Episode 68

Mind-Binding Force!

Whoosh!

The winds were heavy for a second and then, silence took over.

King Cold will be staying in the sidelines for now, to watch the skills of their enemies, to somehow exploit any weaknesses he could find from them, and find out why these Saiyans were spared from Planet Vegeta's destruction. Fate is a concept that very much intrigues him. These Saiyans were able to escape from the cruel fate of being perished along with their home planet, he ought to find out the true reason behind their survival and existence.

Recoome and Guldo prepared themselves to confront their foes. Goku, Bardock, and Raditz waited patiently for the perfect opportunity to make their moves.

"All right, Guldo, let's show them what we're made of," Recoome insisted.

"Hmm," Guldo said.

Once more time, the two of them showed off their poses and introduced their names.

"I am Recoome of the Ginyu Force!"

"And I am Guldo of the Ginyu Force!"

Together, they did another set of poses and then, they said, "Prepare yourselves! We'll make you suffer like you've never suffered before."

Another moment of silence drifted in. The Z-warriors, especially Goku, were baffled. This was Goku's first time seeing this kind of strange exhibition.

"Uh…what was that all about?" Goku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing. They're just trying to show how irritating they are, Kakarot," Raditz told him.

Goku suddenly laughed. "It's kinda funny actually. Hah, hah!"

The Ginyu Force heard what he said and became more irritated. They felt like they were not being taken seriously at all.

"We're not that stupid," Burter snarled.

"You better start getting scared of us 'cause we're a lot more powerful than we look even if you think our poses are ridiculous!" Recoome told Goku.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Goku chuckled.

Bardock just let out a grunt of frustration for their childish, meaningless games. Suddenly though, he received another vision from the future; however, this vision was not related to anything what was going on in Namek. In this image, he saw a very familiar-looking person. He was full-grown, wearing this superhero-like costume while sporting an odd-looking helmet that almost looked like a bucket. He was standing in front of a mirror, doing poses similar to what the Ginyu Force was doing now.

"Okay, how about this entrance quote? Ahem…'allow me to tell you my name. I'm the hero of justice, the destroyer of evil, the one who'll stop your evil deeds. Surrender now or you'll face the consequences. I am…the Great Saiyaman!' How's that? Was it good?"

Bardock also saw a young boy beside the man who was making these poses. Bardock cannot clearly see the face of this boy though.

"That's so awesome! Can you teach me some of those cool poses? I wanna be a superhero, too!"

"Sure, Bro, if you just keep constant practice and it doesn't hurt to have a creative imagination as well. Well, thanks. I made the quote and the poses myself. Now, let's train so we don't lose to eeeeee-vil!"

"You said it!"

"Yeah! Uh-huh! The hero of justice is now here! Uh-huh! The champion of justice has finally arrived! Uh-huh!"

That vision ended, and Raditz and Goku saw the look in their father's face and asked if he was all right. Raditz was beginning to realize that these stares coming from Bardock were happening too often. He was worried if he saw another horrible vision again.

Bardock slowly turned his head towards Gohan and his nephew noticed this.

"Huh? What's the matter, Grandpa Bardock?" he asked.

Bardock suddenly told him, "Gohan…listen, in the future, do us all a favor and don't dress up as some sort of a rejected spandex or a costume wearing freak, all right? And make sure you don't do any crazy poses in front of us!"

"Eh?" Krillin cannot make any sense with what he was saying.

Gohan also had no idea what he was talking about. "What do you mean? What costume? What are you talking about, Grandpa?"

Bardock realized he might reveal to them his secret, his secret of precognitive foresight, if he were to explain to Gohan what his words meant; therefore, he just said, "N-nothing! Just-just remember what I said, all right? Even ten years from now."

"Huh?" Gohan was more confused than ever.

Goku had to ask him, "Dad, what costume freak? It's not even Halloween and actually, Gohan has had nice costumes from past Halloween parties. Chi-Chi has always made his costumes. Oh!" he snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "There was this one time when Gohan dressed up as a cute Aerodactylus and because of that, he probably got the most candy when we went to West City for this special Trick-or-Treating event. Everyone thought he was cute. Speaking of candy, I'm getting a little hungry," he was going off-topic.

