For to the left, where Trohan and Shadeth had been battling, and a power greater than anything Vegeta had ever felt in his life before. Stronger than Shadeth…and even stronger than the mammoth that stood in front of him. It was a battle of black and white, but it was clear who would win.
A smirk crossed Vegeta's face as the being of white took Shadeth and literally ripped him to pieces. And then, in an explosion like no other, even greater than the one where Vegeta sacrificed his life and body to kill Majin Buu, the white warrior encased its body in a shell of white, and a flash of white blinded Vegeta and Kakarotto. In response to the light, a huge wave of white energy expanded out from the spot and into Vegeta and his adversary. Even the giant Golden Oozaru was knocked back by the blast, and almost fell over. Vegeta was too shocked to even bother forming an energy shield, and the blast seemed to envelope him. The pain was unbearable, but Vegeta knew he must withstand it, for he was one of the only warriors left.
It was clear to the Saiya-jin Prince then that the son he had borne on this planet was gone. Him, and a boy who Vegeta had also spent a good deal of time with.
Something strange happened to Vegeta there. His eyes began to grow glassy, and slowly began to wet. And just as when he lay on the ground after being shot in the heart by Freeza, a tyrant who had controlled most of his early life and made him miserable…Vegeta began to cry. But this time, it was not for his own death…Vegeta was crying for another. There he realized that he had finally grown compassion. Even after admitting he wasn't the strongest warrior, Vegeta still didn't believe he had softened. And even after giving his life to save the Earth, Vegeta knew there was a way he could come back, so in some way, he was doing it for himself.
But now, the tears flowing came from the death of his son, who he would most likely never see again. Kakarotto, already bored with that little altercation to his left, had turned back to Vegeta and was already stomping towards him. Vegeta looked to the ground, the salty water falling from his eyes to the ground below. Even in his bestial Super Saiya-jin 3 form, Vegeta's emotions were evident. The Prince of the Saiya-jins had grown soft.
--- --- ---
As if nothing was going on, the trees stood still on the field that led to the cliff, which hung over the great river. To the wildlife, there were no aliens on the Earth. No one had been killed on that day. They were oblivious, yet they still lived, taking in the sun and water day in and day out, not bothering anyone.
But the grass and trees were not alone. Among them floated a being that would've normally donned a cape and turban. But time was precious, and he had no time to bother with extra accessories. Piccolo floated about three feet above the ground in his usual meditating state. His eyes were closed, and just by his furrowed brow, one could tell he was in deep concentration.
Blessed with the powers from the Guardian of the Earth, who now resided inside of his body, Piccolo could see everything that occurred on the planet. The surging power of Trohan had sent Piccolo sprawling over the cliff, and he had almost fallen off, until he remembered he could fly.
Thoughts were flying through Piccolo's mind faster than the speed of light. But one conquered them all.
Is it possible? A Super Saiya-jin 4?
But Piccolo's follow-up question contained even more mystery.
How could it have killed Trohan like that? Was it that dangerous?
Piccolo seemed to have forgotten that he was now Guardian of the Earth, and had enough respect to communicate directly with the Kaios. Kaio-sama's voice suddenly erupted in his head.
Piccolo, your new responsibility is great. But you must learn to control your hunger of knowledge, and keep your questions at a minimum.
I see, Kaio-sama. I am sorry.
Apologies are for the weak Piccolo. True strength lies in the one who can forgive. But enough lessons, those can be for later…
Piccolo sighed.
Don't get sarcastic…now listen up Piccolo-sama…yes…that's your new name, so get used to it. I know you have many questions. But I can only tell you one thing. You must warn your friends. That mythical stage that Trohan reached temporarily is extremely dangerous. If you thought Super Saiya-jin 3 was dangerous, this new stage is beyond that...
Super Saiya-jin 4.
If you must…Super Saiya-jin 4. It is possible to attain…yes…but only with extreme training in the Super Saiya-jin 3 level, and extreme anger, as in Trohan's to the death of Goten. If those two requirements are not met, it is deadly.
Thank you Kaio-sama. Now I must return to my meditating, I have almost figured out the outcome of this ordeal.
HA! With Kami and Dende fused into your body, you still cannot tap into the future far enough? Maybe you should stop depending on your own knowledge get some help from the others…
Not a bad idea…
Piccolo's eyes squeezed tightly and he called upon the knowledge of the Namek-jin's contained within him.
--- --- ---
While Mirai Trunks and Krillin flew through the air, they suddenly saw a great flash of white. In seconds, instead of going forward, they were tumbling backwards through the air. A power stronger than either of them had felt before seemed to surround them, as they squinted their eyes closed to shield them from the light undoubtedly brighter than a Taiyoken's.
When the wave of energy had faded, Trunks brushed his loose hair away from his face. Krillin turned to him.
