Dragon Ball - Heart of the Adventurers
By LastationLover5000 and Demod20, edited by Firegod00
Chapter 18 - Our Power
Pain.
That was the single sensation that had overwhelmed Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyan Race and last of his royal bloodline. The third class warrior had battled him, making him bleed -the nerve he had- and to make matters worse, he actually countered his Garlic Cannon with his own enormous well of power. It baffled his mind. Nothing made sense. The only thing that he was cognizant of was the pain and the passive screaming his lungs let out as he was pushed towards the vacuum of space, hurtling through the planet's atmosphere.
If it wasn't for the unyielding rage canceling out his agony, he would've been carried into the cold void.
Twisting off the head of the blue pillar of searing light, the Saiyan watched as the beam streaked out into space and roared far away till it petered into nothing. He dared not look at his current state; his armor marred, parts of it scorched and his right shoulder pad completely blown away, gloves burnt and revealing bleeding fingers and the linen of his pants were torn in odd places. His tail unfurled from his waist, frazzled and thrashing about as he waved his arms with indignation and bitterness.
"HOW CAN THIS BE?!" He howled in the planet's sky, his arms pumping with irrational frustration. Eyes were near bloodshot with fury and his lower lips oozed blood that stained his chin, painting his teeth in between that granted him a fearsome injured visage. Twisting about, he couldn't think straight and continued to shout to no one in particular. "I AM THE PRIDE OF MY RACE! NONE SHOULD SURPASS ME, LET ALONE A FILTHY THIRD CLASS JOKE! THERE'S NO WAY HE COULD GET THIS STRONG IN A YEAR; IMPOSSIBLE!"
Seething in the heavens of this backwater world, the prince fumed at this impossibility. There was no way a low class freak like Kakarrot could possibly breach the gap of power between them so quickly. No amount of ordinary training could get them that close; he'd know, he saw the results of the other Earthling defenders as they fell to his colleagues and himself.
"That power, it seemed to have been hampering him," Vegeta remembered, his rage dimming just enough for him to remember the proclaimed Kaiōken. Every time he added a multiplier to it, his power in every regard increased with it. He had doubled and tripled, then quadrupled his strength enough to blast him a way. But, he knew that unnaturally stressing the body with swollen energy would have drastic consequences. Grinning, he wiped the blood off his lips, his eyes now scanning the planet's horizon. "Unlike you, Kakarrot, I have a trump card of my own. It isn't as flashy, and quite frankly I despise relying on it, but it'll be the one thing to break you; to make you comprehend your inferiority to my superior strength!"
Then, he saw it. Just beyond the scope of the planet was this planet's moon. Taking off, he soared towards the lunar body, eyes widening as the Blutz Waves began to accumulate in his retinas and be absorbed into his prehensile limb. Teeth bared and a maniacal laugh was let loose as his body began to transform...
Exhausted. That's what Gokū felt after throwing out a four-fold Kaiōken. Falling to one knee, he felt his muscles contract and expand, spasming from the pain as sweat permeated the bruises and blood from the injuries he withstood from his strongest opponent yet. One eye was half closed, the other wide open as he felt Vegeta's ki moving away. Looking up he felt him going across the planet, farther away till he barely felt him.
In an instant, he felt Vegeta's ki skyrocket, a distant light beyond the Sun explode with a violet hue. Hurricane winds thrashed across the scarred canyon, forcing him back to his feet, an arm protecting his face while his hair whipped around with his tail. Grimacing, the energy seemed to go higher and higher, farther than he thought remotely possible.
Suddenly, the light in the blinding purple vista grew closer and closer till it overcast the whole of his environment in its lavender-white outline. Eyes widened, his body instinctively jumping further into the rocky terrain, bouncing across it and drawing upon all of his strength in a bout of adrenaline surging through his weary muscles past his veins. Seconds later, everything behind him exploded, flinging him by a grunting yelp towards a tall rock foundation. Thrashing his tail around, he managed to bounce off it, skidding down to a lower pillar of stone and shakily found his footing.
He gawked with a paled expression at what he saw.
A molten scar was seen, having torn through the planet's surface for kilometers on end, farther than he could see an end from his position. Most of the canyon foundation he was at moments ago was vaporized with only bare sediments piled up next to the bubbling, steaming abyss that was slashed and releasing volumes of smoke and fire into the air along the whole of the ki woven trench. Gulping, he felt himself tense up at the enormity of the blast and how it made the previous one he dealt with falter in comparison.
A thunderclap sounded behind him as the rock foundation groaned and petered away, forcing him once again to yelp as he leaped to safety. Finding a leaning tower of rock that slammed into a thicker pyre of earth, he turned and gawked in horror. A looming silhouette with burning red eyes, bathed in violet flames of ki and wearing the scorched battle armor of the prince he knew too well. His simian features of a large snout, large teeth and hair covering the majority of his body with a towering tail sweeping out to knock the rest of the foundation near him to smithereens; like brushing dust to something as deadly as this.
"This is the Oozaru form," Gokū remembered, his eyes forming a glare as his open mouth formed a bared, gritting expression with his teeth. "Vegeta must have flew towards the moon away from us. I wish someone destroyed it but...something tells me that wouldn't help me, in the condition I'm in."
"HA! TOO SCARED TO MAKE A QUIP? THIS, KAKARROT, IS THE TRUE POWER OF A SAIYAN!" Vegeta raucously shouted with declaration, leaning down to glare closely at the smaller Saiyan. "MY POWER HAS INCREASED TEN TIMES IN THIS STATE! WITH THE STATE YOU'RE IN, EVEN IF YOU COULD TRANSFORM, YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR SOMEONE SKILLED IN THIS TRANSFORMATION LIKE I AM!"
"Maybe so," Son Gokū replied, almost too quiet for Vegeta to hear. Spreading his legs, he swiveled one bent knee to point to his right while extending his left to be almost completely relaxed. The right arm pulled back with a clawed gesture, the left hand open and the palm facing down, his onyx eyes glared defiantly up while a relaxed grin spread across his wearied face. "But I'll never know until I try."
"SUCH ARROGANCE," Vegeta bellowed with laughter, raising a house-sized fist, swinging it down towards him with immense pressure and power thrown with it. "WILL BE YOUR DOWNFALL, KAKARROT!"
Raditz felt lucky. He had gotten relatively unscathed from the hard fights thus far, perhaps the most fresh next to Pan and she was using her inner power multiple times today -something he didn't know if she had a limit to or not- which left him open to help avoid the onslaught that came their way. Grabbing the kid by the scruff of her neck and the bald man's head with his enormous hand, he leaped away from the earthen foundations that the light was careening through. The volatile blast, the vaporizing flames and the shockwave knocked them all prone away from the large crater that a certain person had been buried inside earlier.
When the ringing in their ears died down did Raditz relax his grip on the small pair.
"W-What was t-that?!" Pan asked, her voice etched with fear as she looked towards the enormous stacks of smoke rising from what was the face of the battle-scarred sediment nearby. Molten to some degree, it sludge down into a dark crevice that spewed steam and smoke of equal measure. The purplish hue from the ki used etched into the smog, letting them all know whom was responsible for the wreckage of the planet.
"You sure saved us big time," Kuririn remarked his voice filled with gratefulness, becoming a perfect mask for the terror filling his eyes at the morbid sight.
"We're nowhere near out of the woods yet," Raditz bit back, his body the first to stand upright and turn to look into the distance. His left eye twitched, and he grimaced with clenched molars. He knew exactly what this power was; even without the adept ability to sense ki like the Earthlings' possessed, this couldn't be anything other than that form. "It seems Vegeta's pulled out the big guns. I wonder how long my brother can last alone against that."
"S-Shouldn't we help, Papa?!"
"Don't be stupid!" Raditz barked, causing Pan to recoil a bit while her uncle glared down at her. "At your strength, angry or not, you'll be squashed by him! He's without peer once transformed and there's not a thing we can do to stop him!"
