Dragon Ball - The Heart of the Adventurers

By LastationLover5000 and Demod 20, edited by Firegod00

Chapter 14 - The Crane and the Wolf

Coll was astounded. He had come to this planet looking for some meager sport, perhaps a little warm-up when looking for the traitor and his Earth-raised brother. Instead -amidst his own jeering boast- he had been injured and felt blood slide warmly down his chest. Placing a hand over it, he raised his palm shakily to look at it with his slanted, now widened eyes.

This was his blood? When was the last time he bled like so?

As Tenshinhan promised him to try harder, a chuckle escaped his throat. The chuckle became a giggle; soon becoming a spurt of raucous laughter. While he barked out loud in a fit of spit and spurting blood, his cohorts looked on with a mixture of amusement and annoyance as he put his hand on his wound. To the amazement and horror of his enemies, he applied a white-hot brand of ki over the wound, cauterizing it with a noisy grilling sound as his flesh was cooked and the perforation sealed over. Releasing his palm, now blackened from the burned blood, one could see a red steaming palm print layered over the hole created by the three-eyed warrior.

"I like you, three-eyes! I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun!" Coll punctuated with a broad, savage grin. A pale yellow hue spread across the bone braided dreads, clanking them like macabre wind chimes just as the rest of his body fumed with a luminous glow. A swirling wind twisted about his feet before shooting out in a fierce gale, following with him as he charged forward with fists clenched and smile bared.

In his forward thrust, the triclops fighter swiveled his arms in crisscross swipes, clashing with the Saiyan's prepared limbs. Tongue sticking out, the Saiyan jutted a knee upward to impact the Crane User's chest with an audible clap. To his surprise, Tenshinhan caught the kneecap with his left hooked forefingers, visibly crackling with focused ki. Swiping back with an explosive pop, the Saiyan skid back and raised his arms as the skilled Earthling threw a machine-gun of precision based impacts, each one as strong as the one that left a hole in his chest prior.

"Man, look at him go!" Kuririn remarked with an agape expression. The Crane Fighter had always been one step ahead of him and Yamcha, with his talent and skills exceeding theirs. The born prodigy was one of the few that could keep at the heels of Goku, and he was showing it now. "Looks like we found out what Tenshinhan's reason for staying on the palace longer than we did."

"I'll say!" Yamcha remarked, eyes tracking his rival from the Tenkaichi Budokai with fervent attention. "He's giving that Saiyan a run for his money. We might even get through this!"

"Don't be fooled," Raditz sneered, retaining a stoic if not completely cynical expression compared the stony silent countenance the Nameccian had next to him. "Coll is just feeling out his target. He takes the longest out of all of them to get motivated to treating his prey seriously. It's his trademark flaw, hence why he's got so many scars on his purposefully bare chest."

"You'd think he'd want protection," Piccolo mumbled, eyes glaring as the Saiyan occasionally took more hits, blood spurting and wounds opening up as Tenshinhan continued to land blows while he barely received a scratch. "It's almost like he wants to be maimed."

"He's sick in the head," Raditz scoffed, visibly twitching out of disgust and trepidation. "He thinks he gains strength from getting pain and injury from stronger opponents. There's something really wrong with him, even as Saiyans go, he's a savage."

"Is that why he wears bones?" Pan asked with a tilt of the head.

"I guess, if you want to dumb it down, yeah," Her uncle shrugged with a snort. "He's a bit of a sentimentalist. All of those bones are ripped from his most favorite kills and formed into his own style. It changes from time to time, wear and tear all that. That sword he carries is some big brute's spine that almost killed him once. He was using the talons of a flying creature that broke against its skin before that."

"That's dumb," She pouted with furrowed brows. "He's dumb. Bones aren't good against ki. They break like candy."

"Unless you run ki through it, you're right," Piccolo corrected her, his eyes noticing that not a single fragment of his braids had been broken during the exchange so far. "Which means he really is allowing Tenshinhan to hurt him."

"He's abusing our inherent trait of getting stronger the longer we fight. If he wins and survives this, he'll get a significant power boost," Raditz grimaced, a bead of sweat appearing across his scalp, melding into his mane as he muttered out a growl. "As it stands, he's a hair's breadth beneath Aspara in power last time I checked. He could be even stronger, it's hard to say."

