Dragonball AH: Other World Saga Chapter 34: Printable Version, a dragon ball z fanfic

Dragon Ball AH

Other World Saga

Eric Kinneary

25 years had passed since the day Goku and his friends defeated Zanji. In that time, much had changed in Other World. In honor of their new position, the Z Warriors had been given their own planet, nearly as large as the Grand Kai's. It was divided equally among them. The Grand Kai had tried to give Goku a larger section then the others since he was the group leader, but Goku refused it, saying that he was no better then his comrades. King Kai had also won West Kai's planet in a bet 3 years before. He wagered that Goku could defeat West Kai's newest fighter, Ruppiki. He was able to do it without going past Super Saiyan 1. On special request, Krillin moved West Kai's planet into King Kai's old orbit at the end of snake way.

Becoming guardians of the universe came at a price though. If they were to be killed, again, then they'd be erased. Simply and totally erased. From heaven and hell. They would just disappear, which is why, the Grand Kai told them later, he hadn't wanted them to leave. The Supreme Kai wanted to give Goku life, but he had already broken the rules for Goku twice before, and he couldn't do it a third. Becoming a guardian weighed heavily on each of the fighters, but in the end, they had all taken the deal. Each of the Z Warriors, except Goku, were given more lessons from King Kai. There was little he could teach them, however Krillin learned the art of Kaio-ken and all of them learned Shunkiado (Instant Transmission). King Kai thought that the new defenders of the galaxy would find it useful in their travels.

Throughout the 25 years of their guardianship, they had many close calls. In one instance, Goku and Goten had taken a visit Yardratt, only to find that it's inhabitants had developed a new war machine capable of destroying dozens of planets surrounding their own. It had already fired at a neighboring system that the Yadranians were at war with before Goku and Goten were able to divert the blast. Then there was trouble again when a new set of dragonballs was discovered on Vereem. The one who collected them wished for immortality in order to conquer the universe. He was eventually imprisoned within his own star. A short while after Piccolo learned Shunkiado, he traveled to New Namek to check up on his people. It appeared that Porunga had been set loose on the Namekians, same as Shenlong had been on Earth. However, because of Porunga's immense power, he was immeasurably stronger than Shenlong had been, and much harder to defeat. Porunga had also agreed to revive all the Namekians he killed before setting off. All of these adventures were only within the first 12 years of the Z Warriors commission.

Now the galaxy was at relative peace. The Z Warriors still had jobs to perform roughly every month, but they had not been in any real danger since Porunga. The Z Warriors with wives and family members who were permitted into Heaven were able to spend more time with them, as their services were needed rarely. Their wives had been permitted to gain their bodies back shortly after another escapade the Z Warriors had helped clear up as a reward and they now lived with their husbands in the mansions. Tien often visited Chout-zu (he had also been given his body back in reward for Tien's service, but not his life) who trained with the other North Quadrant fighters, hoping to gain a private lesson from the Grand Kai.

Another Other World tournament was being held as well. Goku or Vegeta were heavily favored to win, but neither was allowed to transform past Super Saiyan 3, since last time they used Super Saiyan 4 it destroyed the entire stadium. Vegeta was not fond of this idea, since he couldn't transform into Super Saiyan 3. Since he had skipped that step during his life on Earth, he couldn't go back and try to learn it now. He was stuck at his max power during tournaments being Super Saiyan 2. Tensions between North Kai and West Kai had only intensified ever since they ended up getting into a fist fight during the 1,301,482,203rd Other World tournament 110 years ago. And this year West Kai was supposed to have found a new ultimate fighter to challenge even the Saiyans that King Kai boasted.

"Oh, this is gonna be great!" Goku shouted from the sidelines. He was already pumped up for the action. He stood at the north end of the stadium grass with the other prized fighters from the North Quadrant. Only Goku and Gohan would be submitted as their fighters however. King Kai's first choice had been Vegeta, but he had refused and eventually attempted to blast King Kai from his house after constant begging. West Kai stood tall and pink, with his favorites from his quadrant. He had submitted an extremely small, warrior and another extremely tall fighter, towering at 17 and a half feet tall. West Kai had Pikkon and another challenger draped in a purple cloak in his section. After numerous attempts to find out who it was (and a lot of bribes), King Kai was forbidden to speak to West Kai before the tournament. South Kai was busy giving a pep talk to his fighters while East Kai was going on about how a queen should always ride to glory and how she was tired of standing in North Kai's shadow.

Finally Shroom came on stage and announced it was time for the tournament to begin. The crowd erupted in cheers, and several pairs of panties flew from the stage. Which was odd considering the only female in Other World was the East Kia... The first match would be Pikkon vs. Borayguard, a muscular pale man, who looked almost human, except he had spots covering his entire body and two yellow antennae sticking up from his white hair. As the two competitors met in the arena, they exchanged a quick dialogue. Goku knew that Pikkon was already declaring his victory. And he was right. As soon as the bell rang Pikkon appeared behind Borayguard and delivered a swift kick to his back, sending him flying into the air. Then fired a continuos ki shot into his back, forcing him to slam into the ceiling. According to the rulebook, it was judged a ring out. Most matches followed in this fashion. Pikkon, Goku, Gohan, and West Kai's mysterious fighter, who turned out to be named Rykime, easily defeating their opponents. The bout finally picked up as Gohan and Rykime entered the arena. Rykime was an average sized man, boasting no apparent muscle mass, but incredible strength. His skin was dark blue in color, with a bald head. He was shaped as if he was made of rubber, continuously using his shuddering mass to avoid his attackers blows, reshaping himself to counter any attack. He adorned loose blood red pants, with a black sash tied around his waist and black army boots for shoes.

As both Gohan and Rykime prepared for their match, the stadiums erupted. Both had utterly dominated their earlier fights, and this was sure to be an excellent match. Gohan was no fool, and immediately charged to Super Saiyan 2, just to be careful. He wanted to save Super Saiyan 3 for his father. He would need it as Goku would waist little energy defeating Pikkon. Gohan slid one leg in front of himself, and lifted both arms on either side of him, preparing for an attack as soon as the match began. Rykime just stood in a firm posture, not moving.

"Well, he's awfully arrogant. That's okay. I'll show him what a Super Saiyan can do!" Gohan thought to himself as he waited for the match to begin.

*Slam*! The sound reverberated around the stadium as the monk hit the gong to begin the match. Gohan intensified his stare, waiting for his opponent to attack him. However, when he didn't move, Gohan abandoned his stance an annoyed look crossing his face.

"Fine!" Gohan shouted across the ring to Rykime, "You don't want to start things off? Then I will!" Gohan launched himself at his opponent, going for a direct attack. Seconds before he would have landed straight into Rykime, he left a lasting image, appearing above the strange purple man. He brought his fists together, and slammed it down onto Rykime's head. Or attempted to slam it. Rykime had shifted his entire body so that the fists went through nothing but air as the rubbery flesh split itself apart. Then, as suddenly as it had separated, it closed on his fist again. Rykime swung his body around, sharply, dragging Gohan with him. Gohan had been trying to wiggle his arm away from him since it became stuck, but his strange body was holding fast. Suddenly Rykime let go of Gohan and sent him flying into the stands. Gohan was able to turn himself around in time, however, and avoid a ring out. As he floated slowly back into the arena, he took note not to under-estimate his opponent again. Last time it had nearly cost him the match. So he decided to go with a new tactic. He raised his arms over his head and locked his fingers. Then began to gather energy. A loose yellow ball formed between his palms. Bubbles of energy made a bee line into it, expanding the attack greatly with every second.

However, Rykime was no fool. He knew what Gohan was doing and would make sure he wouldn't accomplish it. He extended on arm to latch onto Gohan's arms, then yanked as hard as he could. It was enough to shake Gohan's concentration and dissipate the energy. Then he charged towards him at full speed, preparing a ki attack of his own. It wasn't very powerful, but as there wasn't much ki in it, it was able to go extremely fast. He lifted one arm and fired it at his competitor, immediately blowing him back. Rykime took advantage of this and sent a flying kick to Gohan's stomach. While Gohan was dazed he landed another two kicks to the face and then finished the barrage with an uppercut to his chin. It sent Gohan flying into the air, a look of shock more than pain painted across his face. When he managed to stop floating in the air, he turned around suddenly. He used Shunkiado to appear behind Rykime and sent a small ki shot to his back. Rykime was unable to move himself in time, and was sent flying across the ring. Gohan surrounded himself in yellow ki, waiting for his opponent to make his move. Rykime didn't move, however, and merely stood in the same spot.

Gohan took this to his advantage and cupped his hands behind his back as he starts his recital:

"Ka... me... ha... me..." he said quietly. He was planning to add quite a bit of energy to it. As long as it was large, Rykime couldn't shift his body so that it would travel through him. Blue energy stopped swirling into his palms and the ball stopped growing. It was time to unleash the attack.

"Ha!" Gohan screamed, throwing his hands in front of himself to project the attack. The kamehameha wave towered 20 feet high and 30 feet wide. It moved with quick speed, however, despite it's size. Rykime opened his eyes in shock at the devastating attack. It was too large for him to try and jump over, and was chewing up the stadium floor as it approached, so he wouldn't be able to stick to the ground. It was too wide to try and avoid by going left or right. The attack would hit, there was no chance of it missing him. And since Rykime was unable to fly, he knew his fight was over. He couldn't withstand the blast, and it would surely push him over the side. But he braced himself anyway. Rykime crouched low and threw both arms in front of his face in a defense posture, trying to hold himself to the floor. As the blast overtook him, he was pushed back farther and farther, until he was at the end of the arena. He was now trying to push the attack back with his head, but was clearly unable to. His face contorted with effort, sweat beads popping out all over his body. His face was changing from its normal dark blue to an extremely lighter shade.

He shut his eyes and furrowed his brow, then small bolts of energy fizzled around his hands. Two orange balls erupted from each of his hands, pushing back Gohan's Kamehameha slightly. The stadium floor was gradually being demolished, tiles of concrete were disintegrating and disappearing from under the ki struggle. Rykime's blast was pushing back Gohan's Kamehameha slowly, very slowly. And Gohan knew it, he was already pushing nearly all of his energy into his wave. Rykime's brow was soaked now, and his energy was draining even faster then Gohan's. Just as Gohan was preparing to transform into a Super Saiyan 3 to win the match, Rykime started to falter. His left arm started to twitch slightly, and his right arm began to go numb. Gohan felt his opponents energy drop, and threw the rest of his power into his attack; Gohan's aura flared up and began to chew through concrete faster now. Chips flew into the stands and spectators had to dodge them wildly. The Grand Kai was hiding behind his chair, his attendants who held his umbrellas had already flew into the air.

Rykime let out a cry as his arms began to spasm and he lost control of his own blast. The kamehameha beared down on him, throwing him out of the ring. For a few seconds, he seemed to be suspended in mid-air, and Gohan had to quickly divert his blast away from the stands. He narrowly changed the course of his kamehameha in time, almost maiming several watchers. Rykime then fell from the air. The second his body touched the ground, the stands went wild with cheers and laughter, even those that had nearly succumb to Gohan's violent energy attack stood up clapping.

As Gohan let his yellow hair be replaced by the dark black, he walked over to Rykime. A smile crossing his face.

"Good fight. You gave me some trouble there at the beginning. But I fought someone like you once, a long time ago. Someone named Buu. I've had plenty of experience in fighting tactics against people like you. But it was a good match," Gohan said, offering a hand to help his former opponent off the ground.

"Yes, it was. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to continue my training," Rykime answered coldly, pushing away Gohan's hand as he got up himself. He walked out of the stadium, not even bothering to go back to talk to West Kai about his defeat.

"Well what's his problem?" Gohan asked himself just before congratulations began from his father.

III

As the applause died down from the crowd, Goku and Pikkon mounted the stage, preparing for their battle. Pikkon held little hope for victory in this bout. He had come to realize early after their first two matches that Goku was the better fighter, even minus his strength. During their first match, Goku had managed to "defeat" him even though it was painfully obvious that Pikkon was by far the stronger. And ever since Goku attained his Super Saiyan 2 status, Pikkon has had no chance to over power him. It was a difficult reality to live in, considering that Pikkon had no equal when he was alive. His stint in Other World wasn't what he had expected it to be. In fact, Pikkon could barely defeat Krillin now. It was quickly becoming apparent that he was no longer a universe class fighter, but had instead been pushed to the bottom of the barrel. It was a reality that, considering what he had been through during his life, was being taken extremely well.

"Hey, Pikkon. Good luck," Goku called from across the stage, smirking slightly.

"Yes, Goku. To you as well," Pikkon responded, showing no sign of emotion at all on his face. He knew what was coming, and would face it with honor.

*Slam!*

Goku and Pikkon both stood still, waiting for the other to make the first attack. Neither was willing to make a crucial error that would cost the match. Goku knew that even though he was immeasurably stronger than Pikkon, a stupid mistake would easily be enough to cause a loss. As they stanced, the crowed watched on with unrest. It was obvious that, while waiting for the other person to make the first attack was a good technique, it didn't make a good show. Eventually, Goku realized Pikkon wasn't backing down.

"Might as well start things off," he thought to himself. He launched himself towards Pikkon, making sure he had an energy level easily able to deal with his green skinned adversary. When he reached Pikkon, Goku swung himself around and tried to land a kick to Pikkon's head. Pikkon put one arm up to block it, then twisted his hand so that he could grapple onto it. When he did that, he tried to slam Goku into the concrete floor, but Goku threw his hands in front of him and rebounded back into the air, swinging his closed fists onto Pikkon's head, forcing the white turbaned man back to avoid it. Pikkon brought his knee up to try and connect it with Goku's stomach, but Goku pushed it back down with his hands, then spun around and flipped backwards to his side of the arena. Pikkon look on at Goku, knowing he was just being played with. Goku wasn't even winded, and hadn't transformed yet either. Pikkon ran flat out at Goku, and in turn the saiyan started running to meet his opponent. When they met, both disappeared, then reappeared in the air, locked in a hand brace trying to force the other one back to the ground. Goku was steadily smiling throughout the whole affair while Pikkon was gritting his teeth in effort. Pikkon used Goku's cockiness to his advantage and let go of the brace, then grabbed him by the throat, throwing him to the ground. Because they were only 15 feet up, Goku had a short way to the ground. Just before he would have hit the grassy area, he disappeared. He suddenly reappeared behind Pikkon and gave him a swift punch to the back of the neck. Pikkon went spiraling down onto the ground, landing on all fours.

Goku hadn't even had to waste much energy to defeat Pikkon, another slap in the face to the once proud man.

"Good match, Pikkon. I nearly had to transform there for a few seconds, that last attack was a real finisher," Goku complimented him.

"Yes, Goku. It was. Now I must leave. My training sessions with Yazza and Cortet begin shortly in hell," Pikkon retorted quickly. He didn't want to stay and face the shame that he felt every time he looked into Goku's face. As he flew towards the entrance to the great stadium, he frowned to himself. He wasn't sure how much longer he could take being a second class citizen where he had once stood supreme. And now that Goku and his friends were guardians of the galaxy, Goku's popularity had risen greatly. It now nearly succeeded the Grand Kai's.

Pikkon had been shamed in the tournament, but even then, his mind still tortured him. Replaying glorious parts of his past when he was alive. He was hailed on his home world has a hero, a legend almost. After saving his planet from incoming meteors and after defeating the intergalactic planet broker known as Fridge, he had tried to lead a modest life. But that hadn't stopped reporters from visiting his house constantly. He still entered tournaments and basked in the glory that 1st place always held for him. He had never even had to use his full power then, rarely even having to remove his training equipment. He grew old, winning all of the tournament challenge placed before him.

And then he had died. And for a while, a long while, he was still the most powerful fighter ever. Only he wasn't. In Other World, while he was training to receive a lesson from the Grand Kai, Goku and his friends were defeating Bebi, Super Android 17 and Shenron. Goku, a mortal, had done something no other had ever done. In the billions of years in the galaxy, no other man had ever defeated a God. Except for Goku. And he had to rub it in even further by defeating Porunga. Another God. Goku surpassed him at every turn. And was even able to defeat him during Goku's first Other World tournament although it was obvious Goku's power wasn't greater! Not only was Goku his superior in ki level, but also in fighting tactics. Yet another humiliation.

But Goku wasn't content with being the savior of his home planet, Earth. He also had to save the universe in the company of his old friends. He had to save the planets New Namek, Vereem, Morve, Lackova, and Toriyama-guchi. He was the first fighter in centuries to have the gift of life returned to him, not only once, but three times. And two of those times were granted by the Supreme and Grand Kai themselves. He had the Gods in his hands. The bastard knew it too. One day, Pikkon would show him what it meant to be the ultimate fighter. One day he would show all that he was supreme. One day they would all know him again, and they would chant his name even harder then all those centuries before. One day...

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Goku zanzokened behind Gohan, then threw his weight to his left foot and pivoted around, trying to deliver a roundhouse to Gohan's neck. The younger saiyan had seen this attack before, however, and leaped into the air, firing a barrage of ki attacks down at his father. Goku rolled out of the way of the first one and leaped away from the second. The third caught him in the stomach, forcing him to the ground. A cloud of dust and smoke flew into the air of the arena, shrouding everyone from sight. Including Goku. He took the momentary blindness of Gohan to his advantage.

"Hmmm... Gohan's gotten stronger then I would have thought. I didn't expect him to be able to counter my attacks like that. We've been into the match for almost twenty minutes now and I haven't been able to land a single blow so far. Maybe I should stop toying with him? Probably, I don't want an accidental ring-out."

Goku used Shunkiado to appear in front of Gohan, and surrounded himself in a yellow aura. With the quick boost of strength, he delivered an uppercut Gohan across the chest then threw a small ki blast from his finger. It traveled quickly since there was little energy in it, snapping Gohan's head back and making him scream in suprise more then pain. Goku appeared behind Gohan's back and grabbed his arms around his waist. The crowd erupted in cheers, watching the two Saiyans struggle with each other in mid-air. Some cheered for Gohan, some for Goku. Most for the peanut guy across the stadium.

"Come on, Gohan!" Goku said, whispering into his son's ear. "Is that all? Don't tell me that your power is this easy to defeat. We haven't even been going half an hour!"

"Don't... worry... Dad," Gohan squeezed out. He was busy trying to summon the strength to break his fathers hold on him. He ignited his own aura, "I've been holding back too!" Once he said that, his entire body flashed, and his head snapped back connecting with Goku's. His father stumbled back, holding his head. Gohan turned around and threw several punches into Goku's stomach, making the mighty saiyan gasp for air as his own blood gurgled out of his mouth. Goku grabbed his son's wrists and held them still, then put up his knee to stop Gohan's leg from impaling his stomach. He wrapped his leg around Gohan's and let go of his wrists, flipping him upside down. Goku untangled his leg and punched Gohan's stomach, sending him careening to the stadium's grass floor. Gohan felt himself drop out of super saiyan 3, the strain finally being to much on his body. At feeling his muscles shrink, his eyes snapped open. He was down to super saiyan 2, a power he didn't want to have right now. He saw the ground coming up on him, and he cried out in suprise. He was about to use Shunkiado to appear in the ring, but his father flew in behind him and delivered another quick punch to his son, sending him falling faster and dazing him. He hit the ground with a sickening thud, and lost consciousness, the crowd erupting in cheers.

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Gohan awoke up around 30 seconds later to his mother's face leaning over him, a look of worry in her face. When he opened his eyes, she broke into an ecstatic smile and wrapped him up in her arms.

"Oh, my Gohan! My baby! Are you okay? Goku! Next time you knock my son out I'm going to... Oh my baby!" She cried, holding Gohan tight enough to squeeze their air from his lungs, despite him being more powerful then 99.9% of every living being in the entire universe. "Gohan-y, let's go home. You need to lie down, your father can be to rough sometimes. I swear he's like a little boy!"

Then they heard Goku over by the refreshment bar, talking to a waitress.

"Or you can have this one, it's called a Saucer Flat," the orange waitress told Goku, handing him a glass of some violet drink.

"Awesome! And it's purple too! I bet it's grape flavored!"

Gohan smiled to himself. Then Goku turned around; the glass still in his hand, noticing that Gohan had woken up.

"Gohan, that was a good fight you put up today. But you still have some things to learn about how to control your power in the level beyond the level beyond Super Saiyan*," Goku instructed him.

"Right, Dad."

"Oh, Goku. You're not taking my Gohan anywhere! You've bruised him up enough for one day! I'm taking him home so that he can rest."

"You're right Chi-chi. A wise man once said, the stronger you get, the stronger you stink. Isn't that right, Gohan!"

Gohan blushed.

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Pikkon was slowly making his way across Hell. He was thinking of the earlier tournament, replaying it over and over in his head. Over the years that Goku had been in Other World, Pikkon had felt pushed aside. His anger and frustration slowly built up over the years, making his heart blacker with each passing day. The power and respect he had once wielded had all been snatched away the day that Goku first defeated him in Other World. It seemed as it immediately afterwards, everyone stopped cheering for him. They stopped loving him. Now they cheered for Goku. They loved him. They loved his sons and his wife and his friends. They didn't love Pikkon anymore. Why should they? Only the strong deserve it. And Pikkon wasn't strong, not anymore. Now he was weak, pushed aside by Goku. But Goku had a weakness to. Pikkon wasn't sure what it was yet, but he had one. Everyone did.

