Chapter Forty-Three
King Piccolo snarled at the corpse of the king of Earth, bloodied and battered after the great demon king had offered his plans to take over for the canine leader. The horrifying demon rolled his eyes, thinking again how foolish the millions of Earthlings now under his rule had been for electing such a noble but pathetic weakling for a leader.
It mattered little now though… for his conquest had finally begun and the planet was just the first of many that the great King Piccolo would take over and claim as part of what would be a new galactic empire. He and his children would rule over this entire galaxy for the rest of eternity.
"Where is my minion with the final dragon ball?" Piccolo beckoned, using his magical abilities to conjure a throne similar to the one he'd used in Pilaf's airship in the midst of the room of corpses. "And you," The demon growled, pointing a clawed finger at his attendant, Piano. "Rid this new palace of the rancid livestock. This will be where I plan the next step of our takeover."
"As you wish sire," The pteranodon creature conceded, bowing down to the majesty that was his creator. Raising a finger, Piano added. "Your loyal subjects should be blessed with the news of their new overlord. Maybe then brother Ukulele will have returned."
"Of course," Piccolo retorted, using his otherworldly abilities to transform one of the dead soldier's corpses into a film camera and recording set. Making it broadcast over any other program showing elsewhere, the demon king flashed a sinister grin as he began his speech to the people of Earth.
"We interrupt this regularly scheduled program for some breaking news from Capital City," A voice from the television interrupted Master Roshi's stories. Hearing the deep bellow of Piccolo through the screen, Raditz rose from his seat, letting Bulma up from his lap as he watched for news on the demon king.
"Insolent bugs of Earth," The Namekian said as the screen changed to show the scene that the wicked demon had left in the capitol building. Giving his audience time to take in the scene of dozens of dead bodies and smoking remains of some buildings in the background, Piccolo carried on shortly after an evil chuckle escaped his mouth. "As you can see, I have killed your weak king and taken over for him in ruling you all. As of now, the King Piccolo world order will govern this planet."
"That's the capitol building right?" Raditz asked his girlfriend, watching as the demon king announced himself and his plans to the world. According to these 'King Piccolo orders', crimes like theft, murder and pillaging were amongst other things that the demon overlord encouraged his new subjects to do for his entertainment. "He's trying to send the world into chaos. This guy's psychotic, it's time to end this before more innocent people get hurt."
"Yeah," Bulma answered, knowing what her lover's next plan would be. Still, she was very worried about him after the last couple of days. Although he was the only person who could deal with the demon king, Bulma would love for Raditz to not always have to rush into life threatening situations. "You can't think you're going alone, are you?"
"I have to," The Saiyan replied, sighing as he fastened the harnesses of a new set of armor tightly to his chest. Thanking himself for keeping some spares in the pink shack from his time training under Roshi, Raditz glared at himself in the mirror. Reaching the door, Raditz carried on. "I don't think any of you would be of any help and I don't have time to go after the triclops when Piccolo's taken control of the government. Hopefully he's watching the news and gets the same idea as me."
"You be safe," Bulma suddenly demanded her boyfriend, grabbing his shoulder before he could walk through the door and begin his flight towards the royal palace. Kissing him passionately, the bluenette looked Raditz in his eyes and continued wholeheartedly. "Beat this guy and make it home to me… okay? I can't take any more death."
"I promise," Raditz responded, hugging the woman one more time before suddenly shooting off into the clouds towards the bearer of all evil. 'No more.' He thought to himself, pressing forward with two things to prove: that he was in fact Earth's champion and her people's protector.
Master Shen landed in the middle of Capital City, hundreds of meters from where he had left his students. The crane hermit knew that Piccolo would be showing up anytime soon so he had to be quick. Setting up a trap to entangle the great demon, the elderly hermit's thoughts wandered to his late master. Mutaito had long ago made the sacrifice to rid the world of the great demon king many years ago. Now, he was more than ready to finish the job and subdue the terror for good. Even if it meant that he would not live another day afterwards.
"This should hold him just long enough for me to catch him off guard," The crane hermit thought to himself as he finished the rope trap. Seeking refuge on the top of a nearby building, Shen waited patiently for his foe.
A couple of minutes later the crane hermit heard the sound of the earth shattering apart as the giant Namekian stomped his way through what remained of the city. Using large blasts of energy to level fully intact buildings, Piccolo wasted no time in carrying on the carnage he had been unleashing onto the people of Earth. Shen placed the rice cooker on the rooftop next to him and began to focus his energy into his hands.
"Master," The voice of Ukulele, one of the demon's last creations, screeched as he walked alongside the demonic dictator. Holding the six dragon balls for Piccolo, the winged creature watched in glee as his creator blasted at anything that could be taken for a person. "Should I continue where Tambourine failed and keep hunting down the competition?" The monster asked.
