"Kame...hame," Goku muttered as he repeated the motions of the technique, thrusting his palms outward."Ha!"
"Wrong again," Roshi shook his head.
Goku's forehead scrunched in frustration."I don't get it! I'm doin' it exactly how you're doin' in!"
"Touching is one thing," Master Roshi explained," feeling is another. What do you feel inside your gut as you perform the technique?"
"Honestly?" Goku rubbed his head."I feel scared."
"And that's why you do it wrong," Roshi wagged his finger at the boy."Your fear is blocking your ki paths. You must ignore your fear if you wish to take control of your ki."
"Okay..." Goku pretended to understand.
"Scuse me, Roshi-Sensei," Oolong walked in through the curtain,"I don't wanna tell you how to do your job, but is it really safe for you two to be firing ki blasts inside a moving plane?"
"Silence!" was Master Roshi's reasoning, looking back to his student."Tell me, Son Gokou, what is it you fear?" Roshi asked intently.
Goku looked at the floor, contemplating."Uh...I guess I'm scared of fighting Tien..." he said, looking at his trembling fingers.
Roshi noted the look in Goku's eyes as they were locked with his fingers. He nodded in understanding."Ah...Now it is clear: you're not afraid of the Crane assassins; you're afraid of yourself."
"Huh?" Goku went.
"Pig!" Roshi suddenly exclaimed, frightening Oolong."Leave us alone a while longer; we require a moment of clarity."
Oolong responded by walking back through the curtain.
Roshi's breathing slowed down. He slowly led Goku by the shoulder to have a seat with him. They sat down, facing each other. Roshi pulled his shades off. His genuinely anxious eyes turned to the window, apparently not wanting to make eye contact. He closed them and breathed in and out. He waited until his body relaxed, then he looked Goku in the eye."Gokou, be honest with me now...How did Gohan die?"
The question took Goku's breath away. He instantly rose from his seat, but Roshi caught his wrist.
"You must answer for both our sakes, Gokou. You've been carrying this burden with you all your life. You owe it to me; I will tell no one." The old man said, with not a grain of resentment whatsoever.
Goku's lips quivered, refusing to look at him. The strong boy felt weaker than ever before, as he slowly sat back down."...it was around midnight...I heard a noise in the kitchen. A fox was rummaging in the cabinet; I took a broom and tried to swat it. The fox took a bag of rice in his mouth and fled, and I chased it outside. I dunno how far through the woods I was going, but I got the rice back eventually..." His quiet breathing became erratic."I remember feeling like a hero, pumping my fist in the air, and then-" Goku shut his eyes, covering his face with his free hand.
"Keep talking..." Roshi nodded.
"I..." Goku's voice was shrill; tears slowly poured from his eyes, despite how hard he shut them."I never saw a full moon before...it was so beautiful, I couldn't stop looking...!" his voice was warped into an infantile whine. He yanked his wrist from Roshi's grip. Goku's upper half curled like a sleeping infant, covering his weeping visage with his shivering forelimbs.
Roshi stayed quiet. He sighed, lowering his face to stare at the table between them.
Unknown to them, Bulma was standing just on the other side of the curtain, her frozen hand once reaching to unveil it and offer the two some snacks, as she overheard this sobering conversation.
Goku settled down long enough to have another coherent thought."I know what I wanna wish for...to be a normal human..." he said lowly, slumping his upper body over the table.
Roshi exhaled; he was, ironically, processing the information far greater than his student."Gokou, ever since I met you, there's someone you've reminded me of..."
" Don't say Granpa..." Goku mumbled.
"The Eternal Dragon."
This answer made Goku flip his face back to eye level."How the hell do you figure that?"
"Because you're so damn good, and you have all of this power within you and have no reason to use it; I saw you against Yamucha and Oolong and the assassins; you were not fighting them. Nay, you were stopping yourself from fighting because all that goes through your mind when you're about to fight is Gohan's fate. And that's very ironic! Because Gohan loved to fight! And so should you if you want to honor his memory." Roshi tightened his fists.
Goku jammed his thumb into his chest."Me not holding back is not a fight; it's a nightmare."
Roshi tapped Goku's forehead."It is your nightmare. Gokou, let me explain to you the true meaning of Kung Fu: It's not about self-preservation; that's what running and hiding is for; it's not about killing people, just use a gun for that; it's not about hitting really hard, that's only part of it. The purpose of Kung Fu is to deprive your opponent of the desire to fight back. " Roshi said, lifting his hands."And that is what life has done to you, Gokou, without laying a hand on your head. Without even trying to fight back, you've let your fighting spirit get sucked right out of you, just because you're scared. You really wanna know how to use the Kamehameha? I can just tell you!," Roshi pads his chest." You take all of yourself: your passion, your courage, your pride, and harness it as a blast of destructive power! But you'll never be able to do it until you know WHY you're doing it! You cannot let shame and fear hold your focus onto the past to wallow in your own failure. You cannot extend your ki beyond your own body unless it is for something beyond yourself."
Roshi laid his hand on Goku's shoulder."And I can promise you this, Son Gokou: no matter if it's a fist fight, a sword fight, or a laser hand fight, once you have something worth fighting for, you'll will never lose a fight again."
Bulma heard all of this, and it caused her to wonder: what the hell was she fighting for?
