"If you two truly intend to fight, then I shall make my way into Babidi's ship myself," said Shin, walking towards the entrance. "Tenshinhan, and 18, I would appreciate your assistance. With luck, we should be able to prevent the resurrection of Majin Bū before he's absorbed enough energy from these concurrent battles."
"Right," Tenshinhan nodded, and he, with 18 walked towards the Kaiōshin.
"Tenshinhan..." Goku called over to his friend, causing the tri-eyed man to turn back and look at his old rival with all three eyes. "Good luck. I'm sorry that we roped all of you into this, especially when this was supposed to be a day I could enjoy with everyone."
Tenshinhan grinned, flashing a thumbs-up in Goku's direction. "Please, Goku; it's not like you to apologize for something like this. Besides, we always get into some kind of trouble with you, it's just par for the course. Just watch. We'll settle this before you and Vegeta even get to warm up."
It was at this very moment that Vegeta found his mind assaulted once more.
"We can't have this, now, can we Vegeta!?" Babidi's voice echoed in his mind, annoying and grating but everpresent. "Kill them all! Destroy the Kaiōshin and the two others! Blow them to pieces, atomize them!"
Vegeta's face contorted as the Saiyan gripped as his head once again. The commands issued through his body like energy, the 'M' on his forehead beginning to glow a vibrant red. The orders to kill echoed through his head, and the Saiyan prince found himself breathing raggedly as he fought with every ounce of his incredible willpower against the orders Babidi placed in his head. Forcing the reply out in a haggard breath, the prince grinned as he shot back.
"I refuse! Kakarot is my only objective! The others have nothing to do with me!"
"What!?"
"What!?"
The response was the same inside Vegeta's head and outside. Shin recognized the fact that Babidi was trying to influence Vegeta's mind with his magic, and to hear Vegeta declare a refusal to carry out orders — ones to kill him, Shin could sense this — was astounding.
"Alright, Vegeta, stop having your tantrum! Haven't you forgotten what I can do? I am your master, and I command you to obey!"
The Super Saiyan's body seized up yet again, as Babidi's magic fought to overcome Vegeta. Through the sheer force of his own incredible will, Vegeta forced his body into a position of his own will, and his aura began to flare. "You're...naïve...Babidi!" The Saiyan prince snarled, his expression becoming wild once more as he resisted, every fiber of his being focused on the person who stood before him — Kakarot, the one who had stripped him of his pride — and something in him snapped.
"I am a Saiyan, a proud prince, and it will take more than your head games to stop me! You may have invaded my mind and my body, but there's one thing a Saiyan always keeps! HIS PRIDE!" With a mighty shout to the heavens, Vegeta's aura flared up, branching out in all directions as stone and rock were torn asunder.
Within his mind, the Saiyan could feel Babidi retreat as he won the battle of wills, and he settled down, breathing heavily.
"Amazing..." Shin's eyes marveled at Vegeta. "For the possessed to forcibly refuse the wishes of the possessor through sheer will...Vegeta, you truly are impressive."
Babidi's Ship; Council Room
"This has never happened before!" Babidi groaned, rubbing his temples in irritation. "That one has a lot of pride..." Looking into the crystal ball again, he saw that the other fights were about to begin with little issue, and that the Kaiōshin and the other two with him were preparing to blast open the door to the ship. "...I guess I'll have to let them in. A shock like that could awaken Majin Bū, and I'd hate for him to be at half power." Sighing, the mage uttered his magic words again, and the door to the ship opened.
"With all of the battles going on, Majin Bū will be at full power in no time. Come on down, Kaiōshin! I'll make tea!"
Gizzard Wasteland, Earth
"The door is opening...?" 18 looked at the opening circle on the ground with wide eyes.
"Babidi must not want us to destroy the ship and prematurely awaken his creature," Shin noted. "Alright, let's go!" Jumping in first, 18 followed him immediately after.
