Endgame

Chapter 41: Desperate Measures

A/N: Happy Thursday! This chapter was bloating real good, so I cut it in half and moved the rest to the next chapter.

Speaking of which, next Saturday will conclude Endgame. INSANE!


In a matter of seconds, Tien had been dispatched like he was nothing. Morale amongst the Earth's defenders precipitously dropped.

Raditz turned to one side and faced his still-cowering brother. 'Rule number three for purging planets, Kakarot: take a captive. They tend to come in handy.'

Kakarot nervously glanced back and forth between his brother and the man who had previously threatened his life. Just like that...

'Now then,' Raditz barked as he turned back towards everyone else and rested one leg on Tien's chest. 'Here's what's going to happen. This fight in its current iteration is going to end. I tire of whatever…' he made a groping motion with his hands, '..this pitiful display is.'

Reflexively, Piccolo scoffed. 'This battle ends when we say it does!' he growled.

Krillin decoupled himself from Launch and bent low to the ground, preparing to charge. 'You think we're going to let you leave after what you've done?' Krillin asked, a harshness in his voice.

Raditz raised one solitary finger and wagged it, silencing both of them. 'Nah, ah, ah…' Raditz's leg pressed down on Tien's chest, causing a series of unconscious, wailing cries of pain to erupt from the fighter. 'If you attack me,' Raditz said cooly, 'he dies. From the brief time I've spent on this planet, and from my countless other trips to planets filled with similarly idealistic fools, I know that death is… unwanted. You wouldn't want to kill one of your own, would you?'

When both of them seemed to freeze, Raditz smiled. 'Ahh… so I've found something you do respond to, after all,' Raditz gazed down deliciously at his captive, who continued to labor to breath. He then again turned to one side. 'Kakarot,' he beckoned to his brother, 'come here.'

Now standing, Kakarot cautiously came to Raditz's side, not unlike a servant coming to their master's side. 'Brother,' he began to say, 'we can win this fight-'

In one violent motion, Raditz's fist cracked downwards on Kakarot's back, sending Kakarot sprawling to the ground. 'You speak when needed,' Raditz reprimanded his brother. 'On your own, you couldn't defeat a human warrior; you dare suggest to me what we should do? Know your place.'

Wheezing, Kakarot remained prone on the cobbles. It was unclear whether he chose to do so.

'Unbelievable,' Raditz spat, shaking his head. 'You nearly die to this human, and yet you think to give me advice?' Annoyed that Kakarot had not yet stood, Raditz reached down and wrenched Kakarot up by his hair. 'A Saiyan does not cower,' Raditz hissed, roughly shaking Kakarot for emphasis. 'Nor do they talk up the chain of command. Before we leave this planet, you'll have to learn this…'

While this was going on between the two Saiyan brothers, Krillin edged closer to Piccolo and began to whisper. 'I know that we have substantial differences of opinion,' Krillin began before swinging his intense gaze towards Piccolo, 'but if you do anything to endanger Tien's life, you're not going to live through this battle.'

'Stow your fears.' Piccolo said dismissively. 'I have no intention of letting an ally die while they may still be of use to me.' Piccolo swung his own gaze towards Krillin. 'And I relish the moment Raditz is dead so that we may formally settle who deserved to die that day.'

The hairs on Krillin's neck stood up at this statement. He glared back at the demon and nodded.

'Regardless,' Raditz continued after a moment, releasing his grip from Kakarot's hair and letting his brother back onto the ground, 'I need you to turn your attention to something else, Kakarot.' Raditz then swung back to address his opponents. 'It has come to my attention that my brother, Kakarot, is an atrocious fighter.'

Everyone gave him empty stares. 'What?' Krillin expressed, genuinely confused.

'He needs to see how a proper warrior fights. To that end, as weak as he is, Kakarot will now assume the role of "boot" pressing down on your friend here. While he is doing so, he will also watch me fight each of you one-on-one-' Raditz paused, thinking for a split-second. 'Two-on-one if I find myself becoming bored. If any of you violate this rule, or try to attack Kakarot and free my captive, I will make it my mission to kill your friend here if Kakarot hasn't already done so.'

At the mention of his job, Kakarot gave a weak nod, obviously still pained from Raditz's earlier strike.

Raditz clapped his hands in anticipation. 'So! Who shall face me first? I promise not to be too harsh! No-one is allowed to die before I've demonstrated a few things to Kakarot!'

Launch and Krillin exchanged a look with each other, each considering whether to take up Raditz's offer. Fighting in such a manner would nullify any advantage we have… Launch and Krillin both approximately thought. There has to be something else we can do…

Piccolo, ignoring them, was about to volunteer when someone else beat him to it. 'I'll go first,' Yamcha announced as he took one step forward. A confident smirk was plastered across his face. 'If I hurt him once, I'll do it again-'

A powerful blast of wind drowned out his words as Raditz slammed a kick into Yamcha's body, launching him away from the battle at a blistering speed. A few seconds after Yamcha had disappeared, a resounding impact sounded from deeper in the city.

'Sorry,' Raditz faux-apologized, 'but he was starting to annoy me.'

0o0o0

Retu landed the plane just on the edge of the city in a field of green grass. He couldn't take the plane any closer- thick plumes of smoke made that impossible.

After peeking her head into the cockpit and waving thanks to Retu, Chi-Chi very quickly walked down the exit ramp and stepped outside. It was only after Retu's plane had vertically lifted itself off the ground and began to chug away into the distance did the self-doubt set it. Now that she was much closer to the battle, she could sense the massive clash going on in the heart of the city. She pressed a sleeping Gohan closer to her chest; amazingly, he had remained that way during the entire flight.

Maybe I should have listened to dad… She knew the optics of bringing a baby to a battlefield would always look bad to someone else, but now she wondered whether doing it was wise as well. If it was true that Kakarot had linked up with one of his own, then how was she supposed to get his attention without being detected by both of them? Oh, Gohan…

But she knew further thought would waste more time. And during that time, more cities are going to look like the one before me.