"Things just keep getting stranger," he remarked, stating the obvious.
"There's no time for talk. Let's go," ordered Trunks, shooting off towards the final battle with Krillin trailing behind closely.
--- --- ---
Kakarotto uttered another roar, but couldn't seem to faze Vegeta. His head remained facing the ground, bowing to the unknown. Kakarotto finally got close to Vegeta, and extended his huge hand, clutching Vegeta inside of it. He squeezed tightly and lifted Vegeta up high, inspecting him curiously.
It seemed that he was in an unconscious state…either asleep or dead. Kakarotto, unable to tell the difference, screamed in rage and threw Vegeta up into the air. He then leaped, and with a devastating swing, he flung Vegeta to the ground. In less than a second, Vegeta's body bounced off the hard soil, landed again, and then lay still. Blood immediately began to trickle out of his mouth and Kakarotto towered over him, charging up a blast in his mouth…
"KIENZAN!!!" screamed a voice from behind the giant ape, and he turned around just in time to see an enormous yellow disc spinning towards his body. With a roar, he reached out and caught the disc in his hand to Krillin's amazement. His eyes opened wide with fright, unable to believe that the Golden Oozaru had foiled his attempt to cut its tail off.
Krillin actually had no idea what was going on. A lot of the fighting had taken place while he was in the past battling Tien. A flash of Yamcha's death appeared in Krillin's mind, but he pushed it away.
Krillin was extremely tired as well, because of the fact that he had been punished brutally by Tien, and had been throwing quite a few Kienzan discs frequently.
Looking at the ground, he saw Vegeta. He was quite surprised, seeing that he had tried to cut the tail off of Goku, a lifelong friend of his. He was also shocked to see that Goku was now a golden color, and in his Oozaru form. It was an understatement to describe Krillin as confused.
But there was no more time to the think. Krillin had finally wasted all of his energy. His energy diminished, and Krillin dropped to the ground. Kakarotto, now interested in this new subject, slowly began walking over to Krillin, but suddenly felt yet another power behind him. Wheeling around, Kakarotto spotted Mirai Trunks powered up to Super Saiya-jin 2 with his sword drawn, slicing for his tail.
The blade swept through the air, as if in slow motion, but only managed to slice a small golden hair off of the tail. Kakarotto had pulled it away just in time, and then threw the Kienzan he'd been holding at Trunks. Trunks looked up to the see his friend's own disc now being hurled at him by another. He jumped up to avoid it, but his right hand didn't get away in time. Holding the sword, Trunks's right hand separated from his body.
The sword fell to the ground and the tip penetrated the soft soil, holding the sword in place. The hand fell from the handle and fell to the side.
It was too much for Trunks to bear. He let out a scream of pain that made Kakarotto's fur ripple. All the Golden Oozaru could do in response was roar and stomp his feet as if in a tantrum.
Kakarotto turned around. He would go for the smallest first, his maniacal and small brain told him. He headed for Krillin.
--- --- ---
Here's your chance, Trunks. You can help. Restore him. One wish remains…
--- --- ---
Trunks had fallen unconscious because of the pain. But he couldn't. He had to be strong…like Gohan, who had lost his arm protecting him.
This was Trunks's chance to help. To prove he had come back for a reason. It wouldn't be in strength, for that was not what was needed. It would come in wits.
Trunks crawled over to the dragon balls. Bored, the dragon had receded back into the balls, but it could come out again. Trunks slowly crawled over to the seven balls; slowly remembering that words to recite. Each time he dragged his body, he felt the pain growing stronger, and his own weight growing heavier. But he couldn't allow that to stop him.
Trunks finally reached the balls; he was quite sure that he remembered the phrase. He slowly muttered it loud enough for only the dragon to hear:
"Eternal Dragon, by your name I summon you forth…Shenlong!" Trunks said the last word with some emphasis, about the last he had left. The balls illuminated and Shenlong shot into the air. In the distance, Kakarotto had raised his foot over Krillin's body, but turned to see what had happened. He saw the great dragon in the air and roared loudly, walking towards it.
"Are you ready for a wish?" asked Shenlong; still mad he had to wait so long after the last wish.
Trunks could just see the bottom of the dragon; he didn't have enough strength to look up.
"Shenlong…my wish…is…" Trunks was having trouble talking. The words were hard to get out of his mouth.
"Shenlong, my wish is to restore the health of my father, Vegeta," said Trunks, and his eyes closed. He passed out as Shenlong's eyes illuminated a bright red and the wish was granted.
--- --- ---
I am coming now, Kakarotto.
You must be getting lonely out there on the battlefield. It's all right.
Soon, they will all be dying, and then I will show them…it was I that built you…and it is I that will rule, with you at my side.