Chapter 3 – The Ball Shack
Bald Goku leaned against the side of the shack, listening to the leaves rustle in the wind. It was a beautiful night, he thought as the full moon beamed down from above, illuminating the forest in a pale glow. It's just such a shame that he had to betray those guys. It's not often that he actually likes one of his targets. But it doesn't matter how kind they are. They can't be allowed to get the Balls.
Bald Goku sighed. This sucked.
Old Goku grinned menacingly. "No one leaves the Ball Shack alive."
"Junior, get out of here!" Goku yelled, voice shaky. "His power level – it's over 9000! He could kill someone like you with just a look! Run!"
Goku Jr. scrambled to his feet and ran to the door as fast as he could manage. He only just made it to the hallway before collapsing from the exertion. Well shit, Goku thought. At least it's better than nothing. All I need to do is keep the old man in this room.
Goku turned back around to see that Old Goku was missing.
"Looking for me?" the old man asked from behind him.
Goku whipped his head around just in time to get a kick in the face, sending him flying across the room. He quickly got up as Old Goku ran across the room far too fast for someone his age, especially since he was wearing a large, purple turtle shell. Goku put up his arms in a protective stance, guarding his face as the old man lunged forward and sent his fist crashing into Goku's guard. Goku barely stood standing.
He's too strong, Goku thought, looking at the glowing ball hanging from the old man's neck. I'll need a way to counter that Dragon Ball. I have no choice but to use my forbidden technique.
Old Goku had already backed off and was now assessing him. "I thought you were stronger, kid," he said, disappointed. "Your power level should easily be able to match my own if you activate your Dragon Ball. Unless you were telling the truth about not having one. But that would mean…"
Goku's hair turned yellow as he thrust his arms out, making his Saiyan energy flow into his hands. "Kamehameha!" he screamed. The energy released, forming a bright, blue beam that shot forward, hitting Old Goku right in the chest and kicking up a thick, cloud of dust.
When the dust cleared, Old Goku was lying on the ground amidst the shattered pieces of his turtle shell. Goku chuckled, relieved that he had won. Now all he had to do was get the Balls and leave with Junior. He started to walk over to Old Goku's display case, but he hadn't even gone a few steps when the old man began to laugh. Goku turned to him to see the elderly Saiyan leap to his feet.
"I must thank you, sonny," Old Goku said with a grin. "Without that damn shell I can finally use my full power. It's been a while since I could fight for real. And against the legendary Super Saiyan as well! I didn't even believe you existed, yet here you are! About to get your ass handed to you by me!"
Goku scowled. "What the hell are you talking about? The Super Saiyan is just an old myth."
"Believe what you want, kid, but you're capable of so much more than some weakass energy beam," Old Goku said. "Now, you better be ready. This is a fight to the death, remember?"
Old Goku's Dragon Ball grew even brighter as he pushed it to its limit. Goku could feel his aura grow even stronger as the old man's power level shot up several orders of magnitude. Then he blinked and Old Goku was gone, yet he could still feel his power in the room. Goku spun around, desperately searching the room for his enemy, but the only sign he was still there was his powerful aura. The air was beginning to heat up.
"Look at the confused little insect," Old Goku's voice seemed to say from every direction. "This is the Ultimate Move. I am running at the speed of light. I would hit you but at these speeds the impact would kill us both and destroy much of the continent. There is a way around that, however."
The air in the room continued to rapidly heat from the extreme friction. Goku had to act fast. He formed a finger gun and began to fire off some small Kames. He also threw in a few Hames just to be sure. The pathetic beams were even more ineffective than his Kamehameha, primarily because none of them hit their target.
All of a sudden, Old Goku appeared in front of Goku, punched him in the face, then disappeared once more. He then repeated the process from behind. Then from Goku's left, knocking him to the ground. But before Goku could hit the floor, Old Goku appeared below him and kicked him into the air. Shit, Goku thought. He's dipping in and out of light speed. I thought he was just going to kill me with the heat. Old Goku then appeared above him and slammed him into the ground before vanishing again.
By now, the air had started to glow as it transitioned into plasma, with Goku only being kept alive by his Super Saiyan powers. The only reason the wooden room hadn't burst into flames yet is because of the gale force winds generated by Old Goku's movements.
Goku struggled to his feet. "I refuse to die, old man," he spat.
