King Kai screamed. The sudden outburst caused everyone else to jump a few inches. "I-I don't believe it!" he stuttered.
"What?" asked Kibito Shin. "What's happened? Is it Goku?"
"No, uh, I mean yes. W-well…" King Kai bit down on his lip.
"Well, what?" snapped Elder Kai. "Please say something we can comprehend!"
Clearly flustered, King Kai tried to explain. "I'm not sure I can comprehend this. Simply put, things are getting bad. That clone is forming a Genki-dama!"
Kibito Shin's chin dropped a few centimeters. The Genki-dama was Goku's last-ditch trump card: a massive ball of pure ki formed from the life force of nearby living things. He had seen it in action before, with spectacular results.
"So, it seems the bad guy is going to use your technique to kill our hero," Grand Kai said, placing a hand on King Kai's shoulder. "West Kai's never gonna let you live this one down."
"Not really the issue here," the other said. "I don't understand. The Genki-dama is made up of ki in its purest form. A being with a malicious heart shouldn't be able to handle that without causing damage to his own spirit and body."
"Further more," Kibito Shin added, "wouldn't Goku be able to deflect? A good-natured being like him produces pure ki as easily as carbon dioxide."
The tension in King Kai's face vanished. "That's right! Even if that clone could complete the Genki-dama, it won't be able to do any damage to Goku!" He sighed in relief. "I thought we were in trouble for a second."
"We still are." Everyone turned to look at Grand Kai. His features were racked with worry. "If enough of the users energy is channeled into it, pure ki can be corrupted into negative energy. The result would be a Dark Genki-dama, which could easily kill Goku."
There was a painful silence. Finally, Elder Kai said, "How do you know that's even possible? I've never heard a being manipulating the affinity of ki before!"
"That's because I've done research on the subject," Grand Kai said with absolute certainty. He looked at King Kai. "If remember right, you used my research to develop the Genki-dama technique."
"That's right," King Kai confirmed. "But I never thought anything like this could happen."
"Still," Grand Kai added, "You were right about an evil heart controlling pure ki. That clone's going to have one hell of a headache when this is over."
Kibito Shin gulped. "And Goku will be dead…"
Only a few times in his life had Goku felt true fear. This was one of them. The Genki-dama was huge, and getting larger. Every so often, black lightning ripple across its surface. The power inside was changing. Becoming…evil.
Goku didn't have a chance to recover from his shock. The Servant suddenly appeared in his vision, blocking out the sight of the Genki-dama. He didn't have time to stop him from slamming his leg into his face. Goku recoiled backwards. Without missing a beat, the Servant followed up a rapid combination of continuous punches.
Struggling to keep up, Goku managed to block most of the hits. The stunned feeling was slowly disappearing, but the pain wasn't going anywhere. Dealing with how his clone was forming a Genki-dama would have to wait until his current opponent was put out of commission.
For a brief moment he considered trying to reason with the Servant. No sooner did the thought enter his head, did he dismiss it. Fighting is all this guy cares about. As long as he has an opponent in front of him he won't think about anything else. Goku grimaced. To think I might have turned out like this guy makes me sick.
A small hole opened in the Servant's defense. Goku smashed through it. He landed a blow to his opponent's shoulder, then to the chest. The flow of the battle was slowly starting to turn in Goku's favor. The Servant's method of fighting revolved around overwhelming the opponent with continuous barrages leaving no time to think. Even so, Goku still had the advantage of power and speed.
At least for now. Goku was burning energy faster than ever. I have to finish this quickly. It won't be too long before I lose my transformation. Then I'll be an easy target for these guys.
He kept up his attack with renewed urgency.
From his higher position, the Master watched the battle as he continued to form his Genki-dama. He took a deep breath, trying to maintain his focus. Every nerve in his body was screaming in pain. Slowly the pure ki making up the energy sphere was corrupted as he poured his own power into it.
This was the only way he'd be able to kill Goku. The other's power as a "Super Saiyan 3" was too much for any other method.
Through the dull haze clouding his vision, the Master noticed something. It was gradual at first, but now it had become clearly obvious. Goku was rushing his battle with the servant. He wanted to wrap things up quickly. Interesting.
A faint sensation nudged the Master's mind. He focused on it, determining it to be a power signal. Unwanted company was on its way: Vegeta and the others no doubt. "It seems things will get ugly in a few moments," he whispered through gritted teeth. "I had better end this quickly too."
The ground was shaking fiercer than the ever. Everyone in Metro Central's downtown district was either struggling to get to their feet or watch in fear at the bizarre explosions and distortions high in the sky. The sound of police and emergency responder sirens echoed all around.
Many of the people had heard about the incident that occurred in Satan City. The casualty reports had been staggering. Was the same fate to befall them too?
Shock and awe prevented the bystanders from noticing that one man in crowd was having no trouble keeping his balance. The man looked up at the chaos, knowing all too well what was really happening.
He sighed and crossed his arms. "The one time I try to visit civilization, this happens," he muttered. He had considered jumping into the fray, but it was obvious that his power level was no match against any of the other fighters.
