Lord of the Dragonballs

by Riccy

Two Fellowships make their way across middle earth: The Fellowship of the Ring and the Fellowship of the balls. Both have very different tasks, but must join forces to defeat a common enemy.

13. Chapter13: A long expected battle pt1

Chapter 13: A long, expected battle pt1

Middle Earth darkened as night began to fall, but Mordor was covered by a darkness of its own, brightened only by the flames of it's fiery pits of magma that burst into light with the screams of the dead as a disobedient orc who had been foolish enough to be unable to carry out his orders was cast down as punishment. The smell of rotten flesh and boiling blood filled the air and rose as steam. Those with a keen sense of smell could distinguish it as man blood and those whose sense of smell was keener still, or perhaps were once friends of Gondor, could tell it was once the blood of men who fought bravely for their country. The few remaining orcs had carried some of the bodies back to watch them burn for their amusement. Their young captain, Faramir, was among the corpses. His blood now contributed to the putrid smell of the evil land and his flesh was blackened and molten. His blood boiled and rose to meet Goku's nose as the Saiyan hovered mere metres away from his nemesis, staring deep into his treacherous eyes. He alone could avenge their deaths and alone he would try.
Down below his friends hid from sight and masked their power levels so that the Dark Lord could not sense them. Whilst looking for a safe place to hide and watch the action, they stumbled across an unexpected friend. The man sat behind a large rock, clutching firmly to it as his entire body shook nervously. He whimpered quietly and seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move by some spell or his own fear. When he felt a cold tap on his shoulder it was all he could do not to scream.
"Hercule, what are you doing here?" asked Krillan.
The Champion breathed heavily and did not speak till he caught his breath once more. "I…I came with Majin Buu," he finally replied. "We came here to face…to face…him!"
He pointed at Vegeta who was hovering, cross-armed, some distance above them.
"Majin Buu?" Piccolo asked. "What business did he have here?"
Hercule turned and nervously played with his thumbs. "I kinda tricked him into fighting that guy," said the champ. "I'm sorry!" he added, terrified of the Namek.
"It's okay," replied Piccolo, unexpectedly. "You did the right thing. Majin Buu is strong and he bought us time. Where is he now anyway?"
"He…he…"Hercule could not find the words because doing so would force him to have to remember the last moments of his friend.
"Was he…defeated?" Krillan asked, nervously.
Hercule nodded.
Piccolo was disheartened, but not surprised. For a brief moment he had hoped that Buu was still alive and had managed to put up some kind of fight against Vegeta. But now as he looked at the Saiyan and saw he was unscathed, without so much as a bruise on his body, hope faded from his heart. He wished he had the power to help Goku and fight alongside him, but he knew he could never last a minute against Vegeta.
Krillan shuddered and feared the worst. He felt like crying out to Goku but stopped, realising how fatal this would be. Instead he turned to Piccolo for advise and waited for the Namek to give it. After a short time, he did.
"Our last hops is the dragonballs," he said at last. "If we can find them we can wish for the Ring to be destroyed."
"The Ring?" asked Hercule, not wanting to be excluded from the conversation, much as he would want to be excluded from any plan Piccolo could conceive."
"Don't ask," Piccolo replied. "The Dragonballs are here," he continued.
"The Dragonballs?" asked Hercule.
"Shut up," said Piccolo. "Anyway, as I was saying…Vegeta has six of the seven dragonballs here in his kingdom. If we can find them while he's being distracted by Goku, all we have to do is get the seventh ball and make our wish."
"Easier said than done! interrupted Krillan. "How do you suppose we find the dragonballs in this place without a radar?"
The Namek's eyes said it all.
"I'll go look for them," said Krillan through narrow eyes. His body hung lazily as he trudged off to begin his search.
"Don't slouch, Krillan!" Piccolo called after him. As the small man left, mumblings of 'Why am I always the dragonball finder?' could be heard till he was out of sight.
"Will he be okay?" Hercule asked with mock concern.
"He should be," replied Piccolo. "He's been in worse scrapes than this."

