The crimson blade found its Mark, and the girl identified as Rubella was thrown back as it made contact with her stomach and with a loud crash as she smashed into the wall of the cabin. The old building had put up with its fair share of punishment, but the force of impact was enough to smash it to pieces. The splintered remains looked jagged and hazardous as they enveloped the girl. Adam was sure that if his blade hadn't killed her, the rubble surely would.

But if Adam had felt any assurance of his own superiority, the shaking rubble swiftly put it to rest. Within seconds, the odd girl was shooting out of the debris and laughing at the leader of the white gang, her hands placed mockingly on her hips. The surrounding horde collectively drew breath; nobody Adam cut had ever gotten back up again before. Adam did not go red, but his iron grip on his hilt and sheath tightened almost imperceptibly.

Rubella stood waste deep in the remains of the house, and appeared to be incapable of pulling herself out. She awkwardly began to claw her way through the mess between her and the white fang. This took several long moments as her baggy clothes frequently snagged on bits of jagged splintered wood. Her composure not shaken in the slightest, Rubella beamed smugly at Adam's stony expression as reached a hand into her back pocket, drawing forth a long black balloon. She held it out in front of her and allowed it to swing back and forth like a hypnotists watch.

Adam's patience was at the brink of non existence, he decided to give this idiot girl one final chance to impress him before he turned her into sushi. He did not feel all too self conscious about his failed attempt to spill her guts, this was not something that he was used to but was certainly something he could handle. Assuming that his silence was her window to continue, Rubella raised the balloon to her lips and blew.

The balloon extended as a normal balloon would but as its rubbery form became fully elongated; a puff of light purple mist appeared, smoke bomb like, from nowhere. From the dust cloud appeared a long purple halberd, its blade curved and fading into black. Adam raised his own weapon in anticipation for the strike but noticed that as Rubella shook with confident laughter, the blade wobbled with her. The silly thing was made of rubber and hot air, just like its owner.

Adam returned the smile of the short girl before him, and rather unexpectedly sheathed his sword. Throwing the weapon into the hands of one of his soldiers, who held it like it was some kind of holy relic. Still smirking, Adam began his advance on Rubella, flexing and clicking his muscles in anticipation.

"DON'T GET COCKY; MY WEAPON COULD PIERCE THE VERY HEAVENS!" Rubella declared in an almost Shakespearean manner, but she could not hide the small beads of sweat forming on her brow as Adam's smile became more malevolent, more murderous.

"I'm pretty sure the girls I'm looking for are around here somewhere..." Adam whispered as he got within obliteration distance. Rubella charged forward out of the wood remains and swung the blade as hard as she could at Adam's face. He caught it easily between his thumb and index finger. He needn't have bothered; the thing had no lethal power to it. "And you're going to tell me where they are."

Rubella pulled and yanked on the weapon, but Adam's grip was unwavering and hers was not. This became apparent when Adam's fist thrust forward with a hard punch straight into Rubella's vast stomach. Rubella's hands shot off the useless weapon and her body sailed ragdoll like through the air, screeching like some mad parrot before landing in a heap on the ground several yards away. She did not attempt to get up for a few long seconds as she groaned and shuddered on the floor. Adam had decided to take his time with this girl; after all, Blake and the other girl would probably jump in to try and save her if they were watching from some unseen hiding place. He tightened his grip hard and the inflatable halberd burst into pieces just in time for Rubella to sit up and see.

"HEY!" Rubella shouted in total outrage. "THAT WAS AN ANTIQUE!"

"Gary... my sword." Adam whispered to the faunus who was holding the sheathed blade in his trembling fingers. He extended the weapon immediately; somewhat fearfully as though he felt his hands were not worthy of the tasks they were performing. Adam took the sword in his prominent hand and; without unsheathing it, began to walk towards Rubella, smacking the weapon in his other hand threateningly like a club.

The fused girl's lack of confidence as well as competence had started to show, the beads of sweat on her forehead had returned with prejudice and the stubby hands had curled into fists to mask the fact that they were shaking. She did not expect him to be so powerful, it looked like the great and powerful Rubella the destroyer had no choice. She had wanted to hold back and give the kid a chance to win at the very least, but it looked like there was nothing else for it.

