Murten Roshi sat outside his house, gazing at the star filled sky. At one time in his life, he was the strongest man on Earth; his speed, strength, power and senses having no rival. As with all people, though, age became a factor and his strength diminished. With the maturation of Goku and Kuririn and the coming of villains like Vegeta, Cell, and Majin Buu, he's seen power displayed that he could only dream of.
Those days of he being the strongest in the world seem so far away now. All anyone saw him as was an old pervert. Not to be misunderstood, he loved the life of a pervert; what male wouldn't get delight from the feel of a beautiful woman's soft warm curves? However, as a fighter, as a defender of Earth, he had little to offer. With the strength of the enemies his students regularly face, he couldn't come close to comparing.
What galled him the most was the fact that although his strength, speed, and power measured next to nothing now, his senses still worked as they did all those years ago. The sense to detect ki levels that Goku and the others took for granted was about all he had left. He, too, could sense when there was danger and, damn it all, he couldn't do a thing to help.
Like now. He could feel the danger in the air.
There was something in his bones that told him that this was somehow related to the disappearances of Kuririn, #18, Yamucha, and Videl. Whereas before, where he would've been in the thick of things, he had to sit back like the rest of the world and hope that Goku and his friends could handle whatever threatened the world and come out alive.
"Unca Roshi."
Roshi turned around at the little voice that came behind him, "Marron! What're you doing up still? It's passed your bed time."
"I heard the door open," little Marron said. "I thought mommy and daddy came home."
Roshi took the little child and held her in his arms, "No honey, they haven't come back yet."
She buried her head into his shriveled chest on the verge of tears, "Where are they? Why won't they come home?"
"Don't worry, child, they'll be back soon. I promise." He looked back up to the sky, 'Please hurry, Goku. Please bring this child's parents home alive.'
Dreamweaver Studios Presents
Dragonball Z:
Tainted Hearts
Part Four
The Paozu valley was one of the most beautiful places on earth, especially at night. Just sitting down looking at the reconstructed moon bathe the scenery in a gentle halo of light and listening to the crickets and other nocturnal wildlife could give the most insane of individuals a serene and peaceful heart.
Goku, however, wasn't able to enjoy the sights. His heart was pounding and the only sounds he could hear was the ringing in his ears as a result of the blows inflicted by his one time friend. He just couldn't understand it; Kuririn was the best friend he had in the world. Why would he turn on him like that? Goku also couldn't understand how he got so powerful all of a sudden. Kuririn was able to bat Super Saiyan Goten away like he was nothing.
Gohan found himself in a similar dilemma. Ever since he started attending Orange Star High School, Videl had been a part of his life…not voluntarily at first, but as time wore on, that changed. He was seriously thinking about their possibly spending time together outside of school and outside of the Great Saiya-man thing. But now…
"Dad, what're we going to do?"
"I don't know. We have to find a way to beat them without hurting them."
Kuririn suddenly appeared in front of Goku and landed a kick on his chin that launched him into the sky. "You were always way too nice Goku!"
As Kuririn flew after Goku, Videl similarly lashed out at Gohan. Gohan, though, managed to dodge the attack. "Videl, please stop!" Gohan pleaded. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"I don't want to hurt you either," Videl said. "I want to kill you!"
"Why? Why are you so intent on killing me?"
She smiled, "You're a smart boy. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
Not fully aware of the fighting going on outside of her house, Chi Chi stepped outside to see why her husband hadn't come back to bed yet. "Goku! Goku, what's going on?"
Moving quicker than Goku could, Kuririn left him alone and landed in front of Chi Chi. "Hiya Chi Chi."
"Kuririn!" Before she could say another word Kuririn backhanded her to the face and Chi Chi fell to the ground.
"That was for all the abuse you've put me through for all these years. You're just lucky you're not the person I'm here after," Kuririn said.
Goku slowly landed between Kuririn and Chi Chi, clearly upset. "That's it. I don't care if we're friends or not." He powered up to a Super Saiyan and added, "You've just gone too far."
"Humph, looks like I've finally gotten your attention," Kuririn said. "Let's do this."
**
The big city at night had a beauty all its own. True, the stars didn't shine as brightly, they were easily missed as the city lights illuminated the night sky. And while the city wasn't as peaceful as the Paozu valley, it did hold a level of serenity that came to a violent end as the battle that was taking place within the Capsule Corporation building spilled to the outside.