Shen frowned at this. 'So, he has more monsters out there killing people?' The man thought to himself. Though he would never admit it aloud, he hoped that all three of his students and even his bitter rival, Muten Roshi, were doing their best at handling themselves. 'I wonder if they all die if the big king goes out.'
"It matters not anymore," The demon king answered, dismissing his creation. Though he would never admit it to the spawn, he was very much needed until the final dragon ball was found.
"When the eternal dragon is summoned, then we declare war on the entire planet." King Piccolo spat with a nasty cough. He wasn't sure if he had the strength left to create another child -let alone one as powerful as his eldest, Tambourine, had been. Piccolo grimaced at this, yearning for his youth's restoration.
"Dammit," Shen said, observing the conversation between the two aliens. He knew that Piccolo was smart and wouldn't give him time to deal with him singlehandedly when he was as vulnerable as his cough seemed. Shrugging his shoulders before focusing his energy into his hands. 'Might as well hit him while he's distracted.' The crane hermit thought.
King Piccolo was walking forward in conversation with the winged Ukulele until a tingling sensation shot through his nerves. Sensing the buildup of a nearby source of energy, the demon king quickly scanned the ground and then the skies for whatever he was feeling. Making the crane hermit out as a mere blur, Piccolo hissed as he quickly channeled much of his energy into the palms of his hands. As a green aura flared around his fingertips, the Namekian shot his arms forward in a state of panic, releasing an enormous Makosen attack shooting in a path towards where Shen had believed he had been hidden.
Shen moved quickly, grabbing the rice cooker as he watched a small flicker of light grow into an entire energy beam. Throwing himself out of the path before the destructive wave could consume him, the crane hermit felt sweat build across his face as he watched Piccolo's Makosen energy attack swallow several kilometers worth of buildings and roadway and disintegrate them into nothing. The elderly fighter shot to the clouds as he tried to hide the fact that he had survived the blast from the two Namekians.
'He couldn't have known where I was, could he?' Shen thought to himself as he tried to calm his anxiety. He had only seen one person before possessing the ability to sense energy signatures and Mutaito hadn't even been able to pass the skill down to either he or Muten before his death. 'I have to stop him before he levels the entire countryside.' The assassin master noted.
"Got him master," The voice of Ukulele screeched into Shen's ear and in the next moment, the crane hermit felt the winged demon phase into sight behind him. Unable to react in time, the son of Piccolo brought both of his fists down with an ax handle blow that connected and sent his human foe spiraling to and inevitably crashing some meters into the ground.
Shen was slow to pull himself from the crater he had created in the earth. Feeling his arm to check to see if it was broken, the crane hermit staggered back as the demon king suddenly appeared in a blur just feet in front of him. Shen felt a strange feeling sweep through his bones as he stared at the towering giant's back. He saw the red cape flap through the air and show half of the demon kanji that was inscribed on the back of Piccolo's gi. Suddenly, the crane hermit felt a large hand grasp ahold of the back of his head and smash him face first deeper into the ground as the Namekian's minion shot down to the ground and put his entire body weight on him.
"Good job my son," King Piccolo sneered, turning around as his child Ukulele flapped his wings and hovered slightly above the man made crater. The demon king felt his fangs pull into a scowl as dust died down and he looked at the green clad fighter that had challenged him as he lay in the rocky crater.
"Crane," The demon king said, reading the kanji on Shen's fighting uniform. Laughing at the crane hat that the human wore, Piccolo folded his arms across his chest as he taunted his challenger. "A master of the sacred arts I see. Surely you've heard of my legacy. What makes you so ignorant as to have to rush to your death."
Shen panted, hunkering down into a fighting stance without answering the terrifying presence. Quickly flaring his energy, the crane hermit shot forward in an attempt to catch his relaxed opponent with a cross. To his surprise though, as short the distance he had to cover had been, King Piccolo had swiftly moved to counter with a roundhouse kick that his assailant barely saw before the demon king's bulky leg slammed into his stomach. Before Shen could even think to move, he was sent reeling upwards.
Suddenly, Ukulele appeared in the crane hermit's face, matching his speed as he still hoped to recover from Piccolo's heavy blow. Shen used the split second he was given to throw up both of his forearms to block a punch and then a kick from the son of Piccolo.
Finally snapping back, the crane hermit surged his energy and shot ahead of his opponent. Meeting the shooken Ukulele some distance ahead of him, the elderly fighter shifted his momentum and focused most of his strength into his fist and met the alien's cheek, sending him crashing back towards Piccolo, who simply let off a pair of eye beams that struck his spiraling son and stopped him from knocking into him.
"This is the reason I knew I had to exterminate the Martial Arts society." The great Namekian said in a tone laced with spite. Not paying attention to the two holes he had burned into and through his minion's back with the point-blank Soumasen, Piccolo channeled his demonic energy into his left hand as he spoke and felt as electricity began to spark around it.
