"They're with us." Raditz said as he reverted back to normal. He motioned over to Nova. "She's the new leader of the Changelings. It's a... long story."
"One best told later." Senator Vegeta said. "Now that we've taken care of the biggest threats in the city we...."
He trailed off as two figures suddenly materialized. "Supreme Kai?" Bardock asked, blinking. "What are you doing here?"
"We came to take you back to Otherworld." she said. "The dead have no place in...."
"Um, but we're not dead." Goku said. "Not any more. See?" he pointed above his head where the halo should have been.
Kibito blinked. "But... you were just...."
"Coming through the tear revived us." Bardock said, shrugging. "So, now what do we do? I don't sense that creature the others were fighting and there's only a few hundred Demons left that I can sense. Besides, fighting everyone here will only get us so far. We have to take out the source of this attack if we want to end this."
Mikomi nodded. "Yes, I agree." she said. "We were discussing that very matter before you're... depature. I think we reached a possible solution to our situation. We would like the two of you to travel into Hell and locate Dabura and Nefaria. They can lead you to Quietus and there, while they keep him occupied, you can create a Spirit Bomb cappable of defeating him. It is, I believe, our only hope."
"I don't know...." Goku said, frowning a little. "The Spirit Bomb's never actually worked...."
"No, it worked once." Bardock said. "I used it to defeat Sanil. But Goku's right, one out of three isn't exactly great odds. Zarbon and Freeza both survived being hit with Spirit Bombs. Still...." The Sai-jin grinned. "I can't pass up a chance like this. Fighting this Quietus guy will be fun."
Goku nodded in agreement, grinning as well. "Yeah. I can't wait to see how strong he is."
Mikomi blinked. "I don't think you understand just how powerful Quietus is, or the situation we are in."
Pug laughed. "I can assure you, they understand perfectly. It's why they're so excited." he said. "It's a Sai-jin thing."
The Supreme Kai remained silent for a time as she gazed at the two Sai-jins. She knew of their fighting spirit only through word of mouth, never having witnessed it first hand. Only the devastation it often left in its wake. Ones who craved only battle and challange often had little care or sympathy to those who stood in their way. These current Sai-jins, however, seemed different than the ones of old. "Come." she said, holding out a hand. "Everyone grab on to me or someone touching me and I will take us back to the tear."
ZZZ
Planet Vegeta, Galactic Games Arena
"So... what do you think all that was about?" Videl asked shortly after the two latest arrivals had suddenly flown off after the two Sai-jins.
"Not entirely sure." Piccolo said, gazing off toward the city. His eyes suddenly narrowed. "What!?"
"Piccolo? What is it?" Gohan asked.
Vegeta growled. "Cell. He's in the city. He must have supressed his power and snuck in."
Hotaru closed her eyes and focused, stretching out her mind to link with Yamcha's. She stood that way for nearly a minute before dropping to her knees and punching the ground shattering the rock beneath her fist. "Damnit!"
"Mom? Mom, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, walking over to her mother. "Mom?"
"It's the others, isn't it?" Mijima asked softly. "Your link with Yamcha...."
"I can't link." she said. "He's... not there."
Akemi walked up on Hotaru's other side. "What do you mean 'not there'? Where'd he go?" she asked.
Sakura swallowed and shook her head. "Akemi." she said, walking over to her sister. She knew only one thing could break the telepathic link created in a Tanarian wedding. "Come on, let's go over here." she managed, as she lead her sister away.
"What about everyone else?" Tien asked.
Vegeta scowled. "I can only sense Nova, Raditz, Pug, and father...." he said, trailing off as he felt three sudden power spikes. The first was Raditz, apparently he'd even reached Super Sai-jin now. The second were Goku and Bardock, and their powers brought a small smirk to his face before quickly vanishing again. "I can't say if that means they're all dead or not, though." he finished at last.
Piccolo's scowl softened as he felt Cell's energy vanish. "I did learn something interesting from Slug." he said after a moment. "Seems Raven is behind this after all." This caught Vegeta's interest and the Namek quickly informed him of what Slug had told him.
Piccolo had just finished when suddenly there was a burst of wind and flash of light and then a large group of people were standing only feet away from them. "Whoa, that was different." Goku said as he released Mikomi's hand.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Raditz mumbled, holding his stomach.
Mikomi smiled and laughed a little. "I always forget that traveling that way doesn't sit well with everyone." she said. "It takes some getting used to."
"Whoa, look at all the Changelings." Goten said, wide eyed.
"Is that... everyone?" Mijima asked as she looked over the group. When no one answered right away she clenched her hands and looked away.
"But... how?" asked Vadora.
"Cell." Senator Vegeta said, shaking his head. "Pug and I trailed him through the city always one step behind...."
"Who all did we lose?" his son asked.
"That I could recognize... too many." he replied, not really wanting to give a full answer.
"Who?" the younger Vegeta pressed.
It was Pug that answered. "Toma, Tangerie, Kavar, Akira, Sango, Krllin, Chaotzu, Yamcha, and... Queen Bulma."
"M-mom?" Trunks stammered.