A sudden crack brought attention to the fight once more. Tenshinhan was hit in the chest, sending him flying backwards a significant distance. A look of satisfaction bore on Coll's face, now enamored by a dozen bleeding holes from his enemy's attacks hitting true. But just as before, he burned the surface of each injury as he ran towards his prey. Just before the three-eyed fighter could hit the rock face near his friends, he opened his eyes and landed on it perpendicularly with his feet.

"You're mine!" Coll howled out with glee, swiping a clawed thrash towards him, unleashing a malicious wave of mustard colored ki at him. In the flickering Zanzōken, the sediment was vaporized, a good chunk of it lost and blown apart by his mere gesture. Before he could turn around, he felt his hair yanked and his whole body lifed off his feet to be smashed into the ground. Bouncing up from it, Tenshinhan reared back his palm and unleashed a potent kiai from it directly into his face, making him sputter and spew blood while being shoved back.

"Coll! Stop messing around!" Aspara jeered out as she saw her colleague get back onto his feet. He turned to glare at her over his shoulder, to which she was nonplussed. Tapping her boot on the ground, she flipped her hair as she fixated her stare at him. "If you don't take this fight seriously, I'll step in and end this for you. At this rate, you'll make us look bad; in front of the traitor no less."

"I'm inclined to agree with her," Vegeta intoned, his grin threatening to disappear as he gave a glance towards Coll. "This Earthling has proved his mettle by now. You should still have fun, even at full power."

"Tch, fine, yer majesty," He halfway conceded with an ounce of sarcasm, returning to face Tenshinhan. Grasping the hilt of his sword, he unsheathed it with a graveled noise, revealing the immense razor sharpened spine in all of its glory. Holding the leather bound handle, he laced it with the same dull yellow that covered his body, sparking and shaking with intensity with his grip.

A practice swing to the right up-heaved the land, shattering the ground and digging it up by the recesses for a large berth. Looking back at Tenshinhan, he had the satisfaction of seeing him retain a guarded expression. Channeling his ki into the weapon, he swung once more, this time in a cleaving arc of light and cutting pressure towards the Crane Fighter.

Recognizing its potency and taking into consideration the damage potential to his nearby allies, Tenshinhan closed his eyes and inhaled. When he felt the heat begin to singe the surface of his skin, he opened them and let out a deafening howl. Using the decibels of his unleashed voice, a sonic blast was transformed with ki into a kiai so strong that it collided into the encroaching pressure ki slash. Buckling in midair, it soon was blasted into oblivion, eradicated before everyone's eyes.

But Coll wasn't in sight.

The sound of slight clanking of his bone-dreads could be heard despite his near invisibility at the speed he maneuvered. Tenshinhan looked around, all three eyes homing in on his enemy and arms cocked at the ready. Then, in an instant, he turned and slashed his ki laced fingers to hit a slashing sword; both objects creating a concussive wave that cratered the ground beneath their feet and kicked up a wind of debris around them.

"So you can see me? Good. Here I thought I put these bones in my hair purely for enhancing my grizzly image," Coll remarked with a barking laugh, pressuring his sword with one arm against Tenshinhan's fingers, the digits and razor edge casting a field of sparks between their visages. "You're definitely a lot more fun than the last guy I-!"

"Shut up!" Tenshinhan shouted, gripping the blade and yanking it aside. With the weapon out of the way, he swung his left foot around to hit him in the face. To his chagrin he saw the Saiyan catch his ankle before it made contact. Just as he maneuvered his free hand towards him, he saw a well of ki open from his mouth.

And fire at him.

A wave of pain hit him as he was struck by the Saiyan, sending him skidding back and burned but relatively intact. Grimacing, he saw his enemy press the advantage, thrusting his sword to hit his third eye and poke out his skull the other side. Cocking his head to the side, he received a graze on his cheek, ducking over the follow-up stroke. Seeing him raise the sword to swing down, he advantageously crouched and swept his feet, making him lose balance.

Rushing forth, he saw him cut through the earth as he fell and arc the bone-serrated spine up to catch him across his torso to bifurcate him cleanly. Instead, he nicked him in the left shoulder, shallow but still left a bloody smear across his chest. Watching Coll easily balance himself on one hand upside down, he glared as he wiped the blood from his cheek.

"I can't afford to get too close without a proper opening. That sword is going to be a problem," He decided with furrowed brows. Closing his eyes, he inhaled and exhaled calmly. Clasping his arms in front of himself, he'd vibrate visibly until several copies of himself in identical image revealed before the Saiyan. "You've left me no choice but to resort to one of my trump cards."