Finally Vegeta spoke. The two Saiyans had been locked in each other's gaze for what seemed an eternity before the Prince decided it was time for action. The fate of Middle Earth rested on the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
"Shall we do this then?" he asked. "I'm tiring of your presence. Hurry up and agree to fight or I'll show you the true extent of my power."
"You've been threatening to do that for years Vegeta," Goku replied. "You're never gonna do it though, you don't have the guts."
Vegeta scowled through narrow eyes and tried to lower his eyebrows further than was humanly (or Saiyanly) possible. When he found they would not lower any further without blinding himself it only served to fuel his anger.
"Don't tempt me, Kakorat," he said. "Even holding back I'm stronger than the full extent of my power was just a week ago."
Goku grinned and tightened his wristband, signalling that he was ready to fight. "Don't talk till you've faced a Super Saiyan 3, Vegeta!" he replied.
"Don't make me laugh, Kakorat!" said the Dark Prince. "Even as a regular Saiyan I'm more powerful than anything you could ever hope to achieve." The Ring sparkled around his neck where it was safely tucked away under his vest. "So, are you ready for the fight to end all fights?" he asked, arms and legs poised in battle mode.
"Yeah!" Goku replied, adjusting his body in a similar manner.
"Sure you don't want to turn into a Super Saiyan first to make the battle a little more even?" mocked Vegeta.
"I'm good," replied Goku. "Let's get this over with. You've terrorised Middle Earth long enough!"
With that last comment he threw a punch. Vegeta dodged it with a smile and they engaged in what would be the start of the most epic battle anyone had seen for a long time.

Hercule watched as Krillan journeyed deeper into the heart of Mordor, working his way slowly toward the dark tower of Barad Dur. He had been there not long ago, face pressed against the iron doors as his friend Buu bravely entered to face the Dark Lord. He shivered as he imagined what might happen to Krillan if he too entered the doors, but felt better as he remembered that Vegeta was no longer in the tower.
Krillan looked from side to side as he walked at a normal pace along the barren plains. There was a bridge ahead that led to a tower and he felt sure the dragonballs would be there if they were anywhere in this evil place. It was the centrepoint of the land and the tallest structure he could see for miles. More importantly though, it was nearby; Krillan could not be bothered to walk a long distance on his mission, especially when such an obvious location for his goal was right under his nose. He could have flown to the tower in a minute but felt the need to walk instead, more out of curiosity of exploration than fear, not that he didn't feel a deep fear inside of him. Piccolo was now out of sight and the start of the bridge was before him. As he stepped onto it he knew he was about to embark on a dangerous quest, alone.

The two powerful Saiyans locked their limbs in combat, each showering the other with a barrage of punches strong enough to take down a herd of buffalo. They were too strong to feel it though, each being considerably tougher than several hundred herds of buffalo, so the punches and kicks did not affect them. They flew symmetrically around a fixed point, always returning to clash in collisions that sent earthquakes throughout Mordor in a ripple effect that emanated from their bodies. Goku was well aware of how futile this exercise was, as was Vegeta, but it was necessary to learn the hidden strength each possessed in order to plan the remainder of the battle. So far both were doing a fantastic job of hiding their true power, much to their respective disappointments.
"Are you done warming up, Kakorat?" Vegeta asked, a hint of frustration showing in his voice.
"Not yet," replied Goku. He could sense his opponent's frustration and wanted it to grow; it increased the chances of Vegeta making a fatal error mid-battle that could benefit him greatly.
"Well I am!" Vegeta shouted. He flew some distance away and sent a barrage of ki pulses toward Goku, watching as the weaker Saiyan tried his best to avoid them. This was no an easy task though; Vegeta's speed and accuracy had increased dramatically since their last encounter, as Goku was now starting to realise. 'He wasn't bluffing!' he thought to himself, surprised due to the fact that Vegeta almost always overestimated the extent of his power. He raised his elbow to shield his face and was hurtled back into a wall as a stray pulse struck him with incredible force. Dust exploded in all directions as he fell from the indentation his body made in the cliff-face, free-falling to the ground.
"Noooo!" he screamed as he came to once more and stopped mid-air. "You can't be that powerful!" he shouted with an anger he rarely lost control of. "Kamehamehaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!"
The concentrated energy attack flew from his hands and enclosed Vegeta in its light as it exploded on him. However, the Saiyan remained unharmed. As the light cleared, his form could be clearly seen against the flames of Mordor as he stood, arms folded, grinning at his opponent. "Are you ready to go Super Saiyan yet?" he mocked.
Goku snared with gritted teeth at his opponent as an incredible aura grew around his body and quickly turned to a golden light. With one more loud explosion he turned Super Saiyan.