"Good luck, Goku," Tenshinhan bid his friend farewell as he leapt down after the two, prayer beads flowing upward around his neck.
"...And here we are, Kakarot." Vegeta grinned. "You've got just what you wanted; no Earthlings around to distract you, your friends are gone. Everything is playing out like it should!"
Goku frowned. "With everything at stake, I don't want to drag this out and have my energy funneled right to Majin Bū! So I'm gonna end this thing quickly, Vegeta!" With a grunt, Goku's ki began to spike; his air became rougher and wilder, standing on end more than it had before. Lightning crackled and snapped around his aura, which had become furious and unrestrained.
"Oh, impressive!" Vegeta could see that Kakarot had broken his limits as a Super Saiyan, ascending past the base Super Saiyan transformation in a way different than what they had employed against Cell and the Androids seven years ago. "You're even stronger than Gohan when he was at his peak...however..." With a flex of his body, Vegeta's hair stood up further, and his aura too had electricity crackling and zapping around, tearing into the ground with a surge of strength. His ki shot up higher than before, matching the output that Goku was emitting.
"...I can see this'll take a lot longer than I expected, Vegeta."
The Saiyan prince laughed, taking a stance. "Enough talk! I'm coming to kill you, Kakarot!"
With the battle beginning, Vegeta made the first move, adrenaline pumping as he launched himself forward. He raised his leg up as if to kick Goku, and the martial arts expert prepared to block. To Goku's surprise, this was just a feint; Vegeta switched movements in a heartbeat, sinking to the ground in a swift sweeping kick, which knocked Goku off of his feet. Refusing to stop there, the Saiyan pushed himself off the ground, slamming both legs into Goku and sending the orange-clad warrior spiraling into the air.
Goku stopped his flight with a burst of ki, dashing back down towards Vegeta in a fury. The two met in the middle, clashing, arm against arm, as a small shockwave was released. Vegeta punched Goku, who caught it with a free hand and responded in kind with a blow that Vegeta parried equally. Arms locked, the two began a furious exchange of kicks, knee crashing into knee as they fought to overpower the other.
In a flash of brilliance, Goku headbutted Vegeta, causing the Saiyan to loosen his grip, and then spun, kicking Vegeta in the side and causing him to fly back, crashing through several odd rock formations as he did so.
Rising from the rubble, Vegeta steadied his breath, as Goku did the same. Their Saiyan blood was rushing through their veins, pumping, delivering nothing but excitement to their hearts.
"Even with everything going on in the back of my mind...I'm gettin' excited!" Goku thought to himself. He had met other competitors in the Afterlife, had found sparring partners in the likes of a men such as Pikkon and Bifu, and yet none of them came close to Vegeta's level. "It's been seven years, and he hasn't slacked off a bit!"
"Kakarot is as strong as ever!" Vegeta thought to himself, unable to deny the excitement he felt at finally getting the battle he'd longed for. "Something as trivial as death hasn't stopped him...and now I'm going to take his head!"
Without missing a beat, the two Saiyans shot forward again, two streaks of golden flames bouncing off of rocks and tearing the land asunder in an effort to simply beat the other into the ground. It was primal, it was instinctual, and it was what Saiyans reveled in. To the two, time began to slow down as their perspectives altered to match their incredible speed. Goku quickly caught a punch from Vegeta that no one else would have been able to see, pulling Vegeta forward and slamming his fist into the Saiyan's gut. Goku followed up with an eddy of furious punches and kicks, but Vegeta was able top parry the majority, catching Goku off his guard and responding in kind. But Goku's response was quick, and the blow was parried with a swift kneecap.
"Tsk!" Vegeta clicked his tongue at Kakarot's reaction speed, and yet he found an opening regardless. With one leg up, the deceased Saiyan was vulnerable, and Vegeta sunk low, twisting into yet another spin kick that threw Goku off balance — the tactic was going to become a favorite it if kept working.