"It's the Fist of the Four Bodies!" Yamcha declared with a nostalgic smile on his face. "Awesome! That'll give him an edge!"

"Just don't tell the enemy that his power goes to all four bodies-wait," Kuririn stopped short of his warning, blinking at the sudden phenomena unfolding. The four bodies were multiplying again. And again. And again. And then there were a whole lot more than simply four. Stumbling back, he blinked and gawked with Yamcha while Piccolo and Raditz looked on with their own looks of surprise. "I-Is that a hundred?!"

"Look! An army of of one!" Pan gleefully proclaimed with an excited clap.

"Are my senses deceiving me, or is his power level not dropping? What's going on here?!" Piccolo declared with uncertainty what technique or method Tenshinhan was using.

"Whatever it is, it certainly is making them nervous," Raditz remarked with a smug grin.

"Nappa! Are you seeing this?" Vegeta inquired with a turn of his head.

"My Scouter's actin' up. It says he's still just as strong. Every single one of 'em!" The bald general informed with a nervous look back at the prince.

"Do ya think he's got a unique trait to duplicate himself endlessly?" Kuka asked with a scratch of his chin, turning his spiky-braided head to skinnier yet well-toned Gula. "What do ya think?"

"Hmph, it's a common trait that some people have duplication abilities. Remember the Feratons?"

"Ah yeah," Kuka nodded, looking over at Bocho whose usual tired demeanor had one of stoic intensity towards the fight. "Heh, looks like you're actually excited, aren't ya, Bocho?"

He said nothing, simply observing with hands kept at his sides. They occasionally twitched while his face-painted expression demonstrated an ounce of interest. Looking over to Coll, the feral Saiyan looked practically ecstatic at the sudden development. As usual, he was blinded to the potential danger he faced that all of the other Saiyans could see.

Something was amiss, but the savage colleague of theirs was too high on adrenaline and blood lust to notice.

"Alriiiiiiiiiight!" Coll howled out, his ki venting in a blistering wind as he observed each copy of Tenshinhan. "The more the merrier! I want to see a hundred bodies, bloodied and decapitated, before my feet! Let's rock!"

Tenshinhan had a different idea in mind. Placing his palm on the ground, same as the rest in a mimicking fashion, he unleashed a pulse of ki that kicked up a sudden dust cloud to surround them and the observers' field of vision. The dust stung Coll's eyes, but did nothing to dim his enjoyment of the fight. Seeing a silhouette approach his left, he cut towards it, beheading it and watching it turn to static. Blinking, he swung with confusion at another body and watched it too become a dissipating effigy.

"Th-They're all fake! None of them bleed!" Coll cried out with frustration, continuing to cut through one after the other. "You tricked me, three-eyes! I don't want to cut a hundred fakes! I only want to cut YOU!"

Gathering a culmination of howling ki around his blade, he whipped it around, unleashing a blast wave so powerful that the fighters on both sides braced themselves from the earth upheaving shockwave. Amidst the ground being turned inside out, dozens of clones being dispelled, a single Tenshinhan lanced an arm through the wave of dust and caught the sword.

Proceeding to snap it between his fingers.

"You-!" Coll began to shout with rage at his breaking weapon when a cascading trio of golden beams erupted from the ground around him. Seeing that there were three of them, he realized they were actual clones, having buried themselves during the smoke bomb the real one initiated. Despite his arms reaching in time, both weapon's hilt and hand were pierced, running through his body in two directions along with the third penetrating his midsection at an angle from behind upwards. Spewing out blood, he looked aghast at the severity of the damage inflicted. "H-How...how do you have...so much power?!"

"Four Fists originally divided my ki into four parts, mine and three clones. I disguised my Zanzōken to reflect that none of my power diminished, figuring you or your buddies would see through it if I didn't. Unfortunately for you, I also had discovered that, like all other techniques, if I charge it I can increase the amount of power it has; including how much power my clones and I have when I commence the technique," He explained calmly, stoically glaring at his savage enemy with nothing but contempt. "But you, who revel in pain and bloodshed, would never have even considered such a plan. It is a good thing that Saiyans aren't big thinkers and have no talent for true martial arts."

"Damn you!" Coll snarled, shakily raising his hands grab hold of Tenshinhan's neck. "I'll kill you for saying such trash to my face!"