"But, if Gokū loses-"
"I know, I know!" The Saiyan cut off Kuririn, his hands balling up into tight fists, his left eye twitching again as his body shook. He was a pragmatist, plain and simple. Even if cowardice was part of it, he always preferred to find the most safe path and go down it. The moment things get rough, he'd bail if need be or at least find a means of gaining the upper-hand. But, he didn't know even if that was capable of dealing with-
His line of thinking was cut off when a sudden plume of light followed an emergence of raw mustard colored ki from the hole nearby. From the energy that fired up into the air, Raditz's head whipped with his mane, seeing fragments of what looked like pottery with the etchings of wording burning away. Eyes widened with realization and he howled to the pair as he formed a battle stance for what emerged.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Nappa screamed out loud like a banshee. Emerging from that maelstrom of horror and darkness, he had no idea what had happened to get himself caught in the thing he tried to save Vegeta from. Due to his own limited comprehension, he thought that he might have intercepted the foul energy sent by the three-eyed warrior, and was thrown into the spiral instead. If not for the timely blast that happened a minute ago, the sealing urn that he was trapped in would be his eternal tomb, and to fathom that was too much for the simple-minded general to think about. Covered in sweat and still shaking, he turned to look around him, realizing the battle had went elsewhere.
"What the Hell happened?! Where is everybody?!" He cried out, eyes looking for anything resembling his comrades. "Kuka? Gula? Aspara?! Vegeta, where are you?!"
"They're all dead, you dolt!" Raditz mocked, taking the opportunity to capitalize on Nappa's fear and confusion. Earning a gawking look from the hovering giant, Raditz grinned with jeer, crossing his arms over his chest and cocked his head up at him. "Your boss is the only one left, and my brother is going to make short work of him. That leaves you, all alone, to deal with. I'm only happy to oblige in wiping your boot-licking existence off the face of this planet, Nappa!"
Kuririn and Pan looked at each other with fright, wondering what had come over their mutual Saiyan ally. If this was all for a bluff, then what? Would he fly away? They didn't know if it was just for selfish satisfaction or to get him mad.
It turned to be the latter, as Nappa opened his mouth wide enough to swallow someone whole as he let loose an indignant cry of fury, "You PUNK! How could the likes of YOU and that SQUIRT take them all down?! And Kakarrot's fighting Vegeta?! He's going to be in for a rude awakening once Vegeta fights for real; just like I'm going to against a big coward like you, Raditz!"
"Your funeral," Raditz whispered, his smile trading for a fierce snarl with veins protruding from his broad brow. His pupils flashed a white film of light over his eyes, his whole body pulsing with a throbbing sensation that stretched down to his now outstretched tail. Growling, he began to howl out loud, causing Kuririn and Pan to stumble back as a tense scarlet light flowed over him. As he began to swell in size, Raditz spared a glance to Kuririn and howled out loud with as much restraint as he could. "DWARF! TAKE PAN AWAY FROM HERE!"
Stuttering out an affirmation incoherently, the bald monk deftly dashed around Raditz, reaching out and grabbing Pan bodily while dashing away from the transforming Saiyan. Stopping a good two dozen meters away, he turned to look on in terror while Pan gaped in awe. Her eyes were filled with the vision of her uncle becoming bestial, hair growing across his skin and his face stretching into a simian snout with feral looking teeth, his black orbs becoming angled and pupiless, shedding nothing but crimson. Towering over them with immense proportions, his tail swung out, creating a blast of wind that kicked up the earth while a stomp splintered the ground.
Left completely baffled and mortified at the sudden development, Nappa could only wonder how Raditz could transform without a full moon out. The next thing he knew, a body-sized fist crashed into him, his body lurching back with eyes bulging nearly out of his sockets. With a thuum that sheared the sound barrier, Nappa was sent careening into the distant collection of plateaus that remained from Vegeta's earlier blast, crashing painfully through one partition of rock after the other. Ending with a large plume of smoke, Raditz grinned with grim satisfaction, pulling back his gauntlet covered fist and cracked the knuckles audibly with preparation.
"U-Uncle Raditz is huuuuuuuuuge!" Pan blurted out, her eyes wide as saucers and her head lurching up so high she thought she might fall backwards trying to look at the Oozaru state of her uncle.
"J-Just be glad he's on our side!" Kuririn nervously exclaimed, physically shaking from memory of the beast that Gokū had become all those years ago. It still made him sweat just remembering it; now that there was a race of these freak shows that can do the same thing, he wondered just how lucky they were by not arriving in THIS form.
Emerging in a flash of dull yellow in the distance, Nappa soared back to them but not showing the best of conditions. Blood soaked his lower jaw, the top of his battle jacket was completely wrecked, crumbling to pieces as he floated in the air and the straps fell off to show purple bruises along his chest and abdomen. Even his arms had lacerations and discoloration from being caught unprepared by the attack.
"You...think you're so tough...don't ya?!" Nappa howled out, taking rasping breaths from the pain and laboured attempt to sound intimidating. "But...once I team up with Vegeta...you're going to be in for a world of hurt!"
"OH REALLY? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, YOU BALD BUFFOON!" Raditz laughed derisively, his voice bellowing loud enough to make Pan and Kuririn's ears hurt from the mere distance they were to him. Raising a hand up, beckoning him, the Oozaru-Saiyan grinned viciously at him. "WHAT'S THE MATTER? RAN OUT OF SAIYAN PRIDE WHEN YOU FOUND SOMETHING YOU CAN'T CRUSH YOURSELF?!"
"W-What did you say?!" Nappa snarled out, incensed at the audacity of the third class warrior. Grimacing, the fury was short-lived when another hand swung towards him and he barely managed to avoid it. Following up with a flying snap kick, the bald man screeched back, the wind of the attack making him fumble awkwardly in the air. This wasn't helped when Raditz spun around and whipped his gigantic tail around to lariat Nappa in the back, sending him careening into the horizon; straight towards the battlefield of Gokū and Vegeta.
"I'M GOING TO FINISH HIM OFF!" Raditz announced, looking over his shoulder at Kuririn and Pan. "STAY HERE! IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!"
"N-No arguments here!" Kuririn acknowledged, feeling like he was getting to the limits of what he could handle just by standing in one place. Pan looked on, a look of worry entering her eyes. The memory was still fresh, seeing Piccolo give up his life for hers, and dying in front of her. She was afraid of these bad people, these Saiyans. Even as Raditz looked big and strong, she was worried that he too would end up like Piccolo.
So without a second more of hesitation, Pan cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted to the massive being, just before he took off in a flare of violet light, "DON'T DIE, UNCLE RADITZ!"
Though the Saiyan wouldn't respond outwardly he couldn't help but feel a pang on the inside from hearing his niece say something like that. Shaking his head, the massive being intended to make short work of Nappa. Then, perhaps he can help his brother.
"Hold on, Kakarrot!" Raditz silently urged as he sought to catch up to his target.
Gokū dodged the latest enormous limb of Vegeta, moving like his life depended on it. Despite his earlier bravado, he was beginning to think the odds of him being able to survive was about as slim as him even forcing a draw out of this nightmarish opponent. Regardless of the bulk, the form moved with such speed and dexterity that he could barely outmaneuver his mass. If it wasn't for how small he was, he'd surely be crushed easily by this Saiyan Elite.
Flipping backwards, he slipped on the surface of a stone pillar, eyes widened with alarm as Vegeta head lurched towards him with its mouth opened wide to snap on him. A swivel of his tail, and Gokū latched onto the tower of rock, swinging around in a swift loop as the Oozaru's jaws snapped the pillar in half. In the midst of his spin, he lit up in a brief flash of crimson and kicked the back of his head, causing the huge Saiyan to spit out the rocks with a gasp. Placing both hands on the furred scalp, he thrust himself out of the way of impending hands of the Oozaru with a Reverse Kamehameha, turning himself around an arc to face Vegeta's bewildered simian face.