Meanwhile Krillan had reached the huge iron doors of Barad Dur. They shone brightly in the light of Mordor's flames as shadows bounced off them in haunting patterns. A crack of light emanated from between the two doors and shadows escaped this too, sending a chill down Krillan's spine. He knew he had an important task to complete, though, and this thought alone brought him to pry open the doors and enter the bright darkness.
At once a burst of light enveloped him and took him by surprise, blinding his eyes and momentarily startling him. When it cleared he entered and immediately noticed the over-sized throne that belonged to the Dark Lord. Ten foot high stained glass windows created light and made its focal point on Krillan's face, laughing silently as it did so and masking the remainder of the room until he was used to it. When he finally was, instruments of torture were revealed to him, used as ornaments to decorate the foul hall. Battle-axes stained with the blood of men, elves and dwarves alike hung from the walls, alongside scythes, scimitars and spears. These all dripped fresh blood in pools on the dusty floor where lay the organs of the dead in rotting heaps. This was not a pleasant room at all for any man to be in. It did not look at all welcoming and seemed to instil in its beholder the fear that soon their organs would join one of the many collections scattered about the floor. That is how Krillan now felt as his courage waned.
There was a door to the right, the only apparent exit to the room other than the main doors, unless the never-ending ceiling did end at some unimaginable height. The latter option did not matter, however, as flight was the last thing on Krillan's mind right now. Something told him to use the newly discovered door and he followed the instinct. He opened it and jumped as it closed behind him a little too fast for his liking. Thankfully, the room was void of life before he entered it. It was not as tall as the previous room, but just as big in all other dimensions. Paintings hung from the walls and not a drop of blood could be seen in this more conventionally decorated hall. There was, however, something more pleasing than that to Krillan's eye. The room could have been decorated with thousand year old rotting corpses for all he cared, for in the centre of the room, on six golden pedestals, sat the dragonballs. His eyes gleamed with a light even the one Ring would find hard to emulate, as he held back from shouting for joy and ran towards them.

"I knew you couldn't defeat me without turning Super Saiyan," laughed Vegeta. "Even that won't be enough though." The Ring lightened itself in approval of the statement, happy now to take a back seat and let its new master claim the power for his own. It hung obediently around his neck and made no effort to escape from the confines of Vegeta's vest. This owner was the most powerful It had ever had and he also knew best how to use the gift It had given to him. The Ring and Vegeta were the perfect partnership; not immortal yet, not indestructible yet, but still the greatest force Middle Earth had ever seen. Now they were teaming up to defeat Goku, the last obstacle in their path to immortality. Once they had all seven dragonballs their wish would be granted and nothing would ever be able to stop them. At the moment, though, it did not look like anything could anyway.
Goku scowled at his old nemesis, wondering where his new-found power could have come from. He was not completely taken in by the story of the Ring, unwilling to believe that an object so small could possess such an incredible force. Also, he could not see the Ring on Vegeta anywhere. These thoughts were useless though, as he soon came to realise. All that mattered now was attack, and that is what he did next. With blinding speed, he flew to Vegeta and threw a 'lucky' punch. It was the first he had landed since the start of the fight but did not move the Dark Lord. Vegeta stood, motionless, the grin still on his face, not having been wiped off from the powerful blow. He ran his hand across his mouth and returned the gesture more forcefully. Goku stumbled back mid-air and recovered, realising the landing of the punch had been intentional; Vegeta wanted to show him just how strong he had become, and he was doing a good a job of it thus far.
The fight got underway once more, both fighters having ended the brief period of intimidation. Goku engaged Vegeta in another bout of hand-to-hand combat, throwing punches and kicks towards him and blocking those returned. Neither Saiyan landed a blow but Goku was having the harder job keeping up. He waited for the stage in Vegeta's attack pattern where all blows could be avoided, and took the opportunity to zanzooken behind him, driving his elbow into the Saiyan's back. This too proved fruitless. Vegeta didn't even flinch as he quickly turned, grinned, and cloned his opponent's performance, sending him flying towards the ground.
"I don't mean to alarm you, Kakorat," he shouted, "But I've decided to turn Super Saiyan as well. Just for fun you'll understand. I wish to test my new power to an extent I haven't tried before."
Goku struggled to get up as Vegeta raised his arms and brought them down in a spectacular burst of light. His hair was golden and a similar coloured glow surrounded his body, same as always. But it was different this time; he may have looked the same, but he felt different to anyone who had the ability to sense his power. The Ring glowed too and supported the Dark Lord's decision. It transferred its power into his hand as he sent a small ki pulse to meet Goku as the Saiyan rose again. He turned to meet it as it exploded on his face, much to all but Vegeta's despair.

