Dragon Ball Z: the Next Generation

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

Who would've expected that just a few changes could have such a major impact. Read as Gohan and Kai journey through life and across the universe in this exciting retelling of DBZ, with changes and surprises around every corner. Yamcha x Bulma, Raditz x Android 18, Gohan x Erasa later on. Other pairings undecided at the moment.

45. Friends & Foes, Countdown to Catastrophe

(Friends Become Foes, Countdown to Catastrophe)

Guest: True, but Kai has shown that while he still holds disdain for Goku, he's not narrow mindedly focus on beating him to a pulp, so I call it a sign of character development. Plus I did think about it, but I've got other plans for him.

Guest: Yeah, knowing how I made Kakarot here he probably would. And Kai does have certain similarities to Saiyans, but he's vastly different in other ways.

Elemental Drift: That's a valid point. I'll bring that up when the time comes, don't worry.

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The last stand to stop Majin Buu's resurrection had begun.

"You know, I'm not that nostalgic over stuff like this." Kai looked around at the landscape that surrounded him "But I can recognize a blast from the past when I see it. This is where you first trained me and Gohan for when the Saiyans were gonna show up. And by train, I mean leave us to fend for ourselves for six months. So what, is this is your way of trying to psych me out, get me to back down from having to kill one of my teachers?"

"Don't think this was my idea, it was all Babidi's doing." Piccolo cracked his neck and threw off his weighted turban and cape as he turned to face Kai, revealing the pulsating new M marking on his forehead "But it doesn't matter why, the fact is that you're not getting out of this."

"I didn't think I would. It's why I chose to fight you instead of Gohan, because I knew that he'd never be able to bring himself to put you down. As for me… I think you know I'm not the type to go soft and sentimental when it really counts. Get ready Yoshi, cause one way or another I'm taking you down." Kai dropped into a comat stance, his aura slowly flaring into life.

"That's what I'm looking for. Show me what you've got, and don't even THINK about forgetting what I've taught you." Piccolo's look of malice flashed with approval for a brief moment as his own aura spiked "But this isn't a petty little training session. Make sure you can back up your talk, because let down your guard for even a scond and I WILL kill you." and then he charged forward.

"Big words from the Demon King for all of about 20 minutes, now let's see if you can back up the shit you talk." Kai spun around to avoid a claw being aimed at him, along with another one, then leapt back to gain some distance 'All snark and jokes aside, Piccolo has always been no joke, but going over to the Dark Side definitely gave him one hell of a boost. Better play this carefully and make sure I understand how much power he's packing now. Then there's the fact that he's clearly out for blood, just looking at him is enough for me to know that. If I don't fight like I'm out to kill him, then he'll kill me no question. Plus he's got a lot more of the creative techniques going for him, so I'd better kick it up a quick notch. Kaioken 20x!" his aura turned crimson as it spiked even higher, his muscles bulging visibly from the strain.

"There it is, the famous Kaioken. Good, now I know that you're actually taking me seriously for once." Piccolo's smirk grew widr as he let out a roar, his white aura spiking even higher as he powered himself up even further.

'Yeah there's no doubt it, if I thought he had maxed out when we'd started this then I'd be just about fucked. This is definitely the most power I've ever felt from him. Credit where it's due, I never thought you'd end up going this far, and neither did anyone else that actually took your whole Demon King thing seriously."

"Go ahead and keep on running that smart mouth of yours. It's gonna make it that much more satisfying once I get my hands on you." and then Piccolo blitzed out of view.

'And here we go.' Kai followed his lead, resulting of the two of thm engaging in a power struggle in mid-air, sending out enough shockwaves to rattle the ground beneath them, but it came to an end when Kai slammed his elbow into Piccolo's jaw, albeit receiving a punch to his own jaw in return, sending both of them reeling a short distance. However, Kai was undeterred by this and he spiked his aura as he and Piccolo began trading even blows.

"Let's see if you can keep up with that bravado of yours after this!" Piccolo quickly broke away from the struggle and held out his hand as he unleashed a quick Explosive Demon Wave.

'So that's how he wants to play it huh? Works damn well enough for me.' Kai blitzed back a short distance and fired a blast of his own, that being a Masenko, which collided with the Explosive Demon Wave and resulted in both attacks cancelling each other out, sending the two of them hurtling back to the ground, with Kai managing to stop himself before he actually landed.

Piccolo on the other hand unleashed a shockwave to stop himself and launch himself back up into the air, and then he held two fingers in front of his face as Ki surged into life.

'Aw shit, that's how you know he's getting serious, if he's about to use the-'

"Special Beam CANNON!" Piccolo stuck out his fingertips and fired a fully-powered Special Beam Cannon.

'Well when in doubt, take the biggest lesson to heart: DODGE!' Kai followed his instinct and dodged the attac at the last second, leaving it to collide with the ground in a massive explosion, which subsequently left a giant gaping hole where he had been standing previously 'Yeah, that's how you know he's the one who actually created it. One wrong move and that would've gone through me like a hit knife through butter. Proves one thing to heart though, he's not all talk right now. He really is out for blood.'

"Pay attention to your opponent!" Piccolo let out a roar as he charged towards Kai faster than the eye could see.

