Chapter 32: The Dragon Crew's Next Destination
With Yi Xing Long vanquished, the three Saiyans began to fly toward Dende's palace, at which point Piccolo's voice rang in their heads via telepathy.
"Goten! Trunks! And the future Trunks! It seems as though you guys had a close call just now, I have been watching this event unfold!"
"Piccolo-san! Is there an urgent matter you need addressed?" said Future Trunks, "We were headed your way, you must know that if you've seen this fight from there!"
"Yes. Since that Dragon Ball the Dragon named 'Yi Xing Long' managed to take form with negative energy by itself, it is much too dangerous to let the seven Dragon Balls linger on Earth where they could possibly be given life as well, particularly if they're in too close range! Since the Dragon Radar no longer works on them, I suggest that you go to Bulma and have her build boxes like Pilaf's that keep those Dragon Balls contained, and then visit Baba so that she can tell you the location of each of the Dragon Balls! With you three's speed this should not take too long, and luckily, Goten's injuries were fairly light! Can I trust you three boys to carry out my orders?"
"Light injuries, you say… My arm's still broken and I'm exhausted… But it's better to be safe than sorry, so I'm teleporting everyone to Capsule Corp. now, and then using the Super Radar to go and find the One-star Dragon Ball. Since Yi Xing Long was killed, it should be the one Dragon Ball that's been freed from negative energy."
"That's clever of you, Goten. You two Trunks's, go and have Bulma get started on making seven boxes of my precise instructions right away, and then head to Baba and gather the Dragon Balls before the sun sets! It's possible that if they were gathered in one spot, particularly during the nighttime where powers of darkness are at their peak, something terrible could happen!"
"Roger that!" said the three Saiyans as Goten teleported the two Trunks's to Capsule Corp., where Goten used Bulma's central computer to call the Spaceship GT and the Namekian spaceship back to Capsule Corp. via autopilot and used the Super Radar to immediately find the One-star Dragon Ball, after which Bulma quickly made the boxes in under 3 hours as per Piccolo's specifications. Afterwards, as Capsule Corp.'s doctors wrapped his broken arm in a cast, the two Trunks' made their way to Fortuneteller Baba's palace, where she pointed out the locations of the other six Dragon Balls.
"And that makes all seven Dragon Balls, including the one that is in Capsule Corp. with Goku's son. Be careful, you two… Not only can I not read the future at all this time, but the kind of horrible omen I feel as we speak is one I've never felt before in any of you fighters' conflicts… I love watching a good fight as much as anyone, but this time I truly fear for us all! A fear far worse than when the Earth was destroyed against Boo and Baby!"
"We know, we just got done vanquishing one of those so-called 'Evil Dragons'… And from what Goten tells us, it sounds like he wasn't alone, he called himself the mightiest of them all! To prevent the others from materializing, we're keeping the Dragon Balls isolated from each other in these boxes, see?" said Trunks.
"A smart maneuver. However, I'm afraid that may not be enough. Just make sure to keep your eyes on them at all times."
"Aye-aye, ma'am! We're off!" said the two Trunks's as they quickly scoured the planet to find the other six Dragon Balls, quickly locking them in the boxes and then forming barriers on each of them as an additional safety measure. Once they were done, they flew to Dende's Palace, where Popo greeted them.
"Greetings, you three boys… It has been a while since we saw you here. Unfortunately, at the time this palace had been usurped by Baby and us two were forced to serve his command… Kami-sama is just right ahead, Piccolo-san is with him."
"Dende's Ki is unusually small and Piccolo-san is suppressing his Ki… what gives?" said Goten as he walked up to the infirmary in Kami's Palace, where Dende was bedridden and muttering, "Evil… Evil is approaching us" while having a terrible fever.
"I see… The Dragon Balls being consumed by evil must've done this. Dende's life is linked to the Earth's Dragon Balls after all," said Goten.
Piccolo then said, "Take a look at those Dragon Balls, you three."
As they did so, they noticed that the seven Dragon Balls were each twitching inside the boxes they were contained in, just barely unable to latch onto Dende due to being locked in barriers. Goten, Trunks and Future Trunks each said, "Whoa! Wasn't expecting that! We're sure glad we did as Piccolo-san said and locked them in barriers!"
