Finally, my purpose will at last be fulfilled.
The Master felt his mouth curl up into a twisted smile. His heart was pounding; he hadn't been this excited since he had arrived in this timeline. The sun was just beginning to peak above the horizon, rising like his hopes. Soon Son Goku would arrive and the battle that would determine his fate would commence.
A persistent tapping cut into his thoughts. He looked back at the servant who was sitting on a fallen log. He had since changed into Goku's stolen gi. His fingers rapped against the wood in an irregular pattern. His eyes were shut tight and he was grinding his teeth.
He's getting worse, the Master thought. Ever since the battle had ended only a few hours ago, the servant's composure had gradually deteriorated. Twice he had tried to sneak away into Metro Central – for what purpose, the Master could assume only to be malicious – despite orders to stay put.
I was afraid this might happen.
The intense desire to fight was overriding the servant's sense of control. The Master had struggled similarly after he had awoken too, but he hadn't been this bad. Perhaps the computer virus had helped his sense of ambition and offset his instincts. For the time being he needed his servant to help him defeat Earth's other warriors who would no doubt retaliate if Goku was defeated.
Afterwards, however, the servant would most likely have to die. It was a matter of simple caution, nothing more.
The servant suddenly shot up, an expression like that of a predator on his face. The Master could feel it too. He looked back at the servant and put as much command into his voice as he could. "Stay here. I'll be fighting him alone." The servant didn't reply, but his body relaxed a little. His expression didn't change.
The Master jumped into the air and soared upward until all of Metro Central could be seen beyond the trees. This is not going to be easy, he thought. Son Goku is undoubtedly much stronger than what I saw a few hours ago. Still if things go south, I have an ace-in-the-hole. He looked straight ahead and found himself looking in a mirror.
He smiled. "Welcome Goku."
Once again, Chichi's eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was the readout on the clock's digital face. Only five minutes had passed since she had gotten back into bed. She turned over expecting to see her husband's sleeping face.
He wasn't there. He had said he would have been right there.
Chichi bolted out of bed unsure whether to feel anger or despair. The last time Goku had left her alone to fight he hadn't come back.
Tears were beginning to well up. "Oh, Goku-sa…" she whispered.
Future Trunks had just finished walking his present time counterpart back to his room and was returning to his own when one of the corridor's other doors slid open.
Artificial Human #18 stepped out with a mug in her hand.
Trunks stopped dead in his tracks. #18 noticed she was being watched and her eyes locked with his. They both stood there, entirely silent.
#18 decided to take initiative and point out the elephant in the room. "From what Krillin's told me, my brother and I made your future a living hell."
The young man slid his hands into his pockets. "That just about sums it up," he said. Trunks looked at the still open door. "So Krillin's efforts to swoon you paid off."
"That just about sums it up," #18 replied.
"I thought he was crazy for falling in love with something like you," Trunks said. Then he smiled. "But then again, this time is very different from mine. Unlike the Artificial Humans I fought, you managed to evolve beyond what Gero made you to be. As far as I'm concerned, you personally have no blame to bear for what your counterpart did."
"I'm glad," #18 said, returning the smile. "However, I never felt any blame for what happen in your timeline. I just didn't want to feel awkward around you."
Trunks laughed. "Good enough."
Krillin walked out into the hallway. He saw both of them and gulped. "Ugh, Trunks… I was hoping I could talk to you before this happened."
"Don't worry, dear," #18 said. "I told you he wouldn't make a big deal out of it."
"R-really?" Krillin asked. Trunks nodded. He let out a breath. "Well in that case, never mind."
Goku took in his surroundings. They were above a heavily forested area with the nearby cityscape in the background. Chances were that any battle they fought would most likely pour over into Metro Central. He could see the servant below, out of the corner of his eye
"You should know better," he began. "You don't need to pull a genocide threat to get me out in the open."
The master flashed his ever-menacing smile. "I suppose that was a bit cliché. You'll have to forgive me; this is my first time playing the villain mastermind. In my timeline I was just a homicidal maniac."
"Well in this timeline I'm a hero," Goku retorted. "And that's how it's gonna stay." He raised both hands and tightened his fists. "I'll say this once: Get of this planet! Both you and your serv…"
Goku looked down where the servant was, and felt his heart skip a beat.
He was wearing his orange gi.
"H-how the hell did he…?"
The master burst out laughing. "I'm glad I can still shake that expression out of you!"
Images of his families' blood-soaked bodies lying before the imposters' feet flooded Goku's mind. With an effort he shook them away; he gritted his teeth. "I won't let that happen," he whispered.
"Did you say something?" the master asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Goku looked back at him. "You're through. Both of you!" he shouted. "Now you've made me mad!" He clenched both of his shaking fists. The air surrounding him crackled with an unseen energy. "You want to kill me? Well come on and try it!"
The master tensed as Goku's aura spread outward. The Saiyan's hair stood up on end and shone gold. His eyes changed from black to blue. Lightning snapped in the air. The clone merely smiled. "Come on Goku, we've been here before. You'll have to better than that."
For a split second, what appeared to be a small smile appeared on Goku's face. "Just keep watching," he said quietly. "Let me show a little something I learned in the Otherworld. This will be full power!" Then the Super Saiyan let out a scream more intense than his aura. The master actually raised his hands in a defensive gesture.
Below, the servant looked up at the sky with a growing interest in the force of nature above.
Goku continued to scream. The volume of his voice wasn't the only thing that was increasing, though. His energy level was smashing through power ceiling after power ceiling without any sign of slowing down. What's more, the length of his hair was growing.