"Oh? Is that so?" Old Goku said from everywhere. "Well, I refuse your refusal."
It would be near impossible for Goku to react to Old Goku's attacks, but there is a split-second window, right after Old Goku decelerates, where it would be possible to counter his attack. The problem is that Goku would have to know exactly where the old man would appear, along with the trajectory of his strike. Essentially, he would have to know the future. Well, if I really am the Super Saiyan, then I should be able to do exactly that, he thought.
Goku closed his eyes and activated his Saiyan Sight, one of the Super Saiyan's legendary Super Moves. Suddenly, time slowed and he could see the entire future in front of him, arranged like a series of video frames. He ignored most of it, only scanning through the hundred frames that made up the next few seconds. There it was. Old Goku will attack from the right with a kick to the head.
Goku left his Saiyan Sight and raised his hand just in time to catch Old Goku's leg. The old man looked at him in awe. "I knew the Super Saiyan was powerful, but just what the hell are you?!"
Goku looked him in the eye and smiled. "I'm the main character," he said.
Just then, with Old Goku's running no longer containing it in the room, the plasma rapidly expanded, releasing a large amount of energy.
In other terms, it blew the fuck up.
Goku Jr. stumbled out of the house, praying that he could get back to town before his dad died and that creepy old man starts looking for him. He grabbed one of the columns holding up the front porch's roof in order to steady himself. He had stood there for a while, trying to catch his breath before continuing, when he heard someone clear his throat behind him. He turned around and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the old guy's little sidekick leaning up against the wall.
The short, bald man just examined him from a distance. "Now, how'd you manage to escape, chubby," he said incredulously.
Goku Jr. was shaking with fear. "You're not going to kill me, are you?" he asked.
Bald Goku just silently walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Depends on a few things. I can already tell you're not running off with a Dragon Ball, but I need to know something," he said quietly as he tightened his grip. "Who do you plan to tell about this?"
Junior was starting to panic, his weak heart racing faster than it ever had. "N-no one! I swear it on my Genshin Impact body pillow!"
Bald Goku stepped back. "Fine. I'm not in the mood to kill anyone, so just go."
But Goku Jr. remained rooted to the spot, neckbeard quivering with fear. "What if the old guy finds out and comes to kill me?" he asked.
The bald Saiyan shrugged as he leaned back against the wall. "Depends on how fast you can get to town. Father can't risk exposing us."
"W-why not? If he's so strong, what's he scared of?" Goku Jr. asked, unknowingly sealing his fate.
Bald Goku smiled. "It's me he's worried about. I'm not very strong and if people knew what I was…" He hesitated and then sighed. "I'm only telling you this because your chance of survival is about 0. The truth is, I'm a Dragon Ball."
Junior's eyes shot to the dots on Bald Goku's forehead. "Of course," he muttered. "The Six-Star Dragon Ball."
Bald Goku let out a laugh. "Don't go trying anything, chubby," he said. "I may not be strong, but unlike you, I'm not weak."
"I w-wasn't going to," Goku Jr. said, embarrassed.
"Good. Now run off back to town. You won't make it, but I want to see how far you get."
Goku Jr. was silent as he weighed his choices. Stay here and certainly die or run away and almost certainly die. He quickly chose to run, letting go of the porch and starting his mad dash to freedom. He took one step before the rickety house exploded, sending him flying several feet. He landed on his back and could feel he had broken several bones. He struggled to look around, but through the fire and flames he could see his father, unconscious next to him. At least, Junior hoped he was unconscious.
Suddenly, the old man from before appeared out of nowhere, standing above Goku. He went for the killing blow but his fist seemed to stop halfway down. Junior could barely see through the smoke and he was started to pass out, but he could almost make out a figure. Wait… Is that Bald Goku?!
"Bald, I am disappointed," said the old man. "When I wished for a son, I did not expect you would ever betray me. Remember, I am doing this for you. Don't you want to be a real boy?"
"Not like this, father. I am tired of all the killing."
Old Goku sighed. "Step aside."
"Make me."
They silently stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. Then suddenly, Old Goku tried to push aside his son. Bald Goku slapped away his arm.
"You don't want to do this, Bald," the old Saiyan said with sadness in his eyes. "I don't want to do this."