"Trunks! Future Trunks! Goten is not maintaining these barriers, correct?!" asked Piccolo, prompting them to answer, "Well, yeah. His arm is broken and he's still not recovered from the injuries the Dragon dealt him. What does that have to do with – "
Suddenly, Piccolo grabbed Goten by the collar and yelled angrily, "This is all your fault, Goten! Why did you not come up here to discuss this matter before rashly heading to New Namek by yourself?! How could you be so careless as to not even bother checking if you were followed?!"
"P-Piccolo-san, it's not like he did it on purpose, and so far none of us have di – "
"YOU THREE EASILY COULD HAVE, IF YI XING LONG HAD GONE AND FOUND THE OTHER SIX DRAGON BALLS FIRST! I TAUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THIS!"
"…."
Goten was a bit offended, but could not deny he played a part in all of this happening and began to look depressed, at which point Piccolo let go and then took hold of the seven barriers the two Trunks' were maintaining and said, "We head to New Namek right away! The Grand Elder Muri knows of the original Namekian Dragon Balls' history, and has told me that there was a time in which they, too, were consumed by the evil of the Shadow Dragons and set an entire galaxy ablaze! Which means that the Dragon Balls can run out of evil energy, and we may be able to utilize my Mafuba technique and the powers of the other Namekians to take the evil energy in six of the Earth's Dragon Balls, recover Shenlong, and then use his power to restore Porunga now that the original Dragon Balls have turned to stone! To do that, we head to New Namek now!"
"C-Can we really maintain barriers for two whole months? It takes that long to head there via spaceship, you know!" said Goten, Trunks and Future Trunks, at which point Piccolo then said, "Remember how Redjic had you all arrive on New Namek within minutes?! Even if the Namekian's energy is not large enough for you three to sense right away, installed in the Super Radar is a map of the entire universe! We simply lock onto the closest planet en route to New Namek with large enough Ki to sense, and then make the trip from there! Goten, we have no time to treat your wounded arm, we head for New Namek right now via your spaceship!"
"A-Alright, it sounds like time is of the essence! Future Trunks-kun, go grab a fuel tank from Capsule Corp.! Trunks-kun, let's go ahead and fuse to Gotenks, we may need to shoot another massive blast to whatever is the closest planet to New Namek like we did last time!"
"Can we really do that with your broken arm, though?"
"Allow me," said Piccolo as he materialized a large needle and stabbed it into Goten's arm to straighten it out, causing him to scream in pain. Wiping a small drop of tear from his eye, Goten powered up to equalize his Ki to Trunks and fused into Gotenks, who then pulled the needle out of his arm and yelled, "Time to try out my dad's new finishing move! Final Shine… ATTACK!"
Gotenks went Super Saiyan 2 and shot a green beam of massive, pure energy in the direction of a planet within a dozen light years of New Namek, and as the blast was within a few minutes' range of the planet, then went Super Saiyan 3, grabbed the Super Radar and Piccolo, teleporting to Future Trunks' location, and then teleported all the way to the planet along with the seven barriers Piccolo was forming and the fuel tank and the Spaceship GT's capsule. Gotenks then yelled, "Piss off!" and repelled the green blast with a mouth blast, causing it to destroy an uninhabited planet afar, at which point he then said, "Whew! That made me hungry! Let's go ahead and fly to New Namek right away, and hope they got a feast there!" before reverting to normal and falling asleep on a couch inside Spaceship GT while Piccolo maintained his barriers and Future Trunks piloted the spaceship toward New Namek's direction. Thanks to Gotenks' help, the distance to the planet had been reduced incredibly heavily, with only about two hours being needed to make the trip. En route, Gotenks defused and Trunks then went and redressed Goten's arm wound in bandages, while Piccolo was still suppressing his Ki…
"So finally, we're about to land! It feels like yesterday we were training with Redjic to go fight Baby, doesn't it, Goten?" said Trunks while looking out the window, where New Namek's green atmosphere could be seen from afar.
"R-Right… It does," said Goten with a sullen look on his face.
"What's wrong, Goten? Don't tell me you're still down in the dumps about Yi Xing Long and this whole incident. Relax, man. That matter's taken care of, we're still keeping those Dragon Balls in separate boxes and in barriers, and soon enough we'll figure out a way to trap the negative energy in them someplace safe."
