Yo! Son Goku and friends! Cell Saga (Chapter 7)
Gohan
The rolling winds of Mount Paozu hit hard that day, the trees and grass responding in kind with comforting sways. The front door to the humble Capsule home swung wide open, Goku and Piccolo exiting the house as dawn dawned.
"Goku~"
"Yes dear?"
"Can you take Gohan with you?"
"..?"
"We need a few groceries but I need to look after Goten. If you could drop him off at the supermarket before you all go take the exam that'd be really helpful."
"Sure thing."
The couple shared a quick kiss as Gohan moseyed onto the calm rolling grass.
"Who do you think's gonna win?"
"Your dad's a Mongrel. I'd win no sweat. Son Goku's a dunce when it comes to anything that's not fighting. But it'd be cheating if I used my Telepathy so I think I'm gonna take it easy on him."
Gohan cheesed a bit and let out a chortle.
"Why'd you make me wear this thing anyway?"
"Your usual training clothes wouldn't fit in a car that's not big." Gohan remarked as he brought out his wingspan, miming out the length of Piccolo's cape, or more importantly, the weighted pauldrons that came packaged with it.
"I'm already out of the ordinary, Gohan. You seen my skin colour?" He joked, bringing up his large hands with a jazz hand flare about them.
"You're not out of the ordinary. There are dogs and cats and all sorts of interesting people to meet in the big cities. I think you look cool!"
"Tcheh!" Piccolo scoffed as he put his large hands in the jean pockets.
Gohan and Piccolo waited out on the trail for a while, as Goku and Chi-Chi talked about something or other. The Demon looked down at his waistline and softened a bit.
"You know, this thing is pretty comfortable. I never know what I want to do with my hands. What are these called?" He asked as he brought out the loose insides of the faded sky blues.
"Those are called pockets. I know, I don't like wearing my gi all the time either. Have to carry everything in my hands when I wear them."
"Huh." Piccolo replied calmly as he shoved his hands back in the small baby blue compartments.
"Alright! Let's go, guys!" Goku chirped from the back.
"Nimbus!"
Gohan hopped on the orange puff and sailed off into the blue sky with the two men.
"Be careful!" Chi-Chi yelled a bit too late, Gohan far too submerged in the blue beyond to really respond.
Cell
Ga-Chuik. Bee! Bee! Bee!
"Looks like… another city." Cell remarked out loud as he soared across the clouds. Passing through high in the air, the sharp winds of the top of the skyline hit him. He breached the white fluff and descended down into the reaches of the metropolis.
Cell looked around and soon enough, found a large board denoting the city.
Orange Star City
"Orange Star? Huh."
Cell swooshed through the air with determination, clicking in The Dragon Radar one more time.
"Oh!" He almost shouted, noticing the blip on the far end of the sonar. "There are the last two Dragon Balls!"
He took a moment to compose himself and think.
"So whoever is near those two took my Dragon Radar and The Dragon Ball from that strange place in the desert. I'll have to hurry up and find this one quickly."
Ga-Chuik. Bee! Bee!
"Is it..? Moving?"
He looked down at the cityscape, trying to scan it relative to the radar's findings.
Gohan
"Alright, Gohan. Here's the list Chi-Chi gave me."
Gohan fished out the pen and pad from his father's hand, studying it curiously.
"Have a good time, Gohan. We'll come back for you if you want but you're free to go home without us." Goku wished his son well with a pat on the head, ruffling his hair a bit. "Send The Nimbus my way if you need to come find me."
"Send The Nimbus your way?"
"Yeah! The Nimbus is really smart. If you ask for him to go somewhere, he always knows. Even if you've never been."
"Really?"
"Yep. Helped me find the guys in The Red Ribbon Army."
"So just ask for him to go find you?"
"Yep!"
Piccolo and Goku waved him off and flew away right back into the sky.
"Yo, did those guys just fly off?"
"I stopped asking questions when they started making flying cars and space-time Capsules." A couple commented as they walked past the boy with the shopping list.
Gohan turned around and attempted to walk through the parking lot of the supermarket before something caught his eye on the road.
"Huh?" He questioned aloud as a screeching of the tires and roaring of an engine boomed out into the streets.
Saiyans are excellent at threat assessment, ie: Understanding when something is out of the ordinary. It's not like he stopped time or anything, but a Saiyan's perception of an event that could be considered dangerous is simply higher. Your average individual might notice that the bus was being jacked by armed gunmen, but if you weren't paying attention you could easily just assume the bus was going faster than normal. Gohan turned his head and saw right through the glass, three different men with weapons.
"Uh oh." Gohan commented plainly as the bus shot right past him and barreled down the road. He looked at the list, then back at the road, then back at the list again. "The list can wait." He answered with confidence, steeling himself and staring at the now faraway vehicle. It was almost out of view with how fast they were going.
