Dragon Ball - Heart of the Adventurers
By LastationLover5000 and Demod20, edited by Firegod00
Chapter 17 - The World King Fist
Gokū was beside himself with anger.
He had attempted to move as quickly as he could to get to this point from the beginning, ever since he was informed of how little time he had. Even his wife and her sister helped gather the Dragon Balls to wish him to God's Palace so he could make it in better time. After a quick stop to Karin's for vital Senzu he raced there with the aid of his Kintoun. Arriving, he had narrowly stopped what he assumed was one of the Saiyans Raditz warned them about from striking his child.
Unfortunately, he had been too late to save the others.
Yamcha. Tenshinhan. Chaozu. And even Piccolo, The adopted grandson of Gohan trembled with remembrance, having just dealt crippling blows to two other Saiyans who didn't even compare to himself. He chastised Raditz for killing them at the moment. But now, he was still processing the deaths of his friends and how close Kuririn and Pan were to death as well.
But he wasn't the only one who was angry.
"Yo! Bed hair!" Aspara cried out, her eyes glaring daggers at Gokū's with savager laced in her tone. Meeting the interloper in the eyes she flinched for a moment when she saw a gleam of fury buried beneath the serenity of the Earth raised Saiyan's stillness. Shaking it off, she pointed at him with disdain with a loud snarl. "Who the Hell told you to butt in, huh?! I was in the middle of something-!"
"Did you do it?"
"-what?" She asked, interrupted by Gokū's sudden blunt question.
"Were you the one who killed them?" Gokū inquired again, this time with a bit more force behind his voice.
She blinked once. Then twice. A sour stare fixed at him, thinned as recognition overtook the similarity between herself and the alleged Kakarrot standing before her. A feral grin spread across her face as her pupils shrank into dots, hair standing on ends with anticipation for a fight nearing. She answered him far quieter than she had addressed the others previously, but no more stable than before, "I can't say I was responsible for the midget or three-eyes biting the dust. I did ax the Nameccian, though I was aiming for that brat over there-!"
That was all she could say until an overwhelming force erupted in front of her eyes. Pan stumbled back with Kuririn while Raditz just basked in his younger brother's aura, his hair whipping in the fierce wind it created. Blue outlined white fire surged from his skin, and Gokū's teeth gnashed while his angular shaped hair pulsed upward into a torch of black -not too different from Vegeta's hair style- as blue bandaged knuckles balled up and boot heels dug into cracking earth. The erratic beeping of Scouters could be heard between both Aspara and Vegeta, the latter of which had his smile erased to shock while the prior's turn to near horror.
As quickly as it came, the energy settled, and Gokū's black mane returned to its natural state while floating earth dropped in gentle clacks by his feet.
N-No way! The Scouter says...
"...he's stronger than Nappa!" Aspara finished Vegeta's line of thought out loud, as the reading bleeped in red before her glass lens HUD.
"This isn't even the highest I can go," Gokū warned, standing upright and relaxed, letting his hands relax from fists into open palms to his sides. "I've mastered the art of Kaiōken. As you are now, you can't win against me."
"Kaio-what?" Vegeta asked with a bewildered blank stare.
"Tch! It doesn't matter!" Aspara shrieked, her body suddenly engulfed in a vibrant scarlet light that electrified the air and burned the soil beneath her boots' soles. Leaping forward, she curled one hand into a fist while using one cocked at an angle to guard her face. In a split second, she'd leap upon him, throwing her fist towards his face.
An explosion of pain slammed at the back of her skull, her vision briefly becoming dark before a film of red was unveiled to see the entire scope of the ground her face was crashing into. Her whole body throbbed with the sensation of fire, a blow of this magnitude not even comparable to what the other three had dealt during her skirmish with them. Even the brat didn't pack this much of a wallop!
"D-Did Papa do that?" Pan asked, unable to see what had just happened.
"I-I think it's safe to say that he did, squirt," Kuririn affirmed with a swallow, having been among those on Gokū's side to be left in the dark to the swiftness of his movements.
But for Raditz, who had focused intently into seeing Gokū's progress from the time he had fought him to now, had saw the blurring arc of his motion. From the moment Aspara began releasing her right shoulder to throw the punch he had leaped in a forward flip over her head -presumably hitting her with his feet or hands- and then landing on his heels before she even hit the ground. It was fast, too fast, for him to physically react to such momentum and refined agility.
Kakarrot, what kind of god taught you to move like that?! He bemused, grinning nervously as a bead of cold sweat crawled down his scalp. The feat of strength was a reminder to himself not to make his younger sibling cross, less he be on the receiving end of such a blow.
Aspara wasn't down for long. Clenching at her throbbing scalp, the long-haired Saiyaness stood up back on her feet, grinding her teeth together with indignation. Casting a momentary glance at Vegeta and she could tell, even from this distance, that the Prince wasn't thrilled at this predicament either. Shaking her head, she turned around and raised a single middle finger up at him in favor of holding her injured skull.
"Nice try, Kakarrot, but it's going to take more than that to put me down for good!" She crowed out.
