Goku, in a dead sprint after a sweating Bubbles, clamps his hands around the monkey's waist. He hoists the little speedster over his head and begins a celebratory dance. Bubbles gets nauseous from the gyrations. Gagging noises cause Goku to stop and look up. The primate holds a hand over his mouth.
Goku notices the halo above his head is missing. He continues to hold Bubbles aloft while searching for it. Not finding it, he sets the monkey on his left shoulder and approaches his mentor.
"Hey King Kai. What's the deal with my missing halo?" he says. "Did my friends wish me back already? That wasn't supposed to happen yet, right?"
"I suppose there's no hiding it from you any longer," says King Kai. "I'm afraid your friends have been locked in a terrible battle over the Dragon Balls. Fortunately your friend Oolong was able to steal the wish and use it on you like they wanted."
"You mean my friends are in danger? Is the battle still going on?"
"Yes, it is still playing out. There's a lot happening. I'm not entirely sure how everyone is doing."
"It's really that bad? Why didn't Shenron bring me to the site of the wish like everyone else we brought back to life so I could help?"
"I'm afraid the dragon only brings people back to life in their bodies if they still exist. And yours is here. All those other times, you had the victims' bodies nearby when you summoned Shenron."
"How could you keep something like this from me? You need to let me talk to them. I need to know what's going on."
"I was afraid you'd say that. I can't let you speak with anyone. Such a distraction could be costly at a crucial moment. However, I will allow you to see what I see if you place a hand on my shoulder."
Goku puts Bubbles down and reaches out an arm. He closes his eyes. Glimpses of events flash across his mind. They are still frames without backgrounds. Each one is more intense than the last. His eyebrows and cheeks pinch together as the memories stop and the current events start to take place as they are happening.
###
Bulma's lungs burn from the smoke and heat they inhaled. She fights a fit of coughs rejecting the air she desperately needs. Her eyes blink and water trying to clear the ash and brightness.
A body she cannot see collapses against her. Her arms instinctively embrace the person leaning on her as she drops to her knees trying to support the weight. She rests her chin in the crook of their neck and shoulder. The scent is unmistakable. Her eyes finally clear up allowing her to see the extent of the damage done by the enemy.
She looks down Yamcha's back. Most of it is exposed. The gi barely hangs in tatters from his left shoulder. His skin is covered in a massive burn. Blood pours heavily from the right shoulder blade. The red liquid runs down his back and arm in streaks.
"Oh Yamcha," Bulma says.
She sobs and nestles her cheek against his. She feels something move in her lap. Puar grabs the sash around Yamcha's waist with both hands and buries her eyes in it. Muffled sniffles escape from the cat.
"Are you two alright?"
Bulma barely recognizes the raspy voice. She pulls her head back and sees Yamcha holds one eye half open.
"You're alive!"
Bulma squeezes him. He lets out a strained breath. She immediately relaxes her grip.
"Sorry. Sorry. I'm so sorry," Bulma says. "I'm just so happy you're alive. And I—"
She sees Spice advancing upon them. Yamcha can feel the Makyan's approach. Each step brings the weight of his ki closer.
"Help me up," he says.
"No you can't go," says Puar, digging her claws into his clothes enough to scratch his skin.
Bulma bends her right arm so her palm is facing the ceiling and the elbow is at her hip. Yamcha puts his left hand in hers. Their fingers lock, and he pushes off the support. Bulma places her other hand on his side and gently guides him to his feet.
The warrior brushes Puar off of him with his good arm. The cat falls on Bulma. He sluggishly turns to face the enemy. He feels a bump on his lower back and hears a whisper. He twists his head back, cracks a smile, and then returns it to the front.
He grabs his right arm just above the elbow and below the burns. He makes a strafing leap to his left never exposing his vulnerable back and sides to the foe. Spice smiles as he changes direction to follow the movement.
Yamcha's feet come down and bounce off the floor again to repeat his maneuver to further distance himself from Bulma. He does it once more. This time though, he disappears behind one of the huge pillars.
"Trying to hide isn't going to work," says Spice.
Before he can rush down the injured fighter, Yamcha jumps out from behind the column in a full sprint. He runs horizontally across Spice's vision.
