Nicky swoops down upon Tien several times while trying to cleave him apart with the great curved sword. He fires a few finger bolts with his free hand to keep Chiaotzu back.
When he sees an opening in Tien's defenses, he drops in with a crushing chop of the blade. Before it can split open the three-eyed man's head, a second pair of arms springs out of his shoulders. The hands clap together on either side of the slashing weapon, stopping it cold.
Tien rams both of his other palms into the bottom of Nicky's ribcage. The force knocks the breath out of him before sending him reeling head over feet into the air. His body makes a hard stop when Chiaotzu grabs hold of him with his telekinetic powers.
He struggles against the mental restraint. His arms and legs pull taut leaving his vital areas completely exposed. As they start to bend behind his torso, he leans his head forward and tries to do the same with his limbs. They shake with the effort of fighting the resistance but slowly return to a more comfortable position. The four armed warrior jumps to land a finishing blow. Nicky thrashes to rip free of the psychic shackles.
Tien's four hands find their mark. Two palms crush the Makyan's skull between them while two sets of fingers impale his stomach. Chiaotzu lets up while exhaling his held breath. The foe wilts in Tien's arms before falling to the ground. They both start when the body shimmers like a mirage and disappear.
They hear a clapping noise and search for its source. Nicky stands by the tree applauding them.
"Well done," he says. "You beat my illusion. I'm glad I didn't try to take you both on head to head."
"You mean it was all in our minds?" says Tien.
"Yeah, almost like he drew us into an image training session," says Chiaotzu.
"But it seemed so real," says Tien. "I could even feel the cold steel of his sword and my strikes hitting his body. We were moving around and everything."
Nicky leaps from the ground pulling another sword from his leg.
"It's not real Tien," says Chiaotzu. "Focus your shoki to dispel it."
"You're sure?"
"Yes!"
Tien closes his eyes as their adversary swings the blade at his body. After breathing in and out once, he opens them. The fiend is no longer there. He looks down to see Nicky frowning from the spot he never left.
Damn these guys, thinks Nicky. They should be demoralized from the control I have over their senses, not be able to cancel it out. My hypnosis may not be physically demanding, but I can only run each illusion for so long. I thought Sansho would be here before the first one gave out. He better finish up soon.
They all hear the thunder crash of a storm as lightning rises into the sky. A green scaled, sinuous dragon forms in the sky. It speaks two lines before vanishing in the same great display that brought it in.
Nicky rises into the air to level himself with Tien and Chiaotzu while keeping his distance.
"Looks like our Master has succeeded," he says. "There's no hope for your planet now."
He makes extravagant circles with his arms before bringing them in front of his chest. Tien and Chiaotzu watch their motion as his robes glide along after them. The former almost fails to realize the distraction as he senses an approaching ki from behind them.
Tien's eyes shift to locate the threatening presence. They find a black and yellowish orb hurtling at Chiaotzu. He raises all four of his arms while leapfrogging his floating friend.
The sphere makes it to within a yard of Chiaotzu before he can slam his hands upon it. He spikes it with all his might, but it barely changes course. Tien watches helplessly as it continues off center at his comrade.
To his relief, Chiaotzu uses the adjusted accuracy to slip upward barely out of the way. However, Chiaotzu's gaze is not on Tien and the ki blast. All three of his eyes shoot to their corners. Another orb from Nicky looms over him.
Chiaotzu places himself between Tien and the attack.
"Chiaotzu—," says Tien but there is no time to finish the statement.
The turquoise explosion consumes the psychic's body and the shockwave pushes Tien back. He shields his eyes from the heat and light. When he opens them, he sees the singed skin and tattered clothes of Chiaotzu falling to the castle below. A trail of red and black smoke follows his body. He cannot sense his best friend's ki.
Tien moves to catch him but Sansho cuts him off.
"Better forget your friend and worry about yourself," he says.
Tien's eyes narrow. His mouth curves into a frown.
"You monsters are going to pay for what you did to Chiaotzu."
"Oh really? Looks like you're the one who's outnumbered now," says Nicky, moving in behind him.
"You better check your math then because I only count two of you," says Tien.
His second pair of arms retracts into his body while his original ones cross in front of his chest, wrists meeting at his throat. The air around him begins to haze with steam. A ghostly copy of himself slides out of his body in the same pose. It solidifies and the process repeats one more time happening to both Tiens.
Nicky and Sansho watch in stunned amazement at the multiplication.
"And that makes four of me!"
The Tiens zoom off without wasting a moment. Two clones attack each of the Makyans. They push their foes back with an enraged assault. Punches and kicks relentlessly pound their guards from all sides as the Tiens strafe around them in a circle. The defenses are picked apart and the hits start landing.