As she tried to think of a plan that didn't put herself and Gohan into mortal danger, she failed to notice a distant entity speed through the air and crash to the ground north of the city.

0o0o0

Piccolo genuinely laughed as he watched the cocky human be put in his place- several miles away.

Raditz was surprised to see this. 'You don't care for these humans?' he asked from across the plaza.

'Hah? Care?' Piccolo gripped his hat and cape, unburdening his person of both and tossing them to the side. 'Does a king care for the dirt underneath his feet?'

A wicked smile rose on Raditz's face. 'Ah, now you see, I can understand that.'

Their banter lingered in the air for a time. Any brief amiability it had generated for each other was violently discarded, however, when they both appeared in the center of the plaza, forearm-to-forearm. Struggling against one another, Piccolo summoned every reserve of power he possessed, but no matter how much energy he pushed into the grapple, Raditz, who was roughly the same height of Piccolo, matched him ounce-for-ounce, smiling maliciously all the while.

Eventually, realizing that he was getting nowhere, Piccolo disengaged by twisting Raditz to the side and swinging one fanged hand across his chest. Raditz moved imperceptibly fast, however, and caught the hand, twisting it at the wrist painfully. 'Already given up on brute strength, huh?'

Piccolo looked like he was gagging on something for a minute, almost as if Raditz has clamped his hand around the demon's neck. Confused, Raditz was surprised when Piccolo's expression straightened, then broke apart, as Piccolo's jaw hinged open and a blast of energy shot from his mouth and detonated against Raditz's front.

The smoke briefly obscured Raditz, giving Piccolo a chance to jump backward. That should give me some time, before- Piccolo's line of thought was cut off as an elbow surged out of the smoke and crashed against his head, snapping his body to the ground.

'Sorry,' Raditz said as smoke wreathed around and past his features like slow-moving mist, 'but that was just pitiful. You saw that, right Kakarot?'

0o0o0

Krillin watched this brief exchange with willful ignorance, hoping that, somehow, Piccolo would find a way to match Raditz one-on-one. When he saw Piccolo be nonchalantly knocked to the ground, however, Krillin cast aside any blind optimism he may have had. If we play by his rules, he'll kill us one-by-one… His gaze briefly flitted over to Tien, who remained unconscious underneath one of Kakarot's legs. But if I move now, Kakarot could very easily kill Tien… Krillin forcefully shut his eyes, internally screaming to himself. Aaaah! Tien! What would you do in this situation!

As stressed as he was, an immediate answer popped into Krillin's mind. He would want me to fight without his wellbeing in mind if it improved our chances to win. That's a big if, though…

Krillin watched as Piccolo was battered by a series of heavy punches, the last one driving him up against a wall. Piccolo snarled, twisting away from the building at the last second and jumping in the air, but Raditz reached his side almost instantaneously and backhanded him to the ground. Piccolo crashed into the ground and formed a shallow trench in the plaza with his body.

Piccolo isn't tying Raditz up in the slightest. If I go after Kakarot, then Raditz effortlessly moves to me. Can't do that. But if I move to Raditz, will Kakarot come after me?...

Another heavy punch slammed into Piccolo, this time nearly wrenching Piccolo's blocking arm out of its socket.

Damnit! Krillin charged forward, seeing that Raditz had his back turned to him. This is my best shot!

Just as Krillin reached Raditz, the Saiyan turned to him. 'I'll allow it!' Raditz said as he jumped over a leg sweep and rocked his leg upwards, slamming his foot into Krillin's chest. While in the air, he spun and deflected a chop from Piccolo. 'Now I'm actually trying!'

As Piccolo seized the brief initiative to throw a flurry of ineffectual strikes at Raditz, who for his part effortlessly dodged back-and-forth between them, Krillin slowed himself and started to collect energy into his palm.

Raditz's scouter very quickly beeped. 'Excuse me for a moment!' Raditz said to Piccolo before headbutting the demon and rocking him back.

Krillin blinked and Raditz appeared before him in the air, a sickening smile on his face. 'Sorry, but no more of that!' Raditz then gripped the human by both shoulders and rammed his entire knee blindingly fast into Krillin's gut. The human had no chance to register what had just happened before Raditz tossed him away like a piece of trash. He landed onto the ground with a soft thump.

0o0o0

As Launch watched Piccolo and Krillin valiantly try to land a hit on Raditz, she wildly pushed her mind to think of something, anything, that could turn the tide in their favor. It was increasingly clear that she wasn't as strong as everyone else present- she doubted she could even give Kakarot a proper fight now, as pained as she was.

Which put her in a unique position. No one really expects anything out of me...

A plan was coming along in her mind, but she would need some sort of opportunity, a distraction maybe, in order to carry it out.

Yamcha hadn't yet returned from the earlier blow that had sent him sailing through the air. Krillin and Piccolo were far too consumed with trying to stay alive. And Tien was still unconscious, trapped underneath Kakarot's heel.

She saw Krillin crash against the ground, simultaneous with Piccolo being thrashed back-and-forth by Raditz. They needed to turn the tide of battle, and soon.

0o0o0

Faster than Piccolo could react, a chorus of blows struck his body, each one sending his feet skidding across the cobbles. Raditz delivered one last punch- bending but not breaking Piccolo's ribcage- before shifting his weight onto his back foot. 'Buh-bye,' he said, firing a quick ball of purple energy straight into Piccolo's chest. The blast instantly detonated and propelled Piccolo's flailing body straight into a pile of rubble.

Satisfied, Raditz inspected his immediate surroundings. The small one is down, the woman is barely standing, the tall one is still under Kakarot's heel… and no sign of the one with the scar. Excellent.