Tenshinhan wasted no movement. Whipping both arms aside with his own, he landed a pair of punches a foot apart one above the other at the man's wounded chest with a loud crack. In an orange gleam of whining ignition, he muttered aloud as Coll's pain stricken face looked down too late.

"Dodonpa!"

A shrieking thuum was unleashed, as the Saiyan's chest was hit by a Dodonpa larger than the three that had pierced him from the three hiding clones. Between the space of his knuckles buried in his blood soaked chest was an unleashed blast that took off the upper portions of his body in a blast wave that soared across the battlefield and detonated into the horizon with a golden overcast to the environment. As it dimmed, Tenshinhan returned to his tall posture, exhaling with relief and the three clones shimmered into ki that returned to his body.

Turning on his heel, he left the waist attached legs to fall grotesquely back on the ground, leaving his comrades speechless and the Saiyans largely irate to intrigued.

"Wow, Tenshinhan! That was...amazing!" Kuririn proclaimed after he found the word for what he just witnessed.

"Yeah, he didn't know what hit him!" Yamcha crowed with an upraised fist of grinning celebration.

"That was so cool! That Dodonpa was so flashy and-and-and bright! I wanna use it sometime!" Pan cried out with childish excitement, much to Tenshinhan's amusement.

"Hmph, not bad," Piccolo acknowledged with a huff, grinning a bit at the three-eyed warrior. "It's a good thing all that training didn't go to waste. You may be even as strong as I am."

"Thanks, Piccolo," He replied with a wry smile. "We may not be out of this yet, but I feel a bit more confident of our odds now."

"You did amazing, Tenshinhan!" Chaozu beamed with pride, floating up to his friend with a happy smile at his childhood friend's success and equally important survival. "I was a little worried, but you surprised me!"

"Don't sell yourself short, pal. I'm sure you're going to do well when it's your turn," He winked back.

"I hope so," The pale-faced midget replied with a sheepish chuckle, not looking forward to fighting any of the scary looking Saiyans. Especially now that they suffered a defeat, they'd be even angrier.

Raditz, however, wanted to capitalize on their annoyance by barking out with a garish expression on his face, "What's the matter, friends? You're awfully quiet just now. Are you surprised that you're not as all-powerful as you imagined, or are you upset that an Earthling beat one of you? Pretty soon you'll see just how much stronger I've gotten and you'll learn just how woeful your current situation is."

The retaliation for Raditz's mockery, was a sudden one. Without batting an eye, a now scowling Vegeta pointed a finger and incinerated the remains of Coll in an explosive flash. With nothing but a steaming crater left in its wake, he turned to look at the now fearful Saiyans with a smoking finger upraised for emphasis, "The next one of you who makes a fool of himself," Briefly taking a stare at Aspara, "or herself," Glaring back at Raditz and the rest of the Dragon Warriors with a seething hiss. "Will not have a body left. Do I make myself clear?"

Aspara's response was the quickest, but also dry. "Clear as crystal, Your Majesty."

Piccolo, with his hearing, could hear them best — tone, inflection, the whole nine yards. His eyes narrowed, and he spoke directly to Raditz, his voice low. "I noticed this earlier, but it's even more apparent now. Your group...they follow the little one, don't they?"

Raditz nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's right. He's the Prince, Vegeta. Our planet bears his name, which was his father's as well. He may not look it, but he is the strongest out of the lot. They follow him for a reason. But what are you getting at?"

"They don't like him," replied Piccolo simply. "It's not hard to notice, but I picked up on it regardless. They take orders because they have to, not because they genuinely believe in his leadership."

"Piccolo, is there a point to this?" inquired Kuririn.

"Yeah..." Piccolo glanced at Aspara, Nappa, and Vegeta — he could feel their ki, and knew they were the strongest without being told. "We won't have to worry about them teaming up on us in this battle."

"That's a small comfort," replied Kuririn dully.

On the side of the Saiyans, Bocho stepped forward. The painted man had a look of seriousness on his face, and his lanky body was already prepared to battle. He said nothing — barely even seeming perturbed that a comrade had recently been defeated, and then executed by their superior. Bocho's quickness to volunteer surprised his compatriots.

"Would you look at that?" said Nappa. "If I didn't know better, I'd say Bocho's excited!"

"The last Earthling must have really intrigued him," replied Vegeta. "So, kids, which one of you'll step up and play?!" He called out to the Dragon Team, all of whom had not selected their next member.