"PREPARE YOURSELF FOR MY TRUE POWER! YOU FOOL; YOU'VE REALLY MADE ME MAD NOW!"

Rubella reignited her bravado as best she could, but there was no returning Adam's investment in the idea of her being an actual threat. He walked forward with a swift and confident step and continued smiling whilst smacking his palm with the swords sheathed blade, almost like a mocking novelty clapping motion. Rubella's ears had gone rather pink, but she continued with her display of impressive superiority. Raising her hands to the heavens and taking in a huge breath, closed her eyes, and blew.

A cloud of rose petals burst forth from the large mouth and danced through the air in a vibrant display. Adam and the white fang all drew their weapons in shock; they had not expected such a strange power from a seemingly talentless girl. The flower petals spun and flew around Rubella, almost as if they were examining her, and as the cloud of red began to thin, a second figure could be made out standing next to the caster of this bizarre spell.

It appeared to be the exact double of it master, just as fat and ugly looking, but lacking a certain sense of form, the details skewed somewhat by the fact that it was not flesh and blood. In an instant the cloud had vanished, leaving a very smug looking Rubella standing with her arms folded and the mysterious new creature in a ridiculous looking combat pose. She had crafted a clone from rose petals.

Goku reappeared in the barn he was using to house his guests. The lights were out and the door was only ajar, so Goku could hide whilst still being able to hear how the battle was going. It did not sound very promising, failed fusions never were, but if she could just hold out until Vegeta got back. Goku convulsively looked out of a second story window and peered at the surrounding skies. He had to be coming back soon; he would surely be getting hungry by now. But his words still sat in Goku's mind, 'You're on your own.' But the old Saiyan shook his head to get those ridiculous to stay quiet; Vegeta would never be so heartless. He was a hard man, but he always came through in the end. Goku sighed as he heard the sound of a two girls being struck and falling to the ground.

"I just have to wait it out here, just until Vegeta gets here..." Goku whispered to nobody in particular. "They won't search the property until-"

"HEY! I FOUND AN OLD GUY! HE'S IN THE B..."

The man in the white mask who stood in the doorway of the barn buckled under the weight of the Saiyan's grip around his mouth, rendering speech entirely impossible. Goku raised his hand to the back of his head and struck the base of his skull. The white fang member was unconscious before he hit the floor. Trying hard not to make a sound, Goku dragged the body into one of the disused horse stalls.

'Damn, that was a close one...well at least I got him before he alerted any-'

"HEY, CREIG SAID SOMEONE WAS IN HERE! ...I SEE HIM, HE'S-"

A straight punch knocked the second man off his feet and Goku managed to get behind him to drag the body next to Creig. He cursed himself for not being quicker with the first silencing. But he had still managed to keep his hands clean and avoid detection-

"HAS ANYONE SEEN PEDRO?! MAYBE HE'S IN THIS BARN!"

'Son of a-'Goku thought angrily as he detained-

"IN THE SHED! TO ARMS!"

"...Oh fiddle sticks."

"SPREAD OUT! PICK THIS PLACE CLEAN! I WANT ANYBODY HIDING HERE AT MY FEET IN MINUTES NOT HOURS!"

At the command of their leader, the white fang invading force abandoned their ranks and moved forward past the ruins of the cottage and towards the barn. But Rubella was ready. With lightning fast...well relatively notable speed, she and her doppelganger separated and sprung into action. The rose double covered the encroaching horde and the original charged Adam. Adam mockingly put up his guard, clearly not intending to fight seriously. Then; quite suddenly, many things happened in the same moment. The sturdy edge of a sword hilt collided with Rubella's forehead, causing her to fall to the ground, concussed. At the same instant, just before the rose duplicate could make contact with the white fang, it burst into flames and fell to pieces.

Rubella tried to stand up, but her knees were feeling weak for some reason, the concussion made the feeling of helplessness even worse. Her vision still worked, but felt hazy and slow witted. She heard the crowd of white fang gasp at something and saw Adam look up in surprise, his mouth hanging open in awe of something. Only when Rubella turned her thick head to where the faunus did she sees what was causing his jaw to fail.

