1 Chapter 12: A Higher Power
The team arrived back at the Lookout, battered and bruised, Goku's geaes tattered and torn, the ripped fabric fluttering in the breeze. Vegita landed on the flat platform-like surface and strode towards Dende, his golden hair hanging long down his broad back.
"Namek! How long before the others come out of the chamber!" called Vegita. Dende turned around and watched him stride forward, followed by Goku and Trunks and Gohan.
"Don't worry, Vegita. Tomatta and Goten are due out soon," replied the Namek coolly. Vegita retorted with a snort.
"I'm not worried, we just bested Brolli. I just want Kakkarot and his relatives beside me before we…"
"Do you really believe Brolli has been defeated so easily?" said Dende, interrupting the Prince of Saiyans. Vegita whirled and looked at the Guardian of Earth, his green eye twitching slightly.
"I was there, Namek, I saw him fall!" said Vegita.
"We saw him buried beneath the desert, Vegita," corrected Goku. "We never saw him fall. He is still just as powerful… except now he's really pissed."
"Yes, well now we'll just have to finish him off for good, won't we?" replied Vegita, turning to face Goku.
"Damnit Vegita, we barely touched him!" Gohan shouted from behind the other two.
Vegita spat and narrowed his eyes. "That is yet to be seen!" Gohan growled and turned away, heading over to his father whilst Trunks once again stood in the middle, knowing his father was wrong, but not wanting to scorn him in front of those he labelled his rivals.
"Dad, lets just wait and see, ay?" young Trunks asked, running a hand through his long golden hair before powering down, the locks shrinking into the finer, longer purple hair that hung down the side of his face.
"I do not believe that all those attacks did nothing to that bastard!" Vegita shouted across the lookout, clenching his fists tightly.
"Yes, but now he knows that we've progressed in our power," said Goku. Vegita turned and looked at Goku over his shoulder.
"Kakkarot, once again you are right. Hopefully with your youngest son and Tomatta, we shall be able to hurt him like hurt us all those years ago!" Vegita shouted. Goku nodded.
"Yes, but I doubt the Earth could take such a battle. We must find a way to get Brolli off the planet!"
"Well… there's all way the Namkian Dragonballs…" Dende said hesitantly, unsure whether or not that would work.
"Hmmm, yes. It could work. What do you think, Kakkarot?" asked Vegita. Goku gave this some thought.
"Alright, but lets wait until we've all finished our training in the time chamber," suggested Goku. "When we fight Brolli, I want us to be at our best."
There was a large scar across the valley floor; the very rock itself heaving as something stirred beneath. Rocks rose, and the smaller surface rocks slid and bounced away across the red desert floor; colliding with others with a sharp crack. As the rocks shook and stirred more, more and more stones were loosened, and many more, larger boulders started to be pushed away.
Then a great roar bellowed throughout the wild desert lands, the ochre sands rising, being followed by the smaller rocks and then the larger rocks and then the boulders. Something flashed green beneath the scar of land, and a bright explosion wrapped itself about the once heaving mass of rubble. The flash died down and a burning figure levitated from the ground, eyes burning bright without any features to them at all - no iris nor pupil - looked our from under thick locks of golden hair tinted green, the whole being blazing with a aura of golden hue that flickered and flashed like azure fire.
Brolli had arisen from his dusty grave!
Brolli's great form shuddered as his fury boiled within him, bursts of blue lighting, tinged with green, bursting over his body as he growled, his teeth clenched so tight his jaw shuddered. His body was clenched tight, muscles shaking visibly as their size swelled with the power that the giant was feeding into his body.
Brolli could feel it happening, he could feel his power level rising by a great deal, the energy pulsing over his swollen body a testament to that fact. Moving slowly forward, Brolli let out a loud growl that shook the ground, boulders crumbling to dust and pebbles such was the ferocity that came from the Saiyan. With a mighty roar, the Saiyan's aura flashed outwards, digging up the ground from under him and hurling the shards of rock and ground away from him, a large, perfectly round crater opening up directly beneath him. Finally, Brolli's fury sent him into a great rage, and he flung his arms out, the desert around him exploding as a great ring of kai blasted out around him, destroying everything in its wake, ploughing the ground in its passage and atomising the life it touched.
Looking around himself, Brolli snarled and headed off in a random direction, wanting to be away from his former short-term prison. He headed many miles, his new power buzzing across his body loudly as the green-gold hair flew out around him. The golden aura flared around him, striking down the ground is his wake and destroying mountains, shattering them into boulders and dashing the land in his passage.
The ground around the Capsule Corporation headquarters buildings shook violently and Bulma looked up from her console alarm. The feint gurgle of Bra had turned into a wailing cry, and the mother of the crying child rushed over to her second-born, her first little girl, and picked her up into her arms.
"There, there Bra, it's alright. It's just a nasty earthquake, nothing to be worried about," Bulma soothed the infant child before shushing the child as she rocked Bra in her arms gently. Though Bra still wailed, the building rocking even harder around them, items falling from shelves and pictures dropping form walls with a smash and a clatter.
Doctor Briefs rushed into the room where Bulma had been working; rocking slightly as the room shook, and headed for a computer terminal. Kitty clung to his shoulder, the white eyes set into the deep black fur wide in alarm as Briefs hurriedly typed at the keyboard.
"What is going on? Are the anti-shock buffers in the foundations failing, I wonder?" he asked himself as he continued to type. Bulma braced herself against the wall to keep her balance and twitched aside a curtain, a beam of bright light filling her face.
"Dad, I don't think it's the earthquake systems, the whole neighbourhood is shaking like crazy!" Bulma said, watching the other buildings around them shaking, some even crumbling and falling. Gripping Bra in one arm, Bulma held her hand up to the light to shade her eyes, and that's when she noticed that the light was coming from the west, not from the sun which hung low in the east.
"That's odd…" thought Bulma frowning, "…that light's not coming from our sun, and it's too bright to be twilight anyway… what is it?"