"No way...." Cheri said softly, gazing up at the adults.
Hotaru just punched the ground again, several more times.
"Matters are almost settled here." Piccolo said, breaking into the silence. "There are still attackers left but not many. We can take them easily enough and then bring back those who died."
Bardock nodded. "We'll be leaving that to you guys." he said. "Goku and I have other business to take care of."
"Huh? What other business?" asked Gohan.
"We're going after the guy responsible for this." Goku said. "We'll take him down and put an end to the entire thing for good."
"We should come with you." Gohan said. "Hotaru and the others can deal with things here."
Mikomi shook her head. "No. This is beyond your abilities."
Vegeta snorted. "I sensed them in the city." he said. "All three of us are stronger. It's kind of pathetic, really. Besides, I'd say five is better than two."
"Well, they do have a bit of a point." Bardock said. "I don't know about them coming all the way with us but you could certainly use more help in Otherworld if any more of the stronger Demons show up. The Grand Kai, Pikkon, and Olibu can't do everything by themselves."
The Supreme Kai stood in thought for a moment, contemplating the situation. "Alright." she said at last. "They can accompany us as far as the H.F.I.L., but I will not agree to them going further. They will remain there to deal with those Demons already in Otherworld and those who come through."
She then turned to Tatamo. "If I am not mistaken you are the Guardian of this world, correct?"
Vegeta turned his gaze to Tatamo. /Guardian? Of course, that explains how he's still around after all this time./
"I am." he said with a nod.
"I had not known you were so powerful." she said. "I have a favor to ask of you. Bardock is right, our forces in Otherworld are thin. Kibito and myself will be needed to escort the others to the entry into Hell. I believe Zenryou, Pikkon, and Olibu can manage in Otherworld itself but Heaven has been unprotected since this attack began...."
Tatamo nodded. "I would be glad to lend a hand."
"Thank-you." she said with a nod. "We should be leaving quickly."
Vegeta nodded and then turned to his father. "I'm going to leave you in charge until we get back." he said. "Coordinate with whatever troops we still have left to wipe out the forces that are left."
The Senator nodded. "I'll take care of it." he said.
"What about us dad?" Trunks asked.
Vegeta looked down at his son then over toward Goten, Cheri, Sakura, and Akemi, and thought. "Go to the palace." he said. "Your grandfather can head up protecting everything else but I'm going to leave you guys in charge of the defending the palace."
"We'll move survivors from Saiya City to the palace for safety." the Senator said thoughtfully. "Round up as many as we can. The fewer who die, the better."
"Alright then, let's do this." Vegeta said, turning toward the tear.
ZZZ
Otherworld, Grand Kai's Mansion
With the departure of Goku, Bardock, and the Supreme Kai the Demons who had previously pulled back had gotten their courage back and charged in again. The battle since then had been fierce and relentless. Numerous dead warriors lay scattered about, unconcious, and a near equal number of Demon corpses lay among them.
Pikkon, Olibu, and Zenryou were the only unscathed warriors left. There were quite a few still uninjured, just with torn clothing, but there were even more who were completely exhausted and had to pull out of the fight. The lower Kais included. Those no longer able to battle had retreated to the Grand Kai's mansion which Appla and Sora were defending while the others cut through the still incoming attackers. More than once Zenryou or Pikkon had had to cut in to help them with some of the more powerful attackers.
"There's no end to this!" Sora cried as she kicked away two Demons who had charged her. "The more we take out the more take their place. Surely they must have some limit to their forces."
"They do, but not a small one." said King Kai from where he lay against the mansion resting. "There are trillions of Oni here Shinkai. Likely just as many Demons live in Makai."
"If we don't think of something soon," Olibu began as he flew by them, shooting Demons out of the sky with energy blasts. "We'll run out of energy to fight with."
Appla smirked. "I say it's time to show these freaks that my mate and my son aren't the only ones to be afraid of." She let out a cry as she threw her arms and head back, a burst of golden energy pushing away the Demons around her as she transformed. The sudden surge of power quickly caught the attention of the majority of attackers and they turned to locate the source instantly recognizing the form as the one the other two had used.
Some pulled back but others turned from their current opponent and charged toward Appla. She saw them coming as she clenched her fists and braced herself. As the closest came within twenty yards of her she smirked and called out. "...SUPER KAIO KEN!" There was a thunderous crack and bright flash of red as her aura flared out savagely, the rush of energy pushing back everyone within a hundred yards.
Zenryou and Pikkon, floating side by side, both reached an arm up over their faces to block out the glaring light and rush of wind and dust that was now racing across the planet. The outwashing power drove Pikkon back several yards before he managed to stablize himself and he watched on in shock as Demons as far away as a three hundred yards were blown off their feet. And then the glare began to fade away as Appla's red aura shrank down to a more normal size.
"In-incredible." King Kai said softly, blinking as he pulled himself out of the bushes he'd been blown into. "She can safely use and control the Kaio Ken while transformed... not even Goku or Bardock were able to pull that off...."
