Yo! Son Goku and friends! Saiyan Saga (Chapter 2)
Goku, Tien, and Piccolo VS Raditz
Objective: Rescue Son Gohan!
The air was still as the four combatants eyed one another. Raditz couldn't help but smile.
"Three on one!? I'm glad I warrant such tactics! We might have an interesting fight after all! I could take you all easily one on one but now!? Who knows!? HAH-HAH-HAH!"
Everyone took a fighting stance except Piccolo, he held his position calmly, arms crossed and feet together as he stared intently at the power before him. His outfit was a deep purple, he wore a white turban with a purple gem at the top and a white cape with large pauldrons to match. Piccolo's outfit was also adorned with a red belt sectioning the purple top half vest and purple parachute pants. His fit was complete with brown pointed shoes, they resembled something a wizard might wear. Piccolo blinked a single time.
Goku's stance was the widest of all, his legs were open and he pointed his chest to the ground. He positioned his right arm above his head, his left in front of him and below near his left knee, facing Raditz. He wore the turtle hermit outfit with its insignia, one over his heart in the front and a large one plastered over the back. His orange vest and pants shined brightly over the deep blue undershirt, wristbands, loose belt and boots. His two blue belt strands breezed ever so slightly in the wind. He had the biggest smile on his face.
Tien's stance was the only to shift as he brought his left leg up to his left arm before slamming it down and rooting himself. Tien's hands were open in an almost claw-like shape and his fingers maneuvered around slowly like he was feeling out the energy in the air. His outfit had been shed as he chose to brandish his chest proudly. He only wore the red belt, white pants, and brown boots. He also wore black wrist bands but he promptly took those off and threw them next to his cape and robes. Tien cracked his fingers a final time in a flourish before returning to his stance.
Raditz' stance was barely a stance at all, only propositioning his right hand forward as he radiated Ki. His saiyan armour was spotless as if it had just been cleaned before he arrived on Earth. Its near gold pauldrons and belt protrusions contrasted nicely with the polished black of his boots, forearm guards, chest, and undergarments. His Saiyan tail wrapped around his waist in a belt loop. He had one arm band around his left bicep for flavour. His green scouter bipped and beeped, reassessing the enemy. The scouter was a well designed device that latched onto the ear comfortably and with stability. It was a clean white. The ground rumbled just from him standing on it.
Goku and Tien glanced quickly at each other and nodded. There was a fraction of stillness before Tien and Goku rushed Raditz together. They weren't in time, there was a bit of lag between the two of them. Raditz cut his brother off early, rushing him with a forearm strike, causing him to wipe out in a tailspin. Tien faltered and put up a shittier offence as a result. Raditz blocked Tien's crane strikes with ease, there were many blows but they all lacked the punching power necessary to damage his burly frame and immaculate armour.
During the barrage Raditz looked for his angle, grabbing Tien by the sides of his head with both hands and smashing it against his own. The Three Eyed Man recoiled harshly from the blow, winding back a few steps with glazed over eyes.
KROKKKK!
"AHHHHGH!"
Piccolo held his pose.
Raditz looked to finish off Tien with a haymaker, his right hand pulsating energy while his prey was still reeling. At that moment a large red staff made contact with Raditz' neck, smacking him with great force and dealing much more damage than he was comfortable with.
WHACK!
Goku took a wide stance with The Power Pole, tilting it slightly to the sky. Raditz furrowed his brow and snarled as he regained footing.
"Not cool, Kakarot."
Goku remained stoic in his pose. Capitalising on the moment, Tien rushed Raditz while his focus was on Goku. He led with his left elbow, trying to blindside him with great speed. His Saiyan opponent was too aware however, palming his elbow before catching his chin with an upwards boot using a left leg. Goku used his opportunity to vault at his brother with The Power Pole, landing smack in the front of Raditz.
"Power Pole extend!"
VYeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!
"Nice of you to make it easy, brother!" Raditz yelped proudly as his brother landed right in front of him in a compromised position, almost akin to limboing, Goku's body bent backwards as he held the Power Pole.
"Eat it!" Raditz screeched as he drew back his right fist.
In time with the strike Goku retracted The Power Pole and snuck it through the gap of Raditz' shoulder when he readied the attack, causing it to crash into his brother's right cheek with a lot of force.
WHOKKKK!
"EHH-heh. What is this thing made of!?" Raditz questioned angrily as he grabbed onto it, Goku being unable to retract it fully.