As Gohan tried to judge the distance, a veritable squadron of cop cars zoomed after the vehicle, streaming air trailing behind the police vehicles, pulsing into him and his green jeans.
VYUU! VYUU! VYUU!
"That's not good. I better help fast."
Gohan got ready, grabbing on tightly to the list and jumping on:
"Nimbus!"
VYUUUUUUUUUUUUU~
The Cloud hauled ass, catching up to the police cars in no time.
"What the hell!?" One of the officers said out loud through the open window. "That kid's riding a cloud! Getta' loada' this!"
"Are you serious? You're making this shit up."
"No! Honest!" He pointed out Gohan who tore ahead of them, zooming off in the pursuit of the bus.
"And I thought I saw everything when King Piccolo blew up Central City."
Gohan weaved through the air, around buildings, over cars, slipped signs, and lunged under bridges until he was hot on the tail of the speeding bus.
Tomp!
"Thanks, Nimbus! Stay with me."
The Nimbus looked to nod in agreement before pulling away a bit and surveying the landscape from the top. The Nimbus almost seemed as if it were looking around. A few of its sputtering blobs almost fell off before it came and crashed into Gohan.
"What is it, Nimbus?"
The Nimbus pointed into the sky with its orange trail, denoting the strange shape of a very tall man. The figure came into view with more clarity and whatever it was, it looked to be a big bug.
TMP!
"Whoa!" Gohan shouted as he just about fell on his ass.
"Hey."
"Hey."
Gohan and the bug-man stared down for a while on the top of the speeding trolley just before he brandished a compass of some kind. Gohan furrowed his brow.
Ja-Shuik. Bee!
"The Dragon Radar!" The son of Son Goku blurted aloud.
"You know of the radar?" The man questioned defensively, taking a bit of a backstep in apprehension, arms almost raised.
"Watch out!"
"Huh?"
Cell looked behind himself just in time, noticing a street sign coming right onto his position. He dropped down with insane precision, ducking right under the metal board.
FWOOFF~
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. My name's Gohan." Standing on his feet and answering with a polite bow.
"Huh-huh-hah! My name's Cell. Nice to meet you."
"..."
There was a bit of silence, only broken by the sharp winds and the oncoming sirens of the police cars.
"You were saying about the radar?"
"Oh yeah! Are you searching for The Dragon Balls?"
"That I am. Are these things more popular than what I was led to believe?"
"What do you mean?"
"This is the police!" A booming voice echoed through the streets as the bus rampaged. "Pull over the vehicle now!"
"You ain't taking us, man!" A somewhat burly looking youth yelled from out the window before firing off rounds.
Ratatatatatatatatata!
The cop cars weaved and jived but it wasn't enough, two of the cars were put out of commission with tire shots, rendering their chase inept.
"Sorry sir, but I have to help these people. I don't have time to look for The Dragon Balls."
"Well we're in luck."
The wind blew wildly as the bus wheeled across the black asphalt with intense intention.
"Because it would appear The Dragon Ball is in here." He relayed, showing the radar to Gohan and pointing down.
"Great!" Gohan answered with a bright smile and a shake of his fist.
"Yo! Someone's on top of the bus!" One of the men inside yelled, alerting the two.
"Let's get to work." Cell posited with a smile.
"You got it!" Gohan shot right back, offering a handshake.
Cell accepted it and the two shook with vigour. Gohan dropped off the top and swung right in the open window the shooter had left ripe for the picking. He landed on the opposite end, holding onto one of the grey seats as he entered.
"Yo! You don't wanna be in here, kid!" The man with the green shirt threatened as he held his piece up to the new entrant.
"Oh my God!" One of the women in the back wailed as the gunman aimed at the little boy with the green overalls.
"He thinks he's a hero! Hawh-Hawh!" A big man in the front laughed, he wore a tight button up and suspenders, a handgun in a holster at his right side. "You been watching a few too many movies, have you?"
As he was aimed at by the man in the middle of the bus, Gohan scanned the surroundings carefully.
"..!"
"Don't move, kid! I don't wanna have to splatter you!"
"Oh my gosh!" Another woman blurted out as passengers looked on in horror.
Gohan noticed The 2 Star Dragon Ball hanging around the neck of the big man in front. There was a bit of downtime as Gohan scouted out the back half of the bus.
"I'm serious! Don't do anything you're gonna regre-"
KRSHH!
Everyone looked on in disbelief as a humanoid bug-man crashed through the glass of the door of the bus. The big man in charge drew his piece but he simply wasn't fast enough.
Quof~Vsht! BANGG! BANN! Thwt! Foff~
"Gohw~" The man gasped as he fell into a seat. "Gah~ Damn! You broke my wrist!" He whimpered with a feverish look as his right hand bent in an unnatural development.
"Shame."
Gohan glanced over as Cell entered the bus, looking down at the man with a bit of bravado about him.
"You must not be built for this. I wasn't even trying."
