Chapter 26: Strength on Display
The Tournament Announcer's voice rang out, echoing across the entirety of the arena, "Onto the next round, two of the strongest protectors of Earth, the first is our green skinned friend, Piccolo!" The crowd was almost silent save for a few whispers, none of them really knowing who or what Piccolo was, "Facing off against him is the one we all know as the Golden Warrior, the saviour of our planet, the son of our generous benefactor, Trunks Brief!"
The crowd erupted, an incredible roar of cheers and claps echoed across the arena. Trunks had a sheepish smile, a feeling of almost embarrassment overcame him as the nervously scratched the back of his head. Even though it had been going on for quite some time, the Half-Saiyan still had no idea how to react to fame. It was kinda why he enjoyed going off planet so much in the past, but he had promised his mother he would stay.
Piccolo wasn't surprised at the crowd's reaction to him, but he couldn't help but be offended by their reaction to Trunks. If they had only known how many times he had helped save the planet, they would be cheering for him like he was the jolly green giant. The large Namekian's cape blew in the wind as his eyes peered into Trunks', staring down the purple haired Half-Saiyan. "What do you think, Trunks, can we start with the kid gloves off?" Piccolo grabbed his turban and dropped it to the ground next to him before he loosened his shoulder pads and cape, the pair fell to the ground with a crushing thud.
Trunks suddenly snapped back into reality as Piccolo addressed him, his smile forming into a serious, stoic look. "Yeah." The Half-Saiyan took off his trademark blue jacket, revealing a black tank top to match his same colored pants. Trunks put his arms at his sides, staring back at his Namekian opponent. "We can do that." With a quick flash of golden light that erupted from him like a flame, Trunks entered his Super Saiyan state.
Gohan, Broly and the other participants watched from the fighters area, the tournament taking a bit of a serious turn. "They aren't really gonna hurt each other, are they?" Broly asked, "This is just a tournament, a showcase."
Gohan laughed, smiling as he turned towards his Saiyan ally, "It's not about hurting each other, it's about pride as a fighter. Neither of them want to hurt the other, but neither of them are gonna go down without a fight, it would be disrespectful to do so."
Broly never really had a sense of that famous Saiyan pride, his primal instincts were always locked away deep down in his consciousness, shoved down there by the mechanisms of his father. "I see."
"Woah, it seems like we have a serious fight right from the get go, folks!" The crowd again erupted in cheers as the Tournament Announcer continued, "It looks like our fighters are ready...so let's Begin!"
Piccolo erupted his white aura, blasting off the ground and throwing a massive kick at Trunks' head. The Super Saiyan responded quickly, catching the Namekian's large leg, spinning him around and throwing Piccolo into the air. Tumbling through mid-air, the tall Namekian straightened out his arms to stop himself about ten feet above the ground. With his hands out, Piccolo charged a blast in each, throwing them both at Trunks. The Half-Saiyan burst into the air, the blasts disintegrated in his aura as he charged Piccolo, fist cocked and ready to deliver a crushing blow.
On Planet M-2…
Vegeta stood across from the newly transformed Rilldo, his golden aura further brightening the smirk on his face, "What should I call you now, Hyper Super General Rilldo?"
"Call me whatever you like, it won't matter soon enough." The blue skinned, red armored General shot towards the Saiyan Prince, his spinning drill hand driving towards Vegeta.
The General's speed nearly caught the Saiyan Prince off guard, but he managed to jump just in time, Rilldo's blow leaving a large hole in the ground. Vegeta flipped behind Rilldo, attempting to take the General off guard with a strong blow to the back, but his gloved hand only struck air. The bewildered Saiyan Prince looked up to reveal the fist of Rilldo that quickly smashed straight into his face.
The blow sent Vegeta across the landscape and crashing into the ground, the Saiyan Prince struggled to regain his footing. Rilldo continued in his assault, but before he could reach the Prince, a familiar red skinned humanoid stood in his way. Captain Curry stood in front of his Emperor, guarding him from the onslaught of General Rilldo. The machine mutant looked at the red skinned Captain with a slight smile, "Really? You think you could stand in my way?"
Before he could respond, Captain Curry was smashed to the side and sent flying, a now furious Vegeta stood in his place. "What the hell gave you the idea that you could interfere in my affairs?!" Vegeta's energy spiked as his frustration rose, charging his metal opponent with a newfound fury.
The Captain found himself face first in the dirt, thinking to himself that he should have expected that. Nobody got in the way of Lord Vegeta's anger, no doubt in his mind that if he hadn't been Vegeta's second in command, he would have been obliterated on the spot. The red skinned man rolled himself over, observing the battle from what he felt was a safe distance, careful not to attract Vegeta's attention again.
The Saiyan Prince unleashed a barrage of fists on Rilldo, the fury taking the General by surprise, just barely able to put up his arms in defense. With a ferocious yell, Rilldo let out a burst of energy, enough to blow Vegeta back to give the General some breathing room. Rilldo caught his breath for a moment, then charged and threw a thunderous punch at the Saiyan Prince.