Yet, adapting was Goku's strength, and the moment he felt his body leave the ground, he levitated with ki, throwing Vegeta's timing off and allowing Goku to land a swift sucker punch to Vegeta's jaw, sending him staggering back. To gain distance, Goku retreated into the air. Not one to be deterred, Vegeta kicked his body into gear, grabbing Goku by the shoulders, pulling him in and landing a critical knee to the stomach, winding him. Goku felt three consecutive hits landed into his stomach, and then an elbow to the back. Gripping both hands, Vegeta slammed them in-between Kakarot's shoulder blades, sending him hurtling back down towards the ground.
"HA!" Vegeta let out a powerful shout, and his hands became coated in vibrant energy, white with a glowing yellow outline. Thrusting his arms forward and back in a repetitive motion, Vegeta unleashed a barrage of ki blasts, each one moving like a heat-seeking missile towards one solitary target: Kakarot. The blasts converged on a single point, exploding in a violent display of light and dust.
Bombarded from above by an endless barrage of energy attacks from above, Goku could do nothing but block them as each attack hammered home. It didn't seem like Vegeta was ceasing fire anytime soon, whether he could still sense Goku's energy admist the debris from his own, or was simply persistent, Goku didn't know. Regardless, he couldn't simply stand where he was and tank these attacks; they were doing considerable damage, and he could feel his gi tearing away as well. Charging his ki, he welled up inner energy and thrust his arms outward, expanding the energy in a large shock wave that dissipated the incoming blasts.
"Damn it!" Vegeta growled as the shock wave made it to his own height, disrupting his moment and his attack. "Kakarot, you persistent bastard...!" But this wasn't the only thing to spell bad news for Vegeta. Within the smokescreen caused by the persistent explosions, he could feel Kakarot's energy rising, and a blue glow began to emanate from the smoke as the wind blew it away hurriedly.
Standing in a small crater was Goku, who had begun cupping his hands to his sides. Between both palms, a white orb of energy began to form, emitting a soft glow of blue. Vegeta recognized Goku's signature move, and knew immediately what was coming.
"Ka...Me...Ha...Me..." The energy began to glow more vibrant still, as Goku funneled more and more power into it. Trails of light began to be emitted from the sphere, spiraling around Goku's palms.
Vegeta raised his hands to his sides, cupping the back of his palm into the open palm of his other hand, and began to charge an immense amount of ki from within his body. He became coated in a vibrant white aura, outlined with a dark violet. Lightning, even darker than his aura, began to crackle around him as he coalesced energy to match Kakarot's output.
"HA!"
"GARLIC CANNON!"
Both combatants thrust their arms forward, and in an explosion of light, the two similar techniques were released in a brilliant flash of light. The techniques shot from their respective users, and they met in the middle of the air, white and blue clashing with white and purple. Rivulets of energy shot off from the center of the sphere where they met, crackling and snapping at the ground like lightning striking the surface of the planet the Dragon Team fought so hard to protect. This was a scenario that had happened here, more than ten years ago, when Vegeta and Goku had battled to the death for the first time.
Just like now, the two were pitting their signature moves against each other in a quest for dominance, and but this time, Goku had no ace up his sleeve, no sudden surge ofki to overwhelm Vegeta's technique. They were staunchly equal, and the blasts showed this; when one gave an inch, the other took it back, until they became almost stationary in their struggle to maintain dominance.
"Not this time, Kakarot!" Vegeta snarled, the sound escaping his throat. "I won't let you win!"
Goku merely grunted in reply, focusing all of his efforts into keeping up the pressure of his technique.
The two blasts continued to mix and merge until, when neither gave way, they exploded, creating a violent shock wave that forced both Goku and Vegeta backwards. Vegeta was forced to descend to the ground, breathing heavily, his leotard torn and tattered. Blood was dripping from his face and shoulders as open wounds bled profusely. Despite how exhausted he was becoming, his aura flickered brighter around his body than ever, the bio-electricity still snapping in arcs within the energy.