"Good!" He affirmed, a hint of delight bore through the mask of menace aimed squarely at her. "I didn't break a sweat when I took care of your friends. It'd be a shame if I beat you while warmin' up."
"Don't get cocky!" Aspara sneered, her ki blistering outwards, golden currents coiling even tighter to the mantle of rosy flames ebbing from her pores. Raditz could tell his wayward cousin was upping her power even higher than she displayed before, and it seemed it wasn't even a trial to her. But even so, when he looked to his brother, he just stonily stared her down as if such an increase was negligible.
Lurching forward, a shriek echoed from the sound barrier broken in the wake of the Saiyaness charging forward. Leaving a blood hued trail of fire, she thrust her whole person at Gokū's torso, phasing through what she could discern was a static image. Stopping with a quaking stomp, she veered around with a whip of her hair to land a jab that released a spearing bolt of energy towards Gokū's head; the lance of light, of which, he took a left step back and rolled on the heel with a jerk of his head to avoid the cloud parting attack.
Baring her teeth, Aspara pumped her legs with more energy and throttled into her opponent's lower half. She made contact, much to her chagrin, in that he leaped up by his left foot and somersaulted while keeping eye contact with her with his left shoulder aiming at her. Even during a retaliating violent turn to strike, he spun in a blur of motion she was unable to avoid, the ankle of his boot smashing across her jaw with a thunderous impact. Spit, blood and a chip of a tooth flew out of her pursed lips, eyes widened with the whole of her neck snapping with the attack. By the time the air popped, her whole body was busy careening in a rag doll effect, landing on a shoulder to a lower back over to the uninjured side of her face and rolling the rest of the way.
"That was for Piccolo," Gokū intoned with audible satisfaction, landing deftly on his back foot before lowering his kicking boot's heel back to the earth.
"Damn you!" Aspara shrieked, scrambling back to her feet from all fours. Ignoring the soot that clung to her skin and armor, the gnarled tangles in her once smooth hair, or the bruises now enamoring her jaw and head, fire was pumping through her veins at this time. With fury backing up her current countenance, the Saiyaness' body let loose a pyre of crimson light, coiling golden currents flowing up and down the reaches of her energy's projection. Gathering it around her left arm, she pulled it back till it condensed around the limb.
Pan, having recognizing the technique that almost killed her -and having succeeded in killing Piccolo- cried out with sudden fear for her father, "PAPA! LOOK OUT!"
"TOO LATE!" Aspara bellowed out with sadistic glee, swinging her upper torso around in a fervor, unleashing an all too familiar crescent moon shaped blade of ki that aimed to bifurcate the treacherous Kakarrot in two. Parting the earth and shearing the air, the crackling projection of energy bore its way at a momentum that only the likes of Raditz could perceive. It'd be like a flash to Kuririn and Pan, whom were unable to do anything the last time it was fired.
But to Gokū, its speed might as well been an underhanded toss of a ball.
Gokū inhaled deeply, exhaled out of his nostrils and closed his eyes. He could feel it crawling towards him, inching its way forth. The sound warped as his trained senses focused solely on its presence rather than the slower stimuli that it let loose. Without opening his eyes, his body acted in accordance to what he felt; dropping low, spinning on the ball of his feet to glide smoothly across disheveled soil. Reaching its flank with his left side, he stood up straight pulled his left arm, fingers clenching into a fist over his right shoulder...
..then, he whipped out to rap his knuckles against the flat of the luminous lunar scythe, shattering it in an echo of a thunderclap and flash of dispersing sparks that numbered in the thousands.
"W-What?!" Aspara gawked, her body frozen in place from its launching posture, still processing what Kakarrot just did.
"H-He shattered it like it was nothing!" Raditz exclaimed, his breath released after realizing he had been holding it the moment Aspara attacked.
"This doesn't make any sense," Vegeta mused silently, a hand reaching up to clench his chin as his eyes scowled to ponder the situation they're having. "Kakarrot wasn't even Raditz's equal a year ago, needing both that Nameccian's help and his half-breed's surprise aid. Now, when neither could close the gap, Aspara can't even land a single blow on him? Is this the result of that Kaiōken he mentioned?"
"Wow! Your dad is sure amazing!" Kuririn nervously praised, feeling a bit better after seeing Gokū in such top form.
Shaken out of her dazed disbelief, Pan cheered with hands cupped around her mouth, "That was amazing, Papa! Beat her up good, for Uncle Piccolo!"
While Raditz didn't want to assert his support in wistful optimism like his niece and the bald man were doing, he couldn't deny that the fruits of his brother's labor seem to be paying off. Everything was better about him. It wasn't just power and speed, but refined skill and honed senses. He didn't even see him look at the technique in the eye when he dispelled it with one hand. And based on how frazzled Aspara looked, he was too eager to let her know her of her current situation.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen, eh, Aspara?!" Raditz shouted, watching her expression turned to dumbfound to something akin to being pure livid. "I can't believe a cousin of mine would be so weak! Weren't you boasting about being among the Elite of our race? How can a low class warrior make such a fool out of you? How pathetic, truly, this is!"
"Shut up-!"
