Chapter 32: power
Capsule Corp was just as busy as ever when a certain couple touched down and they were quickly ushered towards Bulma's labs.
Bulma looked up from the screen she had been using to monitor the dragons and Z gang members, and frowned as they came in.
"Well, well. It's about time you got here. I thought I said hurry, not glacier speed." Bulma greeted, smirking at her son and Zara.
"Do you mind not mentioning anything to do with ice?" Zara asked sheepishly, obviously having enough after her encounter with the ice dragon. Bulma lent back in her chair as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I could but I think I'd rather just say I told you so." the scientist replied and then smiled.
"Now I should have a job for you if you're feeling all right and the others agree with me. Why don't you go join them so that I can start this meeting?" she finished and Trunks and Zara noticed all of the others - except for Goku - sitting or standing round the room.
"Aren't we going to wait for dad?" Gohan asked from his seat with his family as the young couple took their seats next to Goten. Bulma smiled at the scholar.
"I don't think its necessary. Besides, I think it'll be better to surprise him later." She replied and Gohan shared a curious glance with the others.
"Just what are you up to, onna?" Vegeta asked from his corner. Bulma didn't answer right away and instead made her way over to another computer console.
"Before we left planet Plant after Bebi was destroyed, I made a copy of all the files in my lab. They were mainly security tapes and schematics and I've been studying all of them lately." She explained as she pulled up a recording of Goku going golden Oozaru on to the monitor. She watched the short clip before going through the files.
"Not long ago I found this file and it helped me come up with an explanation for Goku's new transformation. It's really only a theory though but hopefully I'll be able to prove it right." She finished.
"What do you mean 'explanation'? Didn't he just get strong enough to use it?" Goten asked, confused and Bulma shock her head.
"Not quite. I think that you need to be at least past the basic super saiyan level to achieve this transformation; it's just hard to determine since Goku could go all the way to the third level."
"Onna, this isn't making any sense. What did you find?" Vegeta asked and Bulma turned to her mate.
"I found a clip of how exactly Goku transformed." She explained and then brought it up on the monitor.
Pan had been showing a photograph to a golden Oozaru Goku and after he had stared at it for sometime, he slapped her away to get a clear view of the earth again. Pan almost hit the floor but managed to stop just in time and stared up at her grandpa. She had been sure that would work…
She slowly floated back up to him and stared at the big monkey that was hiding her grandpa inside. She couldn't take much more of this…
"Please remember grandpa. Please?" she begged him, her eyes welling up. Goku glanced back at her and noticed a single tear rolling down her cheek. It dripped off of her chin and onto his out stretched finger. He stared at it almost curiously and then back at the earth. Then something snapped inside him. He knew whom he was and what he had to do. It all fell into place and he could feel something deep within him. He just had to let it out…
Goku transformed.
"Goku can't control his Oozaru form so his full power was out on display the whole time, but to access the transformation he needed something or someone – namely Pan – to remind him of who he was so that he could regain his control and start transforming. So I would think that it's safe to assume that any super saiyan or higher with control in their Oozaru form could transform a stage further." Bulma explained as soon as the clip had finished. Silence filled the room as everyone else took in this information and a smirk played on a certain saiyan prince's lips.
"Onna, are you suggesting what I think you are? That you could transform every saiyan in this room?" Vegeta asked, staring at his wife. Bulma nodded with a triumphant smirk on her face. Vegeta actually grinned at this and balled his hand into a fist.
"Ha! I shall become a super saiyan four and will be once again on an even playing field with Kakarot! His time as the strongest is coming to an end!" he declared and then noticed his wife.
"Sorry to interrupt your little celebration, dear, but 'super saiyan four'?" she asked, frowning. Vegeta raised a brow, losing his grin.
"Yes, what's wrong with super four?" he asked.
"Well it doesn't make much sense, now does it. It doesn't resemble a super saiyan at all and there is nothing to indicate it as the forth super saiyan level!" she exclaimed and Vegeta turned to properly face her with his arms folded across his chest in a commanding stance.
"Well what would you prefer me call it?" he asked and Bulma matched his stance.