'Oh yeah, that. Right.' Kai spun around just in time for his fist to collide with Piccolo's fists in mid-air with enough force to shatter the ground between them, fists meeting each other dozens of times over in the span of several seconds… which came to an end when Piccolo ended up landing a crushing fist to Kai's gut, but he countered by slamming a knee into Piccolo's jaw, sending him staggering backwards as Kai leapt back through the rocky terrain in order to gain some distance 'Great, you try to be prepared, you try to be smart and go into the fight from a tactical standpoint and you forget to bring a fucking Senzu as a backup. Fuck. Well no use whining about that, crying over spilled milk right? Let's think about this. My tank is starting to run low and Big Green over there has a whole tank, go by endurance and I'm probably gonna lose out to him. And as much as I'd like to avoid killing him, I gotta remember what Cooler told us. Fate of the universe at stake, we've gotta be willing to do whatever it takes to make sure not to let the worst case scenario come to pass. That's why I chose to fight him over Gohan, because I knew he wouldn't be able to bring himself to finish the job. I'm not so sentimental. Piccolo was my teacher too, and one way or another I'm gonna have to take him down.' and so he dropped into a stance, Ki surging around his body.

"Good, now that I have your attention…" Piccolo extended his arm as it shot towards Kai with shockwave-inducing levels of speed.

'Like I haven't seen that before enough times.' Kai braced himself to grab the arm and yank on it, but faltered when he noticed something 'Okay so it gets bigger the closer it gets- It's actually getting bigger isn't it?'

"Looks like you noticed, too little too late!" Piccolo wrapped his giant arm around Kai as the pressure began to crush him.

"Well to quote the great James Hong, everybody loves giant hands… But in all seriousness, what the actual fuck? And why haven't you used this move before now?"

"This is one of several moves that I've created over the years for the sake of wiping Goku from the face of the Earth, long before you and Gohan were ever born."

"Yeah I know what it is, Slug used it when we fought him that time after Namek, when Gohan turned Super Saiyan against him. Not the sort of thing you tend to forget-" Kai was cut off by the arm around him tightening enough to result in a sickening crack.

"Well like him I can increase my own body to giant proportions and augment myself that way, but the little shit managed to find a way to get around it. But I've been training since then every single day, and now I've managed to find a way to work around the drawbacks. You almost put up a decent fight Kai, but now it's time to do to you what I plan to do to Goku as soon as I see him again." and then Piccolo flexed the muscles, sending waves of pain coursing through Kai as the grip tightened further.

'Crushing me to death… that's really how he's gonna go about it? He's right about one thing for sure, if I don't do something then I'm as good as dead right now. If he was holding back before, he sure as hell isn't now. No time for fucking around right about now, I've got asses to kick and a god-tier demon to kill.' and so he let out a roar and unleashed a powerful shockwave with strong enough force to free himself of Piccolo's giant grip and prepare his own counterattack.

That is to say, before Piccolo managed to land a giant (size wise) blow to Kai's back hard enough to send him crashing to the ground "You should be paying attention to my moves."

"Then take your own advice you Yoshi reject!" Kai forced himself back into the air and blitzed forward, only for every strike of his to easily be dodged, and then was met with his fist being caught in Piccolo's and his arm being twisted downwards, to which he attempted to land a spin kick to escape. Attempted being the operative word here.

"Pathetic." Piccolo loosened his grip on Kai's fist and blitzed out of view, then appeared directly behind Kai and landed a blow to the face that sent him hurtling back a short distance "A blow like this could've flattened your skull in a second. To think I wasted so much time trying to make a real warrior out of you."

"Oh trust me, you haven't seen a real warrior until it shoots you through the eyes!" Kai gritted his teeth and moved to attack again, only to be met with a foot to the face that sent him flying backwards, followed by a Double Axe Handle to the head that sent him crashing to the ground with the force of a meteor.

"Good idea. How about I give that a shot."

'Fuck, me and my big fucking mouth…' Kai gritted his teeth as he leapt back onto his feet and coughed up some blood, followed by him shooting out a quick Explosive Demon Wave.

"And that's just careless and stupid." Piccolo sidestepped theattack with ease, leaving the blast to incinerate a plateau behind him, and then he made his move.

Acting on instinct, Kai was able to retaliate at the last second, fists shooting past each other and colliding with opposite jaws, sending blood spraying in the after math and leaving both of them to hurtle away from each other.

"For the record, you're a fool if you think I'm going to stop here." Piccolo wiped away some of the excess blood from his lip "You're just the first one to show up in front of me. Once I've wrapped things up with you here, the reign of the Demon King Piccolo is about to begin anew, and my legacy will pick up where it left off 20 years ago! Guess who I'm going after first once you're dead? The buffoon you call your uncle, Bulma, even your little sister, cousin, whatever you want to call her." he spat out more blood to the side as he got into a stance, both of his arms stretched out "Honestly, I'm a fool for expecting more. I'm supposed to believe you're the same boy who faced down the Saiyans, Dr Wheelo and Frieza without an ounce of fear? The one who fought off the likes of Slug the Conqueror, who fought against the Androids and Cell with all of the strength he had, who single handedly saved the world from Bojack? One of the ones trusted by the Supreme Kai himself… Not to mention one of my students. But no one would be able to tell that from the pathetic display you're putting on here!" he stuck both hands in front of his chest as Ki began building in between them "To think you're actually taking on a student of your own… Well just wait, because after I'm finished with you and your family, she'll be the one that I go after next, and you can be sure I'll make you suffer! LIGHT GRENADE!" and so he let loose a fully-powered Light Grenade, sending the blast hurtling downwards at blinding levels of speed.