Besides he didn't owe anything to either of the dueling parties. Well, no, that wasn't exactly true. "I suppose I do have a debt to pay." Still, waiting seemed to be the best course of action for now.
Another tremor shook the earth. Nearby, a young girl lost her footing and fell forward. The man reached out and caught her before she could hit the ground. "You okay?" he asked.
The girl nodded as she looked up at him. His eyes were unusually cold. "Th-thanks, mister."
"No problem," the man said giving her a smile. The icy feeling melted away.
"Grace!" A young woman ran up to them, the mother most likely. After helping the young girl regain balance, the man backed away, allowing her mother to take her hand.
She thanked him, and then tried to move towards the cover of one of the buildings. Without any other distractions, the man returned his attention to the battle above.
Goku landed blow after blow. The Servant was too stunned to keep up his constant barrages. Things were going well: until a pain shot through Goku's chest. The Saiyan grunted and backed away. His power level was getting dangerously low. Maintaining the Super Saiyan 3 state was beginning to tear his body apart. It wouldn't be too long before the transformation reverted, to protect his body from fatal damage.
So much for going well – this fight had to end now. Given a reprieve, the Servant charged. Goku channeled as much ki into his palms and released it at point-blank range. His opponent had no way to dodge it, he could only stare in disbelief. The blast struck dead center, and a split second later he was rocketing away. Clone and beam both vanish from view, both screaming all the way. An explosion lit up the horizon with brief intensity, before dissipating.
Goku took a deep breath. He didn't know whether or not the Servant was dead, however, he was certainly out of the fight.
With the first priority out of the way, it was time to deal with the bigger issue. Goku turned to look at the Master, the Genki-dama, bigger than ever, floating above his head. A twisted expression of rage and hopelessness on his face.
There would be no more offerings of surrender. Goku charged. The Master flinched, knowing that if he used the Genki-dama, his opponent would easily dodge.
Closing in, Goku tightened his fist – only to stop short. "N-no!" he shouted as his body twitched. There was a brief flash, and then his features returned to normal. No longer did the air snap as lightning shot through it. His power level was no longer capable of supporting Super Saiyan 3.
Silence filed the void between him and the Master. Briefly.
"Well how about that?" the clone said. He burst into hysterical laughter. "You may have power, but it seems good fortunes are on my side today!"
In an instant, the battle had once again turned on its head. The Genki-dama could easily incinerate him in his current state. His only hope would be to try and dodge it.
Apparently the Master had realized this too. "Listen well Goku! This blast isn't for you!" A quizzical look crossed Goku's face. A moment later it was replace by horror as the Master turned to Metro Central.
"D-don't do it!" Goku screamed.
The master looked back at him. "If you want to save those people, you'll have to do it yourself!" he shouted.
He swung his arms downward. The Genki-dama dropped towards the Earth, picking up speed every second.
"No!"
Frantically, Goku raced forward as quickly as he could. The knowledge that he didn't stand a chance was the last thing running through his mind. It was an instinct reaction, albeit futile.
Goku stopped right in the Genki-dama's path. How many of his opponents had he put on the receiving end of this attack? Were the feelings he was experiencing the same that they had felt? It was eerie. He held out his hands. The blast was inches away.
The Master laughed. "So, this is your choice? To be killed by the life force of the very people that you've spent your entire life protecting?" He flashed that horrid smirk. "This is what's called 'irony' right?"
The Genki-dama crashed into Goku's hands. Negative energy washed over him. Every nerve ending in his palms screamed in pain, as did he. The blast continued on its path, undeterred. Goku just didn't have enough power. "D-damn it!" he screamed.
Crackling louder than ever, the Master held up his hand, finger fully outstretched. "Such selflessness deserves a reward!" he said. "You can die knowing that you stopped those people from dying by your own technique!" His gaze darkened. "Of course that only means their ends will be postponed."
He clenched his fist.
The stability of the Dark Genki-dama collapsed. A moment later, the sky turned bleach white. Everything was engulfed leaving no stone unturned.
Shockwave after shockwave struck Vegeta and the others. "W-whatever's going on," Gohan said, "It didn't end well."
The explosion on the horizon was brighter than the sun. Vegeta gulped. "I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this." There was too much radiation to make out any power levels. The others could only watch in silence.
Piccolo managed to shake them out of it. "We had better hurry," he urged. Without need to say anything else they resumed their course. A few minutes later they had finally arrived.
The blast radius was impressive. Most of the forested areas were either gone or ablaze. Metro Central had escaped the explosion, but not the aftershocks. Several buildings had collapsed, and streets were covered in debris. People could be seen moving below.
"This is terrible," Krillin whispered.
Vegeta looked around. A lone figure floated above the destruction. Cautiously, he moved forward, unsure of what he'd find. He didn't like it.
"Clone!" he shouted at the figure dressed in flowing black robes. "What the hell have you done here?"
The master said nothing. He simply looked up at the sky, his expression unreadable.
Trunks came up alongside Vegeta. "Where is Goku?" he asked.
"Goku…" the Master said. He looked at Trunks with his trademark grin. "I am Goku."