Goddess.

No beautiful woman, no otherworldly perfection. This was a simple manifestation of all the wrath and terror that the idea of a deity could inflict. A being so adorn with burning power, It was hard to tell if it was indeed a she. The slight feminine figure was all the eyes had to go on. All other features were wreathed in flames. An infernal being from hell shone over head, just mere feet from the ground on which the mortals walked. All you could see for eyes were two pure while slits in the red angry flames. Until the dissipated, and allowed for a pair of human eyes to appear out of nothingness, and following that, shoulders, a torso, arms, legs, and finally a pair of pale bare feet that met the ground with a delicate yet smouldering touch. When she walked across the ground, steaming footprints of almost liquid earth branded the earth in her wake. One might expect the voice of an angel, of choirs and salvation. Or one might expect the sinister whisper of the devil himself. What absolutely nobody was expecting was the voice to sound like a mildly amused twenty something year old woman.

"Heh...I'll never understand the white fang, why you play with your food."

"Cinder...m-Miss Fall..." Adam stammered, as he got down on one knee. Paralysed with fear would have been an understatement. Adam seemed a totally different person; he had never grovelled at the feet of a human in his life. "Please...forgive me." Cinder reached a hand forward and caressed Adam's chin, pulling his face into eye contact with her. Adam winced; her fingers were obviously still extremely hot.

"I'm glad you're here...I need a workforce to locate someone for me." She turned her head to the large gathering of faunus behind her. "I'm sure it will align with your goal of finding the girl."

"Ma'am, please tell me" Adam's voice shook with the sheer power he was witnessing. "How did you achieve this...this miracle? Did the fall maiden-" But a scorching finger placed on Adam's lips silenced him instantly.

"The maiden contributed...but this is a story for another time. Let's just say I...found the power to destroy an entire forest without even trying...in the most unlikely of places."

Cinder stopped talking and directed her attention to the pile of cloth and fat a few feet from her and her subject. Whatever it was seemed to be wheezing an attempting to stand. IT looked sweaty and fit to burst, and it did, leaning forward and vomiting all over the radish laden earth. Cinders face was expressionless, assessing the situation. "And...What is this supposed to be?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING 'THAT' BITCH?!"

"I couldn't tell you, she jumped us when we tried to break down the door." Said Adam, looking rather disgusted at the vomit coating the girl's chins. Cinder smirked.

"Well, I suppose there is no need of it." Cinder raised her hand and pointed it at the girl. Rubella looked up at Cinder with large frightened eyes. "I will finish it quickly."

Rubella staggered and stumbled to try and get up, to defend herself. But the length of rope that had been hiding her shame had slipped down around her ankles, throwing off her balance. She decided to beg

"Y...you don't have to do this, Bitch was just-"

An orb of fiery light surged forth from distortion around Cinder's hand, with immense speed the orb shot into Rubella's stomach. The orb caught her in the chest and pushed Rubella back into the rubble of the house, the force of which caused the very debris to break into more debris. Cinder stood with a smouldering, smoking hand admiring her handy new ability before turning back to Adam.

"That felt satisfying." Adam looked on in abject fear; he had never seen such a power before. It was not just fire; it was something else...something far stronger. "Anyway, back to business at h-" Cinder gripped her head and grimaced, a terrible pain shot through her amoeba like a bullet, visions of a scene she had never witnessed flashed through her mind, for an instant she saw a head. A fat pale head, mechanical...lifeless...

"Cinder!" Cinder heard a voice call out to her and her eyes snapped open. Panting slightly, she felt her forehead, which was throbbing. She was down on one knee, and Adam Taurus was kneeling next to her, posturing his hand in a gesture of help, but Cinder brushed it aside and stood up by herself.

"It's nothing. Let us go."

'Okay...only... the thirty second man... who had to be silenced, but at least...at least...'

