Kami tosses his staff to the tiled floor of his domain. Golden light traces the creases of his robes and skin.
"Kami?" says Mr. Popo. "What are you doing?"
"He's alive. But he needs my help. I won't standby any longer while my pupils suffer."
"But Kami, you know the rules. Of course they mean everything to us, but you can't risk being removed from the Guardianship of Earth for a personal matter. You're already under close scrutiny from interfering with Garlic Junior."
"Let them do their worst. If they want to punish me for nepotism, so be it. All I have left to lose are those I care about, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep to them safe."
Golden light blinds Mr. Popo. When he opens his eyes, Kami is gone.
Kami finds himself in an arid field of dusty grasses and plateaus. Nappa's corpse lies not far from him.
"Come on, come on," he says. "You have to be here. Why can't I sense you?"
He closes his eyes and breathes. His eyes flash open.
"There!"
He dives several yards through the air, landing on his knees and sliding to a stop. His fingers scoop soil by working together as a shovel. After he digs a small depression into the ground, his hands push through to a hollow area. He sweeps away the thin wall blocking the empty space.
His arms quit when Krillin's body reveals itself beneath the surface. He reaches into the angled hole. He grabs Krillin's wrist and pulls him across the charred floor of the carved out cavity.
Kami embraces his unmoving pupil before laying him down on his back. He places a hand on his chest.
"Take some of my ki. This should ensure you recover."
As he transfers the energy, he stares at the ominous white orb in the sky. A tingling runs down his spine.
"I'm sorry I couldn't give you more, but I must go. Good luck."
Kami vanishes in a burst of golden light.
Krillin's eyes ease open as the divine silhouette of the Guardian fades. He whispers through chapped lips.
"Kami—"
A coughing fit cuts him off.
"Was I dreaming? Am I dead?"
He rolls over onto his stomach. He looks around to find himself still on the battlefield. His eyes pass over the grisly sight of his opponent. He quickly moves on before settling upon something else. As if handling a delicate doll, he stands up and walks over to it.
He kneels at Chiaotzu's hat so it rests between his knees. He picks it up and tears come suddenly. He buries his face in its cloth and muffles his sobs.
###
Goku and Piccolo weave between the feet of the colossal ape. Gohan bounces in his father's arms. No matter how fast they run, they cannot escape its rampage. They double back and make a break through the monster's legs.
It reaches for them, but they slip through the grasping fingers and run behind him. Goku catches sight of the giant tail above them as they sprint. He speeds up when the creature turns around to continue the chase.
"We need to remove his tail."
Piccolo looks back at Goku.
"You're sure that will work?" says Piccolo.
"Yes. If I can get Gohan somewhere safe, I'll distract him while you cut it off."
"Giving me the easy job huh. Well I won't turn it down. Gohan, call that stupid pet dragon of yours to carry you out of here."
Gohan nods and sticks his fingers in his mouth. A whistle blares out of his lips. Piccolo's hands slap to his ears.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to whistle?" says Piccolo. "It hurts like hell!"
"I'm sorry Mr. Piccolo. I forgot."
"Look out!" says Goku.
Piccolo barely sidesteps a smashing fist while Goku stops completely before running under it. The raging beast pounds its feet and hands to crush them. The environment flattens around them as they ricochet amongst the thrashing tantrum.
A red aura flares around Goku. He grinds his teeth against the pain and shoots off as fast as he can. While making sharp dodges around swatting hands, he sees a small dragon gliding in along the ground. He dashes and dives until he gets to Icarus as the Kaioken flickers out. After dropping Gohan on its back and slapping its hindquarter, Goku pushes out another Kaioken and races upward to the monster's face.
On his way up, he forms a Kamehameha. He darts back and forth a couple times to avoid the greedy clutches. They finally surround him and clap together. Goku fires his wave at the armored chest which accelerates him backward and out of the crushing palms in the nick of time.
While racing away on his beam, he sees Piccolo flank behind Vegeta's ankle and move for the tail. Goku wills him to hurry up as his Kamehameha stretches thin and sputters. Just as Piccolo makes his move, the beast gracefully pirouettes. After spinning to face Piccolo, the swinging foot of the brute punts Piccolo high into the air.
"Ah no way!" says Goku. "I thought he had him for sure."
He flies over to Piccolo who flips uncontrollably until he regains his balance. Goku hovers by his side as the ape taunts them by drumming its belly and hooting.
"You feel good enough to try again?"
"Yeah I got one more run in me," says Piccolo. "But this time I'm the distraction and you're going for the tail."
"That's fair."