Gohan smiled a bit, his conviction strengthened with the powerful ally.
WHAMM! Thmm!
The green shirted gunman was knocked against the roof of the bus and fell on his face in a strange contortion, half due to Gohan's unorthodox attack, and half due to the fact that he was obstructed by the bus seats.
"NOBODY MOVE!" A nasally but still strongarmed voice bellowed from the back.
The last man standing held a woman hostage, pointing a gun right at her temple.
"Either of you clowns move a muscle and she's off to the shadow realm!"
"..."
"HOLD IT!"
Cell made a duck face as he picked up The Dragon Ball off of the man's necklace, stopping in his tracks with an air of humour about him. Gohan and Cell stared at each other.
"Uhh. What do we do?"
"..."
"..."
The tension piled high as their new heroes stopped in their tracks. Cell ran through the motions for a long time, searching his mind for the answer.
"Well, unless they attack me, I guess they deserve to live. But if that thing kills regular people then she's a goner." Cell ruminated as he gazed upon the firearm the man held strong against the woman's head. "Is there a way I can get the energy out of me? I can build it up, and I can use it like the radar… but can I shoot it? Like a firearm?"
"Hey! MAn I Ain'T PlaYing arouNd!" He squealed kind of awkwardly, as if he hadn't done it too many times.
Cell raised his palm and Gohan's eyes just about shot out of his head.
"He can use Ki? Who is this guy!?" Almost left Gohan's tight lips but he swallowed to let it from escaping.
"You got one last-"
DYUUONZH!
"GAH!" He absolutely screamed his head off as a thin line purple plasma seared right through his shoulder. "Oh God!" He fell over into a mess, blood spilling out of the wound.
Cell stood up tall, smiling, clearly proud of himself.
"Nice!" He just about shouted, looking at his chalky palm with renewed determination.
"Who is this guy?"
"Huh-hah-hah! The name is Cell. Nice to meet you all." He took an authoritative bow, his distinguished and regal looking figure suited the motion very well in fact.
"You just made the wrong move..!"
KOMM!
"WHOA~"
Gohan caught the bullet aimed at his ally, the steam rose from his clenched fist as the onlookers looked on.
"Huh-huh-hah. You didn't need to do all that, Gohan."
"I didn't want him to get a cheap shot."
"What a nice kid." Cell kept to himself, brandishing a smile.
Cell booked it over to the man in question, placing his left foot firmly on the man's shoulder injury.
"Gah~"
"That wasn't very smart now was it?"
"Khhh~"
"Are you gonna do it again?"
"..."
The bus was quiet and focused on the two passengers glaring each other down at the back of the bus.
"Tch!" The man scoffed with a bitter scowl. "You ain't ever heard the last of The Red Shark Gang."
"Hmm. Maybe I haven't, but you're still nowhere near strong enough to be worried about." Cell commented plainly as he kicked him unconscious, shrugged his shoulders, and turned around.
The response ushered a smile out of Gohan and he took the exit he entered through, jumping out of the window and landing on an orange cloud.
VYUUUUUUUUU~
"No way." A little kid commented as she saw the boy hop on the orange ball of fluff.
"Thanks for helping, Cell."
"Don't mention it." He reiterated as he stepped out of the bus, walking on the air, stylishly next to the boy before sending out his wings and flapping them in tandem.
"Well… see you around! Good luck with your wish!"
"Hah!" Cell couldn't help but let out a declaration of happiness as the teenager left the premises, sailing off into the aether.
The police finally caught up with the bus as the driver was free to stop. They attempted to rush the vehicle but were caught off guard by the sight before them.
"Isn't that..?"
"..."
"It is! That's the guy from two days ago! The uh…"
"-Draconic Mansion Murderer!"
"Ahh." Cell sighed. "Can't ever just be easy, can it?"
Cell simply said no and flew off, the cops totally unable to give chase as the bug-man soared beyond the skyline and entered the safe white barrier of the clouds above.
Gohan touched down at the supermarket, taking the notepad out of his pocket and examining its contents. The boy scratched his head with a pencil as he entered the automatic double doors at the front.
"Okay well yeah, that makes sense. Maybe if mom-"
Piccolo
"You're failing! I can't even state just how not passing you-whoo are right now!" A young girl with wild red hair yelled under the blinding speeds Piccolo rode the road with. He brandished a devilish smirk as Goku kept up parallel. The woman couldn't push back her smile either as the two rivals bickered back and forth.
"Hey! I'm kind of getting the hang of this, Piccolo!" Unlike the woman in Piccolo's car, the old man in Goku's seemed to not really care all that much about this turn of events.
"You don't see the speed limit, Son Goku!? You failed like five minutes ago!"
"I did!?"
Piccolo just hollered with a loud laugh as they sped along the winding road near the sea. Goku couldn't keep a lid on it either, bursting out with his characteristic childlike giggle.