Goku had long since stopped keeping score, as he fought his way through a legion of his fellow man. That feeling of exhilaration had returned with redoubled force. The enemy's lack of physical strength was compensated for by their weapons, and many new weapons at that. His old friend crossbow guy made a return, but he finally got his fair dues in the form of a roundhouse kick to the heart. Two guys with exploding war hammers ended up golf swinging each other through the ceiling courtesy of instant transmission. One poor bastard tried using a flaming whip and ended up getting yanked through the air and crashing into a hand rail groin first. Yet none of these dopes seemed at all afraid of Goku, possibly because the cost of hesitation was worse than physical injury.

Goku wasn't complaining. As far as he was concerned, this situation was simply an excuse to do what he knew in his heart was what he loved. He was really feeling the fruit of his recovery, his reflexes were sharper than they had been in years, and the world around him seemed to move a little slower, a bit easier to manage. He would have been happy to fight them all day if he had to, but as the barn doors clanged; the fighting stopped instantly in an almost cartoonish fashion, right down to raised weapons un-cocking their various projectiles. One guy even threw a boomerang and was not permitted to move in order to catch it upon its return, leading to the obvious conclusion that had him roll unconscious down a flight of stairs.

The doors had been pushed open fully to reveal and frame the leader of the white fang. His red hair was aflame with his semblance and his blade was set firmly in his gloved hand. Adam needed only jerk his head to the side and all of his men backed off, awkwardly shuffling past Goku and then past their boss back outside. But it looked like neither of the players in the scene was interested in talking, as Adam leaped forward bringing his blade down on Goku's shoulder, he semblance would cut this old geezer in half, and then Cinder could make her move. If that was the plan; it certainly backfired on Adam, as Goku effortlessly caught his blade and snapped a large portion of the blade off it in a single motion.

It took Adam a few seconds to realise that his invincible sword, the weapon that he had one hit killed countless previous enemies...had been snapped in half by a pensioner. Goku didn't really get why this guy was so upset from a toothpick getting broken in a totally repairable way, but he didn't really care. But Adam did not let his grief get in the way of his focus. As fast as he could, Adam threw the sword down, grabbed Goku around the middle and hung on fast.

"NOOOW!"

Goku looked down at Adam's malicious grin with bemusement and was about to throw him off when he heard a whooshing noise behind him, Goku only managed to turn his head in time to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

"Nice try." Goku gloated at Adam felt the ground fall out from under him and he held onto Goku for dear life. "But sneak attacks are dirty you know, sucker punches are for amateurs."

Adam felt like he was dreaming, this did not make even an inch of sense. All he knew was that he had been holding this guy down for Cinder to drain his power, when he had raised his fingers to his forehead and then they were both suspended over an island in middle of nowhere ocean.

"I'm pretty sure that someone will find you eventually, but I need you out of the way for now." And with that, Goku picked up Adam, his clawing fingers wrenched off Goku's clothes, and dropped him to the earth. He saw a dust cloud of human making contact with dirt. Goku used instant transmission to teleport to where the kid had landed and inspected him. He was roughed up a bit from the fall, but didn't seem terminally injured and Goku saw that the guy was still moving.

"Sorry buddy, I know you and I aren't exactly on the same level, but I have no intension of fighting you. It's not my job to take you out, I don't have that right. I'm going to train the ones who do have that right, and then they'll beat you themselves." With a brief nod, Goku turned, and disappeared.

Cinder looked angrily around the wooden cabin, perplexed that anybody, let alone an old man could move that fast. She spun around and thought she saw movement through the window, but the flash of red was gone almost immediately, so she just assumed it was one of Adam's men. But where was Adam? How could someone disappear so suddenly and take someone with them? Was this guy some kind of ninja? There was an odd noise like a seagull flying into a wood chipper, and Goku reappeared. Unfortunately Cinder was facing in the opposite direction, so she did not see how Goku had entered the room.

"Sorry about that, I think I'd like to fight you fair though." Goku laughed and rubbed the back of his head as Cinder jumped and spun around. Her dignity forgotten, she began to rant and rave at Goku, voicing her confusion.

"Where did you go, why are you so fast, where is Taurus, and why are you laughing at me?!" Cinder was beginning to lose her nit for some reason; there was something about that big stupid grin that was making her hot blood run molten.