"Oh! Hold on a second!" Gokū turned for a moment, looking at the older Saiyan with a scrunched up face. "Cousin? Does that mean, she's related to me?"
"SHUT UP!" Aspara screamed, her hair rising up and eyes nearly blanking with pure rage. Bolts of electricity snapped out from an inferno of red energy escaping her body, tinting her skin and emboldening her dark eyes to burgundy circling pupils. Veins throbbed around exposed skin, armor rose and fell with her labored breathing, knuckles cracking in sync with the pulses of energy coursing in and out of her body. "HOW DARE YOU MAKE A MOCKERY OF ME! I COULD GIVE A DAMN WHAT BLOOD YOU HAVE, YOU'RE NOTHING COMPARED TO ME! IF YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU LIVE, YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET-!"
"ASPARA!"
A single voice overshadowed her own and drew her mounting fury to a standstill. Despite being embroiled with fury, she had enough sense to turn her head and look warily at the Prince, whose face shown a visible hint of anger at her. She didn't snap back or ignore him, just stared on cautiously as he kept a hawkish glare squared at her.
"Cool your head! You've been making a mockery of us, letting him take you apart like this. Worse yet, you're about to explode with how mad you're letting yourself become! Cool your head and fight smarter than him! You're an Elite, aren't you?!"
Aspara recoiled at his public lashing of her. It stung worse because she knew he was right. Reining in her personal qualms and the bent ego she had with both Raditz, the half breed brat and Kakarrot, she slowly brought her anger to a manageable level. Sharpening her focus, she used the pent-up energy she got from her outburst to embroil her body into an aura almost skin-tight silk, rippling like water than the burning fire it was before. Scarlet eyes replaced burgundy orbs and her hair rivulet in undulating motions.
"Alright then, Kakarrot. The kid gloves come off. Time to make a serious effort to tear you apart," She declared, her fingers flattening and thumbs folding over the palms, cocking the arms at crisscross angles as if they were blades to be brandished. One foot straight pressed in front of the other bent leg, she unraveled her tail from her lower waist to sway back and forth, coiling currents rising up and down the prehensile limb. No longer was she a ball of unbridled fury, she was now a focused tool of murder and killing efficiency.
"Good! I was about to get serious myself," Gokū replied in kind, angling his own body to have his right arm with forefingers bent and thumb hooked with the other fingers clasped on his palm. With the other balled into a fist at his hip, knees bent, he was perfectly poised to do battle with earnest instead of 'warming up'.
A brief silence was cast on the battlefield. Vegeta's boot tapped impatiently, Pan's tail twitched nervously with her hands balled up, Kuririn gulping and Raditz's eyes twitched with his pupils narrowed with focus on the pair of fighters with extreme intent. A brief inhale was had by Gokū just before Aspara's pupils were contracted to near invisibility.
The pair shimmered away, reappearing a few meters off the ground and colliding mightily. a warping pressure wave released that distended the ground and rolled the air over with a shower of dust and debris to rain on the observers. While Vegeta's simply exhaled and the shockwave parted around him as a gentle breeze, the others had to shield their eyes with their arms with only Raditz raising a hand to produce a kiai to blow back the wave of dirt and rocks sent in his direction.
Unlike before, where Gokū danced around a raging Aspara, the two seemed to be intertwined in a precarious tempo. Aspara's arms cut strands of hair and parts of Gokū's uniform that weren't deflected with care, showing the cutting proficiency of her ki clad arms. Meanwhile, Gokū's own punches, kicks and thrusts were being dodged, blocked and parried with far better skill. They rarely separated, keeping in close proximity to each other as they maneuvered all over the skyline over their heads, never straying too far from the original battlefield they had come from.
Flipping backwards, Aspara backpedaled to narrowly avoid a pair of boots nearly catch her chin, grazing the liquid coating surrounding her skin instead in a shower of sparks. Continuing his retreat, Gokū kept his arms close to his waist, a wry smile of surprise adorned on his features. While she enjoyed the thrill of cutting loose like this, he too relished that Saiyan love of fighting that she inherently could relate to.
"Man, you're stronger than I thought! Guess this is gonna be a tough fight after all!" He exclaimed honestly.
"Ha! If you love me now, then you're going to be in for a rude awakening when I truly let loose!" She boasted.
Her arms raised up in the tell-tale crisscross stance in front of her face, this time broadening into thicker blades that became several meters in length and a meter in width each. Gokū marveled at the potency of such charging, its technique similar to his Kamehameha but applied in a fundamentally different way. In making the comparison, he instinctively took a step back just as she leaped quickly towards him.
With a wordless cry, she unleashed a swollen X, its epicenter easily dwarfing his body in mass of scarlet outlined white light. Hidden behind the sheer scope of the technique, Gokū's body became engulfed in his own azure aura, his fists tightening at his sides and breath inhaling. Just as it began to singe the hairs on his brows and bangs, he released his counterattack; a technique he witnessed at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai all those years ago.