It was dusk. The sun set over an island in the Pacific. Some winds were brewing. The pilot had a little trouble navigating the chopper onto the smoothest patch of sand he could find. Tao hopped out of the plane, the long flight doing nothing to dampen his vigor. Tien and Mai followed.
Tao smugly scanned the area, his arm characteristically folded behind him."The final Dragon Ball is here; I can practically feel it in the palm of my hand," he clenched his hand into a fist.
"Aren't we going to report to the general?" Tien asked.
Tao did not answer.
The pilot trotted over to them."Okay, listen, I'm gonna go take a piss, then I'll radio the general that we made it."
Tao stared at the man. He clicked his tongue."Yeah, about that..." In the blink of an eye, Tao shifted from his relaxed posture and thrust his palm into the pilot's chest with a crack of bone. The pilot was dead before he hit the ground.
"SIFU!" Tien shouted."Why'd you do that!?"
Tao returned to his relaxed posture."Have you forgotten what we are searching for, my student? The Dragon Balls - the wishing orbs that will summon the Eternal Dragon and grant our greatest desire!"
Mai was standing there in awe, both at Tao for. The sudden burst of unprovoked manslaughter, as well as the revelation that he actually believed in the dragon.
Tao approached the nervous three-eyed man, laying his hand on his shoulder, "We cannot trust some militant warlord with such divine power. We will finish this journey together and use our wishes to make the world that was so cruel to you a better place. What do you say to that, my boy?"
Tien slowly nodded."I suppose...that is a wise decision..." he forced himself to say."But, um, Sifu, what about..." Tien tilted his bold head in Mai's direction.
Tao scanned the now very nervous mercenary, slowly approaching her."Yes...What about you? What do you say? Will you reject your material wealth in the name of divine justice?" He stared her in the eye."Or will you radio the general?"
Mai was like a block of ice, until she carefully raised a thumbs up."(...yep, divine justice sounds great, screw money, let's take down the man...)."
Tao stroked her hair and smiled."(Smart girl)."
Bulma paced back and forth in the limited space of the cock pit. She chewed on her nail in anxiety in the face of what chaos she has wrought. She wondered if the assassins would have even known about the Dragon Balls if she had never started looking for them. How could she act like such a villain!? Turning all these kind weirdos into her hired muscle with no pay, just so she could find the Dragon Balls for herself! And even assuming Goku wins and they get the balls back, what then? She didn't even want to picture the outrage on all their faces when she finally tells them...!
Goku slipped into the cock pit with a disappointed expression."Why didn't you tell me there was only one?"
Bulma yelped and hysterically wrapped her arms around Goku's waist."I'M SO SORRY, GOKU! I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU FROM THE VERY BEGINNING! I'M SUCH A MONSTER FOR THINKING I COULD HOARD IT ALL TO MYSELF! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME I HAVE NO FRIENDS!"
Goku blinked."Ok, I didn't know you wanted the last bag of Doritos that bad..."
This created an awkward silence, followed by Bulma falling face-first to the floor.
"I'm not picky; I'll just have some pretzels..." Goku scratched his hair.
"DAMN YOU, GOKU!"
Goku yelped in fright as Bulma lept into his face.
"What the hell is wrong with you!? Why are you being so unconditionally nice to me!? How could you have trusted me so easily!? All I've been doing this whole time is use you as a meat shield while I plunder the Dragon Balls, and yet you've faithfully risked your life for mine over and over and over! I haven't lifted a finger to help with anything! Why didn't you just run off with the Dragon Balls when you had the chance like a normal person!?"
Goku stared back at the manic girl in total confusion."Bulma, you're the one who got me to leave home and see the world. You took me to the beach, then to China, then showed me what pizza tastes like. I've been alone on a mountain all these years, knowing nothing about anything; but you changed that. I mean, look at all the friends we made. I met my Granpa's teacher, fought the Yakuza, met Iron Man; and even after you saw what I looked like during the full moon, you haven't abandoned me. Bulma, you're not abusing me; You're my first and best friend ever. And if I ever get by a car again, it won't hurt; it'll just make me think of you." he smiled.
The girl's jaw hung slightly before him, a small twinkle of life appeared in her eyes that hadn't been there since she turned thirteen."...Oh god..." she held Goku's hand tightly "...I am such an asshole."
Bulma jerked Goku by the arm into the seating section of the plane, where Roshi and Oolong were making an idle chat. She ahem'd loudly.
"There's something I've been keeping from you all," Bulma forced herself to say.
"What could you say that could possibly be worse than a bunch of psycho-killers wishing to rule the world?" Oolong flipped his hand up.
"Maybe that it will be the only wish they'll be able to make?" Bulma retorted.
Silence.
"...I don't follow..." Oolong paused.
Bulma let go of Goku, walked past the other two, then stopped in her tracks; then she took a deep breath, and turned again to face them...she took another deep breath."I researched as much as I could about the Dragon Balls, okay? What they all look like, how much they weigh, how to summon the dragon if there even is one; I got a lot of conflicting sources, but one detail about them remains more consistent than others: once you gather them all and summon the Eternal Dragon...you only get to make one wish."
Goku gasped quietly.
Oolong spat out his drink."ONE!?"
Bulma scrunched her lips and nodded."Yes, just one. You ask Shen Long for one wish, he grants it, and then he goes poof, and then the Dragon Balls are scattered across the earth, and remain inert for a year...or a hundred..."