"Then let Goku go," Bald Goku said defiantly. "We both know he doesn't have a Ball. His death will be meaningless."
"We can't leave witnesses. You know that. And if you insist on getting in my way, I will have to fight you for your own protection."
"So be it."
Two auras crashed together as father and son activated their Balls, the father's around his neck and the son's a part of his body and soul. The fighters seemed to vanish as they began to fight at near impossible speeds, every strike and blow able to be heard for miles. But Goku Jr. couldn't care less. He struggled to his feet and slowly walked through the burning debris toward his father. The flames danced around him as he walked, but all he saw was Goku's broken body. He ignored the flames even as they began to dance across him as well. He came to a stop over his father, looking down at the dying Saiyan. God, he thought. If only I wasn't so pathetic, I could have fought with him. We could have won.
Goku Jr. fell to his knees, still staring at his father. He felt tears streaming down his face. As he cried, he began to lose his balance and put a hand on the ground to steady himself. But as his hand touched the grass, something happened to him. He felt himself growing stronger as he shed his neckbeard. The power of the grass flowed through him, reducing the number of chins he had down to one. A gust of wind caught his fedora as his new muscles grew too big for his size XXL anime T-shirt, causing it to tear apart. Goku Jr. could feel the sexism and pedophilia leaving his body, along with the memory of his Genshin Impact login. Meanwhile, his Reddit account deleted itself from the servers.
The young Saiyan got back to his feet and laughed. He did it. He finally did it. He touched grass.
Junior looked down at his now-muscular body and smiled. He felt confident that he could defeat that weirdly strong old guy. He also now actually wanted to save his mother, since he now saw women as people.
The distant sounds of Old Goku's and Bald Goku's fight ceased. Junior looked up from his rippling muscles just in time to see Bald Goku fall to the ground a short distance away. He rushed over to the fallen man and saw that all of limbs were broken.
"Holy shit," Goku Jr. said. "What did your dad do to you?"
"He beat the shit out of me, dumbfuck. What do think happened?" Bald Goku squinted up at Junior. "Wait… You're Goku's creepy son! I should be asking what happened to you!"
"I touched grass," Junior said, relieved. "Well, since you're joking around, I guess you'll be fine."
"Oh, quite the opposite. I'm dying. Like, right now. See ya!"
After uttering his final words, Bald Goku's body faded away, leaving behind in his place a lone Dragon Ball. Goku Jr. picked up the six-starred orb and stared at it sadly. It seemed a little smaller than the others.
There was a thump as Old Goku landed behind him. "I saw what you did to Bald. You killed my son and now I shall kill you."
Goku Jr. turned around. "You killed your own son, you dusty fuck. I just took the Ball he left behind." He activated the Dragon Ball that he still held in his hand. "Now, I think I'm going to beat you into retirement. Hope you enjoy the nursing home, old man."
The young Saiyan suddenly lunged forward at the old man, who had already vanished before Junior could reach him. Goku Jr. may lack fighting experience, but he could already tell this wasn't going to work. He may now be strong, but he clearly lacked his father's speed. Although, he doubted it would make a difference against a foe like this. Since brute force would be worthless, he switched tactics. All he needed was one good hit. He focused his Saiyan energy into the hand holding his Dragon Ball and used the Ball to amplify it. Now, he waited.
The old man appeared in front of him. "And here I thought you would do something. Must be terrified if you're just standing there." He continued to ramble but Goku Jr. didn't listen. Your arrogance will be your downfall, he thought. This needed to be quick. He focused his energy even more. Then, he let it go. It shot out as a thin beam, moving almost at the speed of light. Even Old Goku didn't have the reaction time to avoid the beam before it left a small hole going straight through his head.
As the old man fell to the ground, Junior dropped the ball and ran over to his father. Thanks to Goku's powers as the Super Saiyan, he was almost completely healed and was already struggling to stand. He smiled as he saw his son running over.
"Junior! You look great!" Goku said as he hugged his son. "I told you some fresh air was all you needed! Now, round up the Dragon Balls. The old guy only had five, but when you count Bald Goku, we should leave here with six. Enough for Dark Goku to make his wish and free your mom."
Goku Jr. nodded. "I'll go get them, Dad."
"Good. Then we leave here. Let's get this over with and go home."
It was finally time for their confrontation with Dark Goku.