Goku was fairing no better. With fresh open wounds as well, and the orange gi shirt utterly torn to reveal the blue shirt underneath, Goku's breath was ragged and hurt in his throat as the Saiyan recovered from his rough landing. Wiping the blood from his eyes, Goku grinned at his eternal rival. "I'm...surprised, Vegeta! It's been seven years, and Kaiō's threw me through the ringer in some of the toughest training I've ever had, but you've kept up! I thought that training would have made me the strongest, but your tenacity's really got my work cut out for me, huh?"
"Tenacity..." Vegeta spat. "You don't know anything, Kakarot. When you die against Cell, you did it without thinking of yourself, noble and selfless. To die without fear, while the rest of us, even myself, had become cowards in the face of that freak! I had lost my resolve. As a warrior, you had utterly defeated man — you and your son!"
Goku remembered these events quite clearly; one never did forget the cause of their death, after all. Though for Goku, that had also been one of the proudest moments he'd had as a father, when his son surpassed him and kept the Earth safe in his stead. For Goku, the battle against Cell had given him nothing but reasons to hold his head high, if only to say that his son had made him proud to be his father. But Vegeta... "Seems like you've been holding on to this for awhile, Vegeta..."
"Your sacrifice seven years ago stripped me of my will to fight, Kakarot," Vegeta continued, painfully aware he was spilling secrets to the man he loathed more than any other. "If you could sacrifice yourself so readily, what did that make of me? How could I call myself a warrior, when I hadn't been able to face death? I could never equal you...in character or in strength! So I decided I would be able to close the gap in at least one way!"
Eyes widening, Goku began to put two and two together. "Vegeta...you didn't...!"
"I did, Kakarot," replied the prince. "It was a bitter pill to swallow, but I made the choice. I saw the strength of Babidi's minions back at the tournament, how they had become much stronger under his spell...and I figured it could do the same to me. I hate stooping this low...but I was right...!"
Hearing these words, Goku realized just how much of his pride Vegeta had thrown away, all for the sake of fighting him without any restraints or distractions. It was almost admirable, from the perspective of not only one Saiyan to another, but one warrior to another.
"I wanted to be the way I used to be!" The lightning crackled around Vegeta, his aura beginning to surge once more. "I needed Babidi to reawaken the evil in my heart!" Vegeta's aura expelled out in all directions as the Saiyan prince began to power-up in anger. "Cold and ruthless, I wanted to be able to fight you without anything holding us back! Your influence softened my heart, Kakarot! Over time, I began to settle down; I became a family man, and had even learned to love them! I began to see the Earth as my home!" Clenching a gloved fist, he stared daggers at Goku, as if trying to kill him with his looks alone. "I needed to find my past-self, find the strength I once had, even if it required the help of someone like Babidi. And now, I feel so much better!"
"Do you actually believe that, Vegeta?"
In response, Vegeta merely expanded his aura further, crackling with the electricity of an ascended Super Saiyan. Goku replied in kind, and the two began a menacing walk towards each other. When they were within spitting distance of the other, their auras converged, merging from one flame into two flames, electricity snapping between both. With a shout, both of them flared their auras further, and the flames ate away at the ground, reducing stone to pure dust.
And it began again. Vegeta and Goku began a furious exchange of blows at rapid speed, battling within the crater they created. Vegeta tried another sweep kick, however, Goku leapt over it, only to have his stomach slammed by Vegeta's furious knee. Winded, but not stunned, Goku responded in kind, slamming his elbow into Vegeta's chest in time to stop the Saiyan from performing a follow-up. Back-flipping to gain some distance, Goku saw Vegeta in hot pursuit, and quickly took to the sky.
"This isn't the Tenkaichi Budōkai, Kakarot! Keep your focus, there's nothing here to distract you now!"