Then twist it with the Kamehameha primed.
"Kaiōken Times Two, KAMEHAMEHA!" He cried out, his hands firing a plume of cerulean flames at Vegeta's face, exploding violently upon impact. Through the blast, Gokū saw the blood-eyed glint of glaring eyes and a growl like thunder filled the air. His own eyes bulged and his body stiffened, the recent use of kilocking his muscles down in a spike of pain.
"Oh no-!" He cried out, watching Vegeta surge his hand out to grab him.
A loud bang filled the air, causing both of them to halt their engagement. Looking over, the pair saw a familiar person emerging, bloodied and bruised all over. Rising up to his feet, he stumbled about, his breath wheezing and one eye shut from the blood covering it. The other looked over and saw Vegeta, his transformation recognized in an instant by the general.
"A-Ah, Vegeta! You transformed already?! Is this whelp giving you that much trouble?!"
"YOU'RE FREED, EH? WHY ARE YOU SO INJURED? DON'T TELL ME IT'S BECAUSE OF THOSE EARTHLINGS!" Vegeta bellowed, his attention diverted to Nappa long enough for Gokū to lurk down to a safer pedestal to recover from his body's pain.
"U-Uh...well...y-you see-" He began to say, when a sudden throttling being emerged, swathed in scarlet light from the flight over. As the ki dissipated, Nappa backed up and looked on with mortified horror, while Vegeta raised a simian brow suspiciously at Raditz. The armor was unmistakably his, so it couldn't have been anyone else. Yet, he didn't see him come near the moon at all, which means...
"RADITZ. I'M SURPRISED YOU TRANSFORMED WITHOUT A MOON. BEEN HIDING SOMETHING FROM US, EH?" Vegeta jeered, coaxing him into revealing what trickery he pulled.
"IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO COMPREHEND, SNOT-NOSED PRINCE!" Raditz bellowed back in mockery, getting a repulsive sneer from Vegeta's snout from the vulgar retort. "KAKARROT'S WOMAN IS AVERAGE BY EARTHLING STRENGTH STANDARDS BUT SHE'S A BRILLIANT SCIENTIST! SHE CAME UP WITH SPECIAL LUNAR LAMPS INSTALLED INTO EYE CONTACTS THAT, WHEN I CONTRACT MY EYES IN A CERTAIN WAY, TURN THEM ON AND GET BLUTZ WAVES NECESSARY FOR A TRANSFORMATION. I CAN DO IT AT WILL; UNLIKE YOU!"
"HA! CONSPIRING WITH THE EARTHLINGS JUST SHOWS HOW DESPERATE YOU ARE, WEAKLING!" Vegeta barked, amused at hearing this development. While he was slightly irked he didn't possess such technology, it hardly mattered. "HAD YOU FOUGHT NAPPA AT HIS FULL POWER, YOU'D BE HELPLESS! WHAT GOOD ARE YOU HERE NOW?"
"ENOUGH BRAVADO, VEGETA!" The brother of Gokū howled back, a bestial hand raised up to clench loudly in front of him. "I'M THROUGH WITH YOUR EGO DRIVING US TO NOWHERE! WE'RE BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU; I'M BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU!"
"GO AHEAD AND TRY, THIRD CLASS TRASH!" Vegeta waved his arms out with open invitation, laughing haughtily at such tripe. "TRANSFORMED OR NOT, YOU'RE STILL BENEATH ME IN EVERY WAY!"
A sudden light emerged beneath the pair of giants and the distantly resting Gokū. Turning to look, they'd see Nappa had formed a small glowing orb of light in his hand. Vegeta recognized it immediately, and began to howl out loud but was cut off by Raditz's charging fist crashing into his snout mightily. Rearing back a step, the Prince's eyes gleamed with fury, whipping back to slap Raditz across the face, sending him face first into the ground from a mighty blow. Raising his left boot to stamp on his head, he'd feel white-hot pain explode in his left eye and his whole body wracked with agony as he clenched his face.
Whipping his head to look at a gasping Gokū, his hand still outstretched and steaming from the ki he used for the precision placed Dodon Pa, fueled the fire of wrath boiling inside of his enormous bulk. Changing targets, he fired a salvo of energy bullets from his right hand, forcing Gokū to erratically dodge the exploding blasts that came in the dozens. Striking his back, he was slammed into the ground between piles of crumbled earth. Vegeta sought to finish him off but felt a pain in his tail, yanked hard and lifting him off the ground.
With a howl of effort, Raditz lifted Vegeta up off the ground and spun him in the air long enough to smash face first into another pile of earthen towers, collapsing many more in a plume of smoke and dust. Despite the good grip he had on the Prince's tail, he felt part of it coil around a wrist and yank with surprising force towards his ground prone self. Pushing off the ground in a smooth motion, a giant furred elbow smashed into the side of his face, followed by a palm-thrust into his armored breastplate following a violet burst of light that sent him flying across the air and landing with a thud a quarter of a mile away.
"NOW, TO DEAL WITH THE IMBECIL-"
"Burst and MIX!"
"DAMMIT NAPPA!" Vegeta cried out, noticing a bright glint of light formed in the upper atmosphere -thrown when he wasn't looking- that was the Power Ball. An artificial, temporary lunar body in case none existed or they needed to expedite a planet's destruction, it permeated the amount of Blutz Waves necessary to have them easily transform from a single glance. While it only lasted as long as the Power Ball hung in the sky, it was enough for Nappa to transform rapidly and gain a similar bulk, just with a smattering of blood and fur-covered bruises. Seething with rage, Vegeta swung an arm around in a wind-bursting arc and shouted at his subordinate. "DO YOU NOT REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!"
"I'M AT FULL POWER NOW, VEGETA!" He shouted back, disoriented but now feeling the energy revitalize him past the point of caring for his injuries. "YOU SAID IT YOURSELF, AT FULL STRENGTH, HE'D STAND NO CHANCE AGAINST ME!"
"BEFORE YOU GOT YOURSELF WOUNDED TO THE POINT OF PITY, YOU DOLT!" Vegeta howled, inclined to turn and destroy it just to spite Nappa's stupidity.
But the ignorance of Kakarrot's state, had left him taken aback. Emerging from the debris was a swelling, bestial Gokū, swathed in fur and in the Kaio designed gi that accompanied his new stature thanks to its make. Crimson eyes glared at Vegeta and a howl of feral power was let loose as a crimson light of basic Kaiōken two fold swathed his person, turning the fur red in shade. Striking a formal posture, he baffled the Prince by showing complete control, just like his brother over this state. "I'M READY FOR ROUND TWO, VEGETA!"
"KAKARROT!" snarled Vegeta, fury peaking in his simian features. He cocked his fist back, before letting a powerful blow loose with the power of a thousand cannons. His fist created a powerful gust of wind, but Gokū, now of a similar size, reacted as a fighter of his caliber would. He responded quickly, his fist crashing forward to meet Vegetas. The clenched digits clashed against each other, creating a powerful shockwave the cracked the ground and whipped up a torrential blat of wind yet further. Nappa and Raditz very nearly divided their attention at to marvel at the power displayed between these two.
"EVERY ACTION YOU TAKE IS AN AFFRONT TO MY HONOUR, KAKARROT!" Vegeta roared, their fists still locked. His frustration was reaching a breaking point; his advantage against Kakarrot was dwindling, Nappa was making the mistakes of an amateur, and even Raditz had the gall to fight back. "FOR A THIRD-RATE PIECE OF TRASH LIKE YOU TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE GIANT MONKEY FORM! WHAT KIND OF TRAINING DID YOU DO?!"
