Lunch, enraged due to Tien's death, discharged the entire magazine of bullets from her machine gun, but that effort was for naught too; Piccolo grinned once more and Lunch ceased to exist the next instant. Another massive blast of energy did the trick.

The consequences of that confrontation that ended in failure were terrible. After he killed the group of resistants, Piccolo proceeded to destroy Metro West, and with that destruction Capsule Corp was reduced to a pile of debris, making the economy of the entire planet suffer massively. But that fact was not important any longer. Piccolo kept destroying important cities, selected by a lottery, one per year, and the populace of the planet dropped drastically. Piccolo faced no one else and, knowing for sure that he was invincible, he became lazy.

However, that sense of invincibility abandoned him when, eight years after the demise of the group of fighters, another threat arrived on the planet. A threat by the name of Raditz.

'My, my, Kakarotto has made an impact on the planet indeed,' he said to himself, when he spotted a massive crater that was not provoked by the space pod.

He heard a deafening noise, the product of an explosion, not too far away from his position. He smirked and, curious, flew towards the location of the explosion.

'I think I'll see how he manages,' he muttered, grinning evilly. 'He's taking his time though. What's he thinking? He should've obliterated the life of the planet already, considering the time he spent here. But it doesn't matter. By now, he's the second strongest person on the planet, second to me.'

He was surprised, though, when he spotted a namekian guy instead of his brother. Indeed, Piccolo had just destroyed another city out of boredom. Raditz checked his scouter and got disappointed when he saw the results.

Not even three hundred?, he thought, gritting his teeth. What's going on here? Where's Kakarotto? Why's this pathetic slug doing his job, dammit?

So he approached Piccolo, looking for answers the only way he knew, that is, torturing his information out of him. However, Piccolo saw him and threw a blast of energy at him on sight.

'And another pest died,' said Piccolo, laughing maniacally. 'Those humans don't learn, definitely.'

'Neither do namekians, apparently,' said Raditz, smirking. 'That was an attack? I hope you have something stronger, namekian, or you won't amuse me.'

'What do you mean by namekian, human? I'm Piccolo Daimao-sama!'

'Daimao? You call yourself King of demons with that strength of yours?' Raditz laughed. 'Pathetic. You're not even close to the average namekian farmer in strength, let alone a warrior. And you're the last remnant from Namek, the best they could offer to repopulate themselves in the future? Disappointing. You're not worth my time, faggot.'

'DIE!' boomed Piccolo, launching a massive blast of energy.

But Raditz barely felt a tickling sensation when the energy impacted upon him. Seriously displeased, he just advanced towards Piccolo with a burst of speed and snapped his neck in an instant, disintegrating the corpse in the next one. After that, he kept looking for Goku, without knowing that he had died eight years previous. When he noticed that there was no trace of his brother, Raditz simply shrugged and wiped away all life on the planet.

Several months later, he arrived on Freezer's spaceship, accompanied by Nappa and Vegeta, exultant to tell him the news. He did not expect such a reaction though.

'You fool!' boomed Freezer, vaporising him in an instant with a burst of energy. 'It wasn't the time to attack planet Earth yet, imbecile! There's no one yet to sell the planet!' he fixed his gaze upon the two remaining saiyans, who were trembling in fear. 'It was your idea, eh, Vegeta? Or it was yours, Nappa?'

'F-Freezer-sama, I don't know what you're talking about with—' stammered Vegeta, recoiling.

But Freezer did not give him the option of fleeing. Quick as a flash, he disintegrated him, following suit with Nappa. After that, he relaxed a little.

'I should've done this a long time ago,' he said to himself. 'Now the saiyan race is over, let's plan our next move, shall we?'

Wow, that was intense! Over 13,000 words, and I haven't included the final fight yet, at least for the good part.

You've surely noticed there are two parts in this chapter, as well as many fragments in the second one similar, if not the same, as the first one. The reason for that was that I feel like there's a critical point here, as I stated at the top of the chapter. Even in canon, by my reckoning Goku's demise (or lack of it) was determined by sheer luck, and I wondered what would've happened if Goku had actually died when he faced Piccolo unprepared. One of the possible answers is the second variant of the chapter, as far as I see it. I hope you guys liked both versions, because there may be more of them in future chapters, depending on where the story goes.

Now, without further ado, let's check the reviews.

About the review that placed Goku's power level similar to the old Piccolo Daimao (I've translated the review from Spanish for everyone to understand it), I'm sorry, but I can't agree with that. In canon, just when Krillin died, Goku hurried to avenge him and suffered a severe defeat as well, in which he almost died. In fact, it took two days for him to recover conscience. Yes, he was fighting over Kinton, but the same result was expected on the ground too, due to lack of energy. Taking into account that he had just fought Tien, he was quite tired at the moment. Thus, I reckon that here, on Filling Gaps, the result was practically the same, and I wrote it as such. But hey, your opinion was noticed nonetheless, so don't be discouraged.

Disregarding the "warning" that followed the review in Spanish (seriously, mate?), I have to admit that nanotechnology is a very useful tool for the near future. However, a nanobot made by Gero, capable of blocking the arteries of anyone, sounds disconcerting at best, creepy in the middle and nasty up to eleven at worst, for lack of better words to describe the sensation of imagining him doing such a thing. I agree with you that it'd be the end of the world, chap, and too cheap even for him. That thing would destroy even Cell without him noticing, for cryin' out loud!