"Hmmm… maybe its some sort of military -?" Briefs began, but was broken off by a loud crash and shout. Misses Briefs fell against the doorframe, grasping on for dear life, an angered expression on her face.
"Oh dear, I dropped the tea!" she cried out in frustration. "Now I'll have to do it all again!"
"Mom, there's an earthquake and poor Bra is scared to death… and you're worried about the tea?" Bulma asked, not believing what her mother had just exclaimed.
"Well, dear, Bra may be young but I'm sure that that husband of yours wouldn't let something happen to his only daughter. He seems so protective of her," Misses Briefs answered. Bulma sighed then braced herself against the wall again as another shockwave hit the house.
"What is going on!" she shouted in frustration before looking back out the window. The glare to the west was brighter and larger.
Piccolo hopped up and lashed out towards Applor, who ducked the punches with ease. Landing heavily, Piccolo blurred to the side, and Applor blurred in the opposite directions. The two combatants faced each other off for a moment, and then Piccolo attacked again, feigning an attack with his left knee. Applor fell for the deception and cried out as a green-skinned fist smacked into his cheek, spinning the youngster around and landing him heavily on the floor.
Growling, Applor stood up and leaped forward, his tail lying out after him, and he grabbed Piccolo around the waist, the momentum of his lunge taking him onwards and pushing Piccolo over. The Namek growled a she toppled over, a growl that abruptly ended with a thud as Applor flipped around and hurled Piccolo into the floor. Piccolo bounced backwards and onto his feet as Applor flipped away to the left. Piccolo countered with a punch. Applor leaned back, expecting the punch to fall short, but was shocked as Piccolo's arm stretched out and clawed fingers wrapped themselves around his face. Piccolo roared and twisted, pulling Applor around in a large arch that ended at the floor. The younger Saiyan screamed as he plummeted face- first into the ground, the final impact shaking the room hard. Piccolo paused and hesitated, looking around with a puzzled expression. Then the room shook again, almost knocking the tall Namek off his feet.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, shocked and unknowing as to what was happening. Applor pushed himself off the floor and abruptly fell over again, another blast taking his legs out from under him.
"Oomph! I have no idea Master… is it something we did?" the Saiyan asked, picking himself off the floor, this time managing to remain on his feet.
Piccolo jumped into the air and stood there, hovering in the hot air as the room shook hard around him.
"I don't think so, this room has gone through a lot more when Vegita and Trunks train in here. We're just using fifty-times earth gravity," said Piccolo. He looked down at Applor, who hovered gently into the air; his tail coiling around his waist belt-fashion as the Saiyan also looked about at what was happening to the room.
"Should we tell Miss Bulma that the room is broken, do you think?" Applor asked, wanting to get on with his training, but Piccolo remained silent.
"Master Piccolo? Did you hear me?" Applor tried again.
"Hmmm? What? Oh right," said Piccolo, jerking as if coming out of a daydream. "No, I don't think it's the room. Can't you feel it?"
"Feel what, Master?" asked Applor, a look of genuine puzzlement on his face. Piccolo looked at him.
"You have not learned how to detect Kai yet, have you?" said Piccolo.
Applor shook his head. "No, Master Piccolo. You said you would teach me how to do that later," he said.
"Oh yes, so I did," said Piccolo, his voice deep and brooding. The Namek took a breath as he remembered how he had been taught all those years ago. "It's… a feeling you get. Like an instinct, more than a sense." He looked up at Applor who was listening intently. "You can feel your own power within you, can't you?" Applor nodded a response. "Well, to feel another person's kai, you have to feel outside your own body."
Applor's expression was blank. "So… how do you do that?" he asked. Piccolo blinked.
"Open your mind, unlock your inner thoughts; that's the part of your brain what senses the kai," said Piccolo, watching his young pupil intently.
Applor closed his eyes and concentrated, studying his own mind, searching over the whole thing, looking for those parts not available to his own access.
"How do I open it?" the Saiyan asked, his eyes still closed.
"Concentrate. Think of the energy within you, then direct your energy to your mind," said Piccolo. Applor nodded again and closed his eyes tighter. "No! Don't make yourself tense, relax, be calm!" Piccolo advised. Applor looked up, opening his eyes and nodding.
In his mind, he could feel his own increased power flowing across the senses and feelings that made up his consciousness. The sound of the shaking room, the stale smell of sweat that hung in the air from their hard training and the heat that had built up from their bodies. His mind passed across images he had seen in resent days – the green fields, golden deserts and red waste lands, the friendly faces of his new friends, the green eyes and gold of the Super Saiyans, the green skin and antenna of Piccolo and Dende, a swell as the stern expression of 18, who he had found out to be a machine.
Then something in his mind clicked; some unseen presence filled his consciousness and expanded to fill his head. A glowing buzz of power that came from everywhere around him. He winced as it crackled across his brain, his eyes glistening and twitching as he fought to subdue the intensity.
"Now can you feel it?" Piccolo asked, watching as Applor nod. But there was something different about the child now… something harder, more feral. His hair has risen slightly and his arms looked bigger, more swollen. Piccolo just assumed that it was just the training in a gravity that was fifty times heavier than he had been previously accustomed to.
"I can feel it… I can feel the power from outside… it hurts… it hurts bad!" cried Applor, clenching his teeth and eyes tight shut.
"Don't fight it, let your mind subdue it on its own, Applor."
"I… I can't!" Applor's voice was filled with fear, and… no, it couldn't have. Something had caught the Namek's eye, but surely it had just been a trick of the light?
There!
It did it again, Piccolo was sure of it.
"Applor, are you okay?" asked Piccolo, floating a little closer. Applor looked up, his eyes glaring and cold.
"No, damn you! I'm not okay!" snapped Applor. The child suddenly sounded a lot older, as Gohan had done after he had ascended when fighting Cell. Piccolo stopped dead and looked into Applor's eyes. Then he saw it:
There was a flash of green that encompassed the pupil and iris, the sight was enough to make Piccolo gasp. He had no idea that opening the child's mind to the energy that had flooded the outside world would unlock the kid's ability to turn Super.