"Your entire race lacks respect for the superior race. You deserve to be terminated like the flea you are," The demon king spat through his fangs at Shen as he lunged his arm forward with an extended index finger. In a flash, a finger beam was shot at the martial artist.
Shen had a split second to react as Piccolo's energy attack launched at him. Knowing he lacked the speed needed to get out of the way of the beam, the crane hermit threw his forearms across his chest to block the blunt of it. Still, the demon was still as powerful as Shen had remembered and his attack knocked the human fighter off of his feet and to the ground. As his body hit the ground hard, the one-star dragon ball rolled from under the pants of his gi.
"So you're a fighter and a delivery boy? Much older for either occupation, I'm afraid." King Piccolo snickered, his eyes widening as he watched the one-star ball roll down the road to his feet. Reaching down to grab it, the Namekian shocked Shen as he swallowed the orb in a single gulp. "That should keep that safe until I can return to my quarters." The demon king said as Shen rose to his feet and watched the lump in Piccolo's throat move the orb to his stomach.
"You maniacal fiend," The crane hermit spat, cursing himself as he tried to keep himself up. Shen wiped a buildup of sweat from his face and knew that he had only one option now. "You're smarter than I remember, Piccolo." Shen countered with a pant. Decades in solitude would do that to anyone.
"So you know me?" The demon king sneered, baring his fangs and licking his lips with a longue tongue. Falling into a fighting stance, Piccolo flared his power as his cape blew upwards behind him. "I'm afraid knowing my identity doesn't spare you from a painful death."
Shen shot at Piccolo but was easily deflected and sent tumbling back to the ground as another cloud of dust clouded around him. So the demon had the nerve to not even remember him after all of this time?
Lunging forward again with renewed vigor, the crane hermit lashed out with a kick that Piccolo merely rolled with before reaching a large green hand and grasping a hold of the human's leg. Exerting pressure on it, Shen looked down at his leg as it was crushed and was unable to see as the demonic tyrant's eyes flickered a purple color. The crane hermit felt the burning of a bright heat cascade into his skin as he was flung backwards nearly fifty meters through a nearby wall and into an abandoned restaurant.
"This is the part where you grovel and beg for your pathetic life," Piccolo continued, slowly closing the distance as his green aura flared faintly around his large stature. Skeptical about giving the human any room to escape, he hunkered down into a fighting stance and poured his energy into the palms of both his hands.
"Death to martial arts," The Namekian screamed, lunging his arms forward in hopes of unleashing the Explosive Demon Wave onto the entirety of the block he had knocked Master Shen through. As energy cackled through his green body and out of his hands, the great demon king was not expecting for his attack to be pushed back. "It can't be?" He gagged as a green shimmer erupted from the small Shen sized opening in the building. Stepping backwards, Piccolo grimaced at the fact that he knew only one attack could overpower his own.
Master Shen's body was engulfed not only in a layer of sweat and bruises but a faint clear aura as he finally stepped from the hole and back into the fight. In one hand the crane hermit seemed to be containing a shimmering ball of green colored ki that he seemed to be barely controlling. Knowing that the technique was better fit for two hands, Shen quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a capsule, pressing it before he threw it in between him and Piccolo. In a puff of smoke and with a hiss, a small rice cooker with a sealing label popped into view -much to the dismay of the great demon king.
"Home sweet home," The crane hermit retorted with a smirk and a small pant as he brought both his hands to his chest and began harnessing the energy. Shen smiled at the look of terror on the Namekian's face, his eyes all but bulging out of their sockets as he cowered backwards. 'So, it seems he recognizes the attack.' The crane hermit thought triumphantly. Mutaito had gone down as a hero for creating something that could contain an evil like Piccolo. 'Now he's right in my sights.'
"You wouldn't dare use that technique," The demon king snarled at Shen, still at a standstill knowing that it was a straight shot between him and the crane hermit. Piccolo sneered at himself. He had no idea that any of Mutaito's teachings were still around. "You haven't the stomach to throw away your life like this." The old Namekian demon grumbled, biting his cheek anxiously. He only hoped his accusations were right. "It didn't work last time why try again and die like your teacher?" He growled menacingly.
Shen's expression changed into a wrathful one as he watched the demonic overlord talk shit and take another step back out of fear as he tried to focused his energy into palms. As the green energy poured into his hands, the crane hermit performed a hand sign that he only hoped he was performing right.
"Evil contain," The crane hermit said, watching as Piccolo shot to the sky in hopes of escaping. He knew now was his only shot so Shen flung his arms upwards and shot out a large green beam of ki at the monster. "Mafuba!" He spat as he put everything he had into the attack.