Raditz had no idea what he was saying, obviously. "Kakarot, all I hear now is nonsense coming out from your mouth."

"Wait a minute. Don't tell me you've never heard of Halloween before!" Goku was surprised.

"If it's a kind of holiday, forget it," Bardock was at the same frame of mind as Raditz was. "Back in our home planet, Saiyans never have time for vacations."

"Stop talking already!" Recoome suddenly took the initiative after getting impatient from hearing their useless conversations. He charged forward fast, throwing a heavy punch, but despite this mere distraction amongst the three Saiyans, Goku, Raditz and Bardock were able to get their heads back into the fight. The three evaded his attack and they soared into the skies, underneath the sun.

Despite Recoome's bulky size though, he was quite faster than he looked. He was able to get behind his opponents and with his hands clasped together, he struck Raditz first on his head. Goku and Bardock teamed up as they went for dynamic kicks to Recoome's chest, strong enough to make it break, but Recoome blocked both of their attacks with ease. He first struck Goku and then Bardock and both were about to collide to the ground with Raditz.

"Hey, Guldo, help me out, will ya?!" Recoome shouted.

"Huh? Oh yeah!" Guldo was lost in thought as he was too nervous from having to face Bardock again. Nevertheless, he must keep his focus on the battle for now. He then placed his hands in front and released a kind of energy blast, which paralyzed the three Saiyans, making them stop in place.

Recoome then dove down from the skies and one by one, hit his opponents as hard as he can while they were still paralyzed, making them collide against boulders and the ground itself.

"Oh man!" Krillin was worried.

Elder Moori noticed that despite these direct hits, Goku and his family did not look hurt at all; perhaps just surprised, their guards let down a little.

Vegeta, however, was convinced that his arch-rivals were already having a difficult time with their enemies. "Hmph, that's what they get for not listening to me, these low-levels. The Ginyu Force is a lot tougher than they look."

Recoome then gathered as much energy as he can to release an all-out, barrage of homing blasts. "Here's a little surprise from me. Recoome Renegade…Bomber!" as soon as these blasts made contact with Goku and his family, they woke a huge explosion.

"Dad! Grandpa! Uncle!" Gohan panicked a little.

Krillin felt they should do something to help them. He clearly saw his friends being trapped in Recoome's bombardment of explosive blasts, but Elder Moori stopped him including Gohan.

"Don't worry. They should be fine," Moori reassured them. "I can sense, they're not hurt at all."

"Really?" Krillin could hardly believe in him.

"They look hurt," Gohan doubted his words.

Moori though smiled. "But do you think they're in pain?"

Vegeta had overheard what the village elder said. He had to make certain if his words were true. Recoome's Renegade Bomber left clouds of smoke and dust behind, blocking everyone's visions, and if one were to be hit by this technique of his, it would seriously inflict damage. The Saiyan Prince thought to himself, how could an aged Namekian who barely had strength to protect himself from anything make such a bold prediction?

Because of all this dust and haze, Burter had to cover his mouth as well as Jeice.

"Oh, this is just great. You know how long it's gonna take me to wash all of this dust out from my hair," whined Jeice, holding a napkin up to his nose.

"Complain all you want. At least you have hair," growled Burter.

On the other hand, this fog did not bother King Cold at all. He kept his arms folded, his eyes showing complete seriousness. In fact, his scouter detected three life forces whose power levels were still stable and significantly high. King Cold said to himself, "These Saiyans are definitely not ordinary."

Recoome and Guldo stood beside each other and tried to see if their opponents were still there. There were no signs of their presences and so, they believed they had already won. Guldo felt relieved, knowing he will not have to deal with Bardock ever again.

Yet, they were all too wrong. Once the fog faded, Goku, Raditz, and Bardock remained. Goku was on the ground, his arms crossed and up to his chest, seeing how he had switched to defensive mode and was able to shield himself entirely from Recoome's blasts. Raditz was seen standing on a small canyon with his arms folded. He barely had a few scratches on his body and armor.