"ONE HUNDRED YEARS!?" Oolong shrieked.
"I SAID 'OR', OKAY!?" Bulma exhaled."The point is, you only get one wish; not one wish per person, just one wish."
Goku's eyes darted along the floor. "B-But, that's not what you said when we met-"
"I know what I said," Bulma looked away," I lied, okay? I knew you guys would-"
"Would only help you if we thought we ALL got a wish, right!?" Oolong flung his hands out."You said I could wish my face to be normal, that Roshi could get his dojo back, that Goku could bring his grandfather back from the dead, but you lied! You told us what we wanted to hear, so we'd put our lives on the line for one friggin wish! So, who gets the wish, Bulma?" Oolong grilled.
The girl did not answer. Goku slowly backed away, grieved and confused; Roshi stayed seated where he was, perfectly silent.
"Do I get it? Does Goku get it? Roshi?" Oolong went on, pointing his chubby fingers at the offender."Nonono, I'll TELL YOU WHO GETS THE WISH...!"
"GOKOU gets the wish," Roshi interrupted, muting the passengers.
They all looked at the old man with their own variation of confusion, with Oolong's being the most outraged.
Master Roshi tapped the floor with his walking stick."Gokou gets the wish; I think that's obvious." he shook his head."Look at us, wishing for things we want and don't need; Why does a shape-shifter need to wish to be handsome? How does one even define the 'perfect boyfriend'? And who's to say that you wouldn't have spun the same lie to get that one wish, hm?" he eyed Oolong." Who says I even wanted my dojo back? I taught Kuririn on my front lawn, and he's my greatest student! I have lived a long, really long life and have gotten everything I ever wanted out of it, and you think I'm here for the wish? No! I'm here to train this guy how to fight!" he pointed his stick at Goku."This boy is the only one out of all of you that wants to make a wish that benefits someone other than himself, a wish to atone!"
Roshi rose from his seat, meeting the eyes of the youths."One thing we can agree on at this very moment is that Tao Pai Pai, of all scumbags, should not get that wish! Is that not why we are all here now? To save the world? We cannot be fighting amongst ourselves now of all times; Soon, we will reach that island, and we will fight two of the deadliest men to have ever walked the earth! And only after that fight is won may we squabble over who's entitled to what!"
Roshi walked over to Bulma, took her hand, then took Oolong's hand, and finally Goku's hand, and placed them on top of his hand."We're all that what is standing in the way of a world thrown into chaos! The time for talking has passed," he took off his shades."You know what time it is, Gokou..."
Goku exhaled, then nodded."It's time to fight."
As the mercenaries proceeded further through the desolate island, they came upon the ruins of what looked like an abandoned Buddhist temple; it was so old, it may have even been a Taoist temple.
"Yes," Tao nodded, "It makes sense the most elusive one would in a place like this; I will bet this monastery was full of proud Kung Fu masters that took the secret of the Seven Star Dragon Ball with their lives."
"Such a noble life they must have led..." Tien marveled at the place. As they spoke, they walked across an old fighting arena; adjacent to it was a structure with an eroded roof, covering what was possibly where the masters sat to watch the students spar, ever sharpening their mastery of ki and the universe. These people would laughed at Tenshinhan and his flying technique. It boggled his mind to conceive of what primordial forces these forgotten legends tapped into.
"Tenshinhan," Tao began, "You shall stay outside and watch out for any interlopers while I and Mai search for the orb within the temple."
Tien gave him a Kung Fu bow without question. He watched his master and the woman (apprehensively) follow up the stair to the temple. He supposed there was only one thing to do for now. He turned around and lowered into a meditative position. No need to keep his eyes open: he'd feel them coming a mile away.
The spotlight of Mai's flashlight danced along the walls of the empty corridor; she naturally held her handgun above the flashlight so she could shoot whatever wasn't supposed to be there.
Of all the times, Tao found it necessary to break the ice with the fem fatale."(So, Mai, how is your English)?"
"(Horrible, why do you ask?)" She responded while maintaining her focus.
Tao shrugged."(Oh, I just find it amusing how our voices can sound so different when speaking other languages; other dialects even)."
"(It's comforting to know that Tao Pai Pai finds things other than killing with his bare hands to amuse him)."
Tao chuckled."(Come now, you have surely put many in the grave with nothing but your rudimentary martial arts training?)."
"(We both have blood on our ledger, master)," Mai dismissed,"(Some elminations I find are best left forgotten)"
"(And I am sure you would find that quite expedient)," Tao mused.
They turned a corner, and found themselves inside a shrine of sorts. At the other end was a huge idol with form of a storm dragon.
"Now, I wonder where the last ball possibly could be?" quipped Tao.
Tanshinhan's third eye sprung open."They're here..." he said, looking up.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the sky...
"So, just so we're clear..." Oolong strapped his parachute on,"We're all gonna jump out of the plane, hope we land safely, and also hope the plane won't crash afterwards?"
They were down in the cargo of the plane. Bulma was getting ready to lower the cargo's hatch.
"We don't have time to land this plane," Roshi settled."The fate of the world is at stake."
"I am 100% convinced that you read more manga than porn right now," Bulma shook her head.
"Sensei, I have a question," Goku raised his hand.
"Does it have to do with you not having a parachute?" Bulma noted."Don't tell me you need one."
Goku shrugged."I kind of would like one..."