"Too slow!" says the Makyan
He dashes with even greater speed than his target. He covers the distance in the blink of an eye. His arm shoots out like a thrusting spear. His fingers rip through Yamcha's abdomen. He flexes his fingers, now exposed from the man's back.
"Did you really think you could get away?" says Spice.
Yamcha smiles. Spice's eyes narrow at the unexpected response. Then the man explodes in a cloud of white smoke. A cat hovers where his head used to be.
Puar lets loose a flurry of scratches from all four paws aiming at the adversary's eyes. Spice closes them and tries to bat her away blindly. He misses and massages the irritating cuts. They itch more than they hurt, and they anger him even more than that.
He growls and scans for the cat after regaining his sight. He spots it, but before he can act, a bright twinkle catches the corner of his eye. He whips his head over to it. The real Yamcha is standing beside the column he never left the side of. A bluish white light radiates from between his cupped hands at his hip.
"Eat this!" he says, firing the Kamehameha.
"Nooo!" yells Spice.
The blast launches faster and bigger than he can dodge. It runs him over surrounding his entire form in energy. His body helplessly thrashes along the path of the beam. The heat and friction rub away at his skin like sandpaper. The concussive waves pound on his bones and organs.
The ki dissipates and thins. Spice drops to the ground out of the stream of light. His body lies withered and broken. Every nerve reports agony back to his brain.
He sees his opponent come into view standing near his feet.
"How?" says Spice, "how did you pull that off?"
His voice is weak, barely a whisper. A series of wheezes and coughs follow the strained sentence. Yamcha feels the last of his enemy's life force slipping away.
"Puar clung to my back when she was behind me," says Yamcha. "You couldn't have seen her because I made sure to face you the whole time. Then when we got behind the pillar, well, you know the rest."
"I see," Spice says. He inhales deeply and slowly. "Heh."
He manages to raise one corner of his lips.
"I don't know anyone who would risk their life to save mine because they simply cared about my well being."
Spice pauses to catch his breath.
"And there's no one I'd risk my life to protect unless the risk warranted some kind of great reward. Your kind truly baffles me…"
"That sucks man," says Yamcha. "I'm sorry."
But his adversary is already dead. His dim eyes stare unfocused.
Yamcha falls to his knees and topples over. Bulma manages to grab hold of him before his head slams on the ground. He is unconscious but breathing.
She lays him down on his side with his head on her thighs. She brushes his wild hair out of his face. Then she looks around the empty room unsure of what to do next.
###
Krillin, Tien, and Chiaotzu touch down in the main courtyard of the colossal fortress. Nicky and Sansho walk around either side of the giant tree at its center to meet them.
"You three are proving to be quite the nuisance," says Nicky.
"You were lucky last time," says Sansho. "We had a mission to complete. But now, you're all ours."
A breeze ruffles through Nicky's robes and Sansho's tremendously long pink sideburns.
Tien steps forward from the middle of his group to meet their challenge. Krillin gulps, and Chiaotzu braces. Nicky and Sansho give each other a glance followed by a nod.
The bulky Makyan storms forward. His heavy footsteps thunder along the ground. The lengthy locks at the side of his head streak behind him like rosy lightning. His sights are set on Krillin directly in front of him.
The short monk takes to the air immediately. Tien moves to intervene while the enemy is fixated on his teammate only for Nicky to gently drop in front of him from above. Sansho carries his momentum into a short hop. He lands in a squat where Krillin used to be before pushing off to chase his target.
Nicky strikes first. His arm is knocked aside by Tien who immediately counterattacks. The three-eyed man shoves his nonblocking palm forward with his thumb, index, and middle fingers extended.
Nicky jumps back to avoid it. Though the hand misses him, an intense pressure pushes against his chest as the air between them compresses.
There is no fear in this one at all, he thinks. He stood his ground, and I'm the one retreating. I'll have to change tactics. Especially with his little helper floating around.
Tien hears Chiaotzu's voice in his head.
I'm going to fire a Dodonpa straight through him from behind you. Be ready to catch him when he moves left or right.