Of all the things that could be said of Vegeta, but one thing that had always been said was that Vegeta was a man of pride. But as he picked himself off of the ground and wiped the blood off of his mouth, he found his pride wasn't of much help. At any other time, he would've found the thought of having to change into a Super Saiyan just to beat a Human, even one of Kakarotto's friends, ludicrous.
Vegeta had learned many times, the hard way, that pride had its place. And as he eyed Yamucha walking up to the hole he made crashing through the wall, he concluded that pride had no place in this fight. Spitting out the blood that welled up in his mouth and standing fully erect, Vegeta powered up to a Super Saiyan.
Yamucha stepped through the hole and smirked. "Oh, so you've finally decided I was worth you becoming a Super Saiyan, huh?"
"I don't know how you've become so powerful and frankly, I don't care. You've come to MY home and threatened Bulma and me. I don't care what it takes, but I'm going to see that you pay for that."
Yamucha laughed, "And just how do you expect to do that when you're still not taking me seriously?"
Liabilities, as Vegeta well knew, could get you killed in a fight. That, of course, was the reason why he tried so hard to keep his pride in check. Unfortunately, one liability Vegeta didn't give due attention to, was his temper. At Yamucha's goading, Vegeta's ki roared and he launched himself at Yamucha.
With the ever-present smirk on his face, Yanucha flared his ki and flew off into the sky, with Vegeta hot on his heels. As they reached the center of the city, Yamucha disappeared. Immediately, Vegeta stopped and scanned the sky for his adversary.
"My, how thing have changed," Yamucha said from behind Vegeta. "When you and your partner landed on Earth, you were so incredibly powerful. You ran rings around me and my friends." Vegeta turned, swiping at Yamucha, but only struck air. "You killed us," Yamucha said, again behind Vegeta. "I don't care if it was your partner Nappa, or those little green things that did all of the work; you were the one who commanded them. And as a result, you get to live happily ever after with the woman I was destined for, while I live miserable and alone."
Again, Vegeta turned, lashing out at Yamucha. This time Yamucha caught Vegeta's fist and in a show of strength, as he did at the beginning of the fight, crushed it. "You two conspired to destroy my life. If anybody is going to pay for anything, it will be you two." For punctuation, Yamucha hurled Vegeta into a skyscraper.
As Vegeta dusted off all of the rubble, Yamucha slowly descended to the hole in the side of the building. "I have to say, though, I think I understand you better. If this is the feeling you get every time you fight against a weaker opponent, I understand why you took so much joy in attacking us."
"SHUT UP!!!" Vegeta fired a ki blast at Yamucha, figuring he would deflect the shot. He did, and Vegeta took advantage of the slight opening by launching his onslaught. He caught Yamucha with a good punch to the face that propelled him to the road below.
Before Yamucha was able to climb out of the crater he created, Vegeta appeared above him and pounded him with a relentless barrage of punches to his midsection. Unfazed by the rain of punches, Yamucha grabbed Vegeta by the neck and stood up. With the cruel smirk he's worn since the beginning of the fight, Yamucha said, "I could snap your neck right now." He squeezed Vegeta's neck for emphasis. "But this is just too much fun." He charged his ki, focused it on his fist and punched Vegeta with so much force, that it caused a thunderous explosion that could be felt for hundreds of miles.
True turnabout, Vegeta thought to himself, as he was soaring through the air by the force of the blow. Even though he had faced enemies that were overwhelmingly powerful before, this was the first time he ever felt that this may have been what the Humans felt when he and Nappa came to earth in their search for the Dragonballs. To throw your best at an enemy and find that your best wasn't good enough was truly a horrible feeling. Just as Yamucha did, Vegeta felt that he, now, better understood the Human fighters as well.
Vegeta, however, hadn't given Yamucha his best yet.
He finally came to rest back in the front yard of the Capsule Corp. in another thunderous explosion. As he, again, struggled to his feet, Bulma called to him from the hole in the wall he made earlier, "Vegeta, are you all right?"
"What do you think you're doing, woman? Get back inside now!" he yelled to her.