Raditz turned to the side and unleashed a fearsome kick to the stomach, causing Goku to relinquish his grasp on the weapon and tumble to the grass.
"Trash!" Raditz yelled as he gripped The Power Pole tightly with both hands before snapping it over his knee.
KLUNK!
"HUH!?"
It didn't break. Goku had somehow managed to possess one of the most powerful artifacts in the universe, The Power Pole is incredibly powerful as its namesake suggested. It could never break, a God of Destruction would love to take such a weapon into combat. The Power Pole was capable of dealing damage to all targets, regardless of battle power. It is also capable of scaling linearly with the user's own potention however and that's what makes it so dangerous.
Goku smirked as he got off the ground, letting out a concerning nasally laugh. The young father took in a deep breath before returning to his stance. Raditz frowned and tossed the item behind him quite a ways. The small red staff flew for a while before falling into Piccolo's hand.
As a member of the Namekian Race Piccolo could retract and extend his arms to great lengths. He could also regenerate from most wounds and only needed water to survive. The Namekians have a lot going for their biology, they are strong creatures. Piccolo did not know the degree to which he could heal or how powerful water was yet in his adventure however.
Piccolo had sent his arm out to retrieve The Power Pole, choosing to remain in the same spot and observe the outcome. Piccolo then retracted it with great force and dropped the item off in drive-by motion to Goku.
"Thanks for the assist, Buddy."
The Demon rolled his eyes.
"Wha-" Raditz let out, totally off guard and unaware that the Namekians possessed such an ability.
Tien got up from the blow he took earlier and positioned himself behind Raditz in a pincer formation with Goku. The large Saiyan squinted and then with blinding speed slammed his elbow into Goku's face, the force was much harder than anything Raditz had let out yet and sent Goku absolutely flying. Piccolo stepped aside as his arch-nemesis flew past. Tien grit his teeth and pursued Raditz from behind. The older brother smirked before what seemed like disappearing with great speed. Tien's attack missed cleanly.
"What?" Piccolo thought to himself upon the interaction. "That was obvious. Can he not see it?"
Raditz was not teleporting, he was simply moving so much faster than Tien had ever seen anyone move before. It's not that Piccolo had seen someone move this fast but that Piccolo's battle power allowed him access to the viewing experience as it were. It was more like Piccolo was wearing 3D glasses and Tien had bad eyesight. Piccolo's true battle power capped out at 600 whereas Tien's capped at 450. Battle Power is not a flat concept, it changes on a moment's notice due to a spread of factors: Concentration, fight-or-flight, damage accrued. The best way to defeat an opponent is to wear them down as they will not be able to use their Ki efficiently and as such lowering their battle power significantly. Anyone has a shot at the title, you just have to figure out how to get them on your level.
Raditz appeared behind Tien with intense speed. Tien didn't even comprehend Raditz being behind him but his third eye had him covered and Tien trusted his instincts. Tien put up his right forearm in a guard, blocking the impact of his enemy's kick shittily. It wasn't pretty but it was the first one Tien blocked, a purple bruising stained his forearm from the blow.
"Fuck…" Tien let out through iron-grit teeth.
Tien comes from the Triclops people. He is a hybrid between them and regular human genetics. Through practice Tien was able to control all three of his eyes independently, his third eye being the best and really only necessary one to do so. It processed information much quicker than the other two and stored information into his subconscious allowing him to make snap judgements with his third eye far better. After fighting for a while Tien's third eye could perceive the enemy with much more accuracy and that's what allowed him to catch up so quickly. Tien's third eye would have a long way to go but it would soon become one of the Z Fighters most powerful tools.
Tien let a harsh breath out of his cheeks.
"Phu!"
He maintained his pose and focused on the enemy.
"The fuck's Piccolo doing? I thought we were gonna fight this guy together. Does he think he can take the monster by himself? That bastard."
During his moment of thought Raditz waylaid him with a flying knee strike, landing dead on Tien's nose.
WHOKK!
The blow was immense and caused Tien to skitter across the ground in a painful display, kicking up dust and causing rocks to fly. He slid right next to The Demon.
"You're up next, Green Man!"
Piccolo had been trying to come up with a strategy and had an inkling, but it was now or never since Goku and Tien were super fucked up.
At this point Piccolo's minor Telepathy only allowed him to communicate directly with animals and he couldn't get into the mind of a person But he could catch the stray thoughts of those who had strong words they wanted to say or emotions they had trouble keeping in check. Piccolo's strategy was cruel and was going to work.
