Chapter Forty-seven - Transformation
Goku and Bardock came to a stop as they raised their arms above their heads and began to focus on gathering energy for the Spirit Bomb. "Ummm, it's not working." Goku said after a moment, gazing up at where the attack should have been forming but wasn't it. "What's going on?"
"I don't know." Bardock said, trying to concentrate harder. "Maybe it's because of where we are? I mean, there's no ambient pure energy here to draw on like normal and I've yet to find any of these Oni that the Supreme Kai mentioned..."
"Yeah. Man, if we don't find those Oni we're not going to get anywhere with this." said Goku. He closed his eyes and stretched his senses out further and further. He could feel the Supreme Kai below flying nimbly around Janemba's swings and the others flying toward the entrance to Hell, but not much else.
After a few more moments of nothing Bardock left out an exasperated sigh and lowered his arms. "This is getting us nowhere." he said. "There has to be a better way to find the Oni than this! Otherworld and the H.F.I.L. are infinite in size, we'll be forever trying to find them ourselves. They're probably all as far away from Janemba and the invading Demons as they can get."
Goku lowered his arms as well and scrunched up his face as he thought. "Oh, hey!" he cried, getting an idea. He turned his gaze skyward to where he could see Otherworld, though it was nothing but pinkish-purple sky for as far as he could see. "King Kai!" he called loudly. "King Kai, do you hear me!"
-Huh? Goku?- came the Kai's voice. -What's going on?-
"We're helping the Supreme Kai deal with something called Janemba and..."
-WHAT! JANEMBA'S BACK?-
"Yeah. Bardock and I are trying to form a Spirit Bomb cause we think it can stop him for good but we can't find any energy for it." he explained. "She said to use the Oni but there's none anywhere near us."
-Hmmm, yes, the Spirit Bomb could be effective against him. What do you need me for, Goku?-
"Well, I was kind of hoping you could help us find the Oni." the Sai-jin replied with a shrug. "Track them down from up there and tell us where to look."
-Ah. Well, I can do one better than that, actually.- the Kai said. -I am a master of mass telepathy, I can put you and Bardock into direct contact with all the Oni in Otherworld.-
"Really? That's great!" Goku cried.
-Just give me a moment.- he said. The two Sai-jins waited in silence as the Kai began to establish a telepathic link to all of the Oni in Otherworld. It was a few moments before his voice came again. -Attention to all Oni, this is the North Kai. Janemba has returned and two of my pupils are helping the Supreme Kai to combat him and they need your help to form a Spirit Bomb.- he explained. -Reach out with your minds through the telepathic link I've established. Show them where you are so they can gather your energy!-
The two Sai-jins soon felt brushes of thoughts, millions upon millions of them, most of them various forms of fear over the news they'd just recievied. But those faint brushes of thought were enough to allow them to pinpoint the location of each individual Oni. "Oh, wow, they're way out there." Goku said. "We'd have been hours just finding them on our own!"
Bardock nodded and raised his arms again. "Right, let's do this." Goku gave him a nod as well and then raised his arms too and the two of them began to focus on gathering the energy. This time it only took a few seconds before they began to feel the approach of the energy and only a moment before they saw it flowing toward them from Otherworld.
While the Sai-jins had been busy trying to start the Spirit Bomb Mikomi had been busy keeping the large Janemba occupied. At first it had been an easy task. She'd flown up to him to get his attention and then simply flown in circles around him dodging his occasional wild swipe. But then she quickly learned that, although he looked nothing like the Janemba she remembered, he still posessed the same abilities as that one, when he swatted at her from behind by teleporting his hand.