Bruising blows knock Nicky and Sansho around. But the spike in anger cannot last. As the fatigue sets in from the continuous assault, the attacks slow down and lose power. The enemies begin to recover and block hits to gain advantage before strikes of their own lash out.
The clones fighting Nicky try to land simultaneous punches. Their vision darkens to pitch black. They feel their attacks connect but endure a strike in return. One takes a jab across the face while the other takes a slug to the gut Unbeknownst to them, they actually punched each other as Nicky slid out from between them.
They look around helplessly, their three eyes useless.
"It's another illusion," one of them says.
Before they can try to dispel it, Nicky stabs an elbow into the back of one of their heads and pokes his fingers into the throat of the other. The clones drop to the ground grabbing their respective injuries.
The pair fighting Sansho fair no better. The Makyan grabs the attempted kick of one and punch of the other with his hands. He utters a deep growl like he is about to vomit. His muscles explode with energy expanding beyond their limits.
A shockwave rips out from his body as his ki dramatically increases. The clones would have been blown away if not for being held in place. The concussive blast batters them as it passes over. Sansho then slams his arms together, clapping the two Tiens.
The impact smashes bone into bone as their bodies tangle together. They fall in a knot of limbs to the ground barely recovering before crashing into it. They regroup with the other pair who have finally removed the darkness spell placed upon them.
"Seems him separating into four hasn't multiplied his strength," says Nicky. "He just divided it. He countered my earlier illusion much faster, but now seems to be struggling with it."
"Then let's finish them off," Sansho says.
The Tiens turn their heads up to the menacing duo.
"Looks like we have no other choice," says one of them. "You know what we have to do."
The other three nod.
"But will it work at just a quarter strength?" says another clone.
"I'm not even sure half strength will be enough," says the first. "But that's the best we can do. Two of you will have to keep them busy while the other two ready the attack."
"But we were barely conditioned enough as a whole to handle it. We will surely die trying it like this," says the third.
"Maybe," says the fourth. "But we need to do it for Chiaotzu."
The Makyans rush down from the sky. Two Tiens instinctively fly off to meet them. The remaining two raise their arms slowly in a circle over their head before bringing them down sharply. Their hands clasp in front of his chest with the index fingers extended.
An aura of yellow and a dark gray form around them like thunderclouds. The hands pull apart with electricity arcing between them. They can feel more than just their ki pooling into them. Senses begin to dull. Sounds become fainter, and sight blurs. Even the pain screaming from their nerves quiets down. Headaches set in while intestines seize.
Above, their counterparts are easily dispatched. Sansho overpowers one with brute strength while Nicky's trickery beguiles the other. The Makyans each land coordinated kicks to the abdomens of their opponents. The Tiens rocket towards each other slamming back to back.
As they fall, the other two rise up with electrically charged spirit energy around their hands. The fingers and thumbs form a triangular shape with their tips pressed together. They move into position so the adversaries are in the middle. They look across at one another. They breathe heavily from the strain. With one final deep breath, they begin.
"KI!" shouts the first clone.
"KO!" shouts the second.
"HO!" they shout together.
An eruption of pure power surges out of their bodies. A yellow ki tsunami sweeps through the air and over the Makyans. Nicky's face gapes open from the eyes and mouth as the wave washes across him. He offers no resistance against its might despite his best effort to push back. His body stretches and pulls apart from the force expanding outward. Each piece of him vaporizes to less than dust.
Sansho fairs better. He manages to ride his blast with both palms and a knee pressing against it. He thinks he can outlast it if he can keep ahead of it. He is wrong. The leading edge of the destructive energy behind him meets the other at his waist. His soft body rips in half at the pinch point. The separated torso and legs quickly drain of their remaining life force as the explosions crush them into nothing.
The thunderous crash of the double Kikoho deafens the Tiens while the blinding light stabs through his eyes. The heat wafting over them sears the skin. When the damaging aftereffects finally subside, the two exhausted clones look at one another through the smoky, ash filled air. Their job done, unconsciousness takes hold from the effort sending them to the castle below.
The copies on the ground do their best to move under their plummeting selves. They manage to break their fall a little but lack the strength to catch the full weight. The impacts knock the doubles off balance so they stagger towards one another. The four collapse in a heap and fade together into a single Tien on his stomach.
Partially awake, he drags his head along the ground. He can barely even move his neck muscles. His three eyes find Chiaotzu. His best friend hangs limply over a chunk of stone that broke off during the battle. Tien reaches an arm towards him unable to lift it from the floor. He feels every shard of rock rub against his skin as he does.
"Chiaotzu," he says.
The syllables of the name come out in choked gasps.
"I'm sorry."
His three eyes droop shut. His chest cavity contracts and a puff of dust blows away from his lips. His torso does not expand for another breath.