"I think we should rush him, all of us," suggested Kuririn. "If they don't work together, that's fine, but what about us? You three have been training together this whole time, and the four of us trained with God in the Palace. We know how to work as a team."

"It would be suicide," replied Piccolo shortly. "Even as a team, it's very likely we'd be killed." He inclined his head at Raditz, who nodded curtly.

"We Saiyans typically have too much pride to fight in a group," replied Raditz. "Even on teams like these, we pick off the inhabitants of a planet individually. It's rare, but not unheard of, for battles to push us to fight alongside comrades." He gestured to himself and to the Dragon Team. "It's likely that the others would intervene if we tried to cooperate."

"So our best bet is to stall them long enough for Goku," muttered Yamcha, stepping forward. "In that case, leave it to me. I'll handle this one."

"Yamcha!" Kuririn cautioned. "Be careful, alright man?"

"Don't worry about me," replied Yamcha. "You've already been revived by the Dragon Balls before, so step back and let me take this fight." He flashed Kuririn a thumbs up. "I'll handle it."

"At least you're confident," said Piccolo sardonically. "Don't disappoint us and waste our time."

"You just keep your eyes on me, Piccolo," said Yamcha, walking onto the battlefield. "Playtime is over!"

"Someone's a hot shot!" laughed Vegeta. "Why don't you show us this 'playtime' you're speaking of!"

A faint glow began to waft from Yamcha's body; white ki, which crackled and flared out like flames. His fists formed "claws", and he took a stance. He felt the power flood his body, strength he'd developed training on the Palace of God with his comrades. "I don't have a chance of outlasting this guy," he thought to himself. "My only choice is to go all out from the start!"

Bocho crossed his arms, silently watching Yamcha. It was clear he had no intention of making the first move, and no one could force him too — the Prince dictated results, not the process.

A bead of sweat slid down Yamcha's face. He'd hoped to make a response to Bocho's assault, rather than instigate the fight himself. He raised a hand in front of him, and then another to his side. "Shin Rōgafūfūken!" For a second — a brief instance — Yamcha's entire body gave the impression of a feral canine beast. The man had launched himself forward, and the wolf moved with him. Closing the gap between himself and Bocho, Yamcha's hands struck with the quickness of lightning; each blow had the ferocity of a wolf mauling.

With each strike, Yamcha and the others could see Bocho was forced back in correspondence with the blows. A twenty-five hit combo, and each blow struck home. Bocho's aura flared, and the Saiyan took the sky. Yamcha followed in hot pursuit, the Rōgafūfūken never ceasing.

"T-That's amazing!" Kuririn gasped. "Yamcha's doing it, he's pushing him back!"

"It's like a really fast doggie," Pan was impressed as well, though not for the right reasons.

With a mighty thrust, Yamcha's Shin Rōgafūfūken sent Bocho careening downwards. Floating in the air, Yamcha took this moment of repose to regain his breath. Bocho's figure crashed into the ground with a large explosion. Dust settled, and debris fell. Bocho himself clambered out of the debris without so much as an indication that he was hurt, and his expressionless face looked up towards Yamcha.

"You have an interesting style," he replied, speaking for the first time since he'd arrived to confront the Dragon Team. His voice was smooth and rich, but also monotone. "But I've seen what you can do now." He cracked his neck. "Let's begin the wolf hunt." With a flicker of movement, Boscho rushed into the air, lunging for Yamcha. Yamcha's eyes widened, and he dodged, almost on instinctual fear. Bocho's leg came upwards, however, landing a solid blow on Yamcha's face, sending him careening backwards.

"YAMCHA!" Kuririn shouted from below.

"He's...so fast!" Piccolo gasped. Even with the abilities of sensing ki, Bocho's speed had defied imagination for a moment.

Raditz's eyes widened. Out of all the Saiyans on his former squad, Bocho was perhaps the one he knew the least about. He was always silent, and handled his affairs separately from the others. In terms of abilities, he simply knew that Bocho had placed above him — but the same had held true for every Saiyan in his squad back then. He grit his teeth. What was Bocho's specialty?

"Seems like he's finally getting serious," observed Aspara. "Why did we let the two slowest starters open up the show?" Her arms were folded, and her fingers tapping on her bicep. She cast an aside glance at Raditz, who was watching the proceedings with the air of a man completely lost. She'd forgotten that he didn't know Bocho's true skills. While Bocho may not be the strongest, he certainly had the most staying power — she knew this because she did know how his abilities worked. "He just lacks the motivation to fight at full strength when he starts a battle," she thought.