Piccolo stood as frozen as a deer in headlights as the attack spiraled towards him. This couldn't be how his second attack on the Earth could end. Flaring his energy, the demon king readied himself to attempt to deflect the attack just as it closed in on him. Growling under his breath, Piccolo had not been expecting to be knocked to the ground at the last instant as his son Ukulele suddenly appeared and using a heavy blow, saved him from his prison.
The demon king immediately shot to his feet after hitting the ground, watching in shock as the green beam slammed into his winged minion. Watching the Mafuba flood the entire area in a green undertone, Piccolo fell to a knee as he tried to regain his focus and breath. Ukulele's screams echoed through the clouds as his body was stretched and folded onto itself as his entire essence was pulled and sucked into the small appliance. Flinging his arms upwards and then back down to the Earth, Tsuru Shen grit his teeth as he prepared to seal the demon in the electric rice cooker, still believing that he had hit the demonic king Piccolo.
"You bug!" Piccolo spat out at this, quickly reeling an arm back and cocking it forward as a medium sized energy blast slammed into the rice cooker and destroyed it on impact just before his minion's soul could be trapped in it. The rice cooker exploded in his creation's face and although he hadn't been trapped, the upper part of his brow had been blown apart in a gory display.
Shen's eyes widened as they shot at the demonic leader a split second too late. Just as he felt the last of his energy leave his body and the wicked energy he had grasped break free, the demon king pounced at the weakened crane hermit with malicious intent.
"You… won't… win," Shen spat as he felt his body be grabbed by Piccolo and yanked from the ground. Barely able to keep his eyes open, the human spat out a blood mixed loogie after taking two punches to the gut from his assailant.
"That attack took a lot out of you but we weren't done yet, were we?" The demon teased Shen as his eyes flashed. Using his ki sensing ability, Piccolo could feel as the last drops of energy left the shell that was the crane hermit's body. Not letting him go peacefully, he burrowed his claws into the human's arms as he stared into the dimming light in his eyes and hit Shen with a head-on Soumasen that burnt through eyeballs and skin alike, leaving a mess where the man's face had been.
Throwing the body aside, Piccolo regurgitated the swallowed Dragon Ball he had won from the brawl. He hadn't expected anyone to know of the strong technique but now, the old man was long gone from this world. Knowing he was now truly free to do as he wished, Piccolo stomped proudly towards his base. Taking stock of the item in his hand, the demon king used his telekinetic abilities to bring the other six orbs to him. Seconds later, he arranged them at his feet and counted up to seven to be sure he hadn't missed one.
"Arise, eternal dragon," The Namekian grunted as the sky around him darkened and lightning cracked at his side. In a giant flash, a bolt of lightning crashed into the set of balls and the form of a mighty green dragon appeared as the Eternal Dragon, Shenron was awoken from his slumber. "Grant my wish!"
"You who have summoned me," The dragon bellowed as his scarlet eyes glared at the green warrior that very much resembled its master. "Tell me your one wish and I shall make it reality."
Tien grimaced as he felt Shen's life force vanish. Screaming, he was able to overpower Ranfan and the woman fell as her paralysis wore off. Panting for air, Tien didn't say a word as he turned to Ranfan, knowing that she had also felt what he had.
"That's what you wanted?" He shot at her, walking to the edge of the rooftop. Looking for Piccolo, the triclops cursed himself, seeing that he had vanished. Seeing the body of his mentor he shot towards it and crashed to the ground next to it. "No, master."
The violet haired woman landed soon afterwards, the same scowl Tien wore on her face. She reached for the triclops shoulder but Tien slapped her hand away, sighing as his energy flared. Now both of his teachers were gone from this realm of living.
"You knew what he was planning the whole time and let him go into this alone?" He spat in anger, walking away to stop himself from lashing out at his fellow crane student. Stooping down to grab Shen's body, Tien walked over to a crater and threw the body into it. Using his feet to push some dirt on top of him, the triclops sighed. 'Better to have a rushed burial than none at all.' He thought to himself.
"I didn't know that the Mafuba meant he would sacrifice himself," Ranfan countered, standing her ground as she followed the triclops the whole way. Not looking at her ruined grandfather's corpse, she swallowed a lump before catching up to Tien. Pushing him and making him face her, the granddaughter of the fallen crane hermit screamed. "Come on, Shinhan… don't forget he's my grandfather before any of this master stuff."
Tien remained silent at this, knowing that Ranfan was right. If anything, Piccolo was the only person who could be blamed for Shen's death. As darkness flooded the air, the two were interrupted from their grief by the sight of a large green dragon stretching itself across the skies of Capital City.
"Just help out anybody around here and keep a guard up. We don't know how many others there are." Without saying anything, the triclops shot into the sky towards the only source of light he could see. He would have to handle the big guy himself.
Power Levels
King Piccolo: 700 (aged with weighted clothing)
Ukulele: 450
Tien Shinhan: 500
Master Shen: 340
1360 (Mafuba)
Ranfan: 290