Gone
Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan flew with their arms in front of them. They could sense a humongous power-level now but what worried them even more was that Goku's powerlevel felt almost non-existent.
The three stopped in their tracks as the back of a huge armored ape came into view.
Gohan looked bewildered. "What is that?"
Piccolo looked tensed. "It's the Saiyan. He has transformed."
'Transformed?' the boy wondered. However, he thought better than to ask more questions. This was an emergency..
Krillin gritted his teeth. He remembered the amount of destruction Goku would cause in this form during his childhood days. "I think we should work from the ground."
Piccolo nodded.
The three descended to land. They could hear Goku's screams of agony which were echoing all over the place.
Gohan had his teeth gritted. 'Just hold on, dad.'
"What do you think you guys are doing?"
Krillin growled. "Yajirobe! What are you doing here?"
"Don't go near that thing," Yajirobe warned. "The Saiyan is unstoppable now that he is transformed. There is nothing you guys can do."
Gohan looked angry at Yajirobe's statement.
Piccolo looked at the boy. "Don't listen to him, Gohan. I have got a plan."
Gohan blinked. "Huh?"
Piccolo looked sternly at Gohan, his face serious. "Listen, Gohan. You will have to distract the Saiyan somehow. He's interested in your power. He won't kill you so soon. In the meantime, me and Krillin will charge our attacks."
Gohan nodded, his brows furrowed. "Right."
Piccolo turned towards Krillin. "Krillin, you charge that ki disc of yours again. Try to cut the Saiyan with it or atleast his tail. That will make him turn back to normal."
Krillin smirked. "Right. It's called the Destructo disk by the way. But what are you going to do, Piccolo?"
Piccolo turned towards the sky. "I am going to try to destroy that ball of energy in the sky. That must be what made him transform in the absence of the moon."
The three nodded to each other before running off in different directions.
Yajirobe stood with his arms crossed. "Yeah.. yeah.. just go get yourselves killed. But don't say I didn't warn ya."
...
Vegeta chuckled out loud as he heard Goku's screams getting weaker and weaker. "You are no fun, Kakarot. I guess I might as well put you out of your misery." He put one huge hand on top of Goku's head, preparing to snap his neck.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Vegeta looked surprised. He looked below to find Kakarot's brat on top of a rock pillar.
"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU BIG BULLY!" Gohan shouted again.
Vegeta chuckled. "Oh. I am sorry. Please don't hurt little me. Hahaha!"
Gohan gnashed his teeth together. 'Come on. Hurry, you guys.'
Vegeta lowered his fist which held Goku. "Look, Kakarot. Your son has come to watch you die."
...
Piccolo stood with a couple of fingers raised to his forehead. He could see the ball of energy perfectly from here while his view of the giant Saiyan was hidden by a rock formation.
He grunted with effort as his fingertips sparkled with energy.
...
Krillin stood on top of a rock pillar. The Saiyan's back was facing him. He raised one hand into the air and began to charge it with energy.
...
Gohan growled. "Put. My. Father. Down!"
Vegeta laughed out loud. "I will, boy, but not in one piece, I am afraid."
...
A spinning disc of ki had now formed above Krillin's palm. 'This was it. Destructo Disk!' he yelled in his mind as he threw the disc of energy towards the giant ape. 'Come on. Hit him.' He could see the disc getting near to its target.
Suddenly, Vegeta jumped upwards into the air.
Krillin's jaw dropped open as he saw his attack miss. Meanwhile, Gohan jumped up and barely avoided the Destructo disk as it went spinning past him.
THOOM!
With a huge sound, Vegeta landed back on his feet. The giant ape turned his neck to look behind him. "Did you take me as a fool?"
Krillin was trembling. What went wrong?
Gohan looked taken aback as well. 'He knew.'
Vegeta looked ahead of him. "I knew Kakarot's brat won't come back alone. I saw through your plan the whole time."
Gohan trembled. What should they do now?
...