"You're doing it, you're going Super Saiyan!" gasped a shocked Piccolo, watching as the hair stood a little more on end.
Applor narrowed his eyes more. "What have you done to me! ARGHHHHH!" he screamed, his hair suddenly flashing golden and the green in his eyes staying. Piccolo grinned; this had been something he had not expected so early in Applor's training. Now Vegita would need to refine this kid's training, get him to control turning Super and to control the energy he now possessed.
"You bastard, I asked you a fucking question!" screamed Applor again.
Piccolo merely smiled. "I have turned you into a god-amongst-men."
Brolli blurred over the landscape, a large gash in the earth opening up beneath him. Grinning madly at the destruction, his eyes gleamed as he saw the approach of an on-coming structure, manmade in appearance.
Before him, yet still many-hundreds of miles away, a large white tower stabbed up into the sky, a needle of white that hung against the darkening sky. Laughing madly, Brolli powered up and surged onwards, his kai opening up the ground even wider, the trench behind him already over a hundred miles long. Laughing madly, he flexed his new power-swollen musculature and felt the power crackling across his body with a buzz audible even over the whistling rush of the wind snapping across his body. Even his thoughts were stronger now, it was a lot easier to think and thoughts came faster to his slow mind. Could it be that this new power was more than just an increase in strength and speed? Yes… that must be the answer! This change in power also creates a change of mind; an ability to use the power you receive with much more effectiveness. Speed and strength are one thing, but without the ability to wield it efficiently, you may as well be one of those common human weaklings.
"Kakkarot, you have given me more power than I could possibly hope for… now it is time for I – Brolli! – to use this power and destroy you once and for all!" thought Brolli, then laughed maniacally, the wind tearing the sound away as soon as they leave the beast's mouth.
Meanwhile, on the top of the lookout, the other were talking strategies.
"So you think that that plan would work, Gohan?" Trunks asked. The Z Fighters that had remained there sat cross-legged in a rough circle on the floor, Gohan and Trunks either side of Goku, then Vegita beside Gohan with Trunks on the other side of his father.
"I don't know. This is Brolli we're talking about; he's not your typical Super Saiyan." Gohan answered.
"I don't even think he's that," said Goku, his hair short and golden, eyes green and intense-looking. "He works outside the rules of the Super Saiyan"
"Kakkarot's right; just look at his hair," Vegita added.
"Yeah, and those eyes freak me out," said Trunks. "They're so… so…"
"Lifeless," finished Gohan, his short dark hair catching the last rays of the sunlight. Everybody nodded, even Vegita. The pure white eyes were terrible to look upon, the lifeless quality coupled with the insane expression on Brolli's face made the being even more terrifying to go against. And there was that power also!
"There is more, however."
Everybody turned to look at Goku, who stood up and looked out into the fading light.
"What is it, Kakkarot?" said Vegita, sensing uneasy in his old companion and friend.
Goku looked down at the Prince with an emotionless expression and said simply "He is on his way here, now."
"What!" Said Gohan, jumping up and looking about.
Vegita snarled and clenched his fists. "How did he know where to look for us!"
"I don't think he did, I think he just found is by accident," Gohan ventured.
"Perhaps he doesn't even know we're here," mused Goku to himself. The others looked at him as he continued staring out into the sky.
"How long until he gets here, Goku?" asked Trunks, following Goku's gaze.
"Another hour… an hour and a half at the most, right dad?" said Gohan.
"Yeah, I'd say about that too," said Goku, shifting his weight slightly.
"What do you say we get to him before he gets to us, Kakkarot?" Vegita said, following with a slight chuckle.
"No, it would be too risky. I say we wait until he gets here… maybe by then Tomatta and Goten would be out the chamber, and Piccolo and Applor would be here waiting for their turn," said Goku.
"Yes, you may be right," agreed Vegita, "but how long until your kinsman and son are finished training?"
"Just over an hour and a half, according to the clock up there," said Gohan, gesturing to the large clock over the dome of the hyperbolic time chamber.
"Damn… I could be risky," said Trunks.
"Yes, especially if Brolli gets here sooner rather than later," said Vegita.
"His power has increased, can't you feel it?" said Goku levelly, his attention never waning from the direction that Brolli was quickly approaching from.
"Now that you mention it, I can feel an incredible power coming from over there…" Gohan trailed off.
"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking!" said Vegita. Goku nodded.
"Yup… Brolli has become a lot more powerful since we fought him earlier.
Vegita looked from Gohan to Trunks, then finally to Goku. "Shit."
"Applor, what are you doing!" Piccolo yelled, ducking under a punch that blurred over his head. The room had stopped shaking now, though several large cracks had appeared across a wall when the earthquake was at its peak.
"You bastard! I'll kill you! You've made a freak out of me!" Applor bellowed, his golden hair and green eyes flashing as he lashed out at Piccolo, lunging punches and kicks where the green Namek was standing.
Ducking another punch and then blocking a kick with his shin, Piccolo finally managed to bring a hand about in a reverse slap that sent Applor across the room.
"Calm yourself!" Piccolo shouted in a growl, narrowing his eyes and glaring at Applor. "Don't you get it, you young fool! You've gone Super Saiyan! You are on your way to become a young warrior like the others!"
"You have changed me! I never used to think like this! Now all that is on my mind is destroying you!" Applor shrieked. Piccolo could not get over how much older the young boy sounded in his rage, but Piccolo continued.
"You are a Saiyan, you live to battle!" the Namek shouted back. "Those thoughts will come naturally to you. It is no different to Goku, Vegita, Tomatta… or even your own mother!"
"You leave her out of this, you freak!" Applor shouted, appearing behind Piccolo in an instant and flashed a kick at his back. The attack hit nothing but the vanishing after-image of Piccolo's form.
"You young idiot! The power you are feeling is what it feels to be a Super Saiyan! Use your power for good!" Piccolo shouted back, lunging at Applor from the side, striking his elbow across Applor's cheek. Applor spun a little and then followed through, turning the spin into a roundhouse kick, catching Piccolo in the shoulder.