Krillan looked at the dragonballs with a look of amazement in his eyes. He had not seen one since his adventure in Isengard with Gohan, but now he was looking at six of the seven being displayed in a royal manner. They glowed with an orange light that shone throughout the room and overpowered the candles that were already being used to light it, each looking magnificent in the others presence. Krillan never ceased to be amazed at how each dragonball could look more beautiful beside another. Each one's beauty increased exponentially when placed beside more of them, and now he was looking at all but one, the one they had secured safely at Dende's lookout. He reached out and picked the five star dragonball up. It felt light in his hands, lighter than Vegeta would have guessed when he had picked it up. Krillan put it in his pocket and laughed.
"That was easy!" he exclaimed. It was a little early for optimism, however; as he reached for another, Khamul entered the room.
The black rider stood before Krillan and raised his glove covered black hand to him. It looked dark and sinister as it spoke from behind its hooded face in a deep, haunting voice.
"What are you doing with Lord Vegeta's dragonballs?" it asked.
Krillan was not sure what he should say. The Black Rider's power level was as invisible as its features so he had no idea if he was strong enough to defeat it. Physical confrontation was undesirable at any rate and had to be avoided unless necessary. His mission was to retrieve the dragonballs and he would do whatever was needed of him to complete it.
"I'm...uh…taking them…?" he said nervously.
"Why?" asked Khamul.
"Umm…good question," answered Krillan.
"Put them back," Khamul commanded.
"No," replied Krillan.
"Why?" asked Khamul.
Suddenly Krillan found his courage again. His annoyance at Khamul's obvious and unintelligent line of questioning had angered him to the point where physical confrontation with the Rider was now very desirable. After all, it was hard for him to fear something so apparently stupid.
"I'm taking these for the good of Middle Earth! They don't belong here with Vegeta!" he shouted as his body moved into his standard attack formation.
"I'm under orders from Lord Vegeta not to let anyone touch the dragonballs," Khamul replied. "If you don't put them back, I'll be forced to destroy you!"
Krillan decided to test that theory. He picked up another dragonball and watched as Khamul took a step closer. Then proceeding to put it in his pocket, he saw the Nazgul approach him quicker, its invisible face giving the impression of a menacing visage. Krillan stepped back and somersaulted over himself as the Rider grabbed for him and missed. They both repeated the pattern before the former felt a strange sensation occur inside his head and turned. For a moment there had been another life force in the room, small but significant. This was a force he had felt before and he knew before he could remember who it belonged to that he did not want to feel it again. 'Saruman!' he thought to himself and turning, noticed the dragonballs were gone.

Meanwhile the People's Champ trembled against the rock he had been hiding behind for hours. He felt alone despite the unhelpful presence of Piccolo which did nothing to calm his nerves as the Namek's were as still as the rest of his body. He was reminded of the Cell Games and how courageous he had been, throwing Android 16's head to the young boy, risking detection by Cell. That was without a doubt his shining moment of glory in his own mind. Of course, staying to watch the rest of the Cell Games from behind a rock, similar to the one he was cowering behind now, had also been courageous in his opinion. After all, so many watched from home, but he was there in person risking his own life for no good reason other than the chance to fool millions into believing he was something he wasn't, and still isn't.
His body shook now, much like it did throughout the duration of that tournament all these years ago. He sneaked a peek at the man who was now doing his job for him. The man seemed strangely familiar. Hercule was sure he had seen him somewhere before, possibly on more than one occasion. The Champ wasted little time on the thought though; there was cowering to be done and he could see Piccolo wasn't going to do it.