Piccolo grinned as his attack finished charging. "Let's see you deal with this, you big ape," he said with a snicker. With a yell, he threw the spiralling beam towards the ball of energy in the sky.
Vegeta's eyes widened.
SMACK!
Piccolo groaned as he was hit by the Giant ape's tail and was sent flying and crashing into a rock formation which collapsed around him.
But it was too late. Piccolo's attack had hit the ki ball and destroyed it with a huge explosion.
Vegeta's mouth dropped open. His grip on Goku loosened, causing him to drop the spiky-haired Saiyan. Goku fell to the ground like a log.
Both Gohan and Krillin looked on in a mixture of relief and amazement as slowly Vegeta regressed to normal size.
Vegeta was panting visibly. His one eye was shut due to the attack Goku had fired at him earlier. He looked exhausted. 'I can't believe I let them destroy the ball of blutz waves. I must have known,' he thought. The giant ape form took a huge toll on a Saiyan's body. Most would drop unconscious after regressing to normal but he, as an elite, had trained himself not to. But still, the artificial source of blutz waves took a lot of energy to make and he didn't think he had enough left in him to make another.
Krillin was sweating. 'Oh great. He is down to size. But so what? He is still stronger than all of us.'
Gohan immediately rushed to his father's side. He shook the battered Saiyan. "Dad... say something..."
Goku opened his eyes and chuckled. "Don't worry, Gohan. I have not hit the bucket, yet. Though it does feel like I have broken every bone in my body.. hehe."
Gohan grinned as his eyes watered with happiness. His dad was alive!
"ARGH!"
Blood ejected from Goku's mouth as Vegeta landed with a double kick on top of his gut.
The prince than hit a kick to Gohan's jaw, sending him tumbling.
Gohan slowly got on his hands and knees. 'No.'
Vegeta stood beside Goku's body now and began to repeatedly kick on his side. "Sorry. To. Spoil. Father. Son. Moment."
Goku coughed blood. Every kick from Vegeta was hurting his battered body even further.
Krillin had it. With a yell he dashed towards Vegeta.
Bam!
Vegeta casually kicked away the oncoming human.
Krillin was sent tumbling. He slowly got to his hands and knees, coughing blood. That was his bravest move.. he wondered how Goku could be saved now.
Vegeta resumed his torture of Goku, kicking him with a sadistic grin.
"Stop it," said Gohan, standing up but his plea fell on deaf ears. "I SAID STOP IT!"
Vegeta blinked and looked at the boy.
Gohan fell into his stance. "I will fight you." His tail had grown back as well.
Vegeta pulled back his leg and kicked Kakarot's body away to the side with a smirk. He turned to face Gohan. "Looks like somebody has got a second wind."
Gohan's aura was ablaze around him. "I AM GONNA KILL YOU!"
With a scream of rage, he shot towards Vegeta with amazing speed.
Vegeta didn't even have a second to react as Gohan's kick collided with his gut. Spit was sent flying out of the prince's mouth.
Gohan next punched Vegeta in the jaw, pushing him back.
The half-Saiyan put his hands in front of his forehead. "MASENKO-HA!"
Vegeta's eyes widened as a thick yellow beam of energy approached him. He jumped upwards, barely dodging it.
Gohan wasn't about to give up. "One more!" he yelled, firing another Masenko attack but Vegeta dodged it again.
Gohan narrowed his eyes as he felt Vegeta get behind him. The boy tilted his neck as Vegeta's punch went over his shoulder.
DISHOO!
Gohan was thrown forwards as Vegeta's blast hit his back at point blank range.
The boy winced, slowly getting up. His back showed a huge burn wound from where Vegeta's blast had hit him.
The boy gnashed his teeth together. "I am not done yet."
Vegeta looked in a mixture of surprise and anger. 'How did the boy survive that?'
Gohan grunted. His body felt severe pain. Still, he charged Vegeta.
The Saiyan prince easily blocked Gohan's punch. He could make out that the brat had weakened now.