"To be honest, I can't help but get the feeling we're headed for some kind of disaster… As if we're ignoring something urgent. I'm with Goten here," said Future Trunks.
"Don't get anxious, the two of you. If we screw this up even slightly, the evil energy contained in those balls might break loose and we could all be slaughtered by the Evil Dragons. The landing is but just twenty minutes away, you three should eat all you have available in the refrigerator and prepare for the worst but hope for the best," said Piccolo.
"Let's go ahead and land at the Grand Elder's village, Future Trunks-kun. I teleported most of the Namekians gathered in the village away, I'll bring them back after you guys land. I'll be gone for just a bit!" said Goten as he put his left index and middle fingers on his forehead and teleported to the planet he brought the Namekians to safety in, where he soon explained the situation and then teleported back to the village just as the spaceship landed.
"Hello, welcome to New Namek, Prince Trunks… And the future one that came here with Vegeta! And Piccolo… I trust that you aren't possessed by some evil Tsufurian eggs this time, eh? Ho ho h – "
Just as Muri said this, Piccolo shot a mouth blast not at Muri, but toward someone who had been observing this landing – Redjic. Unexpectedly hit by a black and purple blast and run straight through the left shoulder, Redjic moaned and spat blood before falling from the precipice he stood on, leaving a trail of blood.
"G-Gwarrrrrk! T-That isn't Piccolo! You three, get away from him right now!" said Redjic.
"Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrh!" yelled "Piccolo" as he let loose a massive, black and purple aura that crackled with violet electricity, as his appearance grew even more demonic than when he fought Goten and Trunks two years prior in the final battle against Baby's forces.
"P-Piccolo-san?! W-What is this?! T-This Ki… It feels… It feels like…!"
"BWAAAHAHAAHAHAHAHA! I've beguiled you yet again, Son Goten!" yelled the possessed being, "It is I, Yi Xing Long! When you went ahead and mentioned the Ultimate Dragon Balls that Piccolo created before he and the former Kami split into separate beings, I had a change of plans! Originally I'd planned to simply gather the Earth Dragon Balls and make them all part of me to enhance my power, but contained in even one of the Ultimate Dragon Balls is an energy that is incomparably greater than the entire set on Earth! As such, I simply pretended to be destroyed by you two's 'surprise' attack and then possessed Piccolo while Dende was unconscious as a mass of dark energy, and had you three go ahead and have those boxes crafted and the seven Earth Dragon Balls gathered in order to buy the time to summon the Ultimate Dragon Balls to my location! Feast your eyes on this!"
Yi Xing Long, possessing Piccolo, took off the latter's turban to reveal the seven Ultimate Dragon Balls growing out of his forehead, each and every one of them polluted with his negative energy. Then then said, "I'd wanted to allow my negative energy even more time to fester in these Ultimate Dragon Balls, but using Piccolo's life force was more than enough! In addition, I'd also sensed that Redjic was on his way back to this planet… And he may have been a thorn on my side, had he gone ahead and left this planet once he saw that it was nearly uninhabited, and then joined this battle sensing our powers!"
"Our powers?! Who's 'we'?!" yelled Future Trunks, at which point Yi Xing Long then made Piccolo's upper body significantly enlarge as the One-star Ultimate Dragon Ball embedded on his head glowed before disappearing into his flesh as Piccolo then spat an egg, and the dark glow around him dimmed. From the egg, an energy like the Dragon Team had never sensed in years erupted, and Yi Xing Long was reborn, this time without a Dragon Ball on his forehead and a crimson, cracked Dragon Ball with a black star in the center protruding from his chest, around which were a collection of veins. He then used his psychic power to shatter all of the boxes containing the Earth Dragon Balls and placed the One-star Earth Dragon Ball in his palm, upon which it immediately darkened into a blackish, dark blue and was absorbed into his palm. After doing this, Yi Xing Long's power doubled, and his energy quickly surrounded the landscape in a horrifying, evil fog.
"Now do you see?! This was my plan all along! Bwahahahahaha! Furthermore, allow me to introduce you to my trusted servants!"
Yi Xing Long beckoned for the other Ultimate Dragon Balls to emerge from within Piccolo as eggs also, and six differently colored Dragons emerged from each egg that Piccolo birthed, upon which they all chanted, "Master Yi… We are spawns of your energy and you gave us life. We shall follow your orders to the letter."