"What? No way!" Recoome's mouth opened wide.

Vegeta was especially shocked. "I can't believe this…Recoome's technique should've blown them to space dusts, but they're not fazed at all."

Just seeing these Saiyans he claimed to be nothing but low-leveled soldiers overcoming such obstacles, their strengths reaching new heights not even a royal elite himself can reach, he felt exasperated from just having this unbearable thought engraved in his mind.

"All right!" Gohan was glad his family was doing okay.

"Phew," Krillin wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Well, I should've never doubted them at all."

Burter and Jeice were shocked to witness how these Saiyans were able to survive Recoome's almost inescapable technique.

Guldo gulped hard. "Geez, I should've known it was too early to celebrate. Huh?"

They did not realize that Bardock had suddenly reappeared behind him and Recoome. The moment they turned around, Recoome was already hit when Bardock sent a sharp sidekick to his back. He then followed with a turning hook kick to Guldo, ramming him against his comrade.

"Augh!" Recoome was in pain, but it was not enough to hinder him yet. As the two were being blown away, Recoome then turned to Guldo and nodded to him, giving him a signal.

Bardock had no time to waste. He pursued them, determined to end this battle quick. Raditz and Goku rushed towards them as well as they prepared to make their assault; however, Guldo took a big inhale and he yelled, "Time Freeze!" in just a snap, everything stopped except for Guldo who fell accidentally on his back. He kept holding his breath though, providing himself enough time to distance from his enemies. He then smirked to see that Recoome had ended up back in the skies whose hands were already up in the air, gathering enough power to launch another fearsome beam that can annihilate Bardock, Raditz, and Goku. It was a kind of teamwork he and Recoome were famous for. While Guldo uses his psychic abilities to stop time, Recoome will somehow rapidly get behind his opponents and plan an immediate attack. Once Guldo lets time run again, Recoome would have already finished his technique and would definitely catch his opponents off-guard.

Bardock, Raditz, and Goku were still frozen in place, unaware of what just happened.

Once Guldo felt he was far enough from their foes, he then let out his breath to resume time.

At the end, Bardock ended up attacking no one. Instead, he slid on the ground, his feet sliding off dust. Raditz and Goku came to a complete halt after noticing that Recoome and Guldo were nowhere in sight.

Recoome whistled to get their attention. "I'm here! Hah, hah!" at that point, he unleashed an immense, energy wave of power towards the three Saiyans. They had little time to react, yet, their reflexes were lightning-fast, they vanished and reappeared much higher up in the skies, to the point they were within the clouds. Recoome missed his target and instead, his attack struck the ground, waking another explosion and allowing another quake to wreck the battlefield.

The rest had to keep up with their balances. They also must endure another period of distracting smoke and fog.

Jeice covered his mouth again with a napkin. "Such a nuisance. I seriously need to take a shower after this!"

Krillin, Gohan, and Elder Moori were coughing excessively, but it did not last long. The three then looked up to find that Bardock, Raditz, and Goku were floating high up there.

Vegeta tightened his fists. "Victory is far too long to be grasped. As long as Guldo can stop time, anyone will a difficult time breaking through their teamwork."

Recoome began to look around in this mist, but only to find that his opponents had disappeared once again. "Huh? Where did they go? Don't tell me they hid like a bunch of scaredy cats. I'm just getting warmed up here!"

"These guys are Saiyans. They're too stubborn to not give up," Guldo reminded him.

Burter's scouter easily pinpointed their location though and he informed his comrades about it.

King Cold shifted his focus to the perpetual skies above him. His scouter had calculated the Saiyans' power levels and found out that their strengths had increased by a thousand more. This information did not cause any anxiety to the king, however. In fact, he was finding this to be very interesting. A smirk was seen on his face. "So, it's true. Saiyans do get stronger every time they fight. No wonder they're a warrior race that a lot of species feared…even Frieza feared them."

While floating with the clouds, Bardock, Raditz, and Goku were taking this time to come up with a new plan.

"That weird, skulking creature has the power to time stop. Raditz, I'm sure you know about that," Bardock assumed.