"Listen, Mr. Airborne Triclops is probably gonna go for us while we're coming down; you won't be able to fight back if you're strapped in a chute."
"I can't fight 'em while fallin' either!" Goku complained.
Roshi, who was not wearing a chute either, raised his stick vigorously."Don't worry, kid, I've got just the thing for you!"
"I thought you said the Immortal Phoenix was dead, remember?" Bulma reminded.
Roshi adjusted his shades."Indeed, but let's just say I have another flying friend coming to our aid."
"What, Gamera?" Oolong asked.
"No, he blew himself up a while back, but that's a story for another day," Roshi blew his hand casually."Listen, Gokou, when you jump, just yell out this name, and you'll be fine..." he leaned into Goku's ear and related said name quietly."Don't say it until you're outside or it won't hear you."
"Okay." Goku nodded.
"Let's not stay here all day, alright?" Bulma said."I'm gonna open the hatch on 3!"
Oolong looked at Bulma."Wait, go on 3, or 1-2-3, then go?"
"Don't start that crap; just jump when you feel like it!" Snapped Bulma.
The group braced themselves. Goku pulled out his Nyoibo, Oolong was quickly pondering on what kind of flying creature he would turn into. And Bulma tightened her chute straps like a normal person.
"1..." Bulma pulled back her hand,"2...!" she closed her eyes."...THREEGO!" she slapped the button.
The plane sounded an alarm as the cargo hatched lowered, bringing powerful winds sucking them all out of the plane into the sky, plummeting into freefall.
"WHO'S GONNA LAND THE PLANE!?" Oolong just realized.
"DAD'S GONNA KILL MEEEE!" Bulma replied.
Tien's jaw hung as he watched the band of lunatics fall from the heavens; he could even hear their screaming. He shook his head."Killing you will be a mercy at this point..." He tightened his fists. His ki slightly lifted him off the ground; a blast of dust erupted as Tenshinhan shot into the air; he thought it apt to take out the monkey man first.
Goku realized Tien was coming for him and steeled himself, crying the name Roshi told him to."KINTO-!" his call was interrupted by Tien's palm thrust into Goku's chin. Goku swung his staff, but Tien caught it by extension, suspending Goku with him in the air.
"MAKE ME PROUD, MY STUDENT!" Master Roshi gave Goku a thumbs-up as he fell further downward.
Goku glared down."YOU STILL HAVEN'T TAUGHT ME SH-!" he was again cut off by Tien's downward chop into his temple. Goku wrapped his legs around Tien's waist and jabbed his bo in a stabbing motion into Tien's chest. Oolong settled on turning into a pterodactyl, soaring into Tien and catching his leg in his beak. Dino-Oolong dragged Tien, Goku's bo, and Goku through the air. Tien kicked Oolong in the face repeatedly, forcing him to let go. With a grunt, Tien swung Goku by his bo into Oolong. Oolong recovered and caught Goku's shoulders.
Bulma panicked and pulled the cord prematurely, opening her parachute that slowed her descent. But she did not take into account the winds that blew her far off-course, making her land into the tree line.
Roshi used a quick Kamehameha straight downward to break his fall; he landed on the arena on his feet with some discomfort; he saw the branches on the trees ruffling, hearing Bulma cursing within them. He sighed.
Tao stood there, doing nothing while he watched Mai prop her back against the wall and her feet against the back of the statue. She grunted, and she pushed against the dragon statue, creating cracks along its base. The whole thing eventually gave, making the wooden dragon collapse to the floor in pieces, while Mai fell into her back in pain.
Tao paced over the rubble, kicking the shards of wood aside until he found what he was looking for. He could not have grinned wide enough as he knelt down, reached into the pile, and pulled out the last Dragon Ball; he watched the seven tiny stars twinkle within.
Mai struggled to get to her feet, panting as she stretched."(Thank you so much for your help...)" She stumbled over to Tao's right, and stared at the ball.(So, if I may, Master Tao, what do you plan to wish for-)"
She was silenced as Tao, still looking at the ball, seized the woman by her throat, lifting the struggling woman off her feet." For starters, I wish you'd give up this charade of yours." he said ominously as he turned to face her."You see, I knew Mai. I've seen her face, and heard her voice, and I must admit, you've done a rather good job of copying both, especially for a white woman. But you cannot duplicate everything, least of all the feeling of someone else's aura. The fact that I knew all along and am about to kill you only just now should demonstrate just little control you had over your fate."
The woman pulled out her cattle prod and jammed it into Tao's neck...which did absolutely nothing.
"What shame," Tao grabbed the prod and snapped it in half, "You were such a legendary assassin in your own right; tell you what, I'll give you a running start out of professional courtesy..." he said as she flung the spy across the room, her back slamming against the wall so hard the wood cracked.
She moaned in pain as she slumped to the floor; she opened her eyes just in time to see Tao's fingers point at her, which glowed with yellow ki as he giggled maniacally.
"YOU!"
Tao's attention cut turned to Bulma, who was standing at the entrance, clearly out of breath. She pulled out her capsule labeled "House" and activated it."Hoi-Poi, mother#$!" she flung the capsule into Tao's face before it detonated. Mai and the spy held their ears as the shock of the blast shook the whole temple. After a second of silence, the last Dragon Ball comically rolled out of the smoke.
Bulma and the spy looked at it, then looked at each other...then simultaneously dove for the ball, wrestling over like children.
