Welcome back. Before we begin I have to confess I made a minor change to the last chapter. During this chapter I stated that Vegeta would change back to normal if the artificial moon was destroyed. I removed this line to merely being that it is crucial the moon stayed in the sky. The reason I did this is because in the Tree of Might Movie, Gohan stayed transformed even after Turles destroyed the fake moon. I read that even if the fake moon is destroyed a Saiyan will stay transformed for a limited time. I know the Tree of Might is non-cannon, but for the sake of the story I decided to leave that detail in. You'll see why later and I felt I should mention this to avoid a huge plot hole.
Granted I also read that in cannon Vegeta had planned to come to Earth while the moon was full. To avoid having to go back and change too much I've decided to ignore this detail unless people voice that it should be different.
Anyway welcome back I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please let me know what you think. I'd particularly like to hear what you think of the different dynamic I've created between Gohan and Piccolo.
Needing time to charge the Spirit Bomb, Goku knew he had to get out of sight of Vegeta. Goku hoped that Vegeta's inability to sense energy would give him the time he needed to hide and prepare the attack.
"KAIO-KEN," yelled Goku glowing crimson and taking off.
Vegeta was not surprised to see Goku flee instead of attack.
"You can't hide from me Kakarot," laughed Vegeta.
Goku flew a good distance from Vegeta then hid behind a nearby hill.
Goku raised his arms to the sky and closed his eyes to start gathering energy for the Spirit Bomb.
"Ocean, forest, sky, all living things on Earth, please lend me your energy," pleaded Goku.
Goku felt ready to gather the energy when a voice interrupted.
"Found you!"
Goku opened his eyes and saw Vegeta. He jumped out of the way just before Vegeta could grab him with his giant monkey hands.
Goku made another dash for it, believing he'd need to go further to have enough time to charge the Spirit Bomb.
At this moment Gohan and Piccolo arrived.
"What is that?" asked Gohan.
"I think that's the Saiyan," answered Piccolo.
"It can't be, last I checked that guy wasn't a giant monkey," stated Gohan.
"Believe me it is. He's just transformed," stated Piccolo.
"How can you be so sure?" asked Gohan.
Piccolo explained a conversation he'd had with Krillin while training for the Saiyan's.
A few months ago they had been sitting around a campfire, which Krillin was roasting a wild animal on.
"You sure you don't want any?" offered Krillin taking a chunk from the animal.
"No," grunted Piccolo with folded arms.
"Come on you have to eat sometime," stated Krillin who hadn't seen Piccolo eat for the whole time they had been training together.
"That's where you're wrong. Unlike humans I don't need food to survive. I can live off just water," stated Piccolo.
"Really?" asked Krillin.
"Yes, it's all I need to survive," answered Piccolo.
"At least you'll never have to worry about starving to death I guess," stated Krillin.
"Food will be the least of our worries if we can't beat the Saiyans," said Piccolo. "As soon as you're finished eating we start training again."
"Well excuse me, unlike you I do have to eat to survive," said Krillin.
Piccolo just grunted before looking up to the stars.
"Something wrong?" asked Krillin.
"I just wish we could have more information on these Saiyans. A weakness we could exploit for when they arrive," stated Piccolo. "Maybe I should've interrogated Goku for information after we beat his brother."
"Sadly, I don't think Goku could've told you much. He only discovered he was a Saiyan when that space pirate arrived," stated Krillin.
"So, in other words we have to go into this fight with no information on our opponents, besides that they're much stronger than the last guy we fought? Typical," Piccolo grunted.
"Well, we're not going in completely clueless," stated Krillin.
"What do you mean?" asked Piccolo.
"On the day you and he fought his brother, he reminded us that a Saiyan's key weakness is their tail. If you grab it, they'll be completely helpless!" explained Krillin.
Piccolo thought back to the day Raditz had arrived on Earth. He vaguely remembered overhearing Goku mentioning this weakness to his friends at Kame House.
"I'm amazed you didn't see Goku grab his brother's tail when you fought him," interjected Krillin.
"He didn't get the chance to. Goku and his son cornered the Saiyan with individual energy beams, which distracted him long enough for me to kill him," stated Piccolo.
"I see, something tells me we won't get that lucky with the next two," said Krillin.
"Agreed," grunted Piccolo. "Do you know anything else about the Saiyans?"
"Well, when Goku had a tail, he always transformed into a giant killer ape when he looked at the full moon. That made him a lot stronger than he normally was!" explained Krillin.