"Huh-Hah! Heehee haugh-haugh!"
Palm trees flew by as the pair gunned it.
"Well if I failed, doesn't that mean you failed!?"
"I only failed cause you were going way above the speed limit! I wasn't about to let you pass me up like that!"
"Oh, so it's a race!?"
"Well we failed, we can't even get the licenses today!"
"We can't!?"
"No-ho!" Piccolo busted a gut. "You dumb bastard! A failing grade means you can't take it for a while!"
"We can't just go back and try again!?"
"You didn't even read the handbook, did you!?"
"..."
"Unbelievable." Piccolo remarked, shaking his head and looking up at the sky.
"Huh-Hah-Hah-Hah!"
"Dumbass…"
The woman in Piccolo's car couldn't help but notice how gruff the man looked earlier but just how unguarded he was when interacting with the childish man in the other car.
"You guys must be really good friends."
"..? What?"
"I was just uhh, saying that you two seem to get along really well."
"..."
The loud engines of the cars would have made it difficult to think for Piccolo had he not taken King Kai's training.
"Sir?"
"He's… he's alright."
"..."
VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR~
Goku
"Huh-Hah!" Goku laughed jubilantly as they stepped out of the lot.
"Well. That was a bust."
"I guess so." Goku remarked as he shelved his arms behind his back and looked up at the clouds. "What are we gonna do for The Budokai then?"
"..?"
"I mean. How are we gonna settle who gets to enter?"
"I don't know."
The rivals looked up into the sky longingly, Piccolo taking off the charred red baseball cap he was wearing and dusting it off. Piccolo gazed at the grooves in the material with a focused stare before Goku broke the ice.
"Hey! I know, how about we go to Other World?" Goku practically yelled with a chipper tune. "I know we've gotten way stronger since I was there last time! I can even challenge King Kai and see if I'm strong enough to beat him!"
"Tcheh!" Piccolo scoffed, holding on to goofy smirk. "Okay." He mocked, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "But how does that solve who gets the spot?"
"Hmm…" Goku pondered as he put his index finger on his cheek, cupping his right elbow with his left hand. "Oh! I know!"
"Enlighten me." Piccolo remarked with a sarcastic drawl.
"We both fight King Kai and whoever lands the most hits gets the spot."
"You're on."
Whap!
"Oh. I need to get back home to make sure Gohan's okay."
Piccolo nodded, placing his index and middle finger on his forehead to assume the position.
Vwa~Va~Vsht!
"Is this..? Yeah, we're good."
"I need to learn how to do that!" The now father of two yipped as they vanished across the planet and ended up outside The Son Family Home.
"Tch. You're not one for subtlety, Son Goku. It'd take you a looong time to get ahold of this technique."
"Try me." He taunted back with a toothy smile, swinging open the front door. "Honey! I'm home!"
"Goku? Where's Gohan?"
"He should be still back at the store..?"
Piccolo and Goku just stared blankly at each other for a moment
"We dropped him off but Goku wanted to come back here to check in with you."
"Yeah! We're gonna go to Other World today and maybe get some training with King Kai. You want anything?"
"Want anything?" Chi-Chi asked with a smile. "What would I want from the afterlife?"
"I don't know." Goku answered back with that characteristic goofy laugh and a rubbing of the back of his bushy hair.
"What am I gonna do with you?"
"Huh-Hah-Hah!"
"Uhm. You said Hell is actually like a real place in Other World?"
"Yeah?"
Piccolo just glanced over at Goku with a 'What?' look about him.
"Can you bring me back some water from there? I want to see if it's any different. And if I could maybe use it in some recipes."
"You got it!" Goku answered cheerily, picking her up and swinging her around in a bear hug.
"Goku-hu-hu!"
"Huh-Hah! Sorry! Gotta go!"
Goku hit a pseudo salute and in a flash, the pair were already in front of Baba.
"Hmm. I won't lie, I didn't expect you boys today."
"Hiya, Baba!"
"Hello Goku… Piccolo."
"Shut up, you old hag."
Baba just smiled as The Demon crossed his arms and looked at the wall.
"...You want access to Other World do you?"
"You bet!"
"Hmm~"
Baba looked at the pair curiously, Goku maintaining that goofy yet friendly eye contact as always as Piccolo looked about the differing shop items that rotated out. A few ghouls and ghosts haunted the premises, taking scrolls, carpets, and trinkets here and there.
"Have you ever heard of Ogre's Horn?"
"No, can't say I have!"
Piccolo's hand was forced and he furrowed his brow at the old witch.
"You want us to play fetch again?"
"Why yes."
"Typical."
"This has never been a problem before."
"You know, when building a business, usually you build business relationships to further facilitate faith in your customers. Giving me a free pass to Other World every once in a while would go a long way."
"Hmm... Too bad, so sad."