"I TRAINED WITH GOD," replied Gokū without an ounce of sarcasm, flexing the muscles of his newly transformed body in an attempt to gain the edge against Vegeta. Their fists slipped from each other other, and the Saiyan duo clashed wrists against each other in another excessive display of force. "I TOLD YOU, VEGETA! EVEN THE LOW-CLASS CAN SURPASS THE ELITE!" If anything, this was what set Vegeta off further. When the two broke apart to continue their battle, Vegeta struck first, slamming his forearm into Gokū's throat. This pushed the transformed Earth-raised Saiyan backwards, Vegeta following up with a crushing kick to the torso.
Gokū skidded across the rocky ground, crashing into one of the plateaus that dotted the area, crumbling it to pieces. His vision began to fill with colour, and he recognised quickly the source; Vegeta had released a bundle of ki towards the downed Saiyan. Gokū sprung to life, leaping into the air and taking flight as best he could despite his large size. The sphere exploded, creating a blinding flash and a crater at the moment of impact. Vegeta leaned his gigantic form backwards, expelling sphere after sphere of ki into the air. Gokū wove through the bullets, grazing him but he managed to push it off and crashed into Vegeta, pinning the Prince of the Saiyan to the ground.
The next action occurred in moments. Both Vegeta and Gokū opened their maws wide, and spiraling within the confines of their mouths formed a sphere of ki — one a brilliant blue, and the other lavender — and the two quite recklessly released the blasts point blank at each other. They collided instantly and the explosion was akin to the world's largest flash bomb. To Raditz and Nappa, even though the former was fairly unwounded, he was still watching a fight of two people beyond his level, and it was amazing in a way that only a Saiyan could appreciate. Nappa could only gape at the expanding flash, but Raditz shielded his body and eyes from the explosion.
The light died down quickly, and Nappa, still utterly stunned that Kakarrot could resist Vegeta the way he had been, was left open. Raditz was not one to miss a chance that was literally giftwrapped. The Giant Monkey spun on his heel, in a surprising display of agility, and connected a powerful fist to Nappa's muzzle. The wounded Saiyan staggered back, already in immense pain from his earlier injuries. "YOU WERE OPEN, IDIOT!" roared Raditz to a furious Nappa.
"YOU'RE GETTING A LITTLE TOO EXCITED, AREN'T YOU, TRAITOR?!" snapped back Nappa, wiping the blood from his snout. "THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEVER LIKED ABOUT YOU, RADITZ! YOU NEVER WERE SAIYAN MATERIAL, WERE YOU?! ALWAYS A COWARD, ALWAYS SHIRKING FROM THE FRONTLINES! AND NOW YOU'RE TURNING TRAITOR FOR YOUR RUNT OF A BROTHER?!" He snarled. "I HEARD YOUR FATHER WAS AN ODD ONE, BUT PERHAPS YOUR WHOLE FAMILY IS A WASTE OF SAIYAN BLOOD!"
Raditz breathed deeply. It was a slow, methodical breath. Then he rushed forward. Nappa was ready this time, and the two Giant Monkeys locked their hands together in an attempt to gain dominance over the other. Raditz leaned in, pushing Nappa backwards. His red-eyes glinted maliciously. "YOU'VE GOT A BIG MOUTH ON YOU, OAF!" snarled Raditz, venom laced in his voice. "TURNED TRAITOR? I DON'T EVER RECALL SWEARING FEALTY TO YOU OR THAT BRAT OF A PRINCE!" He began to pull Nappa's arms downward, simultaneously pushing him backwards. "AND YOU SHOULD REALLY LEARN TO KEEP QUIET ABOUT THINGS YOU CAN'T PROCESS WITH YOUR LIMITED INTELLIGENCE, NAPPA!" Raditz let out a powerful roar, throwing Nappa's arms aside and disrupting the general's balance.
There's so much I don't understand about myself anymore! Raditz thought, wrapping his arms around Nappa's waist and lifting him up. But I'll figure it out without all of you! He leaned backwards, and with all of his weight, suplexed Nappa hard into the stone ground. "I'M THROUGH WITH YOU TWO AND THAT RIDICULOUS MILITARY!"
Nappa roared in pain as his back collided with the ground. Raditz stood up to full height, turning around and opening his jaws as wide as they could go. Pink ki formed between his upper and lower jaws, and the Giant Monkey released a powerful bullet of ki that collided with Nappa and exploded with a powerful bang. The general stood his ground, withstanding the blast to the best of his ability, and the ground began to melt beneath his feet, the cracks glowing as molten rock seeped in.
"YOU'RE GETTING A BIT BIG FOR YOUR BRITCHES, RADITZ!" howled the wounded Saiyan officer. "JUST YOU WAIT..YOU'LL REGRET THIS IN HELL WHEN VEGETA AND I PUT YOU AND YOUR LITTLE BROTHER IN THE GROUND!"
"YOU CAN STILL TALK BIG FOR SOMEONE BLEEDING FROM EVERYWHERE," replied Raditz scornfully. "DO YOU THINK YOU GOT SEALED AWAY BY THAT THREE-EYED BASTARD ON ACCIDENT?! WERE YOU THERE WHEN VEGETA DISPOSED OF ASPARA?! HE'S A SAIYAN AT THE PINNACLE OF THEIR CRUELTY! THERE'S NO CHINKS IN HIS ARMOR, NAPPA! BY OUR STANDARDS, I WAS CERTAINLY WEAK." He gritted his teeth, but continued. "I SIDED WITH MY TRAITOROUS BROTHER, AND DO YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE HE WOULD HAVE KILLED ME IF I RETURNED! JUST LIKE HE'LL KILL YOU IF I DON'T."
"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Nappa roared. "I PRACTICALLY RAISED HIM! HE OWES EVERYTHING OF WHERE HE IS NOW TO ME! YOUR SILVER TONGUE WON'T GET YOU OUT OF FIGHTING ME!"
"THEN YOU'LL DIE, NAPPA! DIE BELIEVING YOUR LOYALTY WAS RETURNED!"
As Nappa and Raditz continued their battle, the battle between Earth-raised Son Gokū and the Prince of the Saiyans Vegeta raged onward. Despite suffering from two point blank explosions, the sturdiness of the Giant Monkey transformation was not to be underestimated. With his newfound hardiness, Gokū was managing to retain control of the Kaiōken to a manageable degree, actually keeping pace with Vegeta. The two Giant Monkeys clashed, their blows destroying the area with explosive shockwaves.
The two rose into the air, Gokū quickly gaining more control of his ability to fly despite his large size, and they clashed against each other. The two exchanged blows, breaking apart, and then clashed again as they rose into the air, reaching above the clouds. With their whole bodies, Gokū and Vegeta released a kiai that forced them away from each other and split a portion of the clouds. The Giant Monkey Prince of Saiyans felt steam rise off his body; the vapor of the clouds evaporating from the heat of their ki.
He's keeping pace...! Vegeta thought in pure anger and irritation. To be forced to transform into this hideous state...and to be matched by my lesser whilst transformed?! How many times will my royal status be sullied by this third-class fool!?
Gokū was breathing deeply, and felt the ki around his body crackle violently. He suppressed a slight spasm. Was the Kaiōken, which had been manageable in the Giant Monkey form up until this point, beginning to resist? Gokū shook off the thought; the pain wasn't as severe as when his body was in its regular state, and he could still move, which meant he could still fight.
"WHAT'S THE MATTER, KAKARROT?!" sneered Vegeta. "RUNNING OUT OF BREATH?! YOU'RE BEGINNING TO LOOK TUCKERED OUT!"
"I COULD SAY THE SAME FOR YOU, VEGETA," replied Gokū quickly. "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME, THE FUN IS ONLY GETTING STARTED!" Gokū cupped his furred hands to his side, forming a sphere of ki, bright blue in colour, between the palms. "KA...ME...HA...ME...!"
In response, Vegeta cupping the back of his palm into the open palm of his other hand, curling his fingers and beginning to charge a large amount of ki. His body was immersed in purple, centralising around his palms with a glowing white centre. "GARLIC...!"