"Gimme the ball, you idiot!" the spy yelled in Japanese.
"Oh, so NOW you speak my language!" Bulma retorted.
"I'm a double agent! I'm not with him!" she tried.
"You shot us!"
"With rubber bullets!"
She shoved Bulma off of her, twisting her arm and pinning her face first against the floor.
"Settle down before I kick your dainty little ass for real," she demanded in English no less.
Bulma blinked."...Who the hell are you!?"
The woman finally pulled her face mask off, revealing her true face."That's classified, " Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanoff, better known as Black Widow, replied.
Oolong essentially served as Goku's jetpack as he traded blows with Tien in the air, clashing the ends of his bo against Tien's punches and kicks. Goku kicked at Tien, but he vanished, and before Goku knew it, Tien had pried Oolong off Goku's back, flinging his dinosaur form into the clouds, and did another downward chop into Goku's head, sending flying downwards. Goku flipped through the air helplessly, aware of how hard he was going to hit the ground, but at least this gave him the opening to yell.
"KINTO'UN!"
As he plummeted to the earth, something whizzed past his line of sight. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst headache in his life. But then, the wind beat at his back suddenly stopped. Instead of pain, Goku felt quite comfortable. He opened his confused eyes and saw that he was floating close to the ground he almost collided with. But he was not floating like Tien; he was lying on top of a small nimbus cloud, which evidently caught him in freefall.
"What the..." Tien's eye twitched.
"Holy crap, Kinto'Un is magic flying cloud!?" Goku exclaimed.
"Beats an immortal phoenix any day, huh?" Roshi came up to Goku from the left; he held out Goku's staff."Now are you gonna sit there with that dumb look on your face, or are you gonna fly back up there and fight!?"
Goku looked at his, no, his grandfather's weapon, and hesitated. At this sudden opportunity to fight such an opponent that is actually as strong as himself, stronger even, on near equal grounds, thus freeing him of all former constraints keeping himself at bay for years, something swelled within Goku's stomach; it wasn't fear or hunger, but something a guy like him never thought he could feel: it was pride, and it felt really good.
"Thanks for teaching me somethin' after all, sensei..." Goku smirked, snatching the Nyoibo. Goku flipped onto his feet, and willed the clous he was standing on to carry him swiftly back into the sky. He stopped at level with the shocked Tien, floating fifty feet away.
The young assassin could not believe all three of his eyes."...you...you can stand atop the Kinto'Un? Impossible! Only the pure of heart could do such a thing! An unskilled fool like you is unworthy of such a blessing!"
"I don't think you understand what it means to be 'good'," Goku lowered his staff at his side,"I dunno much, but I know that 'good' is another word for 'nice'. Does killing people for money sound 'nice' to you?"
Tien himself was shaken by this rookie's simple but profound question. He shook his head."Who are you to lecture me!? I am a master of ki! And one day, I will be the most powerful being in the world! This is the meaning of Kung Fu, and a lumbering oaf like you cannot stop me!"
Goku let out an amused snort."Being the strongest is only part of what Kung Fu is; if you really wanna know what Kung Fu means..." He raised his staff, gripped it with both hand, and lowered his legs into a daunting fighting stance, "Then you have to beat me first."
Tien's temper flared. His ki was now visible to the naked eye as a feint white aura."You cocky bastard!" He bent over and blasted off.
"Kyaaaaaaah!" shouted Goku, as he too, blasted off on Kinto'Un. With the setting sun making them silhouettes in the sky, Goku's upward swing clashed with Tien's downward axe kick with explosive force. Goku's left swing clashed with Tien's right forearm. Goku's downward swing clashed with Tien's knee. Tien attempted another downward chop, but Goku tiled to the side and kicked Tien in the stomach, knocking him ten feet away, followed by Goku's next swing actually connecting Tien's cheek, sending him spiraling away.
Roshi chuckled to himself, taking his glasses off to see the fight clearly."There you are, Son Gokou..."
Bulma and Natasha trotted out of the temple; they both looked up, simultaneously letting their jaws drop. All they could see were two humanoid figures in the sky going at it like two living bullets.
"You're seeing this too, right?" Natasha muttered.
"uhuh..." Bulma nodded.
"It would seem this entire time," Roshi said," that Gokou has been fighting with one arm tied behind his back, bound by fear and grief. All we had to do was show him how to let go of those, by giving him something worth fighting for."
"We?" Bulma repeated.
Roshi nodded."He certainly wouldn't have been here without you."
Tenshinhan held his index finger forward."DODON-PA!" a thin yellow beam shot from his finger straight at Goku, who narrowly blocked the ray with his staff. Goku caused his staff to extend outward, equaling the length of the plane he rode on, and swung it horizontally, the bending tip breaking the sound barrier, as Tien frightfully dodged the strike. Goku continued to perform massive thunderous swings that narrowly swatted Tien like a fly. The angry and desperate Tien grabbed the next strike with both hands, which stung his palms like hot iron. Tien flipped and sprinted across the magically long staff and leaped for Goku flipping both hands above his face. "Taioken!" This next technique unleashed a blinding flash in Goku's face, the sheer shock of which forced Goku to cover his eyes and drop the staff, which shrunk as he let go. This left Tien an opening to fly higher into the sky and perform a more offensive ki technique: he placed the tips of his fingers and thumbs together, forming a diamond shape, from which Goku appeared in the center of, from Tien's perspective. He then charged his aura in a manner similar to charging a Kamehameha.