"Fuckin'..." Is all Piccolo said, tongue and cheek as he shook his head. "I would say unbelievable… but it's not."
"Heh~Heh~Heh~" She cackled, rubbing her hands together and pressing them against her crystal ball.
"So what about Ogre's Horn?"
"Ogre's Horn. The type I'm looking for, is only found in Other World. The Ogre's Horn we have here isn't strong enough, get me some from a strong Ogre in Other World and I'll let you back to Earth."
"Oh so we get a free pass." Piccolo shot back in a mocking tone, pointing at the old woman. "But you're just not gonna let us back in?"
"Mmhmm. You were always so perceptive."
"Great."
"Deal!" Goku answered with a bright smile, sticking out his hand for a shake.
"Hmm~" Baba mused, refusing the offer. "Hurry up."
"Yes ma'am."
"Don't feed her ego, Son Goku."
The trio exited the little shop of horrors and instead entered the lightshow of Instant Transmission.
Traveling to Other World from Living World is not possible for beings that are not blessed with the right nor the inordinate amount of Ki necessary to do so. (God of Destruction Level Ki to be specific) Even if Piccolo had 10 times the amount of Ki he possessed right now he couldn't travel to Other World. That's just not really how it works, it takes up too much Ki to try and breach the barrier. Baba is different. She has a contract with King Yemma and therefore does not even need to use a lick of Ki to take outsiders in or insiders out.
"Thanks, Baba." Goku said with a jubilant tone as they touched down on the tile of King Yemma's estate.
"Yeah, yeah, hurry up with my horn."
Vzh~Vzh~VSHH!
"Ogre's Horn, huh? Hey Yemma!"
"Huh? Goku?"
"Get this guy outta here."
"I heard he's held up the line three times."
"OH BROTHER, this guy stinks!"
"Eh~heheh~" He laughed sheepishly.
"Above. What are you doing here? Piccolo too?"
"We're here for Ogre's Horn."
"...WHAT?"
The room shook with ferocity, Goku almost fell on his ass while Piccolo did a good job standing against the tide with his arms crossed.
"You do know what that is, don't you?"
Goku just raised a brow and glanced over at his rival.
"Yeah, I do. It's probably gonna be difficult to coerce one of you guys to just give us your horns."
"I mean, they grow back, but not for a while. What in blazes do you need it for?"
"I don't need it, Baba does. But if we can't get it, we can't go back." Goku let out with a shrugging of the shoulders.
"Ah, now we're making sense."
"HURRY UP, MAN!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Yemma's voice bellowed all throughout the entirety of Other World, even piercing the veil as far as Grand Kai and Pikkon.
"Whoa~ Far out." Grand Kai said as he jived his head to the tunes playing on his large red boom box.
"My apologies."
"Uhh~ No problem." Goku said back as his button up was forcibly opened, thumbs up and hair in a mess.
"Well. Above. I'm not giving you mine, but there are a ton of Ogres I have employed down in Hell. You could probably get at least One of them to give you something. Below."
"Thanks, King Yemma!"
"Below."
"..."
"Below. Hey, Piccolo."
"What?"
"You look radical."
"Shut up."
"HAHH-HAHH-HAHH!"
The pair descended down the path, pushing through the orange clouds and entering the deep. King Yemma's snickers could still be heard as though he were centimetres away even though the two trendsetters have traversed into Hell. The red sky, grey rocks, and colourful jellybeans brought back a sweeping sense of nostalgia.
"Huh-Hah! This takes me back!"
"We're not here for sightseeing, Son Goku."
"I know. Doesn't hurt to take em' in when we got em' though." He remarked, running his hand along one of the particularly low in the sky glassy blobs. "This is harder than I thought it'd be."
Knott! Knock!
The bean floated away from Goku's knuckles, back into the aether.
"Huh-Hah!"
Piccolo crossed his arms and looked out into the devilish landscape before him.
"Whatcha' doin'?" Goku asked with a cheesy smile as he put his elbow on Piccolo and leaned over.
"..."
Goku let the air breathe, looking out at the view.
"I used to think that this was the ideal. Pools of blood, skulls and bones, but I don't think that anymore. I much prefer the ocean, ponds out in the boonies, waterfalls. What's to like about dead things other than the concept of it? It seems kind of childish now that I think about it."
"Death is a part of life too, isn't it?" Goku countered. "Life isn't nearly as precious without what proceeds it. I don't think there's anything wrong with having an interest in what comes after."
"... Son Goku?"
"Yeah?"
"Where'd you learn all those words?"
"Chi-Chi taught me. I'm in the house when she's homeschooling him so I pick up on the vocab words."
Piccolo and Goku just had a laugh, looking out into the torn up tectonic plates.
"Did you get a Capsule or anything to get that water with?"
"..." Goku just had duck lips at the revelation. "Nah, I completely forgot!"
"Don't worry."
Zhh~
Piccolo spawned a modest jar from out of nothing and threw it at him.