"Any way to change him back?" asked Piccolo.
"I remember someone mentioning that cutting off Goku's tail could change him back. The only other method I know for changing him back is to destroy the moon," stated Krillin.
Piccolo thought about this.
"If those Saiyan's resort to that transformation, I'd say our first option should be destroying the moon," stated Piccolo. "At least then we'll still have a weakness we can exploit."
Back in the present, Gohan was doing his best to understand what he'd been told.
"So you're saying the only way to change him back is to destroy the moon or cut off his tail?" asked Gohan.
"Yes, and it doesn't matter which option we use. I learnt the hard way that grabbing his tail will have no effect on this guy," stated Piccolo.
"There's just something I don't understand," stated Gohan looking up. "How did he transform? The moon isn't full."
Piccolo looked up and saw that Gohan was right. He then spotted the artificial moon that floated over the battlefield.
"There, that ball of energy," pointed Piccolo. "I don't know how, but he must be able to create artificial moonlight."
"Then I guess, we'll have to cut his tail off, because something tells me he'll be able to create a fake moon whenever he wants," stated Gohan.
"I was just thinking the same thing," said Piccolo.
"Let's go," declared Gohan.
"Hold on," ordered Piccolo grabbing Gohan's arm.
"What are you doing? We know what we need to do, and he's distracted," stated Gohan.
"Can't you feel his power increase?" asked Piccolo. "I predict his strength has increased tenfold. Not only that, should he spot us, something tells me he won't let us anywhere near his tail."
"Then what do you suggest?" asked Gohan.
"I don't know, but if we run in without a plan, we're as good as dead," said Piccolo.
Piccolo tried to think of a way they could get close enough to remove Vegeta's tail, but he got distracted by Goku constantly raising his arms into the air.
"What is he doing?" demanded Piccolo.
Gohan took a good look at his father.
"He's trying to create a Spirit Bomb," answered Gohan.
"A what?" asked Piccolo.
"A Spirit Bomb, it's an attack that's created by gathering energy from all the life on Earth," answered Gohan. "He must believe it's the only attack powerful enough to defeat the Saiyan."
"Looks like he's having some trouble creating it," observed Piccolo.
Vegeta interrupted Goku whenever he tried to start gathering energy.
"Unfortunately, the attack takes a lot of time to form!" explained Gohan.
"Goku will never be able to use that attack if he can't find a way to distract the Saiyan," stated Piccolo watching Goku continuously flee from Vegeta.
"Then we'll have to create a distraction," said Gohan preparing to charge.
"Don't be a fool," said Piccolo. "Something tells me your father will never be able to concentrate if you're in danger."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" asked Gohan.
"I don't know, just give me a second to think," said Piccolo.
Unknown to them Yajirobi had heard their entire conversation but was too much of a coward to help.
Thankfully Goku was about to get the same advice from his teacher.
"Goku you'll need to find a way to distract him if you're going to have enough time to charge the Spirit Bomb," advised King Kai telepathically.
"Distract him?" thought Goku. "Wait I know. I just hope this works."
In a surprising turn of events Goku charged at Vegeta heading straight for his giant ape head.
Goku put both hands to each side of his face.
"SOLAR FLARE," he yelled.
"Look away," ordered Piccolo turning and shutting his eyes.
"Why?" asked Gohan.
"Just do it," demanded Piccolo.
Gohan looked away and closed his eyes as Goku launched an intense light in Vegeta's face temporarily blinding the giant ape who, in pain, covered his face with his hands.
Goku decided to use this time to put some distance between them.
"KAIO-KEN," Goku glowed crimson and took off.
Once Goku felt he was far enough away he wasted no time raising his arms to the sky and gathering energy from the life forms of Earth.
"I guess that must be the planet's energy," stated Piccolo observing the small particles of energy Goku was absorbing.
"Forget about that, this is the opportunity we've been waiting for. We should turn him back while he's distracted. Hopefully then he'll be weak enough for dad to finish him off for good. I'll go first, I just hope I'm strong enough to rip his tail off," said Gohan cracking his knuckles.
"Wait let me try first," said Piccolo. "Even if he can't see he might be able crush us if we're not careful."
"How're you going to cut his tail off from so far away?" asked Gohan.
"Let's just say I learnt a little trick recently that can cut someone in half even if they're stronger than the technique's user," said Piccolo raising an arm to the sky.
Focusing his energy Piccolo created a large yellow energy disk, just like Krillin had done before.
"Where'd you learn that?" asked Gohan.