The two powerful Saiyans readied their techniques, and released them near simultaneously.
"...HA!"
"...CANNON!"
A wall of bluish-white and purple struck head-on, resulting in a deafening shriek of life energies. Swirling into a votex of light and crackling bio-energy, the two beings projecting their power felt a tug within the abnormal singularity. Then, all at once, the light was sucked inward and released outward in an elliptical blast that struck both enormous bulky frames of the Giant Monkeys, burning and bludgeoning them with vicious fervor.
Gokū felt his head hammer, his skin burn and the whole of his weight bring him down with the aid of gravity. In his periphery, he could make out Vegeta's silhouette, also falling to the planet below. Their descent came without respite, blistering wind rippling their fur and hair, the beasts streaking like comets to the world beneath them. Upon final contact, a rippling shock-wave was released as the earth fissured beneath their respective simian bodies.
It was Vegeta who stood up first, thoroughly exhausted and undeniable trembling with a mixture of pain of rage. Gokū followed, standing slightly slower than his opponent. His aura had faded; the Kaiōken had worn out. Both Vegeta and Gokū were breathing heavily, but Vegeta was taking his breaths with far greater ease.
Damn! thought Gokū, feeling his giant body tremble and shake. When those two blasts collided...my body couldn't take it, an' I couldn't maintain the Kaiōken! The pain that racked his body was tremendous, and had he not felt considerably worse pain in his smaller form. would have knocked him unconscious. This...might be it.
Wastelands, Several Kilometres Away
Kuririn let his senses stretch to analyse the ensuing battles, and could only gape, despite being able to physically see none of it. "That is some serious power being thrown around. All four of them...they're like monsters!"
"I can feel it!" Pan said, her voice laced with cheerfulness. "Papa and Uncle Raditz are winning! They're so strong!" In her eagerness, she scanned the horizon, as if hoping to see something, some image of her father fending off the evil Saiyan, or her uncle, battling the bad man that killed Piccolo. Something caught her attention, yet it wasn't what she was looking for. A bright light in the horizon, like the moon, but much, much closer. The girl was excited at first, energetically pointing to it and tugging on Kuririn's gi.
"Kuririn! Look at that! It's so pre—" Her words were cut short when her consciousness shut down. The girl stared, transfixed, at the 'pretty' light in the sky, her onyx eyes becoming a vibrant red.
The former monk was confused, and walked over in front of the now frozen girl. "Hey, you OK kid?" He waved his hand in front of Pan's face, but received no response. Kuririn would jump back quickly, however, when a feral snarl escaped Pan's throat. Her body began to spasm, and she began to grow in size. Her gi, crafted by Piccolo in anticipation for the coming battle, had not taken a transformation into account, and shredded. Her bare form was quickly covered in fur, and she roared mightily as the once adorable child took the same feral form as her father and uncle.
"Oh crap!" shouted Kuririn, dodging a blind swipe coming from the now rampaging Saiyan child. He spun into the air, nearly out of control, and looked on in horror as Pan stomped on the ground, and her very roar let out powerful shockwaves. "Pan! Kid! Listen to me!"
This request was immediately ignored, as Pan continued her rampage. The girl opened her mouth, and released a powerful blast of ki that flew off into the distance, creating a powerful explosion. Kuririn, even airborne, felt the Earth rock slightly, and sweat-dropped. "If Vegeta doesn't destroy the planet, Pan might do it instead! Damn it!" Kuririn was contemplating exactly what to do; Pan was rampaging, and this would surely lead to complications. As Kuririn was thinking, however, Pan actually stopped her onslaught.
"Is she—"
Any hope was immediately crushed when Pan started to run off, trampling across the ground and heading towards the horizon. It took Kuririn only a moment to realise where she was headed; Pan could sense the battle and was headed to where the strongest combat strengths were. He took off following, keeping distance as best he could to avoid being attacked by the rampaging toddler again. As they approached, he saw, in his horror, what had attracted Pan, and immediately leapt backwards in mid-air. It was a free-for-all of the Giant Monkeys. "I...I can't follow her to that sort of battlefield, I'll be eaten alive!" At this point, he wasn't even 100% sure that was a figurative statement. The fact remained; Pan was a wild card, and not necessarily a good one. If five Giant Monkeys were rampaging now...he would need to find a way to reverse their transformations. When Gokū reverted back as a child, he'd been unconscious..that could provide them a brief window to kill the two Saiyans.
But how did Gokū get turned back...? thought the airborne monk. Within a moment of deliberation, he slapped his fist to his palm. "The moon! It was the moon! That man — Jackie Chun? — completely destroyed the moon. If we can do that, we should be able to revert them back to normal...!" Kuririn looked to the sky, and didn't see any sign of the moon at all. It was still barely evening. The others must have flown directly towards it...but when Pan transformed, she couldn't have seen the moon. With his impressive vision, Kuririn saw a vague star-like thing in the distance.
"...Was that what did it?" he muttered. "She did say something was...well, something before she turned into that giant ape." He groaned. So they'd have to destroy the moon and that glowing ball. The issue was, he didn't have the strength left, not to destroy the moon anyway. Even flying was difficult, he'd used enough ki trying to fend off the Saiyans and their cohorts. Tenshinhan, Yamcha, and Piccolo were all dead. Raditz and Gokū were fending off the Saiyans. "Damn it! No one's left at full strength!"
He groaned, wishing he knew exactly where that Jackie Chun fellow was. The old man would have been of a huge help here. "Wait...old man...Muten Rōshi! He has to be at least as strong! He isn't a venerable old master for nothing!" Kuririn grinned, ultimately pleased with his cleverness. Realising, however, that he had no method of immediately contacting them, the former monk resolved to fly directly to Kame House. Mustering the ki he had left, he made a note to ask Bulma about giving them all cell phones. Phoning them would make this so much quicker, thought the monk ruefully. Racing towards the coast, the monk realised, with his low ki, and the gigantic force of the Giant Monkey's ki drowning it out, he hadn't noticed something.
Another substantial ki was moving.
Wastelands, Giant Monkey Battlefield
"WHAT'S THE MATTER, KAKARROT?!" Vegeta flashed a cruel smile. "YOU DON'T HAVE NEARLY AS MUCH GUSTO AS YOU DID BEFORE!" He laughed, a loud, booming laugh as he stood tall above Gokū's transformed state. He could see the man was breathing hard, and could barely move. His fangs bared, Vegeta was elated to see things finally turn his way. "ALL OF YOUR BIG TALK AND YOU'RE KNEELING BEFORE YOUR PRINCE NOW? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR BOASTING, KAKARROT?! IF ONLY YOU WOULD HAVE LISTENED, YOUR DEATH WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH LESS PAINFUL!" He raised a fist, and coated it in vibrant purple ki. "LOW-CLASS TRASH LIKE YOURSELF CAN'T SURPASS THE ELITE NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY, SO LEARN YOUR PLACE!" With a bold declaration, he swung the gigantic limb downward towards Gokū's head.
"I...AIN'T DONE...YET!" cried Gokū. ""TWO-FOLD KAIŌKEN!" The blazing flame of the Kaiōken roared to life again, and the transformed Saiyan rocketed to his knees, his own fist striking Vegeta in the chin, disrupting his incoming attack and stunning him. The red flame died out almost instantly, and Gokū's body was just feeling tremendous aftershocks from the Kaiōken. He grinned — as well as he could with the face of a Giant Monkey — despite the pain, and Vegeta let out a howl of rage that released shockwaves throughout the area, his fury finally peaking.
There wasn't any thought to his actions anymore. The Prince of the Saiyans barreled down on Gokū, landing a powerful and crushing blow to the Giant Monkey's abdomen. The strike was followed quickly by a shoulder crash that forced Gokū to careen backwards. Howling in fury, Vegeta pursued, and Gokū surprised him by responding with his instincts. Gokū lunged, and sunk his teeth into Vegeta's neck; the mane prevented the bulk of the damage, but Vegeta's howl of rage mixed with a yowl of pain, and it succeeded in forcing him to take a step back from Gokū for a moment.