Roshi's poise tightened as he felt the assassin's ki rising quickly."This is a big one...!"
"KIKOHO!" Tien's whole aura burst forward, converting into a huge ray of destructive ki that consumed Goku and the cloud, destroying the cloud and blasting Goku downward. The three observers all jumped away as the wide ki ray slammed into the ground with a powerful tremor.
Smoke blanketed the arena. Bulma coughed and blew the smoke out of her eyes, her ears ringing as she struggled to rise to her feet."Goku!?" she called."Goku, where are you!?"
"Damn that little three-eyed bastard!" cursed Roshi."That was my last magic flying artifact!"
"Shouldn't you be more concerned with Monkey Boy?" Romanoff inquired.
"I can always find another student!" complained the old man."You have any idea how far I had to climb to get that cloud!?"
But then, something else fell from the sky. Tien's body slammed onto the arena as well, the attack having exerted tremendous ki from himself. He grunted as he heaved himself up to his feet. He also heaved his breaths in and out; he looked at the smoldering crater he had created. As he observed this, his breathing gradually turned into laughter, lazily pumping his fasts upward."I got'em!" he cheered deliriously."I won!" he pointed his fingers at the crater."That's what you get...for daring to stand against the Crane School! You get nothing but DEATH!"
"still alive..." a weak voice sang.
Tien's cheering seized upon hearing the feint voice. When the smoke cleared, they all saw Goku, his clothes and hair on fire; but Goku himself was simply lying there, bruised, and a stupid look on his face.
Natasha's eyes tightened."That kid survived that?"
"Frankly, I don't know what was more impressive," Bulma said, "That he endured the blast or that his clothes did."
"Th-that...was..." Goku muttered. In the next moment, Goku kicked off the ground and onto his feet with a disturbingly excited expression."That was AWESOME! Do it again!"
At this point, Tien's expression was as blank as Saitama's...
Tien inhaled."WHY WON'T YOU DIE!?" he shouted before flying at Goku with a mighty haymaker.
This did not make much hay, as the dizzy Goku caught Tien's fist on reflex."I'm startin' to think I dunno how..." he related, before blitzing Tien with a punch to the nose faster than the human eye could detect. Tien's head whipped back as he stumbled a few paces back like a dancing clown. Tien growled in rage before performing another Taioken, blinding the observers to the side. Tien appeared behind Goku with an incoming elbow, which the blinded Goku countered by grabbing Tien's arm. Tien was quite frightened by this since the only logical explanation for it was that he could feel Tien's ki, which meant that his monkey-tailed opponent was learning as he fought.
Goku flung Tien across the arena, making himself roll like a log until coming to a painful stop, just happening to land on his feet. Tien could not believe what was happening; this boy was stronger than him, faster than him, and now, was predicting Tien's movements; all the moves he had performed no longer worked, as it seemed the boy was studying him the whole time. This was not the same boy from New York; this was one who wanted to fight back, and was winning. All the three-eyed man could do was stare in awe as the uninjured Goku cracked his stiff neck and sighed.
"You shouldn't have made me lose my staff..." he said, his posture completely relaxed."...Now I gotta use my hands..." and then, faster than even Tien could see, Goku dashed forward and bashed Tien's face with his right elbow. Goku then pelted Tien'a face with a volley of blurry kicks which ended only with a round kick into Tien's kidney, followed by an axe kick onto Tien's head, a knee to Tien's face, another flurry of strikes to Tien's face so fast, it was hard to tell whether they were punches or kicks, which ended with a definite single kick against Tien's cheek that sent him reeling back in a semi-conscious stupor. But Tien was certainly woken up by Goku's right fist, wich practically dug into Tien's abdomen, causing Tien to yell in agony, the cheer force making Tien float off his feet.
Then Goku sprung off the ground, so high it was as if he were flying; at some point, he technically was, floating in the air as he prepared to do something even more impressive.
He spread his arms out. "Ka..."
Bulma and Roshi's hearts stopped.
"Me..." he rotated his arms counter-clockwise."Ha..." he pulled his arms back and twisted his upper body to the side." Me...!" the awaited blue ki spawned between Goku's palms, growing into a charging ball of energy that eclipsed even the brilliance of Roshi's performance.
Tien could not take anymore."Dodan-Pa!" he fired another finger beam at Goku, but Goku vanished, the beam passing harmlessly. Tien then flipped his head downward to see in utter horror that Goku was right in front of him, holding the nigh unstable ki ball in his hands."NOOOO-!"
"HAAAAAAAAA!" Goku thrust his palms forward, creating an azure radiance that rivaled the Taioken, and unleashing a devastatingly massive ray of energy that tore through the distant forest like nothing, blasting out the other side of the island and spearing through the ocean, parting the surface into two waves that encircled the beam.
When Bulma lowered her hands from her eyes, she expected Tien to no longer exist; but in defiance of this, and quite poetically, Goku purposefully missed, his cupped hands extended to the left of the astounded Tien's head.
At this, Roshi simply gave Goku a thumbs up for getting it right.
The bruised, bleeding, and broken Tien collapsed onto his knees, but not out of pain...
"See that?" Goku said calmly."You could of kept fighting me and died, but you don't wanna do that; you don't wanna fight at all - that's what Kung Fu means."