"Man, you're getting good at that."
"Yeah, I used to just use it for clothes."
The two rivals started their trek, looking for pools of water to draw from.
"She probably doesn't want any from the Pond of Blood, you think?"
"What do you mean, she wants new recipes doesn't she?"
"... Yeah, you're right."
"Don't fuckin-" Piccolo interrupted, stealing the jar from him. "I was kidding."
"You're kind of foolish if you believed me. I got you good, you actually thought I was serious."
"You're full of shit." Piccolo declared through stolen chuckles, tossing back the glass jar.
"Huh-Hah!"
Goku and Piccolo walked the land aimlessly, just looking for the right bit of water that didn't have carcases, bones, bugs, or blood in it.
"Finally!"
Snup.
The lid snapped closed and Goku screwed it on tight.
"You know..?"
"What?"
"We went all this way for some Hell water. You think we might grab some more than what's in this little thing?"
"..."
"..."
Piccolo and Goku stared at each other blankly until Piccolo nodded and conjured a gigantic glass jar.
"Perfect! Thanks Piccolo."
The Demon didn't answer, only crossing his arms and taking off the Titans' cap. Goku splashed around for a while, looking to fill the rest of the large container.
"Alright! All done. Now, where are we gonna find that Ogre's Horn?"
Piccolo had no answer for that, just staring at the hellscape with white clouds floating all around.
"Hmm." Goku leaned up against the giant container and grabbed his chin in thought. "I know!" He remarked as he slammed his right fist into his left palm like a gavel. Piccolo turned his attention back to the goofball Saiyan. "Goz and Mez!"
"Who and Who?"
"They're Ogres… I think?"
"You think, huh?" Piccolo fired back with a smirk. "Well lead the way then."
"Huh-Hah!"
Goku hefted the jar above his head and started to sprint off.
"Hopefully they're still by the tree!"
"What tree?" Piccolo asked as he flew overhead, looking down on Goku as he ran and hopped across the terrain.
"King Yemma's Tree! It makes the fruit that gives back sinners their bodies! I used it for you, Tien, and Raditz!"
"I see." Soon enough, Piccolo did see, in fact, practically impossible to miss due to its vibrant greens and golds, standing out easily amongst the dark blacks, greys, and reds of the rest of Hell's stalwart and stoney surfaces.
"Hey!"
TOMP!
"What the hell is that?" Mez pondered, fixing his thick-rimmed glasses. "Why are you carrying around that thing?"
"He just need a sip. Hah-hah~" Goz chuckled to himself from the steps.
Mez raised a brow, combing back his jet black hair with his hands.
"What can I do for you, Goku?"
"We need Ogre's Horn!"
"Say that again? I'd just about knock your breaks off!" Goz yelled from the top of the staircase.
"Uhh~"
The two Ogres stood face to face with the Saiyan.
"I just need Ogre's Horn. However it happens."
"You hear this muhfucka?"
"That I do."
"He got me fucked all the way up." Goz said as he swaggered down the steps up to the tree, fixing his white tank top as he went.
"Can't lie."
"Ima' let you off with a warning since you all are livin' folk, but axein' about Ogre's Horn is racist as a mutha fucka'."
"Uhh~ Sorry."
"That's what I thought." Goz commented as he turned on a dime, attempting to make his way back up the staircase.
"But we can't get back to The Living World without it."
"Pity." Mez interjected as he raised his arms in indifference.
"I don't really give a shit about what you guys think. We're going to get some Ogre's Horn whether you help us or not."
"Don't antagonise him~" Goku got out in between laughs.
"How were we supposed to know Ogre's Horn was racist? Baba set us up for laughs, that old bitch."
"What'd you say, Green!?"
"You heard me. Or are all Ogres a little slow?"
"Ooh, you want to get fucked up." Goz threatened, pointing his large blue finger at Piccolo's face.
"Try me. If me and my rival beat you in a two on two, you have to give us some Ogre's Horn. However you acquire it."
"Deal! I remember how weak you was last time, little fella. This'll be a breeze." Goz once again, pointing a declarative finger, this time at Goku.
"No holding back, this time." Mez commented as he cracked his neck with two epic crunches.
GrroCKK! KroKK!
"Ahh~ That's better." The red Ogre sizzled out as his tongue pierced the air like a serpent's.
Goku and Piccolo VS Goz and Mez
Objective: Obtain some Ogre's Horn!
Goz and Mez fixed their stances as they squared off with the pair across the steps, the tree bearing the fruit of King Yemma looming in the background of their brawl. The Ogres wore what looked to be workout gear, bright white sleeveless shirts with white short shorts. On the front of their tanks were colour coordinated blocky letters that said 'Hell'. Piccolo took off the Titans' cap, dusted it on his faded jeans and popped his yellow 'Postboy' shirt. Goku flexed and stretched his torso with some rotations, buttoning up the orange button up he had on to full capacity after being blown apart by Yemma's wild shout.