Goku thrust a hand forward, unleashing a ki blast to keep Vegeta at bay. The golden missile of energy was batted away by the Saiyan prince, making a large explosion in the distance as they continued their ascent.
With his back to the sun, Goku kept rising. "Tenshinhan...I'm not sure if you were able to keep your word...but you might just help me out yet...!" Goku spread both his hands in front of his face, shutting his eyes tight. "Taiyōken!" Emitted from Goku's entire body, and augmented by the glare of the sun behind him, was a blinding flash of blue and white light. Vegeta, who had been flying full pelt towards Goku, was immediately caught in the flash, and a white haze replaced his normal vision.
"Damn it!" Vegeta stopped short in mid-air, his eyes shutting instinctively at the flash that blinded him. "Not this technique...again...!" The Taiyōken proved to be a thorn in his side; despite his ability to sense ki just fine, taking in such an illuminating technique full on caused his eyes immense pain, and this was what distracted him now.
During this entire fight, Goku and Vegeta had been equal. Their power was within the same level of the other, and because of this, neither could gain the upper hand. However, Goku had something; an ace in the hole that might give him the edge against Vegeta, though he questioned how badly he wanted to use it. "Every blow we give off is giving more energy to Majin Bū...with the others fightin' as well, I'm surprised I haven't felt a real huge surge of ki. I'm endin' this now...body, I need you to hold out!"
Goku clenched his fists at his side, and his ki began to rise. The lightning around his body crackled, snapping between him and the ground. A soft red glow began to emanate from his aura, and the feeling was a sensation that Vegeta, even blinded and in pain from the Taiyōken, could recognize. As the power up neared completion, he thought the words at the exact same time they escaped Goku's throat.
"Kaiōken!"
In a second's notice, his entire body became a vivid red, and his yellow aura became the same shade of crimson. The lightning shooting around his body had become a shimmering, bright red as well. Feeling power welling through his body, Goku had to admit he was surprised combining the Kaiōken with the Ascended Super Saiyan had worked. And yet this was at far as he could go; any further than the Kaiōken multiplier and he would find himself dead for a second time.
But there was no time for retrospection. A whirlwind, coloured red, approached the still blinded Vegeta, and this whirlwind landed a solid blow directly to Vegeta's face, sending him propelling backwards. The Kaiōken-clad Goku followed Vegeta into the air, his red aura trailing after him, and mercilessly unleashed blow after blow into Vegeta's body. He twisted his body, landing another immense-forced punch to Vegeta.
The Saiyan prince found himself flying through rocky formations, stunned at the fact that Kakarot was overwhelming him yet again. His sight gradually returning, he could take in the sight of Kakarot, immersed in red, barreling towards him. Vegeta stretched out his hands in an attempt to blast him out of the air with ki, but Kakarot vanished, beyond Vegeta's ability to track him. The answer to where his rival had gone, however, became clear when the crushing impact of a foot forced Vegeta into the ground.
Cushioning his impact with ki, Vegeta flipped through the air, landing on his feet and immediately trying to gain some distance from Goku. In a pincer-like movement, the Saiyan brought down two spheres of energy, lobbing them towards Goku in a desperate attempt to keep him away. Nevertheless, Goku was undeterred, and avoided theki blasts with dizzying speed. Rather than attack Vegeta from the back however, Goku vanished and re-materialized right in front of Vegeta, placing his palms in front of Vegeta and removing him from the spot with a well placed ki blast.
Stopping dead, Goku felt immense pain rack his body, and his red aura faded away, reducing him back to his Ascended Super Saiyan state. Panting heavily, Goku fell to one knee, clenching the other with a free hand. "Looks like...combining the Kaiōken and the Ascended Super Saiyan...was a bit much..." Sweat dripped down his body, mixing in with the blood, stinging his wounds as the saline liquid touched them. "If I'd tried that in my living body, it would have been suicide..."