After moving towards the center of the plaza, Raditz made a wiping motion with his hands. 'Well, that was fun,' he spoke so everyone present could hear. 'I actually worked up a sweat there for a few moments. But it's time to punish rulebreakers.'

Nearby, Krillin propped himself up on one arm, his body trembling. 'Wh-what are you talking about?' he asked, the strain of speaking clear in his voice.

Raditz affixed his gaze towards Krillin. 'You broke the rules. I didn't permit your little stunt- I entertained it.' A shadow seemed to pass over Raditz's face. 'And it's ceased to be funny. Of course,' Raditz said, adopting a more jovial tone, 'none of you were going to leave this place alive even if you hadn't done that. But, at the very least, you've decided who I should kill first…'

While Raditz let that last sentence hang in the air, Kakarot struggled to suppress a growing sense of resentment. Damn him! He treats me like a child! This planet was originally my responsibility, not his!

'Kakarot!' Raditz barked at his brother, snapping him out of his thoughts. 'Crush in the tall one's chest!'

Kakarot briefly glared, then nodded. Swinging his head, he moved his gaze to the unconscious person beneath him. To Kakarot's surprise, however, Tien had one shaking hand raised over his head. 'Solar… Flare…' he mumbled weakly before a weak flare of light flooded the plaza.

'Aaargh!' Kakarot yelled, feeling a burning sensation encompass his eyeballs. Stumbling blind, he moved away from Tien's mangled body.

Raditz, who was farther away, was afflicted to a lesser degree- less painful, but still as debilitating. Dammit it all! When did he come to!

0o0o0

It appeared that Launch had been the only one to notice Tien waking up; Raditz and Kakarot held their hands protectively over their eyes, while Piccolo and Krillin most likely languished in a rubble pile nearby. Tien must have used an incredible amount of willpower to keep quiet- and thus, undetected- while preparing to use the Solar Flare; his voice immediately devolved into an aching moan after the words had left his mouth. But it had been enough. Regardless, Launch found herself to be the only person in the plaza not blinded in the aftermath of the attack.

She quickly broke into a run, intending to capitalize on the opportunity. She was still in an incredible amount of pain, but the long reprieve given to her had allowed her to collect her strength. She could put her plan into action.

Her run took her right up to Kakarot. With one forceful shove, she pushed Kakarot even further away from Tien's body. She then swooped down and picked Tien up in her arms. Several seconds later, she had placed his body beneath a pile of rubble on the outskirts of the plaza. It seemed that he had again slipped into unconsciousness. It'll have to do.

As she ran back, she noticed Raditz start to rub his eyes- a tell-tale sign that he would soon regain his vision. Oh well…

Launch stopped mere inches away from Raditz, his hands on the verge of lifting from his face-

And she threw a physical wave of ki up at Raditz's head, sweeping across his face and lifting the scouter from Raditz's head. The device floated high into the sky, before being pushed to the side and down by an errant gust of wind. It clacked across the cobbles and came to a stop on the extreme end of the plaza.

Launch herself lost track of where the scouter had gone. Good. I doubt I could have destroyed that thing-

A fist swung down, crashing against Launch's chest and smashing her body into the cobbles.

0o0o0

'Damn,' Raditz said groggily, looking down at the person he had reflex hit into the ground. 'that was annoying.' He was surprised to see the woman unconscious at his feet. Wonder how, or why, she was-

He realized that the color of his left eye seemed off. More accurately, everything looked a bit more naturally lit to him. Growling, he reached for his scouter-

It was gone. HIs hand groped the area around his head fruitlessly before curling into a fist. It's gone! Fuming, he swung his attention to the woman on the ground, using his free hand to grab her and lift her by the front of her gi. A ball of energy burgeoned into life in his other. 'Where is it!?' He threatened, holding back his attack mere inches from Launch's face.

She coughed once, blood spraying onto Raditz's face.

Snarling, Raditz drew back his hand, preparing to blast the woman to oblivion. Just before he twisted it forward, however, he felt someone grip his arm from behind and bend it upwards slightly, loosing the attack harmlessly into the air.

Over his shoulder, a familiar voice rumbled. 'Who said you could ignore me-' Piccolo suddenly growled, deepening his voice '-the ONE and ONLY RULER OF THIS PLANET!' With a great heave, Piccolo pulled Raditz away from Launch, forcing the Saiyan to drop her back to the ground. Piccolo then lifted and slammed Raditz to the ground, eliciting a small gasp of pain as cobbles skittered away from Raditz's already injured back. Ignoring the brief blip of pain, Raditz surged back to his feet fast enough to catch a kick between his left arm and his chest. 'Did you need this?' He taunted, tightening his grip on the trapped appendage.

A whooshing of air near his head alerted Raditz; he quickly pivoted and caught a fist with his other arm, barely preventing it from crashing into his neck. A small droplet of sweat dripped from his chin. The small one, too!? Krillin and Piccolo both looked like wrecks- bright, bloody streaks of red and purple respectively ran up and down their bodies- and yet here they were, their mere act of standing an act of resistance towards Raditz.

The three of them remained motionless for a moment, each struggling in each other's grips.

'Damn you both!' Raditz roared, his eyes glancing back and forth between the two fighters. How are they still getting up?! 'You'll die!' He seethed, venting his anger. 'You'll all die!' Raditz ultimately wrenched himself away from them, jumping out towards one end of the plaza. Piccolo and Krillin followed in quick pursuit.

0o0o0

Kakarot regained his vision in tortuous bursts, each one sending his mind spinning with sensory agony. As the world slowly returned to him, he realized that he was propped up on his hands and knees, panting towards the cobbles. Slowly, he forced his head upwards, adjusting his eyes to the day's painful light.