'Shit… Here's hoping this actually works. Gotta thank Videl for coming up with this one during training. Spirit Ball Burst!" acting as fast as he could, Kai summoned a Spirit Ball in one hand and hurled it towards the Light Grenade as it detonated… only for the Light Grenade to rip right through it and slam directly into him, pushing him up into the air, albeit it slower than it would otherwise, but he managed to yank himself out of the way at the very last second and fall to the ground, leaving the blast to hurtle upwards and into the atmosphere, while he wound up down on one knee, his other leg heavily scorched 'Fuck… Anyone who says Piccolo doesn't know what he's doing in a fight sure as hell never heard of this guy. Super Namekian living up to the name I guess… And bloodthirsty murderer wannabe, going after my people… Gohan, Mom, all of the others… Risking your lives and even your existence, putting everything on the line to win this fight. So that raises the question, what the fuck am I doing right now? I'm not some fucking weak little kid that can't take on one of my teachers and focus on the bigger picture. I'm not like those other bloodthirsty sociopaths… I aim for the top, and I've something they don't… I have things worth FIGHTING FOR!' and so he let out a primal roar as the Kaioken disappeared, his regular white aura returning as his eyes shone with anger and determination.

"Well what do we have here?" Piccolo seemed taken aback for a moment, but quickly gave a mocking smirk "So that's how you feel then, anger and a little bit of betrayal? Did you finally come to understand that I'm serious about this? Are you actually taking me seriously for once in your life? Or does the fact that the one you've made into a joke so many times is beating you into a bloody paste make your blood boil? Not like it matters waht the cause is, because it's nowhere near enough. Maybe it's complacency, or maybe you're just not as much of a real warrior as you think you are. Either way, the fact is that you're an utter disappointment."

"Yeah well, you just keep thinking that Piccolo… But look at me…" Kai let out a bitter chuckle as he spat out some blood "Not my smartest move when I think about it… I chose to fight you because I knew what was gonna have to happen, and I wanted to save Gohan from having to go through with it. And cause I didn't think he'd have the stomach for it. Guess I'm no better than he is, cause I've been holding back all this time. Well guess what. No more restraints, no more holding back any secret weapons, nothing of theo sort. Get ready Big Green, because I'm about to come at you with everything I've got." and just like that his Spirit Ken roared into life as a milky white aura enveloped his body, his eyes shining with a new fury and resolve.

"Now that sounds like what I wanted to hear. Let's see how much of that talk you can actually back up fro once." and so Piccolo burst towards him with one claw aimed forward.

"Trust me, you're about to find out." Kai didn't waste a second as he met Piccolo's charge with his own, and the battle began anew.

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Meanwhile, inside Babidi's ship…

"Alright come on, we don't have much time." Gohan and Shin wasted no time in making their way down the hatch and landing on the ground, only to be less than intimidated by what was waiting for them.

"T-They're here!" as it turns out, a large group of basic majin foot soldiers was waiting for them, and just about all of them were cowering in terror "We uh… We oughta do something about these two, right?"

"Are- Are you guys asking me?"

"It seems that Babidi still has a few henchmen left." Shin frowned in thought "But we don't have any time to waste on the likes of them. Let's make this quick."

"Right, I understand." Gohan looked around as the group of Majin soldiers began to close in around the two of them, which prompted him to spike his aura, albeit in his base form, with enough force to blow them off their feet and knock them out cold.

"Nicely done Gohan, but remember not to get complacent, and we don't have any time to waste at the moment." it was then that the two of them glanced over to see the doorway at the back of the room open up to them "Okay… is it just me or is that supposed to be suspicious?"

"It's most likely a sign of Babidi being overconfident, he seems so sure of his victory that he's choosing to invite us in. Come Gohan, I think it's well time for us to show him just how wrong he truly is."

"Right." and so the two of them made their way through the doorway, fully prepared to face whatever they would find 'I just hope everyone else is doing okay out there.'

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Meanwhile, with the battle against the corrupted savior…

"Believe me, we'll be coming at you with everything we have." Tien dropped into a stance as he activated his Spirit Ken, with Scarlet activating her Kaioken 20x, as well as Cooler transforming into his final form and 17 spiking his own aura.

"Impressive. Anyone can see that all of you are stronger than Cell, his original perfect form at least. Too bad that doesn't mean a damn thing with me." Kakarot let out a roar as he spiked his aura and ascended to Super Saiyan 2, his aura crackling with bioelectricity, nearly blowing the others away with the sheer force "But that doesn't mean I want any of you going down in one hit either. Make this fun for me, why don't you?"

"It's going to be more than fun, trust me on that." Tien paused and shared a look with Scarlet and the others 'This is bad, Goku was always strong but now his power is on an entirely different level from before. Now that he's on the wrong side… it's like he's a monster… It's funny, I never would've imagined the day would come where Goku and I would be on opposite sides again, especially when he's fighting for someone like Babidi.'

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this amount of power. So this is what the legendary Super Saiyan that defeated my brother is truly capable of." Cooler took a few steps forward, now in his final form, complete with the spikes on his head and the mask over his mouth "But you should know this Son Goku, or Kakarot as you prefer to be called now. Whatever happens, I will not be holding back, and the same can be said for the rest of your former allies."

"Good, that oughta make this whole thing more fun for me." Kakarot gave a smirk as he dropped into a combat stance "Now see if you can back up that talk of yours."

"Believe me when I say you'll find out soon enough." Cooler spiked his aura as he launched himself at Kakarot, with Tien 17 close behind him.

Scarlet on the other hand leapt back a short distance until she landed on top of a plateau, her aura flickering from white to crimson as it surged higher 'Sorry everyone, but as much as I hate to say it, there's only one way we can be sure to bring him down for good. I just need time to make it work properly.'

"First impression? Not really no." Kakarot's smirk widened as he blitzed behind the group and dealt 17 a roundhouse kick to the face hard enough to send him crashing into a nearby plateau "Is that really all you've got?"

"Nope, but thanks for asking!" 17 rebounded instantly as he and the others charged into the fray, launching themselves at Kakarot with a rapid barrage of simultaneous punches and kicks.