Only a little distance away, Vegeta forced Goku's ki sphere off of him, throwing it high into the air, where it proceeded to explode. In mere moments, the full extent of the damage Kakarot had dealt to him was felt in full, and Vegeta fell to his knees as well, groaning in pain. It hadn't been something he expected; the Kaiōken was a technique that dramatically boosted the user's speed and power, in exchange for overtaxing the body. The Ascended Super Saiyan transformation that both he and Goku were utilizing possessed all the cons of the original Super Saiyan form, but intensified.
"How could Kakarot have pulled off such a feat...!?" Vegeta punched the ground, creating a dent. "He's always one step ahead of me...!"
"I'm not done..." Goku muttered, forcing his tattered, proxy body to stand to its feet. "You aren't either, are you Vegeta?"
Snapping out of his reverie, Vegeta seemed to have found his confidence again. "Far from it, Kakarot! I won't rest until I've ripped you to pieces!"
The two began to rise slowly into the air, their worn and beaten bodies feeling the gust of the desert air, dry and acrid. Without any signal to the other, neither giving any hint of movement to betray their actions. The first blow was Vegeta's, considerably less worn than Goku, still recovering from the Kaiōken. With a powerful elbow blow, Vegeta caught Kakarot by surprise, following up with a swift gut punch, and blasting Goku away with a bright yellow ki blast.
Fighting through the pain, Goku ripped the ki blast in half, sending both pieces scattered in opposite directions, where they exploded in flashes of white and yellow. Placing two fingers to his forehead, Goku concentrated, feeling for Vegeta's ki, so close, and teleported. Within the blink of an eye, his Instantaneous Movement transported him next to Vegeta, who was unable to respond to literal instant movement, found himself on the receiving end of a powerful blow. With Vegeta staggering back, Goku teleported yet again, but repeated to do so, appearing and disappearing to quickly, Vegeta could not keep track of it.
"Stop...mocking...me...Kakarot!" Vegeta roared, and his aura exploded from his body, creating a powerful, damaging shock wave that Goku was caught up in the very moment he appeared out of another Instantaneous Movement, throwing the Super Saiyan off his balance, just in time for Vegeta to land a powerful roundhouse kick. Goku swayed with the motion of the blow, before rearing forward with a full-body blow.
Both Saiyans thrust a punch forward, missing their fists by inches, slamming into the others faces. Forcing Goku's first away first, determination brimming, Vegeta used his free hand to thrust another punch towards Goku, but the ripped, gloved fist was caught by Goku's free hand. The two were forced to let go of the other and gain some distance once more. As they were evenly matched, physically, the next course of action would be decided by ki.
Goku cupped his hands to his sides. He didn't have much in the way of an arsenal; as least not many varied techniques that could be used as easily as this one. The Genki Dama not only took too long, but was overkill in this situation. And the pain in his body constantly reminded him that another Kaiōken was out of the question. Which meant he could only fall back on his trusty favorite.
"Ka...Me...Ha...Me..."
Vegeta extended his palm. A sphere of ki began to form around and in front of it, preparing for his own technique. The Final Flash was admittedly stronger, but the Saiyan prince's ki reserves were running very low. He didn't have enough energy to pull off that technique. However, this one packed power for a very low utilization of his energy.
"...HA!"
"BIG BANG ATTACK!"
From Goku's hand flashed an explosion that elongated into a beam of energy, rushing towards Vegeta.
From Vegeta's hand issued a blast like thunder as a large sphere, orange and white, emitted from his palm.
The two different ki attacks clashed, sphere versus beam. The struggle was once again creating a vibrant flash where the energy met and melded, rivulets of energy playing off each other, destroying rock formations as they expelled outward from the epicenter. These techniques represented Goku and Vegeta's respective wills; each as strong as the fighters themselves.