"He he, sorry that's right, I guess you're pretty confused right now, huh?" But Cinder had heard enough, she lunged forward and tried to grab Goku's arm, but Goku backed off just in time, Cinders momentum spun out of control and she smacked into a wall. There was a crunch of damaged wood as she removed her face from the large dent in the wall. Something of the fire that Knocked Rubella out was now present on Cinder again, her form was once again becoming adorn in flame. Goku watched this and continued to smile, this was great, and he had never felt so alive. He couldn't wait for what this weird lady's gimmick was. But something about her was freaking Goku out; she seemed to be willing to fight him with her bare hands, which he had no encountered in the native people of this land so far, he was aware that weapons were the norm here. There was also something unnerving about that energy she was emitting, it was not that aura stuff that Blake had described, no that was defiantly ki...and it felt familiar.

Weiss threw her most powerful ice spell at the wall of flame between them and their destination; but something about this red flame was resisting even the most complex of glyphs. Irritated, she turned back to Vegeta.

"It's no good; I'm not getting us through." Vegeta, sensing how close they were shot back straight away.

"Can you get us to an altitude where we can see over the stupid thing then?"

"Y-yes, of course."

Weiss made to cast a projection rune beneath all of their feet, but Yang moved first, and the way she moved made Weiss forget to cast the spell. She ran at a tree, ran up it and caught the lowest branch with her arm, and proceeded to climb the tree like nothing was wrong with her.

Weis stood in outraged silence for a few moments before Vegeta spoke again, in tones of introspection.

"She has someone in there doesn't she?"

"Well...we both might, but she's still in need of medical attention."

"Understand...she has a personal stake in this, that's all the healing she needs in her own head right now." Vegeta genuinely smiled at the wounded blonde, climbing the tree with athletic speed. "Yes...she would make a good Saiyan."

"What was that?" Weiss asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Nothing" Vegeta added, suddenly business like, "Come on, do your little magic and get us up there."

With a quick flick of her rapier to re-invigorate the glyph, Weiss cast the spell correctly, shooting Vegeta and herself high into the air. They landed far more gracefully than expected on the top most sturdy part of tree that Yang had chosen. Fortunately, this tree was right on the edge of the flames, but not so close that the flames would spread to it any time soon.

"Over there" Vegeta pointed to a barn in a clearing that resided beyond the hulking wall of fire. The large structure had its doors thrown wide open and had a lot of white fang outside it. There didn't seem to be any possible way of getting in unseen. Weiss noticed that Vegeta was also assessing this, if he did have some kind of monstrous power before, it must have been killing to not be able to use it. Whatever was going through Yang's head seemed to be distracting her from speech entirely. She stared hungrily into the flames, and the field beyond. When nobody said anything for a while, Weiss cleared her throat and spoke in what she hoped was an optimistic voice.

"Maybe we could go and get someone who could distract th-"

"Ruby." Yang whispered urgently.

Weiss looked straight at yang, whom had tensed and was staring straight at the clearing with unwavering eyes, despite the smoke."What, where?" Weiss asked, staring off into the middle distance. But too late.

With an earth shattering bang, Yang Xiao Long had launched herself into the air with her gauntlet and had sailed over the wall of fire. Sticking the landing with a parachute roll, the mutilated Huntress began yelling at the white fang, obviously trying to stop them from detecting Ruby. Weiss once again, felt outraged at this sudden physical ability. What had she been carrying her for? She was perfectly capable.

"Hurry, get us over!" Vegeta exclaimed.

Weiss didn't need to be told twice, and within seconds they were launched much like yang, over the flames. Things got hectic when they hit the ground. Yang attacked the white fang head on and quite remarkably, she was holding her own, her semblance seeming to compensate for her injured state. Weiss was only interested in finding Ruby, but Vegeta was no longer at her side, he had run off in pursuit of this 'Kakarot' whoever that was. Weiss did feel reluctant to leave Yang, but then the words 'ballistic missile' flitted across her mind, and she decided that Ruby should be their top priority. Weiss stepped back from the ensuing carnage and made a beeline for the barn.

"Uuuuuuh... oh man that was not good." Ruby murmured as she regained consciousness, and felt a light compress of detritus coating her body.