The unexpected hit had knocked her off course and into one of the numerous floating jellybeans but she quickly recovered and the next teleported arm swing was dodged with relative ease. All the while Janemba was laughing and smiling and seemingly enjoying itself. /It's hard to believe this is the same creature that tried so hard to kill us all those thousands of years ago./ she thought. /I wonder what caused it to reform in such a way?/
As she slipped around another swing she felt a small twinge in her senses and glanced up. There, between and above the two Sai-jins, blue and white energy was starting to gather. /Good, it's working./ she thought as she slipped around another swing and gauged the attack's growth rate. /It'll take some time to become strong enough to overpower even this version of Janemba, though./
As she quickly shot up over another teleported hand she wondered if their plan would work against Quietus. It was their best option, she knew that, but the time it would take to form an attack able to kill Quietus... She figured the two Sai-jins would be at least ten minutes creating this attack. One able to take out Quietus would need to be more than five times as powerful. That likely meant at least three to five times the charge time.
/Could Dabura even last that long against him?/ she wondered as she deflected a volley of energy blasts the large yellow creature had unleashed from the odd openings in its chest. /Would the forming attack go unnoticed for that long? They would need a half hour at least, maybe almost an hour./ Her thoughts cut off there as a large fist came down from above and slammed her into the ground.
With a grunt she pushed the hand off of her, the force taking Janemba off balance and causing him to fall onto his back. "I will worry later, when I don't have a giant baby trying to squash me." she mumbled as she brushed debris off of her clothes. She watched in a mix of curiosity and amusement as Janemba kicked and flailed its arms and legs trying to right itself again. Her initial fear and concern over his return was evaporating quickly. Though he was back he was far from the threat he had once been.
The openings along the front of his body began to glow again and then huge blasts of ki began to shoot out haphazardly before raining down upon the area at random. Mikomi dodged around one of the blasts, easily twice as big as she was tall, and then deflected a second before she heard gasps and shouts of surprise. Looking up she saw the two Sai-jins dashing away from each other as a blast of energy sailed through the space where they had been.
Just then she noticed the area around her was getting brighter and looked up in time to see another huge ball of energy falling toward her. With a cry she thrust her arms up and caught and then repelled the blast away from her. /Have to get him back on his feet, he's more dangerous when he's not trying to hit me than when he is./ she thought, turning to face the large yellow creature again.
She rushed in and quickly slipped around another sudden blast of energy, flew by his head, and then dove down and underneath him before pushing up to lift him ito the air. As soon as he started to move upward his thrashing and the energy blasts stopped. Once he was on his feet again Mikomi pulled back and moved around in front of him again but Janemba just stood there blinking and staring at her.
/What is this?/ she wondered. /Is he not attacking me because I helped him up? Is this really Janemba?/ She floated there staring at him staring at her for a moment as she contemplated this unusual situation. And then a thought suddenly hit her. Perhaps, in this state, she could disperse his energy as she had done with Kuriiza? He was not a soul, and did not have one, so he could not become a soul cloud as the Changeling had, but perhaps the evil had dilluted enough she could scatter his energies for at least a few days.
She drifted back to where the two Sai-jins were floating and readying to resume creating the Spirit Bomb. "How much of the energy did you lose?" she asked.
"Not much." replied Bardock. "We managed to hold on to more then eighty percent of what we'd gathered. Most of what was lost should still be floating around for us to recollect anyway."
She nodded. "Alright. I am going to try something else first. An idea has come to me. It is possible Janemba's current state is due to a weakening of the evil that comprised him, from having been seperated for so long. In which case it may be possible for me to disperse him again, at least for a few days. Continue to charge the Spirit Bomb, just in case. At the very least this will buy you more time."
"Alright." the two said together as they floated up a little more and resumed their previous pose.
Mikomi watched them for a moment before turning her focus back to the large Janemba. She floated toward him again and still he did not attack her. She came to a stop only a foot away from his face and slowly reached out a hand, touching her fingers against where his nose would have been had he had one.
The large yellow creature's body began to ripple, starting from where she touched and going all the way down its body. But, where as with Kuriiza the rippling and been smooth and uniform, this was not. As the ripples spread out further and further from the originating point they got more random in size and speed. And then his toes and fingers began to droop, as though melting. The rippling intensified and his body began to distort wildly.