Finding themselves equal yet again, Goku found himself pouring more of his ki into his Kamehameha. His own aura became a vivid blue as he drew out more energy from his body, channeling it into the energy beam that was now beginning to grain traction against the Big Bang Attack energy sphere. "Just a little more...!" Goku thought, keeping the pressure up, draining his energy reserves further.
"It won't happen...Kakarot...! This isn't...the way...this ends...!" In response, Vegeta began to draw on more of his energy as well, using it as a buffer to push his Big Bang Attack forward. "I refuse to live my life as your second...!" Pushing the sphere further, it was Vegeta's turn to gain traction now, advancing on Goku with his attack.
"HA!"
Both Saiyans let out a mighty shout to the heavens, unleashing their techniques to the fullest potential. With both blasts finding nowhere to go, no purchase upon the other, the result was inevitable; an explosion, one powerful enough to rock the wastelands. The flames of the explosion branched out, enveloping both Goku and Vegeta in the damage as an immense dark cloud covered the sky. From this cloud fell Goku and Vegeta, half-falling, half-descending, landing hard on the rocky ground below.
Upon impact, something became very clear; the fight was nearing its end. The white-gold locks of the Super Saiyan transformation receded, and both Saiyans reverted to their regular base states, hair as ebony as ever in the muddled light of the sun. Despite being on their knees, both fighters forced themselves to look the other in the eye, surprised that they could still be standing,
"Why don't you...just...give up already, Kakarot?"
"I guess...I just never learned how to..."
Truth be told, both of knew their ki reserves were severely depleted. They could barely use the Air Dance Technique, and sustaining a Super Saiyan transformation with such reserves was out of the question. But still, the two could stand, and they could fight. Their drive to overcome the other, and their respective pride, would not allow them to drop just yet.
At speeds still surpassing the wall of humanity, Goku and Vegeta lunged for each other. Flipping over each other, two powerful punches were landed, one to the face and one to the stomach, before they tuck-and-rolled, pushing themselves back to their feet. Using his natural speed, even in this weakened state, Goku was more agile than Vegeta, ever the wile monkey. Vegeta rushed in, performing a spin kick that seemed to hit air.
Shocked, he saw that where Kakarot had stood was a flickering effigy — a clone? — no, an afterimage. This was the Zanzōken, a technique that caused the user to move at high speeds to leave an afterimage. Desperately looking around for Kakarot, Vegeta realized an advantage to their current, weakened states; ki signatures that were smaller than normal, and thus, not as easy to track.
He suddenly felt hands grip the side of his torso as he was lifted off the ground, and felt himself crash, unceremoniously, into the hard, rocky ground of the wastelands. Kakarot had actually managed to catch him by surprise and perform a suplex. Pain shot through his weakened body like a red hot iron, but the moment he felt Kakarot's arms release him, Vegeta sent a minute blast of ki at him, shooting him in the back and burning a hole into the of back of his gi's blue undershirt.
"Whoah!" Goku yelped, jumping away from the sudden pain, but this was all Vegeta needed to regain his composure and get back to his feet. Vegeta extended a hand, sending another ki blast towards Goku; the Saiyan blocked the incoming ki missile with his own hand, resulting in a small explosion. This cover was all Vegeta needed, taking Goku by surprise as he appeared through the smoke, sending his fist plunging into the depths of Goku's torso.
Goku clutched his stomach, staggering back as blood and saliva dripped from his mouth. Without giving Goku a moments rest, Vegeta performed a powerful uppercut to the jaw, ensuring Goku's reaction time would be slow, and then kept up the pressure with a barrage of punches and kicks. He finished the combo with by rushing forward with a knee blow that sent Kakarot sprawling backwards onto the ground.
He hit the ground hard, and Vegeta knew it was time to press his advantage. Smiling wickedly, the tired and exhausted Saiyan leapt into the air, preparing to slam the full weight of his body down onto Kakarot and break his limbs. Yet, at the exact moment he leapt into the air, he felt a tremble, a shock of energy that sent a chill down his spine. He wasn't the only one.