They stare into the face of the ape which almost seems to smile back before roaring and pounding its chest.
Piccolo shoots straight at the ape. The giant hands clap together to squash him, but he stops short, backflips, and dives directly down to the ground. A palm follows him trying to race him to the earth. One of his arms stretches sideways at an angle like a rope thrown to someone drowning. The distance between him and the ground closes quickly, as does the distance between him and the hand above. His arm continues to reach as it extends beyond five times its usual length.
Just before he hits the dirt, his fingers latch onto the crevice of a boulder, and the arm retracts immediately. He slings out from under the hand parallel to the ground as the palm slaps down. A cloud of dust rolls away from the giant fingers.
Goku, now behind Vegeta, launches his attack when the ape pounces after Piccolo. Wanting to avoid a second failure, he turns the Kaioken on again despite the agony from the last one protesting to suffer any more. He zips in and raises a hand for a slicing karate chop. As he swings his arm, the base of the tail slides away from him, and the ape backflips overhead. A gigantic shin crashes against Goku's backside, snuffing out the flaming aura. He careens into the arid soil as the creature lands and gives a triumphant chest thump.
"Come … on."
Goku pants for air.
"I thought … for sure … he wouldn't see me … coming."
Piccolo glides up beside him.
"It's not going to work Goku. He knows what we're doing."
"No way. How could he?"
A deep growl cuts them off. Except it is not a growl, it is laughter. The ape throws back his head and belts out a hearty series of chuckles.
"I'm sorry," says Vegeta.
Goku recoils from the booming voice of the speaking ape.
"I just can't keep it up anymore. It was just too funny watching you both struggle thinking I was a mindless beast."
"I thought so," says Piccolo. "He never lost his senses at all."
"But how can that be?" says Goku. "I don't remember any of my transformations, so I wasn't conscious during them."
"That's because you're low class scum," says Vegeta. "Only a true elite can master this form and not be consumed by the pure primal instinct. In this form, you pitiful fools have no hope of beating me."
"So that's how it is, huh?" says Goku.
"Got any other tricks?" says Piccolo.
"I do actually, but it's my last one. You'll have to be the distraction one more time though. That okay?"
Piccolo grunts.
"If it stops this guy, then let's do it."
###
Yamcha breaks another giant boulder as his body flies through it after a punishing blow from the giant ape. He bounces hard off the ground before skidding to a rest. The tatters of his clothes stain red from the wounds beneath them.
He doggedly tries to push himself up. Sharp, stabbing pains splinter in his left arm. He collapses back to the dirt. A black and blue bruise covers the skin between his shoulder and elbow. The arm lies cocked at a funny angle.
He rolls onto his back, braces his left arm with his other hand, and sits up. The ape tromps towards him. A foot rises high above to deliver a final stomp.
"Power Pole extend!"
Yamcha sees a shadow move across the ground. He watches a red staff joust the monster between the eyes. It staggers backward. Chichi flies in on a golden cloud and proceeds to use its mystical length to beat the beast across the face over and over again.
The primate tries to swat her out of the sky like a fly, but she maneuvers erratically staying just ahead of his attacks.
Yamcha senses someone else sneaking up on him.
"Your arm looks pretty messed up," says Yajirobe. "We need to get you out of here while Chichi has him distracted."
"No," says Yamcha. "I need you to cut off that thing's tail instead of carrying me off the battlefield."
"What? It's tail?"
"Yeah. That's how we got Goku to change back to normal when he transformed."
"But then he'll still be a Saiyan except pissed off."
"Maybe but we can handle him then. He was pretty exhausted before transforming, and Goku was always dead tired afterwards. The three of us should be able to beat him. So you need to sneak up behind him and remove it."
"I have to sneak up behind it … but Chichi probably can't distract him much longer. The plan was to get in and out fast."
"She's going to have to hold out a bit longer. You can do it. Suppress your power for stealth and then strike as fast as you can. Got it?"
"Uh, yeah."
Yajirobe nods jerkily and saunters away as if holding a full bladder.
Yamcha holds his breath as anxiety seizes his heart and stomach while watching Chichi tempt fate and defy it again and again with deft evasion.
During her twisting acrobatics, Chichi notices Yajirobe positioning himself behind the monster instead of getting Yamcha away from the fight like they talked about. She spots Yamcha standing his ground.
They must have a plan, she thinks.
She decides to fallback a bit. She uses the incredible reach of the Power Pole to prod the beast in the face while remaining well outside of arms reach. She flies up high to pull the ape's attention away from the ground.
It suddenly hunches down and springs up at incredible speed. She leans back hard turning the Zephyr straight up. She then steps forward with a heavy foot and deep bend in the knee to drive upward.