"Krillin taught it to me in exchange for teaching him the Special Beam Cannon," stated Piccolo.
"That thing you used to kill Dad's brother?" asked Gohan.
"The very same, but believe me, this technique will be much more useful for our current situation," stated Piccolo. "DESTRUCTO DISK," he yelled throwing the disk.
The disk flew directly at Vegeta's tail.
Vegeta was struggling to get his eyesight back when his large ape ears heard something familiar. Something that sounded like the energy disk Krillin had used in an attempt to kill Nappa.
Fearing for the loss of his tail, Vegeta took to the sky.
"Darn," cursed Piccolo. "I'll get him this time."
Piccolo threw another Destructo Disk, but again missed.
"How does he keep dodging?" asked Gohan. "He can't see and he can't sense energy."
"No but he can hear," stated Piccolo.
"Hear?"
"Look at his ears they're enormous," stated Piccolo. "Something tells me this transportation has greatly increased his hearing. I should've thought of that the moment I saw him, my hearing is also far greater than the average earthling."
"Well, there goes our option of catching him by surprise," grunted Gohan.
"If only there was another way to remove his tail without getting too close," muttered Piccolo.
"I don't care if there is," said Gohan floating forward. "I'm going to rip that tail off with my bare hands."
"Didn't you hear what I said? He could still crush us if we're not careful and something tells me his hearing will allow him to determine our location!" explained Piccolo.
"We tried it your way, now we do it my way," stated Gohan preparing to charge. "King Kai advised against this, but I have no choice. KAIO-KEN."
Gohan glowed crimson and charged at Vegeta.
"This kid is really starting to annoy me," grunted Piccolo. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised he also knows the power up technique."
Gohan charged at Vegeta, arms outstretched ready to rip Vegeta's tail off. However, he'd been too noisy, and Vegeta evaded at a crucial moment. Gohan landed and immediately bounced off a nearby hill to try again, the result was the same.
This didn't go unnoticed by Goku who felt Gohan's energy the moment the boy used Kaio-ken. This briefly distracted him from the Spirit Bomb, but he quickly returned to charging. Goku was a little angry at Gohan for disobeying him, but he was also appreciative of trying to turn the battle back in Goku's favour. If they could return Vegeta back to normal, victory would be theirs.
Gohan continued trying to remove Vegeta's tail, but the result was always the same. He felt he'd need to get faster if he was to have any chance.
"KAIO-KEN TIMES TWO," yelled Gohan glowing brighter.
King Kai had warned Gohan to be more cautious with the Kaio-ken than Goku. Gohan's body was smaller and less resilient, meaning the technique would be more damaging for him. Nevertheless, Gohan was determined to remove Vegeta's tail, by any means necessary.
Gohan charged forward with greater speed, but Vegeta's hearing was too good and Gohan wasn't fast enough. Vegeta managed to avoid yet another of Gohan's attempts. Again, Gohan bounced off a nearby hill to try again, but Vegeta was getting annoyed by the young boy. After dodging Gohan once again, he blindly kicked the air, managing to knock Gohan out of the sky.
Piccolo caught the boy before he smashed into the ground.
"I told you getting too close was dangerous," lectured Piccolo. "Do you have any more bright ideas?"
"Hey, you had no more success than I did so I don't think you're in any position to criticise," stated Gohan. "And yes, I do have another idea."
"What's that?" asked Piccolo.
"We're going to give some of our energy to the Spirit Bomb," stated Gohan.
"We can do that?" asked Piccolo.
"Yeah, I didn't get a chance to learn the Spirit Bomb while training with King Kai, but I was told how I can contribute to it," stated Gohan. "You see while Dad is gathering energy from all of Earth's non sentient life, gathering energy from sentient life has to be voluntary!"
"How do we offer our energy?" asked Piccolo.
"Simple, we just have to raise our hands to the sky when Dad's gathering energy," stated Gohan.
"Then let's stop wasting time and give him what we can," said Piccolo.
Gohan nodded and they both raised their hands to the sky. Gohan and Piccolo felt some of their energy drain. Yajirobi had overheard the conversation and also raised his hands to lend Goku energy. While energy had been drained, enough was left for them to still fight.
"Something tells me we'll need more," stated Piccolo lowering his arms.
Gohan then had a crazy idea. He just hoped it would work.
"King Kai, can you hear me?" asked Gohan telepathically.
"Yes, Gohan what is it?" answered King Kai.