Across the plaza, his brother expertly dodged in-between the strikes of Piccolo and Krillin, but something was preventing Raditz from properly counterattacking. Attacks that Raditz would have exploited effortlessly just a few minutes ago were now… not being exploited. For the first time since he had arrived on Earth, it seemed to Kakarot that Raditz was actually trying. A permanent scowl of concentration was plastered to his brother's face- somehow, the earthlings had made the fight much more equitable.

Kakarot snorted. For all the good it will do for them. Once I even out the teams-

His thoughts got no further as a blow smacked into the back of his skull, pitching him back into blackness.

0o0o0

Yamcha spat on Kakarot as he dropped to the ground, unconscious. That's for breaking my arm, my leg, and this city. His lengthy journey back to the plaza had made his blood boil. Raditz should have killed me when he had the chance. He's going to pay. They're both going to pay.

He briefly considered whether to kill Kakarot right there and then. He deserves it… Yamcha's eyes wandered over to a flat-top hat meandering across the plaza. Its brim was crisped at the edges from fire. Similar discarded items littered the plaza, their owners either long gone or long dead.

He could taste the fury in his mouth. Unforgivable!...

The sound of a blow being blocked rocked across the plaza, catching Yamcha's attention. Raditz jumped over a leg sweep but was rammed in the back by a two-footed leg plant by Krillin- the Saiyan careened through the air before throwing out his arms and halting himself in mid-flight. Crackling energy began to form in his palms.

That first!... Maybe...

A derivative, yet devilish idea popped into Yamcha's head.

0o0o0

Damn them, but still… While Raditz danced inbetwixt two fighters, one tall and one short, his heart pumped faster and faster. It was rare for him to find himself challenged nowadays, as he hopped from one worthless planet to the next, fulfilling a never-ending backlog of contracts. Losing his scouter had forced him to use both physical and mental muscles he hadn't used in years… In a way, he appreciated the newfound challenge he experienced as he tried to predict what his opponents would do next.

Though he was still indescribably mad at having lost his scouter. He would make sure to impale them on each other for that.

But not yet. He dodged underneath a strike and shot out a punch of his own, but at the last second a knee rammed into his side, shifting his attack to the left and away from Piccolo's prepared block. Raditz twisted, preparing to punish the smaller earthling, but to his surprise he saw no-one. His senses tingled and he jumped into the air, but a moment later a pair of feet collided into his back, sending him sailing through the air. Like before, a small gasp escaped from his lips. They keep aiming for my back! Raditz twisted through the air and stabilized. Bastards! He began to push energy to his hands.

'Hey! Raditz!'

Raditz, Krillin, and Piccolo turned their heads in unison. Standing towards the other end of the other end was Yamcha, battered but unbroken. The scarred human's arm was wrapped around Kakarot's neck in a headlock, holding the unconscious Saiyan's body halfway off the ground. 'Make another move and your brother dies!' Yamcha threatened.

The three earthlings watched as Raditz's gaze softened, his arms moving closer to his chest. 'You've taken my brother captive?' Raditz asked as if unsure what was going on.

'Err… yes!' Yamcha said after briefly wavering. 'And if you don't stop fighting and surrender, I'll kill him.'

Unheard by anyone except for Krillin, Piccolo cursed under his breath. 'Damn idiot…'

Raditz locked his eyes with Yamcha. 'Do it.'

'What?' Yamcha asked nervously, hoping he had misheard Raditz. 'What did you say?'

'Kill him,' Raditz said coldly. 'If he's no longer an asset, he's a liability.' Raditz crossed his arms contemptuously. 'If you were trying to intimidate me, then you're a bigger fool than I pegged you for.'

'Yamcha,' Krillin called across to Yamcha. 'Drop him.'

'But-'

In the blink of an eye, Raditz got halfway across the plaza towards Yamcha, intercepted at the last second by Piccolo. 'Out of my way- I need to punish an idiot!' Raditz roared, crashing the back of his fist against Piccolo's block and staggering the demon to the side.

'Yamcha! Help us!' Krillin yelled, shooting a golden blast towards Raditz. Without much effort, Raditz caught the blast and threw it back towards Krillin, causing the human warrior to scramble away from a small explosion.

Heeding Krillin's advice, Yamcha dropped Kakarot back to the ground and charged forward towards Raditz, slamming into the Saiyan's guard simultaneously with a recovered Piccolo. Growling, Raditz began dodging backward.

0o0o0

Woah. Huddled behind a boulder, Chi-Chi watched with awe as who she presumed to be the Saiyan from space be forced on the defensive by the combined efforts of Krillin, Piccolo, and Yamcha. Like flies they swarmed all around him, moving quickly enough to prevent Raditz from landing any sort of solid counter-attack.

Chi-Chi would have been more optimistic if it hadn't seemed like their strikes were wholly ineffective. Raditz continued to take a hit here and there as if it was nothing.

Wait… where is everyone else? Her eyes began to wander across the plaza. She sighted Launch motionless on the ground- but Chi-Chi still felt some energy from her. And… something else. Her gaze shifted again. Hmm?

Her breath caught. Several seconds passed before Gohan resting in her arms gave a weak cry, evidently disturbed by the sound of fighting in the plaza. 'Gohan,' Chi-Chi said softly as she placed him on the ground, 'I'll just be a minute… I hope.'

Carefully, she skulked out into the open.

0o0o0

Raditz hopped backward, his eyes desperately scanning his surroundings. He caught the first punch easily enough- it swung from high above, clearly telegraphing Piccolo's intention to slam Raditz to the ground. The second strike, a low kick aimed by Yamcha at his left leg, was with some difficulty caught too.

He glimpsed a third strike rush towards him. Uh oh. Exhausted of any free limbs, Raditz was defenseless as a surprisingly heavy knee drove into his chest, eliciting an audible crackk as a section of his armor chipped off.

His hand involuntarily snaked to his chest protectively. That… hurt. Then the hand clenched. That!... Hurt!...