"How rich! A king never helps his subjects no matter the throne it seems! I had hoped you might be different, Piccolo! You've been doing nothing but twiddle your thumbs, are you scared!?"
"Of you? No."
"Don't make me laugh! HAH-HAH-HAH!"
"You are in deep agony that your brother, father, and mother don't love you."
Raditz is struck deep to the core of his being. He stopped laughing immediately.
"And you are still processing the fact that Goku doesn't either."
There are no words, Raditz attacks in a frenzy.
"EEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
After the mighty roar Raditz screeched, a gathering of red sparks of electricity formulated and started bouncing around his frame. Piccolo's eyes widened at the occurrence.
"Again…"
Piccolo weaved the blinding fast but ultimately thoughtless strike, and Raditz fist only pierced his opponent's cape. Piccolo looked at Raditz with a killer indifference while Raditz glared through Piccolo with the most hate he had ever felt in his life. Raditz struck again only to miss for a second time as Piccolo weaved effortlessly, taking off his turban. Raditz raised his right hand and slammed it down onto Piccolo's head which of course he dodged. This time Piccolo aimed to strike at Raditz and punish his overcommitment. He slammed a gut punch as his foe but to no avail. Raditz' Saiyan armour and toughly trained body dispelled the impact perfectly. No damage.
Piccolo was stunned at the fact that it did absolutely nothing and Raditz winded back for the haymaker of legends. Piccolo put up his guard to shield but was blasted away regardless, the force piercing right through both arms easily, drawing blood from his cheek. Raditz pursued doggedly and The Demon cursed himself for being unable to dodge. He was forced away again, this time with a roundhouse kick, his feet sliding across the ground as he went, forcing up a massive amount of debris in its wake. Raditz swung too wide for the followup however and The Green Man ducked underneath his enemy's left hook.
"Phuuu." Piccolo let out a steady breath. "Ok." He posited to himself for reassurance. "Now how do I hurt him?"
Raditz pursued relentlessly again but Piccolo had regained the momentum he needed to dodge. He developed his strategy on the fly while his opponent rained down blows at him.
"I can use the Special Beam Cannon but I can't do it while this Mongrel is pressuring me."
Piccolo's ability to think on the fly is his specialty, not even once they would become a team could any of the Z Fighters really do this. Krillin and Goku were good in the unconscious strategy but Piccolo consciously thought through his moves during battle, an insane and almost Angel-like approach.
Raditz' rage was subsiding and conscious thought returned to him slowly. He feinted an elbow strike at Piccolo to which The Demon ducked under. Caught in the bait, Raditz struck him from behind with a boot. Piccolo was sent crashing through the ground, throwing up dirt once again.
"Damn… There's no time."
Raditz let out snarling breaths like an animal.
"Wrong move Green Man, getting me worked up like that was a Baaaaaad idea." He said with his eyes bloodshot, still infuriated, the red electricity faded into nothingness as he came forward.
"MASENKO!" Piccolo yelled sharply and with great speed.
A yellow beam struck Raditz right in the face as he was unprepared. It threw him for a loop but did little damage, not even knocking him over.
"THAT'S IT!" He screamed in response just before getting blindsided by The Power Pole again, right in the neck a second time.
Goku strolled casually up to Piccolo and sheathed his weapon.
"Man, you've really been working out Piccolo. My bad, I let you get so far ahead of me. I'm gonna have to really train hard to make sure it's an even match up for next time."
"You'd better find a way to double your power during this fight, cause it's gonna be right after this."
"Of course. Heh-heh…" Goku let out a laugh sheepishly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Goku put his full trust in Piccolo, turning his back to him while taking his stance. Piccolo cracked his neck and then his knuckles before taking a wide pose himself.
"I'm still willing to let you live, Kakarot, but my offer stays on the table. You don't get to have your cake and eat it too."
"Cake? There's cake?"
"No, … Kakarot, it's just a saying."
"Oh…"
"God you're dumb." Piccolo retorted.
There was a pause. The farmlands were quiet for just a moment as the three stared down. A breeze picked up slightly before subsiding. Upon the silence Piccolo and Goku blitzed their opponent. The pair rushed with such perfect timing you'd think they had been teammates for years.
Piccolo dipped into the lead, which prompted Raditz to strike with his left fist.
WHOOSH!
He hit nothing but air as The Demon ducked under his strike. Perfectly on cue Goku rushed his brother with his right hand.
"Hit him in the face!" Piccolo dared not let aloud so as not to alert the enemy.