A deafening scream was released, a bolstered kiai of immense proportions that warped the glowing construct and shook the heavens down to the earth. As everyone, Prince and all, covered their ears they'd see Aspara's technique halted in the sky, cracking and shuddering. The moments that followed as the scream ebbed to near finality, it finally scattered into hundreds of fragments that disappeared into the wind.
"Whew, that was close," Gokū commented, rubbing his neck, coughing a bit after the fact. "I thought I was goin' to lose my voice doin' Tenshinhan's technique. But hey, it worked, hehe!"
Aspara was taken aback completely.
She knew this was one of her best moves, and it was utterly eradicated by the power of this low level, third class Saiyan's voice. She didn't know what to do. What else could she do? They were evenly matched in strength but something was beyond her imagining, dwelling beneath the surface of what she assumed was his peak. This wasn't just a bottom feeder; this was a freak!
"Aspara," Vegeta called out her name, giving her a feeling of shame and fear of equal measure. Looking down, she saw the Saiyan's scowl couldn't have been more pronounced, even from this altitude. "Get down here! It's clear that I have to do everything myself. You've embarrassed us long enough; I'll take care of things from here on."
"Great. Just when Gokū was about to beat her, she gets to take a time out," Kuririn bemoaned the new development, watching the Saiyaness cast some helpless glares at them and her opponent. After a few more seconds went by, she slowly lowered her frame down, her aura lessening in intensity and becoming more docile. As she grew nearer to Vegeta, the bald dwarf felt...something...off.
"Well, if we have to deal with her, we will. Better her than that savage, Nappa," Raditz intoned, his arms now crossed over his chest readily.
When her boots clacked onto the ground, Vegeta didn't even look at her. His eyes were drawn up at Kakarrot, still floating in the air and looking every bit confused if not disappointed as Aspara was forlorn. He kept a cagey expression, the stony visage maintaining a lock with the floating Saiyan over his head without blinking past his ruby lens Scouter.
Finally, the silence was broken as Aspara reached out towards Vegeta, snarling out, "This isn't over, Vegeta!"
"You're right, Aspara," Vegeta whispered, his eyes finally looking at her with a dangerous glint that made the Saiyaness take a step back. "It isn't; at least, for me, it is."
"Vege-"
A swipe of a gloved hand and everyone's field of vision became engulfed in bluish-white. No one could hear her scream as a comet of light thrust into her whole being, carrying her into the horizon while the earth was scorched in a charred trench. Wiping away spots in their eyes, only Raditz and Gokū could see with abject horror as her form detonated into the far horizon, a mushroom cloud rising with the blast and a distant howling wind sweeping dust and debris in their vicinity. In the wake of the blast, Vegeta's widow's peak swept with the wind, his outstretched hand crinkling into a fist and a devilish grin adorned onto his face as he admired his handiwork.
In a single move, he took her out, without a second thought, Raditz mentally cataloged the act of cruelty of just one of many in his history of dealing with the Prince. Gritting his teeth, he felt chills crawl down his spine as his eyes briefly met and he hesitated in trying to put distance between them. But, the moment faded, and the Saiyan Elite looked up at the sky and crossed his arms over his chest once more in a haughty display of superiority.
"Excuse me for that pathetic display of incompetence, Kakarrot. I had to wipe away that scum before she embarrassed our heritage any further," He explained, his grin clear in his voice from the high altitude Gokū presided. "As a show of respect for having survived this long, I'll grant you a reprieve or take time to collect your thoughts. You've earned that much, showing weakness in a crew that's masqueraded as my Elite after all."
Gokū, after witnessing an act of evil that reminded him of the old Daimao Piccolo as a child, felt incredibly unsettled. Where his older brother was more of a coercer and acted the part, this Vegeta was no actor. He breathed malevolence and was seeped in self gratification. There was no question by the quality of his ki that he's dealt the horror on a scale far exceeding any enemy he's had in his lifetime.
While he felt unnerved, another part of him couldn't help but feel excited to no end.
Regathering his thoughts, he turned to look at Raditz, Pan and Kuririn. The bodies of his comrades still strewn across the battlefield and the majority of the canyon had been turned into a field of debris. Arching his neck over to a deeper area, beyond their sight, he could feel no living beings there and had a similar terrain. Nodding, he gestured in the direction and called out to Vegeta, "Let's fight away from here. I know of a place where I don't have to hold back, with my friends being this close."
"What a soft heart you have, Kakarrot," Vegeta mocked with a guttural chuckle. However, he rose up into the air without changing his arm-folded stance, approaching his altitude with minimal effort. "Lead the way, then. I'm eager to get this fight started; a fight unlike you've ever experienced."
"Can't wait," Gokū nodded, gesturing to Raditz and the other two with a thumb's up. "Get Kuririn and Pan to safety! I'm counting on you!"
Raditz grimaced at being given such a mundane task. However, he knew at this moment he'd be more of a burden to his little brother than help, so he acquiesced with a forceful nod. After the pair of siblings exchanged knowing looks, Gokū rocketed off into the horizon with Vegeta following not far behind. The fight was now out of their hands.
Give him Hell for me, Kakarrot, He glared at the stone-filled vista they flew off to. We're counting on you.