Goku, weakened as he was, was looking off in the same direction he was. Near Babidi's ship, they'd felt a large ki spike, and multiple other ki signatures had either vanished or become dangerously weak. But there was no mistaking it. The large ki they had felt belonged to no one they were familiar with. It could only be one entity.
Majin Bū.
A/N:
What's this!? Two updates in the same month? I was really excited for this chapter, so I picked it up and made sure I started writing it! I really wanted to do this chapter, Son Goku vs Vegeta, and I am happy to say I had quite the time writing it. I was doing double duty, writing this chapter, and another chapter for another story, which will be up hopefully in May. But suffice to say, this was my priority. For this chapter, and this chapter alone, I used a dub line intentionally, and only at the request of my friends. Vegeta's little pride speech dialogue.
As for the fight itself, it was a large amount of fun to write. I brought back a few classics; I allowed Goku to combine Kaioken with Super Saiyan 2 because his body isn't technically "living", so it can handle the stress better than his living body would be able to. This may surprise you but I was actually planning on a "Super Kaioken" before Super did it; sadly, my timing wasn't the best, so it looks like this was planned after the latest episodes of Super, but it wasn't. I hope you all enjoyed this fight, especially the end, where a combination of ki usage, Kaioken, and being drained by Babidi's magic left them both very exhausted.
And yes, Majin Bū is awakened! However, the next chapter will continue the fights! Each battle takes place at approximately the same time, so by the time Vegeta and Goku finished their fight, Majin Bū was technically awakened already. So, this title might intrigue a few of you. Anyone who has stuck with me this long knows I dislike dub terms. "Majin Vegeta" is a dub and game only term; it was never used in manga-related material. The official databooks, however, refer to "Majin Vegeta" as the "Prince of Destruction", so I used it in my title; Goku's is a little more obvious.
As always, let's thank my friend Demod20 for proofreading! I'll see you all soon in the next exciting update of the Erased Chronicles!
P.S: After seeing a few reviews here, I feel the need to add this to A/N to prevent me from messaging every single person (and some people were guests so I can't message them). I'll add this to the next chapter as well, but I didn't think I would actually have to even put this down. For starters, no, it is not "Galic", it is "Garlic", the dub named Vegeta's technique the Galick Gun, but it is a pun on "Garlic". "ギャリック", or "gyarikku", and "ガーリック" "gaariku". This is not to be said that "gyarikku" is not close to "galaxy" in Japanese, it is, but the accepted transliteration of the technique is "Garlic". Furthermore, "Instant Tranmission" is another dub term. The correct, Japanese term, is 瞬間 移動, or "Shunkan Idō", i.e. "Instantaneous Movement". The technique that Kibito and Kibito Kaioshin use is referred to as "Kai-Kai", which has (as of this writing) no translation I know of, and IS an entirely separate technique on its own. As a side note, I will add this, if you're coming to correct me from Dragon Ball Wiki of all places, or using information gleaned from that farce of a wiki, please don't. I love my readers and reviewers, but I absolutely loathe that wiki, and only use terminology from there when it is convenient or I simply don't want to make up a name, as I did with the Gizzard Wastelands, which I am not 100% sure isn't even game-only. DB Wiki makes up its own terms quite often — with it being only QUITE RECENTLY that they stopped pretending their fanmade terms are official — and is well-known for producing quite a bit of falsified information; the fact that they lean more towards the dub and worship the round Dragon Ball GT walks on doesn't help. If you think I am wrong in naming a technique or referencing material, there is another wiki out there, the Dragon Universe Wiki, that adheres to the actual Japanese terminology of the series. And if that isn't your speed, go to Kanzenshuu.
In short: I will continue to use Japanese terms, please do not correct me with dub terms, and as an added thing, don't use Dragon Ball Wiki as your research source, the Dragon Universe Wiki or Kanzenshuu.