"Ready whenever you are!" Goku yelled jubilantly, holding out a thumbs up.
"Your funeral!" Goz shouted right back.
Mez made the first move, vanishing in the blink of an eye, using his blinding speed to try and score first blood. The snappy jab he attempted missed by a hair as Goku leaned in low to the ground.
"What? How did he..?"
WHAMM!
Goku shot right back up, hiking his left knee up high and slamming it into the chin of the red Ogre.
"Guochh~" He grunted, forcibly backstepping.
"HYAHH!" He screamed, locking in a powerful Kiai, localised entirely in his left hand.
Pa-POKK! Foosh!
Mez must have hit a dozen backflips before landing on a stationary rock and propelling off it in no time.
Fsh!
Goz rushed in too, parallel with the red Ogre. The Demon cracked his neck and knuckles, getting ready to receive the offence maneuver presented. In an instant, like he had skipped a few movements, Piccolo shot out his left hand like a whip, trying to trip up the red Ogre while in full sprint. It worked, but it didn't stop his wherewithal. The red Ogre hopped off the ground in a cartwheel, changing his target mid-sprint.
Piccolo stared him down before Goz switched targets as well. A double team. Piccolo furrowed his brow before Goku came out of nowhere.
"Kamehame~HAHH!"
ZYUU~POHMM!
Goz palmed it like it were a small firecracker, the only thing the beam was good for was a possible smokescreen.
"Duhhh~" Goku let out dumbly as Mez met up with Piccolo.
FshWshFushFshtWshtWooshFooshWshFsh!
Piccolo dodged the feverish pressure from Mez, punch after punch that just kept coming. Piccolo parried the last of the string, grabbing the red Ogre by the wrist and slamming in a gut punch with his right hand.
"Heh-heh. Not goo-"
Before Mez could even finish talking his shit, The Demon's eyes lit ablaze, an ethereal crimson red shining behind them.
ZHHHHHHUUWUU~
"AHAAAAA~" All Mez could do was scream as Piccolo shot lasers at the red Ogre's tongue. Due to the shock, he kept his mouth open longer than he wanted to, steam coming off of his tastebuds. "Mle~"
The Demon went to town, capitalising on the weakness. A strong kick to the midsection, an uppercut to the jaw, an overhand to double up, and a stepping side kick to send the red Ogre to the next dimension. Mez was sent far away, crashing into a nearby pond and staining his training clothes a faded pink. Piccolo looked over to see how Goku was doing and:
WHOKK!
"Whoa~" Goku yelped as he was thrust into the tree at the top of the steps.
Goz bellowed an obscenity, pointing his large hand at Goku before attempting to clear the distance. The Demon sniped his big leap, throttling the back of his neck and snatching him right out of the air.
"Grah!" Piccolo yelled as he slammed the blue Ogre into the white concrete.
"You got a death wish?" Goz' eyes glinted through the dust as it filtered into Hell's hot air.
Fshu!
Piccolo crossed his arms and true to form, only dodged exactly what he needed to, barely shifting his head to weave the punches from Mez, coming from behind him. The Demon, with cold calculation, dodged a flurry of blows, grabbed the red Ogre's arm, and judo threw him right onto the steps. He wasn't done though, with his right arm pressed against the block letters of his tank top, Piccolo reared back his left hand to strike but was stopped from going any further as the blue partner geared up for a wrestling style missile dropkick.
WHUMPP!
Piccolo shifted gears, halting his strike and raising his hand for a block instead. With his guard torn apart, The Namekian's left arm flailed wildly as Goz landed behind his foe. Mez shot up and kicked the top of Piccolo's dome from his seated position, forcing him down the stairs. Goz caught wind, slapping his big arms around The Demon and hitting a high-bridge german suplex right on the grey rock below.
WHOKK!
Mez cackled with excitement as Goz kept Piccolo in the iron-gripped bridge. He jumped high into the air, holding both hands in a double axe handle. At the apex of his leap, before he could descend, Goku cut the wind sharply, like a bolt from the blue as he appeared even higher than Mez already was, looking to land his own missile dropkick.
WHAMM! WHOKKOCKKLE~
It was successful. The red Ogre bounced off the ground in a cartoonish manner from just how heavy the hit was. Goku landed in a front roll from the all-in attack, finishing his maneuver right behind the blue Ogre.
"Shit."
Goz dropped Piccolo immediately, spinning around into a pushup position before launching at Goku with the weighty run of a football player. The big man brought his right arm high and looked to smash it down on the much smaller Saiyan adversary. Goku thought on his feet, jumping high into the air, kicking off his punch and rounding to the back with his flight.
"Hyah!" Goku roared as he launched a devastating right roundhouse at the blue Ogre's nape, forcing a tumble and roll onto the ground in sequence.
