The energy beams shot by Goku and Vegeta quickly closed in on each other. They collided and a struggle of power began. Each fighter fought their hardest for dominance, but they were equal in strength.
This battle of power was quickly spotted by Gohan and Piccolo.
"Darn, we're too late," cursed Gohan seeing the blue and purple light show.
"That's the least of our troubles," stated Piccolo. "If Goku hadn't countered the Saiyan's attack the whole planet would've blown up."
"Wait what?" asked Gohan. "Are you telling me that guy would rather blow up the planet then lose to my dad?"
"That's how it looks and if Goku doesn't win this struggle we'll all be dead," stated Piccolo.
"We have to help him," declared Gohan preparing to dash.
"No, we can't interfere," ordered Piccolo.
"Are you insane? You just said that if Dad loses, the planet will blow up. If we help, we might be able to add enough power for him to win," stated Gohan.
"Yes, but Goku needs to stay focused on his attack. If he loses focus for even a second, it might give the Saiyan the opportunity he needs to defeat him!" explained Piccolo. "And if that happens, we're all dead. The best thing we can do is hope that Goku can overpower him."
"You gotta be kidding me," grunted Gohan. He wanted to help, but he knew Piccolo was right. If they accidently distracted Goku it would be the end of the world.
Piccolo closed his eyes to get a better sense of the battle.
"I can feel their power, it's unbelievable."
"I can feel it too," Gohan closed his eyes. "They're about equal now, the battle could go either way."
Goku and Vegeta continued their struggle, each refusing to give the other dominance. Goku could feel his power slipping. While he was currently as strong as Vegeta, that was only because of the boost granted to him by Kaio-ken Times Two. He couldn't hold this powerup forever and as soon as the power increase ceased, Vegeta would win. Goku couldn't let that happen. Everyone he cared for was depending on him to win this fight. There was only one thing for Goku to do. He would have to push the Kaio-ken a step further to Kaio-ken Times Three. King Kai had advised Goku to take the technique no higher than times two, but Goku saw no other option. If Vegeta won, everyone would die.
Despite the damage it could do to his body, Goku knew what he had to do.
"Kaio-ken," gasped Goku struggling to keep focused.
"GOKU NO IT'S TOO DANGEROUS," yelled King Kai from other world, but the concerns fell on deaf ears.
"TIMES THREE!" yelled Goku increasing his energy.
Goku's power increase was so immense, his beam quickly overpowered Vegeta's who was sent hurtling into the clouds.
Goku gasped for breath. He'd put a lot of energy into the attack, but he wasn't finished yet. The Kaio-ken Times Three had been less damaging than expected. He knew if he just rested for a bit he could continue. He just hoped Vegeta wouldn't try another Galick Gun, because he was unsure how many times he'd be able to do the Kaio-ken Times Three.
"Goku way to go, you won," called a voice running to him.
Goku turned, surprised by who he saw.
"Yajirobi? What are you doing here?"
"Thought you could use some help," he stated, though Goku doubted whether this was true.
Goku sensed that Yajirobi had gotten stronger since the last time he'd seen him, but he wasn't nearly as strong as Goku or Vegeta.
"I saw the whole thing, you're awesome Goku," said Yajirobi slapping him on the back.
The slap had hurt a little, but not much. It was clear that the Kaio-ken Times Three had put some strain on his body, which again made Goku worry about how many more times he'd be able to use it.
"Please don't do that again," requested Goku.
"Why, after everything I've seen you do, I'm sure it felt like nothing more than a poke," stated Yajirobi.
"Normally it would, but I had to push myself a little further and my body suffered for it," stated Goku.
"Oh well, at least it's over," stated Yajirobi. "It is over isn't it?"
"No, not yet," said Goku.
"What? But you sent him flying," exclaimed Yajirobi.
"I know, but it only slowed him down, he'll be back soon," stated Goku.
Hearing this, Yajirobi immediately ran away. It didn't surprise Goku that Yajirobe fled at the first sign of trouble, and he knew it was for the best, he didn't need Yajirobi interrupting a life or death fight.
Meanwhile Vegeta continued upwards from the power of the Kamehameha wave. Before long he managed to separate himself from the beam which flew into space. If Vegeta was angry before, now he was furious.