'That's it!' Raditz crouched down to the ground, then sprung out and up, throwing back a huge wave of physical ki that blew back the encroaching fighters several feet. He then blasted into the air.

0o0o0

'He's still going up…' Krillin commented, his eyes tracking Raditz's ascending figure. 'Any of you have the energy to chase him up there?'

Yamcha didn't respond; Piccolo grunted. I thought as much, Krillin noted sullenly.

They had briefly overwhelmed the Saiyan, yet for all the good it did, Raditz still had the energy to shoot into the sky while the three of them labored to catch their breath on the ground. Their gis were torn, ripped, and in some places non-existent- Krillin's shirt hung to his body by a single orange strap, while Piccolo's clothes looked more black and brown than purple from the number of times his body had streaked across the ground. Still, they stood. For now.

'Listen,' Piccolo said softly, so that only Krillin could hear. 'if you've been paying attention at all, you would know as well as I do where this fight is heading.'

'And that is?'

'We're going to lose,' Piccolo pronounced bitterly, 'even if we manage to keep him on the defensive. He's just too durable. We could be here all day and get nowhere.'

'I wouldn't have expected the son of the Demon King to admit defeat so easily,' Krillin said, somewhat surprised.

'Shut up and listen,' Piccolo said tersely, 'and your assumption might be proven wrong.'

Krillin did so. Piccolo continued after a moment. 'We need to attack Raditz with enough force to overcome his defenses. Something that is immensely powerful.' He turned to Krillin, dead seriousness set into his eyes. 'Do you understand?'

'Are you suggesting some sort of energy attack?' A mental image of a yellow disk flashed through Krillin's mind. 'I could do that.'

'If you're suggesting that sawing attack,' Piccolo inferred, 'then don't bother. At the World Tournament I was able to half-deflect that with sufficient preparation. We would have to catch Raditz wholly unaware for the attack to work, and even then, the power gap between you and him might be too great for it to work.'

'Then what are you suggesting?'

'I have… some theories, but nothing concrete,' Piccolo admitted. I should have been more diligent these past two years!... 'I think if one of us spent at least a few minutes charging a ki attack, we could collect enough energy to overwhelm Raditz.'

'So while that person is charging the attack, everyone else would have to distract Raditz?' Krillin asked.

'Yes. It would take some time.' Piccolo grunted. 'Time we don't have-'

Their conversation was interrupted as a booming voice echoed across the plaza.

0o0o0

Raditz reached what he figured to be about three times the height of the city's tallest skyscraper. From this vantage point, the plaza seemed insignificant.

As it should be. Raditz slowly turned his arms inwards, before thrusting them out to form a T-shape with his body. As it soon will be.

Intimidation was a consistent theme in his approach to purging planets. Sometimes a well-placed push could make his job much easier. But there were also times where verbal intimidation worked just as well; he had long stopped keeping track of how many times frightened leaders had offered him the heads of their strongest warriors on in an effort to placate him. Typically, their offerings satisfied him. And then he purged the planet anyway.

So far, he hadn't had the chance to do something like that on Earth. Let's change that.

'Earthlings!' his ki-amplified voice screeched down from the heavens. 'I'm going to give you one more chance to play nice! If you agree to stop fighting and turn yourselves over to your warden and executioner, or in other words, me, I promise to spare some portion of your pitiful race.'

He paused. That was a lie. He often lied when purging planets.

'That's a good deal, right?' Raditz continued. 'Minor compliance in order to stave off total extinction? What do you think?'

But even from this distance, Raditz saw no movement from the people on the plaza, nor did he hear anything. They're not going to cooperate. And why would they? It was an awful deal. He sympathized with them.

Though it's not like he had expected them to say yes. He had been charging energy since he had stopped ascending, after all.

'Alright! Have it your way!' Energy blossomed into existence in his palms, each charging blast a mixture of red and purple. 'I've always wanted to glass a city from orbit!'

That was also a lie. He had glassed many cities from orbit. He should try to lie less.

'Brother!' he added on the end as an addendum, 'if you're still alive, I recommend you leave this city very quickly!'

0o0o0

A small blip of light appeared in the sky above the city, easily dismissable if those on the ground couldn't sense energy. As it was, they were horrified.

'That… that'll destroy the whole city,' Krillin muttered, consciously resisting the temptation to recoil from the massive power gathering above them. 'It's taking some time for him to prepare the attack, but… that amount of energy will vaporize everything for miles around…'

Piccolo's face twitched with rage. How could the universe be so cruel? To even let us dream of beating someone with that kind of monstrous energy… It's not fair! Father… you've cursed me to an existence of insignificance!...

Yamcha briefly glanced between Krillin and Piccolo, who both were staring up at the sky slack-jawed. 'What are you two doing!?' He yelled, his anger boiling over. 'We're not going to save the city by gaping like spectators! We need to prepare!'

'But.. what are we supposed to do against that?' Krillin asked, gesturing one hand to the sky. Far above them, the light slowly pulsed outwards, growing larger. 'That's… far too much power for us to handle. For anyone to handle.'

'So? Since when do we care about unwinnable odds?' Yamcha asked, catching Krillin's gaze. 'You lost against Piccolo at the World Tournament- but no one died that day. We don't need to overcome whatever blast Raditz sends towards us- we just need to prevent it from exploding in the city.'

Krillin grew silent, chewing on his lip. Maybe we could, but even then…

'I'm not going to die here,' Piccolo spoke up, glaring at Yamcha. 'if you two fools want to defend this city, then be my guest. But if either of you had a brain, you would realize that the better move would be to retreat to beyond the blast radius. That way Raditz expends a bunch of energy on a worthless target.'

'But this target isn't worthless!' Yamcha retorted. 'There are probably tens of thousands of people still stuck in the city! To abandon them now would be tantamount to killing them ourselves!'