"How can I use this for good when my mind tells me to use it for evil!" screamed Applor as Piccolo bounced off the floor before springing back onto his feet, clutching at his shoulder. His arm was twisted around badly. Piccolo jerked the hand clutching the joint and there was a loud crack, followed by a grunt from the Namek as he reset his shoulder.
"You can start by continuing your training, kid," tried Piccolo. "Fighting and destruction are in your blood, and you will get the opportunity to use them soon enough!"
"Yeah? When!"
"Whenever you decide to go against Brolli," answered Piccolo calmly, dusting himself down.
"Brolli? That big one that everybody is talking about?" Applor asked, launching another attack. Piccolo stepped to the side and jumped into a spin, sending his knee into Applor's back, a hit that sent the young Saiyan sprawling across the floor.
"Yes, that's right. Now stop your foolishness and continue to train. We have another hour before we have to get back to the lookout so that Vegita can take you into the time chamber." Piccolo looked down at Applor as he picked himself off the floor once again. The young Super Saiyan seemed calmer now, the fire that had burnt behind his eyes had subsided and as he looked at Applor, Piccolo could not help but wonder if it had been the same for Vegita or Goku when they had transformed the first time.
"Alright, alright. I'll do it," Applor said finally. "But only so I can fight with a great Saiyan warrior."
"Vegita is one of the best…"
"I was talking about Brolli!" Applor shouted and dropped into a fighting stance.
Piccolo smiled, dropping into a stance himself, then said: "Oh, you'll get your shot soon enough, kid, I promise you that."
Bulma looked about at the mess that the blast had made of her home. Pictures had fallen form the walls and smashed, glass and pieces of framework lying across the floor. Near the kitchen doorway was a large pile of smashed bowls and plates with a tray, food spilling from the broken vessels and tea staining the carpet a deep brown. Bra was sleeping peacefully in her cot once again, her soft gentle breathing the only sound in the whole house, except the occasional spark or crackle from the destroyed television set in the lounge. Her father was already fussing about in repairing the broken source of entertainment; his tools lying about him as well as several boxes containing the parts he would need to complete the repairs.
She was about to turn and head back into her study and continue with the experiment she had been so busy with earlier when a door opened gently and two sets of footsteps were heard.
"Good god! What…" begun Piccolo
"Shhhhh!" said Bulma, hissing a whisper whilst flailing her arms towards her study and the sleeping form of baby Bra. "Bra's asleep!"
"Sorry," whispered the Namek, "but what on earth happened here?" Applor looked about; his hair back to its original dark colour and his eyes their normal brown.
"There was some sort of blast wave that hit the area… the Radio said that all the cities around abouts were effected by large, powerful earthquakes. Some towns have even been completely destroyed… the news guy said that the force of the earthquake was completely off the scale!" hissed Bulma. Applor turned and looked at the woman and then up to Piccolo.
"Brolli!" hissed the Namek, clenching his fists. "I'd bet my soul that it was Brolli who did this. Did they say where the epicentre of the earthquake was, Bulma?" Piccolo asked, turning to the mother of Vegita's wife, who just shook her head.
"No, not really. All they said was that scientists couldn't explain the occurrence of the earthquake, or why there were no aftershock tremors."
"Hmmm, this definitely sounds like Brolli to me. He's done something, or something," sighed Piccolo, giving up in trying to second-guess Brolli. "We have to go now." And with that, Piccolo simply left. Applor looked at Bulma and nodded.
"Thank-you for the use of your gravity room, it was very beneficial," said the youngster courteously.
"It's okay, Applor," whispered back Bulma as Applor followed Piccolo out of the building and then powered up, leaping up and into the fading light of the day and towards the lookout.
Brolli was a lot closer to the structure now and he changed his course, choosing to climb higher into the air. The insane Saiyan was interested with what was on top of the huge tower, his mind had been reasoning that something like this had been built to support a structure far above the earth. The patterns about the white towers flashed past in a blur and soon Brolli burst through the cloud layers. The towers was still little under a mile away, but that was nothing when compared to the distance he had just covered in the few hours he had been flying.
Looking up, Brolli could just make out a shape curving away from him as he continued upwards. It appeared to be bowl-shaped and white, with rings of colour wrapping around the base of the structure where it met the tower. But what caught the Saiyan's attention was the smaller structure lower down. Grinning madly, Brolli headed towards that and looked into the building. It was a small hut within the tower walls ringed with a ledge that jutted outwards from the tower itself, the small lip ringed with a short railing acting as a balcony.
Brolli grinned and flung his arm out, palm outwards, and fired a tremendous volley of kai bolts into the hall in an amount that made Piccolo's rapid- fire attack seem slow and ungainly. Laughing madly, Brolli watched as the hall exploded outwards as his kai bolts exploded against the pillars within the structure and then continued upwards.
"Damnit, I'm going to kill him, I swear!" Vegita roared, leaping into the air and turning Super Saiyan. The look out was rocking violently and Goku was glaring downwards. Gohan looked up and caught his father's expression.
"Dad, what is it?" said Gohan. Goku's expression was cold and vengeful.
"Brolli's just killed Korin and Yajirobe," came the answer from Goku. There was a stunned silence, as everybody digested the new information.
"I say we go after him now!" Vegita shouted, clenching his fist.
"No, we must wait until Tomatta and…" Goku paused and as one the team turned and looked as Tomatta and Goten stepped onto the deck of the Lookout. Vegita grinned and turned to Goku, who sensed Vegita's gaze and returned the look.
"Now what do you say, Kakkarot?" Vegita asked, still grinning.
Goku narrowed his eyes and smiled, his hair flashing as lightning crossed over his body. "Now I say we fucking total that bastard!"
With Tomatta and Goten finally out of the time chamber, and Brolli heading towards the plateaux of the Lookout, will the team have what it takes to take on this beast now that he has ascended into the second stage of the Super Saiyan… if that's what he really is? With the guys be beaten to the ground by Brolli, or will they be able to stand up to his amazing strength and power? Find out in TOTAL WAR!!!!!