"So much for the tough guy act, all I see is a bunch of weak dumbasses!" Kakarot quickly broke through the assault by dealing Tien a sharp jab to the face, sending him flying through a nearby mountain, before dealing 17 and Cooler two sharp blows to their own faces and landing a swift uppercut to Scarlet's jaw, sending all of them flying off in opposite directions.

"Then let's see how you like this one! TRI-BEAM!" Tien managed to rebound after a few seconds and charged at Kakarot from above, during which he fired off a fully-powered Tri Beam aimed downwards.

'...Shit, I forgot about him turning triangles into squares.' that was the last thought Kakarot had before the Tri-Beam struck, sending him hurtling into a deep square-shaped crevice in the ground below in the explosion that followed.

'Did I get him?' Tien received his answer as a Kamehameha suddenly shot out of the smoke in his direction 'What the-'

"Get the hell down!" 17 blitzed onto the scene with his Android Barrier activated and managed to push Tien out of the way just before the blast struck him, sending him flying across the battlefield and crashing into a deep crevice 'Fuck!'

"And now you're done." Kakarot (covered in minor burns from the Tri-Beam and with the top of his gi scorched) blitzed in front of 17 and fired another swift Kamehameha blast, engulfing him in the explosion that followed "Here's hoping he actually stays down, but with the likes of you guys that's asking for way too much."

"Then you should know what's about to happen next!" Cooler was the next one to try and charge at Kakarot, pushing him backwards with a rapid series of attacks.

'Older brother of Frieza, definitely lives up to the hype.' Kakarot continued dodging and blocking as many of Cooler's attacks as he could, only to sense another Ki signature and look back to see Tien charging towards him 'Shit, him again!'

"Keep your eyes on your opponent, otherwise you're begging for death!" Cooler continued his own assault on Goku and moved to fire a Death Flash at point blank range, only to be met with a fist to the jaw and roundhouse kick hard enough to send him crashing through several plateaus in an instant.

"Go ahead and take your best shot."

"Gladly! Four Witches! Dual Tri-Beam!" Tien sprouted an extra set of arms from his back via the Fourt Witches Technique, and subsequently fired a Tri-Beam at Kakarot from each set of arms, two in total, the two blasts combining and enveloping Kakarot in an instant.

"And don't think I'm out of this yet either!" Cooler burst back onto the scene and added onto the Dual Tri-Beam with a rapid barrage of Death Beams, ending his assualt with a Death Ball that resulted in a powerful explosion "Impressive assault, but I've learned early on that you're not one to be underestimated Tien Shinhan."

"Save the compliments for after we make sure he's down. Assuming he is."

"Well you know what they say about assuming, but in this case the only ones it makes an ass out of is the two of you." the smoke cleared to reveal Kakarot standing before the group, his uniform further burnt away and his body covered in minor wounds and visible burns, but otherwise he was unharmed "Not a bad effort though, pretty sure the goody two shoes side of me would be pretty pumped to fight the two of you like this. But don't think that's gonna get you anywhere when it comes to fighting me! Twin Dragon Shot!" he blitzed towards the two of them and unleashed two small Kamehameha-like spheres, slamming both of them into Tien hard enough to knock him out of his Spirit Ken and send him crashing into a plateau "That's one down."

"Tien Shinhan!" Cooler blitzed towards Kakarot next, only for his fist to be caught and for him to be met with a fist to the that caused him to stagger back, but he managed to blitz away before another Dragon Shot could hit him, to which he blitzed above Kakarot and fired a Death Ball as big as he could make it in a short time, enveloping Kakarot, immediately pressing down on him with tremendous force.

"KamehameHA!" Kakarot managed to force back the Death Ball long enough to prepare a quick Kamehameha wave, slicing clean through Cooler's attack and leaving it to evaporate, along with his own blast, whereas Cooler himself was sent crashing to the ground "You pains in the ass are determined, you get points for that at least. But I think you've seen by now that you really don't have chance of beating me when I take it seriously." he moved towards the downed forms of Tien and Cooler and prepared to fire a blast to finish them off… only to be stopped as he felt something grip his back.

"Hey big guy, I've got a little something for you." as it turns out, 17 had gripped Kakarot by the back of his shirt, his free hand surging with green electricity "You remember me telling you about my Super Electric Strike?"

"Go ahead and try it, it'll give me a reason to kill you next. Or better yet, I'll just take you out now and get it over with. KamehameHA!" Kakarot whipped around on his heels and fired a quick Kamehameaha at 17… only for him to erect an Android Barrier around the two of them just as he unleashed his own Super Electric Strike, resulting in a tremendous explosion that shook the barrier to its core and eventually shattered it.

The instant the barrier shattered, 17 was left tumbling to the ground in a heap as he coughed up a considerable amount of blood 'Okay… in hindsight, not my best idea… Immune to tiring out, yeah… Immune to pain… Would it really have killed Gero to come up with that one?'

"Not… Not too shabby…" the smoke once again cleared to reveal Kakarot staggering forward, burns covering his body and the entire top of his gi being burnt away, leaving only the dark blue undershirt, and even that was charred and torn at, coughing up a small amount of blood as he blitzed into the air "Gotta give it to you… You almost put up a halfway decent fight… But it's over now… Guess you couldn't live up to the hype after all, so in that case…" he cupped his hands at his side and began charing Ki, creating a blue sphere in between his palms "Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!" he fired a Kamehameha wave down towards Tien, 17 and Cooler with the intent of annihilating all of them in a single strike… or tried to fire it anyway, given that he cast a glance down and saw the Ki in his hands suddenly vanish "What the fu-"

"Language." a figure cloaked in white and red suddenly appeared behind Kakarot, holding the blue Ki of the Kamehameha in one hand and subsequently evaporating it "I'm trying to set a good example for my son after all."