Piccolo gave Yamcha a look of disgust. 'The fact that you aren't willing to do whatever it takes to win is tantamount to killing the entire human race. You do realize that if you two die, there's no chance of anything on this planet surviving. Not. A. Single. Thing,' Piccolo said slowly for emphasis. 'Do you honestly think that you'll have a pleasant afterlife if your stubbornness consigns an entire planet to oblivion!'

'I don't care,' Yamcha stated angrily. 'I'm not leaving. And I'm sure Krillin agrees with me.'

Krillin looked at Yamcha for a moment, then nodded. 'I do. Leave if you want Piccolo, but we're staying.'

Such indescribable anger rose within Piccolo that the demon's face, for the first time any of them had known him, turned red. The moment passed, however, aided by an eventual exhale from the demon. 'Damn you fools. If you two die here, then fleeing would be for nothing… I could never defeat Raditz on his own.' He planted his feet into the ground and angled his body towards the impending attack. 'Damn you two…'

'I'm glad you've chosen the right action, coward,' Yamcha said confrontationally.

'You've signed our death warrants,' Piccolo said venomously. 'Don't speak to me, human.'

Yamcha glared at Piccolo harshly for a moment. 'You knew the risks of allies like us.' He turned away dismissively. 'Don't deflect your self-hatred onto others.'

Surprisingly, Piccolo remained silent after this, his attention fixed towards the sky. Krillin and Yamcha did the same. Together, the three of them began preparing their strongest ki attacks.

0o0o0

A slapping sensation slowly brought Kakarot to, forcing him awake for the second time today. Blearily, he opened his eyes and saw Chi-Chi crouching over him, looking down with a mixture of fear, anxiety, warmness, and seriousness.

He blinked a few times, then let his eyelids droop back down. 'A dream, again…' he muttered to himself.

The slapping sensation returned, causing him to groan. 'What?' he opened his eyes again. 'Just let me sleep, dream…'

'As much as I would that to be the case,' Chi-Chi said, her voice betraying how concerned she was, 'it isn't.'

Realization slowly dawned on Kakarot. This… he extended one hand and placed it on Chi-Chi's leg. This isn't a dream. When he did this, Chi-Chi smiled but still moved away from him, clutching something in her arms tighter to her body. Kakarot's expression mellowed. For sure, this isn't a dream...

A cry came from Chi-Chi's chest; immediately, she started to rock the thing between her arms back and forth. 'Gohan, go back to sleep...' she said softly.

Gohan… Gohan? The name maddened him. Do I know that name? '...What's going on?...' Kakarot asked, growing increasingly suspicious.

Chi-Chi turned her attention away from the baby in her arms. 'Your brother is about to destroy this city.'

Kakarot's brain came close to folding in on itself. What?! What happened!?

'It's horrible…' Chi-Chi murmured, drawing Gohan closer to her and glancing at the devastation surrounding them. 'I can't believe your brother would have done this…'

Oh. Kakarot's face drew into a tight, imperceptibly pained expression, built to put up a wall between himself and the outside world. His gaze scanned his surroundings, then shot up to the growing mass of energy in the sky.

Oh...

0o0o0

And… done.

Raditz rapidly shifted his stance, tilting his entire body towards the ground. 'So long, weaklings!' In one smooth movement, he brought his hands together and held his palms mere inches from each other. Then, he blasted energy into a single red-and-purple blast that hurtled downwards like a meteor.

0o0o0

Above Piccolo, Krillin, and Yamcha, the sky darkened. 'Here it comes!' the demon yelled. 'HAAAAH!' A bright, thick yellow blast erupted from Piccolo's palms, racing up towards the sky.

In-sync, Yamcha and Krillin both cupped their hands at their sides and thrust their hands upwards. 'KAMEHAMEHA!' they both said as identical blue beams pursued Piccolo's leading attack.

The three beams stretched into the sky and crashed against the descending maelstrom of purple and red. As distant buildings in the city collapsed with a rumble, the attacks caught against each other, snarling and twisting. Eventually, a white sphere of raw energy began to form in the center.

0o0o0

Raditz hadn't expected his attack to immediately and cathartically disintegrate the city- but he hadn't expected it to take this long, either. 'Hmm?' he mumbled as he focused his vision towards the ground.

He very clearly saw his own blast pressing down on the plaza, but about a couple hundred feet above it, a handful of blasts were pushing up against his own, mixing together into a volatile white sphere of energy. The few buildings surrounding the plaza began to lose their upper floors, piece by piece, as the sphere expanded to accommodate the increasing amount of energy flooding into it.

Annoying. A pulse of energy rippled down the length of Raditz's blast, increasing its width before slamming into the sphere and incrementally accelerating it to the ground. How long can they keep this up, I wonder?

0o0o0

The plaza was filled with a dizzying variety of light and sound as the white sphere came to grow larger, then much larger, than the day's late afternoon sun. Adding to their own terror, as the white sphere crept closer to the ground, the wind and sonic fury assailing their bodies grew exponentially.

'We need more energy!' Yamcha screamed over the chaos. 'HAAAAH!' His Kamehameha grew brighter, plunging straight into the mass of white above. Piccolo and Krillin did the same with their own attacks- together, their defense intensified, throwing more and more energy into the sky above them. The small detonations at the edges of the conflux began to affect the city. Windows shattered and car alarms went off, furthering the city's transformation into an apocalyptic landscape. Their limbs burned, their bodies sagged, as they valiantly pulled on every ounce of willpower they had left.

0o0o0

The glowing white sphere of ki dominated the sky, coiling and crackling with chaotic energy. Different blasts of all colors pushed against each other and ultimately subsumed into the sphere, gradually enlarging it.

And despite Piccolo, Krillin and Yamcha's best efforts, the sphere was steadily creeping downwards. Kakarot and Chi-Chi's dread rose with every inch it moved.