Gokū and Vegeta flew pell-mell through the air, coated in vibrant white ki. The orange-clad Saiyan spotted a rocky, barren wasteland, and motioned Vegeta down towards their new venue. He knew nothing lived here; it would be ideal for him and Vegeta to fight in. The two broke off, landing apart from each other atop two separate jagged plateaus.
The Prince of the Saiyans grinned, folding his arms. "Such an interesting place to choose for your grave, Kakarrot."
"You think so?" inquired Gokū, raising an eyebrow cheekily. "I don't see myself bein' buried here. All I've got to do is beat you down."
Vegeta laughed, an abrupt, incredibly rude guffaw. "You're good at jokes, Kakarrot! But let me tell you something about we Saiyans! Our combat strength is measured from the day we are born, and this determines the sort of caste we fall into. Trash like you, with low combat strength, are sent off to no-name planets like these, where the opponents aren't much to speak of."
"From what I hear, my parents were apparently a diff'rent sort," replied Gokū. "It seems you don't know as much about Saiyans as you'd think, Vegeta. I might be just a low-class to you, but Earth has a different policy. Even the low-class can defeat an elite fighter, if he puts in the effort!"
"You're a regular comedian today," was the sardonic remark. "So I'll show you the wall you can never scale with meaningless 'effort'!" He crouched, spreading his legs into a squat, with his right arm held out into a tight fist while the left formed a clawing motion perpendicularly in front of his forehead. This was a traditional Saiyan battle stance.
Gokū leaned forward towards his right leg, with a clenched fist bowed parallel to his leg. He lifted his other arm up in the opposite direction, balling his fist up, forming a straight line from one set of knuckles to the other.
A dry, bitter wind rushed through the wasteland.
Then the two leapt forward. Within seconds, they exploded from their standing positions into the heat of battle. Vegeta completely ducked under Gokū's right cross, slamming his left foot into the rival Saiyan's stomach. He followed up with a powerful elbow blow to Gokū's face. The orange-clad Saiyan was winded, and in immense pain. Vegeta placed a palm in front of him, and released an invisible kiai that sent Gokū hurtling back in a bundle of force.
Spiraling towards the ground, Gokū saw his chance to recover, forcing himself upright as he landed on one of the jagged platforms. He immediately took to the air, only to see an immense flash as Vegeta sent a kikōha rushing upwards after him. Gokū somersaulted out of the way as best he could. The blast barely grazed him, but he could feel complete and utter shock. He hadn't seen it coming.
The Prince of the Saiyans wasted no time, and pursued Gokū into the air. His style was ferocious, and he and Gokū began to exchange blows; perhaps this wasn't a fair statement. The most Gokū could do was fend Vegeta off. They weren't exchanging blows in the slightest, but instead, Vegeta had Gokū completely on the defensive. Vegeta wore the face of a maniac, slamming a powerful uppercut into Gokū 's chin. The blow was followed up with a barrage of punches Vegeta bombarded his opponent with.
"What's the matter, Kakarrot?!" sneered the Saiyan prince. "You ragdolled Aspara like it was just so easy! Don't tell me you've run all out of power!"
Despite his best efforts, Gokū was being completely overwhelmed by Vegeta. In a stroke of inspiration, when Vegeta moved to throw another punch, Gokū shifted his weight, and his tail shot out like a snake. It coiled around Vegeta's arm, shocking the Prince completely. With the adjustment of his torso, Gokū used his tail to throw Vegeta towards Earth, sending him hurtling downward like a meteor.
Vegeta stopped his descent before he hit the ground, releasing an invisible bundle of ki to force himself into flight. Righting his body, he grinned cockily Gokū. "Am I supposed to be impressed, Kakarrot? Saiyan children can use their tails in combat! You're not impressing me!"
Gokū descended to the ground, looking at Vegeta with a mixture of amazement and terror. "He's...really amazin'. I can tell that he isn't fighting seriously, but his speed and power are all beyond me!" He clenched his fists at his side. "Guess I ain't got a choice! So I'll show you!" Steam began to billow from his body as his skin tinged itself red. There was an explosion of aura, with red ki rushing around his body in a vibrant flame. The ki completed the image, dying his entire body — hair, clothes, and all — a deep and threatening crimson.
"Kaiōken!"
Vegeta was taken aback, witnessing such an abrupt change in Gokū's appearance. His head was filled with a single thought, not being familiar with the term. Kaiō-what?! Before he could verbalise the statement, spittle spewed from his mouth; the traitor had landed a firm blow to Vegeta's jaw, forcing his head sideways. A powerful follow-up kick forced Vegeta through the air, and Gokū dashed after him.
He trailed red ki like a comet, closing in and targeting the Saiyan prince. With both legs, he kicked Vegeta into the air, rocketing upwards before Vegeta could make it. Gokū gripped both hands firmly within each other, and slammed them into Vegeta's torso with a heavy sledgehammer blow. His aura flared, a brilliant conflagration around his body, and Gokū pelted downwards, intending to strike Vegeta with another blow directly into the earth.
"It's over!" He cried, thrusting his fist forward in a crushing direct punch.