"When I find that Saiyan's, that damned Saiyan's, weakness, he shall suffer. Him and his friends. Even Piccolo. He is only pretending to be my friend. He's telling Goku about me, telling him my secrets. I won't let him do it... When I get strong enough I'm going to kill him. All of the "Z Warriors."

"Is that so?" A voice murmured from the shadows. Pikkon twisted around and cursed himself, he must have been talking aloud and not to himself.

"Who are you? Step out from under the cliff! Now! And tell me your name!"

A green, wrinkled figure stepped into the light. He reminded Pikkon of someone, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The gi though, that was very recognizable. It was purple with blue armbands and brown "booties." A white circle with a kanji symbol protruded in the center of the man's shirt. His antennae bounced in the wind, reminding Pikkon of someone. But still, he couldn't quite place it.

"My name is..." he started. He looked around, as if making sure no one was close enough to over hear the two of them talking. "My name is Piccolo. Piccolo Diamao."

*The level beyond the level beyond Super Saiyan is Goku's way of saying Super Saiyan 3.

"Piccolo?" Pikkon asked incredulously. "You're not Piccolo. I..."

"You're right. I am not Piccolo. As I said before, I am Piccolo Diamao. I am his father," the strange green man told Pikkon. He certainly did look like Piccolo.

"His father?"

"Yes, that's what I said, isn't it? I can help you get rid of Piccolo. I can even help you kill Goku and his friends, if you want. As I understand it, you're not very fond of them. Neither am I," Diamao told Pikkon. A smirk was sliding across Diamao's face, he knew that he could use the darkness that was growing in Pikkon's heart to fuel his own ambitions.

"What have they done to you? I don't remember you ever coming through the Checking Station," Pikkon asked him. The Diamao was quiet for a moment more, as if considering how much he should reveal to Pikkon. Then he spoke:

"Centuries ago on Earth, where the Z Warriors are from, Kami, my other half, wanted to become guardian of the world. But the guardian at the time wouldn't let me, telling him had to purge all the evil from his heart. After intense training and many tries, he succeeded in throwing me from himself. I am the embodiment of all the evil that was in his heart. After we separated, I started my reign across the earth. I killed millions and destroyed cities. But then Goku came. He was... quite the boy. He defeated me by punching himself through my chest. I have never felt more pain since that day. But before I died, I made sure to avenge myself. I spit up an egg, a child so to speak. He was to grow up and kill Goku, and for a long while it seemed that was his goal. He trained non-stop to reach the power that the Saiyan wielded.

"And after only 3 years, he gained almost as much power as Goku had worked for his entire life. Ah, you should have seen him. I got a hold of a mystic orb, a crystal ball I think it's called by the living, and watched him. Piccolo grew from a tiny boy into the most fearsome enemy that spiky haired brat had ever known. He even came close to killing him in the 23rd Tenkaichi Budoukai on earth. But Piccolo lost. His life was even saved by Goku!" Diamao was shaking with rage now. Pikkon watched him thrust his fists into the air in rage at key moments in the story. An aura had surrounded him and his power had taken a dramatic increase. Diamao was literally shaking with anger now, as if he couldn't stand the thought of Goku, let alone Goku saving his son. Pikkon understood exactly how he felt. The light around them was always a constant shade of pink, but Pikkon could feel that it was late. He knew that he had already missed his training session with Yazza and Cortet, but he felt that this was more important anyway. Finally Diamao calmed down, the white aura that had burst around him subsiding.

"And then, as if through some cold twist of fate, Goku changed my son. Piccolo went about taking care of my nemesis' child, and slowly, but most definitely, his heart changed. The evil that had once encompassed his entire being was pushed aside. And... love, for the child emerged. He even gave up his life to save it! How absurd! And Piccolo joined the side of those damned Z Warriors. And then, as if he was taunting me, he fused with my counterpart. He fused with Kami, a permanent fusion to be sure. And his power grew even further, enough to finally kill all of the Saiyans! But he didn't take the chance. He had grown soft. And now in hell, he is still their friend," Daimao spat at the last word, as if he didn't like the taste it left in his mouth. Then a smile filled his face. "But he is not the only one who has been training. Oh no, of course not. I have been too. You know, we Namekians have an incredible ability for change. At every obstacle I have encountered, I have grown. I was even able to fend off the Ginyu when they first came to this dimension. And when Cell came... I was more then a match for him. But Piccolo is now even stronger then I am. He gained so much power over the years... I don't know how he did it. When his fusion with Kami didn't make him stronger then me, I was sure that he was a weakling. But he isn't, oh no. He's very powerful.

"I've been training constantly for the last 250 years, hoping that one day he'd stop. That one day he'd stop training and I'd be able to over-come him. But he is to powerful. I need help. I need your help, in fact."

Pikkon stood there for a second, not sure what to say. He was meeting Piccolo's father? And Diamao hated Piccolo almost as much as he did? But...

"If you really want to defeat Piccolo, why not just get help with someone else from Hell? Why not Frieza, Yandra or someone else? It's a large gamble coming to me like this, how do you know I won't just..."

"Because you hate them too. I've been watching you for a long time, Pikkon. You walk through here every few days, mumbling to yourself about Goku and the others. How much you hate being second next to them. You don't have to be! The others... they're to weak! You're the only one who's strong enough to help me defeat Piccolo, and then Goku. You think any of the other people here even come close to our strength?" Diamao questioned. Pikkon was slowly starting to wonder if maybe, just maybe, overtaking Goku and the others wasn't such a bad idea. After they were defeated, everyone would see how much they needed him. They'd see that he was the most powerful fighter, not Goku.

"Alright, I'll help you. But under one condition," Pikkon said, eyeing Diamao for his reaction. "I'm the boss. You do what I tell you, when I tell you, how I tell you to do it. I'm tired of being bossed around. It's my turn to be in charge." Diamao smiled at that. He thought that Pikkon might make that request... and he was prepared. He simply nodded his head, showing that he was willing to agree to the pact.

-------------------------

Piccolo sat under a small tree meditating. He enjoyed the peace and quiet he could find in Hell. It was peaceful, the sky always a constant shade of pink and red and the ground reminding him of his home, Namek. The grass was green with brown bare patches in some parts, and bushy trees sprouted out of the ground every few dozen feet. It made him feel serene sitting there, with the wind blowing his cape back and forth. It made him feel almost as if he was back on earth, meditating in the woods or grasslands.

Goku had paid him a visit an hour before, telling him the outcome of the tournament. Piccolo had congratulated Goku, then went back to meditating. He wished he had been able to enter the tournament, after all, Other World tournaments were centuries apart. In the entire time he'd been guardian of Hell, he'd only seen two. And he hadn't been able to participate in the first one either since he was busy dealing with a small rebellion led by some new comers from the South Quadrant. But he was busy with his responsibilities in Hell and being a guardian of the universe. They were jobs he gladly accepted in exchange for the alternative of losing his body. Of course, he always had to be prepared for what could happen... being erased. He had been spending some time considering what exactly would happen to someone. Surely they couldn't be just erased. They had to go somewhere.

Piccolo was about to continue his train of thought when he heard small movements behind him. Well, they were actually a few hundred feet behind him, but he had excellent hearing. Piccolo opened the corner of his eyes and turned his head slightly.

"Ah, just Pikkon. Probably wants to do some sparring to make up for the match today in the tournament," Piccolo thought to himself. He waited a couple minutes for Pikkon.

"Piccolo, how are you?" Pikkon asked politely.

"Hello, Pikkon. I'm fine. What do you want?" Pikkon smirked when he heard Piccolo ask that question, but he decided against answering it truthfully.

"I was wondering... would you be willing to spar with me? I'm afraid that my performance today in the tournament was slightly lacking."

"Yes, I am willing," Piccolo answered. He stood up, his white cape furling around him in the wind. It created almost a god-like look on the Namek. Piccolo placed one foot in front of him and leaned his weight on his hind foot, propping his arms up in front of him in stance. Pikkon removed his weighted robe and turban, making sure he was ready, just in case Piccolo proved to much of a challenge for Diamao.

"Maybe you should remove your mantle, Piccolo. I've improved much since we lost fought," Pikkon drawled. He knew Piccolo would refuse, thinking Pikkon much to weak to do serious damage.

"No, I will leave it. It makes for better training."

Pikkon snarled and launched himself at Piccolo fist first. Piccolo saw the attack and leaned to the side, throwing one flat hand out to deflect the punch. He tried to grab Pikkon's arm, but he was to slow. It was a great supprise since last time they had fought, Pikkon hadn't been able to even attempt evasion. Pikkon grabbed Piccolo's arm and pivoted around on it, bringing his foot to Piccolo's neck. Or he was going to, but the Namek disappeared, leaving Pikkon grabbing air. He dropped to the ground face first, blooding his face on a rock as Piccolo re-appeared a few feet away.

"Calm down, Pikkon. It's only a sparring match, let's not try to... kill... each other," Piccolo said roughly.

Pikkon smiled to himself as he saw Diamao appear behind Piccolo and deliver a quick blow to the back of his neck, knocking his son out cold.

Vegeta and Bulma entered Gou's "backyard" for the post-tournament party. Goku's backyard was roughly 50 acres, which a small waterfall near his house and a creek running the entire length. As always, the sky was a light pink, as if suspended in a constant sun set. The grass covered almost the entire property, but stopped, giving way to a mini-forest that took up almost twenty acres. Of course, there were bare spots where Goku had sparred with one person or another over the years. Chi-chi was busy cooking food and placing it on tables inside the house, already taking up 3 separate rooms. Goten was lying on the grass, his hands behind his head. He hadn't really done any training that day and had only showed up for the tournament to watch. He had even put on an old orange and blue gi he pulled from the closet to support his father with. Goku was sitting and won at a table, passing cards between him, Trunks, Gohan and Krillin. Tien and Yamcha sat at a table arm wrestling.

Pan, 18, and Marron stood at the backstep to the house, talking quietly and giggling every few minutes after looking over at the men. They had offered to help Chi-chi with the food, but she refused point blank, chasing them out with a butcher knife after they tried to hand her some apples from a basket. Vegeta sat down at the table with Goku and the others.

"Vegeta," Goku called over his hand of cards. "What's with the shirt? Why are you wearing a..." Goku started before Vegeta interrupted him.

"Shut up, Kakkorot!" he screamed, after glancing down at his pink shirt. "My clothes weren't ready... Because someone didn't finish the laundry," he said this, of course, only after Bulma was out of earshot.

"But... It's pink."

"So what! You're wearing that stupid green and yellow outfit from back on Tardray," Vegeta said, pointing to Goku.

"It's the latest fashion on Tardray. I know it's kinda strange, but at least it's not pink."

"SHUT UP!"

Piccolo awoke, and found himself pinned against a cavern wall, standing up. He was being bound by some sort of energy restraint that was melded tightly to his limbs. Piccolo noticed two voices talking, One he didn't recognize at all. The sound of the other man was familiar, but he couldn't quite place the voice.

"How am I to help you defeat the other Z Warriors? The only one I can beat is Yamcha, and that's becoming difficult to do. He may have even surpassed me by now," he heard Pikkon say. It almost sounded as if he was arguing.

"Don't worry, my friend. As soon as Piccolo and I become whole again, I will be able to increase your power by much. Every Namek has the power to release the "inner power" of an individual. I believe Guru, the guardian of my home planet, released the "inner power" of Gohan and Krillin when they first visited the planet. I will be able to do the same for you," the second voice said. Piccolo recognized it, but yet again, he couldn't place it exactly. He also noted that his assailant was a Namekian.

"Diamao..." Pikkon said. He continued talking, but Piccolo had only focused on that one word. Piccolo Diamao... the name of Piccolo's father.

"He died before I was born... Is it possible that he has spent all that time here, in Hell, plotting? Is it another Diamao?" Piccolo wondered. He knew that the latter wasn't true however. "No, no it's my Diamao. He must have a grudge... And he's planning on becoming whole with me? This isn't good. Namekian fusions are for good."

Piccolo looked at his restraints. He was being held up against a wall by ki straps, suspending his arms, legs and head in place. Not good. He couldn't raise his power level high enough to break through them unless he wanted to get noticed by Diamao and Pikkon. Of course, the alternative was spending the rest of eternity sharing the same body. Piccolo raised his power slightly, testing his limits to see if Diamao and Pikkon noticed it. They didn't. He decided to test how strong the ki restraints were, and pushed some of his body against it.

"Aaaaaaaaaaargh!" He bellowed immediately. Once he had put some force into rebelling against the straps, he was immediately pushed against the cavern wall, jolts resounding through his body. The ki straps were powerful... at least he knew that much. But the most disturbing thing he noticed was that the voices outside had stopped talking. They must have heard him... That sucks.

-------------------------

"So when I relea... Did you hear that?" Diamao asked, cocking his head to the side, letting his ear show into the wind. Pikkon, who was listening intently to Diamao, had heard a scream, he thought.

"Yes, I noticed it as well. It appears that Piccolo has awoken. And that he has tested how strong his restraints are," Pikkon smiled at that. Then thought, "The bastard deserves it, afterall."

"I agree, he's woken up. Let's go pay him a visit."

-------------------------

Piccolo was still recuperating from the jolt of energy when Diamao and Pikkon entered the chamber. In the dark light he couldn't see either of their faces, and could barely make out their outlines. They walked slowly, as if they weren't in any hurry. They knew that he couldn't escape, and they knew that he couldn't fight back. It was their way of telling him, "Yes. Now you are the weakling. You're the one at our mercy. Not the other way around. Not anymore."

Diamao approached Piccolo slowly, Pikkon following him closely behind him. Diamao stopped a few feet from his counterpart, and turned his head, as if studying him. Piccolo stayed quiet, waiting for the other Namekian to make the first attempt at speaking. Diamao decided to take the initiative.

"So, Piccolo. How have you been?" Diamao asked, a grin spread across his lips. Piccolo didn't answer and merely glared at his captor. At this, Diamao's smile opened even wider. "Why, Piccolo. Son. What's wrong? Don't you want to talk to me? After all, we have a lifetime of secrets to share. Oh so many! Here, why don't I start? I'm going to kill your friends. How's that?" Piccolo raised his head slightly.

"You do know that I'm nothing compared to them. I'm the weakest one out there next to the humans."

"Of course I know that, I'm no fool. That is why we're going to fuse," he stated bluntly. He was waiting for any reaction from Piccolo, but received none. "You're not surprised?

"No, I heard you outside. But, you know, if you fuse with me, it'll be for good. You will never be able to separate yourself from me. Ever."

"Of course I know that. What's your point?"

"That when we fuse, we'll be trapped together for an eternity. We'll always be together, no matter what. You can never get rid of me, and I can never get rid of you. Once we fuse, that's it. There's no going back!" Piccolo told him. His voice had been steadily rising throughout the entire affair, ending in a scream. Diamao laughed.

"There's no turning back now. You think I can just let you go and me and Pikkon will just be allowed to go on? Oh please, I'm not that stupid. No, no we're going to fuse. And when we do, we'll be even stronger then Goku and his friends. Hell, we'll be the strongest beings in the entire universe. Now then, get ready," Diamao slithered out. Pikkon was still standing behind him, watching, quite interested. Diamao placed a flat hand onto Piccolo's chest. Once Piccolo felt that, he immediately tried to attack Diamao, but as soon as he moved an incredible shock resounded through his body, crumpling him to the wall.

"Ha ha! What did you think was going to happen, son? You don't think I'd actually give you some sort of way to escape? Sorry, but I'm not that stupid. Now then, lie still and prepare yourself... We're still going to be using your body, don't worry. My body is old... Yours is much more agile," Diamao told Piccolo to "comfort" him. He put his hand back onto Piccolo's chest and started to concentrate.

VII

Goku and Vegeta were both on their 19th shot of sake when Tien finally slammed Yamcha's hand down on the table, finished with their arm wrestling match.

"Hic! Goo jobby, Tienster! I *hic* always... didn doubt oo! Maybe *hic* oo'll won next timey wimey, Yamucha," Goku sputtered out, barely keeping his head from hitting the table. Vegeta smiled wide, flashing his teeth and gave Tien a thumbs up. Then he fell asleep.

"Ey! Vegoo! I ain't doon et! Wook up! Wook up, Vegoo!" Goku urged the other Saiyan. But it was no use... Vegeta's head was already lolling back on the chair, drool dripping out of his mouth. Goku gave a defeated sigh and passed out.

-------------------------

"So then I said to Vegeta, 'Stop saiyan that!' Get it? 'sayain' instead of 'saying'? Ha ha, I crack myself up," Bulma told Chi-chi in the kitchen.

"Hee hee, I told Goku that one time, but instead of 'Stop saiyan that!', it was 'Don't touch me there!'... or something like that," Chi-chi said, giggling. Then she poured another glass of sake and slammed it down her throat. Go figure.

-------------------------

The Grand Kai paced in his chambers, a feeling immersing itself within him. The feeling... It wasn't a good one.

"I wonder what's going on. I feel strange, as if something important is about to happen. Maybe I should tell the Supreme Kai... No. No need to bother him, especially if it's nothing. Besides," the Grand Kai thought to himself, "I'm sure whatever is going wrong can be handled by Goku, you dig? He's not the guardian of the universe for nothing."

The Grand Kai was satisfied that Goku would protect Other World, so he didn't bother thinking about it further, but it still gnawed at the back of his brain. He ignored it though, he had more important matters to deal with, after all. Like figuring out why he smelled like fish.

-------------------------

Diamao looked at his hands. Only... they weren't his hands. They were his son, Piccolo's, hands. And they surged with life. His ki was higher then he had ever felt it, almost high enough to threaten an explosion. And it was still rising! Was this what Piccolo felt? Was this the power he had at his fingertips? No, it couldn't be. This was Diamao's power and Piccolo's. This was what their power did together. Oh, but it was impossible! It was impossible for a being to be this powerful! Surely it was impossible. But it wasn't. This was the power he'd need to defeat Goku and the others. He'd wait though. He'd wait a few more days. After all, he had to gauge their powers, see how strong they were. Maybe even give himself enough time to catch them off guard, let them think that he really was Piccolo. Then he'd snap on them.

"Diamao. Diamao!" Pikkon yelled, almost screaming.

"What?!"

"I've been trying to get your attention for the past 5 minutes! You said you'd use your power to make me stronger. I need to be strong enough to beat Goku. I can't stand it..." Pikkon trailed off. He was staring at Diamao now, the Namek was starting to power up. A white aura was surrounding his partner, and Diamao stretched out a hand. He placed it on Pikkon's head. It startled the green man, but then he realized what the Namek was doing. He was going to unleash his "hidden power."

"Aaaaaaaargh!" Diamao screamed, letting his aura surround Pikkon as well. The other man opened his eyes wide at the yell. It surprised him, but not enough to make him back down. He could already feel his heart opening and depths of power surge into his body. His muscles expanded in his arms, legs, chest and neck. He sunk into the ground a few inches, growing heavier then the soft dirt could support. Pikkon's robes ripped off of him and his turban cracked. His entire body was swelling, it was too much for his small clothes to contain. He felt his own aura pick up and expand, filling the cavern with light. The heat was tremendous, but neither of the men noticed it, to engaged in letting their powers soar. Rocks raised from the ground wildly, snapping into hundreds of pieces after being hit with small bolts of electricity glancing off Pikkon. The walls of the cavern exploded outwards, expanding ten feet on every side of him. The roof shuddered at feeling the change, and dust fell to the floor, soon vaporized by the bolts of lightening. Pikkon felt himself being lifted from the ground and dragged into the air, he was letting out a silent scream the whole time, his eyes closed and his head rolled back.

Diamao had let go of Pikkon's head when he started to rise, and now he watched on, smiling to himself. He had just let Pikkon's power out. Pikkon now had as much power as Diamao had before he had fused with Piccolo. Pikkon... he was very strong. And proud. That combination was usually deadly.

VIII

Goku awoke the next morning in a puddle of his own drool. He wiped his mouth, and went up to his room, still rubbing his eyes. He saw Goten and Trunks asleep on the stairwell, but thought it best not to disturb them. He walked down the hall a bit, and made a mental note to fix the paint on the walls. It was peeling again.

He walked into his room and saw Chi-chi lying in the bed, still sleeping too, Goku kissed her forehead and smiled to himself. He went into their bathroom and took a shower.

-------------------------

Bulma carted Vegeta home early that morning, deciding not to let him sleep over. He didn't want to let Vegeta and Goku together when both of them had a hangover. So now Vegeta was sleeping it off on the couch, while she curled her hair in their bedroom.

"Well, I just hope Trunks doesn't make a fool of himself. He got into the sake pretty good last night too. Oh well, Goten will take care of him. Maybe I should talk to Marron and Bra about that... I don't know where they are either," Bulma shrugged and went back to curling her hair. Less then a minute later she brushed her hand with the iron and burned herself, sending her shrieking down the hall into a startled Vegeta, who still had crust in his eyes.