"Uhhgrgh...you can say that again..." said Blake, kicking a segment of a pillar off her leg. It took them both a minute to realise what had happened. They both squealed in disbelief.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH, I'M ME, AND YOU'RE YOU! BUT THAT MEANS?!" The girls exclaimed in unison, failing to notice the irony of this due to them realising they needed to be quiet. When they heard no commotion, Ruby risked a small glance out of the rubble that concealed her and her teammate.

Adam and Cinder could not be seen. Ruby assumed they must have gone inside to look for Goku. Ruby had no idea how Cinder had gotten so terrible, that couldn't be the power of the maiden, could it?

"Ruby, is it safe?"

"I think so; let's make a break for the barn, Goku said he'd be there."

Ruby made to leave, but Blake hesitated, and Ruby looked back at her with concern. Her eyes had that look in them again, the 'I just saw Adam' look.

"Blake, we need to go!"

"I know...but..."

Ruby looked down and saw that the young woman's hands were shaking. Ruby walked back to her and grasped her hand. "Don't worry; I'll have your back this time. We can do this together. He can't hurt you anymore, not now that you're not on his side." And in that instant, Blake believed her. She gripped back and the two made a dash for the barn.

As their backs hit the side of the barns hard walls, they ere both glad to have moved out of the open, as white fang began to file out of the barn, as if on orders. Ruby saw a small window to her left. Slowly, ever so slowly, she elevated herself and peered through. She saw no Adam, and no Goku, but a very confused looking Cinder, she was looking around the dark room as if she had just been pick pocketed. Blake grabbed Ruby's collar and dragged her down again in a convulsively harsh way.

"Get down, she almost saw you."

"Ow..."

"I-Is he in there?"

Ruby looked at Blake's face, it was indescribably terrified.

"No, but neither is Goku. Cinder is looking pretty confused right now, but so am I."

The commotion they had expected to hear earlier resounded from the army of white fang, who were now running away from the barn towards something else. Maybe grimm? No, no that was impossible, the fire wouldn't...

"Goku's back!" Blake nudged Ruby to get her attention, and Ruby jumped up to look through the window again. Sure enough Goku was back, it wasn't clear how...but he was, and he didn't look remotely harmed. Cinder had started to shout at him and there was something of a personal sting to the anger in her quivering voice. To Ruby, she sounded like someone with a really bad grudge.

"Where did you go, why are you so fast, where is Taurus, and why are you laughing at me?!"

When Goku laughed at the questions she asked, Cinder flew with a frightening speed right at Goku, but he managed to dodge and cause Cinder to hit the wall instead. Ruby and Blake felt the impact of from where they were standing on the other side of the barn, at least three ribs should have to be broken. Blake tugged on Ruby again to get her attention.

"I think we should go in."

"Bathroom window?"

"Bathroom window."

Goku deftly dodged three consecutive attacks from this mystery woman, first a projectile fire attack followed by a second, and finally, he slipped around the attempt she made to grab him. This seemed to tip Cinder over the edge; her face was almost as red as the fire that covered her hands.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"

The question felt oddly nostalgic for Goku, he remembered Frieza asking him the same thing. He stood up straight and decided to be honest.

"I'm Goku, and I am a Saiyan who was raised on earth."

This non-answer just made Cinder even madder, she didn't even know why she felt such rage towards this man she had never met. For some reason, just hearing the name 'Goku' sent her into a fury.

"Damn right you are!" Both Goku and Cinder turned in symmetry. Vegeta stood in the doorway, resting his weight on the side of the left door.

"Vegeta!" Goku was glad to see the prince at last; he needed someone to back him up. Cinder looked far differently at Vegeta, a grimace of shameful irritation, as though she had failed to keep a secret.

"YOU!" Vegeta pointed at Cinder and shouted furiously "Don't get too confident, you may have my power, but unlike me, you lack all pride in your tactics!"

"What do you mean she has you power?" Goku looked puzzled.

"She's an energy thief Kakarot, don't let her touch you." Vegeta pointed maliciously at the scowling woman, relishing in her frustration. "Like that blimp of an android and his creator, Gero."