###
Garlic rears above Kami and Piccolo as his muscles gain mass rapidly. His limbs and torso grow in length and thickness while his neck recedes a little into bulging shoulders. The growl escaping his throat deepens with every passing second until the transformation finally stops.
His dark green skin and black plants make his hulking body hard to define against the poorly lit room. But there is no mistaking the massive ki permeating the surroundings.
His mouth opens and the smiling white teeth appear bright compared to the rest of him. He throws his arms up and charges forward. Kami focuses energy to his eyes and releases yellow lasers that shoot continuous beams into the giant's chest. Garlic lumbers straight into them without slowing down. They sizzle and diffuse across his skin.
"Heh, heh, that tickles Kami," Garlic says, closing in.
He swings his arms down to wrap them around the antennaed man. Piccolo grabs his counterpart by the scruff of his poofy collar and drags him backward into the air. They barely avoid the behemoth's crushing embrace.
Piccolo tosses Kami aside and races back towards the Makyan. Garlic uncurls from his failed grapple. As he straightens, a foot swings up into his chin slamming his head back on his shortened neck. A series of punches then batter his abdomen.
Piccolo grunts with each attack striking as hard and fast as he can. They must be working as Garlic offers no resistance. Piccolo shifts his eyes up for a moment when he hears what he thinks are pained cries.
But Garlic is only chuckling at his futile efforts. Piccolo stops and tries to retreat. A hand slaps down on his bald head. It squeezes hard enough to deform its shape. He starts clawing at the tightening vice grip which lifts him from the ground.
A sickening shift in momentum drags him in an arc over Garlic's head and then sends him crashing down into the stone floor. Green mucus spurts from his mouth on impact. The grip on his head releases only to be replaced with a heel jamming into his gut, grinding deeper and deeper. Purple blood coughs up and runs down the corners of his mouth.
Oolong sprints from the scene. He calls back over his shoulder to Gohan.
"Hurry up kid. I'm not going to save you twice."
Gohan looks at the pig whose eyes flash with a fuchsia glow before his head turns to the front. An agonizing roar from his mentor pulls his attention back to the fight. He sees Garlic's leg press harder into Piccolo's belly. The memory of their last encounter with Garlic and his men blooms in his mind. Along with it comes the fear of being found by them and the shame of not helping from his cowardice.
The pitiful urge to run away reignites. And he could do it too. It would be easy. What would his father do?
"Save yourself Gohan," says the older voice of the man who looks like Piccolo. "Stay out of sight and get back to your mother. Nothing else matters right now."
Gohan squints as a golden aura begins to emanate from the tall man. In an instant, all he can see is a silhouette of the man inside the blinding light. Kami zooms across the floor clearing a trail of dust from it.
Garlic looks up from the victim beneath his foot as the light approaches. Kami rams into the side of his target and throws his arms and legs straight out. The energy around him explodes outward. The force makes Garlic stumble forward a couple steps freeing Piccolo.
Garlic regains his balance as Piccolo struggles to his feet.
"Is that the best you can do Kami?" says Garlic. He turns to face his nemesis. "Bump me a couple steps. You'll have to do better than that."
"Let me try then," says Piccolo.
Garlic flicks his eyes over to the other warrior. Piccolo stands with his elbows tucked in at his sides and fists clenched. Both shoulders inflate unnaturally. The bulges move down his biceps and through his forearms. He shoves his hands forward opening the fingers. Each of them and his palms gain an electric blue outline.
"Bakurikimaha!"
A yellow beam with orange flare fires from both hands. They are so massive they immediately merge together into a single wave of energy. It bursts beyond the width and height of his body. The power floods over Garlic, consuming him in its wake. Kami almost gets eaten by it too for standing in such close proximity to the target.
The attack rips up the tiles of the floor and demolishes the first wall it comes to. It expands into the open air outside the castle leaving the wall to crumble behind it. The structural damage is so great that the roof caves in without a load bearing wall below it. This reverberates back up the ceiling causing a giant fissure to cut deep into it. A haze of dust and disintegrated debris shrouds the room. The murky light of the Makyo Star filters in through the clouds.
"That was a spicy blast Piccolo," says Garlic's voice through the fog.
"It–it's not possible," says Piccolo. "My strongest wave didn't even faze him."
He watches helplessly as Garlic emerges from the vaporous screen.
"Oh don't look so glum," he says. "I had to close my eyes at least. It was pretty bright after all."
"This guy is unreal," says Piccolo. "I can't even scratch him."
"Hey Mister Piccolo."
Gohan's words whisper gently in his ears. He looks from the corner of his eyes to where Gohan stands far away at the edge of the battle. He can see the boy's lips moving.
"I know you can hear me, and I have a plan."