"...for you?!" grinned Vegeta savagely. His hand gripped Gokū's like a vice. He pulled Gokū towards him, and slugged him mercilessly, the blow landing square in his chest. Gokū's aura dispersed, his body returning to its normal hue. Vegeta released Gokū's hand, and the Earth-raised Saiyan clutched his chest, groaning in pain.
"If that was the best that 'Kaiōken' could manage, Kakarrot, then I'm so much more than just disappointed."
Gokū grinned weakly. What's this feeling? He's so powerful...and I'm in a lotta danger...but I'm starting to get really excited!
Palace of God, Same Time
Bulma and Tights were far from the most happy women on planet. Piccolo was dead, and they knew this because, only minutes ago, they'd watched God disappear before their eyes. Mr. Popo had retired into the inner sanctum; he and God had been dear friends for centuries, and the fate of the world was nebulous now. He needed a moment for his fallen friend.
And thus, the two sisters were left alone to contemplate the fate of the world.
"Do...do you know what's going on down there?" asked Tights.
"A little bit," replied Bulma. "Looking at the numbers, Son's power nearly doubled...but now its shrunk back down again! And whoever he's fighting must be the strongest Saiyan." She placed her hand to her temples. "His readings are so scary it's like a bad joke."
"Can...Can Son win?"
"He said he would," replied Bulma firmly. "He'll kick that bastard right off our planet!"
Wastelands, Earth
"To think that a regular ol' Kaiōken wasn't enough to make you flinch," grinned Gokū, his tail flicking happily. "You're somethin' else, ain't you, Vegeta? I guess 'elite' is more than just a word for you."
"There's no point in flattery now," sneered Vegeta. "You dug your grave when you challenged us, Kakarrot. So you may as well fight to the finish."
"I always fight until it's over," said Gokū with a determined air. "Let's continue!"
The two breathed in deeply, and launched into the air towards each other. Vegeta surprised Gokū by grabbing his shoulders. In mid-air, he flipped over, performing what amounted to an airborne suplex and tossing the weaker Saiyan towards the ground. With a powerful kick, he attacked Gokū yet further. Gokū cried out in pain, and was sent rocketing into the nearest plateau, shattering it on impact. His aura, dark blue, flared to life, and he pursued Gokū like a predator.
"KAMEHAMEHA!"
There was an explosion of bright blue ki from the rubble, and Gokū shot outwards, soaring towards Vegeta. But it wasn't just simple flight; gushing from the soles of his feet was a vivid Kamehameha. Both of the Saiyan's arms were outstretched, and to say Vegeta was surprised was an understatement. He completely balked, and both of Gokū's clenched fists struck him in the chin. He grinned, and bent the flow of the of the blast with his own legs, enveloping Vegeta completely in a Kamehameha.
The Saiyan Prince disrupted the beam with ease, looking for more irritated than pained. "Don't get too excited now, Kakarrot! Flukes only happen once!" His hand reached through the smoke and scattered embers of ki, gripping Gokū by the face, catching him by surprise. He forced him down to Earth, slamming him completely through a rocky formation in a vertical strike. Vegeta cocked his free hand back, slugging Gokū in the torso, and began to unleash a barrage of blows with both fists, crashing down into the first and creating a crater on impact.
Gokū cried out in pain, suffering from the impact of the blows and from being forced straight through solid rock. Vegeta mercilessly buffeted Gokū with blow and blow, and the ground beneath them began to crack, grinning madly.
Then there was an eruption of red light.
"TWO-FOLD KAIŌKEN!"
Vegeta's entire body shook with pain, as Gokū's reddened fist connected with his chin. Gokū's face worked in anger, and his knee shot up into Vegeta's torso, causing the Saiyan to gasp in surprise and pain. The lower-class warrior forced Vegeta off of him, into the air, repeatedly attacking him with an onslaught of rampaging attacks. The two rose higher into the air, red vs. blue, and Vegeta regained his composure, gripping Gokū's wrists and pulled him inward.
Gokū wrenched his arms out of Vegeta's grip, and unleashed a torrential stream of kicks; the resulting force propelled Vegeta through multiple rock formations, shattering them to pieces. The red ki died out, and Gokū returned to normal yet again to allow his body to rest.
A howl of rage filled the wastelands, and Vegeta forced the debris and rubble that buried him away from his body with a pulse of ki. From his face, blood dripped onto the dry rocky ground, and this made him furious. "My noble blood...spilled by the hands of trash like you?!" A vein throbbed in his head, pulsing violently. His fist clenched, and the Saiyan grit his teeth. "Have it your way, Kakarrot! I was going to play your game for a little longer...but I'll settle for killing you quickly! Let me show you the height of an Elite Saiyan's strength!"
Vegeta's body began to shake, and ki flickered and shone off his body, emitting a bright blue glow. Fierce winds began to blow, and Gokū could see the clouds darkening overhead. To him, he felt as if he were caught in the middle of a storm, and it was pulling everything towards Vegeta. The Prince of the Saiyans let out a mighty battle cry, and in an instant, dispersed everything. Gokū felt his ki shoot ever higher, and felt fear for the first time in years.
