Chapter 5: Panic! Devil is unstoppable!

At the same time, in the lookout...

(Hurry up, Mister Popo! The others are in SERIOUS trouble here!) Dende thought.

"Dende!"

Dende turned around, his eyes widened as he saw Mister Popo! He was flying on his magical carpet. Mister Popo landed on the platform and stood up. He was holding the Dragonballs in his hands.

"Mister Popo! You've got all the seve...hey wait, where's the seventh ball?" Dende asked.

He suddenly felt very afraid. Mister Popo put down the Dragonballs and took of his turban. And there, was the last Dragonball!

"I didn't want to risk summoning the dragon, so I put this Dragonball in my turban." Mister Popo explained.

Dende nodded.

"Good. Now, put the seventh Dragonball down beside the other Dragonballs but not too close!" Dende said.

Mister Popo nodded and did as he was told. He walked up to Dende and looked at him.

"What now, Dende?" Mister Popo asked.

Dende shook his head.

"I don't really know Mister Popo. All we can do is pray." Dende said.

"Oh! But why did you ask me to collect the Dragonballs?" Mister Popo asked.

Dende looked at him.

"The Dragonballs are our absolute last insurance. If the others were to die, then we could use the Dragonballs to revive them by wishing that the last 7 people that were killed by Devil to be revived! But only then, can we use the Dragonballs. Don't you remember what happened when we used the Dragonballs too often? I don't want that to happen again." Dende said.

Mister Popo nodded.

"Yes, I understand." Mister Popo said.

(Come on, guys! I know that you can do this! You have to!) Dende thought.

Suddenly, the Dragonballs started to shine yellow! Dende and Mister Popo stared at them in shock. The Dragonballs started to levitate; they started spinning in a ring formation.

"W, what's happening?" Dende stammered.

The Dragonballs suddenly flashed, then they flew off towards the ground! Dende and Mister Popo hurried over to the edge of the lookout and looked down. They saw the Dragonballs dive into the sea.

"Ah...what just happened, Dende?" Mister Popo asked.

Dende shook his head and stared in disbelief.

"I wish I knew, Mister Popo. I wish I knew." Dende said and sighed.

Meanwhile, underground...

Everything was quiet. Smoke was rising from the fresh crater. Devil lowered his arms and bared his fangs. Then he balled his fists and roared!

"RRRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRRR!"

Devil roared out his victory over the humans and unleashed dark thunderbolts that crashed out of the cave.
Suddenly, something under some rocks moved! Then Goku emerged from underneath the rubble! He stood on all fours. He coughed up some blood and opened his eyes. He blinked a few times before closing his eyes again.

(He's...too strong!) Goku thought and panted hard. He was now back in his normal form. Goku coughed a little and grit his teeth. (We can't give up! N, not now! If we lose, then the whole Universe will lose also! I...WON'T...LET...YOU...WIN!) Goku thought. He opened his eyes and looked up. He could see the sky through a hole in the cave ceiling. But something was wrong. The sky had turned completely black. Not like when they summoned Shen Long. The sky was completely black, there wasn't a single cloud in the entire sky. Goku looked forward. He saw Devil standing before him, roaring.

(He's spreading dark energy all across the globe! I, no, we, have to stop him!) Goku thought. Suddenly, Vegeta emerged from the rubble a few meters behind him. Goku looked at him. Vegeta was panting hard. He opened his eyes and saw Goku, who looked back at him. Vegeta grit his teeth and started to crawl towards Goku. When he came up beside him, they both looked forward.

"Vegeta, are you all right?" Goku asked weakly.

"Oh, yes. I'm really "all right"! I've never felt better in my whole life! Humph! Do you really think that I'm all right, Kakarot?" Vegeta said with sarcasm.

Goku nodded.

"We have to...stop him." Goku said.

He grit his teeth and got up into a kneeling position. The pain shot through his body as he looked at Devil again.

"I know. But how? We don't have enough energy to even stand up. And we don't have the Potara´s anymore." Vegeta said.

He coughed up some blood and his body shook. Goku frowned.

"I don't really know. All I know is that if we don't stop him soon, his dark energy will have taken over the earth and destroyed it!" Goku said.

"Kakarot, I want to tell you something." Vegeta suddenly said.

Goku looked at his Saiyan friend/rival. He was very surprised by what he said.

"What is it, Vegeta?" Goku asked.

Vegeta didn't look at him when he answered.

"I've always been...second best to you. Ever since I came to this world." Vegeta said without looking at him.

"...Vegeta?" Goku asked.

"You've always been so strong and gentle. I know I did have more power than you in the beginning but, you soon outclassed me. It didn't matter how strong I became. Your power still exceeded mine. But even so, you never fought to kill. Or, for revenge. You showed mercy to all our most fierce enemies. And, I never understood why. Every time I reached the same Super Saiyan level as you, you just went along and reached the next level. When you were fighting Evil kid Buu I realised something." Vegeta said.

"What did you realise, Vegeta?" Goku asked.

"I realised something that I should have known all the way back when we first met. I should have realised it if my anger hadn't clouded my mind for so long. In that battle with that pink little freak I realised, this. You're better than me Kakarot. You are the best.
Don't get me wrong. I'm only telling you this as a warning. A warning that I will get stronger than you someday! Just you wait! I will surpass you!" Vegeta said.

Goku was clearly shocked by his friend/rival´s little speech. But he recovered quite quickly and smiled at him.

"Vegeta, I understand how you feel. But, just listen to me. Our powers are almost exactly the same. And, if you care about this that much then I can stop training for a while. If you keep up your training, then you should be either as strong as me, or even stronger! What do you say to that?" Goku said.

Vegeta stared at him angrily.

"Yes, that's a "brilliant" idea! If you're a weak space snail that needs a handicap!" Vegeta said.

"Vegeta, listen. We don't have time to argue right now. We have to figure out how to stop him!" Goku said and turned back to Devil.

Vegeta nodded. He looked at Devil also.

"But, how?" Vegeta asked.

Goku sighed and closed his eyes.

"I don't know."

Was all he could say.