-------------------------

Diamao hadn't slept that night. He was preoccupied testing his new power limits, and seeing how far they could take him. He also had to get used to this new body. It was more agile then his old one, and was able to hold power much easier. It was almost as if he had discovered the fountain of youth. During his new training he had practiced back flips, kicks, punches and even a few ki attacks he had delved from Piccolo's mind. One special one, called the Special Beam Cannon, he especially enjoyed. But he decided to rename it the Demon Ray instead, the Special Beam Cannon just didn't sound... right. Then he found one called the Masenko. It drew an incredible amount of energy very fast, but that was a problem. Sometimes it would draw to much energy and he would become very weak and simply pass out. He also had come up with a new gi for himself. He had decided on a dark purple gi pants, with purple arm straps and belt, but he kept his brown boots. He was quite fond of them, after all.

Pikkon had also stayed awake. His strength had been more then tripled in a single instant, and his body was more laden with muscle then it had ever been. The swelling had gone down a bit, but he was still pumped up. Pikkon was almost twice as large as he was before, and he could no longer wear his turban or robes. His clothes had been ripped in several places, but he would change them into a different pair later on. A new power he had discovered was that he could change clothes at will... Diamao explained that Nameks could do it too, it had probably been passed to him during the releasing of his power. But there were other powers he was more interested in. He found he could now shoot small, but fast, ki beams through his eyes. That would definitely come in handy in close combat.

"Kaio-ken!" Pikkon heard Diamao shout from across the field. He was going to ignore it, assuming that it was just Diamao experimenting with another of Piccolo's powers, but then he felt Diamao's ki take a sharp increase. It increased had increased by half! Pikkon looked over his shoulder and saw that Diamao was engulfed in a red aura, and his entire body was bulging. His eyes had disappeared and veins were popping up all over his scalp. Diamao's antennae were waving wildly, as if possessed by some strange spirit yanking them wildly. Then, just as suddenly as Diamao had activated the kaio-ken, he dropped out of it. Diamao fell to the ground on all fours, panting and dripping sweat onto the ground. Then, slowly, he began to laugh. It picked up speed, becoming a chuckle, then a belly laugh, the finally an all out bawl. Tears were streaming from Diamao's eyes when Pikkon made his way over to him.

"Diamao? What is it?" he questioned.

"The kaio-ken, Pikkon. That's how we're going to defeat them. With the kaio-ken nothing can defeat us," he told him, finally composing himself. Pikkon didn't understand, however. The kaio-ken had barely raised Diamao's power by half, and even then, it had drained him of almost all his power.

"But... look at you. You can't even stand! Even I could defeat you right now, let alone Goku or even Yamcha! I don't know Diamao... the kaio-ken isn't so impressive to me," he told his partner.

"That was only the first step, Pikkon. There are many more. Piccolo just never bothered to use them, that's why it drained so much ki from me. He considered it a 'waste of time.' But he is a fool! Goku used this, and reached all the way up to kaio-ken x20. Imagine a kaio-ken x25! Or 30! Think about it, Pikkon. With this technique, none of the Z Warriors can stop us," Diamao told him. But...

"Diamao, I don't know how to do it. How am I supposed to use it against the Z Warriors?"

"Don't worry, Pikkon. I'll teach it to you. But first, I have to master it myself. It's a pity Piccolo never bothered to explore it fully. He could have been the most powerful being on the earth in time. Now leave, I have to learn how to bring it out all the way. Go train or something," Diamao ordered. If Diamao hadn't been busy collecting his breath on the ground, he would have seen Pikkon's stare. Pikkon was glaring at his 'friend.' He thought that this partnership would make him an equal. That it would make him one of the top dogs again. But no, no that wasn't what Diamao had planned. He was just using him to defeat the others. But that was okay, perfectly fine. Pikkon could play by those rules. And Diamao wouldn't like it. Not at all.

"Ha!" Goten yelled, finalizing his kamehameha wave. He threw his hands forward and a blue energy ball flew from them, gathering power and speed as it made it's way to the opponent. They were already in a wide open area, so Goten wasn't worried his kamehameha would hurt anyone, but still, as it made it's way on, it chewed up the ground and disheveled the dirt through many feet. It's blue tip rushed towards... Goku. Goku put both hands forward and blocked it from hitting him. The kamehameha was burning his flesh, however, so he had to act quickly. He twisted to the side and brought his hands up, letting the blast fly harmlessly into the air. Goten zanzokened behind Goku and tried to knee him in the back, but Goku felt his power move, and ducked down, letting his son's leg fly over his back. Goku pushed one foot out, and moved it to the side, sweeping Goten off his feet. Goku immediately flipped himself up, and turned around. He fired a small ki shot into Goten's face, piling him into the ground. He laid in his hole for a while, letting the effects of the battle wear off.

"Ow."

"Aw, come on, Goten! We've barely been going three hours. Trunks and Vegeta over there aren't even winded," Goku said, pointing over to where Trunks and Vegeta were fighting.

"They started fifteen minutes ago!" Goten yelled at his father, dropping from Super Saiyan and letting his black hair return. Goku shrugged and walked over to where Piccolo was sitting, watching them.

"Hey, Piccolo, what's up?" he asked, grabbing a towel from the ground and wiping his forehead. Piccolo raised his head and grunted, but that was all.

"Um okay," Goku said, cocking an eyebrow at the Namek. "What's up with you? Nothing to say today?"

"I'm... just watching. I'm tired, that's all," Diamao told him, almost cursing. He didn't expect Goku to talk to him, especially when he should be training with Goten. Dirty saiyans must have gotten tired.

"Alrighty then, your call," Goku said. He started to walk off, but then turned around and eyed Diamao. "Piccolo, something about you feels different. Your ki... it's not the same as usual. What's up?"

"Um..." Diamao thought quickly. He hadn't expected Goku to be able to tell the difference in his power, he thought it was being hidden well enough. "I've been doing serious training in Hell. My powers raised quite a bit, don't you think?"

"Yeah... That's it," Goku said, still staring at Diamao. He softened his gaze, however, confident that nothing was wrong. "Hey, next time your feeling up to it, tell me. I'd be glad to train with you; after all, you've gotten much stronger in only a week. You're probably almost as strong as Krillin now!" With that, Goku waved and hopped off into the air, in search of Olibu, hopping he was up for a sparring match.

"Yes, Goku," Diamao thought, "I'm almost as strong as Krillin now. Well, if that's all you think, then you're in for quite a surprise. Especially since you haven't even felt a fourth of my power. And now that I can do kaio-ken x4 we'll see who is stronger."

-------------------------

Pikkon trained in Hell, and perfected the kaio-ken. He had been secretly training with it constantly, ignoring his regular exercises. He was now able to use kaio-ken all the way up to x10, which gave him around Goten's power he estimated. In another couple of days, he should be able to reach Trunks'. But the problem... whenever he used the kaio-ken x8, nearly all of his energy was exhausted. And when he used the kaio-ken x10 he couldn't move for nearly ten minutes. But he found he was able to maintain kaio-ken x3 almost constantly, and it was now draining him very little. That meant the humans shouldn't be much trouble. Now then, to get back to raising his endurance training.

"Kaio-ken x5!" He yelled, letting it slowly drain his body of power.

-------------------------

The Grand Kai could feel the subtle vibrations in ki energy. It was like a puddle in his stomach that was shuddering with each wave of power that came. When he first felt it, he wasn't sure what it was, then it dawned on him that it was ki. He knew that it wasn't from any of the Z Warriors though, he could easily keep track of all of them, even if they were barely using any power. Every person has a certain different way that their ki feels like, and the one he felt now didn't match anyone he knew. It was in Other World, though. That he knew. But exactly where, he didn't know. It wasn't important enough to tell Goku about anyway, not yet. No need to bother him yet, especially since he didn't even know what he was feeling. He would normally consult with the Supreme Kai at a time like this, but he felt that it important he handled it on his own. Ever since the incident with Zanji, he had felt less and less important. Almost as if the universe had out-grown him... Now that it had the "Z Warriors", what did it need him for?

Diamao was now able to summon the power to use kaio-ken x9. But he was out of time... He had been impersonating Piccolo for a month now, and in that time he found that it was getting harder day by day. The Z Warriors, and everyone else, were getting suspicious of his withdrawn nature. True, Piccolo had always been quiet, but Diamao was operating as if no one else in the universe existed. Pikkon was having trouble controlling his power as well, having to fight off the urges to dispatch of the humans, and saiyan's children. Oh, but he could barely resist the urges.

So it became apparent to Diamao that it was almost time to do his job. He told Pikkon, and received a slight nod of the head, but nothing more. And, as time went by, he began to grow suspicious of Pikkon. The green skinned man had been increasingly distant from Diamao each passing day, and rarely even acknowledged that he was sparring with Diamao when they did spend to together. So Diamao finalized it in his head: Soon. He couldn't wait any longer; he had to strike quickly. Pikkon didn't trust him anymore, why Diamao did not know, but it was obvious that soon Pikkon would turn on him. Which, of course, he couldn't allow. He needed Pikkon to fight off the younger saiyans and humans while he fought Vegeta and Goku.

Meanwhile, Pikkon was thinking the same thoughts. Diamao was treating him as a subordinate, not as an equal. And that is how Diamao had come to him, as an equal, promising they were partners, not that one would rule the other. That was exactly what he was trying to avoid with Goku and the others. So he made up his mind: Diamao would die as well. Pikkon couldn't allow him to go on staying in Other World if he was stronger then him. He had to make sure that Diamao couldn't bother him anymore. It was time for Pikkon's glory again, not Diamao's.

-------------------------

"Alright then, let's go!" Goku said, jumping into the air with joy. He just received news from the Grand Kai; there was a problem on Kimahri. Which meant he finally got a job.

"Goku..." the Grand Kai started, "Something isn't right. I've had... odd... feelings for a long time now. Over a month. I think that you should be careful on this trip, you dig? Getting some weird vibes."

"Nah, no problem, Grand Kai! We can handle this easy as pie, it's like a vacation almost," Goku said, grinning wide walking backwards out of the palace of the Grand Kai. Nah, no problems. After all, they were the Z Warriors! And if there was a problem... Well, he would just have to deal with it. That was his job.

-------------------------

Thirty minutes later, everyone was assembled on the North Quadrant training grounds. Everyone means Goku, Vegeta, Trunks, Goten, Gohan, Yamcha, Diamao, Krillin and Tien. And Pikkon. Diamao had convinced Goku that he would be training on this trip, learning some new techniques from the inhabitants of Kimahri. Being that it was 'Piccolo', Goku had no problem and gladly accepted the charge.

"All righty, here's the deal. On Kimahri they've been having problems from a local planet called Pepper. Lately, it's all been escalating, and now Pepper has brought in outside help, namely someone named Packer. He's supposed to be some sort of 'super being'," Vegeta rolled his eyes at that and gave a grunt. "Apparently, he's supposed to destroy the entire planet soon if they don't submit to Pepper's rule. Our job is to get in there, eliminate the main forces surrounding Packer's base and confront him. Once there, we offer him two options, one being surrendering and leaving peace."

"What's the second?" Krillin asked, yawning.

"Well, if he doesn't surrender then we're supposed to kill him. He's too strong to let go if he doesn't surrender. His strength could easily destroy any number of planets if he's still on that course after we leave," Goku explained, looking from one of his friends to the other.

"I don't get it, Goku. Why doesn't Packer just take over Pepper and Kimahri? It would make a hell of a lot more sense then taking one over for a tidy little check," Trunks questioned. Vegeta grunted at this too, but he agreed with the boy in his head that it didn't make much sense.

"From what the Grand Kai has told me, Packer isn't concerned with either planet. Kimahri is basically a desert, while Pepper is almost constantly in a freezing winter. Neither is a very good planet resource or populace wise. Probably why Packer doesn't care one way or the other."

"Are we done now? We've wasted enough time talking up here, I'm ready to go down there and fight," Vegeta, of course.

"Everyone set?" Goku asked, once again looking at each of his comrades. "You got it, Pikkon?"

"Yes," Pikkon drawled. It was almost as if the saiyan was purposely mocking him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Good then. So it's decided. Let's go!"

Each of the Z Warriors and Pikkon appeared in predetermined sections of the planet's capital city, where Packer had set up his main stead of operations. Everyone was paired up together, making it easier to dispatch any enemies that they might come up against. Goku was with Gohan, Vegeta with Diamao. Goten stayed with Trunks, while Krillin and Yamcha joined together. Pikkon and Tien were the last two, and they were also assigned to look out duty. Pikkon thought this was perfect, considering that he was planning on going through the teams systematically, defeating one after the other. Tien would be an easy person to start with, as the humans he didn't expect much trouble from.

When Tien let go of Pikkon's arm after using shunkiado to transport to the surface, they both looked up in amazement at the sites... Kimahri looked to be a very advanced world, with sky scrapers towing nearly five hundred stories, bridges through the skies with no way to hold them up, as far as Tien or Pikkon could see. Elongated oval shapes hung in the sky, a type of car, Tien figured. There were other shapes, such as long rectangles and a flat triangle. The rectangle was probably a bus, but the triangle was something he couldn't figure. It was dark, most likely midnight on the planet. Stars sparkled through the sky, despite them being in the city, which only meant that the planet had small problems with pollution. All of the buildings were extremely tall and clean, gleaming in the moonlight and faint 'streetlights.'

For the first time, Pikkon realized he was standing on a bridge. It was a very narrow one at that, and he couldn't figure why they needed bridges when they had flying cars anyway. When he looked over the edge, he noticed a drop that looked to be several hundred feet. It wasn't dangerous to him, as he could fly. But to a regular person who was lacking in that department, it would be very lethal. Of course, this advanced civilization had yet to think of rails, however, since there were no guard rails surrounding the bridge. He looked up and down it, but found that he couldn't see either end. Where the bridges connected, he didn't know, but he was confident that it was safe. After all, it was most likely designed to support much more weight then he could generate.

He looked over, and saw that Tien was still looking over the edge of the bridge, still amazed that it could stand. Pikkon decided that it was time to begin his rampage, and start dropping the small flies first. He was only wearing his blue shirt and white pants, so he didn't have to worry about removing his robes.

"Hey, Tien," he called gruffly, watching as the triclops slowly turned his head. "How strong are you?"

"Strong enough to deal with anyone we'll find on here. Why?" he asked cautiously, eyeing Pikkon as if he could sense something wasn't quite right. And then, his concerns were confirmed:
"Strong enough, eh? You think you're strong enough, do you? You don't know what power is!" Pikkon yelled, tensing his muscles and standing straight, a white aura exploding around him. He was surprised when he didn't see any of the road fly up around him.

"Pikkon... What are you doing?" He asked, not sure what was happening.

"What am I doing? I'm sending you back where you belong! It's time, my friend. Goku must die, and you with him! All of you," He cried, sweeping his arm from side to side, as if outlining an entire army of Tien's. "I'm tired of it, don't you see? I'm tired of living in his shadow. I'm tired of listening to the people of Other World fawning over him! It's my turn again. I'm going to be the star. Me, not him. Never again."

"Pikkon... Listen to yourself! You can't beat Goku. Hell, not even Vegeta can beat Goku, and he's one of the strongest people out here. Come on man, you don't want to do this. We have a job to do! We can't fool around right now," Tien said, pleading with Pikkon. He didn't want to have to hurt him. Last time they fought Tien had come close to spanking him totally.

"I'm not the same as I was before, Tien. I'm much stronger since then," he told his opponent. Then, narrowed his eyes and crouched into a stance. "Much stronger."

-------------------------

"So, Vegeta, do you think we'll be able to beat this guy Packer? Sounds tough to me," Diamao drawled, watching Vegeta for his reaction.

"What's your point, Namek? I am the prince of the saiyans! No one in the universe is stronger then me!"

"Oh really, Vegeta? Are you sure? What if I was to say that I was more powerful then you," Diamao asked, slightly excited at what he knew was coming next.

"You? Piccolo, you haven't been stronger then me since you first fused with Kami."

"I'm not Piccolo, Vegeta. I am Piccolo Diamao," he said, a smirk playing across his face."

"What are you talking about, Piccolo?"

"I'm Piccolo Diamao. Piccolo's father. Long ago, Goku defeated me; I've been waiting in hell. Now I have fused with my son and I'm much stronger then I've ever been. Hell, not even you're stronger then me now!" he crowed, letting Vegeta's anger boil.

"You... fused with Piccolo? Are you joking?" he asked, not quite sure what was happening. But he didn't like it... He powered up.

-------------------------

Pikkon punched Tien in the jaw, sending the three-eyed man spiraling off the edge of the walkway. On his way down, he managed to spin around and grab a hold of the side with one hand, but just barely. He was already bloodied and battered from earlier blows struck by the alien. Blood ran freely from the corners of his mouth and bruises already littered his scarred chest. Tien could feel that several of his ribs were broken, along with his left arm. His third eye was quickly swelling up and he already drained his ki trying to run from Pikkon. He was running on his normal human endurance now, and in a fight with someone of Pikkon's power, he wouldn't last very long. Hell, he wasn't even lasting now.

Pikkon smirked as he saw Tien dangling from the edge. He drew closer; floating slightly above the concrete, shooting small pieces of road that had been chipped off into the air. Pikkon finally felt in control again, like he was in charge. For the first time in a hundred years, he was finally able to win against the Z Warriors. The power that Diamao unlocked was truly amazing.

"So, Tien. Do you know... That I am going to kill you? Well, not in the obvious sense, of course. But I'm going to re-kill you. And once I do that... you're gone," Pikkon smiled even wider at that, showing his teeth. "You're finally gone. And do you know what else? Diamao, Piccolo's father, is up ahead now. He's going to kill Vegeta too. I'm going to pick off each one of your friends one at a time. They'll finally be gone too."

"Do you..." Tien started. He had to stop at that and face downwards. Pikkon wasn't sure what he was doing at first, then he saw, and heard, Tien coughing up blood. It was a strange sound, a hacking sound more then a coughing one. Tien was truly pitiful on that ledge... Yes he was. "Do you realize that Goku will stop you? It doesn't matter how... h-... how strong Diamao is! Goku will beat him! Don't you understand? Do-" Tien was about to finish his speech, but then Pikkon crouched down and put his hand in front of Tien's face.

Tien saw the small particles of energy gathering in his opponent's hand, but he couldn't quite believe it. After all he had done, all he had sacrificed, he was going to be erased. None of what he had done mattered, it was all for nothing. The yellow slips of energy swirled, creating a ball in Pikkon's hand. Tien closed his eyes, he wouldn't allow himself to be killed like this. Not by Pikkon. Tien opened all of his eyes widely and whispered something inaudible to even Pikkon. Then... he let go. Tien felt himself fall faster and faster, unable to stop his decent. He would die, same as if he had let Pikkon kill him, but this way at least he would die with honor. He wouldn't allow Pikkon to be the one to kill him, if he died he wanted to go by his own hands. Not by some alien scum's.

Tien fell even more rapidly, knowing that he couldn't stop himself. The buildings whirled by, a collage of black and white paints, some windows reflecting him. The bridge was quickly dimming in the distance, and he could feel that there wasn't much longer until he was dead. The ground was rushing up beneath him. He had closed his yes again when he started to fall, but now he opened them. He would die with honor.

XII

Vegeta was in super saiyan 2 form. Diamao had told him about the plans to erase the Z Warriors; at first he hadn't believed it, but after Diamao tried to sever Vegeta's neck with a punch, he changed his mind. But despite the namek's clams, he still didn't think that Diamao had gained enough power to challenge him. Picc.... Diamao certainly didn't look much stronger. Sure, his muscles were much larger and his ki had risen quite a bit, but he was still weak. The power he was giving off was almost as strong as Goten, no more. And Goten was incredibly weak compared to Vegeta.

Diamao was wrestling with Piccolo inside his head. H is son was continually trying to break down the barrier between their two minds, and it was distracting Diamao a great deal. Even with his body being possessed, Piccolo refused to allow himself to be defeated. He could see everything that was happening, could hear every sound, smell every smell and he could read ever thought of Diamao's. The two nameks wrestled with their minds, using skills gotten from many years of meditation. Their thoughts clashed and collided, whirling together only to spin apart again. Diamao's left eye began to twitch.

Vegeta and Diamao stood across from each other, neither stancing yet. Instead they both stood up straight, their chests puffed out slightly. Diamao was still wearing his deep purple gi pants with light purple wrist weights. Vegeta was wearing his trade mark blue pants and shirt, and boots. The super saiyan stubbornly refused to believe that Diamao, a namek, could possible by stronger then he. Especially considering tat the last time they fought, he hadn't even had to transform to deal with Piccolo. Fusions were so powerful that they pushed past the level of a super saiyan, but not a super saiyan 3. Then Vegeta noticed Diamao's eye was twitching slightly It wasn't a big twitch, almost as if he had something in it. But that was all Vegeta needed to set him off.