Mikomi floated backward quickly as Janemba suddenly froze, even the rippling stopped, and his entire body began to melt as though he were a giant wax candle in an oven. She'd never seen such a reaction before so she moved back further just to be safe. And then the downward melting began to stop and reverse, the substance of Janemba's body raising up toward the point Mikomi had touched, a point that had turned into a small hole.
As she watched the melting body get sucked into itself she felt his power slowly start to rise. The increase going faster and faster as it went. /No!/ she cried mentally, drifting back further. /He must be reforming into his original state again!/ She turned toward Goku and Bardock quickly. "Hurry! I think my efforts are having the opposite effect I intended!" she cried.
The two Sai-jins nodded as Mikomi turned to face the transforming Janemba again. His body had pulled up almost all the way now and a pair of normal sized feet had emerged. Those were soon followed by his legs and tail, his body, his arms, and then the last of the giant yellow body was sucked into the hole in his forehead and it sealed up. Yellow eyes with black iris-less pupils, red skin, and silver-blue exoskeletal armor. This was the Janemba she remembered.
She readied to fight him some more while the Sai-jins finished forming their attack. /He's as strong as he was before./ she thought. /I've gained in power since then so now I'm slightly stronger than him but... our powers are still close./ She quickly slipped into a defensive position as she watched Janemba to see what he would do.
Janemba, however, wasn't paying her any attention. Instead he was staring at his hands as he opened and closed them. His shoulders shook once, slightly, and then again, a soft laugh escaping from his lips. The laugh slowly built in volume until he suddenly threw his arms and head back and began laughing excitedly. "Alive!" he cried as he continued to laugh. "Alive!"
He lowered his head and took a deep breath, a large grin on his face. "Remember." he said, eyes locking onto Mikomi. His body tensed and then a red aura flared up around him. "Kill!" And in a burst of energy he surged toward her. The Supreme Kai started to dodge but his arm suddenly shot out, extending along its length, and slammed into her stomach doubling her over.
"Oh man." Goku said as he watched Janemba surge in the rest of the way and slam an elbow into the stunned Kai's face. "One of us should go down there and help her..." he trailed off as Jameba wrapped his arms around Mikomi and dove toward the ground.
"It's going to take long enough forming this with both of us at it." said Bardock. "Especially with the power he just gained. And I don't think one of us would make much of a difference." The Sai-jin cringed as Janemba, still holding the Supreme Kai, slammed into the ground at full speed. "At least he doesn't seem interested in us right now, that should give us the time we need to finish."
As the Sai-jin finished a thunderous explosion erupted below, from where the two fighters had hit, and a brillaint flash of blue nearly blinded the pair in the sky. Janemba was thrown a hundred yards into a rock pillar which then shattered and collapsed ontop of him. Mikomi now stood inside a blast crater brushing dust off of her torn clothes.
The debris from the collapsed rock pillar exploded in a flash of red a second later and Janemba surged back out. As he flew he thrust an arm out to the side and then whiped it forward. One of the giant jellybeans floating near-by suddenly dislodged itself from its location and rocketed toward the Kai. Mikomi's eyes flashed as it neared and it exploded into dozens of peices.
But Janemba was right behind it and he lashed out with a hard left. She saw it coming and slipped around it before slaming both of her hands, palms open, into his chest, and then hitting him with a blast of energy that knocked him flying up and back. He recovered quickly and pulled to a stop just in time for her fist to slam into his face and knock him back further.
She went to follow that up with a kick but Janemba suddenly disolved and then reformed behind her where he slammed his knee into the small of her back and then jammed his elbow down into the top of her head. She surged down toward the ground but at the last second managed to swerve off to the side and avoid crashing. Quickly she arced out around and back in toward him and the two began a fierce exchange of close range attacks.
As the exchange continued Janemba began to gain the upper hand before suddenly slamming his tail into the side of her head. He then reached out his right arm to his side and there was a flash of red and black energy as a sword formed. With a laugh he quickly thrust the sword forward impalling the Kai through the gut.