Goku clocked Raditz on the mouth, causing him to stumble.
"Yes! Son Goku!" Piccolo couldn't help but yell in response.
He followed his partner's attack with a roundhouse kick right at the back of Raditz' head, knocking off his scouter and forcing him forward at Goku. Goku had prepared for the rebound and jumped with a spinning back thrust kick at his brother's jaw.
"Ngh!" Raditz let out, stunned.
Piccolo revved up his Ki and took a low stance before tackling Raditz' back off the second rebound.
"NOW!" Piccolo screamed loudly.
Goku brandished his Power Pole and slammed it into Raditz' forehead as Piccolo performed a drive-by with his brother's body, clotheslining him, and then tailspinning him. The interaction played sounded like so:
Whoooosh! KLOK! "Yes! Son Goku!" WHAM! THOK! "Ngh!" "NOW!" THUMP! KRRRRAKK!
Raditz was dazed for a moment, reeling from the combination. He looked to The Green Man.
"DIE!" He yelled, firing a surging Ki blast.
It was fast and singed the shaky guard he put up very heavily. Goku ran at his brother, sheathing The Power Pole. The blows struck quickly like rain but Raditz' armour and general defence snuffed out all of Goku's attacks. He reared back his left leg and crushed Kakarot's right temple with the attack. The father of Gohan flew in a tumble at the maneuver.
THMM! Skffffffffff~
"I think... that one did a number on poor old Kakarot... you might be all that's left." Raditz said cockily, wiping the blood from his mouth.
"Fine by me, I didn't need them anyway." Piccolo responded with solemnity, taking a stance.
Raditz grinned at The Green Man's words. He stomped on the ground fiercely in a fake out, 'forcing' Piccolo to bring up his guard. The burly Saiyan unleashed a combination on his target in five blows. He struck Piccolo in the gut with his left elbow, after that he spun and landed the back of his right elbow in the same spot, piling on the damage. Piccolo keeled over at the two rapid fire attacks, exposing his head. Raditz capitalised on this and rammed his left knee right at The Demon's brow.
Piccolo flung back in agony but his opponent was not done. Raditz delivered a mean side thrust kick, doubling down on the gut and sending Piccolo flying. Raditz moved so quickly it appeared that he teleported before slamming the Green Man's head to the ground with his left palm.
"Tell me... is it good to be the king?" He gasped out in shaky breaths.
Piccolo was super fucked up, but he still had some energy.
"Ask that guy." Piccolo said, pointing to Tien who seemed to just be floating in the air.
"What..? What!?"
Tien had been gathering energy for a while, but Raditz was too lost in the sauce and had his scouter forcibly removed. Tien's veins shined brightly with Ki and stuck out, giving him scary vascularity.
Tien was charging up for his ultimate technique: The Tri-Beam. It was a technique that Ki Sourced incredibly efficiently and drained the life force and stamina of the user as a result. It wasn't the type of move one could use and then just get up and do it again. The flip side was that if you got hit by the Tri-Beam, well… don't get hit by the Tri-Beam.
Gohan stewed in Raditz' Saiyan pod, knowing his father was fighting tooth and nail for him. His anger grew and his Ki potential flared, cracking the red glass. His hair shined gold for only the briefest of moments.
Raditz' anger grew and he shot straight towards his airborne opponent.
"No more games! You die first!"
"Shit!" He thought. Tien wasn't quite ready yet, he needed one more moment to unleash the blast with maximum force.
Just in time, and just before Raditz got in range Piccolo snatched his ankles with his stretching limbs. The stopping power was so immense it rooted Piccolo out of the ground and slid him across the dirt, kicking up all manner of grass and dust.
"RRRRRRGH!" He grit out through his teeth.
SKFFFFFFFFFFFFF!
"SCUM!" Raditz screeched back at Piccolo.
"TRI-BEAM!"
Raditz' focus shifts to in front of him, he stares at the man who has his hands pressed together in a pyramid shape, he could just tell instinctively that this was going to suck.
"HAAAAH!"
KAAH-KOOOOOOOM!
The inhabitants of Roshi's island felt the slightest wave of pressure barrel in, very very faintly. They pay it no mind.
In one move the yellow prism obliterated all of Raditz' armour, it being the only thing that kept him from wasting away in the impact. He slammed down to the ground harder than he had ever been hit before. Raditz' eyes went blank from the energy, it rocked his world. The rebound was immense and bounced him about a whole six feet off of the square cavern after the initial landing.