"You..." Tien stared into nothing," surpassed me... in only the meager time during this fight alone...how is that possible?"
Goku responded by pointing to his left; Tien followed his finger and saw Goku's friends; additionally, Oolong, in his normal form, stumbled into view; he swerved his pink, confused face back and forth, wondering what he missed.
"I had something worth fighting for." Goku answered." What about you?"
To this, Tien could not answer.
"Heh," went Goku, "Yeah, that's what I th-AH!" Goku suddenly screamed in pain while falling over, and holding his smoking kneecap.
"GOKU!" Screamed Bulma and Oolong.
"Tenshinhan fights for me..." the badly injured Tao interjected as he stood at the entrance to the temple, holding the pack of six Dragon Balls in one hand, and with the other his finger extended, having used a Dodon-Pa to shoot through Goku's kneecap." His master, the greatest assassin who has ever lived!" he smirked."And also one who was smart enough to wait to kill you until the last minute."
"BASTARD!" Bulma charged for Tao.
"Bulma, no!" Roshi shouted.
Tao fired another Dodon-Pa straight for Bulma's head, but Roshi jumped in the beam's way, and caught it...right in his heart.
"NOOOO!" Bulma shrieked as she watched Roshi's lifeless body plopped to the ground.
"Oh shit!" Oolong panicked.
Tao Pai Pai cackled like a madman."You see!? True victory is won when your enemy is DEAD, and you are not! There is no in-between! What about you, pig? Do you wish to give your life for this repugnant brat?"
"Roshi...!" Goku groaned loudly, struggling to rise to the other foot.
Tien was petrified: he had just watched the boy who had bested him fairly be unfairly wounded, and by the man he respected no less.
"Now, with your former master dead, I suppose I much teach you in his place, Son Gokou!" Tao taunted."Lesson one: everything that Muten Roshi told you is, as I have just demonstrated, utter bullshit!"
"How could you..." Goku hissed, clenching his fist.
"Lesson number two," Tao continued, before firing another finger beam through Goku's other kneecap, causing him to yell again, and topple onto his hands."This technique is vastly superior to the Kamehameha!"
Goku gnarled his teeth, managing to prop himself on one of his shot knees."I can...still...fight-AHHH!" he yelled again, as a third beam pierced his right elbow, rendering the arm useless, and causing him to fall on his face.
"Observe how it can be perfom in much quicker succession with far less effort, yet it burns through the most sturdy materials. Tell me, do YOU still have the will to fight back, child?"
"What in God's name is wrong with you? " Natasha exhaled."He's just a kid..."
"You say that as if you've never killed a child before!" Tao remarked."Everyone knows what you did to General Dreykov and his beloved daughter..."
This left Romanoff's eye's flushed with seething rage."That was my way out, you spineless son of bitch."
"What you call 'spinless' is what makes me the better assassin," Tai padded his chest, "I don't feel bad when I cause a little collateral damage; I just feel sloppy! Then I take my fat-ass check and move on. But enough about the past," he said raising the pack of Dragon Balls," you will hand me the last one right now, Natalia, before you watch me end both these children's lives before your very eyes!"
"Why don't you come down those stairs and take it from me?" dared Romanoff.
"Do I look like an errand boy to you, bitch?" Tao snapped, aiming his glowing finger at the brazen woman."That's what my pupils are for. Tenshinhan! Take the ball from her."
Tien was slackjawed, looking back and forth between Natalia, Bulma, the limp Goku, and the deceased old man.
"Well!?" Tao barked impatiently."Don't just sit there admiring my work; get the ball!"
Tien appeared to be too weak to move, yet he slowly rose to his feet; he locked eyes with Goku for a moment..."Sifu..."
"Yes?"
"What are you going to wish for?" Tien asked softly yet bluntly.
"What the hell do you think I'm going to wish for!?" Tao shouted."I'm going to wish for immortality! I will become an unkillable killer! The god of death! No longer will I serve under the ambitions of lesser folk! I will become the unrivaled master of Kung Fu until the end of time!"
Tien's eye's twitched, and his lips tightened. His trembling breathing was the only thing that postponed his next question."You...dare call what you just did to be Kung Fu?"
"Excuse me...?" Tao enunciated slowly and deeply.
"Look at this place!" Tien shouted, flinging his arm outward.
Tao scanned the general vicinity...then clicked his tongue."I don't follow."
"This place was a temple for warrior monks, seeking liberation from the world's problems and training to gain enlightenment! They came here to better themselves and those around them. But you..." he pointed a very disapproving finger at his teacher."You want to cheat!?"
"I do not like this abrupt change in tone..." Tao scowled.
"You killed your rival and his student in the most dishonorable way because you were afraid you couldn't beat either of them in a real fight; you are so childish as to threaten to use your ki against those who cannot fight back," he pointed to Natasha, Oolong, and Bulma, "And now, you can't even honor your contract by finishing the mission! Is money not enough for you!?"
"What's gotten into you!?" Tao demanded."I don't have to explain myself to you! You are my student! I made you who you are! You'd still be among Strucker's playthings if I had not taken you under my wing!"
"In less than a week, you have taken everything I have ever known about Kung Fu and perverted it to your own liking!" Tien persisted.
"You know nothing of Kung Fu!" Tao shouted back."So you can fly! Master Shen could fly, and I put his ass into the ground all the same!"