Gohan's eyes bulged as Vegeta's knee hit his stomach. Blood was sent flying out of the boy's mouth. Vegeta then proceeded to slap Gohan away, sending him tumbling.
Vegeta walked towards Gohan who lay flat on his back, panting with exertion. The prince stood beside the half-Saiyan and began to charge his hand with energy. This was the last of his ki. He didn't even know if he would have enough energy to finish off the rest of them after this. But no matter.. the boy had to go first.
Vegeta raised his hand, preparing to strike.
"HEII!"
Vegeta's mouth dropped open in horror as the fat figure of Yajirobe became visible from over his shoulder.
"AKH!"
The Saiyan grunted with pain as Yajirobe's sword striked his back armor, giving him an incising wound in the process. Vegeta dropped onto his face.
Yajirobe blinked. Had he finally done it? He clenched his fist in front of him with a grin.
Krillin blinked as he watched the scene while lying injured on the ground. "Would you believe it.."
Yajirobe was laughing hysterically now. "HAHAHA! That's what you get for destroying Yajirobe's senzu beans! Hahaha! You never thought you would have to pay the price for your Ragon hunting, did you? If only you would have come to me and asked nicely. I could have given loads of it to you! I can smell that thing from a mile like how I can smell food! Ohh yeeah! "
Krillin sweatdropped at the absolute jargon his friend was spewing. He could still sense Vegeta's energy. Yajirobe was up for an unpleasant surprise.
Yajirobe continued to laugh.
"What was that, tummy?"
Yajriobe's laughter slowly trailed off at that as a furious Vegeta now stood in front of him.
The fat man closed his eyes in terror and started to wildly swing his sword but all of his strikes missed his opponent by a margin.
Bam!
Vegeta's kick collided with his forehead, causing him to drop his sword as he was sent tumbling.
Vegeta slowly walked towards the fat man, his vision swimming. He approached him and began to lazily punch Yajirobe's stomach, in a way venting out his frustration.
Krillin gritted his teeth as he stood. Slowly the bald fighter walked towards where Yajirobe's sword had dropped and picked it up.
Vegeta watched the short man from the corner of his eye. He grunted and pulled up Yajirobe in front of him. The prince put an extended finger on Yajirobe's temple. "Get any closer and I will shoot tummy's brains out."
Krillin looked exasperated. What should he do?
Yajirobe looked expectedly horrified. "What are you doing, Krillin?! Drop my sword! Can't you see?! He's going to kill me!"
Krillin growled and reluctantly put the weapon down.
Vegeta smiled slyly as he pulled out a remote from his pocket and pressed a couple of buttons on it.
Krillin was trembling with frustration. He was so close! The bald fighter looked up as a few moments later a couple of space pods were visible in the sky.
The two space pods landed beside Vegeta. The prince opened one of them and threw Yajirobe inside. The door of the space pod closed. 'This fat man would come in handy,' Vegeta thought.
Krillin looked taken aback. He couldn't let this happen.
Yajirobe pulled back his fist and punched at the glass but to no avail. Tears dwelled in his eyes as he held his paining fist. Vegeta chuckled inside his mind. Thank God his and Nappa's space pods weren't cheap models, like that of Raditz.
Krillin bent down and picked the sword once again. With a yell, he threw it towards Vegeta.
CLANG!
Unfortunately for him, however, Vegeta had already gotten into his pod. The sword could only collide with the white metallic cover.
Vegeta eyed the planet for one last time before both the pods blasted off with a huge sound and disappeared into space.
A breeze blew in the air, shaking Krillin's tattered clothes. In the end of it, he was the last man standing.
Vegeta closed his eyes. He still could not believe it. The humiliation he had suffered on this planet was beyond words.
The prince pondered on his situation. He was heading to Frieza planet 327. He could recover in the healing chamber there.
Vegeta weighed his options. Frieza wouldn't be too happy about his visit to Earth. The prince had went to the planet against Frieza's orders of exterminating the people of Planet Rabbage.