The team arrived back at the Lookout, battered and bruised, Goku's geaes tattered and torn, the ripped fabric fluttering in the breeze. Vegita landed on the flat platform-like surface and strode towards Dende, his golden hair hanging long down his broad back.
"Namek! How long before the others come out of the chamber!" called Vegita. Dende turned around and watched him stride forward, followed by Goku and Trunks and Gohan.
"Don't worry, Vegita. Tomatta and Goten are due out soon," replied the Namek coolly. Vegita retorted with a snort.
"I'm not worried, we just bested Brolli. I just want Kakkarot and his relatives beside me before we…"
"Do you really believe Brolli has been defeated so easily?" said Dende, interrupting the Prince of Saiyans. Vegita whirled and looked at the Guardian of Earth, his green eye twitching slightly.
"I was there, Namek, I saw him fall!" said Vegita.
"We saw him buried beneath the desert, Vegita," corrected Goku. "We never saw him fall. He is still just as powerful… except now he's really pissed."
"Yes, well now we'll just have to finish him off for good, won't we?" replied Vegita, turning to face Goku.
"Damnit Vegita, we barely touched him!" Gohan shouted from behind the other two.
Vegita spat and narrowed his eyes. "That is yet to be seen!" Gohan growled and turned away, heading over to his father whilst Trunks once again stood in the middle, knowing his father was wrong, but not wanting to scorn him in front of those he labelled his rivals.
"Dad, lets just wait and see, ay?" young Trunks asked, running a hand through his long golden hair before powering down, the locks shrinking into the finer, longer purple hair that hung down the side of his face.
"I do not believe that all those attacks did nothing to that bastard!" Vegita shouted across the lookout, clenching his fists tightly.
"Yes, but now he knows that we've progressed in our power," said Goku. Vegita turned and looked at Goku over his shoulder.
"Kakkarot, once again you are right. Hopefully with your youngest son and Tomatta, we shall be able to hurt him like hurt us all those years ago!" Vegita shouted. Goku nodded.
"Yes, but I doubt the Earth could take such a battle. We must find a way to get Brolli off the planet!"
"Well… there's all way the Namkian Dragonballs…" Dende said hesitantly, unsure whether or not that would work.
"Hmmm, yes. It could work. What do you think, Kakkarot?" asked Vegita. Goku gave this some thought.
"Alright, but lets wait until we've all finished our training in the time chamber," suggested Goku. "When we fight Brolli, I want us to be at our best."
There was a large scar across the valley floor; the very rock itself heaving as something stirred beneath. Rocks rose, and the smaller surface rocks slid and bounced away across the red desert floor; colliding with others with a sharp crack. As the rocks shook and stirred more, more and more stones were loosened, and many more, larger boulders started to be pushed away.
Then a great roar bellowed throughout the wild desert lands, the ochre sands rising, being followed by the smaller rocks and then the larger rocks and then the boulders. Something flashed green beneath the scar of land, and a bright explosion wrapped itself about the once heaving mass of rubble. The flash died down and a burning figure levitated from the ground, eyes burning bright without any features to them at all - no iris nor pupil - looked our from under thick locks of golden hair tinted green, the whole being blazing with a aura of golden hue that flickered and flashed like azure fire.
Brolli had arisen from his dusty grave!
Brolli's great form shuddered as his fury boiled within him, bursts of blue lighting, tinged with green, bursting over his body as he growled, his teeth clenched so tight his jaw shuddered. His body was clenched tight, muscles shaking visibly as their size swelled with the power that the giant was feeding into his body.
Brolli could feel it happening, he could feel his power level rising by a great deal, the energy pulsing over his swollen body a testament to that fact. Moving slowly forward, Brolli let out a loud growl that shook the ground, boulders crumbling to dust and pebbles such was the ferocity that came from the Saiyan. With a mighty roar, the Saiyan's aura flashed outwards, digging up the ground from under him and hurling the shards of rock and ground away from him, a large, perfectly round crater opening up directly beneath him. Finally, Brolli's fury sent him into a great rage, and he flung his arms out, the desert around him exploding as a great ring of kai blasted out around him, destroying everything in its wake, ploughing the ground in its passage and atomising the life it touched.
Looking around himself, Brolli snarled and headed off in a random direction, wanting to be away from his former short-term prison. He headed many miles, his new power buzzing across his body loudly as the green-gold hair flew out around him. The golden aura flared around him, striking down the ground is his wake and destroying mountains, shattering them into boulders and dashing the land in his passage.
The ground around the Capsule Corporation headquarters buildings shook violently and Bulma looked up from her console alarm. The feint gurgle of Bra had turned into a wailing cry, and the mother of the crying child rushed over to her second-born, her first little girl, and picked her up into her arms.
"There, there Bra, it's alright. It's just a nasty earthquake, nothing to be worried about," Bulma soothed the infant child before shushing the child as she rocked Bra in her arms gently. Though Bra still wailed, the building rocking even harder around them, items falling from shelves and pictures dropping form walls with a smash and a clatter.
Doctor Briefs rushed into the room where Bulma had been working; rocking slightly as the room shook, and headed for a computer terminal. Kitty clung to his shoulder, the white eyes set into the deep black fur wide in alarm as Briefs hurriedly typed at the keyboard.
"What is going on? Are the anti-shock buffers in the foundations failing, I wonder?" he asked himself as he continued to type. Bulma braced herself against the wall to keep her balance and twitched aside a curtain, a beam of bright light filling her face.
"Dad, I don't think it's the earthquake systems, the whole neighbourhood is shaking like crazy!" Bulma said, watching the other buildings around them shaking, some even crumbling and falling. Gripping Bra in one arm, Bulma held her hand up to the light to shade her eyes, and that's when she noticed that the light was coming from the west, not from the sun which hung low in the east.
"That's odd…" thought Bulma frowning, "…that light's not coming from our sun, and it's too bright to be twilight anyway… what is it?"
"Hmmm… maybe its some sort of military -?" Briefs began, but was broken off by a loud crash and shout. Misses Briefs fell against the doorframe, grasping on for dear life, an angered expression on her face.