The monster's fingers reach up around her. They lace together over her field of view. She crouches and barely squeezes between them before they clamp down. She breathes a sigh as the creature falls back to the ground. She looks over her shoulder at it.
The ape opens its mouth. A reddish pink light forms deep in its throat. A beam of energy explodes forth. Chichi swerves the Zephyr to get out of the destructive path. The sudden move throws her off balance.
The Zephyr evaporates in the light while the edge of the ray smacks her back. The force knocks her out immediately while her skin blisters. She falls head first in a spiral.
"Chichi!"
Yamcha staggers forward holding his arm. He runs on wobbly legs to get to her as quick as he can. Despite pinning his bad arm to his side, every pounding step aggravates the broken bone. He feels the snapped pieces rub against each other along their fracture line.
Yajirobe steps up his pace after witnessing the disaster. He puts a hand on the hilt of his sword and leans his head down. His sandals flap as his lungs heave for air. He sneaks a quick peak and finds the monster raising a foot to crush Chichi beneath it when she hits the ground. He forgets all pretense of stealth and goes full blitz for the tail far ahead of him.
Yamcha watches the foot begin to fall. He summons up a Rogafufuken to push his body as hard as it will go. A tailwind pushes him along kicking up a trail of dust behind his ankles. He makes it to the edge of the shadow cast by the tremendous boot.
Yajirobe draws his sword.
Yamcha leaps into the shadow with an outstretched arm.
Yajirobe lunges high for the base of the tail.
Yamcha channels the last of his energy into the palm of his hand.
Yajirobe cuts clean through the furry appendage with his blade.
The ape roars.
Yamcha fires a Kiai from his palm. A cushiony burst of air pushes Chichi clear of the shadow cast by the foot. She rolls along the ground to safety.
The slowly shrinking boot crashes down atop Yamcha.
###
Bulma slams her chair backward and takes her feet as Yamcha's readings flatline. It careens on two wheels before crashing to the floor. She whips around. A single tear rips free of her cheek in the momentum. Her legs sprint for the exit while her hands rummage for the fastest jet she has in her Capsules. She boards the one person craft and zooms through the sky to Yamcha.
###
Kami scrunches his shoulder together and lowers his head.
"Another one?" says Mr. Popo. "Who was it this time?"
"Yamcha."
Go to him Bulma, he thinks. Maybe you can make the difference and do for him what I cannot.
###
Piccolo lands before the giant Vegeta. The ape grins its sharp teeth. Piccolo grits his and flushes ki to every inch of his body. It merges with his tissues. The energy turns to mass allowing his body to gigantify. He rises several stories in a matter of seconds.
However, his head only manages to reach Vegeta's navel. His body retains its slender form, failing to match the girth of the ape's limbs and torso. He raises his arms like a boxer about to slug it out several weight classes shy of his opponent.
"My, my," says Vegeta. "You Namekians sure are full of surprises."
Goku watches from afar as he takes the pose King Kai taught him. He spreads his feet just beyond shoulder width. His arms extend so his hands are directly above his feet. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes.
"The land, the sea, the sky, and all living things who live there. Please, lend me some of your energy. Help me protect those who cannot protect themselves."
His consciousness shifts beyond his own mind as he opens himself to the life forces of all things. The sense of self that keeps him whole breaks down as the sensation of his body being dissolved into a vast liquid takes over. Drops of power begin to trickle in to fill the exodus of self.
At first he resists the loss of rigid identity, slowing the process. But as he becomes more comfortable with his minor place in the grand universe around him, the energy flows more freely. Droplets of stamina from the surrounding regions begin to coalesce within him.
Piccolo throws a punch, but Vegeta grabs his entire forearm in his grasp. The ape spins, dragging Piccolo off his feet. The grip releases, and he flies off in a tumble. His body flattens plants and rocks as it rolls across the landscape. He springs to his feet and dashes in immediately.
Vegeta smacks him away again. As Piccolo stomps around for balance, Vegeta strafes behind him and wraps an arm around his neck. Piccolo gags as he is pulled to his tiptoes and then lifted completely off the ground.
Gohan observes from atop Icarus' back a safe distance from the battle.
"Okay buddy," he says. "We have to save Mr. Piccolo. I need you to fly in low and then soar up to his face. Okay?"
Icarus looks back at him. Gohan sees the worry in his eyes. He pats his friend on the side of the neck. He nods and smiles confidently.