In the air, a battle was unfolding. Bocho and Yamcha were clashing, and it was Bocho with a clear advantage. At every second, his speed went beyond blinking, forcing Yamcha back with powerful blows that struck like thunder. His ki was beginning to falter, and he could feel the weight of Bocho's strikes on his bones. Is this what a Saiyan was capable of?

He raised a hand, releasing a kikōha towards Bocho. It took the man by surprise, allowing Yamcha to retreat a few feet back. He cupped his hands towards his side, gathering blue ki within his palms. "Ka...me...ha...me...HA!" Thrusting both arms forward, he released the infamous destruction wave of the Turtle School. The blast rushed Bocho, who placed two arms up to guard against. The blast obscured his vision with blue, yet he forced it apart easily.

Yamcha had taken this opening, and rushed forward. By the time Bocho had cleared the ki blast away, Yamcha was already closing in, the shadow of a wolf in his wake, landing a solid array of physical blows — the Shin Rōgafūfūken — that pushed the Saiyan back with its quick strikes and powerful force. Follow-up strikes were crucial, and Yamcha rushed after the flying form of Bocho, his arms raised.

Regaining his composure, Bocho vanished, and a solid blow was landed on Yamcha's face. Rushing forward, Yamcha only saw a blur. This blurred form struck him several more times, and he felt the pain rack his body. He couldn't track Bocho's movements; even the other Saiyan, he'd been able to keep up with. "What's..making him...so damn special?!"

"It's ridiculous," said Piccolo. "I can't keep up with him. What is he doing?"

"I don't believe it..." gasped Kuririn, his voice filling with understanding. "What kind of training did he do?"

"What do you mean, baldly?" snapped Raditz. "What did you see?"

"I can see him," Kuririn replied. "But if you guys can't, then he has to be—yeah, that's the only thing for it. YAMCHA! HE'S MANIPULATING HIS KI TO BOOST HIS ABILITIES!"

A stunned gasp from the Dragon Team was followed by a chuckle from the Saiyans, particular Vegeta. "Impressive! The least imposing of you actually figured it out!"

"Controlling...his ki?" repeated Yamcha, staggering back as he wiped blood from his face. Bocho's form came back into view, the painted-Saiyan still silent as ever. He wouldn't elaborate, but he didn't need to; Kuririn delved further into what he could sense from Bocho.

"It was subtle disturbances of ki," he continued, "but I couldn't help but notice when the Saiyan flickered in and out of my view. His ki would spike, then return to normal, then spike again, and it was always before a motion or a strike. He's building up ki, and releasing it to improve his speed and physical attacks at the last second! I bet he's even protecting himself that way too!"

Raditz looked at Bocho, amazed. That ability was fine ki control. Saiyans were naturals at manipulating ki, but to control it like that required both training and a craftier mindset. Raditz had to admit that even he was too straightforward of a fighter. Blinking as he watched the fight, his eye itched slightly. Rubbing the problem away, Raditz retained focus on the battle.

"How will you handle him now, Earthling?"

"So...that's how you do it...!" Yamcha grinned, breathing hard.

"Knowing it won't help you," was Bocho's stern reply. "You are already dying. This is the end game, prey." Bocho flickered and vanished, striking forward with immense force. The blows struck Yamcha once more, and he felt as if his body was dented. Once. Twice. Three times. Bocho lunged forward faster than the others could see. On the fourth strike, however, the instant the final blow struck him in the stomach, Yamcha gripped Bocho's wrist.

The Saiyan looked genuinely stunned, and tried to pull back, but Yamcha kept a vice grip on his wrist, palm glowing with ki. He raised his free fist back, grinning. "Rōgafūfūken Chōsei!" With the single free arm, coated in ki, Yamcha attacked with the image of the wolf — the revised Rōgafūfūken landed several powerful blows on Bocho, with no way for the Saiyan to escape. With his grip on Bocho's arm, Yamcha grabbed the wrist with his second hand, and began to swing Bocho around, throwing him hurtling towards the Earth like a meteor.