"What...insane ki!"
"Here I come, Kakarrot! Get ready to die!"
The orange-clad Saiyan's couldn't track Vegeta's movements; he was simply too fast. He headbutted Gokū square in the chest, and brought down his elbow onto the Saiyan's body. Gokū was sent bolting downwards, but flipped upright, landing difficultly onto the ground, and immediately turned his head skyward to look for Vegeta.
"You're looking in the wrong direction, fool!"
Vegeta launched an attack from behind Gokū, hurtling a kikōha with such speed and force that the lower-class warrior couldn't deflect it. It exploded like a bomb; Gokū forced the resulting smoke off of him, his body burned, shirt singed two layers down. He gripped his gi, ripping the top portion off in its entirety. The undershirt had been damaged too, and Gokū removed it alongside the ruined overshirt. Chest bare, and out of breath, he grinned. His tail flicked again.
Vegeta was serious about killing him, and if Gokū didn't work out fix fast, he was going to make good on it. He'd have to risk another Kaiōken. The pink tinge returned to his body, and the vibrant red aura burst into a blaze of flame. The two-fold Kaiōken. He made a mad break for Vegeta, who braced himself for battle. Gokū struck first, and Vegeta ducked under his strike, landing a powerful double fisted punch to Gokū's stomach. It was Gokū's turn for spittle to erupt from his mouth, in tandem with blood.
Gokū grit his teeth, and raised his hands above his head. It ignited with ki, and the Saiyan brought the explosive sphere downward, releasing it point blank at Vegeta. It was less of an attack, and more of an escape tactic. Vegeta furiously cleared the smoke from his eyes, only to be rushed by Gokū, who grabbed Vegeta by the torso and ran him directly into the nearest jutting rock formation. It exploded on impact from them both, and Gokū flung Vegeta away.
The elite Prince of the Saiyans rebounded almost instantly, his face alight with a maniacal rage. His elbow crashed into Gokū's jaw, and nearly dislocated his neck — Gokū could consider it a miracle he wasn't dead — and brought down his right leg in a kick that struck Gokū square in the back. Vegeta followed-up with a powerful snap kick to Gokū's chin, only adding to the pain that the lower-class Saiyan was in. Gokū immediately attempted to gain some distance, landing back onto the ground. Vegeta followed suit, and his rage seemed to be subsiding.
"Is your little joke done, Kakarrot?" inquired the elite, folding his arms once more. "See where your training has gotten you? I'm the strongest Saiyan who has ever lived! Your loss was decided when you chose me as an opponent."
Gokū was breathing heavily, his body shaking with pain. Every cell felt like it was on fire, every muscle wanted to rip apart. The Kaiōken's side-effects...they're somethin' extreme. But...even a two-fold Kaiōken ain't enough to take him out. He brought a hand to his chest, trembling. His heartbeat was erratic. Damn...I suppose it might be better to blow myself up than let him do it. Sorry, Kaiō! I'll have to break that rule you set!
Standing was difficult, but Gokū endured. He inhaled deeply, focusing his ki. Inwardly, he prayed. Body...just hold out long enough...for the three-fold Kaiōken!
North Kaiō's Planet
The Kaiō himself had been watching the battle between his newest pupil and the Prince of the Saiyans with amazement and a measure of trepidation. He had truly hoped that the Kaiōken wouldn't have been needed to be pushed past the initial multiplier, much less to two-fold. Now Gokū was proposing something absolutely ludicrous.
"What is he thinking?!" muttered the incredulous god. "I told him! Two-fold should be the absolute limit! His body can't take anymore than that! Though..." He remembered every instance in which Vegeta had turned the battle around, or simply overpowered Gokū. "...I don't think he can win without it. I didn't think the Saiyans would be this strong. The situation...might be hopeless..."
Palace of God
The scanner within Bulma's body was going haywire. She saw a massive rising of numbers before her eyes, and they were all coming from her husband's direction. The numbers only continued to rise, and she felt the device itself tremble, threatening to shatter — a thought that blanched her skin.
Son...just how strong are you going to get?
The Former Battlefield
Raditz was astounded. This ki certainly couldn't be coming from that little brother of his. And yet it was. Just moments ago, Vegeta's ki had entire eclipsed Kakarrot's; without a Scouter, it felt like Vegeta was just going on a one-person rampage. But now Kakarrot's ki was rising to a level frighteningly close. He hadn't felt power like this in the entire time he'd been alive, and it made him question just what he'd been doing the past year.
Kakarrot...!
Kuririn and Pan were by no means immune to Gokū's ki either. It was amazing to see just how far he'd come.
"Papa!" Pan called out into the distance, despite his inability to hear him. "Beat him up!"
"Whoa, whoa, Pan!" urged Kuririn. "Calm down. Though...he might just be able to do that."
"Don't be so optimistic yet, dwarf," muttered Raditz. "This battle...it isn't over yet."
Wastelands
The red inferno had wrapped itself around Gokū's body again, his skin a deeper red than it ever had been. He felt his blood rush through his veins, which were beginning to throb at the surface of his skin. The power that coursed throughout his body was something he had never experienced before in his life, and the force of his aura was creating a permanent gale of wind around his body.
