The Hasha looked up at the three.
"Well? Come stop me if you can, though I highly doubt it."
They spread out, forming a triangle around their opponent. After a moment, Bardock and Nappa lunged at him from either side. The Hasha rose to avoid them, and slammed right into the waiting fists of Turles. It didn't really hurt, but it was sufficiently annoying to let Bardock and Nappa also start attacking.
The three rained largely ineffectual blows on their target for a few moments, until an irritated Hasha no Ankoku screamed and used a ki aura to knock them away. Three blows later and they were falling to the ground, unconscious. Snorting in contempt, he raised his hands to prepare a huge energy blast that would kill all the unconscious weaker fighters and seriously injure the stronger ones.
Before he could, however, something slammed into his back, knocking him a few feet forward. He tried to whirl around and see what had struck him, but what felt like seemingly hundreds of blows thrown at super-speed impacted on his back, rotating him around so that he was now being attacked on the front. He was able to get only a glimpse of a blurred figure with blonde hair before the force of the strikes forced his eyes shut.
***
Chi-Chi and Videl continued on in silence until they reached the tower of Kami. As they landed, they saw Dende and Mr. Popo bent over the prone from of Gohan. They quickly ran up to them.
"How is he?"
"He's almost fully recovered," said Dende without looking up. "He should be ready in just a few more seconds. There."
Gohan's eyes opened and he snapped up into a sitting position. "Dende? Mr. Popo? How'd I get here?" he asked a bit fuzzily. Before they could answer, he turned his head and saw the women. He leapt to his feet and clutched Videl tightly.
"Thank heavens you're all right! What's going on?"
"It's not over yet," she responded as she returned his hug. "He's still down there, and I think Piccolo is fighting him alone."
"Alone? How?" Gohan let go of her and closed his eyes.
"Strange…Piccolo appears to be unconscious, Vegeta seems to be in a state of shock or something, and the others are still unconscious as well. But SOMETHING is attacking the Hasha; I can feel him getting weaker. I'd better go check it out."
He gave Videl a slow kiss. Chi-Chi, watching, gritted her teeth.
"I'll be back soon, I promise. Mom, Dende, Mr. Popo…take care of yourselves." With that, he put two fingers to his forehead and was gone. Videl flashed her mother-in-law a nasty grin.
***
The scholar appeared at Capsule Corporation just in time to see the alternate variant of Vegeta get slammed into the ground.
"When I didn't sense any ki, I should have guessed it was you," he said, grinning.
Juuhachigou nodded. "I arrived just in time to stop him killing the others. Now stand back, I'm going to finish him off."
The attractive android generated a monstrous energy blast in her hands and hurled it downward, directly onto the Hasha. After the debris settled, she and Gohan descended to the ground where their enemy was lying with his eyes closed, inside an indentation in the ground.
"He doesn't have much of a pulse," said Gohan with his hand on the Saiyan's throat. "I wouldn't be surprised at all if he bleeds to death in just a couple of minutes. C'mon, let's check on the others."
A few light slaps to the face awoke Goku, Goten and Trunks. Soon the five of them were making the rounds, waking the others and helping them to their feet if necessary.
Up until this point, Vegeta seemed to be in a state of shock, unable to do anything except stare. Now, however, he returned to normal.
"Where is he?" snarled Piccolo as soon as he awoke. He was the last one brought back to consciousness; everyone else listened carefully for the reply. There was no need to ask who "he" was.
"Slowly and painfully bleeding to death," replied Gohan matter-of-factly.
***
The Hasha no Ankoku lay unmoving. Death was mere moments away, he knew. He had joined the greater number once before and he knew what it was like. There was no doubt.
He could not open his eyes. He could barely breathe. All he could do was lie in this small crater and feel the blood seep from his many wounds into the surrounding ground.
Something fell on his chin.
It didn't feel like one of the pebbles that had been steadily dropping onto him. It seemed softer.
Never had he expended more willpower then he did in the next moment. After a massive struggle, he opened his eyes and focused them on his chin.
On it was a senzu bean.
A new spark flared to life within the dying king. His salvation was mere centimeters away.
He managed to force his mouth open. As he strove to extend his tongue, he distracted himself from the enormous pain by wondering how the magical bean had come to be there in the first place. He supposed that when he knocked out the Namek-whom he had seen distributing them-it must have fallen from his grasp and landed on the edge of the crater, having just now fallen.
He simply had to get his tongue just a bit farther and he would be back in prime form. Then he would destroy them all.
Just a bit farther…
***
"Let's go ahead and finish the bastard off," said Juunanagou. "He destroyed my house, I'll do it myself."
Suddenly a figure leapt out of the crater. It stood on the edge and posed dramatically. It reared its head and shoulders back. Its crimson cape fluttered in the wind. It raised its sole arm in a gesture of defiance.
"Who's ready for round two?" roared the Hasha no Ankoku.