He leaped from the platform he was on and flew towards his opponent, leaving a yellow trail behind. Dust flew up from his last position, but not even a small crater appeared. Diamao quickly reacted, adrenaline flooding his system. Piccolo was blocked from his mind as Diamao leaned to the left, sending Vegeta sailing past him. Diamao brought up a knee and connected it with Vegeta's stomach, then brought his cupped hands down on the saiyan's back, slamming him into the ground. Diamao ignited his own aura and flipped backwards, then turned. He then jumped into the air and sent a flying kick to Vegeta's back. Vegeta sensed his attack and zanzokened back onto the street, letting Diamao slam into Vegeta's hole. Diamao spun around and fired a ki blast at Vegeta, landing it directly in his chest. He was blown back about 20 feet before Diamao appeared behind him and delivered a jab into the small of his back, sending him flying forward again. Vegeta screamed in agony, an opening appearing in the back of his shirt. He got control of himself and stopped his flight. He was upside down, blood falling into his eyes from his nose. Vegeta fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"Damn you!" he called out, sweat falling from his forehead after the quick beating. "How'd you get so strong? Not even this sort of fusion should have made you strong enough to do that!"

"I was already nearly as strong as Piccolo. When we fused I became more powerful then I ever dreamed possible. Not even you're stronger then me now. And with Pikkon's help, Goku will be defeated to. Just give up, Vegeta; you can't win."

"Quiet! I haven't even powered up all the way yet, and you're already declaring your victory? Fool!" Vegeta bellowed, letting his aura flare wildly, blowing up bits of concrete around him.

"Then, Vegeta," Diamao said, still smirking confidently, "Power up. I'll wait for you."

"Alright then, namek. You'll regret it though, I promise you that," Vegeta crowed, sure of his power.

He crouched low and began to gather his ki, taking his time. When you powered up quickly you lost energy, but if Diamao was going to wait on him, then he could gather everything. Tendrils shot from his aura, flickering across the ground. His face was contorted with effort as his power soared, his muscles bulged and he felt the itch across his body as he sprouted red fur across his chest. His shirt ripped apart as his muscles flew from it's confines, and waves of ki were emanating from him, breaking windows on the sky scrapers. Some buildings literally imploded sending glass and bits of steel and brick flying onto the skyway. Vegeta didn't notice, however, as his aura instantly vaporized any oncoming debris. He was screaming loudly, but not in pain. The energy that was flowing through him energized his body, making him instantly many times what his previous power had been. The bridge beneath his feet opened up, a crater forming where he had been standing. Vegeta was floating above it now, his muscles tightening as they grew and his eyes opened wide.

Veins popped out across his forehead, rising and falling as his heart tried to keep up with the demands his body was making of it. Blood vessels in his eyes grew, nearly reaching the pupils as they tried to absorb more air. Buildings around him were crumbling and most of the bridge they had been standing on was gone. The sections were still falling to the distant ground, a constant reminder of what would happen to him, should he use to much energy. Vegeta fought to gain control of his body as he reached his maximum power. He could feel it surging through his blood; the strength he needed to win this battle was his. His aura dissipated suddenly, whirling around his body until it disappeared in a puff at the tip of his body. Vegeta's muscles had shrunken slightly, becoming used to his power. He closed his eyes and a smirk played across his lips.

"Now namek. Now we will see who is stronger."

XIII

"Ya!" Pikkon screamed, throwing a ki blast from his hand towards Yamcha. It impacted the human and sent him flying backward a few feet as burning pains shot through his stomach. Krillin tried to take advantage of the moment and zanzokened behind Pikkon.

"Kaio-ken x5!" The human recited, instantly a red aura surrounded his body. Krillin tried to punch Pikkon in the back, but the other man was much faster and jumped into the air. Krillin landed nothing but air, his fist planting itself in the concrete. He looked up and charged towards Pikkon, ready to avenge Tien's death.

"Kaio-ken x6!" both Krillin and Yamcha called, feeling their bodies power up again. They each flew side by side, then split apart and blocked Pikkon in on the left and right side. Both charged forwards with their fists extended, ready to assault the alien. Pikkon snapped up, letting the two humans rush past each other. Both had to alter their courses to avoid landing on a blow on each other, the wind ruffling their gis as they went sailing past. Krillin looked up at Pikkon and cursed him. Yamcha and Krillin floated upwards, each on one side of Pikkon. Then they each cupped their hands and leaned a bit, flaring their aura.

"Kamehame..." they both started. Blue energy collected in their hands as a wild blue ball appeared before each of them. Pikkon smirked and put up his arms, propping a flat hand towards each of the humans. He fired a yellow blast at both of them, engulfing Yamcha and Krillin in energy, dissipating their kaio-ken and kamehameha attacks instantly. He brought his hands down and curled himself into the fetal position. A white orb, like a ki shield, appeared around him. Pikkon suddenly threw out his arms and legs, exploding his energy in all direction. Yamcha and Krillin both covered their eyes, trying desperately to avoid being blinded by the intense light.

As the light dissipated, all three warriors dropped back onto the bridge (which was in relatively good shape too), panting. Krillin and Yamcha stood next to each other, watching Pikkon for any sudden movements.

"Yamcha... I'm starting to think this ain't gonna be so easy. All of my power is nearly exhausted," Krillin panted, hoping that his friend had some sort of answer to save them. He didn't.

"Yeah... maybe not. Where are the others? Why isn't anyone coming to help us? Dammit!"

-------------------------

"Woah, what was that?" Goten asked, turning around to where he felt the ki from.

"I don't know, but I can feel my dad's ki too. Something's not right... No one here should be strong enough to force him to use super saiyan 4," Trunks said, facing his father's ki signature. They were both skipping from rooftop to rooftop, unable to find any of Packer's henchmen. They were almost going to go back and find another team to see if they had any luck when they both sensed the powers coming from the distance.

"I can feel someone else out there. Two other people... I don't recognize either. The one with your dad feels sort of like Piccolo, but there's something wrong with it. It's different... But Piccolo wouldn't be fighting Vegeta, right?" Goten questioned, becoming worried at the prospect of what was happening.

-------------------------

"I don't know, Gohan. It might be Piccolo, or it could be someone else. Maybe another namek?" Goku responded to his son. While everything had been happening, they were infiltrating the heart of the city, several tall buildings lined with wired fences lasting twenty feet into the air. Since both Gohan and Goku could fly though, it wasn't much of a problem. But they were surprised to see that they were in a valley. It was almost a swamp, set deep in the ground. Large trees loomed overhead blocking out sunlight during the day, most likely shielding the center buildings from being spied on though. They could see things that looked like walk ways descending down to their position from high in the sky, but Gohan couldn't imagine how anyone, without the use of ki, could make their way to the capitol, since it was set nearly 500 feet under the rest of the city. Four buildings surrounded a fifth, all of which were octagon in shape. Goku figured that the people who lived on this planet were obsessed with simple shapes like those.

"But what about over there?" Gohan asked, pointing at another direction. "It feels like Pikkon, Krillin and Yamcha are fighting too. I can't feel out anyone else though, so who are they fighting? This is getting weird, Dad. Who is everyone fighting?"

-------------------------

"I don't know who it could be, Goten. Let's split up though, I don't trust it. They might need our help," Trunks said, eyeing his closest friend.

"Right. I'll go see what's up with Yamcha and the others, you check out Vegeta. Deal?"

"Yeah, no problem. Good luck, Goten!" Trunks said, floating away. He flashed Goten a thumbs up. The other saiyan winked, then disappeared in a flash of white. Trunks turned around and jetted towards his father, scowling.

"What did you get yourself into this time, Dad? You probably don't even realize his power, do you?" Trunks thought to himself. "That's okay though, I'm on my way. Hang on!"

Trunks transformed into a super saiyan and let his aura engulf him. He leaned backwards, then thrust himself forward, rapidly closing the distance between himself and his father.

-------------------------

Vegeta leaned backwards, watching as Diamao went sailing over him with a fist extended. Vegeta rolled out of the way as Diamao's knee tried to connect with his face. The saiyan jumped to his feet and swung himself around, kicking Diamao in the jaw. Diamao's face didn't move. Only the smirk was there. Vegeta ignited his yellow aura and retracted his foot. He planted a punch in Diamao's stomach, but found that it ended up hurting his hand more then Diamao. Vegeta dropped a few feet and grabbed Diamao's ankle, sending the namek flying into some nearby building debris still sitting on a small pedestal of bridge that was, even after all of this, standing. Taking advantage of the break, Vegeta turned side ways and planted one palm towards where he felt Diamao was. Vegeta thrust his ki into the attack he was forming, making a small ball in his hand. The yellow orb grew slightly, but remained small for the most part. The entire point of this attack was to condense a large amount of ki in a small area, making it extra sensitive to any impact. Vegeta's aura was going wild, expanding and contracting as he fed his ball. The attack wavered constantly, never holding a solid form. His tail was shaking madly, moving up and down in the winds his attack was generating. He wrapped it around his torso in order to keep it under control. As he did that, he felt his ball reach it's maximum energy. If he fed any more ki into it then it might explode in his face; he landed a final assault of energy into it to surge it forwards.

"Big bang attack!" Vegeta bellowed, releasing the attack at Diamao. The ball left his hand and zoomed towards the debris where Diamao still lay.

-------------------------

Goten could now sense each of the three ki signatures he neared much clearer. He was certain that they were Krillin, Tien and Pikkon. But once again, he didn't sense anyone else. That meant either that they were fighting amongst themselves or the warriors on his planet didn't use ki, so he wouldn't be able to sense him during the battle. Either one was a bad.

"Doh!" Goten said as he realized the obvious. He put his fingers to his forehead and used shunkiado to appear at the battle site.

-------------------------

The big bang attack connected with the debris, instantly vaporizing most of it. Rubble flew from the site and rammed into nearby buildings, making huge craters and indentations in the walls. The heat was intense, burning through the air like a fire, ravaging anything in its path. Vegeta was sweating, drenching his fur and pants with water. He had dropped his hand after sending the beam and was now covering his face to shield it from any stray energy. A bubble of ki surrounded the "crash site" where the big bang attack finalized and was growing rapidly. As it grew it ripped up everything in its way, from small pebbles to large chunks of concrete that had been severed during Vegeta's earlier powering up session. The sky had grown even darker in the dead of night and was now over cast by clouds brought on by the massive amount of energy being used. But the buildings and nearby areas were still illuminated by the ki sphere. Vegeta saw his own attack surging towards him, the energy ball growing rapidly towards him. He immediately surged upwards, zooming through the sky at impossible speeds, his hair matted down on his head.

The ki gained on Vegeta, burning through the air as it followed him. Vegeta felt the immense power following him and immediately turned to see if what he sensed was true. It was. And through brief glimpses of the shuddering mass, he could see Diamao's face. Diamao's face that was smirking as he watched the attack he had fed back to Vegeta engulf the saiyan; his cries echoing in the night as the ki sphere burned through his flesh, destroying fur and ripping away muscle.

XIV

The Grand Kai and Baba sat together, engrossed in the battles they were witnessing. They were sitting in the bleachers of the tournament room, engrossed in the bouts presented to them through Baba's crystal ball. The Grand Kai had long since stopped watching it, however. He could feel the kis as they struggled against one another, clashing through the darkness of night. The Grand Kai lazily stared through the sky, watching as they twinkled in blackness. His thoughts invaded his mind, taking presidence over the battles taking place before his very eyes.

"Pikkon... What are you thinking? You're actually fighting with the Z Warriors. I never would have believed you'd do something like this; you are one of the most powerful people in Other World, but you still think you have to prove yourself. And joining forces with Piccolo Diamao?! Are you crazy or stupid? He's going to defeat you the second that Goku is out of his way, you must know that," the Grand Kai thought, wincing as he felt Krillin's ki drop slightly. Probably the result of an attack by Pikkon. "And Vegeta, I can still feel your ki. So you must be still alive after that last assault. Impressive. But you're not in any shape to fight, I can tell that much. You barely have a drop of energy left in your body. But it looks like Diamao has left you anyway, I don't sense him near you. Doesn't mean much, I didn't feel Piccolo's energy being replaced by Diamao's either. But if he could do this to you... Then what about Goku? I know he's a lot stronger then you, but Pikkon never even powered up. My god... What's going to happen if Goku is defeated? We don't have anyone stronger then him here."

Baba watched her ball intently, ignoring the actions of the Grand Kai. Goten had just arrived at the battlefield. Pikkon's true test was about to begin.

-------------------------

"What are you talking about, Krillin? That's Pikkon! He's not the enemy," Goten scolded the monk. He stood apart from all three of the bloodied fighters, not understanding what was going on.

"Goten, listen to me! Pikkon isn't the same anymore. He's changed, Piccolo Diamao warped him some how. Pikkon thinks that he's standing in Goku's spotlight or some garbage like that, and now he's trying to erase us all!" Yamcha yelled to the demi-saiyan in desperation. Both him and Krillin were bloodied and tired. Bruises were littered across their faces and chests, blood flowing freely from cuts. Yamcha was sure that he would have a few new scars to after this was over. If they won.

"But... It's Pikkon! He can't have done anything like this. I mean... he trains with Piccolo even. Piccolo wouldn't let him do something like this. It's impossible," Goten complained, looking to each of his friends, waiting for a response. Pikkon was hovering overhead, looking down on them in contempt with his arms crossed. The cold scowl printed across his face frightened Goten; fear began to creep into his heart. Maybe they were right? Pikkon might have changed for the worse.

"Listen," Krillin urged. "We don't have time to play around. Pikkon killed Tien. Diamao fused with Piccolo, and they've been training for the past month getting used to their new powers. And they know kaio-ken, which is why we can't beat Pikkon right now."

"Goten! Listen to your friends!" Pikkon called down, "I'm tired of living in Goku's shadow. I'm tired of being surpassed by all of you Z Warriors. I don't feel like going over this every time someone shows up, so can we just cut right to it? Let's fight."

Yamcha looked up at Pikkon in disgust, Pikkon met his gaze and his scowl returned.

"I'm not going to fight you, Pikkon. You're supposed to be one of my friends!"

"No. I'm not one of your friends, Goten. I never will be again, either," Pikkon uncrossed his arms and curled his hands into fists. "Now, let's begin!"

-------------------------

"Dad! Are you okay, dad?" Trunks called, worry seeping into his voice. He arrived at his destination just in time to watch the big bang attack move past Vegeta. Trunks had to act quickly to catch Vegeta and stop him from falling. But he wasn't fast enough to see who it was that dealt Vegeta the damage; Trunks was almost glad of that. Whoever defeated his father was definitely strong enough to erase him too. Vegeta was still there, though. So at least they still had some sort of hope to beat this power.

Trunks' head snapped up, he felt an incredible ki flying away from his location. At first he didn't recognize it, but then he realized it was Piccolo.

"Piccolo? I guess you're following that over power; but then, why didn't you stay and help dad? I know you two don't like each other much, but that's kind of cold." Vegeta coughed, and opened one eye, blinking away the blood that was seeping into it from his forehead. His muscles tensed, and Trunks thought Vegeta was about to resist him, but then Vegeta fell limp again, his breathing shallow. Blood fell from the proud saiyan's body, falling to the ground far below. "Father..."

-------------------------

Goten leaned his head to one side, letting Pikkon's fist sail past. The saiyan leaned backwards; trying to plant his foot into Pikkon's stomach, but Pikkon caught it with his hands and twisted Goten around. Krillin raged in, his kaio-ken flaring, and swung at Pikkon's head. Pikkon brought up an arm to deflect the punch, then brought his own fist up to meet Krillin's chest. With a thud, the human flew up into the air, his aura dissipating. Yamcha caught the monk and zanozkened to the railway, putting down his friend. Pikkon sent a ki blast towards Goten to distract him, then he rushed at Yamcha. Yamcha's face flooded with fear as the green man came towards him. Pikkon clenched his hand in a circle and let a ball of green energy form. He thrust his arm forwards, throwing the ball at his opponent. Yamcha took the ball right in the face and tumbled over, landing atop Krillin. Both bloody humans lay together, unconscious.

Goten pushed the ki ball into the sky, deflecting it after only a few seconds of wrestling with it. When it was finally gone, he looked over to see two bodies lying on top of each other: Yamcha and Krillin. While he was distracted, Pikkon must have finished them off so that they could finish their match.

"At least they're still there," Goten thought to himself, stancing. His hands were still burning from deflecting the ki ball, but as long as Pikkon was catching his breath too, he could recover a bit. "This has got to stop. It's got to stop now!"

Goten planted one foot in front of himself, then he rocked backwards slightly, letting everything fall onto his back leg. He felt his aura come to life, a yellow inferno surrounding his being. The heat was tremendous, burning through his gi with tremendous force. Goten threw then leaned forward quickly, forcing everything onto his front leg. He brought his arms in front of his body and launched himself at Pikkon. Blue electricity cackled down his body, a result of his power while in super saiyan 2. As he neared Pikkon, he disappeared. Years of training told Pikkon to turn around immediately whenever this happened, but he was to slow. Goten appeared behind him and punched the base of his skull, sending the green man stumbling forward, bits of blood ejecting from his mouth. Pikkon got his bearings and spun around quickly, just in time to have Goten's other fist impact his jaw, breaking the bone. Pikkon stumbled backwards, holding his chin in his hands with his eyes tightly closed, as if he was trying to block out the pain. Goten wasn't finished, however. He zanzokened low to the ground and grabbed Pikkon's ankles. He then flew backwards into the air, Pikkon dangling beneath him. Goten neared one of the few remaining buildings that still stood; he turned himself around in a 180 and flung Pikkon through the brick... or whatever passed for brick on this god forsaken planet.

Pikkon crashed through the building, rubble piling itself on top of him. He was bloody now too, his body littered with cuts and bruises inflicted by the saiyan. He searched for Goten's ki, a technique taught to him by Piccolo long ago, attempting to locate his position. The super saiyan was hovering a few dozen feet away from the debris Pikkon was piled in, keeping his distance safe enough until Pikkon revealed himself.

"Alright, kid" Pikkon thought, "You want to get serious? I can do that. I know just what to do."

"Kaio-ken!"

-------------------------

Goku walked through the halls of the capitol building carefully. Gohan was behind him, listening for any movement. The building they were in was made out of brick, the structure obviously made for an ancient feel. It had no lights, but instead torches hung every dozen feet on either side of the halls. Tapestries of strange animals with anywhere from six to eight limbs hung every couple hundred feet, as if symbols of something that Goku couldn't quite grasp. Gohan, on the other hand, was struck by how similar this structure was to a castle on earth. While the outside gave the impression of an advanced cultures' dwelling, inside it was certainly mid-evil. He could even hear the slight dripping of water, and the floor was covered with brush. It was very similar to earth, he decided.

But so far he hadn't been able to sense Packer's ki. According to what the Grand Kai told them he should have been here, but the duo had had no luck as of yet. But the Grand Kai was famous for his ability to sense ki over long distances, so he had to have been right. Besides, in a castle like this, how could they hope to find anything?

Just then, the section of the hallway behind them erupted in a burst of flames.

Goten sprung backwards on his hands, avoiding a roundhouse Pikkon directed at his head. Goten quickly leaped to the left, a ki ball sent from his adversary exploding where he had been moments before. Smoke puffed up from the spot, shielding Goten momentarily; Pikkon leaped into the dust, attempting to locate the saiyan. He was trying to use his ki detection, but he never actually tried to develop it, so it was most difficult for him. But he located Goten as soon as he felt the painful crack as his ribs took the impact of the super saiyan. Pikkon fell quickly, but put a hand out to catch himself. As he landed, he disappeared, Goten's heel crashed into the cement where Pikkon had been moments before.

"Kaio-ken x5!" Pikkon yelled from a distance. A bright green ki ball whirled past Goten's head, blowing the smoke away from his position. Then he was exposed, battered and bruised; his entire frame turned in the opposite direction of where his opponent was. Pikkon's red aura flared again as he jetted towards Goten. The super saiyan turned around in time to see him coming, but not in time to do anything about it. Pikkon's head landed directly in Goten's sternum, plowing him backwards. Goten felt blood gurgle out of his mouth as he was impacted, then he felt his ki drop dramatically as Pikkon took his head from it's location and plant a fist right under his jaw, sending Goten rocketing into the sky. Shortly afterwards Pikkon's kaio-ken aura dissipated, leaving him with only his natural strength to shield him from the man's onslaught.

High above him, Goten was stopping his ascent into the sky, finally gaining control over his body. He lifted a hand to his jaw, and rubbed it slightly. He pulled away his fingers and looked at the blood that covered them. Payback. It was Pikkon's payback for breaking his jaw earlier. Despite the pain coursing through his body, Goten couldn't help but smile at this. Pikkon was a challenge to be sure... Maybe even a bit stronger then him. Ah, this was going to be a good fight. Goten looked down, watching the small green figure below him. Pikkon's red aura had gone, meaning Goten's best time to attack was now, while he was still recovering. Goten tensed and made his body more angular, letting his yellow aura shoot to life. Immediately he felt blue energy cackle across his body, a reminder of the power he possessed. He brought his hands around in a semi-circle and cupped them, then crouched in the air with his hands behind him.