Icarus turns to the front and beats his wings. They tear along the ground billowing dust beneath each flap on their way towards the feet of the giants. When they reach Piccolo's ankles, Icarus pulls back hard and shoots up along his leg.
Gohan pinches his knees into the dragon's sides and raises his hands above his head, one on the back of the other. They fly past Piccolo's waist.
"Masenko!"
A yellow spark materializes before his palm. Icarus zooms over Piccolo's right shoulder and then overtakes Vegeta's. The ape's eyes open in surprise as Gohan rides into view.
"Hah!"
Gohan fires his blast directly in the glowing red eye before him. Vegeta recoils and roars. He lets go of Piccolo and smacks a hand to his injured socket.
"Ahhh! My eye! You dirty little bastard. You're going to pa—"
A green fist uppercuts his jaw. Piccolo charges for a full body tackle. The ape falls on his back, and Piccolo wastes no time raining down blows to the beast's head.
Goku feels his body filling up to capacity. Anymore and he will be destroyed. His entire body now radiates with an aura of swirling snow particles. Their pure light dances across his skin with a cooling breeze. He does not know if it is enough, but it is the best he can do.
He lowers his arms while willing all of the energy to move across himself to a singular point in his right hand. A blizzard of ki blows back his sweaty hair as it rushes in and out of its destination. He wrangles with it. Every time he gets a hold of part of it and shifts his focus to another pool of energy, the previous one begins to slip away.
His attempts remind him of chasing drops of melting ice cream down the sides of a cone. The mental image helps him relax a little, and he finally corrals every drop in his palm. A storm as big as his pointy hair encircles his hand. He lassos the vibrant energy several times across different angles with his mind. He pulls them all tight and a white ball with a sky blue aura pops into existence from his palm.
A loud crash pulls his attention to the battle of the titans. Piccolo flies through the air while shrinking down to his normal size. Vegeta, in a sitting position, pushes himself to his feet. Gohan and Icarus flee from the scene.
Goku sees Vegeta set his sights on Gohan. He pulls back the spiritual orb and prepares to launch it.
Vegeta raises a hand to smash the pesky child. His good eye catches a twinkle in the distance. He takes a moment to identify the source.
"What are you up to Kakarot? I didn't think you had any energy left."
Goku feels out the evil in his enemy's heart. He locks onto it.
"I hope this Genki Dama is enough."
He hurls his arm. It slings around his body and slaps against his chest. He drops to his knees as his motion drags him forward. The sphere targets the negativity like a heat seeking missile.
Vegeta growls. He inhales deeply through his nostrils. A reddish pink light shines from his opening mouth. He breathes out firing a beam of energy.
It collides with the sphere. The spectral orb slides off course but gouges into the edge of the beam. It tears along the trail of bright red sliding further and further off target.
Goku jumps aside as the beam rips along the ground passing right across where he was standing. The concussive force blows him away as earthen debris batters him. He rolls to a stop and pushes up his head to watch his attack.
The Genki Dama punctures Vegeta's right shoulder and explodes. Flesh and armor scatter while heat and light engulf the upper torso and head of the ape. The body falls over backward through a cloud of smoke.
The ape lands on his butt and left elbow. Blood spills down the white armor from a hole in the pectoral. The skin on the neck and upper arm are blackened with burns. His head tilts back and howls in agony.
"Damn you Kakarot!"
The colossal primate begins to shrink. As he does, the snout recedes into the face. The ears lose their point as the sharpened teeth flatten. Vegeta returns to his original size. He heaves for air and clamps his jaw from the pain.
Unbelievable! he thinks. How could he have injured me to the point that my body could no longer maintain the strain of that form?
Vegeta pushes off his left arm to stand up, careful not to move his other shoulder. He roars as loud as his transformed state.
"I'm going to murder all of you for this humiliation. Starting with you!"
He aims a palm and shoots an orb at Icarus flying above him. The dragon swerves, but the bolt clips his wing, sending him and Gohan crashing to the ground.
"Are you watching Kakarot? This is what happens when you mess with your superior! Say goodbye to your son!"
White hot energy peels off of his hand in electric arcs. He thrusts his forearm when it pulses with light. A stream of plasma springs forth.
Gohan trembles on his hands and knees as the attack stares him down.
"Gohan! Run!"
Goku tries to follow his words but cannot keep up with their echo. He summons a Kaioken. His skin pinkens like a sunburn only for the technique to fizzle out. He runs as fast as he can knowing it will not be fast enough.
Author's Note 4/10/21: Goku and his friends keep rising to meet the next challenge, but another one always lies in wait for them if they do. How much longer can they hold out? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Ki, Dire Situation! The Dragon Team Rallies.