Due to the heavy damage he had sustained during the fight his Ki Sensing was shot, Piccolo didn't realise just how much Ki was on offer in Tien's blast and it had completely disintegrated both his arms.
Tien smirked, happy as a clam before dropping limp backwards onto the ground. Piccolo wheezed out as much as he could to get more air back into his system, his limbs bleeding purple ooze.
"You couldn't get a more perfect cut if you tried." Piccolo pondered as he looked at his previously existing arms. He smiled. "I underestimated you... Mongrel." His shaky breaths notwithstanding.
Raditz clamored to his feet, blood everywhere. He cupped at the edge of the rectangular cavern, trying his very hardest to climb out of the tall whole. His only saving grace is that it wasn't much taller than he was so he didn't need to fly but that didn't really matter at this junction because:
It was bad.
The practically disfigured Saiyan moseyed on over to his pod bit by bit, intending to retreat. Piccolo cursed himself, he was so far away from Raditz and had to do a lot to stop him, but he wouldn't let it. Raditz fished out what looked to be a needle from his underwear and stabbed himself with it. He injected the liquid and it acted very fast, forcing him shakily to his feet. He stumbled and fell over, still very damaged.
"Come on Piccolo..." He grunted to himself, looking at the stump of his right. "Errrrrrr-AGH!"
Sklushh!
The clean-cut wound squelched and festered before a new right arm launched out of him. The guttural roar from Piccolo sounded otherworldly and forced Raditz to look back at his foe in horror.
The Green Man took heavy strides forward, and Raditz' brow furrowed. The liquid pulsing through his veins grew stronger, giving him more vitality and shutting out more of the pain. Raditz sped his route along by just a bit, outpacing Piccolo.
"Damn, I'll never reach him now…" He thought. "No other options..." Piccolo pressed his index and middle finger on his bleeding and beaten forehead, gathering energy and causing sparks to fly. He brought in a steady breath. "Whuuu~"
Raditz took forever to waltz over to his pod as fast as he could, the liquid poured in more, giving him vigour. He took in another breath as well.
"LATER GREEN MAN! TWAS FUN!" Raditz shouted, his veins almost popping at the seams.
At that moment Gohan burst from the pod window and shot towards Raditz' chest.
"DON'T HURT MY DADDY!" His banshee wail echoed out into the plains.
Gohan's battle power was barely over a hundred at 116, but just about anything would topple over Raditz at this point as his battle power had been reduced all the way down to 191. It didn't however.
In a clutch moment of reaction time Raditz caught Gohan head on, his Ki blew Raditz' grip all over the place and turned him around. Raditz locked eyes with Gohan's malicious scowl before looking to Piccolo's mass of sparking energy. He frantically tossed Gohan to the ground and backed up, frightened. Goku used this moment perfectly and positioned behind Raditz, grappling him in a full nelson hold.
"Wha-?"
"DO IT!" Goku yelled loudly.
Goku was naive and a true Saiyan in a way. He trusted his gut feelings with almost all of his actions. He didn't know what kind of blast Piccolo had cooked up but the Special Beam Cannon was specifically designed to pierce through targets no matter the defence. Goku had just assumed that Piccolo was going to stop Raditz. Even after all this he didn't want to kill his brother, he just wanted the fight to be over so he could talk. He was going to be struck through clean by the beam and be sent to the other side along with his newly appointed family.
"GLADLY!" Piccolo screamed, readying to launch the beam.
"Brother~ this blast!"
"Huh-Hah-Hah!" Goku let out stupidly.
At that moment, right before Piccolo unleashed The Special Beam Cannon, Gohan got up and rushed Raditz again. He just wanted to help, swinging a wild strike with his right.
"I get his offspring too? Sweet." Piccolo thought to himself as he casted it, the main beam maintaining an orange hue and the spiraling second beam that caused the drilling pressure of the maneuver was purple.
Raditz' view almost went into slow motion as Gohan flew at him, he pondered everything that had happened so far in an instant. Gohan's hand steadily crawled forward and the beam in front of him pacing faster and faster. He was tied up by Kakarot and didn't have much time.
"MOVE, Damn it!" Raditz yelled loudly.
Gohan was right in the way of the beam before Raditz swept him aside with his left leg, he had deliberately saved Gohan's life, Goku saw what he did as Gohan flew daintily out of the way of the blast. His eyes widened before his soul got snatched by The Special Beam Cannon. This life was over. But Goku had business to attend to in the next one, and another master to learn even more skills from.