"Oh man!" Goku cried, eyes going wide as he watched Janemba swipe his arm to the side and fling the injured woman toward the ground before shooting a ball of red and black energy after her.
"I've got her!" Bardock said, lowering his arms. "Keep working on the Spirit Bomb!" Goku gave him a nod as the elder Sai-jin vanished, speeding down toward the falling Kai. He reached her a second later caught her as she flew into him. And then he dodged to the side to avoid the incoming energy blast and dropped down to the ground just a few feet below him. "You ok?" he asked as he set her down onto her feet.
She grimaced a little but gave him a nod as she held a hand against her injury. "Yes, I'll live." she said. The blade had pierced her along the side of her abdomen so he doubted anything vital had been hit, if Kai's had anything vital, but blood was soaking into her clothes. As the energy blast impacted the ground and exploded several dozen yards away her hand began to glow as she worked on healing the injury, eyes watching Janemba for any sign he'd resume his attack.
But the creature, though scowling at them, didn't seem to be interested in resuming his assualt just yet. "I had forgotten just how difficult of an opponent he truly is." she said. "When there were five of us, with Muzai being so much more powerful than him, he was far easier to handle." She winced and lowered her hand. "It's no good. I can't heal the injury."
"Why not?" Bardock asked.
"Because of our natures." she explained. "Remember, he is made of pure evil. Evil and good are polar opposites. Just as the Spirit Bomb can do great harm to him for this reason so too can he do exceptional damage to me." She sighed and grimaced as she straightened up a little. "Unfortunately it seems his evil is even more concentrated than my own purity is, thus giving him an edge in our battle."
Bardock frowned and looked up at the Spirit Bomb. /Looks like there really isn't much choice but to lend her a hand./ he thought. /But one of us wouldn't be enough help while both of us means we can't form the Spirit Bomb. Damn it! There has to be something we can do.../
Mikomi reached back a hand and rested it on Bardock's shoulder as she turned and looked back and up at him. "Do not worry. Continue with forming the Spirit Bomb and I will stall him until it is ready. After he is defeated I can return to the Kai Plane where I will be able to recover more easily."
Bardock frowned as he looked down at her and then back up to where Goku was still drawing in energy for the Spirit Bomb. Finally something she had just said sunk in. "Kai Plane?" he asked, looking back toward her. "You can recover better there?"
She nodded. "Yes, the Kai Plane is home to the highest concentration of good in Shinkai." she said. "It will aid in my..."
"What if we take him there?" Bardock asked, looking toward Janemba. "Would that make it easier to deal with him?"
She shook her head. "No." she said. "It would be impossible to take him there. For the same reason we Kais can not enter Hell he would be unable to enter our Plane."
Bardock frowned and nodded. "Right." /Damn, there goes that idea. Now what?/
The Sai-jin didn't have time to further consider that as Janemba decided he'd waited long enough and charged toward him and Mikomi. The Supreme Kai saw him coming and quickly shot up to meet him so as to keep Bardock out of danger. He watched as the two of them began to fight again but it was clear the Kai's injury was hindering her performance. Janemba had the clear edge now and was focusing as many attacks as possible at her injury while trying to inflict more with further slashes and stabs of his sword.
Bardock shot up into the air until he was at about the same level as the two fighters and shook his head. /Guess we've only got one option then. It'll take longer but it's better than letting her get herself killed./ he thought. Turning he looked up toward where his son floated. "Goku!" he called. "Seal it up and let it go for now. We need to give her hand. We'll wear the freak down some so he's not such a hassle and then we'll blast him."
Goku turned and looked down at him from where he floated and then nodded. He then closed his eyes and focused for a moment and the Spirit Bomb flashed and stablized allowing him to leave it floating there alone without losing any of the gathered power. That done, he floated down beside Bardock and looked to where the fight was still going. Mikomi had cast them both glances upon hearing and seeing their exchange but was too focused on Janemba's assault to do or say anything to them.