"Very well! It appears that the process went without a hitch, the evil will I implanted in each of the Ultimate Dragon Balls allowed you six to be reflections of my will and soul! Just as I consumed the corresponding Earth Dragon Ball to greatly increase my power, I order you six to each ingest Dragon Balls matching your number! Show these three peons the true terror of the Evil Dragons of Darkness!"
"Yes, sir…" said all six Dragons as they each took a corrupted Earth Dragon Ball corresponding to the number of stars in the Ultimate Dragon Ball they were birthed from, and using the personalities of the Evil Dragon spirits in the Earth Dragon Balls as templates, they consumed the balls to transform into more individualized and far more powerful states.
"Ran Xing Long of the Two-star Dragon Balls, at your service!" yelled a green-skinned Dragon that appeared as a cross between a toad and a lizard.
"San Xing Long of the Three-Star Dragon Balls! My power is of freezing others in the most frighteningly low temperatures known to man!" yelled a teal Dragon with large, bat-like wings that had folds of a darker blue, who had a crimson, Three-star Dragon Ball on his chest and a blue, corrupted Earth Dragon Ball on his forehead.
"I am Su Xing Long, twin to San! Born of the Four-star Dragon Balls, my power is of the most scorching of all heat!" yelled a similarly-shaped Dragon, who was instead colored crimson and orange.
"And I am Wu Xing Long, of the mighty lightning and thunder! I am the Dragon spawned of the Five-star Dragon Balls!" said a scarlet-colored Dragon whose form was reminiscent of a very muscular version of Buyon, with a pterodactyl-like horn growing out of his head and spider-like sets of legs that all crackled with electricity.
"I am the beautiful Ryu Xing Long, of the Six-star Dragon Balls! My form my be deceptively dainty, but I am deadly!" said a feminine Dragon, whose fins below the waist were surrounding her legs like a dress, with two Dragon Balls embedded in a pair of black, angelic wings.
"Finally, I am Qi Xing Long! I am the Dragon in control of the element of earth! An unstoppable beast that can plow into any surface, including your own very bodies!" said a Dragon that was cyan-colored with an appearance very much resembling a Western Dragon.
"T-Their Ki… It's absolutely massive! A-And they're still in control of Piccolo-san… We don't have a chance in hell!" yelled Future Trunks, as he instinctively transformed into Super Saiyan 2 in sheer terror.
"Oh, believe me… They won't be necessary to fight you. I merely had them take form to show you the futility of all of your efforts. I alone an plenty enough for you three," said Yi Xing Long.
"D-Dammitttttt! Trunks-kun, we have no choice but to fuse!" yelled Goten as he blasted a tree into smithereens using a Kiai and used a large piece of wood to stab his arm as a splint, at which point he went Super Saiyan.
"Right! We have to remain calm, if we lose our cool in a situation like this, we're toast!" yelled Trunks as he, too, powered up to Super Saiyan, at which point Ryan Xing Long said, "Hey! You really think we'll just wait for you to perform your little dance?!" and prepared to launch a dark, toxic fume, only for Yi Xing Long to put his hand over his mouth and say, "Just let them do it… As things are now, they'll not put up the slightest bit of a fight, and that's no fun! Hwhahahahahaha! I shall take on these two by myself, and you six can boil them, skin them alive, do whatever you want once I am finished with them!"
"FUUUU-SIOOOOON…HAAAAAA!" yelled Goten and Trunks as they fused into Super Saiyan Gotenks, who then used psychokinesis to grab hold of a samurai sword they'd left in Spaceship GT and went Super Saiyan 3, yelling, "Super Gotenks-sama makes his appearance once again! You'll regret not getting the other six to help, Yi Xing Long!"
"I'll offer you my assistance, Gotenks! T-This takes me back, to our first battle against Baby! If we can at least take out their leader, we'll manage something!" yelled Future Trunks as he powered up to his full strength. During this distraction, Muri attempted to sneak up to Redjic and heal him, only to be frozen in place by San Xing Long, who said, "Another stunt like that, and you'll all be scorched until there's nothing left, by my brother Su Xing Long… You're all being kept alive only as spectators to this show of horrors!"
"You all can shut right the fuck up!" yelled Gotenks as he pulled the splint out of his arm and then used his Ki to stitch his wound before swinging at Yi Xing Long at full force….!
To be continued…