"Right, there's a fourth one… Then let's hope you're more entertaining than the others!" he whipped around with the intent to strike, only for it to miss and for him to be met with a blow to the gut hard enough to bring him down onto one knee "What the… What is this…?"

"Something I think you should know pretty well by now." the light subsided to reveal Scarlet standing before him, her body enveloped in the white aura of the Spirit Ken, but with a second crimson aura surrounding that "You did learn it from King Kai himself after all."

"Yeah well, I don't need that shit anymore!" Kakarot tried to charge at Scarlet, only for her to blitz around him and land a series of subsequent blows too fast for him to react, sending him crashing into a nearby plateau.

"I have to be honest, I was worried that this wasn't going to work, but it looks like it managed after all… the power of the Spirit Ken intensified with the Kaioken. Honestly it's a good thing that I'm dead right now, or else this might not have worked out." Scarlet cast a glance over to where 17 was yanking Tien and Cooler back to their feet "I'm sorry to leave the rest of you to fend for yourselves like that, but I had to make sure that he didn't notice me powering up my last resort. Don't worry though, the rest of you just hang in there for now. I'll take it from here."

"So you're breaking out the Kaioken, combining it with your Spirit Ken to push it so that it goes even further beyond what you were already capable of?"

"That's the general idea of it at least, yeah. You already understand how Kaioken works, not that you bother using it anymore since you, or Goku I should say, learned Super Saiyan and the forms beyond that. You couldn't achieve this kind of combination if you wanted to, because of all the intense turmoil that comes with the Super Saiyan transformations. But the Spirit Ken can be achieved through a form of enlightenment, cleansing yourself of any doubts and achieving absolute focus and Ki control on an entirely different level. Combine that with the calm and focus needed for the Kaioken, and I can reach an entirely new level of power that even you can't hope to match. Observe." Scarlet blitzed around the scene, taking Kakarot by surprise.

'Dammit, the raw speed she's showing off… I couldn't even follow her moves! No take a deep breath, you gotta focus.' Kakarot took a breath as he pulled himself to his feet "In that case, I guess now is when the real fight starts."

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Meanwhile, inside Babidi's ship…

"Yes there we go, that's perfect my minions." Babidi let out a chuckle as he watched the two big fights unfold via his crystal ball "Go on and keep it up, at this rate it's only a bit longer before my ambitions become reality…" it was then that he cast a glance at the energy meter on the pedestal holding Buu's prison 'Yes look at it go, at this rate Majin Buu's power gauge will be fully charged in the blink of an eye. The only thing left now is to decide what to do with our two unwanted intruders, the Supreme Kai and his new little pet.'

"Babidi!" this was when Gohan and Shin blitzed onto the scene, only to freeze in their tracks at the sight of the ball containing Majin Buu bursting with Ki This power… It's unlike anything I've ever felt before, second only to Janemba… Tell me Supreme Kai, that's the ball Majin Buu is trapped in right?"

"Yes, that's right." Shin gave a simple nod "This is where he's been slumbering ever since the wizard Bibidi was forced to seal away his vile creation so many years ago. Do you understand now why I hold so much fear for what this monster is capable of?"

"I can at least tell you weren't bluffing about the power this thing is able to put out. It's like it's just radiating evil…"

"It's quite impressive, don't you agree?" Babidi gained their attention as he stepped out from behind the crystal ball, prompting Gohan to drop into a stance "I'm so glad that you were able to make it, especially the Supreme Kai."

"Spare me the false pleasantries Babidi, we came here to stop you." Shin let out a snarl "This is the day your evil ambitions end once and for all."

"Like you did my father you mean."

"I did what I had to do, just as I will today. I will not allow you to release your monster back into this world."

"It's quite unfortunate for you, but I don't think you're actually going to get any kind of say in the matter. I'm sure there are many out there that want to see Majin Buu face to face."

"And there are many more that don't." Shin cast a frantic look over at Gohan "I'm sure you know that time is short Gohan, every second that we allow Babidi to stall is another opportunity for the damage energy taken from the others to be absorbed by Majin Buu. We have to stop him here and now."

"You're more than welcome to try." Babidi let out a chuckle as he summoned a Ki barrier to protect him."

"Remember that this is our last chance Gohan, I cannot stress enough how imperative it is that we defeat Babidi before Majin Buu absorbs enough energy to hatch. We can't hold back, if Buu gets the chance to awaken with his full power then the Earth and everyone on it is as good as fully obliterated. Now let's go."

"I wouldn't be so hasty if I were you." Babidi's smirk only widened "It's only a matter of time now before Majin Buu reaches full power and comes popping out of his shell, and I don't know about the two of you, but I would rather not have to be trapped in a space as cramped as this with him once he tries to smash his way out."

"...Fine." Shin gritted his teeth with frustration "Go ahead and transport us to wherever you see fit wizard, but your magic isn't going to save you from the two of us."

"I think we'll see about that soon enough. Paparapapa!" Babidi quickly unleashed a spell via his magic, transporting the three of them (along with Majin Buu's ball) to the area directly outside the ship.

"Wait, isn't this…?" Gohan paused and cast a look around, finding the stone bits of what used to be Raditz over on a nearby cliffside 'Okay, so we're right outside the ship. Nothing to worry about as far as that goes I guess.'