"What do you think?" Goku asked. "As is?"
Bardock smirked and nodded. "Yeah. With the Supreme Kai here that should be enough. Besides, while he's got some fancy tricks he's all about raw power. Even with his power advantage we should be able to keep up, so long as we work together."
"Alright." Goku said as he flashed gold, Bardock doing the same a second later. Then the two Sai-jins hunched over slightly and clenched their hands into fists. "It'll be fun to finally go all out like this."
Bardock gave him a glance and a smirk and then both of them let out yells as their golden auras flared to life and swelled. Janemba and Mikomi ceased in their battle as both turned to look at the Sai-jins. The rushing power around them kicked up a fierce wind that began to ruffle Mikomi's clothes, the nearest giant jellybeans started to drift away from the force of it, and the dust and rocks on the ground fifty yards below began to lift into the air and swirl around them.
Their screams grew louder and louder as the force of their outwashing power intensified. The ground began to quake and loud bangs resounded as the gaint jellybeans began to slam into each other as they were pushed away. Their hair waved about in the updraft of wind and slowly began to lengthen and stand up more. Mikomi's eyes widened as she turned to fully face the Sai-jin pair. "Are... are their powers... increasing!"
Their auras brightend further, to the point the two Sai-jins couldn't be seen, and then there was a flash and rush of wind as their yells died down. And then the light vanished and Mikomi could see them again. Their hair was now taller and spikier and Goku was left with only three bangs, Bardock just two. Their musscles had increased slightly as well. And their power's had climbed considerably.
Goku blinked and turned to look at Bardock. "Hey! No fair!" he cried.
XXX
Near the Entrance to Hell
The four of them had paused once, a few minutes earlier, when they'd felt Janemba's power suddenly increase. Gohan had been concerned for his father and grandfather but they had soon pressed on. He knew they didn't really have much choice. Plus, he knew that the Supreme Kai was back there and he could tell she was still stronger than Janbema.
Now Kibito descended toward the ground with the three Sai-jins following suit. They'd flown a good distance from where they'd encountered Janemba and were, at last, at the entrance into Hell. It was an unimposing thing, nothing like what any of them had expected. They stood now at the base of a large mountain before what almost looked like a regular cave about twenty feet tall and fifteen feet wide.
The only thing that really set it apart from any other cave was the fact the entrance looked like a 20 foot tall snake's head with its mouth open, and the fact that the inside of the cave was made of diamond shaped red stones. They were perfectly smooth and formed an arch over the flat red walking path. It was a twisting and turning trail that was soon lost around a bend.
"This is the entrance into Hell, the red Snakeway." Kibito said. "If you follow this trail to the end you will find yourselves in Hell."
"Umm, how long is this thing?" Gohan asked. "I remember Grandpa telling me about the path he and dad took to get to King Kai's being like this, and it was really long."
Kibito shook his head. "I can't say." he replied. "Very few have ever taken the trail and none that have have mentioned its length."
"Terrific." Vegeta muttered.
"The Demons came up this way, right? So it can't be too long." Videl reasoned.
"Or they came through more of those tears." Vegeta said.
Videl sighed. "Oh, right. Those."
Kibito nodded. "And we don't know which ones lead where." he said. "So passing through them to get to Hell isn't an option for us."
"Well, let's get going." Gohan said, taking a step toward the entrance. He stopped when he felt something back the way they'd come from. He turned to look and reached out his senses a little more to try and figure out what it was he'd felt.
"Gohan?" Videl asked. "What is it?"
"I... don't know." he said. "I thought I felt..." he trailed off as a golden light flickered in the distance and his eyes widened. "No way!"
"Is... is that Goku and Bardock?" Videl wondered.
Gohan nodded. "I... think they're... transforming..." he said. "But... how?"
