"NO!"

That was Dende. He was monitoring the fight while Mr. Popo, Chi-Chi, and Videl listened to his running account. Just moments before, when he had announced that the Hasha no Ankoku was bleeding to death, they had been celebrating. Videl and Chi-Chi had even done an odd little victory dance.

Now everyone was simply staring at the Namek, wondering what horrible thing had happened below.

"Dende, what happened?" asked Mr. Popo nervously.

"It's…it's the evil Vegeta. He managed to get a senzu bean…"

Silence reigned.

***

Kuririn, who had long since begun to fly towards Capsule Corporation, halted again. That second Vegeta seemed back up to prime.

That wasn't all, though. There was something he knew was missing, but what?

***

After the initial shock had worn off, everyone presented a united front, staring down the Hasha no Ankoku.

"Individually we managed to wear you down," growled Vegeta. "You have no hope against all of us grouped together."

"That would probably be true," replied the Hasha, "But you're forgetting one tiny detail. You're forgetting what happens when a Saiyan comes back from near-death! Not only am I back to where I was…I am above it! I am far more powerful than ever before. And I have you to thank for it!"

Almost immediately, Goku and Vegeta powered up and hurled themselves at the Hasha, who powered up as well. Mere seconds later, Gotenks rejoined the battle as well.

"This is amazing! If anyone else had done this, I would not believe it. But of course, I am capable of anything!" bragged the evil king as he fought all of them at the same time. It appeared to be an even battle.

Vegeta simply snarled in reply, Goku was silent, and Gotenks kept up a steady stream of boasts.

Mirai prepared to join the fray, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He looked back to see Gohan.

"Tell me, Mirai," the scholar said, "Just how good of a dancer are you?"

"What?"

"Ever watch your 'little brother' whenever he dances?"

There was a pause. And then Mirai grinned.

***

The brawl carried on for a few more moments, when suddenly both Vegeta and the Hasha felt a tremendous plunge in the power they were drawing from the other Saiyans. Also, a huge new ki power appeared, stunning all the fighters into inaction.

A split second later, a golden blur flashed past the defenders of Earth and straight into the tyrant, who went flying at least a mile straight up into the air.

"Who are you?" asked Goku. "You look kinda like Gotenks, but older."

"Don't you see, Kakarot?" growled Vegeta before the newcomer could answer. "This is the fusion of our OTHER sons."

"Indeed I am," said the warrior in the strange, reverberating tone that clearly marked him as a fusion. "I am Gohunks. And now, let us destroy that evil creature once and for all!"

Gohunks rose into the air, followed quickly by Goku and Gotenks. Vegeta attempted to follow as well, but stopped short when he heard his name yelled by Piccolo.

"What is it?"

Piccolo tossed him a senzu bean. "That's the only other one I've been able to find. If you get weak, take it. You're our trump card in this."

Nodding, the Saiyan king followed the others.

***

The fusions were the first to reach the Hasha no Ankoku, who had just managed to halt his rapid ascension. They began to play a twisted game of table tennis, smacking him back and forth between them, never giving him a chance to recover.

It wasn't long before the full-blooded Saiyans caught up and began to watch the battle. Vegeta powered down to his normal mode.

"Why'd you do that?" asked a puzzled Goku.

"In case the brats fail, I'm trying to conserve as much power as possible."

"Oh." Goku then followed suit.

After a few minutes, both Gohunks and Gotenks dropped out of Super Saiyan 3. Gohunks proved to be the opposite of Gotenks; Gohunks's hair was purple in the middle and black on the edges, whereas for the younger fusion it was the other way round.

The Hasha was now able to dodge out of the way of their attacks, but still unable to mount a counteroffensive. He continued to simply duck away from their attacks, and soon all of them were a few dozen miles from Capsule Corporation.

The battle dragged on for a while until the evil king found himself immobilized. Gohunks had grabbed his arm while Gotenks did the same to his legs.

"Hold him still, I'll kill this bastard myself!" roared Vegeta. He powered up to his maximum and charged straight at his trapped counterpart, planning to burst right through his chest, much as Goku had done to Piccolo Dai-Mao many years ago.

But once again, blind luck intervened. As Vegeta hurtled closer, both Gohunks and Gotenks suddenly split back into their component selves as the time limit of their fusions expired. Once again free to move, the Hasha wasted no time in zipping off to one side. As he attempted to slow down, Vegeta could do no more than curse as he watched the next series of events from the corner of his eye.

The Hasha grabbed the four half-Saiyans by their hair and hurled them to the ground, sending a monstrous blast of power after them. The resulting explosion did not kill them, but Vegeta knew that they were out of the fight.

As he finally managed to stop, his opposite number blurred and suddenly appeared next to Goku, knocking him unconscious with a chop to the neck before he could summon his power back to the surface.

"So it comes down to this," said the Hasha as Vegeta turned to face him. "It comes down to me and it comes down to you."