The blow was caught by the gloved hand of Vegeta, who struggled to hold the power of Rilldo at bay. Next came the General's spinning drill of a right hand, the Saiyan Prince stopped that blow as well, his aura growing further as he used as much strength as he could. Standing face to face, the General and the Prince pushed against each other with all of their might, neither giving an inch to the other.
Back on Earth…
Trunks flying punch met a green forearm block by Piccolo, the color of their white and gold auras lit up the sky above the arena. The crowd awed in amazement at the firework display by the two warriors, but truthfully they couldn't really see the forthcoming exchange of blows.
The two fighters landed back on the arena across from one another, each with a bead of sweat on their brow. Piccolo was noticeably more exhausted than Trunks, his breathing greatly exaggerated. The truth was that the Namekian was near his max, and yet he knew Trunks still had another transformation to go to. There was no way he could beat the Half-Saiyan other than by a ring out.
"What an amazing show of speed there two are putting on! I don't know about you, but I couldn't even see the two of them once they started moving, but I certainly felt them crash into one another. What a struggle we are witnessing here!"
Trunks looked around briefly, taking in the noise of the crowd and feeling the excitement in the air. The moment didn't last long as a crushing green fist drove into the side of Trunks' face, sending the Half-Saiyan stumbling back. Smirking as he continued his assault, Piccolo scolded his temporary adversary, "Didn't Gohan teach you anything? Never take your eyes off your opponent!"
Back on M-2…
The struggle between Vegeta and Rilldo continued to unfold. The Saiyan and the Machine Mutant caused the planet beneath them to shake as they crashed into each other, both throwing a flurry of dodged and blocked blows. Neither of them could seem to get an advantage on the other. Briefly stopping, the two combatants landed on the ground opposite of each other, their auras glowing in contrast to the metal landscape surrounding them.
General Rilldo smiled briefly, "It's time for this charade to end. You should feel proud, you are incredibly strong." Widening his stance, the Machine Mutant started gathering an enormous amount of energy. The metal land of the planet itself seemed to be gathering around Rilldo, enveloping the General starting from his feet up and covering his entire body.
Vegeta could sense the massive energy merging with his opponent, "What is going on.." The Saiyan Prince took a defensive stance, not knowing what to expect next. "His energy, it's incredible.."
A sudden burst of energy exploded from the now covered Rilldo, revealing his new, silver coated body. The Machine Mutant had grown at least a few inches, and his silver skin was covered in strange dark spots. "Do you understand, Saiyan? You have no chance of winning. I am not just one being, I'm this whole planet. I AM M-2."
"That's funny.." Vegeta exploded his aura, his power bursting from his body as he reached his peak Super Saiyan state, "You won't be the first planet I've destroyed."
Simultaneously, on Earth…
Piccolo purposely fell backwards, landing with his hands touching the floor of the arena , expertly dodging a lunging blow from Trunks before pushing up and driving his feet straight into the torso of the Half-Saiyan. Trunks tumbled upwards into the air, flipping aimlessly before he straightened himself out, his golden aura flashing.
The Super Saiyan took a minute to catch his breath, attempting to formulate a coherent strategy. Trunks knew he wasn't stronger than Piccolo in this form, he wanted to save his strength for a tougher bout later on, but it seemed as if he had no other choice.
Piccolo sprung back to his feet, taking a defensive stance towards Trunks. The Namekian wasn't sure what to expect from the Half-Saiyan, but he knew he couldn't keep up if Trunks decided to get serious. Just as he thought it, a bright flash of light briefly exploded from the Half-Saiyan and before he could process what was going on, Piccolo's whole world went black. Trunks was standing behind where his opponent had just stood, lighting briefly flashed around him, but it dissipated as quickly as it came. The Half-Saiyan's hair turned back to its natural color and flowed back downward, his aura disappearing as he powered down.
"Incredible! In what appeared to be a blinding burst of light, Trunks has taken down Piccolo! Let's start counting, 1...2...3...4.." The Tournament Announcer counted, his voice echoing through the arena, "..5...6...7...8...9...10!"
Bulma looked on from her seat, smiling bright, "That's my son..incredible."
Back on M-2…
Vegeta was in the process of ferociously attacking General Rilldo, but to no avail. The metal skinned Machine Mutant's speed and power were now on a whole other level compared to the Saiyan Prince, and he seemed to be the only one not to realize it. His frustration rising to extreme levels, Vegeta let out a violent scream as he leapt back, beginning to charge a two handed energy blast. "If you're so strong, then you can take this!"
Rilldo watched as Vegeta gathered an enormous amount of energy in his hands, "I think I'd rather not." In a flash the General was standing behind Vegeta, wrapping his arms around the Saiyan Prince. Rilldo's body began to liquefy and envelop Vegeta's body, causing the energy gathered in the Saiyan's hands to dissipate as he was slowly covered in the strange metal substance, "As I said, It's time to end this charade."
Captain Curry charged into the battle in a desperate attempt to free his Emperor, fist first. Just before he could reach Rilldo, the General's body merged with the planet, disappearing with Vegeta still inside his body. The red skinned Captain cursed to himself, trying to find a way to trace where Rilldo had taken his leader.
Hello! Sorry for such a gap in posting chapters. Some things have come up and I hope to get back on track, but we all have lives of course. I hope you continue to enjoy The Unbridled Future!