Chiaotzu flies over Tien's head with a yellow spark at the end of his pointing finger. A laser shoots out cutting through the air. Nicky flicks his feet behind him and floats away from the ground parallel to it. With him sitting over the beam, Tien cannot advance without running into it.
Tien sends a telepathic message to his partner and moves in an arc around the attack as it finishes. Chiaotzu moves in an arc the opposite direction. As Nicky's feet land, he finds himself surrounded. He must either expose both his sides to keep the two combatants in his peripherals or face his back to one of them.
He pushes off his toes just as they touch the stone. He dashes at Chiaotzu lifting a knee almost to his own chest.
The psychic takes an uncertain pose from being forced so quickly into a melee confrontation. Fortunately, he sees his friend bounding in right behind the foe. He will only have to defend a couple blows before Tien arrives.
A sharp bulge suddenly pushes out of Nicky's exposed thigh. He grabs hold of the end of it with one hand.
Hang on Tien, Chiaotzu thinks. Something weird is happening.
The warning reaches Tien just before a sword rips free of the enemy's leg. As it does, Nicky spins around to slice at Tien who is almost on top of him. The Makyan misses by a hair as the martial artist slows and angles upward to make more space between him and the blade.
What's going on here? thinks Nicky. He was already dodging before I actually attacked. He couldn't have known about the weapon unless his friend warned him. But there was no indication of that. At least not one I could see. Hmm.
Above their battle, Sansho chases Krillin through the sky.
I really hope this guy is as slow as he is big, thinks Krillin.
The shorter fighter speeds far ahead of the Makyan's reach. He summons a yellow ki orb between both hands. It spins causing little sparks from its friction with the air. His palms curve behind the sphere until his wrists touch. Sansho notes the impending shot and his target slowing because of it.
The Makyan makes a push to close the distance between them. Seeing this, Krillin lets a breath of time pass. He gently shoves his hands releasing the projectile. It warps into a thinner oblong shape from its rapid acceleration. His accuracy combined with his enemy's reduced reaction time forces a reflexive jerk from Sansho.
He jolts sideways as if suddenly pulled by a string attached to his back. The ki formation clips his shoulder and explodes. The heat sears his face and neck. The impact halts his progress dramatically while Krillin races off.
Sansho shakes his head and resumes his pursuit. The same process repeats two more times. He roars after the third blast hits him and his prey eludes him once again.
He's too fucking fast! thinks Sansho. I can't react to his ranged attacks at all. He's content to just chip away at me and waste all my time. I need to get back to Vizier Nicky as soon as possible.
Krillin prepares another pot shot to whittle down his opponent further. Sansho begins to form a ki ball of his own. Krillin fires his bolt. Sansho's eyes widen, and he throws his own despite not being ready. A black sphere with a dark, putrid yellow aura plunges into the smaller missile. They clash, and Krillin's more pointed shape pops the larger ball in a shower of sparks. Sansho rolls to the left barely avoiding another hit.
No way! How can he summon so much more energy than me that quickly? thinks Sansho.
He clenches his fist holding it out ahead of him. The disgusting amber color envelops his hand. He swoops in and brakes to bait another shot. The tactic works allowing him to avoid a blast. The flame burning around his fingers darkens and grows. He dashes forward while Krillin starts to prepare another projectile.
Sansho keeps moving ahead waiting for the next ranged attack. When it rockets from his foe's hands, he drives his own into it. The black cored blast powers into the brighter sharper force. This time it overpowers the opposing blast which breaks across its surface.
Krillin dodges the incoming sphere with plenty of time. He pauses in the air since his opponent has stopped moving as well. The scaly skinned demon laughs triumphantly.
"You may be fast, little man," says Sansho. "But you obviously don't have the endurance to outlast me. So keep running if you want, but when you tire, just know that I'm going to kill you slowly."
Krillin makes a nervous swallow. A bead of sweat traces a cool path down his side from an armpit.
Maybe this guy's right, Krillin thinks. What if I can't get away from him? I'll just be wasting my energy little by little until I'm helpless. I think I need to hit him with my strongest Kamehameha. But if that doesn't work, then I'll be in the same predicament anyway.
Sansho charges at his hesitating adversary.
I guess it's better than nothing!