"Ka... me... ha... me..." Goten started. He was already channeling his ki into the ball forming between his fingers. His fingertips acted as conductors, small blue bolts connected each one to the orb he held, adding more and more energy to it. This wasn't a finishing move, so Goten was cautious of the energy he put into it. Surely it wasn't a light show, but he was positive it would be enough to weaken his adversary enough until help arrived. "Ha!" Goten yelled, swinging his hands forward, allowing the blue energy to fly forwards towards it's target: Pikkon.

-------------------------

Goku and Gohan looked behind themselves, trying to see through the fire. Neither could make out any discernable shape within, nothing that looked as if it could be a person, anyway. But stranger still, neither could sense any ki. But there was something in there, though, Goku was sure of it. He stepped forward, only slightly bothered by the inferno before him. The closer he got, the more certain he became that something was in the fire. What it was, he was unsure of.

"Closer," a small yellow alien thought to himself, shielded by fire and stone. "Just a bit closer... Yes, not much farther now."

Goku took another step, finally making out a large shape. He was about to walk straight into the fire when he felt something slam against his body, forcing him backwards into the wall behind him. His body was imprinted against the end of the hallway, sticking him in a slight hole.

"Dad! Are you alright?" Gohan called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes away from the fire. Whatever had hit his dad could do the same thing to him if he wasn't careful.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Goku said, pulling himself out of his hole. When his legs were free, he jumped down and landed a foot below, onto the ground. He turned around and looked at the imprint on the wall. "Cool! Hey, look Gohan. It's me!" Goku shouted to his son. Gohan took a chance and looked behind him to see Goku writing his name into the imprint with ashes he scraped off his face.

"Dad! Come on, stop fooling around," Gohan shouted, turning his head back to the flames.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Right," Goku confirmed, turning around. The flames had finally calmed down to a meager scorch mark, courtesy of the alien's blast. Goku took in the strange beast, it was probably four feet tall, and had yellow, scaly skin. Its eyes shone a sparkling blue, and its head was hairless. The creature resembled a rather large lizard, as if it were related to the lizards back on earth. It had a tail which protruded from under a cape. The tail was thick with small spikes covering the top. The spikes didn't come up high enough to do much damage, however. It had some frills coming from the base of its chin, going into its shirt. It had small, frail hairs spiking from its rounded head, slicing back into its neck. The creature wore a blue robe, parted in the front to expose a small chest, with little muscle lining. A red cape attached around the collar of the robe, draping over his back where his tail exited. He certainly didn't look powerful.

"Hey, who are you?" Gohan questioned the small man, trying to figure how such a small opponent could have pushed his father back into a wall, and not even be out of breath. Or have used any ki.

"Why, I'm Packer. You've invaded my sanctuary, that's not nice," he said, an air of slow arrogance in his voice. He cocked his head, then closed his eyes while shaking a single finger at his opponents. "That's not nice. Not nice at all. I'm afraid I'm going to have to teach you a lesson, no?"

"Um... no," Goku stated, just before he felt a wall of... something slam into him, forcing his body back against the wall.

-------------------------

"Get out of my head!" Piccolo raged in his own mind. He was trapped, a prisoner in his own mind. He felt, smelled, heard, tasted, and watched everything that happened around him. But he couldn't control anything. He was a prisoner in his own mind, but everyone once a while he was able to break free. He could gain control of one small function, like closing an eye or wiggling a toe. But that wasn't often, and even then, it wasn't for long.

"And why should I?" Diamao answered back, smirking outwardly. "In your body I'm stronger then I've ever been. Stronger then you've ever been as well. We defeated Vegeta with no trouble! Why end this? This is absolute power!"

"Because it's wrong. This is my body, not yours. Get out!"

"You can't make me! There's no way that I'm leaving, and you know it. Just give up. Accept that this is your new life, your body is mine now, Piccolo. Just let it go."

"Never!"

Diamao stopped his flight and doubled over, an intense pain shooting through his stomach. It felt as if he was being ripped in two, his organs being squeezed and tormented. For a few minutes, he could do little but float over pristine buildings and tall towers, gasping for breath and holding his abdomen. With his eyes clamped shut tightly and his teeth gritted, he forced himself upright and continued on his journey, the pain coursing through him.

"Damn you, Piccolo."

XVI

Pikkon brought his hands together, the kamehameha quickly approaching on his position. He put his hands together, in front of his chest, curled over. Pikkon drew ki from his being, creating a green ball in his palms. He brought them apart, a sphere of energy revealed. It grew fast, doubling in size with remarkable speed. Pikkon looked up to see the blue blast barely fifty feet away. His eyes opened wide, he would have to throw his attack now without being able to power up completely. He lifted both hands above his head, then, with blinding speed, thrust them out before him, and fired his own deadly blast.

The two powerful forces met each other, Goten's blue kamehameha and Pikkon's green sphere. Energy crackled between the two, heating the air. Lightning bolts rushed through Goten's body, trying desperately to keep up with the energy he was exerting into the attack. Muscles bulged in both of their bodies, forcing their veins to grow in response. Pikkon felt his body desperately trying to force Goten's attack back, but to no avail. His super saiyan 2 power was to much for the alien to withstand, as he was losing this battle.

The rock below the two crumbled under the two titans, surging upwards, pulled by the two ki blasts toppling with each other. It was as if a giant was crumbling buildings and stone as he walked along, never stopping to rest. Krillin and Yamcha stayed stationary, the bridge never faltering. The sky scrapers flew apart, piece by piece. Floor sections gave way to the next, a constant spiral downward as the clash continued. As debris neared the blue and green blasts, they were vaporized, unable to withstand the intense heat generated. Goten's kamehameha was less then fifteen feet away from it's destination when Pikkon decided to step up his attack. Pikkon let his energy fade for a second while he concentrated on his trump card.

"Kaio-ken!" he screamed, his white aura transforming into a blazing red. Instantly Pikkon's ki nearly doubled, evening his attack with Goten's. But he couldn't keep it up for long, Pikkon knew that. He could already feel his muscles buckling under the intense pressure his body was demanding, but he didn't stop. Pikkon kept hurdling more and more of his energy into the attack, pushing the kamehameha back.

"Kaio-ken... x10!" Pikkon raged, his red aura whipping wildly, doubling in size. His blast was easily overtaking Goten's attack now, pushing it back further and further. Pikkon clamped his eyes shut tightly, the pain on his body to extreme for him to handle much longer.

Goten could tell he was losing this fight; it was painfully obvious. He as already giving it his all, pouring everything he had into his attack. His blue energy was being over-taken by Pikkon's green, nearly his entire field of vision was encompassed by it. He knew that he would lose this test; there was no doubt in his mind of that. So he prepared for when it would happen.

The blast over took him.

-------------------------

"Owww!" Goku complained, pulling himself from his crater again. The saiyan rubbed the back of his head, a look of annoyance creasing his face. "Stop that! It hurts." Packer looked on in shock, no one had ever survived his attacks before. And this guy was making sport of it!

"How are you doing that?" Gohan questioned. He hadn't felt any ki from the small man yet, and he was exerting enough of... something... to push his father back into a wall. Packer decided he had been holding in to much energy, and that he would answer the young saiyan's question.

"I don't use ki, like most of you warriors do. I rely on a much more advanced form of energy. My mind," Packer said, tapping his head with one finger. "The brain is the most wondrous object in any anatomy. By unlocking it's secrets, one can achieve total perfection, as I have. Let me demonstrate."

Packer narrowed his eyes at Goku, a slight tremor passing through the building. Slowly everything began to shake, Goku noticed this and took a quick hop into the air, a few inches above the ground. He stayed there, waiting for the quakes to pass, but then a hole opened beneath the saiyan a few feet down into the ground. Not much, but Packer was trying to show them what he was capable of.

"Where is everyone? I haven't felt anyone since we landed?" Gohan asked the small man, trying to understand what was happening. He feared that everyone might have already been killed.

"They evacuated before I got here," Packer slithered out. Gohan let out a sigh of relief, followed by Goku. "I guess Pepper couldn't keep its' mouth shut about what was happening. Fools, I could have had their planet ready for them by now if they hadn't intruded."

"So then where are your guards? We were told that you were protected," Goku questioned.

"They're gone. I sent them back to our planet, Soy. I can't do anything here. My contract is over, after all. If Pepper can't keep its' mouth shut about my operations, then I don't want anything to do with them. Who are you?"

"I'm Goku!" Goku said happily, walking up to Packer and offering his hand. Packer ignored it and continued his questioning.

"Are you one of the Kimahri special elite?"

"Wazzat?"

"Ah. Well then, I'm off. There's no reason for me to stay here."

"So that's it? You're just gonna leave?" Goku asked, unbelieving.

"Yes. What else am I going to do here?" Packer asked suspiciously, furrowing his eyes at the saiyan.

"Nope. Not really," Goku said confidently. At least he wouldn't have to fight this guy. "Just don't go and blow up any planets, all right?" Packer laughed and turned around, going back through the hole he came.

"Well that went well!" Goku said cheerily, clasping his hands and turning to his son.

Gohan fell over.

-------------------------

Trunks laid his father atop a building several miles away from where he felt all of the ki centered. His father was still bleeding profusely, and his arm hung at an odd angle. Most likely broken, Trunks figured. The demi-saiyan ripped a piece of cloth from his gi and ran it over Vegeta's face, wiping blood from his father's forehead, cheeks and then his arms.

"Dad... What did this to you? Packer shouldn't have been this strong, not by a long shot. That ki I felt near you though, it was so powerful! That energy made dad's feel like it was nothing. But... who could it have been? I don't sense them anymore, and aside from Piccolo, I haven't felt anyone else anywhere near dad. What the hell is going on?"

XVII

Goten felt Pikkon's green blast absorb cover him, blocking the air from his lungs and scorching his skin. But Goten had already prepared, and already had two fingers to his forehead. Goten disappeared from the eye of the ki and appeared behind Pikkon. Still worn from using the kaio-ken at such a high level, his adversary didn't notice his ki dematerialize behind him. Goten pulled back one elbow and thrust is towards Pikkon. When it connected, Pikkon's eyes opened side, his mouth gaping in surprise allowing spittle to fly from it. While he was stunned, Goten twisted around and introduced his leg to the side of Pikkon's head, sending him crashing into part of the bridge, impacting a small crater.

Pikkon opened one eye weakly, his body strained to it's max and beyond. The kaio-ken x10 had definitely taken it's toll on him, Pikkon could feel his energy slipping faster now, Goten's attacks only serving to speed up the inevitable. Pikkon knew his kaio-ken technique wouldn't help him anymore, he could barely summon the strength to stand on one foot, let alone unleash one of the most coveted power up techniques in the universe. As Pikkon lifted himself slowly to one knee, Goten flew straight down at him. Pikkon couldn't see the attack coming however, and was defenseless as a foot came crashing into his back, breaking his spinal cord.

------------------------

Tien moaned, his body lying limply on a small island. He was in a large swamp; most likely the entire area of the planet was covered by swamps, which was why they built their cities in the sky. The human looked around, amazed to be alive. Everything was foggy, he could barely see his way a few dozen feet ahead of himself. What he could see, however, was green water. Everything he saw was green, trees sprouted on small masses of land littered randomly on the surface. They were covered with moss entirely, the only free areas of the trees being the very tips, still growing. The trees were small, only a couple dozen feet in length, but they were thick. It was almost as if they were stumps of larger objects, he had never seen something like this. But then again, he was never so happy to see. He was alive.

Tien looked down, feeling his back emerged in water. He was right, the ground had given way to his weight and was sunken slightly in, allowing water to seep through the hole. The marsh was very soft, it probably acted as a cushion for his fall, much as trampolines. Except this thing was very flexible, much more then the trampolines, which didn't help in falls very much despite belief of the contrary. Tien was grateful of this, despite he was still in more pain then he'd felt in more years then he could remember. Probably around one hundred. His ribs were still cracked in several places, and his arm was dislocated from the fall. It felt like he probably sprained his ankle too, and the bruises were still in place. The blood had dried a little, leaving his khaki pants crusty in parts where it had been stained. His ki was drained tremendously as well, but other then that, the human felt like he could live a little while longer.

"Damn it... That was pure luck, the ground of this planet being so soft. I was sure I was going to be erased, but I guess after helping to save the universe a coupe times, you get a break every once in a while. But... Pikkon. It's impossible for him to be so strong! He defeated me like I was nothing, barely even using any effort. That's pretty darn embarrassing. I can feel him out there too with Goten, but his ki is much weaker. Goten must have really laid a beating on that bastard. At least someone did," Tien thought to himself, "I need to get some help. I have enough ki to maybe send out one small burst, and hopefully someone will come. I can't use shunkiado, that's for sure. I definitely don't have the ki left for that. One quick burst, that's all. That's all I can spare..."

Tien scrunched his face as he gathered his ki, bringing himself ready to send out the signal.

------------------------

Trunks' head snapped up, he felt a weak ki signature flaring somewhere in the distance. It was even weaker then his father's, who's side he hadn't left since he found him. But the ki he felt now definitely needed more help then Vegeta did. The energy suddenly disappeared as quickly as it had come, making Trunks even more worried. He couldn't scout it out unless it appeared again, so he waited, eyeing his father. He had stopped bleeding finally, but Trunks had no way to heal a broken arm. In Other World maybe, but he didn't want to take the chance of leaving the battlefield just yet. He might need to go and help fight first, and his father wasn't in any danger for a few hours yet. The internal bleeding would be slowed by his own saiyan DNA's healing powers.

The ki flared again, weaker this time. Trunks was able to sense it clear enough to get an accurate reading of where it was though, and he was also able to determine that it was Tien in trouble. Trunks put two fingers to his forehead, concentrating on where he felt the ki emanating from. After a brief glance to his father, the young demi-saiyan disappeared.

------------------------

Diamao's flight faltered as another stabbing pain erupted in his gut, causing him to scream in pain. Piccolo refused to give up the fight, constantly trying to over-ride Diamao's mental blocks. He had succeeded this time, and was able to distract the namek while he tried to gain control again. But, even though Diamao was in throws of pain, he didn't let his son gain control of any part of his body. Despite the waves of pain crashing throughout his being, he remained solid, not allowing Piccolo access to anything. If Diamao wasn't such an evil being, it would have been almost admirable...

------------------------

Tien searched his surroundings for any ki, but found none yet. No one was close enough to sense that his power was diminishing, he figured. As Tien sunk in and out of consciousness, he could hear his old friend, Chout-zu, comforting him. The small emperor assuring him that it would be alright, that he would be with him to the end. Tien wasn't alone, he never would be. Tien felt a smile cross his lips as his vision faded again, as he closed his eyes, he could have swore he saw Chout-zu appear just ahead of him, despite he was a bit taller then normal, Tien smiled even wider. His old friend did come to see him off, after all.

XVIII

Goku and Gohan floated from the building where they found Packer, Gohan still unable to believe that nothing had come from the confrontation. But they had already put it behind them, moving on to more important matters. For one, they couldn't sense Vegeta, Pikkon's or Tien's energy. And Piccolo's was approaching them fast. Whatever was happening, the rest of the Z Warriors definitely weren't having as much luck as they had had.

"I know, Gohan. Something isn't right. Packer said that no one else was in this city, not even his own men. I don't sense anyone else besides us either, I just don't understand," Goku stated, looking through the sky as they drifted upwards searching for whoever was causing the disturbances.

"Maybe it's someone like Packer? I didn't sense any ki from him either, so maybe they use their minds for weapons too. If they did that, then we wouldn't be able to sense them after all," Gohan responded, letting his body drift farther from his father. They had barely managed to gain a few hundred feet above the capitol buildings before they felt an energy flicker violently, then calm again. It had been distracting enough to get their attention drawn to the other ki's of their friends.

"I don't know, Gohan. But I don't think Packer was very frightening. Sure, he might have had enough mental power to destroy a planet, but I don't think he'd be much of a threat against Tien, and definitely not against Vegeta. Something else is going on, and I'm planning on seeing what it is."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right, dad. Let's go."

------------------------

"Tien! Are you alright?" Trunks asked the fading warrior at his feet. It was obvious that he was in bad shape, and Trunks was surprised that he hadn't drowned in a pool of his own blood from all the injuries littering his body. The triclops looked at Trunks and smiled, then closed his eyes. "No! Tien, you can't go to sleep! Wake up Tien! I don't have enough time to play with now, so get up!"

"Chout-zu..." Tien whispered just before Trunks' palm came flying at him, slapping the human back to consciousness. His eyes snapped open and he let out a moan of pain, but he was awake. Trunks breathed a sigh of relief, he hadn't put much force into the slap, but he was afraid that in his weakened condition Tien might not be able to take it. Trunks carefully gathered Tien in his arms, cradling him carefully. Then he sought out the ki of the Grand Kai in Other World, desperately reaching through the voids of space to lock onto his energy. With the Grand Kai's help he might be able to heal Tien, after all, the Grand Kai was the closest that Other World had to a doctor. After locking onto the ki, he was tempted to go back and get his father but thought better of it. Vegeta could last a few more hours by himself before he needed direct attention, so Tien goes first.

"Don't you die on me, Tien!" Trunks shouted into his friends ear just before they both disappeared from the ground, traveling beyond the speed of light and entering an entire different dimension.

------------------------

Goten's yellow aura diminished as he watched Pikkon flounder on the ground, unable to feel even the slightest pity. The once proud man now lay on the ground, unable to muster himself to his own feet. Unable to even control his own feet.

"Now do you see, Pikkon?" Goten asked, never faltering his stone cold stare. Even now, Goten's fists were still clenched, full of fury ready to explode. "You never had a chance. Your power may have been enough to defeat Tien, Yamcha or even Krillin, but against me it was nothing. You're a fool, Pikkon. You had your entire existence to live out; you didn't have to do this. And you didn't have to help Piccolo Diamao fuse with Piccolo. Now it's all over. I'll do to you just what you did to Tien."

With that, Goten brought up a single palm and faced it flat out towards Pikkon. He looked straight at the half-human and felt the fear enter his entire being. Pikkon hoisted himself up on his ki, floating at eye level with his conqueror. But even at this, he refused to allow it to end. A blue ball already shone around Goten's hand, drawing ki in from its creator. It shivered and shuddered in the dark night sky, the energy massing in it too massive to be held together much longer. Pikkon felt his time was growing near. When his spine was snapped, one of his lungs had been punctured; it was getting hard for him to breathe. He didn't have the ki to try to counter the attack; he was nearly drained as it was. Now it was over.

"Goten... Don't. You... you..." Pikkon started before erupting into a coughing fit. His position wavered slightly as he was unable to hold himself steady. When he got control of himself, he tried to finish, "You don't... you don't have the right, Goten. Don't do it. Don... Don't you do it."

"Don't do it? Don't do it!" Goten asked, screaming at the alien scum before him. His aura ignited again, "What right do you have to tell me that? You tried to erase us! Who knows what you did to Tien! You would have done the same to Krillin and Yamcha if I hadn't shown up. You deserve no pity, you ruthless bastard!"

"But... It's not right..." Pikkon sputtered, wincing in pain.

"And what if I let you live? What would you do then? You'd come back and you'd hunt us again. Only next time we might not be so lucky. It's over."

At that, Goten stopped holding back his attack. He let the ball explode, sending a wave of ki energy straight into Pikkon. The blue energy scorched his skin, leaving black marks running through it seconds before it burned through, melting it away. His muscles shook violently as the heat overtook them, forcing them to sink away from their once firm position into a relative pool of jelly. Pikkon's eyes bulged as this happened, then they... Goten closed his eyes, unable to stand watching the scene any more. All he heard was the roar of his blast, and Pikkon's overwhelming screams of agony.

When he looked again, there was nothing left but ash.

XIX

The Grand Kai flew to the tournament ring, meeting Trunks as he appeared in random strips. The super saiyan saw the Grand Kai approaching and was puzzled, but figured it was best to wait until after Tien was already healed. Trunks took Tien from his arms and placed the fallen warrior on his back on the tiles of the floor. Tien's head lolled to one side once Trunks let go of it, but his chest was still rising and falling with each breath he took, letting Trunks know he was still alive. The Grand Kai arrived, setting his ever-present boom box at his side, and kneeled down next to Tien. His mouth formed a grimace as he felt the human's energy fading quickly, however, this only forced the urgency of the situation to sink in faster.

"I saw y'all coming on Baba's crystal ball, you know?" the Grand Kai stated, pointing his thumb behind him, back into the stands where Baba sat, never taking his eyes from Tien. "But I didn't think he'd have survived the fall he did, you dig?"

"You have to be there to understand, Grand Kai. The ground is super soft; it's like stepping on air. I'm not surprised he could withstand a fall of a few hundred feet. I'm just glad that an animal or something didn't get to him first, the most dangerous animals back on earth lived in swamps after all."