Olibu stared at Appla in shock for a moment and then grinned. "Kaio Ken times 10!" he called, his own aura turning red as his power quickly climbed.
A few dozen yards away Pikkon also let out a cry as his aura flared up and blew his weighted clothing off of him. "Let's clear them out!" he called to nods from the other two.
At this point those who'd pulled back after Appla's transformation turned around and fled, as did a number of others. Appla turned toward one group that was making a last bid at attacking the Grand Kai's mansion. "Kamehameha!" The blue energy flared up between her hands and then surged forward nearly a hundred yards in diameter incinerting the Demons before they even realized it was coming.
Olibu spotted a group of Demons fleeing from the three warriors who had just revealed themselves to be more powerful then expected. Instead, they were targetting a group of worn out fighters near the edge of the battle. He thrust both arms out toward them and quickly charged a large ball of ki.
"Super Scatter Bolt!" he cried, shooting the blast off. It only went about twenty feet before exploding into hundreds of energy blasts that shot off toward the group of Demons. Some managed to dodge the incoming blasts but most were impaled and killed.
Pikkon, meanwhile, turned his focus on those who were fleeing the planet. If past experience was any indication they would rally and return again unless effectively detered. Their return was not acceptable given the current state of the gathered warriors. "Thunder Flash Attack!" he cried, firing the fire like stream of energy at the backs of nearly ten thousand retreating Demons. The stream hit and killed nearly three quarters of them, the rest fleeing even faster.
In a matter of moments all that remained were the three warriors. Appla left out a sigh as she let the Kaio ken fade, though she remained transformed. "Hopefully that keeps them away long enough for us to regroup." she said as she landed.
"It might at that." Zenryou said with a smile. "Though no doubt they will return in greater number."
"Well, we'll be ready for them." Pikkon said as he and Olibu joined the group.
"You three might." Sora said, also walking up to them, and still transformed as well. "But I'm not so sure about everyone else. Even I am feeling the strain of fighting so many attackers. There are just too many of them, I don't think we can hold out long."
"Well, once Mikomi gets Goku and Bardock back here we'll be in better shape." Zenryou said. "With luck, us taking the battle to them will throw them off their game some."
"What do you mean?" Appla asked. The Grand Kai was about to answer when a red light suddenly bathed the planet. The gathered warriors looked up and saw a large ball of red and black Ki gathering above the head of.... "A Changeling!?"
Up in the sky the Changeling smirked. "Imagine my surprise when, shortly after I die, all Hell breaks lose. Literally. It took me a while to find out what was going on and, once I did, I decided to lend a hand. I will turn this planet, and everyone on it, into dust! And then, then I shall return to the living world and kill those rotten MONKEYS!" With that he brought his arm down and fired the now massive Death Ball at the planet.
"Holy crap, that's...." Appla said in shock.
Zenryou shot up into the air and met the attack head on, thrusting his arms out and catching the energy in both hands. As the energy made contact with his hands his eyes widened slightly. "Oh dear." he said as he fought to stop the attack's descent. He was managing to slow it, though not very quickly.
Pikkon charged up and joined him in trying to push it off. Olibu and Appla, once again using the Super Kaio Ken, soon joined in as well. With the four of them working together they began to push off the powerful attack until they heard a shout from above and felt a force pushing them back down again. The Changeling was now pushing back trying to force his attack down.
"It's too much!" Appla cried as she strained to push the attack up.
"Pikkon, leave us to this." Zenyou said. "Go up there and give that trouble maker a smack upside the head."
Pikkon shook his head. "No, I can not leave, you wont be able to hold it off on your own."
A second later their feet touched the surface of the planet. Sora watched, along with the others, as they began to be pushed into the ground. None of them could do anything. The Changeling was too strong for any of them to overpower and even all of them together wouldn't be enough to drive off the attack. And then she saw the tear, only a few dozen feet behind the Changeling, suddenly expand.
There was a resounding crack a moment later, a crash, and then the Death Ball surged off into the sky through a billowing dust cloud. "What happened?" Olibu wondered as he tried to peer through the dust.
"Still causing trouble, Kuriiza?" a voice, one that sounded oddly like Vegeta, asked from inside the dust cloud.
"Kuriiza?" Goku's voice. "He looks a lot like Frieza...."
"His son." replied a new voice, a female one that sounded like Videl. "He showed up a few days ago trying to cause problems. It's a long story."
Suddenly seven forms emerged from the dust walking toward the four warriors who'd repelled the Death Ball. Bardock on the left, Goku on the right, and Mikomi in the middle. And then behind them were Gohan, Videl, Kibito, and someone that none of them recognized.
"I hadn't known Frieza had a son. Especially one that strong." Bardock said.
Gohan shook his head. "He ate one of those fruit Sanil had." he explained. "The whole thing."
"Ah." the Sai-jin said, nodding.
And then the dust cloud behind them was blown apart by a shockwave and everyone glanced back to find Kuriiza's fist smashed into Vegeta's face though the golden haired Sai-jin was unphased. "Come on, Kuriiza." Vegeta said, smirking. "Why waste our time? We both know you can't beat me."