"Evolved Oozaru, or Evo Oozaru for short." She replied and Vegeta scoffed.
"And how does that fit? It's the fourth transformation a saiyan can do that we have discovered so it should be super saiyan four." He returned calmly. Bulma began to glare.
"Super saiyan four is not scientifically correct. Evo Oozaru is as this transformation is obviously an evolved form of Oozaru that's built to handle the massive amount of power more effectively. Plus you need to go through Oozaru to achieve it in the first place! Besides, I worked out the theory behind it so shouldn't I be the one to name it?" she shot back. Vegeta smirked.
"No, Saiyan custom states that royalty has more of a right to name discoveries like this and I am the prince of all saiyans. It's Super saiyan four." Vegeta responded triumphantly. Bulma was about to retaliate when Trunks decided he had had enough of watching his parents 'verbal spar' (which was just a fancy way of saying squabble).
"Mother! Do you mind explaining just how you expect to turn us all in to super-er…give us this new transformation when most of us don't have tails or control in Oozaru?" he asked and Bulma turned to him with a relaxed look.
"I have two solutions for that. The first thing is to use a Brutze wave generator like the one I fixed on Plant and the second is to use psychic imagery on the uncontrolled Oozarus to make them remember and regain control, but only if Zara is willing to cooperate." Bulma replied and then shot a frown at her husband.
"And I'm going to refuse calling this new transformation super saiyan four. Its Evo Oozaru so there!" she shot at him and wore a triumphant grin whilst everyone else sweat dropped.
"So I'm going to have to try and keep a fully grown and probably angry Oozaru at bay whilst trying to snap some sense into him? No problem." Zara said slightly sarcastically, breaking the awkward silence that had settled after Bulma's little proclamation. Trunks put his arm round Zara and smiled reassuringly.
"I'm sure you could handle it and we'll all be there to help out. Besides, having all saiyans in super four/Evo Oozaru will be really beneficial. It'll be a lot easier defending the earth like that." He told her and Zara nodded before Goten broke in.
"That and Dad won't be able to go on at us about not being strong enough." He added, sporting a Son grin that probably would have done his father proud. The aspect of getting so much stronger had all of the saiyans excited.
Zara smirked at her two demi-saiyan friends.
"You don't have to tell me twice, I'm all for you guys getting stronger. It's just that holding off a sub super three and a super two gone Oozaru isn't exactly a walk in the park. And don't even get me started on Gohan and his whole mystic thing." She told them.
"Actually, I'm not sure I will transform." Gohan said, earning stares from all round the room.
"I just don't know how it would work with Mystic. If I go Oozaru then it might be like combining super saiyan with mystic and that could be catastrophic. Besides, I have something else in mind for me." He quickly explained with a quick glance at Zara but he refused to enlighten them on just what he had in mind at that point in time.
He didn't really have time to anyway as Goku suddenly appeared in the middle of the room in his super saiyan four form. He looked round at everyone frantically and then settled on Bulma.
"Bulma! Quickly, we don't have much time, where are the Dragonballs?" he asked. The aged scientist blinked before turning to the little trolley on the other end of the room.
"They're right there, why-" she started but was interrupted when the wall on her right exploded inwards and sent not only her but everyone else and most of the electrical equipment into the wall opposite.
Goku was the first to jump to his feet and what he saw when he got there was enough to really get him panicked. Syn Shenron was in the lab and had already gotten to the Dragonballs. The dragon now held out the five-star ball, absorbing it just like he had already managed to do to the two and seven starred balls. Syn laughed when he saw the hero's face and the five-star ball sank into his hand and appeared in his chest with the other balls.
By this point all of the other fighters had climbed to their feet and Gohan was helping up his mother and wife whilst Goten helped Marron. Goku glanced at them, frowning.
"You guys have to get out of here! Now!" He yelled at them.
"But Goku-!" Zara started but Bulma stopped her.
"Teleport us to Plant! We should be able to get back up there since most of the Dragonballs are back to normal!" she hissed and Zara hesitated before making sure that everyone except for Goku and Syn were connected to herself or Uub. She bit her lip and then both she and Uub vanished along with all of the others, leaving only Goku and Syn in the lab.