"Oh dear, I dropped the tea!" she cried out in frustration. "Now I'll have to do it all again!"
"Mom, there's an earthquake and poor Bra is scared to death… and you're worried about the tea?" Bulma asked, not believing what her mother had just exclaimed.
"Well, dear, Bra may be young but I'm sure that that husband of yours wouldn't let something happen to his only daughter. He seems so protective of her," Misses Briefs answered. Bulma sighed then braced herself against the wall again as another shockwave hit the house.
"What is going on!" she shouted in frustration before looking back out the window. The glare to the west was brighter and larger.
Piccolo hopped up and lashed out towards Applor, who ducked the punches with ease. Landing heavily, Piccolo blurred to the side, and Applor blurred in the opposite directions. The two combatants faced each other off for a moment, and then Piccolo attacked again, feigning an attack with his left knee. Applor fell for the deception and cried out as a green-skinned fist smacked into his cheek, spinning the youngster around and landing him heavily on the floor.
Growling, Applor stood up and leaped forward, his tail lying out after him, and he grabbed Piccolo around the waist, the momentum of his lunge taking him onwards and pushing Piccolo over. The Namek growled a she toppled over, a growl that abruptly ended with a thud as Applor flipped around and hurled Piccolo into the floor. Piccolo bounced backwards and onto his feet as Applor flipped away to the left. Piccolo countered with a punch. Applor leaned back, expecting the punch to fall short, but was shocked as Piccolo's arm stretched out and clawed fingers wrapped themselves around his face. Piccolo roared and twisted, pulling Applor around in a large arch that ended at the floor. The younger Saiyan screamed as he plummeted face- first into the ground, the final impact shaking the room hard. Piccolo paused and hesitated, looking around with a puzzled expression. Then the room shook again, almost knocking the tall Namek off his feet.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, shocked and unknowing as to what was happening. Applor pushed himself off the floor and abruptly fell over again, another blast taking his legs out from under him.
"Oomph! I have no idea Master… is it something we did?" the Saiyan asked, picking himself off the floor, this time managing to remain on his feet.
Piccolo jumped into the air and stood there, hovering in the hot air as the room shook hard around him.
"I don't think so, this room has gone through a lot more when Vegita and Trunks train in here. We're just using fifty-times earth gravity," said Piccolo. He looked down at Applor, who hovered gently into the air; his tail coiling around his waist belt-fashion as the Saiyan also looked about at what was happening to the room.
"Should we tell Miss Bulma that the room is broken, do you think?" Applor asked, wanting to get on with his training, but Piccolo remained silent.
"Master Piccolo? Did you hear me?" Applor tried again.
"Hmmm? What? Oh right," said Piccolo, jerking as if coming out of a daydream. "No, I don't think it's the room. Can't you feel it?"
"Feel what, Master?" asked Applor, a look of genuine puzzlement on his face. Piccolo looked at him.
"You have not learned how to detect Kai yet, have you?" said Piccolo.
Applor shook his head. "No, Master Piccolo. You said you would teach me how to do that later," he said.
"Oh yes, so I did," said Piccolo, his voice deep and brooding. The Namek took a breath as he remembered how he had been taught all those years ago. "It's… a feeling you get. Like an instinct, more than a sense." He looked up at Applor who was listening intently. "You can feel your own power within you, can't you?" Applor nodded a response. "Well, to feel another person's kai, you have to feel outside your own body."
Applor's expression was blank. "So… how do you do that?" he asked. Piccolo blinked.
"Open your mind, unlock your inner thoughts; that's the part of your brain what senses the kai," said Piccolo, watching his young pupil intently.
Applor closed his eyes and concentrated, studying his own mind, searching over the whole thing, looking for those parts not available to his own access.
"How do I open it?" the Saiyan asked, his eyes still closed.
"Concentrate. Think of the energy within you, then direct your energy to your mind," said Piccolo. Applor nodded again and closed his eyes tighter. "No! Don't make yourself tense, relax, be calm!" Piccolo advised. Applor looked up, opening his eyes and nodding.
In his mind, he could feel his own increased power flowing across the senses and feelings that made up his consciousness. The sound of the shaking room, the stale smell of sweat that hung in the air from their hard training and the heat that had built up from their bodies. His mind passed across images he had seen in resent days – the green fields, golden deserts and red waste lands, the friendly faces of his new friends, the green eyes and gold of the Super Saiyans, the green skin and antenna of Piccolo and Dende, a swell as the stern expression of 18, who he had found out to be a machine.
Then something in his mind clicked; some unseen presence filled his consciousness and expanded to fill his head. A glowing buzz of power that came from everywhere around him. He winced as it crackled across his brain, his eyes glistening and twitching as he fought to subdue the intensity.
"Now can you feel it?" Piccolo asked, watching as Applor nod. But there was something different about the child now… something harder, more feral. His hair has risen slightly and his arms looked bigger, more swollen. Piccolo just assumed that it was just the training in a gravity that was fifty times heavier than he had been previously accustomed to.
"I can feel it… I can feel the power from outside… it hurts… it hurts bad!" cried Applor, clenching his teeth and eyes tight shut.
"Don't fight it, let your mind subdue it on its own, Applor."
"I… I can't!" Applor's voice was filled with fear, and… no, it couldn't have. Something had caught the Namek's eye, but surely it had just been a trick of the light?
There!
It did it again, Piccolo was sure of it.
"Applor, are you okay?" asked Piccolo, floating a little closer. Applor looked up, his eyes glaring and cold.
"No, damn you! I'm not okay!" snapped Applor. The child suddenly sounded a lot older, as Gohan had done after he had ascended when fighting Cell. Piccolo stopped dead and looked into Applor's eyes. Then he saw it:
There was a flash of green that encompassed the pupil and iris, the sight was enough to make Piccolo gasp. He had no idea that opening the child's mind to the energy that had flooded the outside world would unlock the kid's ability to turn Super.