"Oh, I see." Goku smiled sarcastically at Cinder, who looked affronted. "So that what you and the boy were trying, wanted my energy huh?"

"If I can't have your energy...I'll just-" Cinder was cut off by the bathroom door bursting open and Ruby and Blake emerging from the small room, sweaty and dishevelled. No awkward questions were asked at that moment.

"Ruby! Blake!"

"Goku! Vegeta!"

"I'll just have to-"

"Kakarot! I arrived with two girls, they need assistance as well."

"Two girls", Ruby and Blake piped up in unison"what did they look like?"

"ILL JUST HAVE-"

"A princess with a pony tail, and a one armed blonde girl!"

The two girls looked at each other with joyful tears in their eyes and they began to cheer.

"THEY'RE ALRIGHT, THEY'RE ALRIGHT, THEY'RE ALRIGHT, THEY'RE ALRIG-"

"STOP IGNORING ME!"

A fiery explosion of energy drew all eyes back to Cinder, who had assumed her original form of floating fire goddess. Her body had started to rise and one of her harms was facing the ceiling. With one colossal bang, Cinder had blown a hole in the ceiling. Goku readied himself for further energy stealing attempts, but Cinder did not seem interested in his power any more. She was looking over near where the white fang fought, with a single huntress no less. No loss.

"USE YOU'RE MAGIC TO ESCAPE THIS IF YOU CAN, BUT EVEN IF YOU DISAPPEAR, YOUR MISERABLE LITTLE FRIENDS ARE DOOMED! I'LL BLOW THEM TO PIECES AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!"

"She's gonna what?!" Said everyone.

Goku gasped and knew she was right, with Vegeta's ki she could destroy this whole area. He would have no time to find two girls he did not recognise in time, even with instant transmission. Ruby's speed wouldn't even be fast enough. He would have to stall this crazy lady, and the only way to buy Ruby enough time would be to...but he'd sworn never again. Goku lowered his fists, and directed his gaze to his shoes.

"Kakarot" Vegeta whispered in Goku's direction. "What's going to happen now?"

"Vegeta...I...I promised my wife..."

Cinder had assumed a pose that Vegeta and Goku both knew two well, the two arms postured out to either side of her, both collecting energy. Vegeta put his hand on Goku's shoulder. "You and me both." Goku stared at Vegeta, hardly believing his ears, Vegeta had never told him about the nature of Bulma's final moments. "Before she died, Bulma made me promise something as well."

"W-what?"

Vegeta smiled at Goku for the first time in years, his satisfaction on seeing Goku back on his feet was currently unsung, but the pride in Vegeta's smile showed that his plan and worked, as his smiles often did.

"I promised to make sure that I would continue to get stronger, and to make sure you never forgot who you are, and why you fought. You are Kakarot, a Saiyan who has bled for this world countless times, and you're going to do it again, the only way you know how."

Goku swallowed, he remembered how he had saved this world, through his own actions, through his friends and family's actions. All those villains bent on senseless destruction...like this one in the sky...like that guy on the day Chichi had left him. He remembered all the people he had saved... Krillin, Master Roshi, Bulma, Gohan, Pan...

"Alright, I'll do it."

Vegeta clapped Goku on the shoulder and then turned to the two girls.

"Pipsqueak, Catgirl, listen up! Your friends need to be in this room before this is over, Kakarot can get you and your friends out of here safely, got it?!"

In any normal circumstances, Ruby and Blake would have objected the nick names, but now seemed not the time. Ruby was gone in a flash of red and Blake followed at a similar pace. Goku faced the hole in the ceiling, where his opponent was in clear view, and breathed in through his nose. He felt the energy pounding through him, like some vast electrical current, just waiting for him to...

"IN MERE MOMENTS, ALL YOU WILL FEEL...IS OBLIVION!" An oddly familiar feeling of déjà vu came over Goku, but he could not figure out why.

Goku exhaled through his nose and opened his eyes, and looked directly at the charging attack in the sky. The time had come for him to fight, without holding back. No more promises, except one.

"KAIO-KEN!"

Goku's body exploded with red light, and he felt the energy inside him surge to the surface. Goku curled his hands into that position that Vegeta instantly recognised. And now was the time, time to finish this.