"Master Shen was one hundred years old..." Tien exhaled, "You killed him in his sleep...like a coward..." he said, the older man's true nature becoming clear to him.
Tao's expression gave away that something inside him just snapped."What did you just call me?"
"You're a coward..." Tien said it as he realized it himself, "Every time a challenge too great for you presents itself, you take the coward's way out. And now, you're trying to take the coward's way out of death itself!" he yelled in outrage.
The mercenary shook his head. "Don't make me kill you, Tenshinhan; by God, I will end your life if you stand in my way!" Tao pointed his ki ball at his own student's face.
"What kind of honorless, pathetic coward wishes to never die!? If you think I'm going to hand you the Dragon Ball, you can go to hell!"
"YOU FIRST!" Tao thundered as he shot his Dodon-Pa at Tien's forehead.
An explosion was the result.
Tao Pai Pai paused in confusion; he looked at his finger."...huh...The Dodon-Pa isn't supposed to do that..."
"TAO!" an enraged voice bellowed.
The mercenary was frightened to the bone by the sound of it. When the smoke cleared, Tao saw something that made his jaw drop: the beam had exploded because Goku had totally blocked it with his barehand alone.
"YOU!?" Tao exclaimed."h-How are you still standing!?"
Goku was, in fact, not standing. To everyone's surprise, Goku was floating off the ground, his limp legs and arm dangling. His uninjured hand balled into a fist. But none of that was more alarming than Goku's blood-red irises or his elongated canines and hair that floated upward like fire."You are not the greatest warrior..." Goku's voice was nearly distorted by his rage."Master Roshi was not the greatest warrior..." Even Tien backed away from Goku as though he himself were a normal human."The greatest warrior in the whole world...was my grandpa Gohan..." Goku's ki was so potent that it was visible from beneath his skin; it could actually be heard resonating through the air like a distant thunderbolt."And now...the power that killed him..." The very ground shook as he spoke."IS ABOUT TO KILL YOU!" a shockwave burst from his body, sending powerful wind pressure in all directions. Bulma, Oolong, and Natasha were blasted off their feet; Tien's feet slid along the ground as he struggled to stand upright, covering his face.
Nothing but the chill of fear crawled through Tao's body. On reflex, he dropped the pack and sprinted away like a racecar. Goku grabbed Tao by his head and slammed into the ground; he dragged Tao's whaling face across the arena, drawing a line of destruction along the tiles. With a roar, Goku hurled Tao into the sky. With what little knowledge of flight Tao understood, he stopped himself in the air." I'M NOT AFRIAD OF YOU! I AM THE GREATEST WARRIOR!" he screamed as he put his hands together and charged his aura." KIKOHO!" Tao fired the blast down at Goku.
With a yell, Goku fired a one-handed Kamehameha straight downward to launch himself into the air; he then used his free hand to punch straight through the attack, piercing out the other side of it and roaring with fury, his fist still extended.
Tao could have sworn that Goku's aura was in the shape of a giant monkey, before Goku's fist explosively collided with his body, and quite literally dug into his chest. Tao Pai Pai shrieked in anguish. He hung on Goku's knuckles like a rug, the boy's red eyes facing the clouds. As the blood left his mouth and the life left his shattered body, he could only think out loud:"..y-you...not...human..." Breathing his last, he slipped off, his lifeless body smacked onto the ground.
Goku fell to the ground as well.
"GOKU!" Bulma dove out of her cover and sprinted for the boy. She fell to her knees and shook Goku's shoulders wildly; Oolong skidded to a halt behind her."Goku, wake up! This can't be it! Think about your grandpa! You have to see him again!" Tien managed to walk over to the group, staring down at motionless Goku. As hard as she shook, The dead-eyed Goku was totally unresponsive." No! NO!" she pounded Goku's chest in an effort to get some kind of reaction."Wake UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UUUUUuuuup..." she burst into tears, holding her friend tight as she could, yelling her guts out.
Natasha Romanoff saw the whole thing, trying her best to process what happened. After realizing she couldn't, she sighed and resolved to complete her assignment. While Goku's friends weren't paying attention, She walked passed Roshi's body, and picked up the pack of Dragon Balls, dropping the last one along with them. She somberly pulled out a handheld radio, turning the dial to get the right frequency."This is Black Widow to SHIELD; repeat, Black Widow to SHIELD. The assets have been secured, requesting immediate evac, over."
" This is SHEILD to Black Widow; we can barely read you," responded a deep resin voice from the speaker."Please repeat, do you have the assets?"
Before Natasha answered, she turned to see them, the kids, still huddled up in a circle. Goku still wasn't moving. She eyed this display as her nigh-perfect composure wavered.
"SHIELD to Black Widow, over," the voice continued, "You there, Romanoff?"
She curled her lips, looking at the sky in frustration."...dammit..." With her mind made up, she dropped the package. She spoke into the radio again."I repeat, the assets have not been secured. I am calling for an emergency evac; I've got a minor civilian in critical condition; I'm requesting a medical evac, over."
"Copy that, Black Widow, sending a medical chopper your way. SHIELD out."
The signal clicked to silence; Natasha let her radio-holding arm dangle. She sighed, pacing over to the stairs and taking a seat on one of the steps. She watched the sun set on the island. From she sat, she could also see the tail end of an expensive jet sinking into the ocean."What a day..."