"You're doing it, you're going Super Saiyan!" gasped a shocked Piccolo, watching as the hair stood a little more on end.
Applor narrowed his eyes more. "What have you done to me! ARGHHHHH!" he screamed, his hair suddenly flashing golden and the green in his eyes staying. Piccolo grinned; this had been something he had not expected so early in Applor's training. Now Vegita would need to refine this kid's training, get him to control turning Super and to control the energy he now possessed.
"You bastard, I asked you a fucking question!" screamed Applor again.
Piccolo merely smiled. "I have turned you into a god-amongst-men."
Brolli blurred over the landscape, a large gash in the earth opening up beneath him. Grinning madly at the destruction, his eyes gleamed as he saw the approach of an on-coming structure, manmade in appearance.
Before him, yet still many-hundreds of miles away, a large white tower stabbed up into the sky, a needle of white that hung against the darkening sky. Laughing madly, Brolli powered up and surged onwards, his kai opening up the ground even wider, the trench behind him already over a hundred miles long. Laughing madly, he flexed his new power-swollen musculature and felt the power crackling across his body with a buzz audible even over the whistling rush of the wind snapping across his body. Even his thoughts were stronger now, it was a lot easier to think and thoughts came faster to his slow mind. Could it be that this new power was more than just an increase in strength and speed? Yes… that must be the answer! This change in power also creates a change of mind; an ability to use the power you receive with much more effectiveness. Speed and strength are one thing, but without the ability to wield it efficiently, you may as well be one of those common human weaklings.
"Kakkarot, you have given me more power than I could possibly hope for… now it is time for I – Brolli! – to use this power and destroy you once and for all!" thought Brolli, then laughed maniacally, the wind tearing the sound away as soon as they leave the beast's mouth.
Meanwhile, on the top of the lookout, the other were talking strategies.
"So you think that that plan would work, Gohan?" Trunks asked. The Z Fighters that had remained there sat cross-legged in a rough circle on the floor, Gohan and Trunks either side of Goku, then Vegita beside Gohan with Trunks on the other side of his father.
"I don't know. This is Brolli we're talking about; he's not your typical Super Saiyan." Gohan answered.
"I don't even think he's that," said Goku, his hair short and golden, eyes green and intense-looking. "He works outside the rules of the Super Saiyan"
"Kakkarot's right; just look at his hair," Vegita added.
"Yeah, and those eyes freak me out," said Trunks. "They're so… so…"
"Lifeless," finished Gohan, his short dark hair catching the last rays of the sunlight. Everybody nodded, even Vegita. The pure white eyes were terrible to look upon, the lifeless quality coupled with the insane expression on Brolli's face made the being even more terrifying to go against. And there was that power also!
"There is more, however."
Everybody turned to look at Goku, who stood up and looked out into the fading light.
"What is it, Kakkarot?" said Vegita, sensing uneasy in his old companion and friend.
Goku looked down at the Prince with an emotionless expression and said simply "He is on his way here, now."
"What!" Said Gohan, jumping up and looking about.
Vegita snarled and clenched his fists. "How did he know where to look for us!"
"I don't think he did, I think he just found is by accident," Gohan ventured.
"Perhaps he doesn't even know we're here," mused Goku to himself. The others looked at him as he continued staring out into the sky.
"How long until he gets here, Goku?" asked Trunks, following Goku's gaze.
"Another hour… an hour and a half at the most, right dad?" said Gohan.
"Yeah, I'd say about that too," said Goku, shifting his weight slightly.
"What do you say we get to him before he gets to us, Kakkarot?" Vegita said, following with a slight chuckle.
"No, it would be too risky. I say we wait until he gets here… maybe by then Tomatta and Goten would be out the chamber, and Piccolo and Applor would be here waiting for their turn," said Goku.
"Yes, you may be right," agreed Vegita, "but how long until your kinsman and son are finished training?"
"Just over an hour and a half, according to the clock up there," said Gohan, gesturing to the large clock over the dome of the hyperbolic time chamber.
"Damn… I could be risky," said Trunks.
"Yes, especially if Brolli gets here sooner rather than later," said Vegita.
"His power has increased, can't you feel it?" said Goku levelly, his attention never waning from the direction that Brolli was quickly approaching from.
"Now that you mention it, I can feel an incredible power coming from over there…" Gohan trailed off.
"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking!" said Vegita. Goku nodded.
"Yup… Brolli has become a lot more powerful since we fought him earlier.
Vegita looked from Gohan to Trunks, then finally to Goku. "Shit."
"Applor, what are you doing!" Piccolo yelled, ducking under a punch that blurred over his head. The room had stopped shaking now, though several large cracks had appeared across a wall when the earthquake was at its peak.
"You bastard! I'll kill you! You've made a freak out of me!" Applor bellowed, his golden hair and green eyes flashing as he lashed out at Piccolo, lunging punches and kicks where the green Namek was standing.
Ducking another punch and then blocking a kick with his shin, Piccolo finally managed to bring a hand about in a reverse slap that sent Applor across the room.
"Calm yourself!" Piccolo shouted in a growl, narrowing his eyes and glaring at Applor. "Don't you get it, you young fool! You've gone Super Saiyan! You are on your way to become a young warrior like the others!"
"You have changed me! I never used to think like this! Now all that is on my mind is destroying you!" Applor shrieked. Piccolo could not get over how much older the young boy sounded in his rage, but Piccolo continued.
"You are a Saiyan, you live to battle!" the Namek shouted back. "Those thoughts will come naturally to you. It is no different to Goku, Vegita, Tomatta… or even your own mother!"
"You leave her out of this, you freak!" Applor shouted, appearing behind Piccolo in an instant and flashed a kick at his back. The attack hit nothing but the vanishing after-image of Piccolo's form.
"You young idiot! The power you are feeling is what it feels to be a Super Saiyan! Use your power for good!" Piccolo shouted back, lunging at Applor from the side, striking his elbow across Applor's cheek. Applor spun a little and then followed through, turning the spin into a roundhouse kick, catching Piccolo in the shoulder.