"Kaaaaaaaa"

"Yang!" Ruby yelled and yelled as she pelted through the white fang soldiers, searching for her sister. She found Yang pinned down by a guy with twin shotgun Tonfa's.

"Out of the way, you fool!" Ruby shrieked as she blindsided the attacker and knocked him out. There was the briefest of moments where the two sisters eyes met, before Ruby grabbed her one remaining arm and screamed at her "Yang, we need to get to the barn, it's our only way out!"

"Ruby, you don't know how worried I've been. Weiss had to-"

"NOT THE TIME!"

"Meeeeeeee"

"Weiss, look out!" Blake launched herself at Weiss and pulled her to the ground just as stray arrow hit the ground exactly where she had stood not moments before. They both scrambled to stand and Weiss embraced Blake like a sister. Blake had never had this happen before, so she just decided to chalk it up to shock. Yeah...that's what it is.

"I thought I'd never see you again." Weiss moaned into Blake's shoulder, clearly on the edge of tears. Blake assumed she had been through quite a bit, but there was no time to lose.

"Listen, we need to get to that barn, it's the only way to weather what's coming next."

"I...but...what's coming next?" Weiss stammered, still confused.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not good!"

"Haaaaaaaa"

"Alright, lead the way" Weiss and Blake grabbed each other's hand and ran for the barn.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Yang were fighting their way through the white fang to get at the barn in which stood their salvation. Ruby prioritised getting to the barn, but Yang was clearly trying to inflict as much damage as possible. She clearly would not be happy to learn that Adam was gone. "Hurry up you four!" Vegeta bellowed out from the door of the barn, before glancing back at Goku.

"MEEEEEEEE!"

"ITS OVER KAKAROT! FINAL FLAAASH!"

A staggering burst of golden light from the sky made it look like dawn had broken. All the white fang and huntresses stopped moving and looked up in awe of the sight. A stream of golden fiery ki blasted down from the heavens, aiming straight for Goku.

"HAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The barn which was supposed to be the destination of escape exploded. Blue light surged upward from the ruins towards the golden light. The two clashed and the force was enough to knock over the entire white fang force in that meadow. The two streams appeared to be struggling against each other, neither strong enough to overpower the other. Ruby ripped her eyes away from it, and grabbed her sister's hand. Pulling her and herself to their feet, they continued their mad dash for the two Saiyan's.

Goku could feel the power of his adversary press against his own blast, she was far more powerful than him with Vegeta's stolen power, but she rather astoundingly didn't seem to be over taking Goku. It took him a second to understand. She had the power, but she had no idea how it worked. But regardless, that power was dangerous in the hands of such an unstable woman and she'd have to use it all up to fight him.

Goku strained himself to push her back a bit further, he only had to last long enough for Ruby and the others to get here. But that woman seemed to be ramping up her power outlet. The stream of gold grew in power and size, and the blue stream began to shift backwards.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Goku felt his muscles burn under the strain of the pressure. His chest felt heavy with tension. Out of the corner of his eye, Goku saw that two of the girls had made it to Vegeta. Only two left. He had to take it further to keep her at bay.

"KAIO-KEN...TIMES 3!"

A fresh wave of power hit the golden light and the streams realigned and the sizes balanced out, slowly and steadily the stream moved back to its original position. Ruby and Yang both threw themselves at the feet of Weiss and Blake, both of which grabbed them and helped them up.

"Kakarot! They all made it; let's get out of here...Kakarot!"

"KAIO-KEN TIMES...4!"

The golden light faltered, the blue light turned a dazzling white and pierced through the golden ki and flew towards Cinder. She may have been able to stop it, if she had not closed her eyes and heard another man's voice. A voice accompanied by a searing pain through her head.

"You are better than me Kakarot...you are the best."

"Kakarot" Cinder whispered, as the white light enveloped her. "KAKAROOOOOOO-"

The white light shone...and faded. Goku, Vegeta, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Yang all locked arms and in the blink of an eye, they were gone. The white fang soldiers searched for their leader, for Cinder, for anyone to give them orders...but all they found was a broken, splintered katana.