The master looked on with wide-eyed astonishment. "There's no way a simple Super Saiyan could generate this level of ki! What the hell is he doing?" He lowered his chin, as realization dawned on him. "He's ascending beyond what Gohan became during his fight with Cell. Another level of Super Saiyan…incredible."
It was then that he realized that his servant was now floating behind him. The master turned his scowl on him. "I told you to stay back!" he shouted. The servant didn't respond in anyway. All of his attention was focused on Goku.
The mighty scream abruptly ceased. The master looked back only to be blinded by an incredible flash. Slowly, his sight cleared of blurry spots. Aside from the energy cracking in the background, everything was quiet. The master opened his eyes and looked at the man before him.
Goku's hair had extended down to about his waist. His eyebrows had vanished, and his eyes now retained some of their original black color. He took a breath and then said in a deep voice, "What do you think of me now?"
The master took a gulp; he wiped away the beads of sweat that were forming on his forehead. Then he smiled in that twisted way, any trace of worry having completely vanished. "Well, I can't say I was expecting this." He looked at Goku with a hungry interest. "A double ascended Super Saiyan…"
"I just call it Super Saiyan 3."
"Whatever." The master spread his arms wide. "Your full power is a thing of beauty. I can feel your ki struggling to cut loose in all directions. It truly personifies what the Saiyan race is!"
Goku said nothing. He just continued to stare forward with a gaze sharper than a knife.
"Now," the master whispered. "Check out my full power." In similar fashion, the clone let loose a feral scream that seemed to alter the course of the nearby air current. His aura exploded outward, assaulting his opponent with wave after wave of raw energy. Goku bared it all without flinching.
Vegeta watched on as Bulma and Mr. Satan tried to comfort a bawling Chichi as she sat in bed. Upon learning what had happened, his first thought was to openly shun Goku's behavior towards his wife, but quickly decided against it when he realized how crappy his own attitude had been towards Bulma in the past. The Prince of Saiyans was many things, but a hypocrite was not one of them.
Then he felt the sharp rise in ki.
He tried to stop himself from jumping, but it wasn't enough to escape Bulma's notice.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied. "Definitely yes." Chichi instantly stopped her crying and looked over at Vegeta. "There are two power levels that just appeared east of here."
Chichi scrambled out of bed and grabbed Vegeta's hands. "Is it Goku-sa?" she all but choked out.
Vegeta took an involuntary step back. "Well, yes. But from the feel of it, both powers levels belong to Kakarrot."
Trunks and Krillin burst into the room with #18 close behind. "Goku's gone, isn't he?" Krillin asked.
Chichi suddenly grabbed her hair and shrieked. Her temper had completely overridden her other emotions. "I swear I'm gonna kill him and his clones! That idiot!"
Krillin grabbed Vegeta and Trunks and whispered, "We have to help Goku…or at the very least get away from her."
Trunks and Vegeta looked at each other. "Let's go," they both said.
Energy poured from the master. His lips were twisted into a more horrid smile than any before. He looked at Goku. "Let's forget the warm-up," he said.
Strips of lightning made contact and exploded against one another as the two warriors faced each other down. Goku watched as the master clone reigned in his energy. Needless to say, things were going to be intense. Whoa. I definitely wasn't expecting his power level to be this high. I won't be able to sustain Super Saiyan 3 for too long. I have to beat him as fast as I can.
The master held up his fists in one of the attack stances of the Kame Sen'nin style. "Your life as Son Goku ends today!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Make peace with Kami-sama; you die now!"
Without warning, the clone vanished. Goku made a grunt and raised his arms. The master reappeared right in front of him and swung at his face. He threw his forearm up and deflected the punch. Goku retaliated with a front rising kick. The master ducked backwards, sending out a kaia to cover his retreat. It struck Goku dead center, sending him flying backwards.
He recovered in time to see a barrage of ki blasts closing in on him. The energy bombs made contact and exploded, shrouding the entire area in ozone.
The master remained still as the smoke began to clear. He noticed the movement of energy a second too late. By the time he had spun around, Goku had managed to get behind him. He landed an elbow under his chin. The clone's head snapped back. Acting on instinct he swung out his leg, striking Goku in the solar plexus.
Goku heaved as the air was knock out of him. Both warriors backpedaled, putting each other out of striking distance of one another. The two Gokus took the opportunity to catch their breath.
The relative calm lasted two seconds; then they both vanished. Sonic booms sounded in quick succession. The servant watched in silence as the atmosphere contorted around him. Lightning struck high in the sky. At its center, Goku and the master were smashing their fists into each other's cheeks. Then they broke out into an exchange of blows.
Goku took point, trying to break a hole in his clone's defenses. The master then countered unexpectedly and unleashed his own offense. Who was attacking and whom was defending switched back and forth too quickly to keep up with. Each time one of them would land a hit on the other, the sky flashed and the air cracked.
The two warriors continued to fight, oblivious to everything in the background.
The servant's fist tightened. His master and Son Goku were fighting with everything they had. He could smell the bloodlust in the air. The feel of the battle was working its way into his being. All he could think about was jumping into it all.
Still, he remembered the orders the master had given him. But every time one of them landed a blow it sent shivers through his body; the part of him that was obedient to the master was being overshadowed by his Saiyan instincts.
"D-damn it," he muttered. He continued to watch.
Goku smashed his knee into the master's chin. As the clone reeled upward, Goku grabbed his ankle and swung him around like a disk. After five times around, he released him, sending flying down towards the earth.
The master stopped his descent and brought his hand together at his side. "I believe you know this one!" he shouted. A glowing sphere of blue energy formed between his palms. He thrust his hands forward, taking aim at Goku.
"Kame-Hame-HA!"