Syn allowed the six-star Dragonball to sink into his skin as he smirked at the heroic saiyan before him.
"How noble of you, making your friends leave like that. I'm surprised you didn't take them yourself but I suppose you'd rather take me down." Syn commented. Goku narrowed his eyes as he stared at Syn. The Dragonballs were now all blue again and arranged on the dragon's chest as a row of three sandwiched between two rows of two. And then Syn's power level had risen dramatically so that it was even higher then anything Goku had ever sensed before and he knew that Syn was probably hiding more.
"What can I say? I like to see things through." Goku replied and sank into a tight stance. Syn laughed at this.
"Do you really believe that you stand a chance? I'm no longer a lowly dragon. I am THE dragon, Omega Shenron: the most powerful in the universe! You won't stand a chance." The dragon replied.
"Well we'll see about that." Goku shot back. Omega smirked.
"Very well."
Omega lunged forward in a movement far too fast for Goku to track, and the dragon slammed his fist into the saiyan's jaw. Goku was sent flying threw roof of the lab before Omega appeared above him and attempted to kick the saiyan towards the centre of the city. Goku just managed to twist round in time to block the kick but Omega's skin became blazing hot and Goku had to quickly withdraw.
"That's Nuova's power…" Goku muttered to himself and Omega laughed.
"Yes it is. Absorbing the Dragonballs gave me the powers of the other dragons. They're actually quite useful, such as this one," the dragon explained and then quickly fired five white blasts at Goku which hit the saiyan's arms, legs and torso, completely freezing them in a coating of ice. Goku gasped and looked up at Omega in time to see the dragon creating a ball of electricity in his cupped hands. The dragon smirked and fired the electric ball at Goku who had no choice but to be hit. Goku gritted his teeth in pain before he powered up and broke apart the ice. He then charged at the dragon, who moved aside before throwing something that could only be described as razor sharp air at Goku. The air left a rather large gash on Goku's arm after he attempted to dodge and the he was left grabbing his arm in pain.
"Let me see, that's the 5, 3 and 6 star dragons. Do you need a further demonstration?" Omega asked mockingly. Goku frowned at the dragon. Things didn't look good. Omega was only playing with him and what Goku could sense off the dragon was over shadowing his own power. Son Goku was going to need help.
The large group of people landed in a heap outside the building on Plant that Bulma had been using as a lab. Everyone quickly scrambled off of each other and looked around.
"We're back here? How come?" Pan asked as she took in the red skies and rocky terrain.
"Because there's no one here that would be hurt by a couple of rogue Oozaru's, that's why." Zara explained as Trunks helped her up. Gohan looked towards the earth, which could be easily seen in the sky.
"I just want to know how we got here. I thought there was a barrier stopping anything from getting to or off Earth." He commented.
"Simple, since you guys managed to get all but one Dragonball to return to normal, the barrier disappeared." Bulma explained.
"And its not going back up, but I can sense a huge evil energy coming from west city and it's way above Goku's." Trunks added.
"All the more reason for us all to reach level four! When do we start?" Pan asked, rubbing her hands together eagerly. The others all looked at Pan and Bra hesitantly before Videl spoke up.
"I don't think you two should reach this level just yet." She said softly. Pan's jaw dropped.
"What? Why not?" she asked and Videl looked to Chichi for help.
"You're just not ready yet and it'll be dangerous. Let the adults handle the dragons and transformation, we don't want you getting hurt." The elder woman explained and Pan started grumbling to herself. Zara turned to Bulma.
"But Pan's right though, the dragon is a lot more powerful then Goku so we better hurry with this transforming thing." She explained and the scientist nodded before leading everyone into the building.
Bulma hurried to a control panel in the dusty room and started working on the controls. The sounds of mechanical gears moving could be heard as the rebuilt satellites moved into position out side. Bulma had bought this building along with the land needed to build a capsule corporation warehouse and the black star's vault. She had fixed it up and was now glad that she had. They now had a ready-made Brutze wave generator.
Bulma turned to the group of saiyans behind her.