The Earthling took a breath, and raised a palm in front of his body. Gripping it, he channeled his ki into his and, forming a glowing, vibrant orange sphere. "Sōkidan!" He lobbed the sphere towards Bocho, the latter of whom was forcing himself up from the ground. The Saiyan side-stepped the sphere easily, though he found himself on the end of another bona fide surprise when the sphere curved and flung back towards him like a bat out of hell.

"He can manipulate projectiles?!"

Bocho took off flying, and Yamcha spurned the Sōkidan to follow him in hot pursuit. With swift movements of the fingertips, Yamcha commanded the sphere expertly. He was beginning to feel confident; if he could just make this sphere connect, he'd deal some serious damage. His Saiyan opponent proved to be speedy enough to weave around the sphere entirely, taking into the sky.

Yamcha forced the sphere upwards, to follow Bocho. Looking up into the sky, however, Yamcha was blinded by the glare of the sun, squinting his eyes to avoid the bright light. Bocho flew downward at full speed, with the sphere following him pell-mell.

"S-Shit!" Yamcha saw the form of Bocho barreling towards him, and, rather than risk the Saiyan striking him head on, or even being hit by his own technique, the Earthling dashed to the side. Bocho himself took this as his chance, avoiding the Sōkidan as it collided with the Earth, burrowing deep into the ground.

Yamcha clutched his chest, sweat beading down his face. "Damn it..." He took another stance, bracing himself. His technique had missed, but the battle wasn't over yet. He could still fight.

"You did very well, wolf." Bocho commended Yamcha, flattening his right hand. He advanced on Yamcha, the man's fighting stance meaning nothing to the Saiyan. In a split second, he vanished; there was a sickening squelching sound, and Yamcha let out a blood-chilling scream as Bocho forced his arm through the Earthling's torso entirely.

"Y-YAMCHA!"

The cry came from below, three voices melding into one — Chaozu, Kuririn, and Tenshinhan all screaming out in anguish.

Vegeta smirked, pleased to see a Saiyan who could at least do their job.

Bocho unceremoniously ripped his arm out of Yamcha's body, shaking the blood off in the manner a knight would do with their blade. Yamcha violently spat up blood, and fell towards the ground. He collapsed with a thudding sound, a pool of blood flowing out beneath him. Bocho descended, his boots touching the ground. "I'd hoped you would have lasted a bit longer, wolf." thought the Saiyan with disdain.

The Dragon Team was stunned, and the Saiyans were pleased. Yet, a sound disturbed the lot of them. A rumbling noise, and a thunderous cracking. The ground beneath Bocho's feet ripped itself apart, and the Sōkidan rushed upwards. It collided with Bocho, forcing the Saiyan from the ground into the air. Bocho's hands gripped the sphere, fighting against the pressure of the sphere. Sweat beaded down his face as he became a glowing star shooting into the air.

He grit his teeth, wondering where this sudden surge of power had come from. With a roar, completely unbecoming of him, he flung the sphere high into the air, where it proceeded to explode. Breathing heavily, Bocho was filled with the realisation that he had nearly died.

Laying flat on the ground, Yamcha's right hand had its index and middle fingers pointed upwards. As the warmth drifted away from his body, he knew the Sōkidan hadn't struck home. "Sorry...everyone...I failed..."

Demod20 A/N: Wow this one came far more quickly than I thought, but that is alright. Topically, I handled the fight of Tenshinhan vs Coll, only about a week after the embarrassing half-baked dedicated episode to the triclops warrior. Let me just say that I wrote this out of enthusiasm for the character and partially out of anger towards how lazy Toei/Toriyama has been in handling such a skilled and revered character. Points to anybody who can guess who I based Coll's personality and fighting style off of! I also very much enjoyed my partner's fight of Yamcha vs Bocho. While it is still regrettable that he bites the dust (like Canon) he certainly fought somebody worth being defeated and he gave a good effort in response. How will the Dragon Warriors cope? Who will be next? I am excited to showcase this on the next update!

LastationLover5000: I was in the mood to write this story early, so I definitely insisted we started early. This was a fun chapter to write, for Yamcha's sake as well as Tenshinhan's. The Earthlings so rarely get to do anything, you don't know how fun of a fight this was to write. I tried my best with Yamcha's fight, and I wanted to give him one fuck of a performance! My partner did a bang up job with Tenshinhan and Coll's fight too! It took me awhile to decide what Bocho's abilities were, but I like how I handled it. With Yamcha down, and Bocho barely fazed, how will the Dragon Team handle their battle? Stay tuned, and find out!