"You're gonna regret that!"
"Man! They're tough!"
"It's not that, Son Goku." Piccolo commented as he cracked his knuckles and filed in behind his rival.
Mez ran at the pair too, the two rivals back to back as they fought the pincer attempt. Feet were let fly and punch combos ran rampant from either side as Piccolo and Goku discussed the matter.
"It's Other World. Unless you're a significant amount stronger than the person you're fighting, fights just don't wear people out the same."
"Riiiiight. I forgot."
"Gotta outlast em'. It's not just about brute force."
Piccolo dominated the exchange with a brutal combination, fighting Mez back with a few well placed punches, a harsh chop to the temple, and finishing it with another stepping side kick that bulldozed right through him.
"Come on!" Goz taunted as he sent out a claplike maneuver with both hands.
Goku blocked the strike on either side, dropping down low and hitting a backflip dropkick attack, the same one he used against Vegeta.
Whack!
"Rrrr~" The blue Ogre grunted as he lifted into the air.
Piccolo eclipsed the many jelly beans floating in the sky, coming down with a brutal double axe handle of his own, thrusting Goz back into the rough patch with the weight of God behind him.
"Huagh!" Goz gurgled as he kipped up in an instant.
WHOKK!
Goku caught him right in the mouth with a two-piece of punches, sending him on the backfoot before following up with a rising left knee into a jumping back thrust kick. The force shot him far away but Piccolo was right there, ping ponging the large blue Ogre with his tree trunk leg, just about tearing his jeans in the process. Goz bounced back forward into a right high roundhouse, smacking him in the face and once again throwing him on the backfoot.
Piccolo and Goku were on a tear, it would appear that when put together, they just knew how to attack in tandem. The Z Fighters' first but ultimately second best Tag-Team.
After the follow-up from his rival, Piccolo just sent out a big boot with his right leg, slamming his foot right into Goz' spine and forcing him back to Goku once again. The Saiyan went for broke, slamming two high knees back to back, one on each side before getting low and letting loose another banger of a Kiai.
POKK! WHAMM!
Piccolo cut the distance short, slamming in a left knee of his own just as he wrapped his arms around the blue Ogre in a constricting display of Namekian biology, wrapping Goz up like a birthday present before cutting the ties and letting him spin wildly.
Fwuwuwuwu~ KLOKK! FYUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuu~
Goku finished the job, lining up the right moment and slamming a superman punch right on Goz' nose and firing him towards an empty canyon in the distance.
"Huh-Hah!"
"You think that was a little much?"
"Ehh~ Maybe. Hee-hee~"
The sound of water breaking was heard in a far off echo, likely due to the sound of Goz reaching the bottom of the chasm. The pair went over to check and sure enough.
"Think he can get back up here?"
"Well if he can fly then yeah. But if not, he'll be sleeping with the fishes toni-"
Fwuof.
"Nice try, buddy." Piccolo remarked as he parried Mez' attempt and hung him over the edge by his tank top collar. "What was I saying?"
Goku just shrugged.
"Must have not been very important if I can't remember." Piccolo said as he dropped the red Ogre off the top and into the river below.
King Kai
"What are you carrying around there, Goku?"
"Hell water."
TMMPP!
"And wha-hat the hell are you wearing? Hya-Ha!"
"Shut up. Gohan picked this out for me." Piccolo shot back with flushed red cheeks.
"I can tell~" King Kai fought back snickers as the pair arrived on his small little orb. "So?"
"So? Use your Telepathy, Mongrel. It shouldn't be that hard."
"..."
"Hi Bubbles!" Goku greeted as he picked up the monkey off the ground and put him on his shoulder.
"Ook Okk!"
"Huh-Hah! I agree."
"You want to finish your training?"
"Well, we just wanna see where we are. I don't recall a single time during my stay in Other World where me…" Goku looked at Piccolo plainly for confirmation to which he only received a shrug. "Or… anyone else actually got to fight you seriously."
"Hmm. Ego, huh?"
Goku scratched his head, glancing over at Bubbles.
"Ego's the last thing on Son Goku's mind. He doesn't care about any of that crap, it's about testing his limits. He hasn't done that against you yet, and neither have I."
"Is that..? What I think it is?"
"Yeah! Ogre's Horn!"
"Goku! Quiet down! You want King Yemma to evict me!?"
"What?"
"Sheesh, you're gonna be the death of me, you know that?"
"Huh-Hah! With all that yelling I feel like I already have been!"
Goku set down the monkey and gave him the horn to fool around with. Bubbles sprinted away with the item as the rivals stretched it out in front of The North Kai.
"I'm not going to take it easy on you, you know."
"Wouldn't want you to."
"Give us everything you've got. Would have been pointless coming here if you didn't."
"Fair enough."
King Kai rolled up his long sleeves, and for the very first time, Goku and Piccolo saw just how strong he was.