"Heh..." Gokū spit out a mess of fur, flesh, and blood, his grin never fading as Vegeta only continued to feel his fury build. Vegeta extended a gloved palm, and released a Kikōha towards his rival with blinding speed. The blast collided with Gokū, resulting in a shocking explosion.
"KAKARROT!" shouted Raditz, turning away from Nappa to witness the blast engulf his younger brother. He'd felt the man's ki tank just a few moments ago, despite other strange fluctuations. The tide of battle was shifting. In line with this train of thought, he felt his body weight shift; with immense force, Nappa had slugged him in the muzzle, and sent him careening back. The Giant Monkey general was laughing angrily; Raditz's advantage might have been only temporary.
"YOU STILL HAVE A LOT OF POWER, DON'T YOU YOU BASTARD?!"
Nappa grinned maliciously. "YOU LEFT YOURSELF OPEN," he said. "BESIDES, I'M SUDDENLY FEELING FIRED UP! YOUR TRAITOROUS LITTLE BROTHER IS ABOUT TO DIE! IT'S ALL OVER FOR YOU TWO!"
Shit...! Raditz thought, bracing himself for the impending combat. What the hell is he doing getting a second wind now?! Nappa stomped across the ground at a run, colliding with Raditz using earth-shaking force. Nappa unloaded a barrage of crushing punches to Raditz's stomach. The combat jacket went a long way towards protecting him from the concussive force, yet Raditz felt his body began to lift — Nappa's blows had enough strength behind them to lift him off of his feet. His crimson eyes widened as he felt Nappa's hands grab him and slam him hard into the ground, cracking it apart.
The Saiyan General's sonorous laughter rang through Raditz's ears as the pain that started in his back ran throughout his body. Nappa jumped upwards, crashing down onto Raditz's torso and began to punch him repeatedly, landing a solid blow in rapid succession on Raditz's now bruised muzzle.
"ENOUGH!"
Raditz's mouth wrenched open, and released a flash of ki from his mouth. The blast was a striking pink, and enveloped Nappa from the torso upward, completely stopping his relentless assault. "DON'T THINK FOR A SECOND...I'M GOING TO LET YOU KILL ME!" Raditz forcibly sat upward, slamming his forehead into Nappa's own. The headbutt left Nappa staggering, forcing him to stumble backwards off of Raditz. The Giant Monkey pulled himself to his feeth, breathing heavily. He clenched his fist, forming a spiraling sphere of ki that enveloped his hand. Old man...I'm going to borrow this! Raditz slung his arm forward, launching the sphere, which expanded in size once launched, barreling down towards Nappa. "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!"
Nappa raised both hands in front of it, stopping the sphere in its tracks. The ki began to push against him, and Nappa flexed his muscles to keep it at bay. He was determined to deflect it, to show Raditz that a lower, third-class piece of trash couldn't stand against his commander.
"NAPPA, TAKE THIS!" Raditz rushed forward, grabbing the sphere from the other side and beginning to push against Nappa. Wielding his sphere as a weapon, he pressed forward. The two Giant Monkeys struggled against each other, sparks of ki flickering off and crackling against the ground. Then, a spark of Saiyan intuition that occurred between both of them spurred their actions, and both sets of hands began to glow; yellow and pink respectively. Reacting to the ki from both sides, the sphere between them exploded, launching them both away from each other. The duo skid along the ground, crashing violently and going limp. They'd been knocked unconscious.
Vegeta snickered, witnessing the two of them completely fight to a standstill. "IT ISN'T OFTEN I SEE TRASH TAKE ITSELF OUT! YOU AND YOUR BROTHER ARE A RIOT, KAKARROT! BUT I SHOULD THANK HIM!" He grinned maliciously. "I WAS GOING TO KILL NAPPA AFTER ALL OF THIS IS DONE, ANYWAY! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE ENTIRE GROUP OF MY OWN FELLOW SAIYANS WOULD BE THIS PATHETIC?!"
"I DON'T...KNOW MUCH ABOUT ROYALTY," panted Gokū. "BUT...YOU AIN'T FIT FOR IT."
The Prince of the Saiyans felt his eye visibly twitch. "YOU STILL HAVE THE ENERGY TO MOUTH OFF?! THEN YOU CLEARLY HAVEN'T LEARNED YOUR PLACE THIRD-CLASS TRASH!" Vegeta prepared to deliver the final blow to his enemy, yet heard the loudest of collisions with the ground, and suddenly felt his body completely give way towards a massive application of force. His body weight shifted entirely, and he craned his head to see the most surprising sight; a completely unseen Giant Monkey pushing him away.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" he snarled, turning on his heels to confront the new enemy. "THE OTHERS ARE DEAD! AND RADITZ AND THE OAF ARE COMPLETELY UNCONSCIOUS!" There wasn't another Saiyan left...then it clicked. "IT'S THE HALFLING!" Humiliation from the father, the brother, and then the daughter. That third-class warrior's family knew had to limits to their insults.
"What?!" Gokū gasped. Through his blurred vision, he saw the dark form his an unclothed Giant Monkey confronting Vegeta's transformed state. He couldn't tell, but Vegeta's hunch had to be right; it was Pan. The transformed girl roared, letting loose a shockwave that cracked the ground. She howled, and released a kikōha towards Vegeta. The Prince gripped the blast and flung it aside. It careened off into the horizon and exploded; whether or not it destroyed a city was unknown.
"YOU LITTLE RUNT!" growled Vegeta. "YOU AREN'T EVEN A FULL BREED, AND YOU ATTACK ME!?" He rushed forward, raising his fist to attack the transformed Saiyan.
Adrenaline flooded Gokū's body, and his mouth formed the words before his brain processed it. "KAIŌKEN!" His body immersed in red, the martial artist launched from his kneeling position, sliding in front of his transformed child and holding both hands in front of him. Vegeta's strike clashed into his hands, and pressed into his stomach. Spittle launched from his mouth, and his eyes shut closed in incredible pain. "YOU...WON'T LAY A HAND...ON MY KID!"
"OH ISN'T THAT SWEET?!" Vegeta said, laughing derisively. "YOU'LL PROTECT YOUR LITTLE BRAT? BUT SURELY YOU KNOW, KAKARROT...THAT A SAIYAN MONKEY WHO ISN'T TRAINED WILL ATTACK ANYTHING, EVEN THEIR OWN FAMILY!"
As if to confirm Vegeta's statement, Pan gripped both of her hands and swung them from the side, slamming it into her father's face. His head and neck nearly bent askew, already weakened from fighting with Vegeta, and sent him veering off to the side. Gokū rubbed his jaw, his entire body pulsating with pain. His own daughter had attacked him, and was rampaging on the battlefield. He couldn't hit Pan like this, not even with enough force to knock her out. It was his daughter.
The booming laughter of Vegeta filled his hears. "DIE, KAKARROT! DIE AT THE HANDS OF YOUR HALFLING CHILD!"
Pan reached for one of the intact plateaus, now a completely rare sight within the immediate vicinity, ripped a portion off. It crumbled partially within her grip, but the transformed girl retained a sizeable enough chunk of rock to be considered a boulder and then some. With all the elegance of an amateur baseball pitcher, Pan lobbed the massive rock towards her father. Gokū, unable to dodge this time, raised both arms tiredly before himself to defend his body. The boulder crashed into him and shattered, breaking into pieces of debris, some of which rained down on Gokū for further pain.
Damn it...! thought Gokū. She's absolutely out of control...and I can barely lift a muscle! Raditz is out cold, and I don't know where Kuririn went! His thoughts were interrupted by the immediate violent onslaught of his angry, transformed child. I-It's the tail! If I could just get to the tail...! This would have been the apt solution, but being unable to barely move, with Pan repeatedly attacking him, made it difficult to do anything.