"Now that we've taken care of that little irritation, I think it's time for us to finally get down to business." Babidi drew their attention back to him "I think you'll find that I'm not as feeble as the Supreme Kai over here led you to believe, and I'm more than capable of handling the likes of you than Dabura and the others did your little friends. After all, if your abilities are on the same level as theirs, I can tell you don't pose anywhere near as big of a threat as you need to if you wish to be an actual threat to me. Not to worry though, I'll be sure to send you to where the rest of your friends are, and the others will be soon enough. As for the Supreme Kai, that one is a bit of business that I've waited far too long to settle. The time has finally come for me to avenge the death of my dear father." he turned his gaze toward Shin as his smirk widened "You remember that as well as I do, don't you? The way that you went and murdered him in cold blood. Yes I know, I'm sure he went and let his guard down, but I think you'll find that I won't be done in like he was, especially not by a pathetic little imp like you. I've learned on whatever mistakes he had made, and I've made his weaknesses into my strengths. I had thought that I'd learn to hire better help, but if you can't hire, you might as well conscript, as I'm sure your other two friends have learned quite well."

"Believe me Babidi, I don't intend to make the same mistakes either." Shin's gaze hardened with a mix of anger and resolve 'One clear shot is all I need, so long as I have Gohan with me none of his tricks are going to work.'

"I'm ready Supreme Kai, let's do this." Gohan quickly flashed into Super Saiyan, but found himself in a standstill as he watched the meter on Buu's container continue to increase, his own golden aura beginning to flicker with electricity 'What the heck is wrong with me? I shouldn't be afraid of guys like these. If I don't do something right now then Majin Buu is as good as freed… So why am I hesitating? It feels like something is holding me back, but what is it? Wait, what was it Scarlet said before… I have to remember the fights with the likes of Cell and Janemba… I have to stop holding back, I won't let any more monsters like them run rampant… She has faith in me, all of them have faith in me, and that's why I have to do this! No matter what it takes, whether I have the power it takes or not, but I still have to at least try!' and so with a primal roar his aura spiked higher than ever, bioelectricity surging around his body wildly, signifying that he had entered Super Saiyan 2, and then he prepared to charge forward… only to freeze in his tracks at the sound of a loud beeping sensation coming from in front of him 'What the-?!'

"No, it couldn't be… but so soon…?" even Babidi himself was left taken aback as he looked at the container and energy meter, with Buu's prison ball glowing with energy "I don't believe it, at last Majin Buu is at full power! Majin Buu is finally about to awaken! It's finally happening, after all of this time Buu is coming back to life! My ambitions are about to become the newest reality!"

'Dammit, this means… We were too late!'

"No, it's far too soon…" Shin on the other hand was left frozen in terror "How can Majin Buu be at full power from the damage energy of the others alone?! It just can't be!"

"Actually it isn't." Gohan told him grimly "Kai and his mother, along with all of the others, you saw for yourself by now what they're capable of. Think about what happens when powers like those collide with the likes of my dad and Piccolo, and all of the energy being put out, the kind of damage they're taking has to be catastrophic."

"I know that, but… This is the worst case scenario that I was trying to avoid! I can't believe that I failed so completely!"

"It's not over yet… We still have a chance." Gohan took another step forward as he spiked his Super Saiyan 2 aura, his body crackling with bioelectricity

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Meanwhile, with the Dragon Ball hunters…

"Well that was kind of boring." Ranch cast a look over at Goten as she dusted herself off "I was hoping there was gonna be a little more something than that."

"N-No… How could this be…?" General White, covered in bruises and grievous wounds, tried to pick himself up off the ground, only to fall back down and lose consciousness, but this didn't do anything to stop Eighter from stomping his way back towards the group.

"Eighter please, you have to snap out of it!" Suno rushed towards Eighter, tears brimming in her eyes, with Goten sticking close to her just in case "Eighter!"

"Gr…" Eighter let out a snarl as he gripped his fist and prepared to let it fly… only to stop as soon as he got a good look at her face "Su… Suno…?"

"Eighter?"

"Suno… Why do you cry?" Eighter was immediately met with Suno throwing her arms around him.

"You had me worried… but I'm so glad you're okay… Thanks to Goku's son and niece."

"You said Goku?" that was enough to make Eighter's gaze snap towards Goten, and he quickly picked him up in a hug that probably would've crushed anyone else "Goku it's been too long, you're just as small as I remember!"

"Um, I'm Goten… Goku's my daddy actually…" Goten freed himself of Eighter's grip and stopped to get back his breath.

"Oh, you're Goku's son…? You look and sound so much like him…"

"He gets that a lot." Ranch took a step forward "Not to ruin the mood or anything, but we still need to get the Dragon Ball."

"Oh, you mean this?" Eighter held up the Dragon Ball in question, containing three stars "I had it with me the whole time. You want it?"

"Yeah, that's kind of why we came here."

"I see… If it were someone else and they had an evil heart, there'd be trouble. But Goku and his family will use them for good, I know this." and so Eighter handed the Dragon Ball to Ranch, allowing her to place it in her bag.

"Great, thanks for the help."

"You helped save me, just like Goku did… I should be thanking you…" Eighter gave the two of them a small smile.

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Meanwhile, with the master and student showdown…

"Now that sounds like what I wanted to hear. Let's see how much of that talk you can actually back up fro once." and so Piccolo burst towards him with one claw aimed forward.

"Trust me, you're about to find out." Kai didn't waste a second as he met Piccolo's charge with his own, and the battle began anew, with Kai ducking undr Piccolo's claw as it hurtled towards him, to which he grabbed Piccolo by the ankle and threw him to the ground below.

Piccolo rebounded in mid-air and skidded to a stop on the ground to prevent a violent clash, using both hands to deflect an oncoming Explosive Demon Wave back towards the source.