Vegeta couldn't understand how Goku was stronger than him. Vegeta was supposed to be the Prince of Saiyan's and the most powerful of his kind. As far as Vegeta was concerned Goku should've been begging for mercy.
Then it occurred to Vegeta that he had something Goku didn't. Vegeta still had his tail, meaning he could transform while Goku couldn't. Vegeta didn't like that he had to resort to this, as he only liked using this form when he needed to destroy entire civilisations. The fact that he had to use it to defeat a single person was infuriating.
Vegeta searched for the moon. This allowed a Saiyan with a tail to transform into a giant killer ape. It didn't matter what planet he was on, as long as there was a full moon a Saiyan could transform.
It was late afternoon, meaning the moon was likely out, Vegeta just hoped it would be full. He flew around before eventually spotting the moon. At this point the moon wasn't full and Vegeta had a feeling he didn't have time to wait for it to become full. Although Vegeta wasn't familiar with Earth's moon cycle, he knew that it could take weeks, months or even years to become full depending on the planet. The prince had a feeling Goku wouldn't let him wait until the moon was full, especially considering he posed an enormous threat to the planet's inhabitants. Unfortunately for the people of Earth, this was only a minor inconvenience for Vegeta. This wasn't the first time the Saiyans had encountered this issue and had come up with alternative ways of transforming.
Vegeta decided to fly back to Goku, so his opponent could see the horror of his transformation in person.
Goku meanwhile, was glad Vegeta was taking his time, as it gave him the chance to recover from the previous attack. The Saiyan from Earth was confident he could win this fight by continuing to use the Kaio-ken times two and only restorting to times three under extreme circumstances. Goku however was in for a nasty surprise.
Vegeta landed with his arms folded and laughing.
"I'll admit Kakarot, you're lucky I arrived when I did, as the moon isn't currently full," stated Vegeta looking to the sky.
Goku didn't have a clue what he was talking about.
"But don't think that'll stop me. Elite Saiyans like myself have developed alternative ways of transforming," stated Vegeta.
"Transforming?" asked a confused Goku.
"That's right, and unfortunately for you, you don't have a tail, meaning you can't transform like I can. This is the end of the line Kakarot, you're finished," declared Vegeta.
Vegeta raised his hand and a large white ball of energy appeared.
"What's that?" asked Goku.
"I guess you wouldn't know about this technique? Fine I'll tell you, but listen carefully as I'll only say this once," stated Vegeta. "As you know, Saiyans can transform during a full moon, because of the Blutz Waves created when the moon reflects light from the sun!"
"What are you talking about?" asked Goku, but Vegeta ignored the question.
"While moonlight is a natural source of generating Blutz Waves, we have alternative means of creating it! If we didn't Saiyans would be at the mercy of the moon according to what planet they were on, so we invented an alternative way of generating moonlight!" explained Vegeta.
Goku quickly realised that the ball of energy in Vegeta's hand was what he was referring to.
"That's right, this is an artificial moon, but it has real working Blutz Wave energy," stated Vegeta. "Once this is in the sky my transformation will begin and you'll be finished!"
Vegeta threw the ball into the sky and Goku looked in horror.
"Prepare to witness a Saiyan's ultimate form, the giant ape, the destroyer of planets," laughed Vegeta madly.
Vegeta clenched his fist and the artificial moon grew bigger and shone more brightly.
"I got a bad feeling about this," stated Goku.
"Goku," yelled a voice in Goku's head.
"King Kai?"
"You can't let him transform. You have to stop him from looking at that energy ball. If he transforms, you'll be completely outclassed!" explained King Kai.
Goku still didn't know what was going on but the urgency in King Kai's voice convinced him he had to prevent Vegeta from looking at the fake moon by any means necessary.
"KAIO-KEN TIMES TWO," yelled Goku charging at Vegeta.
Goku tackled the prince before he had a chance to transform. Now all he had to do was prevent him from staring at the sky, which seemed like an impossible task.
"Maybe I can destroy it," thought Goku.
He kicked Vegeta away and started charging an energy blast. He was about to shoot it at the artificial moon when Vegeta came charging back and knocked Goku off his feet.
Vegeta knew it was crucial the moon stayed in the sky. He'd have to distract Goku long enough to transform.
Goku meanwhile, needed an alternative method of preventing Vegeta's transformation.