"Ok, we'll have to do this one at a time so that you'll be easier to control and also to give Zara a break from using her telepathy on you. I think that Vegeta should go first as he has control in his Oozaru form." She told the group. The others nodded and Vegeta flew outside to where the generator could work on him. Bulma then turned back to the console and typed in some commands. The satellites on top of the building adjusted slightly and Bulma hesitated as she stared at the button that would start the generator.
"Here goes nothing." She muttered and pressed it. The generator whirled to life and the satellites began to glow with a green light. Vegeta smirked before the light radiated out and hit him.
The changes came almost instantly. His face grew out into a snout; his eyes became completely red as he lost his pupils and irises and finally brown fur spread across his body. As he could control his Oozaru form, he didn't become a golden Oozaru right away as he controlled the amount of power he had on display but it didn't take long for him to power up and his fur to become golden.
Vegeta took a mount to take in the power he was radiating before he moved on to the next stage. He could feel a deep reservoir of energy within him and he had to let it out…
The changes came just as they had with Goku. Vegeta let out a mighty roar as his power began to increase and his body shrank. His fur went back to brown, although it was slightly darker then Goku's. His face contorted back into its original saiyan appearance and his eyes became similar to that of a super saiyan, only red instead of teal. His hair then returned to its flame like appearance and lengthened out so that he now had hair draping across his shoulders.
Vegeta let out a long sigh as he relaxed and then looked over himself. All that was missing was the tail but that didn't seem very important.
Cheering could be heard from inside the building. Bulma was grinning to herself over the success of her husband's transformation and everyone else was crowding round the windows.
"Alright! Dad's gone super four…or whatever we're calling it! And he looks way better then Goku does as well." Bra noted, grinning. Pan frowned at her friend.
"You're joking, grandpa Goku is the best in that form and you'll see it when grandpa beats that evil dragon." she told Bra.
"You're dreaming." The other girl replied and Pan crossed her arms stubbornly.
"No I'm not! Besides, appearance isn't everything. I bet Grandpa's stronger." She replied and two aged women exchanged a glance.
"It looks like looks aren't the only thing that passed on." Chichi commented and Bulma nodded, secretly agreeing with her daughter.
Vegeta floated back through the window and into the centre of the room, smirking the whole time. The others admired the new transformation before Bulma stepped forward.
"I think it'll probably be less energy consuming for you to return to normal. You're going to need your energy to fight that dragon." Bulma pointed out. Vegeta decided that his wife was right but was hesitant about dropping out of the transformation. He eventually did so but frowned as soon as he was back to normal.
"Now what's wrong?" Bulma asked. Vegeta frowned and increased his power just to get nothing.
"I can't transform again." He stated and looked up at his wife who was now positively stumped. She didn't see any reason as to why he wouldn't be able to transform again.
"Maybe its because he lost his tail?" Trunks suggested and Bulma felt like slapping herself.
"Of course! It's the tail that sustains the Oozaru transformation so it's probably the same with Evo Oozaru!" she explained.
"Super saiyan four…" Vegeta corrected her but she ignored him.
"I could try and grow back your tails with some especially designed hormones but all of my equipment for that is back on earth and I have no idea how long it will take." She continued.
"It doesn't matter, they'll just have to fight with out tails. They'll just have to hold that dragon off until I can execute my plan." Gohan explained. Goten stared at his brother curiously.
"What are you up to, Gohan? What plan?" he asked.
"I'll tell you later, right now all you have to know is that it doesn't look good for dad. That dragon is more then strong enough to handle one super saiyan four and dad is going to need all the help he can get in defeating him. You guys better all become super fours and leave me to worry about my part." Gohan replied and wouldn't say anymore. Instead Bulma moved onto transforming her husband again.
Goku panted as he stared at Omega Shenron. This dragon was next to impossible to hit! And Omega only seemed to be getting stronger.
"You look a little tired. Is this too much for your feeble little body to handle?" Omega mocked. Goku smirked at the dragon.
"Nah, I'm only just getting started." Goku replied and then instant translocated in front of the dragon and tried to hit him with a barrage of punches, kicks and any other attack Goku could think of at light speeds, all of which Omega effortlessly dodged before he grabbed Goku's final kick.