"You'd better listen to him," Yamucha said, slowly descending from the sky. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt by getting caught in our battle. That would rob me of the joy of slowly torturing you to death."
"Yamucha please," Bulma pleaded, "If you want to kill me so badly, then do it. Just leave Vegeta alone. Please."
"Just shut up will you!" blasted Vegeta. "The only one who's going to die around here is you, Human!"
"Empty threats," laughed Yamucha. "The tables have turned, Saiyan. There's no way you can defeat me."
"We'll see about that." Again, Vegeta powered up, causing a strong, searing wind to blow violently. Bulma hid behind the dome's wall, until the hot wind died down. She looked back out at the battlefield. Vegeta's hair had gotten slightly longer and what appeared to be lightening was dancing all about his body. He had gone to SSJ2.
Yamucha narrowed his eyes and for the first time, Vegeta smiled. "I see your smile is gone. What's the matter? You don't seem too eager to continue."
"It's not that," Yamucha said. "It's just that you've finally become worth my full attention."
"Right," Vegeta said. He got into a ready position and Yamucha did the same. Vegeta charged. In the middle of the charge, Vegeta changed directions, but he was moving so fast that an after image continued forward. Yamucha didn't bite on the after image. Instead, he turned behind him, expecting Vegeta to appear there and try to attack him. Vegeta, though, appeared in front of him again and struck Yamucha in the face. As Yamucha came to a stop, Vegeta appeared above him to land what he hoped would be the final blow. Yamucha dodged and kicked Vegeta back into the CC building.
"Great, there goes another wall," Bulma said to herself.
With comparatively no effort at all, Vegeta got back to his feet in time to see Yamucha charging after him. Vegeta flew out of the building, meeting his charge. Both warriors launched their punches and there was a powerful explosion that threatened to bring down the entire city when their fists met. When the bright light died down and the earth stopped trembling, Bulma looked back to the battlefield and found Yamucha and Vegeta still standing against each other, fist to fist.
"Looks like we're about even," Vegeta said, smiling.
"We'll see," Yamucha said, also smiling.
**
The beauty held in Kami's lookout couldn't hold a candle to the natural wonders held on Earth, but Mr. Popo diligently made sure every day that the lookout was as beautiful as possible, befitting a kami. Unfortunately, that beauty had been disappearing rapidly, as #18 and Piccolo continued to battle.
Piccolo was in a quandary and he knew it. As soon as the first punches were thrown, he could tell that she was a lot more powerful than she should be. It seemed, though, that for some reason, #18 wasn't fighting at full strength. She didn't strike Piccolo as the type to toy around with her opponents. Whatever the reason, though, Piccolo was grateful for it. It, at least, gave him a chance to win.
As Dende and Popo watched the aerial battle from the palace, Piccolo peered into #18's cold, hard gaze in hopes of anticipating her next move, but her face, as usual, betrayed nothing. So it was quite sudden when she started moving again. Again, the thought ran through Piccolo's head that #18 wasn't giving him her best, since every attack she had launched against him was successfully blocked…almost. A kick came out of nowhere and caught him square in the jaw.
Before he crashed, Piccolo was able to right himself and land on his feet. He adopted a defensive stance as #18 slowly descended from the sky with her left hand outstretched. Once she landed, #18 fired. Piccolo didn't need to dodge, because the energy blast sailed right by him and exploded some distance behind.
"Whatever happened to you seriously affected your aim," Piccolo said. "I didn't even have to move."
"Who said you were my target?"
In a panic, Piccolo looked behind him, fully expecting to find Dende or Mr. Popo dead. Instead, he found little shards of metal littering the grounds. "What the…"
"It should be safe for us to speak now," #18 said. "He only sent one to follow each of us."
"What're you talking about?" Piccolo said, still in a defensive posture in case #18 tried anything again.
"You can relax now Piccolo," said #18. "I'm not going to fight you any more."
"You'll excuse me if I don't believe you. You still haven't answered my question."
"You'll get your explanation," #18 said, "but I don't want to have to repeat myself. We have to rescue the Saiyans first." #18 turned and started walking to the edge of the Lookout. She stopped and turned back, looking at Piccolo who hadn't moved. "Are you coming?" she said, impatient.
"Yeah, I'm coming. But I'm warning you, if you try something--"
"Yeah, whatever."
**
**