They're… going to lose. This is going to destroy the city. Destroy everything. 'We need to go,' Kakarot said, turning his attention to Chi-Chi and Gohan. 'Before-'

To his surprise, Chi-Chi was scrambling up onto a nearby pile of rubble. Gohan was left on the ground asleep next to Kakarot.

Annoyed, he set off after her. 'What are you doing?' He asked aggressively, stomping closer. 'We need to start moving if there's any chance we're going to survive this-'

'Kakarot!' Chi-Chi snapped, spinning to him. 'These are my friends! If I leave they die! I'm not going to abandon them!'

Her… friends. Kakarot glanced at Gohan. 'But… us…'

'Raditz won't stop with this city or their lives! He'll go on to ravage this world! Single-handedly he's already killed thousands of people within this city! Who knows what else he'll do if no-one stops him!'

Kakarot bit his lip. His untruthfulness was starting to burn a hole through his stomach. 'Right… But… what about your son? What about Gohan?'

Chi-Chi's face briefly flagged for a moment, but in an instant the resolve returned. 'No child deserves to grow up in a ruined world. If Raditz has his way…' Chi-Chi shook her head. '...No, it won't come to that. I won't allow it. We won't allow it.'

He gulped. 'Meaning?'

Several seconds later, with Kakarot dragged every part of the way, they both launched ki attacks into the air.

0o0o0

'What!?' Piccolo exclaimed, as two blasts, one blue and one purple, crashed against the bottom of the sphere, slowed its movement to nothing, and then started pushing it away from them. From where Piccolo was standing, he couldn't see where the blasts had originated from. 'Who's helping us!?'

Totally bewildered from the rampant amount of energy rushing out of his body, Krillin shouted the first thing that came to mind. 'KAMI!?'

Piccolo grunted and sent another burst of energy towards the sky.

0o0o0

Amazed, Raditz watched as the sphere's movement ground to a halt, then defiantly began to approach him.

'Grr… frustrating!' Just before the white sphere of energy violently exploded, Raditz dropped his attack and vanished from sight.

0o0o0

Yamcha fell to one knee, the blue energy in his palms dissipating. 'I'm… out,' he choked out, no small feat considering the overwhelming noise in the plaza.

Krillin did the same a moment later, gasping for breath as he involuntarily rubbed at his neck. The sensation of so much energy leaving your body almost feels like choking… Ueaaagh!… He shuddered.

Internally, Piccolo cursed the weakness of his allies, but he caught a detail the two of them had missed- the sphere was now moving away from them. Saving his energy, he dropped his attack, too.

For a few surreal moments, the white sphere slowed and then lingered in the air, receiving the last tendrils of energy curling up to it.

Then, an explosion burst in the sky above East City, so strong that its shockwaves flattened them and every remaining building surrounding the plaza to the ground.

0o0o0

Upon glimpsing the imminent explosion, Chi-Chi turned and sprinted to throw herself over Gohan- but, to her surprise, she found Kakarot already positioning his body around the baby.

She hadn't said anything to him. But he knew. His expressionless face knew.

Then, whiteness.

0o0o0

Of the three conscious fighters in the square, Yamcha was the first to stand. Frankly, he was shocked that he was still alive. Not a single building adjacent to the plaza- or, he expected, any building for several thousand feet around- was still standing, reduced as they were to amorphous piles of rubble. Unimportant. All of his friends, as far as he could tell, were still alive. Important.

Around him, he noticed Krillin and Piccolo begin to stir and stand. 'We… did it.' Yamcha looked to them, who both looked similarly winded to himself. 'We-'

The sound of movement reached their ears well before they glimpsed him, but they were all far too exhausted to react in time. Like a specter, Raditz's outline materialized behind Piccolo, a slightly upturned grin resting on his face. Wordlessly, he thrust his arm into Piccolo's back and out the front of his chest, wiggling his purple blood-covered fingers back-and-forth. Then, as if he was pulling a stake out of the ground, Raditz placed his leg against Piccolo's body and pushed, freeing his arm in a mist of flesh.

Piccolo gasped, spasming from the sheer biological shock of a whole arm passing through him. His body was frozen for a moment while thick purple blood started pouring down the front and back of his gi, soaking the fabric and staining it.

My… legacy… Without another thought, Piccolo crumpled forward to the ground.

0o0o0

With a morbid thump, Piccolo's body came to rest on the cobbles. Raditz idly examined his hand before wiping it clean on the side of his armor. 'Eww…' he muttered.

As Raditz went on ignoring anything and anyone else in existence other than his unclean hand, time for Yamcha slowed to a stop. He must be dead. He noted the growing pool of purple blood underneath the demon's inert body. He wasn't even going to mentally open the can of worms that was a world without dragonballs. He was the strongest among us, and he's dead.

So… it's down to us. Yamcha turned his head to Krillin; the smaller human had kept his face rigid, not showing the fear he must had felt- the fear that was now consuming Yamcha. 'Krillin,' Yamcha said sternly, catching Krillin's attention, 'Now's the time for any last-ditch plans. We're nearing the end, one way or another…'

The sound of Raditz's feet scraping across the ground drifted across the plaza.

'Piccolo-' Krillin shook his head, trying to forget what he had just seen. 'He had the idea of charging some sort of concentrated energy attack. Something strong enough to kill Raditz.' Krillin thought on something for a moment.. 'I need you to charge some kind of attack like that.'

'Me? Why don't you use your attack from the tournament?' Yamcha asked. 'The yellow disk thing?'

'Haha…' It was then when Yamcha noticed how Krillin's body had barely moved when he had laughed- he was purposely keeping himself still. 'I'm as drained as Piccolo was… is…'

'Wait, what are you saying? Is Piccolo still alive!?'

'Barely, maybe…' Krillin shook his head again. 'But that's not important right now. He's not going to be able to fight anytime soon. Between us two, I'm sensing that you're a bit stronger than me at this point. You need to charge an attack to finish Raditz off, Yamcha. For good.'

