Dodoria's sharp nails cut into Gohan's forehead as he screams from the tightening force around his skull.
Goku's aura explodes with raging red.
"Let my son go!"
"Make me," says Dodoria with a smile.
Goku launches at Dodoria and unleashes a barrage of attacks. Every kick and punch glance off his opponent's head and torso. Dodoria laughs at the futile effort.
Zizzoop! Zizzoop!
Green bullets plow into both of Dodoria's eyes. The flash blinds them. Dodoria rubs his sockets with his free forearm to try and clear the brightness. Goku looks back to find Raditz with a smoking palm. All but his index finger and thumb are curled in.
"Kakarot, you idiot," he says. "I told you you can't hit him through that shield even if you reach his power level. But if you can match his strength, maybe you can restrain him to give us a chance."
That's right, thinks Goku. I was able to break his hold before even if I couldn't break his armor.
He grabs Dodoria's crushing thumb and middle finger in each of his hands. He pries them apart, providing some relief to Gohan.
"You dirty monkeys!" says Dodoria, his eyes partially open. He raises a fist to punch.
Goku hops away from the attack, dragging Dodoria's grappling arm with him. He stuffs one foot into Dodoria's armpit and the other against his neck. He straightens his body so Dodoria can only lash out at his feet. He continues to work at the fingers, loosening them one at a time.
Dodoria charges an energy blast. Goku fiddles with the last couple fingers as it grows.
"Die!" says Dodoria.
He lets go of Gohan to withdraw his arm and fires the blast. A huge beam explodes across the land.
Raditz raises his arm to block the heat and debris. When his arm comes down, a smoky cloud rises from a massive scar in the earth. Goku and Gohan are nowhere to be seen.
"Teh! I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up that Kakarot could take on Dodoria. Now I'm really in for it."
He finds the menacing, merciless eyes of Dodoria gazing with unsatisfied hunger.
"Oh man, I'm dead."
"Hey Dodoria!"
Both Raditz and Dodoria look up to the voice. Goku stands upon a hill. Gohan rests at his feet.
"You're going to pay for threatening my son."
The Kaioken lights up again. Every pulsation of the aura beats pain into his body. He breathes against the exhaustion.
I know my ki is draining fast, he thinks, but using that technique drains his too. If I'm careful, maybe I can outlast him.
Dodoria checks his scouter. His opponent's reading doubles to 15,000, nearly identical to his own.
I can't believe this tailless monkey can still almost match my power level, he thinks. I used too much on those brats. But that trick of his is reducing his stamina faster than mine. My power level should remain twice his normal strength until he finally runs out of fuel.
Goku blitzes from his post. He covers the distance instantly with a raised fist.
Dodoria smiles and punches in retaliation. His fist goes right through the fading image of Goku. Something clobbers the back of his head. He turns with a swinging arm, but no one is there. Another blow from his blind spot. Again he is too slow to react.
"It must be tiring maintaining that shield of yours," says Goku. "But you better not drop it for a second."
Dodoria grinds his teeth. This bastard thinks he has more endurance than me. But he'll tire first moving that fast while trying to break my armor. I just have to be patient.
Raditz stands amazed at the effort of the two combatants' output. The pink and red clash in showers of sparks as they make contact. He watches Goku's muscles twitch in desperation as sweat soaks his clothes.
This is definitely the ability he used to compete with Vegeta, thinks Raditz. But he never used it this long in that fight. How much longer can he maintain it?
Goku strikes Dodoria in the cheek. His aura sputters. He retreats to a safe distance as it goes out.
Dodoria breathes heavily through a smile.
"Looks like you're winding down after wasting all that energy," he says, checking his scouter.
His jaw slackens. Goku's power level reads about 7,000 while his own has dropped to nearly 13,000.
That can't be right, he thinks. He should be less than half of mine. If he doubles his power again, he could start to do a little damage.
Dodoria demands an explanation. "How come your base power didn't drop as much as before? You were killing yourself to move that fast and hit that hard. You should have wasted away after that!"
"Well you're half right," says Goku. A smile flashes on his face. "I was actually pulling my punches and focusing solely on my speed. Since you can't tell the difference between a strong strike or a weak one when they all bounce off you, I held back most of my energy on every attack.
"But of course the threat of me hitting at full strength kept you hiding inside your armor. You had no choice but to keep it at maximum power, so you were the one wasting your energy against empty strikes. Now let's try a Kaioken times three. Heyaaa!"
Dodoria staggers back as Goku's power level blows past his estimations. His scouter explodes as it rises to 21,000.
He's actually going to do it? thinks Raditz. With that much of a difference, Goku should finally be able to crack that armor!
With lungs thundering for air and lightning stinging their insides, Goku throws himself at Dodoria with a coiling kick. It swings, and Dodoria blocks. The leg knocks aside the guard, leaving Dodoria exposed. Goku swivels his hips and brings his other foot across Dodoria's face.