"I'm glad too. Now go back and get your dad, I need some space, cool?" the Grand Kai told Trunks. The demi-saiyan nodded and placed two fingers to his forehead, focusing on his father's energy. When he found it, Trunks disappeared, leaving just Tien and the Grand Kai on the stadium. The old guardian placed his hands on clear areas of Tein's chest where blood hadn't stained the skin yet. He let his power flow out, encasing the tri-clops in his white aura. The Grand Kai's long flowing hair flew upwards as his ki was pushed around them. White pulses of energy gently massaged Tien as his wounds, internal and external, were healed at amazing rates.

------------------------

Goten searched through the ki energies he felt on the planet. He felt out his father, Gohan, Piccolo and Trunks' power kept fading and reappearing. But he could sense that Trunks was using shunkiado to travel between Kimahri and Other World, so he wasn't bothered by that. What he was bothered by, however, was he didn't feel Vegeta. Pikkon wasn't strong enough to do much damage to Vegeta at all, let alone somehow erase him. That meant Diamao must have done it. But if Diamao had enough energy to erase Vegeta then he must also have enough ki to defeat Goku too...

"I have to hurry!" Goten shouted aloud. He clenched his fists and focused on Goku's ki; once he found it, Goten put two fingers to his head and disappeared.

------------------------

"Wait, where's Pikkon's energy? I felt a huge flash from Goten, and then Pikkon was gone. But before that, both of their ki was shooting around like crazy! Plus I don't feel Tien, Yamcha or Krillin either. Dad, do you think maybe Packer came back?"

"I doubt it, son. Packer was extremely weak, so I doubt he could have beaten them. Besides, everyone was traveling in pairs. There's no way that they could have been beaten that quickly," Goku said, floating over the abandoned city. When he first looked, it just seemed as if no one had ever lived there. But inside the windows he could see rooms with drawers pulled out and the rooms were askew. They had definitely left in a hurry, whoever lived in this city.

"Hey, dad. Piccolo's coming, maybe he knows what's going on," Gohan called over to his father. Goku turned his head and nodded. Both of them activated their aura's, and once they were covered in the white energy, the sped off to meet their comrade.

------------------------

"Last chance, you freak. Get the hell out of my body or Goku is going to erase you," Piccolo warned Diamao, tormenting his fellow namek inside their head.

"Will you shut up already? How many times do I have to tell you, 'I'm not leaving.' This is my body now, Piccolo. You've had your fun, now I'm going to actually put it to use. Besides, with this power there's no way I can be beaten. Look how easily I defeated Vegeta. He was nothing to me!"

"Goku is stronger then Vegeta. The only reason they stayed equal on earth was because Vegeta was constantly pushing his body to its limits and back. The gravitrons let him train infinitely harder then Goku could in normal time. Face it Diamao, you have no chance."

"Diamao? Whatever happened to father?"

"I don't have a father."

------------------------

"Where am I? Answer me!" Vegeta raged, regaining consciousness. Tien was sitting in the stands of the arena, struggling with a splitting headache that was raging in his... head.

"Chill, dude. You're in my tournament room," the Grand Kai told Vegeta. "Trunks brought you here after he found you. But I couldn't heal you completely... Your ki was to much for me to restore after helping Tien."

"What?! That human was healed first? He had no right! What can he do against Diamao? Nothing. I am the Prince, not him. I should have been healed first!" Vegeta yelled, shaking his fists in the air. Baba thought he looked sort of like a monkey.

"Dad, he was nearly finished. Another few seconds and Tien would have been erased. You still had enough power to sustain you a few more hours, he didn't," Trunks argued desperately. Vegeta had only awoken a few seconds ago and already he was becoming a pain in the ass to deal with. Again.

"I don't care! I am the Prince of the Saiyans!" he said, his eyes bulging from their sockets.

"Vegeta, I don't feel like hearing it. I have a headache right now," Tien said, pointing to his third eye.

"... Alright."

Diamao felt Piccolo fade, his son finally relinquishing control to him. It pleased Diamao to no end seeing that pest finally succumb to his control, giving up hope entirely. Diamao felt a smirk cross his lips as he felt Goku's ki grow ever closer as each second passed. Soon it would begin, the final reckoning. He would make Goku pay for killing him. His honor stripped away by a mere boy, along with his rightly possession: the earth. Goku had killed him just when his reign was beginning, so now he would have to pay. And now that Diamao had the power to fuel his desire, he would do just that. Goku would pay.

------------------------

"Goten, calm down. I don't know what you're trying to say, you have to calm down, son," Goku told his youngest offspring, placing his hands on the youngest saiyans. Goten arrived at their location a few minutes ago and had begun to ramble on, but he was talking to feverishly for either Gohan or Goku to understand.

"Dad, listen to me. Piccolo and Pikkon, they've changed. Piccolo is now Diamao and Pikkon got stronger somehow," Goten started before Goku interrupted him.

"What do you mean Piccolo is Diamao? Who's Diamao?"

"Diamao! Piccolo Diamao! Piccolo's father. You killed him a long time ago when you were a boy. He force fused with Piccolo a few weeks ago with Pikkon's help. Once they were merged, Diamao unlocked Pikkon's hidden ki. They've been training ever since, and they know the kaio-ken as well. Pikkon almost beat me with it, but it wore him down to much when he used it. But he did manage to knock out Krillin and Yamcha. And..." Goten stopped. His eyes wandered to the ground and he lowered his head. Gohan was about to say something, but Goku looked at him and shook his head, signaling to let Goten compose himself first. "And... Tien's been erased. He was the first one Pikkon fought."

"Pikkon erased Tien? Are you sure?" Goku asked. He could feel rage burning up inside his body, threatening to explode soon unless he got some sort of an outlet. Gohan could feel it too, Tien had been one of Goku's closest friends since he was a boy.

"That's what Krillin and Yamcha told me."

"What about Vegeta?" Gohan asked, fearing the worst for the saiyan prince.

"Diamao was paired up with him when we all came down. I think that Diamao must have beaten him too since I don't sense his ki.," Goten told him, the realization that if Vegeta had been defeated so quickly, Diamao must have more power then they had all originally thought. "I sensed Trunks leave to Other World a few times, I don't know why he was coming and going though," Goten finished. Goku thought about this for a couple seconds, then lifted his head.

"I need you to go to Other World. Find Trunks and bring him here. We need all the help we can get to defeat Diamao. Also, I want you to find the Grand Kai and see if he can find any Tien or Vegeta's power anywhere. His sense of ki detection is much greater then ours. If he finds them, bring both of them to him and have him heal them. Tien first though, if he heals Vegeta he might not have enough energy left over for Tien. Got it?"

"Yeah, dad. No problem," Goten put two fingers to his forehead, ready to leave and travel to Other World. He stopped concentrating for a second and lowered his fingers for slightly. "Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

"You too, son." And with that, Goten disappeared.

------------------------

"Oh, how touching. A father-son goodbye," Diamao mused above them. Goku looked up to see Diamao floating a couple hundred feet above them, his arms crossed against his bare chest, and his cold eyes glaring down at them. It was the first time Goku noticed how truly different Piccolo's ki felt. It was darker, more menacing then before. His power seemed to encompass them all, feeding off their fear. Even his new gi conveyed his hatred. Piccolo's familiar purple gi was gone, replaced by a deeply darker purple and light purple wrist straps. He wore no shirt, exposing his swollen chest. But the brown booties always worn by Piccolo were still there, a subtle reminder to Goku that he would be fighting his old friend as well, not just an old enemy. Goku let that fall from his mind: Piccolo was gone now. Diamao was in control. Goku flexed his muscles, curling his hands into fists. "It looks like you have something you want to say, Goku. What is it? Come now, you know how I detest suspense."

"Leave! Get out of Piccolo's body now!" He shouted up angrily. Not just at Diamao, but at himself for letting him get so close without detecting his approach. Goten was behind Goku, shuddering slightly at the ki he felt emanating from Diamao. He had never felt anything so powerful. Or evil.

"Come now, are you really so foolish? It's time for my revenge, Goku. And I will have it. I've already punished Vegeta for his arrogance. You're next," Diamao stated, just before igniting his aura and beginning his power up.

XXI

"I would be down there, but someone didn't restore all of my ki!" Vegeta complained to Goten, motioning to the Grand Kai. Tien saw them and floated down to the ring where they stood.

"Tien, are you healed all the way then?" Goten asked... Tien. Go figure.

"Yeah, I'm in much better shape then I was fifteen minutes ago. Why? Does Goku need my help?" He asked as Trunks stepped onto the platform beside him.

"Ditto. I can help out too, Goten," Trunks told his closest friend. Goten nodded to both of them, signaling that they should come with him. "Hey, Goten. Maybe we should fuse first, right? I mean, if Goku is in trouble down there, then we should be ready as soon as we get there."

"Hey, good idea, Trunks! Let's do it!" Goten agreed eagerly, stretching out his arms and legs.

"Hurry up you two, we don't have a lot of time," Tien told them impatiently. Vegeta shook his head, remembering last time the two had fused. Vegeta sighed and resigned himself to watching the two half-breeds go through the same stupid steps repeatedly, practicing for the real thing. Vegeta watched as Goten leaned over, pointing his fingers to an invisible partner next to him. He did it all with a smile.

"So it's true. I always knew Goten was gay," Vegeta mused, smiling to himself. Then he saw Trunks do the exact same thing, the same idiot grin planted on his face. "Dammit!"

------------------------

Diamao dropped to the roof of a building below him. Goku still had to float up a bit to land opposite of him on another building. Diamao crouched, letting his white aura fly up, twisting around him.

"YaaaaaaaAAAAARGH!" he screamed, feeling the ultimate power of this form finally flood through his body. Diamao felt his antennae fly up as his aura drew everything towards it's peek. White energy cackled across the rooftop, vaporizing large machines mounted across the plane. Specks of floor flew up as this happened, rising into the air only to be shot down as sparks erupted from Diamao's white aura. The flashes of energy lit up the night, illuminating everything in brilliant bursts of white. The namek continued his yells of ecstasy as more and more power fed itself into his body, buffing up his muscles. They bulged to the point of almost deformity, making a rather odd scene, as his head appeared to be much smaller then everything else. The ground under his feet was crushed as his mass became to much for it to bare, creating small imprints around his feet where he was standing. The rails surrounding the edges broke off, flying into the air at amazing rates. They all broke apart in a domino pattern, starting with the left side and continuing all the way around clockwise. Diamao's aura intensified as his power grew again, forcing it to grow in size. The aura became much spikier, giving the appearance of knife points sticking up, not energy.

Gohan was taken aback, the energy he sensed from Diamao far over powered anything he had ever felt from his father. It even dwarfed his own power, but that was to be expected seeing as how Diamao had dispatched with Vegeta with ease. He looked over to his father, expecting him to have the same shocked look covering his face. But when he saw him, Gohan was filled with pride. Goku stood tall, his chest puffed out and his face with a stern set of determination across it. Goku could feel the same thing that Gohan could, and yet he didn't show any sign of weakness to Diamao. When Gohan looked back to their adversary, he noticed that Diamao was finished gathering his strength and was now breathing heavy, the adrenaline wearing off. His frame had shrunken so that he looked almost like the normal Piccolo, but an extra layer of muscle was easily noticeable.

------------------------

"So that's his true power," Goku thought to himself, letting the realization that the fusion between Piccolo and his father made a deadly combination. "I know I'm stronger then him, but if what Goten said was true, then he knows kaio-ken. And if I know anything about the kaio-ken, it's that you don't want to fight someone who knows it. Diamao might as well be a super namekian with that power up. But I can't win any fight unless I power up too, so here goes."

Goku crouched low, letting his power envelop him. A white aura swallowed him, blocking him from view briefly. When it dispersed, it transformed into a yellow one as his black hair grew out and fur spread across his body.

"YaaaaaaAAAAARGH!" he mimicked, unable to help it. He grew several inches taller and his gi shirt ripped open as his chest expanded to large for it to contain. His yellow aura flared, pressing him further into the ground, creating a crater not unlike Diamao's. His own guard rails didn't fly into the sky as Diamao's did, rather they all simply burst from their spots and crashed into the buildings on all sides. Goku's aura flared again, as if excited by the destruction. Clouds covered the sky above them, creating an over-cast night. Goku stopped his screaming, clenching his teeth as he swelled again, bursting with power. Thunder rocked through the clouds above, and streaks of lightening shimmered high above. Diamao's shocked gaze lifted up to it, dropping him into a trance as he was mesmerized by the actions above in the heavens. Well, he was mesmerized until a streak of lightening came down and struck the area next to his feet, sending gravel into the air.

Gohan looked back to his father and was shocked by what he saw. Goku was encompassed in a swirl of dirt and dust, it surrounded him like a tornado so that he could barely be seen through it. Lightening struck all around the mighty saiyan, laying a circular pattern as the night was brightened to day with each shock. Goku closed his eyes under the stress of the power he was generating, the light emanating from his aura to bright to allow him sight. The lightening bolts were finished with their pattern; a complete circle formed Goku, then a column of light descended from the sky, completely covering him. The explosions continued for a few more seconds before everything became calm again.

The clouds dispersed, leaving the sky clear again. Fires that were burning dropped in intensity as they had no more ki to fuel them. Chunks of brick from nearby buildings no longer flew randomly around the sky, but merely fell to the ground harmlessly. But Goku was still covered in that column of light. Gohan felt his father within it though, calming any fears he had of his father's wellbeing. Diamao looked on, trying to make some sort of discernable shape out from the pillar of energy surrounding his foe, but to no avail.

Gohan and Diamao looked to the sky, hearing a strange sound emanating from it. They saw the ki barrier fall, just like one of the barber poles from old earth, it swiveled all the way around, bringing down the topmost parts as it went. As it reached Goku, yellow spikes of energy protruded from the cut off sections, revealing his aura. Goku's face was first revealed, then his torso, followed by his groin and finally legs. Goku was hovering in the air, the ground below him destroyed. A perfect circle shape burned straight through the building below him, burning all the way to the ground and beyond.

If any of the Z Warriors present were standing from an orbital view, they could have seen something that would have truly frightened them. The pillar of light that had encompassed their friend, Goku, came straight down from the atmosphere, penetrating the planet until it protruded straight through the other side, dissipating slowly in the coldness of space. But Diamao was to preoccupied with the immense ki field he felt Goku giving off, that he didn't even have time to block the massive fist that came crashing into his jaw, sending the namek crashing through the interior of his own building.

XXII

Goku watched as Diamao sailed through several floors before he disappeared covered by too much rubble to be seen. It was short lived, however, since seconds later Diamao zanzokened behind Goku and delivered a swift punch to his back, sending the saiyan into the roof, but not forcing him down any farther. Goku landed on his hands and knees, quickly flipping himself over just in time to see Diamao's foot sailing towards him. He rolled over quickly, missing it by mere inches. The saiyan swung himself around trying to trip the namekian, but Diamao jumped into the air seconds before it would have hit him. Goku was up in a flash, rocketing towards his opponent. Goku ignited his yellow aura, adding a temporary boost to his speed and strength. With the super charge, he reared back his arm and threw his fist directly into Diamao's gut. He doubled over in pain, spit flying from his mouth. Goku snapped his leg up, letting his heel connect with Diamao's chin. On it's way down, it slammed on top of the namekian's head, sprawling him back into rooftop. The mighty warrior stared down at his opponent lying on the ground, a look of contempt in his eyes.

Diamao rose to his knees, unable to believe that Goku was this much more powerful then he was. He expected a little bit of difference, but this was unimaginable. It was as if he shouldn't have even bothered fusing with his son. But no, he wouldn't lose. Not again. Never again!

"Kaio-ken!" he shouted, an aura of red surrounding his frame. He disappeared from view; to fast for Gohan to follow even with his heightened sense of sight and ability to sense ki. Diamao traveled behind his nemesis and reared back his leg, preparing to deliver a massive kick. Goku, on the other hand, could sense this. He twisted backwards, putting up an arm to block it; Diamao let his attack go, swinging his readied leg. It connected with Goku's arm, creating a tense moment where neither of the two competitors could do much of anything but try to force the other back. And without much success on either side. Goku's face hollowed even more, his frown deepening. With Diamao, however, it was the exact opposite. His stolen face turned into an unmistakable grin at this latest development.

Energy cackled as their auras, yellow and red, clashed. Blue and white sparks of ki connected both limbs of the competitors, shooting small twinges of shock throughout their bodies. Goku was on the verge of grabbing Diamao's leg when it happened.

"Kaio-ken x5!" Diamao roared, his aura flaring yet again. Goku's arm seemed to become transparent as it could no longer hold back the kick. It crashed straight into the side of his face, causing him to open his eyes wide in surprise. It also caused him to sail straight into the bridge below, shooting rocks and gravel into the air to create a dust cloud. Diamao dropped two levels in the kaio-ken and zanzokened into the debris. He tried to seek out Goku's ki, but had no luck. Then, Goku's fist flew straight from the center of the cloud into Diamao's face. It forced the namekian back a few steps, but did no serious damage. In his own section, Goku let out a gasp. He was unable to even affect Diamao with that power up he had now. His thoughts were short lived, though, as Diamao immediately grabbed his forearm and flipped Goku over his head, slamming him face-first into the ground. Diamao saw his opening. He raised his hands, putting the index fingers together, then his thumbs, creating a diamond pattern.

"Cyclone thunder atta..." he started, but was interrupted as a searing pain traveled throughout his body, kneeling him to the ground in agony. Diamao held his chest, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed savagely.

"You will not win!" he heard a voice call from the center of his being. Piccolo.

------------------------

"Fusion... Ha!" the two men screamed together as their index fingers touched one another, a bright light glowing around them. The brightness illuminated the otherwise dark stadium briefly as both Goten and Trunks became one person. When the light cleared, Tien looked on in surprise at what he saw.

"Oh... my God. How did they do that?" he asked himself, the attention of Vegeta being drawn into the same state.

"Idiots," he muttered to himself, watching the newly formed Gotenks become visible. The very fat Gotenks become visible. "Idiots! Why did you have to fuse? You could have just gone down there and helped Kakkorot, but no. You have to be morons and fuse! What's wrong with you two?"

The fusion ignored him, however, as he was to busy playing with his belly button to notice Vegeta's bickering.

"Hee hee, cool!" Gotenks laughed, pushing his finger into his stomach, then quickly pulling out, watching as the fat sprung back up and jiggled for a few moments. He smiled, flashing his teeth at that, then did it again. And again. And again. Tien blinked for a second, one eye at a time.

"Vegeta, I'm gonna leave now," the tri-clops told him. "Watch Gotenks and make sure he doesn't do anything... stupid."

"What the hell do you think he's doing now?" Tien ignored him, however and disappeared, sending himself to the battlefield where the clash of the titans was already underway.

XXIII

Goku saw his opponent's moment of weakness, unsure of what he was witnessing. As the smoke cleared, Diamao was curled over in the fetal position, mumbling something incoherently. Goku's eyebrows furrowed, trying to grasp why the powerful namekian was in so much pain when Goku had done no damage to him. Then he heard Diamao utter one word that explained everything.

"Piccolo..."

Tien appeared just above the two warriors, keeping his distance in case the fight broke out again.

"Goku, Goten and Trunks aren't going to be coming. Vegeta either, the Grand Kai had already found us and restored my energy first since I was closer to death. Vegeta's barely at his halfway point, so he wouldn't do much down here except get killed," Tien told him, causing the saiyan to wince. But he never took his eyes off Diamao.

"Why aren't Goten and Trunks coming down? Are there traitors up there too?"

"No, but they tried to fuse into Gotenks. I guess since they haven't done it in 25 years they'd forgotten the exact steps. One of them messed up and now they have to wait thirty minutes for the fusion to wear off. What's up with Diamao?"

"I'm not sure," Goku answered, finally looking up at Tien. "We were fighting, then he screamed Piccolo's name and fell to the ground. I think somewhere in his head, Piccolo is still fighting."

------------------------

"Just get out of my head, Diamao. That's all. Then you'll never have to worry about me again," Piccolo chided, trying to persuade his father to leave his body. No dice.

"Go to hell! This is my body now, and I'll be damned if you're going to take it from me. Especially when I'm this close to victory!" he responded furiously, blocking Piccolo from his mind. The block would work temporarily, and would probably restrict all of Piccolo's controls over his body too. Diamao just had to wait until Piccolo was fully integrated with his body, but so far, he wasn't going peacefully. But that was okay, Diamao figured. Everything would be fine once Goku was erased.

------------------------

On the outside, Diamao struggled to his feet. The pain was still intense, almost more then he could bare, but he would grit through it. He had to accomplish his task after all.

"Now, Goku. You will die," the namekian told his opponent menacingly.

"We'll see, Diamao," he responded calmly, confident in all of his abilities. Goku crouched in a stance, putting one arm in front of him and one behind. He flared his aura to life, letting it blaze around his chiseled body. "Let's go."

"Kaio-ken x2!" Diamao recited, launching himself at Goku. Goku leaned back, letting Diamao fly overhead just as he had done to Gohan during the tournament. He tried to bring up his knee and connect it with Diamao's stomach, but the kaio-ken gave him to much speed. Diamao quickly zanzokened away, leaving a red after image. Goku's knee passed straight through it, flipping the saiyan back to his feet. He glanced around, searching for Diamao's energy, but finding nothing.