"Not today fucker!" Kai didn't hesitate in deflecting the blast, sending it flying back into a nearby plateau and vaporizing it.

Piccolo made the next move as he unhinged his jaw and fired a powerful Mouth Energy Wave into the air.

"Wolf Fang Saber!" Kai thrusted one hand forward to meet the blast and stop it dead, then went on to rip the beam in half via a crimson-colored Ki blade, dispersing its flow and leaving the beam to evaporate.

'Now's my chance!' seizing the opportunity, Piccolo closed the distance between him and Kai and slammd a powerful blow to Kai's gut, only to be met with a counter in the form of a brutal headbutt, leaving him stunned in more ways than one 'That little shit… But his eyes are full of resolve. He doesn't have any of those doubts or desire to prove himself. He's changed a lot since the battle with Cell… I guess I should've seen that more with my own eyes over the past couple of years. I guess he learned a few more things from training with me than I thought. Time to put it to the test, for real this time.' and so he let out a roar as he thrusted a fist forward, with his arm expanding in size, catching Kai by surprise and landing a crushing blow, before it returned to its normal size.

Kai was left reeling backwards but managed to stop himself, composing himself and grabbing hold of Piccolo's arm, using that as a way to pull Piccolo in close and kick him away with a violent burst of speed from his leg, tearing off his arm in the process.

Piccolo was left rcoiling, only for a swift and violnt follow up kick sent him flying backwards, but he was quick to stop himself, and with a strained roar he managed to regenerate his arm, albeit panting heavily as an aftr effect "Bet you forgot about my regeneration didn't you?"

"Actually I kind of did, and frankly it doesn't make you special. Hasn't since before we figured out you were an alien slug man instead of a demon. Plus we've had to kill a couple of guys that can regenerate now." Kai tossed the severed arm to the side without a care, during which he took a moment to pause and catch his breath 'Okay, time to recap. On the one hand, Slug Man's Ki dropped off a little further when he grew back that arm. On the other hand I'm starting to run fairly low myself. I've been beating around the bush too long and hard, now I don't really have enough Ki to push myself enough to go all out. Plus god only knows what's happening with the others at this point. I'm gonna have to hurry and finish this fast… and that might mean using my trump card.'

"Honestly Kai, your arrogance never ceases to amaze me, even when it amounts to nothing more than you lying to yourself." Piccolo let out an aggressive snarl "Tell me something, do you truly believe that you have a ghost of a chance in hell of beating me?"

"Counter question: When in the name of fuck have you ever known me to admit when I didn't think I could beat an opponent?"

"So that's the way you want to play it? Fine. then I'll just have to blow you to pieces, along with whatever resolve you have left."

"Feel free to try, but I'm still beating your ass into the ground first." Kai burst forward with new levels of speed and slammed his knee into Piccolo's jaw.

"Not until I bury you!" Piccolo dealt Kai a Ki-enhanced slash across the chest, leaving a bloody gash, albeit receiving a fist to the face in return, to which he countered with a punch of his own, resulting in the two of them clashing again, their white auras mixing together.

"Trust me, you couldn't bury me if you tried!" Kai ducked underneath a fist aimed at his face, only for it to be blocked by Piccolo's wrist, so he chose to substitute with a knee, only to find that one easily dodged, so he went with a third option: blitz behind Piccolo and land a surprise kick to the back, then blitzed back in front of him and and launch a jab forward.

"So that's how it is… Then fine, I'm done holding back!" Piccolo blitzed out of view and almost instantly slammed both legs into Kai's face, sending him hurtling backwards as Piccolo himself flew higher into the air, rapidly charging and firing several Ki spheres, trapping Kai within a makeshift perimeter "And me not holding back means you're as good as dead! HELLZONE GRENADE!" he waved both of his arms, causing the blasts to swarm in towards Kai all at the same time.

'Shit, shit, SHIT!' Kai was unable to do much more than withstand the full bombardment of the Hellzone Grenade raining down on him, one Ki blast after another, causing additional pain and damage, but he forced himself to withstand all of it until the blasts finally subsided, shooting a glare of unwavering defiance at Piccolo 'Okay not gonna lie, that hurt a hell of a lot more than I had expected it to… Which was already a lot. On the plus side, at least on good thing came out of that, with the heat from the Ki blasts cauterizing my wounds, so now I don't have to worry about bleeding out. Now I have to keep my cool and focus. Keep fighting, pushing forward, no stopping until the other guy gives up or dies. I don't see the former happening anytime soon, so that means… going for broke. Until then, I can't afford to slow down or hold back, not even a little bit.'

"You're as much of a stubborn little bastard as you've always been. Give me a minute, I'll be more than happy to fix that." with the Hellzone Grenade having failed, Piccolo burst down towards Kai at full speed.

"Yeah well, the feeling's mutual Green Man." Kai burst up towards Piccolo and landed a swift yet brutal fist to his gut.

Piccolo landed a furious kick to Kai's jaw, albeit receiving an elbow to his in return. He then landed an elbow square in Kai's face, before catching him in a power struggle, their hands once again interlocking. Both of them tried to flex their muscles and force the other one to give out, but neither one of them would budge, so with two violent and simultaneous roars their spiked their identical white auras and whatever Ki they were able to muster, their auras clashing wildly and their Ki melding together, turning their clash into a glowing sphere that continued to expand, resulting in the creation of a whirlwind storm.

Kai acted first on instinct as he took a step forward to throw Piccolo off balance, giving him the chance to launch Piccolo over his shoulder and toss him to the ground.

Piccolo did a flip in mid-air and managed to gracefully land on his feet, letting out a low snarl as he cupped his hands and began charging his own Ki in between both his palms "Alright Kai, this is it. No bluffing, no more holding back. This is my final attack, and with every last ounce of Ki I have left, I am going to annihilate you."