"Is there any way you could contact Mum and the others at Kame House and ask them to lend their energy to the Spirit Bomb?" requested Gohan.
"I can try, but whether or not they give energy is up to them," said King Kai.
King Kai wasted no time contacting those at Kame House.
"Bulma can you hear me?" asked King Kai.
At Kame House, Bulma heard an odd voice.
"Huh who's there?" asked Bulma.
"Bulma who're you talking to?" asked Oolong.
"Oolong be quiet, someone's contacting her telepathically," stated Fortune Teller Baba who had joined the group so they could view the battle better through her crystal ball.
"I don't have time to explain, what I have to tell you is urgent," pleaded King Kai.
"Are you the guy Goku and Gohan went to train with?" asked Bulma.
"Yes, I'm King Kai, but that's really not important right now," stated King Kai. "Goku needs your help to defeat the Saiyan!"
"Our help? What can we do?" asked Bulma.
"Right now, Goku is gathering energy from the earth, but you need to raise your hands to the sky to offer him your energy," stated King Kai.
"Are you sure that'll work?" asked Bulma.
"YES I'M SURE I INVENTED THE ATTACK," shouted King Kai.
"Don't you shout at me," retorted Bulma angrily.
"Bulma, this isn't the time to be arguing," interjected Master Roshi. "We should do as he said and lend Goku our energy."
"You're right, Goku needs our help and I'm wasting time arguing," said Bulma raising her hands. "He said we need to raise our hands to lend Goku our energy."
Everyone followed suit. Even Naicha and Miruku raised their hands as they were eager to help avenge their father.
King Kai sent the same message to Kami, who along with Mr Popo raised their hands without hesitation.
While the message hadn't been sent to Korrin, he could sense what was going on and raised his hands.
Goku was close to finishing the Spirit Bomb when he felt another jolt of energy. He could sense that others had lent their energy. Goku smiled, he figured Gohan or King Kai must've told others how to offer energy.
"Thanks you guys."
At that moment Goku could feel that he had taken as much energy from the planet as possible. The Spirit Bomb was ready. At the same moment Vegeta had recovered from Goku's Solar Flare and was searching the battlefield for him. Goku had to be quick he only had a single chance to use this attack. He focused the energy to his hand and formed it into a ball.
"Found you," called Vegeta stopping Goku from afar.
Wasting no time Vegeta charged, determined to kill Goku.
"Alright, Dad did it," called Gohan.
"There's no way that Saiyan will survive that attacked," smiled Piccolo.
Goku was about to throw the bomb at the charging Vegeta, but the prince of Saiyans wasn't going to give Goku the chance. Vegeta opened his mouth and shot a powerful pink energy beam, not only preventing Goku from launching the Spirit Bomb, but losing much of the energy he'd gathered in the process. Piccolo and Gohan were blown away by the shock wave.
Vegeta believed he had won, so was surprised to see Goku stand up from the rubble. Earth's defender wasn't looking good. Not only had he taken damage from the blast, but he had used up much of his energy from gathering power from the Earth.
"Darn just a few more seconds and I would've won," cursed Goku.
"That was your last chance Kakarot, I'm done playing with you," declared Vegeta landing in front of Goku.
Goku knew Vegeta was right, he felt so weak that he could barely stand. Fighting would be impossible. His only chance now was to run.
Goku sped off, but Vegeta knocked him out of the sky the moment he was in the air. Goku crashed to the ground and struggled to stand up. Vegeta decided to make it impossible for Goku to stand. The giant ape jumped forward and stomped on Goku's legs. Goku screamed as he felt his legs shatter under Vegeta's foot.
Vegeta laughed.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I break your legs? Guess you can't run from me anymore! Oh well, that means this fight is over."
Vegeta was about to crush Goku with his massive hand, but Goku summoned the last of his strength to shoot an energy beam into Vegeta's eye, temporarily blinding the ape for the second time.
"Well, that was the last of my energy. I'm finished," gasped Goku. Unfortunately for him Vegeta was not.
"Damn you Kakarot. I was going to kill you quickly, but now I'm going to make you suffer," declared Vegeta, picking Goku up with his enormous hand.
Vegeta squeezed Goku with his musclebound ape hands, causing Goku unbearable pain. Goku was helpless to defend. All he could do was scream out in pain, as Vegeta crushed every single bone in his body. This felt like the end. With Earth's greatest fighter defeated, Vegeta believed there was no one left to stop him. Little did he know that the planet's remaining fighters were determined to stop him no matter what.