The battle raged on, greater and more powerful than ever. Once Goku had risen again, he flew back to Vegeta and quickly zanzookened behind him once more. As the Saiyan turned to find him, Goku transported back and sent a kamehameha at him. It hit, much to the surprise of both of them, but the impact was too small to do any major damage. Strength had to be sacrificed for speed in this battle, at least on Goku's part, but would that be enough to finish Vegeta?
The Dark Lord circled Goku, punching rapid ki blasts in his general direction. All either missed or were deflected. With renewed confidence in the small turn of events, Goku knew it was time to regain his former strength and fight dirty. Reaching into his pocket he took out a sensu bean, his second last, and swallowed it, immediately feeling the effects of the strange food. Blood began to pump faster and harder through his veins as his muscles realised the true extent of their power once more and jumped into action. As the rest of his body followed suit, he flew to Vegeta and landed a mighty punch in the Saiyan's mid-section. The Dark Lord stumbled back, winded momentarily, then delivered a punch of his own. It was blocked and returned with a kick to the same area, of equal pressure. Vegeta gasped in both pain and astonishment, but it wasn't long before his shock turned into anger. He exploded in fury and allowed himself to turn Super Saiyan 2. His adversary smiled and allowed him also, pleased at the measures he had forced Vegeta to resort to. His grin remained on the inside but even showing the greatest amount of restraint, he felt the need to subtly boast.
"I see the Ring has given you strength Vegeta, but what about your skills? Have they improved?"
Vegeta snarled and answered the question, despite its rhetorical nature.
"Yes!" he lied. "What the Ring has taught me you can never know! Who trained you Kakorat? Your Grampa? Master Roshi? Kami? King Kai? What use are the skills you learnt from them compared to the techniques I spent my entire life learning on our home planet, and continued to apply to create new attacks? You don't even use half of these attacks! You rely solely on the Kamehameha and other such inferior techniques. Can you really hope to defeat all that I have achieved and the Ring?"
"You've strayed off the subject Vegeta," Goku answered. "Those aren't skills you're talking about. Those are techniques, as you said yourself. Can you monitor the strength and patterns in an opponent's attacks though? Can you plan ahead and create tactics worthy of winning a fight even if they don't? I don't think you have the patience Vegeta!"
There was no verbal reply Vegeta could think to answer his nemesis. His mind was too filled with rage to bother as he prove Goku's theory by running headfirst back into the battle with his fists. They were easily blocked, giving Goku reason to gloat once more. This time, however, he didn't.

Both doors to the hall were open but Krillan could sense Saruman's life force growing further from the back exit. The Nazgul was confused and did not know what had happened to the dragonballs, but he wasted no time trying to figure it out. Instead he ran for the door he had come through, looking in every direction at once.
"Thieves! Usurpers!" he screamed on his journey, and Krillan could hear his cries diminish as he travelled deeper into the tower.
"Some trick of elvish magic or an unknown sorcery had crossed my guard! It shall not be allowed to leave unnoticed!" was the final cry that could be heard from the hall that was not now so bright since the disappearance of the dragonballs.
"Wait for me!" was Krillan's cry as he chased the Nazgul.
With his superior speed and ability to track beings by their life force, it was not long before Krillan reached his target. The Rider was charging down the corridors of the lower levels of Barad-Dur, looking all ways at once for his own target. He sensed another presence and stopped in his tracks to turn, but it was only Krillan.
"Why are you following me?" it asked.
Krillan was not happy at the tone of its voice. He had chased the Nazgul primarily to help it as they shared the same goal. He knew since Saruman was enemy to them both it made no sense to make enemies of each other, but apparently his new 'friend' didn't share his view.
"You have no idea where you're going!" exclaimed Krillan. "How do you expect to find the thief without a proper plan?"
The Nazgul's anger grew quickly as it neared Krillan, looming menacingly over him. "And I suppose you have one, do you?" it asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," Krillan announced. "Follow me!"
And with that Khamul needed no further clarification. He followed Krillan on through the corridors and whichever way he took from then on.
"Where are we going?" Khamul asked after a short time of running, seemingly pointlessly, through the tower. He was beginning to lose patience and now lacked the confidence he had blindly allowed himself to have in Krillan's plan. "We've been running in circles!" he snarled.
'I know,' thought Krillan to himself. 'Why though? I'm following Saruman's life force every step of the way. I feel we're gaining on him yet we're repeating our steps now.'
"Answer me!" demanded the Nazgul, stopping Krillan's train of thought. They both stopped and had a short rest.
"I know who he is," Krillan explained. "I don't know how he found the dragonballs or why he wants them but I know how dangerous he is and which direction he's heading in. If we don't follow him faster he'll soon be undetectable."
"Explain," demanded the Nazgul, but Krillan did not. He began to run again, followed by Khamul as he picked up Saruman's trail. Once more the power became stronger and felt closer as they headed into a new area they had not visited before. Now Khamul could smell the scent of the dragonballs, but he did not tell Krillan. The latter knew how close they were anyway and did not need the Rider's help. He stopped again and listened.
"The culprit's through that door," he whispered so that only Khamul could hear him.
'I know,' thought the Rider to itself.
"On the count of three. One…two…three!"
They opened the door and ran into a large room, much like the hall where the dragonballs had been held captive by Vegeta. In it stood a withered man, hunched over himself and cloaked with a long, tattered robe. He looked round and immediately recognised Krillan. There was no despair in his look though, nor fear. Only sorrow and misery could be seen in his eyes. Krillan looked into those eyes and confirmed his suspicion. It was Saruman all right, and he began to feel hatred and pity all at once.