Pink fragments chip loose from the protective shell as tiny cracks splinter from the point of impact. Dodoria hurdles away. Goku flies overtop of him landing jab after jab. Dodoria bounces off the ground like a ball from every hit. The armor splinters with each one.
###
Zarbon watches his scouter with horror.
"How can this be happening? Attention all soldiers near Dodoria's position. Head to his location and provide backup. I repeat, provide backup."
He surveys his own squad.
"Appule! Take five men and lend aid immediately."
"But what about the Dragon Balls?" says Appule.
"We have six of them already and plenty of people to search. Now go!"
"Yes, sir!" he says.
He calls out some names, and they all follow him across the sky.
Vegeta glances at Bulma with a smirk. She sees it and looks down at her lap.
Is he really planning something? she thinks. Or is this a trick?
She glances at a locked console beside the driver's seat.
If I can get my Capsules from there, maybe I can escape in all this confusion. But I have to get the Dragon Radar somehow.
###
Goku kicks Dodoria, sending him crashing against a rocky structure. He comes to a stop as his aura blows out. His entire body hangs limp as the pain turns his muscles to slush.
Dodoria falls to his hands and knees with the small mountain crumbling around him. Blood and bruises mark his face. Missing patches of his physical armor grow bigger with every breath.
They stare at one another, fighting for air.
I finally did some real damage, thinks Goku. But I don't have enough left to break through again. Neither of us have much ki to continue.
"This can't be happening," says Dodoria. "I will not be humiliated by a monkey."
He pushes himself to his feet and charges full tilt at Goku. Raditz slips in beside him and sucker punches his cheek. Dodoria's shoulder grinds the ground as he flies off.
"How about two monkeys," says Raditz. He looks at Goku. "Sorry for hanging back, but things are moving a little more my speed now."
"No sweat," says Goku. "I'm grateful for the help."
"That's what big brothers are for, right?"
They share a smirk.
"Well aren't you two adorable," says Dodoria, standing up. "I just love a good family reunion. Almost as much as I love funerals."
Dodoria charges with unexpected speed. He catches both Saiyans in the crooks of his arms. Their stomachs bruise as the thick biceps smack them. Dodoria steamrolls along as they try to punch at his face and kick at his gut to no avail.
Dodoria vanishes, leaving them to coast through the air. Too huge elbows spike their backs as Dodoria reappears. They launch off clutching their injuries and collapse in a heap.
Dodoria laughs. "It doesn't matter how hard you try. I'll just keep trading blows until you collapse."
Goku and Raditz struggle to push themselves to their knees.
"So now what?" says Raditz.
"We need to make better use of this being two on one," says Goku. "Keep him guessing so he has to keep up that shield."
"And exhaust him. Sounds good. Let's give it all we got."
"Right."
Raditz charges with a readied fist. Goku trails behind. Dodoria invites the attack by taking a stance. Raditz feigns the punch and vanishes at high speed as Dodoria tries to exchange hits.
As his knuckles swing in empty air, Goku appears behind him with a rolling kick. Dodoria twists to throw an elbow at him. Goku zips away before either attack can land.
Raditz flanks the opponent with a flying kick. Dodoria reaches to grab him. Raditz retreats his leg and bounds to the side. As Dodoria follows the movement, Goku appears in front of him with a rising foot.
His heel knocks back Dodoria's chin and lifts him from the ground. Raditz plants a foot and leaps into a backflip. Coming around a second time, Raditz sticks his toes to Dodoria's stomach. Their foe plants in the dirt, and the Saiyans drop back, sharing a nod of support.
They swirl in around Dodoria as he rises once more. They juke in and out with threatening attacks. Between the fake outs and actual strikes, they keep Dodoria off balance without an escape option.
Goku and Raditz square up back to back and shoulder tackle Dodoria. The force shoves their opponent back. They stick out their open palms. A blue and red beam blast Dodoria in the torso and send him rocketing into the sea. They catch their breaths.
A geyser of water spouts from the ocean. Dodoria leads it as he jumps back to the land. He chuckles.
"That was pretty good. What else you got?"
Goku and Raditz grit their teeth and share a look of concern. They charge in again.
As they close the distance, Dodoria leaps high with his hands over his head. An orange sphere springs to life between his palms.
"Shit!" says Raditz. "Clear out now!"
Goku tries to ask why but Raditz is already rushing away. Goku sprints in the opposite direction.
"There's no escaping this," says Dodoria, throwing down his hands. "Makishimamu Basuta."
The wave expands from his hand to engulf the land below. He pumps his arms several times to push out one energy burst after another. They feed the explosion consuming the field while he rises higher to avoid being overtaken by the growing destruction. After a dozen strokes, he tires and lets up.
He searches the smoke as it starts to clear. Two bodies appear but neither are mobile.
"Looks like that finally did it," he says. "That attack is supposed to wipe out armies not be used for a couple monkeys."