"Kaio-ken x3!" he heard someone shout from the left. Goku turned to meet it, only to feel a sharp pain in his back as Diamao's fist landed it's target. The namekian smiled a cold smile and planted his other fist there, withdrawing the other. Diamao grabbed Goku's neck and lifted him into the air. At first the saiyan struggled, but he found that he was paralyzed with pain as Diamao squeezed the back of his neck. Diamao lifted Goku a bit higher, then leaned over quickly, slamming him into the ground. Diamao turned around while still crouching, dragging Goku through the concrete. He could hear shouts of protest from his opponent, but that only fueled his desires.

Gohan sent a small ki blast from his location straight into Diamao's back to break his concentration. It worked. Diamao immediately let go of Gohan's father and tried to grasp at his unprotected back. When Goku got back to his feet, he turned and landed a blow across Diamao's cheekbone, sending the namekain flying across the air into a nearby building. Goku stood there a few seconds, waiting for Diamao to come out. To do that, Diamao expelled all of his energy, crumbling the building around him and sending it plummeting in a pile of rubble to the soft ground far below.

"Damn kid," he cursed. He had almost had Goku; but that damned brat had to ruin everything. He was about to shout a threat, but was interrupted by Goku.

"Gohan! What's wrong with you? This is a fight between me and Diamao, you have no right to interrupt!" he shouted angrily. Gohan looked as if he was going to protest, but merely lowered his head instead. "You ready, Diamao?"

"Of course," he said, crouching into a stance. "Of course."

------------------------

Vegeta punched Gotenks in the face, sending the blob flying back a few dozen feet.

"Don't you EVER pull that thing out of your pants again! I'm going to be sick, you disgusting piece of crap!"

------------------------

Diamao flipped backwards on his hands, then to his feet, narrowly avoiding a roundhouse kick from his adversary. He smirked and jetted off to the saiyan, activating his aura. Just before he reached him, he shouted:

"Kaio-ken x2!" Then disappeared.

Goku looked around for a few moments, trying to locate his energy. Diamao smirked as he flew through the air, to fast to be seen. He was enjoying himself quite a bit. Or, he was enjoying himself quite a bit until Goku's fist connected with his jaw, sending the namekian sprawling back onto the bridge. Diamao sprang to his feet, and jumped over his opponent, coming down with his forearm pushed out. Goku pushed his forearm out as well, to block him. Both of their forearms met and energy crackled between the two. Something in the back of Diamao's mind was triggered... A memory of this exact same position being held with Frieza. Diamao blocked away Piccolo's thoughts and concentrated on his task. He let his forearm drop away and grabbed Goku's. He was about to lift the saiyan into the air before his own arm was grabbed and squeezed violently. Diamao hadn't even noticed his kaio-ken aura leave him. Goku frowned deeply, remorse settling into his soul. He didn't want to do this, not to Piccolo, but it couldn't be helped. This was the only way to end it all. The saiyan squeezed Diamao's arm, feeling blood vessels and bone break under his grip, grimacing at it.

"Aaaah!" Diamao protested in a fit of rage. Goku let go, watching the namekian hobble backwards, grasping his useless arm. "You bastard!"

"I'm sorry, Piccolo. God I'm sorry," Goku said remorsefully. Then he crouched, cupping his hands behind his back. Diamao's eyes opened wide, understanding he didn't have much time. He quickly grasped his broken arm, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, he yanked as hard as he could. A guttural sound escaped his lips, something that couldn't possibly have come from him under normal circumstances, but his arm broke free. He held the entire length of it in his hand, breathing heavily. Goku was already underway with his attack and he hadn't even noticed it... damn!

Diamao tossed it to the side, not wanting to hold the bleeding limb anymore. Then he leaned to the side, pushing his stump into the air. He gathered his power briefly, then concentrated on trying to regrow his arm. Goku saw him and decided to power up his Chou Kamehameha a bit quicker.

"Meeee..." he continued, feeling the blue ball he grasped between his hand grow a few more inches in diameter. Rays of lights shone through his fingers, casting shadows on the buildings in the night. Tien's eyes popped as he sensed the energy emanating from his friend, wishing he had been here when he was still at his full power. Of course, he was probably close to it now too.

"Haaaa..." Goku trailed, his ball of energy shrinking a bit as he compressed more energy into a smaller area. Diamao felt his new arm shoot from the purple stained stump. His new arm was covered in a green goo, but it quickly evaporated. He stretched his fingers for a few seconds, then flexed his muscles a few times to get used to the new feel. When Diamao was confident of his ability to control it, he put his hands together, crouching low to the ground. He connected his fingernails in a cup shape, pulling back a move he had used against Android 17 many, many years ago. His aura flared up, a white light springing to life around his body. A white ball emerged between his two hands, a very powerful force contained in a small area.

"Meeee..." Diamao heard this and quickened the pace.

"Kaio-ken x5!" he yelled, his white aura turning a violent shade of red. The ki ball grew very rapidly now with the extra energy being poured in. Veins bulged from Diamao's body, popping from all around his shoulders, arms, chest, and a long one going the length of the top of his head.

"Haaaa!" Goku finalized, thrusting his hands forward, the blue geyser of energy erupting from his hands. Diamao did the same, throwing his white sphere towards Goku.

XIV

The two ki attacks collided, a collage of colors erupted as the white and blue energy beams hit each other, wrestling to hold the same space. Goku held his position firmly on the right, digging his heels into the concrete so that he couldn't slide back any. Diamao did the same, but he had to hold it with a bit more effort since his kaio-ken provided much more of a shock wave for him to fight against.

Gohan looked on in wonder; two powers far beyond his own were grappling with each other in a ki struggle greater then he had ever witnessed. His father and his mentor both stood a few hundred feet away, sending wave upon wave of blue and white ki streaming into a gigantic ki bubble. But what Gohan felt even more difficult to believe was that they were both completely even. The large sphere was divided evenly between blue and white energy. Sparks of energy shot up where the two attacks met, showering the air with burning hot ki.

Back on the battlefield, Diamao felt his energy draining. It wasn't draining very fast, but he could definitely feel the strain that the kaio-ken and Geritsoudan were taking on him. Unless he over powered Goku soon, he'd be in trouble. His red aura was flaring intently, sticking straight up defiantly. The energy he was pouring into his attack seemed to tighten his muscles even more then he thought possible.

"Kaio-ken x10!" Diamao roared, doubling his power in an instant. Goku's eyes opened wide in shock, his kamehameha being overcome with extreme ease now. He poured more energy into his signature ki wave, trying to force Diamao's back, but he didn't have any luck. Blue energy streamed from his palms, only to be forced right back at him. Goku's hands began to burn as his own ki started to burn through it, the white energy less then ten feet away now. Seven feet away, Goku's eyes narrowed with effort and sweat drenched his body with effort. At five feet he stopped trying to push it away and cut off his ki outpour. Goku crossed his arms over his chest in an X pattern and tucked his head into it.

Diamao cackled as he felt the resistance from Goku's end of the struggle drop off, letting his ki technique fly much faster now. He stopped feeding the attack, watching as the last of it hit the already concentrated ki, causing all of it to explode. The large explosion quaked the already fragile bridge. An energy fire sprang from Goku's position, rocking the entire area for miles around. Diamao had to leap into the air to avoid the burning rubble flying from the area surrounding the ki's destination.

"Dad!" Gohan cried out, watching the explosion below him. He sprang into super saiyan, ready to go help his father, but then Tien placed a single hand on his shoulder, holding the demi-saiyan back. Gohan looked back angrily at the human, wondering why he was trying to stop him. Tien merely shook his head, indicating that he could do nothing. Gohan opened his mouth to protest, but silenced himself, realizing that Tien was right. He turned his head back to the dying explosions below, searching out for his father's ki desperately.

------------------------

"Diamao is much more powerful then I would have ever imagined he could have become with a simple fusion. The power he's unlocked within Piccolo is amazing, and with that blasted kaio-ken ability he might be able to beat Kakkorot as well," Vegeta thought to himself, leaning against the wall of the stadium with his arms crossed. "I don't know how that damned namekian managed to defeat me, but I'm going to make him pay!"

Vegeta clenched a single fist, his power raising just enough for Gotenks to notice from across the grass.

"You okay, Vegeta? Um... Dad? Uh... Vegeta?"

"Shut up."

"Yes sir."

"Kakkorot, you had better save some of him for me. That bastard nearly killed me, and once the Grand Kai heals me I'll have even more power then ever before. Then not even you will be stronger then I. Prepare yourself, Diamao. I'm coming for you!"

XXV

The smoke was clearing away by the time Gohan found his father's ki signature. He breathed a sigh of relief, checking over his shoulder to make sure Tien felt it too. He did and was showing it with a big grin planted across his face. Then it turned downwards as he felt a very bad thing. Goku's ki was much lower. It felt as if the geritsoudan had taken it for a nosedive, but Diamao's energy was low as well. It's not like he could just dish out that much energy and not feel anything, after all. Gohan stared down at the emerging shadow that was becoming apparent through the smoke, which was undoubtedly his father. Diamao stood far away from him, panting. Tien smiled at that, it showed that Diamao couldn't keep up a power level higher then Goku's for long without draining himself too.

------------------------

The saiyan's head pounded and his arms were shouting in outrage as burn marks appeared across them. But he was alive, and that wasn't good enough. His energy was way down and, although Diamao's was too, it wouldn't be enough for a quick defeat.

"Darn! I hadn't expected him to do a kaio-ken attack in the middle of the struggle! I can tell his ki is much lower now though, it took a lot out of him. At least he can't stay stronger then me using that thing much longer. Sooner or later I'll wear him down. Hopefully sooner. I don't know how much more of this I can take," Goku thought to himself. He was still in his defensive posture, but now his muscles were a little bit tighter and a little bit weaker. His gi was torn in multiple places, leaving his pants torn into jagged shorts just below the knees. Luckily his boots were made of stronger stuff, otherwise he'd be out in bare feet in the middle of a battle atop jagged rubble. Which would, of course, be bad.

The bridge that was left between them was crumbling as they stared at one another, at least, the parts that hadn't been disintegrated by the two attacks was crumbling. The area between both Goku and Diamao looked as if it had been completely decimated, jagged edges protruding from both sides like daggers.

Goku lifted his head and lowered his arms. One of his gi straps on his wrists came apart at the movement, falling away to the ground in shreds. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck, trying to get some feeling back into them. They hurt.

------------------------

Vegeta smirked in Other World, feeling the new developments far below him.

"So, Kakkorot is fine. I guess I might just lose my chance to erase Diamao after all. Of course, unless that damned Kai heals me soon, all of it will have been a waste anyway. I can't do anything in this weakened condition," Vegeta mused in his mind, watching Gotenks sleeping in the tournament ring. Drool drooped from his mouth. "Disgusting brat."

"Vegeta, dude," the Grand Kai called down from the stands. "I think I have enough power to restore your ki now, if you dig it." The saiyan prince looked up at him in contempt.

"Damn right I 'dig it'!"

------------------------

"It's your last chance, Diamao. Give control back to Piccolo now and this can end. All of it can end right now," Goku told the namekian as he walked towards him, closing the distance rapidly. Diamao watched as the mighty saiyan approached confidently. But as Diamao already knew what was going on.

"You can't fool me, Goku. I've searched Piccolo's mind; I know what you're doing. You're much weaker then you're letting on. I'll bet you can barely stand to move any of your limbs after taking a blast like that. In fact," Diamao went on, "I'll bet you can't even summon the strength to fight on."

"Not even close, Diamao. Sense my energy, it's still a bit higher than yours. Even after all that you did to me, I'm still stronger then you are. Face it, you can't beat me. I'm..." he trailed off, looking at Gohan, then to Tien. "I'm doing the right thing."

"That's nice, Goku. Now let's get on with it," Diamao told him, lowering his weight onto his hind leg. "I'm ready."

"Your choice," Goku muttered, lowering his weight onto his hind leg too as he crouched to the ground. The two stared at one another, gauging their strength. Then they leaped from their separate platforms and flew towards each other.

------------------------

"Come on, Goku. Just hold on. Just hold on a bit longer," Piccolo cried, trapped in his own mind. "Just a bit longer."

------------------------

Goku and Diamao's forearms met, locked in a struggle of power. The two beasts were completely even now; Diamao didn't want to risk using his kaio-ken attack again unless he absolutely had to. The kaio-ken x10 had put to much stress on his body.

They broke away, jumping backwards only to land floating a few feet apart. Goku leapt farther into the air above his opponent and dropped behind him. Diamao turned quickly, but not fast enough to avoid Goku's elbow as it crashed into his jaw. The namekian staggered back a few feet before he regained his bearings. By then, Goku was fully prepared. He kicked Diamao in his jaw, where his elbow had landed, causing the green skinned monster to scream in agony. When his leg was lowered, Goku threw his fist forward, impacting it onto Diamao's barren chest. A small indentation appeared there, letting him know he was at least doing some damage. The saiyan was ready to attack again, but Diamao grabbed his wrists, twisting them down so that the bones ground together.

"Aaaaaaargh!" he roared, throwing his head back. Goku jumped up a few inches and shot his knee straight into Diamao's jaw, forcing him to let go. Diamao sat for a few seconds, then launched forward, planting his fist into Goku's cheek. The saiyan's eyes opened wide in shock at the blatant attack, but he let to much time pass before he put up his guard again. Diamao grabbed his hair and swung him into a building's ruins behind him. Diamao put two fingers to his forehead and powered up with a quick burst of ki energy. A green aura surrounded him as he powered up his favorite attack.

"Demon ray!" he screamed, throwing the two fingers forward. A yellow spiral beam shot forward, the "Special Beam Cannon," as Piccolo called it. It cut through the air quickly, leaving a humid feel through it. The attack barreled straight into the concrete after Goku.

"Big bang attack!" Diamao heard someone yell from above him, just before a blue ball of energy encompassed his entire field of vision, stopping his connection with the demon ray.

XXVI

There Vegeta floated, calm and collected. A triumphant look imprinted upon his face. He retracted his flattened palm, resting it by his side, the energy he spent creating the Big Bang Attack drawing nearly nothing from him. But watching the look of surprise and pain on Diamao's face... That gave him more pleasure then he new what do with. And, of course, the namekian wasn't finished yet. There would be plenty of time for that, more then enough, in fact. He'd pay for what he did to Vegeta. Just as the saiyan prince had promised to himself, Diamao would pay.

Vegeta searched out for Kakkorot's ki, waiting to find a glimpse of it somewhere amidst the rubble that he was buried in. It took him a few moments to grasp onto it, but once he did, he realized that Kakkorot's ki wasn't very far below his own. Of course, in a straight fight Kakkorot would lose most definitely, but Vegeta realized that he no longer even posed half a threat to his rival that he had long ago. Goku surpassed him in strength and kept it hidden very well, Vegeta had even begun to believe that he was stronger now. Of course, after witnessing this, he realized how wrong he was.

"Namek! Show yourself, you coward. I demand to see you now, I have no time for games!" Vegeta bellowed below him, waiting for the Piccolo look-a-like to appear. A green body rose from the fog that was appearing beneath the bridge line in the coming morning.

------------------------

Goten and Trunks watched as Vegeta waited for Diamao. They had de-fused just before Vegeta was healed, and were now watching as the two powers measured each other's ki energies. Vegeta was easily the stronger; there was no doubt as far as they were concerned in that matter. But the more immediate question that puzzled them was, what would happen to Piccolo? Vegeta wasn't notorious for his patience and merciful nature. Sure, Diamao was part of Piccolo now, but there must be some way to separate the two. What would happen to Piccolo?

------------------------

"So, namek, did you expect to see me again? You should have finished what you started back there, then you wouldn't have to worry about me erasing you," Vegeta taunted, savoring his advantage of Diamao.

"I regret not finishing you, Vegeta. I'll admit that much, but what I'm more interested in is why you think you can defeat me. I have my experience as well as Piccolo's under my control. Not to mention the immense background of strategy and knowledge of Kami. Nail's courage and cunning are invaluable assets to me; don't you understand? You have no chance to defeat me, fool. Give up now and I'll allow you to run."

"I doubt that!" Vegeta screamed, then launched towards Diamao.

He planted his fist directly in the namekians face, sending Diamao back a few feet, clutching the fresh cut. Vegeta, always ready to torment, merely stayed stationary, unmoving. When Diamao recovered, he sat his arms by his side, clenched in hatred.

"Argh!" he uttered, flying at Vegeta. The saiyan prince leaned his neck to the side, letting the first fist sail by, rustling his hair. Diamao noticed the proud smirk crossing Vegeta's face, only serving his anger even more. The green skinned beast retracted his fist and sent the other flying at where his head was, only to miss yet again when Vegeta moved his head. Diamao repeated the process several times, missing every punch to Vegeta's super speed. Diamao screamed again, pulling his fist back as far as he could, charging it with as much ki as he could spare. A green glow surrounded it; light emanated from the deadly sphere. Diamao threw his super charged fist forward as hard as he could, trying desperately to land it on Vegeta. The super saiyan leaned his head once again, letting the fist trail by it. Diamao snarled when he realized he missed. But that was soon overcome by a look of shock as Vegeta's knee planted itself into Diamao's stomach. Vegeta lowered his knee and floated away a few feet, letting the namekian cough up green blood. He came back, the smirk widening across his entire face. He wrapped one hand around both of Diamao's antennae and lifted him a few inches farther into the air.

"Die!" Vegeta screamed, his voice void of all mercy. He took his free hand and swooped it across the top of Diamao's head, slicing straight through both of the antennae that he was holding onto. The namekian's eyes shot open in pain, in to much pain to even moan. With Vegeta's connection severed, Diamao immediately dropped to what was left of the bridge. Vegeta looked at his gloves; they dripped with the green blood that was pouring from the stalks still in his hands.

XXVII

"No! It won't end like this! I can't let it end like this! I finally defeated Goku, and now Vegeta is back? How did that happen? I thought for sure I had erased him. That's fine though, I'll finish him off. The damned kaio-ken is draining by body, but if I give it all I have in one fast burst, I'll be able to win," Diamao went over in his mind. He was crumpled to the concrete, his body worn from the intense fighting. A steady trickle of blood fell from his mouth, along with the holes where his antennae used to be. He got up onto all fours, still putting most of his weight on his knees. When Diamao looked over his shoulder, he saw Vegeta staring down at him. But... there was something different about the saiyan prince. Instead of his usual cold stare, Vegeta had an almost... sympathetic look over his face. As soon as he saw Diamao staring at him though, it hardened, and the arrogant Vegeta was in control again.

Damn.

"Namek! I'll give you one last chance. Give control of that body back to Piccolo and I won't erase you," Vegeta called from above, his face set in stone. "Answer me, namek!"

Diamao struggled to his feet, trembling as he lifted himself onto both legs. He looked at Vegeta, hate washing over him. This bastard had all but defeated him. The power that Diamao held didn't affect Vegeta in the least. Even with their combined powers, Piccolo and himself, he still couldn't beat him. He had taken out Goku, one of the most impossible feats he could have imagined. And, after being nearly erased once before, Vegeta had returned, more powerful then even Goku. This prince, this damned saiyan prince, dared to challenge him. Dared! Well no more! Diamao hadn't come this far, this DAMNED far to give up now.

"Vegeta you will lose this battle! I've done to much to lose now! I DESERVE this!" Diamao raged, unable to contain his fury, "I lost to a boy at the height of my mortal power. I've had spent more then two and a half centuries preparing for my revenge. Countless hours of training, pushing myself, being the best I could be. I've gone days, sometimes weeks, without sleep, training my mind in meditation. Years spent massing power. And all the while, all the time I was preparing to become the most powerful warrior in the universe, my son, my flesh and blood, befriended the man that killed me. The very same man!

"So I spent more time training and hating and seething with rage. I trained harder then ever before when I learned that my son had given his life to die with the earth. And do you know what? I gained more power in ten years then Goku gained in twenty. The only thing that separated us in power was those damned super saiyan transformations. So I fused with my son. A namekian fusion is for good; it can never be undone. Just as I wanted it. Now Piccolo can never disobey me again. We're one body now. And what better way to defeat Goku then through the body of one of his closest allies?

"And so I found the kaio-ken ability hidden within his body. And with that, I was finally able to reach Goku's power level. The differences between us was obsolete. I had even nearly erased him... But then you came. Now that you're here, everything's changed. My revenge is ruined. I can never regain the honor that this man stole from me. But... What would you know? What would you know about honor, saiyan?"

Vegeta glared at him, fury overtaking his entire body. This... This weakling dared to ask him about honor?