'Wait a second.' Vegeta remembered the planet he and Nappa had stopped by on their way to Earth. Yes. He could sell it and see if he can get a good enough amount. If he did, he could use the money to buy many of Frieza's men and stage his long-planned coup. He had actually been saving money since a long time for this purpose.
The prince chuckled to himself.
But he had to admit that his chances were very bleak. It was unlikely for a single planet to fetch him a good enough amount. If that would have been the case he would have staged his coup much earlier. Earth had been a ray of hope but now Vegeta had to make do with whatever he had... he had no choice.
He was in no illusions about his chances of survival if he continued to serve the planet trade organization. Frieza did not tolerate orders being refused. He would most likely get him executed. If he had to die, it was better to go out with a bang.
Well, he did felt relaxed in the fact that he had got himself a good punching bag to pass his time. And that was besides the Ragon-smelling powers the fat man claimed to have.
...
Yajirobe silently watched the blackness from his pod window. This was his first time in space. The fat man had no idea what lay ahead for him. He just hoped that the space-food would turn out to be good.
Krillin took out his phone. It was Master Roshi calling. "Get here quick, Master Roshi. We are in urgent need of some treatment.."
"I am on my way, Krillin!" came the reply.
To be continued...
Author's note: Here's the power-levels:
Raditz Strikes:
Goku: 450
Gohan: 5
Piccolo: 430
Raditz: 1,100
Tien: 250
Krillin: 206
Yamcha: 177
Chiaotzu: 150
Master Roshi: 139
Chichi: 100
Goku (Kamehameha): 880
Tien (Dodon ray): 350
Gohan (enraged): 1,300
Piccolo (Special beam cannon): 1,400
Khami: 185
Mr Popo: ?
Korin: 100
Nappa and Vegeta saga:
Gohan (suppressed): 925
Gohan (full power): 1,100
Piccolo (suppressed): 1,350
Piccolo (all-out): 2,800
Saibamen: ranging from 900 to 1,000
Saibaman (self-destruct): 4,000
Gohan (post 1st Senzu bean): 1,250
Tien (suppressed): 1,005
Tien (full power): 2,000
Krillin (suppressed): 982
Krillin (full power): 1,820
Yamcha (suppressed): 954
Yamcha (full power): 1,785
Chiaotzu (suppressed): 700
Chiaotzu (full power): 940
Nappa (before power-up): 3,500
Nappa (after power-up): 6,000
Gohan (enraged kick at Nappa): 7,500
Yamcha (Spirit ball): 2,500
Tien (Tri-beam): 8,500
Tien (post Tri-beam and Nappa's beating): 740
Chiaotzu (Dodon ray): 1,340
Tien (enraged at Chiaotzu's death): 2,050
Piccolo (blast at Nappa's back): 4,000
Nappa (worn out): 5,300
Nappa (one-handed blast at Tien and Yamcha): 4,050
Goku: 9,001
Krillin (Destructo disk): -
Gohan (post 2nd Senzu): 1,890
Vegeta (suppressed): 11,500
Goku (Kaioken): 12,500
Goku (Kaioken x2): 16,000
Vegeta (full power): 18000
Goku (Kaioken x3): 21,250
Vegeta (Galick gun): 22,500
Goku (Kaioken x3 Kamehameha): 22,000
Goku (Kaioken x4 Kamehameha): 24,400
Vegeta (Oozaru/Giant ape): 140,000
Piccolo (Special beam cannon at ki ball): 7,500
Vegeta (worn out and post Oozaru): 7,500
Gohan (enraged at Vegeta): 8,200
Yajirobe: 1,500
Vegeta (post Gohan and Yajirobe's blows and energy rapidly decreasing due to post-Oozaru exhaustion): 1,600 and decreasing
Krillin (injured): 1,400
And with this, everyone, the Saiyan saga wraps up. Review your favorite moment. What was it?
Deep in outer space what terrors await the unlikely duo of Yajirobe and Vegeta? Find out in the next chapter of Dragon Ball Z: One!