Krillin surprises Sansho by flying straight at him. He leans his left shoulder forward as if to ram through the Makyan. Sansho chuckles at the attempt and raises his own shoulder to meet his opponent's challenge.
They streak at each other. They brace for impact. They collide!
Sansho feels nothing as he pushes through his smaller foe. Obviously there was no contest, but he expected at least a little resistance. He turns to see a fading image of the man's backside with blurry edges. Before it fades away completely, he notices the warrior's hands are cupped at his right hip.
"Unreal!" says Sansho. "He can move faster than I can follow too?"
His head swivels searching for the short fighter.
"Haaa!"
Sansho looks upward at the sudden scream. He sees the orange of his enemy's clothes and a white-hot beam barreling down at him. His face lengthens in shock as he tucks in his legs and arms to cover his vital areas.
The wave explodes on impact, igniting the air around the target. Smoke roils outward in a cloud. Before it can be blown away, Krillin knows he failed. And somehow, his opponent's power has grown even more.
"Hey, that was a nice try, little man," says Sansho, moving out of the smoke. "You packed enough fear and desperation into that attack to overpower me pretty quickly. I don't know anyone who can summon so much energy that fast."
The voice is deeper, his body bigger than before. The muscles are more rigidly defined, almost like they have been pumped up with air.
"Unfortunately for you," continues the Makyan, "I can beef myself up. In this state, I'm actually stronger than my commander, Spice. It's been fun, but playtime's over."
Before either combatant can move, lightning bursts from a section of the citadel. It vaporizes the roof as it jaggedly cuts into the sky. With black clouds rolling outward from the epicenter and a dragon forming before him, Sansho gawks at the sight.
Krillin gazes in awe too, having only seen Shenron once himself. But that moment was very brief since he was still a bit foggy from being brought back to life. Seeing the entire process in action is an entirely different, horrifying experience.
"Looks like our Master has succeeded," says Sansho. He laughs. "You might as well give up now. As soon as he makes his wish, it's all over for this world."
Krillin rips his eyes off the dragon to his now approaching enemy. Was what the hulking man said true? And how was he supposed to beat him now? Fatigue left him empty while Sansho surged with vigor.
Krillin's hands reflexively fly to the sides of his head. His index and middle fingers point at his temples just above the eyebrows, palms facing the Makyan. He squeezes his eyes shut.
"Taiyoken!"
His skin begins to turn red, then pink, and finally white. Pure light shines from every pore of his body before flashing outward. Sansho only looks at it for a second, but the damage to his eyes is already done. An infinite number of photons pierce through his pupils before his eyelids can snap shut. Even with them closed, he only sees white.
The light fades leaving Krillin with his opponent completely open for attack.
I don't have much strength left, he thinks. But I need to hit him with all of it.
Don't waste it on an attack that won't work.
The voice surprises Krillin. He wonders where it came from. It speaks again from his own mind.
Use the rest of your ki to run away. That's what you've really been training for right? To flee from fights you can't win.
"No, I—"
Do the smart thing. Get away while you still can.
A violet light fades in and out around his irises.
Krillin musters up the last of his energy, and he flies towards the closest castle spire. The eerie glow solidifies in his eyes. He searches for a place to hide. He sees an open window and squeezes through it. His remaining ki immediately dampens as he slips along the wall away from the opening.
"Argh!"
Sansho rubs his assaulted eyes. He keeps trying to open them, but even the smallest amount of light aggravates the pain. He worries he will never see again.
Slowly, the whiteness burned into his retinas begins to vanish. The world around him is hazy like looking through a thick steam. He keeps blinking allowing more and more shapes to come into focus.
After a couple more minutes of blinking and watering, his vision nearly returns to normal. The dragon from before is gone, and the sky is back to normal.
"Where is that little bastard?" says Sansho.
He whips his head in every direction before shouting.
"Come out here and fight me!"
With no signs of his provocation working, and little time to waste searching the whole castle, he inhales deeply. As the breath releases, his muscles return to their previous size.
"At least I can power down for now," he says, flying off to meet up with Nicky. "That form is hard to maintain for long."
He looks at the eclipse and smiles. A mere quarter of the sun remains.