"How can I use this for good when my mind tells me to use it for evil!" screamed Applor as Piccolo bounced off the floor before springing back onto his feet, clutching at his shoulder. His arm was twisted around badly. Piccolo jerked the hand clutching the joint and there was a loud crack, followed by a grunt from the Namek as he reset his shoulder.
"You can start by continuing your training, kid," tried Piccolo. "Fighting and destruction are in your blood, and you will get the opportunity to use them soon enough!"
"Yeah? When!"
"Whenever you decide to go against Brolli," answered Piccolo calmly, dusting himself down.
"Brolli? That big one that everybody is talking about?" Applor asked, launching another attack. Piccolo stepped to the side and jumped into a spin, sending his knee into Applor's back, a hit that sent the young Saiyan sprawling across the floor.
"Yes, that's right. Now stop your foolishness and continue to train. We have another hour before we have to get back to the lookout so that Vegita can take you into the time chamber." Piccolo looked down at Applor as he picked himself off the floor once again. The young Super Saiyan seemed calmer now, the fire that had burnt behind his eyes had subsided and as he looked at Applor, Piccolo could not help but wonder if it had been the same for Vegita or Goku when they had transformed the first time.
"Alright, alright. I'll do it," Applor said finally. "But only so I can fight with a great Saiyan warrior."
"Vegita is one of the best…"
"I was talking about Brolli!" Applor shouted and dropped into a fighting stance.
Piccolo smiled, dropping into a stance himself, then said: "Oh, you'll get your shot soon enough, kid, I promise you that."
Bulma looked about at the mess that the blast had made of her home. Pictures had fallen form the walls and smashed, glass and pieces of framework lying across the floor. Near the kitchen doorway was a large pile of smashed bowls and plates with a tray, food spilling from the broken vessels and tea staining the carpet a deep brown. Bra was sleeping peacefully in her cot once again, her soft gentle breathing the only sound in the whole house, except the occasional spark or crackle from the destroyed television set in the lounge. Her father was already fussing about in repairing the broken source of entertainment; his tools lying about him as well as several boxes containing the parts he would need to complete the repairs.
She was about to turn and head back into her study and continue with the experiment she had been so busy with earlier when a door opened gently and two sets of footsteps were heard.
"Good god! What…" begun Piccolo
"Shhhhh!" said Bulma, hissing a whisper whilst flailing her arms towards her study and the sleeping form of baby Bra. "Bra's asleep!"
"Sorry," whispered the Namek, "but what on earth happened here?" Applor looked about; his hair back to its original dark colour and his eyes their normal brown.
"There was some sort of blast wave that hit the area… the Radio said that all the cities around abouts were effected by large, powerful earthquakes. Some towns have even been completely destroyed… the news guy said that the force of the earthquake was completely off the scale!" hissed Bulma. Applor turned and looked at the woman and then up to Piccolo.
"Brolli!" hissed the Namek, clenching his fists. "I'd bet my soul that it was Brolli who did this. Did they say where the epicentre of the earthquake was, Bulma?" Piccolo asked, turning to the mother of Vegita's wife, who just shook her head.
"No, not really. All they said was that scientists couldn't explain the occurrence of the earthquake, or why there were no aftershock tremors."
"Hmmm, this definitely sounds like Brolli to me. He's done something, or something," sighed Piccolo, giving up in trying to second-guess Brolli. "We have to go now." And with that, Piccolo simply left. Applor looked at Bulma and nodded.
"Thank-you for the use of your gravity room, it was very beneficial," said the youngster courteously.
"It's okay, Applor," whispered back Bulma as Applor followed Piccolo out of the building and then powered up, leaping up and into the fading light of the day and towards the lookout.
Brolli was a lot closer to the structure now and he changed his course, choosing to climb higher into the air. The insane Saiyan was interested with what was on top of the huge tower, his mind had been reasoning that something like this had been built to support a structure far above the earth. The patterns about the white towers flashed past in a blur and soon Brolli burst through the cloud layers. The towers was still little under a mile away, but that was nothing when compared to the distance he had just covered in the few hours he had been flying.
Looking up, Brolli could just make out a shape curving away from him as he continued upwards. It appeared to be bowl-shaped and white, with rings of colour wrapping around the base of the structure where it met the tower. But what caught the Saiyan's attention was the smaller structure lower down. Grinning madly, Brolli headed towards that and looked into the building. It was a small hut within the tower walls ringed with a ledge that jutted outwards from the tower itself, the small lip ringed with a short railing acting as a balcony.
Brolli grinned and flung his arm out, palm outwards, and fired a tremendous volley of kai bolts into the hall in an amount that made Piccolo's rapid- fire attack seem slow and ungainly. Laughing madly, Brolli watched as the hall exploded outwards as his kai bolts exploded against the pillars within the structure and then continued upwards.
"Damnit, I'm going to kill him, I swear!" Vegita roared, leaping into the air and turning Super Saiyan. The look out was rocking violently and Goku was glaring downwards. Gohan looked up and caught his father's expression.
"Dad, what is it?" said Gohan. Goku's expression was cold and vengeful.
"Brolli's just killed Korin and Yajirobe," came the answer from Goku. There was a stunned silence, as everybody digested the new information.
"I say we go after him now!" Vegita shouted, clenching his fist.
"No, we must wait until Tomatta and…" Goku paused and as one the team turned and looked as Tomatta and Goten stepped onto the deck of the Lookout. Vegita grinned and turned to Goku, who sensed Vegita's gaze and returned the look.
"Now what do you say, Kakkarot?" Vegita asked, still grinning.
Goku narrowed his eyes and smiled, his hair flashing as lightning crossed over his body. "Now I say we fucking total that bastard!"
With Tomatta and Goten finally out of the time chamber, and Brolli heading towards the plateaux of the Lookout, will the team have what it takes to take on this beast now that he has ascended into the second stage of the Super Saiyan… if that's what he really is? With the guys be beaten to the ground by Brolli, or will they be able to stand up to his amazing strength and power? Find out in TOTAL WAR!!!!!