As the cloud of debris dissipates, the scorched earth below reveals itself. All vegetation and rock formations are stripped clean. Only flat, blackened dirt remains. The bodies of Goku and Raditz lie half buried face down.
Dodoria plops behind Raditz. He grabs a fist full of Raditz's locks and yanks back. Raditz yells as he is lifted to his knees by the strands of his hair.
"You've proven quite a nuisance boy," says Dodoria. "Now I've got a lot of frustration to work out, so this will be far worse than any of your past beatings."
Knuckles crack against Raditz's back. His armor fractures under the force. His vision blurs as agony flees his body in screams.
Goku staggers to his feet at the sound of Raditz's pained cries. His arms dangle as his back slumps. Burns and bruises leave his skin and clothes a mess. He grimaces as he draws out what little ki he has left. His muscles ache as they are called to action.
He glides along the ground and draws back an elbow. His fist flies forward to strike.
Dodoria spins to catch his punch in his puffy palm. The thick fingers clasp it and twist Goku's arm aside. He yanks Goku into a vicious headbutt to the forehead.
"Still got some fight I see," says Dodoria as Goku teeters about. "I'll fix that."
A right hook bludgeons Goku's head. Tears squish from his left eye as blood spurts from the nostril. Dodoria pumps a fist into Goku's gut. The sour taste of bile fills his mouth as saliva leaps from it.
"I'm going to rend the life out of you," says Dodoria.
He spreads his arms to catch Goku in their embrace. Raditz appears and shoves Goku aside. The arms ensnare him. Dodoria lifts him from his feet as his biceps cinch around his waist.
"Well, well, look what I caught," says Dodoria. "I'm going to squeeze you in half."
Dodoria tightens his arms. The sound of crunching bones echo inside. Raditz screams and writhes. His hip bones bow as his pelvis crushes in on itself.
Dodoria opens his gaping maw to laugh. Deep bellowing chuckles blast Raditz's face with air. Raditz stares down the gullet.
With his good arm, Raditz grabs the back of Dodoria's head. He rams the stump of his severed arm into Dodoria's open mouth. Raditz squeezes his shoulders to hold the lock.
"You've always had a big mouth Dodoria," says Raditz, leaning into Dodoria's ear. "Now tell me, does that shield of yours only protect the outside of your body?"
Dodoria yells through the blockage in his mouth. He bites and tears at the flesh. Raditz winces but holds firm.
Raditz channels energy to the stump of his arm.
Dodoria feels the temperature of his mouth rise. He releases his grapple and tries to push Raditz away, but the Saiyan tightens his grip. Dodoria starts pounding on Raditz's back and sides. The ribs and vertebrae clack as they bang together. The armor protecting the soft insides breaks with each strike. As it crumbles, the vulnerable organs slam around their cavities.
Raditz coughs up blood with each hit but hangs on for dear life as his energy crescendos. He screams and fires a pinkish blast using the remnants of his robotic arm as a focal point.
The back of Dodoria's head lights up as rays stream from it. Raditz screams louder as the skull gives under the pressure. The energy explodes from the back of it, removing everything behind Dodoria's ears.
Dodoria's corpse falls backward. Raditz bounces on his chest and rolls off the blubbery body. On his back, he watches blood pool beneath Dodoria's head.
The sound of someone crawling gets his attention. He finds Goku scooting over to him.
Goku giggles and gives him a thumbs up. Raditz manages to lift one corner of his lips before passing out.
"Dad! Are you okay," says Gohan, hobbling to him as fast as he can.
"I'm okay," he says. He leans back on an elbow to hug Gohan with the other arm.
Krillin approaches holding a shoulder.
"I wasn't sure if we were going to make it out of that one," he says.
Dende runs up to them and pants.
"How is everyone doing? Those wounds look nasty."
"Oh Dende," says Gohan, wrapping his arms around Dende's shoulders. "I know how scared you were to come with us, but you did it. Thank you."
Dende smiles and returns the hug.
"Yeah little guy," says Krillin, "you're a lifesaver."
"Uh oh," says Goku, "some evil auras are moving towards us. We need to leave immediately."
"Oh man," says Krillin. "We're not in any shape to fight. Dende, can you heal Goku?"
Dende shakes his head. "I'm still worn out from the first time. I need to rest for a while."
"Darn, okay. We'll just have to lay low. Goku, can you move?"
"Enough, yeah."
Krillin and Gohan help him to his feet.
"Wait," says Goku as the other three try to leave. "We can't leave him."
"Are you serious Goku?" says Krillin. "That's the man who killed Yamcha!"
"I know it is, and I'm not happy about it. But he's my brother, and he helped us survive. They'll probably kill him for being a traitor."
"Good!"
"Krillin. Please?"
"Uh, we don't have time for this. You and Gohan carry him if it's that important to you. I'm leaving. Come on Dende, let's get you back to your people."
Krillin grabs Dende's hand. They jog to the edge of the island and hover across the ocean. Goku and Gohan follow, carrying Raditz between them.