Vegeta scowled and let out a low growl. "Isn't it obvious?" he said, turning to face the 'cave' again as the two Sai-jins finished their transformation. "The power we'd felt before, when they fought Cell, they were only Super Sai-jins then. Now we are seeing their power at the second level."
His scowl deepend as he felt their powers and felt just how much stronger than him Goku was. /So, I was right./ he thought. /Their second level is also a greater increase than ours, the form can be improved, just like the first level can. Just you wait, Kakkarotto, one of these days I will surpass you./
"This is... remarkable." Kibito said in disbelief. "They are... nearly as powerful as the Supreme Kai."
Vegeta snorted. "Let's go." he said walking forward and stepping into the path to Hell.
Gohan and Videl glanced at each other, both having the same thought. Their little expidition had quite likely just gotten a little less pleasant. Now they'd have to deal with Vegeta's damaged ego. They both sighed and walked toward the cave as well. But, while Videl was able to enter without issue, Gohan smacked into an invisible barrier.
"Huh? What the...?" he wondered as he stumbled back. He reached out a hand toward the entrance and felt the same force once again push back at him. It wasn't like there was an invisible wall there, but some sort of texturless elastic surface. It gave under his touch but the more it gave the more it forced back until, eventually, it forced back harder than he could push it.
"What's wrong, Gohan?" Videl asked, having heard his cry of shock.
"I can't get through." he said, still testing the give.
"What are you talking about?" Vegeta demanded as he stopped and looked back.
"I mean some sort of force wont let me cross." replied the teen.
Videl turned around and walked back to the entrance and tested it. She found no resistance going out so she tried going back in and still noticed no resistance. Meanwhile Gohan continued to push his hand against the force and be pushed back. "That's odd, I didn't have any problems." she said.
Gohan turned toward Kibito. "Any ideas?" he asked.
The man pursed his lips a little and walked over to the entrance. He, too, reached out a hand toward it. His hand reached in further than Gohan's had before it was forced back as well. "Is it possible?" he wondered softly.
"Is what possible?" Vegeta demanded. "Why can't the brat get through?"
Kibito was silent for a moment as he considered it. He had trouble believing that it was possible but yet... it seemed the only possibility. "If I am correct." he began at last. "The force blocking Gohan is the same force that prevents Mikomi or I from entering Hell." The tall man gazed at the difference in distance between his and Gohan's hands as he continued. "And if so, then his concentration of purity exceeds my own."
"Purity?" Videl asked, turning to look at Gohan. "Well, I guess that does kind of fit him. His whole family, really." Gohan just laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Either way, it means that he can not join you." Kibito said. "He lacks the means to enter Hell."
Vegeta snorted. "All he needs to do is transform." the royal said. The corner of his mouth lifted up slightly in a small smirk. "I doubt the Gohan that fought Cell seven years ago would have any issues crossing that boundry."
Gohan frowned at that statement but didn't protest the point. Vegeta was right, after all. The transformation wasn't just an increase in energy, there was a shift in mindset as well. Sure, after the initial anger and rage faded you could still function as you would normally, but there was still that little bit in there somewhere. It's one reason he'd limited his use of the second level the last seven years.
There was a flash and burst of gold as he transformed to the first level and then he stepped forward again. This time he passed clear through the entrance without issue and he felt no resistance to his passing at all.
"Amazing..." Kibito said slowly. "Gohan, you'll have to remain transformed so long as you are in Hell." he said. "I do not know what would occur if you were to revert to normal. At the very least you would be pushed out of the plane. But... no one of your nature has ever been down there so that is only a guess."
Gohan nodded. "Alright. It's been a while since I've stayed transformed for a long period but I should be able to manage long enough to get the job done."
There was another flash of gold as Vegeta transformed as well. "See if you can keep up." he said with a smirk, and then in a flash of yellow he was off through the tunnel and out of sight in less than a second.
"Come on, we better catch up." Videl said as she transformed as well and took off.
"You'll have to let dad know." Gohan said. "He'll probably have trouble getting through too." And with that Gohan took off after Vegeta and Videl.