"Yeah," Raditz said. "He's the weakest of all members, but he has sly moves."

"Hmm," Goku started to think. "If that's the case, we'll have to fight fire with fire then."

Bardock and Raditz asked what plan he has in mind then.

"Their teamwork's effective, but if we just copy what they do, then we can easily beat them. Notice how he has to take a big breath in before he freezes time?" asked Goku. "It may take only a few seconds, but if we just find the precise moment to position ourselves for an attack already right at the moment when he says to freeze time, and when time starts moving again, our attacks should all be set to go to take him and his comrade down. What do you guys think?"

"Basically, you're saying that we should do the same strategy that Recoome's doing. Should work," Raditz believed.

Bardock slowly smirked. "Let's go then."

Without any delay, the three took great swiftness, rapidly making their way back towards the battleground. Their auras emerged and they left a jet of air behind as they hurried towards their enemies.

Recoome immediately saw them returning to the battle site. "Aah, there they are. This is too easy. Guldo!"

Guldo waited for that right moment to hold his breath and once he did, he stopped time once more. Everything froze except for the time master himself.

"You small fries, prepare to die now. Heh, heh, heh…wh-what?" however, Guldo realized something strange. Bardock, Raditz, and Goku were nowhere to be found. "Oh crud! They disappeared. Where the heck did they go? They can't hide for long."

Guldo tried to look left and right, up and down, but he could not find his opponents. He noticed though a faint image in the skies that almost looked like a person had been there, but had already faded and its full, physical form can no longer be seen; only remnants of it.

"Dang it really, are you kidding me? They could be anywhere then!" cried Guldo in his mind. He tried to find a safe place to hide, but he realized that fatigue was already catching up with him. Trying to run and hold his breath to stop time simultaneously was making him exhausted too easily. At the end, he had to take a breather. He stopped holding his breath, allowing time to run again.

"Aah!" Guldo realized what he did. He gasped in fright.

Recoome had both of his arms drawn back, readying to release another barrage of energy blasts, but once he unleashed them, they just hit rocks and boulders instead. "Wha-?"

Abruptly, Goku appeared above him without warning. While in his Kaioken state, he went for a quick, driving palm strike in just a split second, his power bursting in mist-like, red colors. Recoome did not anticipate this at all and was successfully hit. Raditz then suddenly came below him as he did a graceful, yet heavy back-flip, striking his entire chest and bringing him towards to the ground faster.

Bardock then reappeared and with a grin on his face, he was about to make his move. Recoome somehow gained back his concentration and he tried to throw a punch to Bardock's face to break him, yet the Saiyan warrior grabbed his arm, lifted his left foot and kicked him directly to his abdomen, pitching him straight towards Guldo.

"Waah!" Guldo screamed, trying to make a run for it.

It was too late, however, as Recoome collided against Guldo and were both blown away by full force. Goku then appeared again while in his Kaioken form still. With just a lift of his right hand, he sent an astonishing shockwave to them both, adding more force to their flight and the two crashed to a nearby canyon, inflicting damage to them.

"Oh yeah, they got them!" Krillin made a fist.

"Awesome!" Gohan exclaimed.

Burter and Jeice were brought to even more shock.

"Recoome! Guldo! What in the world are you doing?!" Burter questioned.

Jeice thought there was a reason why their comrades had easily been inflicted damage upon. "Rrrgh, they're obviously not payin' attention. Probably they ate too many sweets before we got here. The sugar rush is distracting them!"

"You're really certain that that's the case, Jeice?" Burter knew his theory was very far-fetched. He used his scouter to calculate the power levels of their enemies, but this information only added more to his confusion. The numbers were still low. Perhaps Burter was missing the infrequent moments of surprising, escalating strengths as these three Saiyans started to fight.

Raditz and Bardock stood beside Goku again. The three of them waited for the next moves of their opponents.

"I'm guessing you're used to the Kaioken technique now, aren't you?" asked Bardock.

Goku nodded. "Yep, so no more worries about my body not being able to handle it. I've already surpassed that obstacle."

Raditz folded his arms. "Good. Now, let's end this battle."