"What would I know about honor? What would I know about honor? What would I know about... HONOR? My entire life, living and dead, has been DEVOTED to my honor! My entire race was wiped out by the very man that I had followed for more then twenty years. My saiyan pride stripped away as I, the saiyan prince, was defeated by a 3rd class warrior. He even reached the level of super saiyan before me. My birthright, taken away by a commoner. And for a while, a long while, Diamao, I was hateful. My heart was filled with evil. I didn't even realize I was the one stripping away my honor. I turned my back from my wife and child, I ignored those closest to me and followed my own ambitions. I was destroying myself. My pride over rode everything. My honor included. I've spent the last 200 years trying, trying somehow, to regain some shred of it. I..." Vegeta trailed off as Diamao inturrupted him.

"I don't care," he stated bluntly. He had raised his posture so that he stood defiantly with his chest puffed outwards. "I don't care about what you've done. Let's just finish our battle." Vegeta's aura ignited, his fists clenched and he gritted his teeth.

"All right, namek! It's time for us to end it then!"

------------------------

Goten lifted the final stone from his father's crushed body. Goku was almost completely crushed, his ki had dropped to a dangerously low state. They were lucky that Vegeta showed up when he did, otherwise Goku would be erased by now. His mouth was dripping blood on both sides, along with several cuts and scrapes coming from his legs and arms. Goku even had what looked to be a broken arm. Of course, just because it was turned backwards and something white was sticking through the skin didn't mean much.

Goten kneeled by his side and placed a hand on Goku's chest, and two fingers to his own forehead. Then he searched for the Grand Kai's ki signature.

------------------------

"Geritsoudan!"

"Final Flash!"

Both of the powers fired their most powerful attacks, Diamao's green aura exploded as the sphere of green ki launching at Vegeta. The remaining bridge crumbled under his feet, the ki surrounding him tearing it apart with urgent speed. The buildings on either side flew in opposite directions, crashing into other houses as well. His body crackled with energy bolts, even after he had drained so much ki fighting Goku.

Vegeta's attack was twice the size of his opponents, and it's yellow energy shone in the sky, illuminating the air. His body was surging with power, and his muscles contracted rapidly under the stress. White specks of lightening surged around him as his power was stretched to it's max. No more playing.

The two beams collided, creating a Yin Yang affect as the heads tore into each other. They surged in and out, but it was quickly over. Within less then five seconds, though, the green beam was surged backwards incredibly fast. The hundreds of feet that had separated Diamao from the center of the blasts was reduced to fifty feet within seconds. Diamao closed his eyes, readying himself for the intense stress he was about to put on his body.

"Kaio-ken!" he started. The first level of kaio-ken felt as if it were ripping his body apart. His muscles were tightened and his ligaments were stretched beyond normal. But still the beam did not retreat. It grew closer, now it was only twenty feet away. "Kaio-ken... x30!"

Diamao felt his entire body swell with energy. His power level had been multiplied by 30 in the blink of an eye, making him barely stronger, but stronger nonetheless, then Vegeta. The geritsoudan fought the final flash, pushing it back one step at a time, farther away from the namekian. The epicenter where the two attacks met grew tremendously, swelling to the size of a small house as more and more power was pumped from Diamao into it. The waves were both blasts met cackled with white-hot energy, shooting bolts of ki from the edges into the air, sizzling with heat.

Gohan's mouth hung open in shock at the two powers in front of him. Diamao, who seconds before had been to weak to fend off even Tien, but now he was going toe to toe with the second most powerful being in the universe. Amazing. The air's temperature shot up by a dozen degrees as a huge bolt of energy broke off from the ball of energy concentrated between Diamao and Vegeta and exploded in the air just above Gohan, showering him with ki. But he was to busy staring at the battle before him to even notice.

XXVIII

"Aaaaaaargh!" Diamao screamed in pain as his muscles were torn and ripped under the stress of sustaining a kaio-ken x30. He could literally feel as his muscles swelled and contracted involuntarily, trying to hold the immense ki he was generating within his body. The green energy that he was feeding to the ki struggle had more then doubled in size after his jump in power, and was still fending Vegeta's attack off. Gohan watched as a car sized chunk of metal flew straight for Diamao, only to be completely vaporized a few feet away by a bolt of energy striking from his shield of white ki. He never even flinched.

Vegeta's final flash slowly retreated back towards it's owner as the geritsoudan came closer and closer, it's energy spilling over the sides of the ki bubble where the two attacks met. A deafening roar emanated from the center of the two massive attacks, causing shock waves to crash though the air, sending the other Z Warriors tumbling back a few feet before they were able to stop themselves. Energy pulsing from the eye of the ki was whipping their hair across their face, except for Tien. They all had to ignite their own auras to stop from being crushed by flying chunks of metal and concrete that were being thrown wildly around in the flurry of energy being spent by Diamao and Vegeta.

Vegeta's muscles strained to keep the final flash alive, he hadn't expecting much of a challenge from Diamao, so he didn't spend much time charging it. It was a mistake he would have kicked himself for if he wasn't busy with other things right now. The yellow energy erupting from his hands began to swell as he added more ki to it, feeling his muscles bulge with the new energy flowing outwards, but it wasn't enough to stop the march of energy towards him. It did slow it down, but unless Vegeta could find some way to fend it away in the next few minutes, he'd be swallowed by his own attack yet again by Diamao. Pieces of his tattered clothes started to burn themselves onto his flesh, imprinting red hot marks across his chest, abdomen and legs. If he wasn't so busy trying to pull every ounce of ki from his body, Vegeta might have felt it.

------------------------

"Is that Vegeta's energy down there?" Goten asked the Grand Kai, who was healing Goku as they spoke.

"Yeah, dude. He's battlin' with Diamao right now, but it doesn't look to rad. He might just lose, you dig it?" The Grand Kai told him, letting his yellow ki rush over Goku's frail body. Goten stood up firmly and pressed two fingers to his forehead.

"I'll be back soon, Grand Kai. Tell my dad that," Gohan instructed. He gave a final glance to his father just before teleporting back to Kimahri.

------------------------

"Aaaaaaaargh!" Diamao cried as another surge of his energy flew from his fingertips, forcing his muscles to tighten painfully to sustain the ki he was giving off. The kaio-ken was taking it's toll, that was apparent, but at the rate the ki struggle was going he would win long before that happened. He and Vegeta were a few hundred feet away from each other, but the lock of their attacks was merely seventy-five feet away from the saiyan prince. The sky was brightening as morning approached, somehow symbolic of the end of the battle. Even under the intense pain he was feeling, Diamao smiled at the thought. After Vegeta was out of the way, the others would be child's play with the kaio-ken ability. If he lasted long enough for that.

"Not yet, Diamao! I won't lose! Not to you!" Vegeta raged from the other side, sending wave upon wave of ki to meet his opponents. But Diamao's strength had been multiplied by 30 while Vegeta's was draining quickly under this much pressure. The geritsoudan was approaching furiously just before he felt six ki's jump dramatically. He moved his head slightly to see what was happening, and was shocked at what he saw.

------------------------

"Kamehameha!" Goten cried, thrusting his arms forward.

"Kamehameha!" Gohan screamed, letting his energy flow out of his palms.

"Kamehameha!" Krillin yelled weakly, still recovering from his knock out.

"Kamehameha!" Yamcha repeated with his friends, letting the blue energy gush from his body.

"Shin Kikoho!" Tien cried from between his diamond shaped hands, veins bulging from his forehead.

"Argh!" Trunks brought his arms together from his side and fired a large yellow blast from them.

All of the Z Warriors had their auras ignited, be them yellow or white. The four kamehameha's made their way to Diamao, who noticed them seconds after they were released. The Shin Kikoho ripped towards him, throwing the namekian off balance and cutting his concentration, causing him to lose control of the geritsoudan briefly. The four kamehameha's hit him in rapid succession, forcing him to erect a ki shield to deflect them. When Trunks' attack him, Diamao lurched noticeably, his eyes opening wide in shock. His ki shield didn't require much energy to sustain, but the concentration did. Vegeta felt Diamao weaken and took advantage of it. He let out a huge surge of energy, draining him quite a bit. But it worked, the geritsoudan did retreat. Very quickly, in fact, until Diamao was able to gain control again. The blasts sat in neutral, neither side making any progress towards the other. Tien sent another Shin Kikoho at Diamao, who visibly rocked back and forth from the ki's aftermath. But Diamao held the attacks at bay with his ki shield, and was still tying Vegeta in their struggle.

But then Diamao's left arm began to shake wildly. The spasms became more intense as the seconds passed, his geritsoudan losing energy rapidly as he was unable to support it anymore with just one hand.

"Hey, Diamao. Remember me?"

"Piccolo!"

XXIX

"Stop it, Piccolo! You're going to erase us both!" Diamao cried within his own mind while fighting off half a dozen other ki blasts at once. His gi was in shreds and his power was draining rapidly. His left arm was almost completely useless now, shaking wildly under Piccolo's control.

"I don't think so, Diamao. I'd rather be erased then let you beat the others. It ends here. It ends now!"

"Fool!" Diamao raged, his fear beginning to grow as the final flash grew closer, the distance between them closing rapidly. "Stop Piccolo! Once you're erased, that's it. There's no more! There's no coming back!"

"Didn't you hear me? I already told you, it's over. If I'm going down, you're coming with me, bastard. Now shut the hell up, I don't want my last moments to be spent arguing with you," Piccolo recited calmly, blocking Diamao from his mind.

------------------------

"Die, namek!" Vegeta screamed, sending another mind shattering pulse towards his opponent, pushing the wave closer. The entire continent was shaking under the power being generated by the titans, but the damage to immediate area was intense. The entire city was flattened into the marsh, but sometimes the ki would pull up bits and pieces of concrete and brick from the pit, only to be vaporized time and time again. The air crackled with intensity, and the clouds covered the sky, rolling thunder, which could barely be heard against the roar of the ki waves.

Tien sent another Shin Kikoho at Diamao, crushing him again. His ki shield was nearly gone by now, the steady supply of energy draining his reserves much faster then he had hoped. His body was being contorted and stretched as the kaio-ken took a massive toll on his body. In fact, his ki was already dropping tremendously. He felt his kaio-ken level drop dramatically a few levels, causing his ki shield to totally disperse, to weak to sustain that and his geritsoudan. The attacks slammed into his body, scorching his muscles and turning his green skin a sickening shade of red and black as it burned away parts of it. Green blood oozed from the openings, but was instantly vaporized by the white-hot ki.

"Aaaaargh!" he yelled in pain, kicking up his energy again. "That's it Piccolo! You're gone!" He raged in his mind, shutting the other namek out. Piccolo was shunted to the side, losing all control. Diamao regained his composure and brought his left arm back up to meet his right, feeding energy back into the ki struggle.

"Kaio-ken x32!" he commanded, his energy flaring up even further. His muscles screamed in protest as his chest and limbs swelled to the point of bursting. But his ki shield was reconstructed and he had enough energy to throw back at the other Z Warriors. The blasts went straight up through the other's attacks and burned their hands furiously, causing Krillin and Yamcha to stop their offensive immediately, already weakened from the earlier encounter. Goten, Gohan and Trunks pulled back for a second, but resumed their agenda within a few seconds. Tien hadn't been firing anything at Diamao when the blasts were sent out, so he didn't take any damage. But firing multiple Shin Kikohos drained his body of most of it's energy, as the kikoho called on one's own life force to fuel. He was nearly drained and could probably only sustain the energy for one or two more blasts.

Vegeta was having a hard enough time by himself, the power of Diamao's kaio-ken x30 had been overpowering him alone, but now that the namekian had an additional x2 added onto it, he was losing ground rapidly. The air around them sizzled with energy as the battle raged on into higher fits of fancy, the likes of which hadn't been seen in this universe for millions of years. The final flash gave way as the geritsoudan over powered it, pushing it back rapidly towards Vegeta. It was mere seconds away from impact when the Z Warriors heard the most beautiful sound they could have imagined.

"Super kaio-ken!"

XXX

Goku's swollen body flared with energy as the super kaio-ken pulsed through him. He hadn't been able to push his super saiyan level past 1 since he wasn't healed completely. When he left the Grand Kai, the old man had been near collapse from giving so much energy out to quickly. But he had judged it necessary and had healed Goku to the fullest extent he was able. The saiyan had enough energy to get to Kimahri and fight though, which was what was needed. But once Goku got to the planet he started to see what the Grand Kai had been so urgent about. Diamao was giving his all to defeat the Z Warriors, firing wave after mind blowing wave of energy in all directions. The attacks that Gohan, Goten, Tien and Trunks were firing were barely making a dent in Diamao's ki shield. Goku's super saiyan 1 power seemed roughly equal with Gohan's super saiyan 3 energy. Once Goku used the super kaio-ken his ki skyrocketed and, as usual, his body became tired quickly. He wouldn't have much time to charge his attack before he collapsed. He was already deep into his Chou Kamehameha before he began to raise his power level high enough to do any damage.

"Hame..." he nearly finished. A blue ball quivered in his hands which were cupped behind him, but instead of visible energy snaking towards it, the ball merely grew with it's shuddering mass. His palms became darker as the light was sucked in to feed his attack. His red aura flared again as he prepared to unleash it. Rocks which were already flying wildly in the wind generated by all of the titan's powers rose in a column around Goku as his power soared nearly a quarter as strong as Diamao's. Not enough to even come close to defeating him in a full out fight, but it was enough for his purposes. "Ha!"

The blue ball ripped from his hands and flew for its target: Diamao. It tore up the distance between the two rapidly, disintegrating the pebbles and chunks of rock that floated through the air as it went. Seconds before it's impact Diamao looked up to see it's approach. As soon as it hit he lost control immediately. His ki shield dropped and all of the attacks connected with his body. His kaio-ken dropped a few levels at the vicious assaults.

His antennae were completely burned away along with his half of his jaw. Gohan and Goten's kamehamehas burned into his back. His flesh was burned away at the point of contact, leaving vague imprints of bone and muscle there. Trunk's own sphere of energy contacted with Diamao's legs, vaporizing his feet immediately. He was left with bloody stumps as the energy passed from his body into the sky. Vegeta's own attack was the worst however. The final flash latched onto the namekian and didn't let go. His chest was burned to a crisp and all of his green skin turned black. Some of it scorched the pink of his muscle tissue showing through. Diamao felt his right arm rather painfully burn away. It was broken off piece by piece, fingers to hand to forearm. Diamao had lost all sensation by now, however. The pain had become to intense for him to manage around the time his feet left him.

"Stop!" Goku ordered the second he saw what was happening to Diamao; but more importantly, Piccolo. Gohan, Goten and Trunks stopped their assaults immediately, but Vegeta ignored him. The blue waves emanating from Vegeta didn't stop until Goku zanzokened down to the tip of it and sent his hand smacking straight into it. Despite his weakness, Goku was a great tactician and knew that the farther a ki blast was from the generator the harder it was to control. He slapped it away into the distant sky with only a few burn marks on his hand. The saiyan prince pulled his hands apart quickly, opening his eyes wide in shock of what the other had done.

"Kakkorot! You fool! What do you think is going to happen when he regains his power? I could barely beat him this time," Vegeta raged, floating towards Goku. The other saiyan had to fight back an urge to say some mean and nasty words about how they had helped too.

"Vegeta, calm down. Concentrate on Diamao, can you tell?" Goku asked, pointing at their fallen friend/foe. While Vegeta approached so had the other Z Warriors, and they were all now floating among each other randomly.

"What are you talking about, Kakkorot? It's Diamao!"

"Yeah, dad. What are you talking about? He looks the same to me," Gohan questioned, furrowing his brow and staring at his father. "Are you okay?"

"He's fine, Gohan. I can feel it now too, Goku," Trunks reassured the group confidently, placing a hand on Gohan's shoulder.

"What are you guys talking about? It's Diamao!" Tien asked, his voice rising with his annoyance of the situation.

"Come on, you can't tell? Feel his ki. It's different, not as dark. Feel it. Diamao's gone," Goku said, a smile passing over his face. His eyes lightened and he dropped from super saiyan and kaio-ken, letting his black hair replace the golden one.

------------------------

"It's over, Diamao. You've lost," Piccolo told his father. "There's now way you can win."

"I know. I know it's over. You've won, Piccolo. Congratulations."

"Yeah. Yeah, if you can call this a win."

"I'm sorry. God I'm sorry for doing all this."

"I know. I know you're sorry. Now, just rest. Just close your mind and rest, you've had a long day."

"You're right. You're right, I have had a long day. Good night, Piccolo."

"Good night Di... Good night... Father."

XXXI

The battle ended an hour ago. Piccolo used the last of his energy to regenerate his body, then was taken to Other World where he was to recover until the Grand Kai was finished recuperating enough to heal him completely. Goku, Krillin and Yamcha were all asleep in their homes under the care of their wives. It was surprising they lasted as long as they did, and Goten was still babbling about how great his father and the super kaio-ken were before he left for New Namek to ask the current guardian to create a new set of dragonballs. They wanted to wish that all of the Kimahrians that died when Goku powered up and during the ki struggle would be revived, and the damage done to the continent during their power struggles would be repaired. After all, most likely the ecosystem on the continent would be destroyed with all of the craters and fires raging on it.

Trunks surveyed the crumbled mass of the city. Few buildings were left standing, and those that were didn't survive without large chunks of the supports missing. They'd probably fall in a few hours, leaving nothing but a tattered and ravaged city as the remnants of the epic battle between the Z Warriors and Diamao. He'd have to make a mental note to ask the Grand Kai to spare some construction crews from Other World to repair this place. He felt sort of guilty; it's not like these people had asked for their homes to be destroyed after all. Hell, even the soft mud hundreds of feet below them was littered with the rubble from apartments, factories, stores, and countless other things stationed in the metropolis. The water level in the swamp had risen dozens of feet with the debris scattered among it.

After Tien explained what happened to the Supreme Kai, an immediate declaration was made. Pikkon's statue that once stood proudly in the North Quadrant training grounds was torn down, along with his mansion located on the Grand Kai's planet given to Rykime. He was totally disgraced throughout the North, South, West and East Quadrant barracks, as stories of his fare spread. Rumors that Piccolo had joined Diamao's side willingly, but that was quickly squashed by Baba while she was floating through the training grounds.

Of course, after everyone realized that with the power Diamao gave him Piccolo was as strong as Goku at full power, they began to quiet themselves. After all, who wants to get one of the strongest people in the entire universe mad? But even still, they began to ask themselves an important question: Why hadn't Piccolo ever used the kaio-ken ability before it was able to make him that much stronger? It didn't make any sense. Later Piccolo revealed that he didn't trust the attack. When Diamao used it he became a mad man, unable to even think rationally while fighting the other Z Warriors. Normally it would have been common sense to use a Solar Flare to distract them while he regained some of his energy, but instead Diamao was to high on the adrenaline to even think about that.

But for now, it was peaceful. The sun was coming up over the horizon on Kimahri and small pockets of inhabitants were making their way back into the city, only to find destroyed buildings and a plane of swamp as far as the eye could see. It had been completely ruined, not even the intricate system of bridges survived, leaving the entire thing completely bare. The floating cars and planes that the people entered in reminded Trunks vaguely of the cars he saw back on Earth 25 years ago when they were fighting Zanji. They had the basic designs of cars used back in the twenty and twenty first centuries, but without tires and the doors didn't use handles, they were electronic. In fact, the ones living on this planet didn't look as far from humans as most alien species did. They were a great deal shorter, probably only about 4 or 5 feet tall was the average here. The only other difference that Trunks could notice was that they had a long tail trailing behind them, with brown fur covering it from tip to bottom. Most of them wrapped the tails around their waists, which reminded Trunks of something vaguely, but he couldn't quite place what that was.

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Piccolo sat atop a mountain lying in the fields of Other World. The elevation was close to 58,000 feet, thinning the oxygen around him quite a bit. But as he was deep in meditation, it didn't bother him as much as it would have normally. He was going over what had happened nearly six months ago in his mind, when Diamao possessed his body and forced him to battle with the Z Warriors. He remembered when his heart was twisted with evil and dark desires, forcing his entire being to train and perfect fighting techniques against him. That one saiyan had once been the focal point of Piccolo's entire universe, entering his thoughts daily and his dreams nightly. And even then, at the pinnacle of his fighting power (at the time) Goku defeated him, leaving a gaping wound in his chest and a destroyed tournament stage around them. And then he served him a senzu bean. That damned mother fu... Piccolo took a few deep breaths and calmed himself. Ever since Diamao became part of his body, he found it difficult to contain rage sometimes. It was as if a piece of his heart blackened suddenly, forcing him back 250 years before the Saiyans came to earth. But he was learning to go around it, to change himself all over again. He was positive that anything was possible. Anything at all.

It took one small boy to change his heart before. And now his friends spanned greater then he could have ever imagined. He was well liked in Other World, and he held one of the most coveted positions of power in the entire universe. He was on the most elite fighting team ever created and now he ranked as one of the most powerful fighters in existence.

Yes. Life was good. Piccolo let a faint smile play across his lips. It wasn't very much, the muscles around his mouth barely contracting. It was invisible to anyone who hadn't spent years training and talking to him. Which meant it was invisible to everyone except one person. And at that very moment he was there, and saw it.

Gohan soared in the clouds, watching his first teacher. Hoping to protect him from any danger. Always.