Vegeta took a step backwards, amazed. He couldn't sense ki, but he could practically feel this.
It happened faster than anyone on Earth could have registered it. One moment, Gokū was standing still. The next, he had flung himself towards Vegeta, completely demolishing the platform on which he stood. The first blow was figuratively earth-shattering. Gokū's knee plunged into Vegeta's torso, sending the elite backwards, gasping in pain. Gokū vanished, reappearing behind Vegeta, before turning on his heel and bringing his fist down on Vegeta's skull. This forced the Prince into the hard ground, leaving an indent in the shape of his own body.
Vegeta forced himself out of the ground at surprising speed, and thrust his fist forward. Gokū, who had been standing just in front of the blow, vanished entirely. He reappeared, flying forward and connecting with a crushing kick to Vegeta's face that lifted the Saiyan from the ground, careening through a multitude of formations. Gokū pursued his target, arriving in time to see Vegeta force the rubble apart with ki alone. He increased his speed again, and practically materialised in front of a surprised Vegeta.
The Prince attempted yet another strike, but Gokū mimicked one of his earlier motions in the battle, and ducked beneath Vegeta's jab. He rose, ramming his fist with as much force as possible into Vegeta's trunk for yet another time. Vegeta, despite the pain, gained some distance, clutching his stomach. His anger was rising, and his veins were reaching a limit to their prominence.
"That...bastard!" snarled Vegeta. "I am an elite! And yet...he's...surpassed my strength! That's...impossible!" He knew for a fact; out of all the Saiyans, he alone stood at the top. He was the strongest. Not only had Kakarrot forced him to shed his own blood in this battle, but he had eclipsed his strength, even if only for a moment. "THAT IS ENOUGH, KAKARROT!" Vegeta's aura flared to life, no longer blue, but a vibrant purple as he took to the sky. He curled his fingers and placed both his hands together at chest level facing the same direction, with one palm behind the other.
"IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT THIS PLANET, THEN DIE WITH IT!"
"N-NO!" Gokū felt a surge of panic. "A blast like that would destroy the planet!" Despite the pointless shout, Gokū knew that Vegeta was banking on that entirely. He cupped his hands to his sides, and blue ki began to overlap with the red blaze, and completely overshadowed it. "Ka...Me...Ha...Me..."
"THIS IS THE END FOR YOU! YOU CAN'T BLOCK THIS GARLIC CANNON! GO TO HELL, KAKARROT!"
At the same moment that Gokū shouted "HA!", and thrust his hands forward, Vegeta did the same. There were two simultaneous explosions of light, blue and purple, and the blasts connected in the air, creating only further chaos. The ki began to meld with the sound of a blast going off, and rivulets of ki shot off at odd angles. Electricity formed within the epicentre, and tore into the ground as it snapped away from the two techniques.
"That...looks like my technique!" Vegeta gasped in surprise, but held his ground. His Garlic Cannon had the advantage, and was pushing back Gokū's Kamehameha with minimal effort. It was all Gokū could do to keep his footing, and he knew he was losing traction quickly. He didn't have a choice. It was now, or never. When he shouted, his voice practically magnified.
"FOUR-FOLD KAIŌKEN!"
The crimson around his body deepened, and the pain Gokū felt was mind-numbing. But he held his ground, and ki pulsed into the Kamehameha, vastly increasing its strength. The blast began to push back against the Garlic Cannon, as Gokū's own footing crumbled beneath his feet. Vegeta felt his blast give way, and was quickly overwhelmed by the immense Four-Fold Kaiōken Kamehameha. The blast carried Vegeta, and his screams of pain and agony high into the sky.
Gokū collapsed to his knees, his breath ragged. Just touching the ground sent his cells into a frenzy, and he could barely stay conscious. But he forced himself to look back up into the sky.
Was this the end of it?
A/N:
Demod20: This was a fun scene for me to write. It would've been easy to simply mimic the fight of Nappa and Goku, but since this is our own original character, I wanted her to at least fight in a way that made sense for her. In kind, I'd like Gokū to fight back in his own way as well. With some effects enhanced, exaggerated and reacted, this was a blast to describe and lay out for you all to view. To cap it off, Vegeta's ruthless nature shines through and shows just how unapologetically evil he is about it. I loved what my co-author did with their fight too; felt original, fast paced and kept up a nice mighty momentum while being faithful to the original source material. I can't think of a better way to end this chapter than on a nice beam struggle! See you guys for the next update!
LastationLover5000: I'm gonna admit, this scene took awhile to write. I'm honestly burnt out on fight scenes, but for as long as I have been at this, can you blame me? Regardless, when I was in the zone, I had quite a bit of fun. It's always cool to see Gokū and Vegeta fight, and considering where the Erased Chronicles is, I didn't think I'd ever get to write it again. Gokū's use of the Kaiōken and Vegeta's utter stubbornness were enjoyable to write, and I enjoyed my partner's section as well. Aspara was fun to have around! But we've still got some surprises in store, so keep on reading! We'll see you lot soon!