Pan bellowed again, stopping short landing another attack on Gokū and turned, as if she suddenly remembered that Vegeta was there. The roar from her throat was one of fury, and the girl opened her mouth again. Repeatedly, she launched several kikōha from her throat. Each consecutive blast was avoided by the Prince, who deflected them with the back of his hands, emerging unscathed from the resulting onslaught.
"I SEE..." he sighed. A soft aura began to build from his body. "I WAS BEING TOO KIND. I'LL ERASE THE BOTH OF YOU IN ONE FELL SWOOP!"
KAME HOUSE, THREE MINUTES EARLIER
Kuririn landed on the white sandy shores of Muten Rōshi's island, breathing hard. He ran up to the screen door and threw it open, breaking the turn handle at the same time.
"K-Kuririn!" Rōshi shouted in surprise, jumping up from his couch and glancing at his former student. "What in tarnation are you doing breaking down my front door? Haven't you heard of knocking?!" The elderly master was visibly annoyed at the rude entrance and destruction of his property — after all, he owned so little — and picked up the remote, turning down the television. Playing behind him was the usual suspect of women's workout programming; the instructions from the lead woman in front faded away as the volume depleted.
"The Saiyans arrived!" Kuririn said hurriedly. "It's a really long story and I can't explain everything; almost everyone's dead, Gokū's kid is a monkey, and I really need you to destroy the moon!"
"Whoah, slow down, darn it!" urged Muten Rōshi. "The Saiyans are here? I thought we still had more time!"
"They arrived early," said Kuririn, trying to explain everything but at the same time remain concise. "Remember when Gokū became a Giant Monkey back at the Tenkaichi Budōkai? Well, his kid — also him, Raditz, and two other Saiyans — turned into those giant monsters too!"
"Yes, I remember," muttered Rōshi. More clearly than you think, Kuririn. "It isn't a pleasant memory."
"Tell me about it," replied Kuririn. "I was so close to getting trampled. But, back then, that Jackie Chun guy destroyed the moon! I figured you have to be at least as strong, right? So I need you to destroy the moon now!"
"That should definitely do the trick," Muten Rōshi agreed. "But why come all the way here? You surpassed me long ago, boy. Don't you think you should have done it?"
"I..." Kuririn chuckled weakly. "I spent too much energy fighting the Saiyans. Even flying here was difficult."
"Kuririn, I'll have to teach you a few lessons in ki conservation later," said Rōshi with a sigh. "Fine; I'll knock the moon right out of orbit for ya. Should solve the monkey business."
The former monk couldn't say anything to his teacher's admonishment, and scratched the back of his head. "Also...may I use the telephone? I have to place a call."
Rōshi agreed, and headed towards his porch, slumping slightly. While Kuririn busied himself inside, the venerable old master discarded his shirt and did a brief stretch. "It ain't everyday someone asks this old man to do something monumental," grumbled Rōshi without any actual sincerity. It was clear he didn't mind a chance to quite literally stretch his muscles. "You young folk don't have appreciation for the speed at which the elderly live their lives." His sunglasses glinted, and with a deep breath, he focused his ki.
The change was instantaneous. His slim body, seemingly decrepit with age, bulked tremendously. His muscle definition was now the definition of insane, and the old master now appeared to be a body-builder. "I guess I'll show you whippersnappers how it's done." He cupped his hands to his side, and began to recite the words of his aged technique. "Ka...Me..." The sphere began to form within his palms, a vibrant blue and white bathing the old man in its hue. "...Ha...Me..." With his eyes directly on where the moon should be, Muten Rōshi thrust his palms forward with the final syllable.
"HAAAA!"
From both hands, the sphere exploded into a rushing blast of ki. He felt his body move backwards, though not by much, as the sands around him began to shift into a whirlwind. There was a blinding flash, and a far distance explosion. Rōshi's hands fell from their elevated height, and his breath slowed. "Still got it. Now if only I'd had an audience for that."
Palace of God, Same Time
The two sisters had been passing time idly, waiting away the end of the battle high on the Palace of God. Only Bulma had even the slightest idea what was occurring down on the surface of Earth, and this was merely due to the fact that her ocular enhancements showed her the rising, falling, and far too often, completely vanishing of the various combat strengths. She knew that only five people were alive on the battlefield right now, and assumed that the strongest of the two were her beloved husband and Vegeta.
Yet she still lacked enough context for the flashing of numbers and variables to be completely and utterly confusing.
"Any new developments, sis?" asked Tights, sauntering over towards her younger sister.
"Believe me, I wish," replied Bulma. To a casual observer, she almost appeared blind, avoiding eye contact with her sister while speaking. This, however, was simply because she was focusing on the battle transpiring down below. "Four combat strengths are clashing, another large one is moving towards them, I can't make heads or tails of it."
"You think two of them are Gokū and Raditz?"
"They'd have to be," said Bulma. "The other two are so ridiculously large they could be the Saiyans, but I wouldn't put it past one of those to be Piccolo. There's too many combat strengths that have dropped..." She added, and her voice caught briefly. "A smaller one moved away from the chaos earlier...I really hope that's my baby."
"I'm sure she's fine," said Tights soothingly. "Gokū loves that little girl to death. As long as he's there, nothing's going to happen to her."
Bulma smiled, taking her eyes off the battle for the first time in several long minutes. "You're right. Son made me a promise, after all."
A strange, whirring tone shattered the tender moment as quickly as it had arrived, and Bulma glanced over exasperatedly at Jaco. "Jaco! What's making that noise?!"
The Galactic Patrolman poked half of his body out from the cockpit of his spacecraft, holding the side of his head. "My communications device! Though I don't recognise the person calling..." Jaco pressed a button on the back of his head, and flinched at the voice that came from the other side. He listened for a moment before calling over to Bulma. "Bulma! It's your friend! Klilyn or something? He's going on about great apes and fake moons! You want I should put this on speaker, because I'm not following a bit of it!"
"Great...Apes..." Bulma blinked, and remembered only too vividly when Gokū had transformed into a monster when he was younger. "You mean the Giant Monkey?!" She rushed over immediately. "Jaco! Speaker! Now!"
Jaco, albeit reluctantly, pressed a button on the side of his head, and Kuririn's voice came out loud and clear.
"Bulma! Thank God this actually worked! I've never actually called an alien spaceship before!"
"Kuririn, what's going on?" demanded Bulma. "Jaco said you were going on about Giant Monkeys! Did Gokū transform again?!"
"Um...Gokū...Raditz...two of the Saiyans...and Pan..."
"Pan!? My baby?!" Bulma shrieked. "Kuririn, you owe me an explanation! The moon isn't even completely out yet! Raditz, I get, I took a gamble and made some adjustments! But what about the my husband and child?!"
"That's actually why I'm calling. You saw that giant flash, right? I asked Muten Rōshi to destroy the moon!"
The two sisters and the alien looked at each other. It was true, a few minutes ago, there had been a giant flash that seemed completely out of the ordinary. But given the start of today had been an alien invasion, and they were far more concerned about the well-being of their family and friends, they'd put it to the back of their minds.
"We saw it," said Bulma. "But if you destroyed the moon, everything should be OK, right?"
"Not really. Pan transformed when she saw this weird glowing orb in the sky. I think it might be able to make a Saiyan transform.
I'm over at Kame House, and I don't have the ki anymore. Can you get that space cop to shoot it down?"
"That's...that's a great idea, Kuririn!" gasped Bulma, slapping her fist into her hand. "Jaco's a sharpshooter; he should be able to blow it up no problem! Consider it handled. Now YOU get back to that battlefield and get my baby!"
"But—"
"No buts! Go, Kuririn!"