"Big words Green Man, but that's just fine by me." Kai immediately held one hand up in front of his forehead, golden-colored Ki forming in his palm "Because trust me, I'm not going to hold anything back either. I've spent my entire life training myself to be the best, pushing myself to the absolute limit, to become as strong as I possibly could… But it's different now. That's not the only thing I want anymore. Now I've got people depending on me, and I'm not gonna let you lay a single fucking hand on them. If I have to kill you to make sure that doesn't happen, then so be it."

"Then prove it! LIGHT GRENADE!" Piccolo thrusted his hands forward and unleashed one final Light Grneade, packed with every ounce of Ki he had left.

"MASENKO!" Kai packed as much Ki as he could into his own attack, in the form of a giant Masenko, gold clashing with cold in a struggle for dominance.

'Dammit, of course he packs more power than I thought he would… I gotta… Find a way to push back or…' Kai found himself losing ground, but paused as a few familiar faces flashed in front of his mind, and golden Ki began to envelop in his free hand, taking on a very familiar shape as his gaz hardened with resolve'No, I'm not giving up… I never give up… Mom, Gohan, and even Yamcha… all of them, and especially Videl… They're counting on me… They're expecting me to win this fight… So I'm not backing down, not now… NOT EVER! You want me to give it my all here Piccolo? Well here it is! DRAGON FIST!" in an instant the Masenko subsided, instead its role being filled by a giant golden dragon mad of pure Ki, with Kai using it to launch himself forward, enveloping Piccolo's Light Grenade, along with Piccolo himself, in a violent golden wave, the shockwave being created forcing Piccolo to slam into the ground below with a mighty crash. With that done, Kai quickly dissipated the Dragon Fist and slowly returned to the ground as he deactivated his Spirit Ken, and he got a look at his handiwork.

Piccolo's body lay on the ground in a giant smoking crater, one arm and both legs having been blown off, a gaping hole in his torso… and a sizable chunk of his head having been blown clean off.

"So that's it… I won…" Kai gritted his teeth as he wiped away any possible tears that may have been brimming in his eyes "I know I said I'd have the guts to go through with it… Doesn't make it any easier… For what it's worth, I really do wish there was another way…" he prepared to turn and fly away from the scene, and turned back to Piccolo's mangled corpse "You know, despite how much we've been at odds over the years, I do have a lot of respect for you. I hope you know that. A lot of who and what I am now is because of you. And don't worry, Gohan and the others are gonna pull out of this just fine. I'll make sure of-" he cut himserlf short as his gaze snapped in another direction 'This Ki signature… So cold and empty, bloodchilling… I don't recognize it either. Fuck, that means the little imp let the pet out of its ball.' he took another look towards where Piccolo lay, only to falter slightly as he saw the body disappear 'Right, they disappear when they go to Otherworld and get to keep their body. Hang in there Piccolo, we'll bring you and the others back with the Dragon Balls when this is over, I swear it. In the meantime, we've got a giant monster to kill and a planet to save. You know, the usual.' and with that, he blasted off into the skies at full speed 'In the meantime, Gohan you'd better hang in there until I come to bail your ass out of trouble again.'

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Our heroes have been divided, and those remaining are fighting for their lives. To make the current situation even worse, Majin Buu is on the verge of being freed. But with some of our heroes still locked in their own battles, will there be anyone left to stop this monster once it emerges? A new terror is about to awaken, and a new battle is about to begin, next time on Dragon Ball Z: the Next Generation!

A/N:

Yeah, I don't have an excuse for taking this long to update this story. But I'm going to finish it one way or another. Speaking of which, it looks like the impending crisis has finally begun, as if it hadn't already. Scarlet is the only one still able to stand against the power of Majin Kakarot, Gohan and Shin are about to face the wrath of the revived Majin Buu, and Kai just had to kill one of his teachers.

Yeah that's right, Piccolo is officially dead, and that means that he's out of the arc, which given how he was used in canon, might actually be a blessing in disguise for him. Trust me when I say that those that are dying in this arc are going to stay dead until the end… with one exception, and that's only as a plot device. You'll see who I mean.

Power levels:

Kai: 1 billion

Kai (Kaioken 20x): 20 billion

Kai (Spirit Ken): 150 billion

Kai (Dragon Fist): 1.5 trillion

Scarlet: 1.8 billion

Scarlet (Kaioken 20x): 36 billion

Scarlet (Spirit Ken): 270 billion

Scarlet (Spirit Kaioken 2x): 540 billion

Scarlet (Spirit Kaioken 4x): 1.08 trillion

Gohan: 4 billion

Super Saiyan Gohan: 28 billion

Super Saiyan 2 Gohan: 168 billion

Majin Kakarot: 6 billion

Super Saiyan Majin Kakarot: 42 billion

Super Saiyan 2 Majin Kakarot: 252 billion

Super Saiyan 3 Majin Kakarot: 1.008 trillion

Tarble: 3.4 billion

Super Saiyan Tarble: 23.8 billion

Yamcha: 200 million

Tien: 200 million

Tien (Spirit Ken): 30 billion

Tien (Tri-Beam): 165 billion

Tien (Dual Tri-Beam): 300 billion

Android 17: 2 billion

Android 17 (Super Electric Strike + Grand Explode, full power): 250 billion

Weighted Majin Piccolo: 100 billion

Unweighted Majin Piccolo: 130 billion

Unweighted Majin Piccolo (Light Grenade, last stand): 200 billion

Cooler: 45 billion

Final Form Cooler: 135 billion

Supreme Kai: 7.8 billion