"Looks like you need a little pick me up already then." Omega smirked before tossing the saiyan up into the air the materialising at his side and kicking him through several buildings. Goku just managed to turn himself round and stop when Omega appeared in front of him and let lose a fireball right into Goku's face. Goku cried out in pain before he was kicked right into the ground 10 stories below.
Omega floated down to the crater Goku had made and peered into it. The saiyan had already disappeared and Omega quickly looked for the saiyan before he heard something above him.
"Ka…me…ha…me…HA!" Goku screamed and Omega looked up to see the ki wave hurtling towards him. He didn't move and when the beam exploded, it took the whole business district with it. Goku waited patiently for the smoke to subside, already knowing what he'd see. When he could finally get a clear view, Omega could be clearly seen standing casually in an enormous crater completely unharmed.
"Good light show." Omega commented. Goku growled at the dragon before he sensed something far off. Goku glanced towards the sphere in the sky that was planet plant.
What are they doing up there? He wondered.
Zara grunted as she dodged another mouth blast from the golden Oozaru that was her boyfriend. She steered to the left just as an over sized paw slammed into the ground, barely missing her. She growled then watched the brown blur that was super saiyan four Vegeta barge into the giant monkey's stomach.
"Come on girl! What are you waiting for?" the saiyan prince called to her and she frowned at him.
"It's not that easy when there's a giant monkey around trying to step on you!" she yelled back at him then focused. She needed to draw up the right memory to try and give Trunks back his control. And it wasn't all that easy, so far she had forced him to re-live a host of childhood memories but nothing was working.
She continued to mentally shift through Trunks's somewhat jumbled mind when she noticed something within herself. She wasn't sure what it was at first then she realised that they were emotions but not her own. She hadn't recognised it at first as she wasn't an experienced empath and they weren't very strong but then she realised that what she was feeling was Trunks's emotions. This confused her as she'd never before experienced someone else's emotions but she decided to use it to her own advantage and not worry about why it was there.
She subconsciously held on to the bite mark Trunks had left on her shoulder whilst she shifted through his memories with more success now that she was paying attention to his emotions. It didn't take long for her to bring up the right memory. It was of when they made up just after he had rescued her from Eis Shenron's ice and not long after it had played all the way through, Trunks began to shrink. His fur turned a dark brown like Vegeta's and his hair became lavender again, growing out to his shoulders and soon he had completely transformed in to a super saiyan four.
Trunks looked over himself quickly and then at Zara as she touched down in front of him. She quickly swept her eyes over him and smiled.
"Well you did it." She commented. Trunks rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well yea. And…?" he asked. Zara's smiled broadened and she stepped up to him.
"I like it." She told him and quickly leant in for a kiss. When they were done they became very aware of everyone watching them.
"Say, isn't it Goten's go?" Trunks asked no one in particular to try and draw attention away from him and Zara.
"It better be. Dad probably won't hold out for long and there's no way Trunks gets to be this much more powerful then me!" Goten called and quickly dropped into the courtyard they were using.
Goku was on the run. Omega was proving to be too strong for one super saiyan four to handle so he needed time to re group and form a new strategy. So far he wasn't having much luck.
Goku had found an abandoned building to hide in and was trying to suppress his power level with little luck. The entire left wall caved in as Omega stepped into the building, showing Goku how futile it was too hide. Omega was always going to find him.
Goku growled at the dragon before trying to instant translocate out of the building. Omega had other ideas and materialised in front of the saiyan, executing a flawless axe kick. Goku raised his arm to block but the dragon quickly shifted his wait and kicked Goku's side, sending him through the wall. He was still travelling backwards when Omega appeared above him and thrust his fist towards the saiyan. Goku had no time to block and was hit. Omega fired a blast into the saiyan's chest and continued to fire as Goku fell towards the floor but he disappeared before he hit it. Omega frowned and disappeared himself.
Goku was hiding down an alley, trying to catch his breath when Omega materialised in front of him, hanging upside down in mid air so that he could look right into Goku's eyes. Goku flinched, expecting an attack but what he wasn't expecting was for it to come from below. The ground beneath him glowed before a blast shot up from its surface, blasting Goku into the air. He tried to regain control of his flight but Omega appeared beside him and kicked the saiyan in the gut, changing the saiyan's direction. The dragon sped past the saiyan and spin-kicked him to another point of the city before appearing above the saiyan and slamming him into the ground.