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
Kuririn hung up the phone, and Bulma glanced at Jaco. "You heard everything, Jaco. Find this glowing sphere and get rid of it."
"Why do I want to do that?" inquired Jaco. "I don't want to get involved with anything to do with those Saiyans. It'd be so much simpler if I could just kill them with the Extinction Bomb..."
"Jaco, I don't want to hear protests," argued Bulma. "I know you can do it. Shoot the sphere down!"
"I don't even know where it is!" protested the Galactic Patrolman. "I can't do magic, Bulma!"
"Jaco, I know your eyesight is better than anyone else's," interjected Tights. "We're old friends, aren't we? Just try. Bulma will point you in the direction, so just look and shoot, OK?" The blonde woman smiled, and Jaco let out a sigh.
"Fine," agreed the alien. He flashed a dry glare at Bulma."Your type dies old and alone, you know that?"
"I've got my sweetie and my daughter," Bulma replied icily. "I think I'll do just fine, Jaco." Bulma focused her enhancements towards the combat strength signals she was receiving. All four combat strengths had dropped considerably, the fifth that had been on its way had joined up — this must have been her daughter — and only three of the five were 'active' per se. Bulma calculated the location within moments, and pointed her finger due south-east from where she had been facing.
"I can detect all of the major combat strengths there...also, there's a large concentration of ki just floating in that direction," said Bulma confidently. "If the weird glowy orb that turned my little baby into a monster is anywhere, it's going to be there."
Jaco followed the arc of Bulma's finger, turning his eyes towards the south-east direction of the palace. His shining yellow eyes focused into the distance. He didn't have perfect vision, but out of all the races in the Universe, his had perhaps some of the best — and this counted among species who had access to ki. Reaching to his side, the Galactic Patrolman pulled his blaster from his holster.
He didn't want to admit it, but Tights compliment certainly was ego stroking. His eyes glinted, and he flashed a grin. Coming into his vision was a distant shape, a glowing white glint. That image was all he needed. "This is what a Galactic Patrol elite can do!" Pulling the trigger, the blaster exploded in a flash of white light. The beam traveled quickly, speeding from the nozzle off into the distance.
"Whoah!" gasped Bulma. She'd made a blaster when she was a five, and it was something special. But it looked like Jaco'd made improvements to his blaster that reminded the woman of her old invention. The concentration of plasma, the fineness of the blast, and trajectory and speed; it seemed he'd made some updates in the last twenty-three years.
The beam vanished from sight in mere moments, and there was a brief reprieve from action. Bulma was almost tempted to scold Jaco for missing, but the policeman raised a hand up. He was still smiling.
A distant explosion thundered, and there was a brilliant display of light in the distance, mixing artificial energy with natural ki. Another gasp escaped Bulma's throat, and Tights mimicked the motion. "Jaco! Look at you! So you can be reliable!" grinned Bulma.
Jaco spun in a circle, his back aimed to his viewing audience and cocked his arms as if holding unseen finger pistols. Leaning his head back to look over his shoulder, he bent his knees and recited a nasally, "Bang!" to complete his pose, as if to cement his 'cool' look to everyone seeing him in action. A True Super Elite, after all, always has to look good when on the job.
"You know what?" replied Bulma smugly. "I'm gonna let you have this, Jaco."
"Now we just have to leave it up to those two..." said Tights. "Gokū and Raditz..."
Gizzard Wastelands, Moment of the Lunar Destruction
"I WAS BEING TOO KIND. I'LL ERASE THE BOTH OF YOU IN ONE FELL SWOOP!" Vegeta roared, preparing to lay the final blow to Gokū. At this moment, he felt a massive shift in his body, as the sky flashed akin to the descent of a deity. The flash was brief, and mercifully short, but it had its effects. Vegeta could tell the moment his body began to adjust.
"I-IMPOSSIBLE...! SOMEONE DESTROYED...THE MOON?!" His snout began to recede, the fur shrinking back into his skin. His size went from dwarfing most of the surrounding area to diminutive by the former standards. In mere moments, Vegeta had reverted back to his human form. The Saiyan prince roared in anger. "Damn! It! Someone destroyed the moon!" He repeated himself in blinding rage, and looked upward at the kneeling form of Gokū's Giant Monkey form.
"HEH..HEH..." Gokū grinned. "LOOK LIKE YOU GOT SHRUNK DOWN...VEGETA..." Even his laugh was exhausted. "I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE ENERGY TO ATTACK...BUT I COULD FALL ON YOU...AND I THINK THAT'D FINISH IT!"
Before Gokū could make good on this, the enraged transformed Pan roared forward, swiping at Vegeta. The Saiyan Prince leapt into the air, her fist barely grazing him. The Giant Monkey child turned towards him, snarling menacingly. Whether she'd realised which one was her father after the reversion, or simply was targeting the weakest looking thing in the area remained to be seen, but she was now focused entirely on the diminutive prince.
"The halfling brat! I forgot about her!" Vegeta forced the air pressure from Pan's strike to dissipate, glaring at her. "Those two are still transformed...how!?" He remembered the Power Ball that burned brightly in the sky, and seethed. "Goddammit, Nappa!"
Two clenched fists came rushing downward, and Vegeta could barely avoid the strike from the enraged child. He was literally fending off a tantrum, and in this state, she was vastly more dangerous. I just need to slice off that brat's tail! thought the Saiyan Prince. But he couldn't get a proper angle; the girl was firmly planted on the ground, and her massive torso was angled in his direction. He couldn't cut something of that size in half, not without being at full strength.
In line with Vegeta's thoughts, there was a similar explosion behind him, and he witnessed a vibrant light display. It was clear, even without looking, what had happened. The Power Ball in the air that Nappa had launched high had also been destroyed. Who the hell is running around doing this?! thought the Prince. He'd should have used the Ball to resume his transformation, but he'd been too preoccupied fending off the child.
At the destruction of the orb, both Gokū and Pan immediately felt the effects. Their bodies began to regress, their fur receded, and it was only moments before they resumed their own human shape. Pan fell unconcious, not having been in control to start with, but Gokū was very conscious and very much in excruciating pain. His entire body felt like it was on fire, his cells were burning, muscles attempting to shred themselves. The aftershocks of combining the Kaiōken with his Giant Monkey transformation sent his body reeling; he couldn't stand, and fell completely to his knees, writhing.
Vegeta grinned. "You know, Kakarrot. This day has been something of a disaster. I came to kill you, completely lost my troops, have been humiliated by you, your child, and your brother. But in the end, the cards are all on my table, aren't they?" His grin veered far off into malicious territory. "Breathe your last, third-class trash!"
A/N:
LastationLover5000: What a unique chapter this was. I don't know what you all expected, but I highly doubt it was a kaijū battle in Dragon Ball. I actually had a lot of fun writing at first, though I hit a bump in the road when I pushed myself just a bit far and actually had a writing-induced stress attack. Once we worked as a team to fix up the issues with my section, and I calmed down a bit, I was able to finish my section and now we bring this chapter to you. This might be the longest chapter in the history of the Heart of Adventurers, and definitely the longest chapter on any story that I own, even partially. But regardless, it was a blast to write. I hope you all enjoy it, and thank Firegod00 for proofing it like the champ he is. We'll see you all next month because we really want to make this finale something big.
Demod20: This was a unique challenge, for a chapter that deviates so strongly from the original canon's fight. Not just because Goku has a tail or that Raditz is alive and fighting Nappa, no. It's the utilization of Oozaru forms by more than just one character that isn't the child of Goku. It was certainly an interesting challenge, but I reveled in how Raditz exacted over two decades worth of misery from Nappa's hands and the eventual participation he had in relieving his brother of fighting the mighty Prince. Raditz's story of redemption is chugging onwards and this latest installment truly shows how long he's come from his earliest attempt at ruining the peace of Earth. Hope you all liked the second half as much as I did! See you in September for the grand finale of this Arc!