'But… I don't understand,' Yamcha said slowly, his mind working through Krillin's plan. 'Wouldn't it make more sense to send the stronger person to fight Raditz and have the weaker person recover?'

Krillin's gaze moved to Raditz- the Saiyan was finishing wiping himself (mostly) clean of Piccolo's blood. 'There's no way either of us wins if we take Raditz on by ourselves. At this point, our best shot would be to hit him with one decisive attack…' Krillin trailed off, caught up in some unseen consideration.

'... You have to go for the back.' Krillin decided after some reflection. 'It's the only spot where he's been weakened…'

Yamcha was no fool. His friend was relegating himself to a fate as good as Tien's or as bad as Piccolo's. But… he accepts that. Because he knows it needs to be done in order to give us a chance to win. Regardless of how this goes… Yamcha clenched his right hand into a fist. I'll make it worth it.

'...Alright…' Yamcha agreed. 'The back it is. I already hit him there once- how hard can it be to hit him there again?'

Krillin didn't exactly chuckle, but a weak smile graced his face. 'I'll give you some time…' He then began to step forward.

The saiyan was amused. 'So we're going back to the old format? You and me and none of your gnats-' his eyes flicked to Yamcha, who noticeably held himself back '-to follow you around?'

Krillin halted opposite of Raditz. They had thrown so much at him already- and yet, outwardly, his armor was still in one piece and his body looked only moderately damaged. Krillin wished he could say the same. 'Sure,' he thoughtlessly replied, tensing his body for an imminent clash. Internally, Krillin then pleaded to whatever entity might be listening. Please, let me stall. Let me do this one thing...

0o0o0

When the battle in East City had begun, Kami held onto an optimism uncharacteristic of his tenure as Guardian of Earth. He had seen Krillin and his friends overcome worst odds before- it would have been unfair to their record to doubt them from the beginning.

Though it's not as if he could have done anything to help them. Things had moved too quickly for him to lend his support to the Earth's defenders in the ways he would have liked. More and more he found himself cursing the limits of his omnipotence- Raditz's arrival had caught him totally unaware of such a malevolent force approaching the planet. Perhaps I should have expected this. I have known of Kakarot's unearthly origins for over two decades, after all...

Still, he held onto hope. Even in the face of such an overwhelming power.

But now, face-down and prone on the tiles of the Lookout while his attendant frantically tended to his pain, he found himself unable to grasp his earlier optimism. Instead, he could only sense the approaching quiet of death.

Though not yet. Piccolo had been grievously wounded- but he was not dead. Thus, there was still time for Kami to act.

'Mr. Popo,' Kami commanded his attendant, 'bring me my staff and help me to grip it with both hands. I must exhaust whatever options I have left…'

Although he couldn't bring himself to look up from the ground, Kami distinctly heard a suspicious worry in Mr. Popo's voice. 'Kami, surely you aren't going to try and help in your current state! Any exertion might kill you!'

'At this rate, I'll be dead within the hour…' Kami choked out, before visibly fading and waxing back into reality. 'I have to help…'

Mr. Popo frowned down at his master for a moment, but ultimately retrieved the staff from where Kami had initially collapsed and placed it in his hands.

Several seconds after this, Kami's form began to physically darken, as if the light around him was being sucked into him.

0o0o0

A sudden rush of energy filled Krillin, almost serene in its nature. 'What?... this power…' He murmured to himself. 'It feels like Kami's….'

One of Raditz's eyebrows arched upon seeing Krillin suddenly glow with a faint light. 'What's this?' He asked, half-interested. 'Have you found your second wind?'

Krillin bent lower to the ground, the full weight of the coming fight settling on him. 'Something like that.'

'Hmph. Well, it's about time.' Raditz said bluntly, his eyes roaming the plaza's length. 'I'm getting a sense of finality.'

He quickly judged the status of every fighter that had previously opposed him. The green man and the woman were still motionless on the ground. Dead? Maybe. The man he had crushed between his arms was gone. Dead or fled. More likely dead. And the annoying one with the scar was kneeling on the ground, panting with a pained expression on his face. Soon to be dead.

There was, of course, the question of Kakarot, but Raditz suspected his living-or-nonliving body would turn up by the end of this. Poor brother. I lost track of you. But I expect my allies to be able to fend for themselves. If you're alive by the end of this, then you've passed the test as far as I'm concerned. If not, well...

He shifted his gaze back to Krillin, mentally changing gears. 'Would you consider this your last stand?'

'More or less,' Krillin said, shrugging.

'Are you ready to die for your people?'

'Gladly.'


A/N: Endgame wraps up next week… and more stuff. Super excited to see you then!

Also, a note about an event in this chapter. You may have noticed that Piccolo talked about the vague principle of the Special Beam Cannon without actually mentioning it. That's because he hasn't yet discovered the move- he only had two years before Raditz arrived on Earth after the 23rd World Tournament, after all. It's clear, however, that he has a good idea in theory, if not in practice.

Reviews:

Silenthawk170: Thank you for the review! Also crazy that you're still reading along!

Luke: Peace is coming very soon. What form will this peace take, though?

TC9078: Ah yes… the inevitable Raditz/Chi-Chi/Kakarot/Gohan interaction had been bunted for one more chapter. I hope you are satisfied with the Chi-Chi/Kakarot/Gohan interaction, though.

LWexe: Bulma was not in the best state of mind to be doing much of anything these past two chapters, but she helped regardless because SHE'S A GOOD FRIEND.

And yeah, when you get someone as bad as Raditz knocking on the door of planetary devastation, teamwork comes out of necessity.

Belsareth32: Thank you! I've got a bunch of cool ideas planned for DBZ! Next arc is gonna be some wild, fairly original stuff! Get pumped!