Goku clenched his fists, scooping up some dirt, as he was lying faced down in a small impact crater. Things were really not looking good.
Goten let out a mighty roar as his power levelled off. He was now standing in the centre of the courtyard in full super saiyan four mode. He let out a long sigh and relaxed, taking in his new transformation.
Bulma watched Goten and then turned to the older Son man standing next to her.
"Gohan, are you sure you don't want to transform like the others?" she asked and he shook his head.
"I have something better in mind which should hopefully be better. I just need a little help." He explained and then went out of the window to meet the others. He quickly complimented Goten on his new transformation and then pulled Zara aside.
"I wanted to ask you about your little dome shield technique. It's not like other ki shields, is it?" He asked. She raised her brow and looked at him curiously.
"No, it isn't. Why?" she asked. Gohan only nodded thoughtfully.
"How much energy is needed to sustain it? I need to know how big a strain it is to use." He told her.
"Not much, really it depends on the person I guess. It's only ever a big strain if someone is trying to get through. Why do you ask?"
"I need to learn it." He replied, smiling. Zara blinked and tilted her head to the side.
"What, right now? Isn't defeating that dragon more important?" she asked.
"It'll go towards defeating him." Gohan explained. Zara's confused expression prompted him into explaining.
"I think I know of a way to combine my mystic form with super saiyan, the only problem is that the energy produced is too high. Every time I attempt it, it feels like the planet might actually break apart. I've tried a number of ki shields to try and keep the energy in with me but as they are ki based themselves, it doesn't exactly work. The energy build up is too great and they become destructive. But the one you use is different. I've seen you hold off enemies that are way stronger then you with it, like when we were battling Super 17. Then no one has ever been able to sense you whilst you were behind the shield, which has led me to believe that its not a ki shield and it will be able to contain my power. In theory if I use that then the ki its made of won't become too strong and lash out and destroy everything in comes into contact with, since its not actually ki." He explained. Zara nodded, frowning.
"You're right, it's not ki exactly. There's some ki mixed in but I also use some of my telekinetic ability to strengthen it. You would have to learn how to use telekinesis before you could even attempt a small shield and there isn't enough time if you want to use it in fighting that dragon." She told him.
"Time is not an issue. When Dende wished the earth back after Kid Buu had destroyed it, the hyperbolic time chamber was reset. We can use that whilst the others keep the dragon busy." he replied.
"Look, Gohan, to be honest with you I don't know how long it'll take. You'll need to have developed telekinesis for this and I don't know if even a saiyan could master it fast enough." She said softly.
"Well then we'll have to risk it. It's the only way I can think of that might actually give us enough power to finish this." He replied and could see Zara contemplating this as she focused on the dragon's energy signature. Finally she let out a long sigh.
"Fine then, Gohan. I'll teach you how to do the shield and telekinesis, but you better win if it works." She told him and Gohan flashed her the son grin.
"I don't exactly plan on losing." He replied. Zara nodded but she was still worried. They now had a plan but they still had no idea if it would work. Only time could tell…
A/N: well this was longer then I thought it would be. So what do you all think of my plan? Think someone guessed the Gohan part ages ago but no one seemed to think of everyone going to the forth level. Why should Goku and Vegeta have all the fun? : D
Reviews:
Chi: I have no idea, oh well. He's actually started fighting now and it is different. Goku's still hiding but their not in an amusement park…
and a day late isn't that bad, least you r&r (hint to other people…heh…)
Rejhan: I know, might have been nice to have them get together sooner. Least their together now, I could have been mean and carried on messing with them. Then I mentioned/hinted on part of the bond here in this chapter. I'll go on to explain it properly after the omega show down.
Darksupersaiyan: close, he will fight Goku and Vegeta. Least you took a guess, that much deserves a metaphoric cookie.
Trugeta: thanks, and I guess your guess is close too. I've shown everyone my big plan in this chapter so you'll probably be able to guess how it'll finish now.