Goku outstretched his arms and calmly powered up to the next level of Super Saiyan. He felt confident he could defeat Vegeta in normal Super Saiyan form but could not allow himself to take the risk since a misjudgement could increase Vegeta's own confidence and inspire him to power down or worse yet, up; if that was possible.
They collided and began a session of violent blows that carried them from the plains to the nearby cliffs to the mountains at the very borders of Mordor. As they approached the latter, both Saiyans felt the darkness subside and the rain become softer on their skin. This was not a luxury they could get used to, however, as Goku had to be careful not to take the fight any closer to Gondor. With a quick turn he kicked Vegeta off him and smacked him hard into the valleys below, at the foot of the long mountain range but on the right side of Mordor. Once more the darkness took them and once more the flames rose to solve that problem. Goku stole a glance at Middle Earth before returning to the battle. It looked so calm and peaceful, but why shouldn't it? The only evil that remained outwith the Realm of Mordor comprised of two of the three remaining Nazgul who were now headed to Rohan. He could see Rohan though he did not know it. He could see Gondor too, before him, and far off to the north-east, the vast forest of Mirkwood. To the west of the north lay the Shire, home to the hobbits, few of which he had made acquaintance with. And beyond that more elvish land and the Gray Havens. All this he took in and allowed to calm his soul before turning again to the East to finish his task. Vegeta had risen and was angrier than ever now. He let out a large blast as he flew to Goku, hoping the three would meet at the same time.
The blast was approaching fast and had to be dealt with first. Goku deflected it and turned back to Vegeta, who was closer and had a punch readied. It landed, sending Goku to the valleys where he proceeded to skid across to the plains where the battle had started. Vegeta kicked him along whenever he would slow down in his journey. With an unexpected surge of energy, he jumped to his feet and resumed the fight. He powered up another kamehameha and sent it towards the Dark Lord who sent a small pulse to collide with it. The plan worked and nothing happened, bar a small explosion. Hidden behind the dust, Vegeta powered up another blast. Goku did likewise, though not a kamehameha this time. This was a smaller, faster beam that equalled Vegeta's in strength. They met and came to a standstill as each Saiyan pumped more energy into his attack. Goku was weakening fast and felt his body being forced back as Vegeta prove the stronger of the two. The latter laughed and sent a sudden bolt of electricity through his beam as the Ring glowed brighter and channelled more of Its power into Its master. It overpowered Goku, who was sent flying across the land only to land in a crater formed by his own body.
'Only…one more…bean,' he thought to himself, but the argument in his mind was over before it had started. He could not move and was breathless. The last attack had drained him of the last of his energy and if he did not take the bean now the fight would be over as soon as Vegeta found him. He struggled to reach into his pocket and retrieve the last sensu bean. As he put it in his mouth, he knew it was now or never. If he could not defeat the Dark Lord now, he never would.
Vegeta had found him and approached slowly giving him the time he needed to perform his final transformation. With an explosion that took out the nearest cliffs and sent a shock-wave through all the surrounding magma chambers and fiery lakes, Goku powered up to his maximum, his hair growing to several times its normal length in place of his eyebrows, the golden aura circling his body becoming infinitely brighter and his muscles reflecting the strength they now possessed, as he became a Super Saiyan 3.