"King Kai is there any other way I can stop him from transforming?" asked Goku telepathically.
"Only one, you'll have to remove his tail," answered King Kai.
"His tail? I can do that," stated Goku deciding it best to trust him.
"KAIO-KEN TIMES TWO," yelled Goku glowing crimson.
Vegeta prepared for Goku retaliation, but was surprised to see Goku charging a little lower than anticipated. Vegeta looked down and realised his tail was no longer wrapped around his waist. He realised what Goku was up to. He charged into the air just before Goku could grab it.
"I should've known he'd try that," thought Vegeta. "It's obvious he knows that a Saiyan's tail is a crucial part of the transformation. At this rate I won't have enough time to transform."
Then Vegeta had an idea, it was risky, but he saw no other option for distracting Goku. Vegeta soured into the sky and charged another Galick Gun.
"No, not again," thought Goku charging another Kamehameha.
One would think Vegeta would've used this time to look at the moon, but he didn't. If he looked too early Goku could blast him while he was distracted, giving Goku plenty of opportunity to destroy the artificial moon. Vegeta needed to wait for the right moment before beginning his transformation.
"GALICK GUN FIRE," yelled Vegeta unleashing his attack, then immediately used the opportunity to stare at the artificial moon.
"KAIO-KEN TIMES THREE," yelled Goku aiming his hands to the sky. "KAMEHAMEHA."
Goku's beam fired and collided with Vegeta's. Goku hoped it would quickly overpower Vegeta. It did at first, but just before the beam could engulf Vegeta it stopped. Goku gave the beam as much power as he could, but it wasn't moving. In fact it was being pushed back.
Goku couldn't see what was happening, but Vegeta was growing in both size and strength. While Vegeta could've easily killed Goku at this point he wanted the Saiyan from Earth to witness true fear before he killed him. Once Vegeta's transformation was complete he ceased his attack allowing Goku to win the struggle. The beam closed in on Vegeta who swiped it away with ease.
Goku couldn't believe his eyes. Where Vegeta once was, there was now a giant killer ape.
"How do you like this Kakarot?" laughed Vegeta. "Behold my true power."
"He's turned into a monster," exclaimed Goku.
Without saying a word Vegeta rushed down towards Goku who jumped out of the way just in time.
"Smart move running away Kakarot," laughed Vegeta. "If you thought I was strong before, I'm now ten times stronger."
Things weren't looking good for Goku. While the Kaio-ken could still increase his strength, he'd have to multiple it by twenty to have a chance against Vegeta, which was a level Goku couldn't handle.
Distracted by his thoughts Vegeta snuck up on Goku and slapped him out of the air. Goku crashed to the ground. It was clear to Goku he was completely outclassed.
Goku looked up absolutely horrified by the monster that flew above. It was then that Goku realised something, something awful. He remembered when he was little that his grandfather, Gohan had warned him about an awful monster that came out during a full moon. Goku recalled that there was a night he didn't remember, one where he had woken up the next morning to find his grandfather had been killed. Goku had always known that this monster had killed his grandfather, what he didn't realise until now was that the monster was himself.
He then remembered there had been numerous moments throughout his childhood where he had blacked out only to wake up and find destruction all around him. Despite Goku's lack of intelligence, he realised that all those times he himself had transformed into a monster. His friends must've turned him back. Goku remembered once waking up to see his tail had been removed, another time he woke up to discover the moon had been destroyed. The same methods King Kai had advised towards preventing Vegeta's transformation.
The more Goku thought about this, the more certain about his life begun to make sense. Why Kami had permanently removed his tail so he could restore the moon. Why Bulma had removed their son Gohan's tail when he was born. It was to ensure that none of them would accidently turn into a giant killer ape when the moon was full.
Goku was gutted. He now realised he had been the one who had killed his grandfather. He had a feeling he'd never be able to make up for what he did, but he was determined to try. the first thing he was going to do was ensure this monster couldn't kill anyone he cared about. Goku only had one chance of defeating Vegeta. A technique King Kai had advised against. The Spirit Bomb. He just hoped he had enough time to charge it.
Thanks for reading. I decided to publish one more chapter to end the month of August. I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think. If you have any predictions about what might be coming, feel free to share. Thanks again for reading, this story has been truly fun to write.
See you next time on, A Different Path.