"Well? Come stop me if you can, though I highly doubt it."
They spread out, forming a triangle around their opponent. After a moment, Bardock and Nappa lunged at him from either side. The Hasha rose to avoid them, and slammed right into the waiting fists of Turles. It didn't really hurt, but it was sufficiently annoying to let Bardock and Nappa also start attacking.
The three rained largely ineffectual blows on their target for a few moments, until an irritated Hasha no Ankoku screamed and used a ki aura to knock them away. Three blows later and they were falling to the ground, unconscious. Snorting in contempt, he raised his hands to prepare a huge energy blast that would kill all the unconscious weaker fighters and seriously injure the stronger ones.
Before he could, however, something slammed into his back, knocking him a few feet forward. He tried to whirl around and see what had struck him, but what felt like seemingly hundreds of blows thrown at super-speed impacted on his back, rotating him around so that he was now being attacked on the front. He was able to get only a glimpse of a blurred figure with blonde hair before the force of the strikes forced his eyes shut.
***
Chi-Chi and Videl continued on in silence until they reached the tower of Kami. As they landed, they saw Dende and Mr. Popo bent over the prone from of Gohan. They quickly ran up to them.
"How is he?"
"He's almost fully recovered," said Dende without looking up. "He should be ready in just a few more seconds. There."
Gohan's eyes opened and he snapped up into a sitting position. "Dende? Mr. Popo? How'd I get here?" he asked a bit fuzzily. Before they could answer, he turned his head and saw the women. He leapt to his feet and clutched Videl tightly.
"Thank heavens you're all right! What's going on?"
"It's not over yet," she responded as she returned his hug. "He's still down there, and I think Piccolo is fighting him alone."
"Alone? How?" Gohan let go of her and closed his eyes.
"Strange…Piccolo appears to be unconscious, Vegeta seems to be in a state of shock or something, and the others are still unconscious as well. But SOMETHING is attacking the Hasha; I can feel him getting weaker. I'd better go check it out."
He gave Videl a slow kiss. Chi-Chi, watching, gritted her teeth.
"I'll be back soon, I promise. Mom, Dende, Mr. Popo…take care of yourselves." With that, he put two fingers to his forehead and was gone. Videl flashed her mother-in-law a nasty grin.
***
The scholar appeared at Capsule Corporation just in time to see the alternate variant of Vegeta get slammed into the ground.
"When I didn't sense any ki, I should have guessed it was you," he said, grinning.
Juuhachigou nodded. "I arrived just in time to stop him killing the others. Now stand back, I'm going to finish him off."
The attractive android generated a monstrous energy blast in her hands and hurled it downward, directly onto the Hasha. After the debris settled, she and Gohan descended to the ground where their enemy was lying with his eyes closed, inside an indentation in the ground.
"He doesn't have much of a pulse," said Gohan with his hand on the Saiyan's throat. "I wouldn't be surprised at all if he bleeds to death in just a couple of minutes. C'mon, let's check on the others."
A few light slaps to the face awoke Goku, Goten and Trunks. Soon the five of them were making the rounds, waking the others and helping them to their feet if necessary.
Up until this point, Vegeta seemed to be in a state of shock, unable to do anything except stare. Now, however, he returned to normal.
"Where is he?" snarled Piccolo as soon as he awoke. He was the last one brought back to consciousness; everyone else listened carefully for the reply. There was no need to ask who "he" was.
"Slowly and painfully bleeding to death," replied Gohan matter-of-factly.
***
The Hasha no Ankoku lay unmoving. Death was mere moments away, he knew. He had joined the greater number once before and he knew what it was like. There was no doubt.
He could not open his eyes. He could barely breathe. All he could do was lie in this small crater and feel the blood seep from his many wounds into the surrounding ground.
Something fell on his chin.
It didn't feel like one of the pebbles that had been steadily dropping onto him. It seemed softer.
Never had he expended more willpower then he did in the next moment. After a massive struggle, he opened his eyes and focused them on his chin.
On it was a senzu bean.
A new spark flared to life within the dying king. His salvation was mere centimeters away.
He managed to force his mouth open. As he strove to extend his tongue, he distracted himself from the enormous pain by wondering how the magical bean had come to be there in the first place. He supposed that when he knocked out the Namek-whom he had seen distributing them-it must have fallen from his grasp and landed on the edge of the crater, having just now fallen.
He simply had to get his tongue just a bit farther and he would be back in prime form. Then he would destroy them all.
Just a bit farther…
***
"Let's go ahead and finish the bastard off," said Juunanagou. "He destroyed my house, I'll do it myself."
Suddenly a figure leapt out of the crater. It stood on the edge and posed dramatically. It reared its head and shoulders back. Its crimson cape fluttered in the wind. It raised its sole arm in a gesture of defiance.
"Who's ready for round two?" roared the Hasha no Ankoku.
