Dragon Ball Z Dynasty

by Feraligreater328

When travelling along Snake Way, Son Goku suddenly finds himself plummeting down to Hell. There, he meets a surprisingly familiar ghost from his past that promises to change everything about his life going forward. How will the Saiyan react to this sudden, positive change in his life? Find out in Dragon Ball Z Dynasty.

174. Chapter 172: Piccolo vs Dabura

Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Authors: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

A/N: Forgive another missed week. I was so behind on so many shows (Fight Night, the new season of Hell's Kitchen, my annual Treehouse of Horror watch-through, etc.) that I kinda forgot to write. I hope the action in this chapter makes up for that delay though. Also, I'm hella sick.

Chapter 172: Piccolo vs Dabura

Stage Five, on an unknown planet…

Piccolo and Dabura both roared at the top of their lungs as they charged at one another and began a furious exchange of blows back and forth. Piccolo ducked a punch, his antennae flapping in the air and singing on the tips as Dabura's flaming hot fist soared over them. He responded to the punch with an attempt at an uppercut, but Dabura quickly feinted back. The Demon shot forward with a spinning roundhouse kick, but Piccolo was able to catch it with one arm. The Namekian punched directly at Dabura's face, but the Demon King caught the punch. The two warriors exchanged a furious glare, and then they each pulled their heads back and shot forward with two rattling headbutts.

The shockwave from the collision was enough to make the water beneath them ripple and crest, but Dabura and Piccolo both kept pushing against one another. Their energies flared. Their foreheads split and a mixture of purple and dark crimson blood ran down their faces.

Piccolo smirked.

Dabura returned the gesture and added a wicked chuckle of his own.

Piccolo sneered. "I want to thank you, actually. Your power is just above Cell's, so getting to spar against you is great. I get to gauge my improvement over the past 7 years..."

Dabura nodded, pulling his head back and licked the blood from his cheek with his tongue. "And I, you. How long has it been since these wretched hands of mine have gotten to taste a worthy foe? You're an infuriating insect, but those are the most fun ones to crush."

Piccolo shoved Dabura and sent them both flying back. The Namekian wiped his forehead with his arm. "So, why don't we end this pointless opening act, and you let loose what you really have going on? I felt it just a few minutes ago when you became truly angry. You have something more hidden deeper away..."

Dabura grinned deeply. "You think yourself so very high and mighty..."

Piccolo sniped back. "Higher and mightier than you."

Dabura laughed a wretched, deep laugh. "We shall see how stable this false bravado turns out to be~"

The Demon King launched forward with a wretched howl, his eyes full of evil bloodlust as he closed the gap between himself and his foe. Piccolo shot his knee up and caught Dabura in the cheek, sending the Demon careening to the side. Leaping into action, the Namekian shoved his palm into Dabura's face and roared. "MAKOSEN!"

The blast crashed into Dabura, sending him flying toward the ground below. The Demon King snarled, but then grabbed the blast, compressing it in his hand and setting it aflame with his wretched, demonic fire. With a crackling, crimson fireball now in his possession, Dabura heaved the attack back at the surprised Piccolo and laughed out loud. Piccolo was on the backfoot. This wasn't like the other attacks, and he knew it. This wouldn't kill him if it hit, but he certainly would be inheriting a disadvantage.

The Namekian reacted quickly, thrusting his fist into the fireball and firing off a Ki blast to blow it apart. The explosion created was enormous, but Piccolo was already on the move. He outran the resulting fiery shockwave by mere inches, his fingers pressed to his forehead. Aiming a wicked gaze on Dabura, Piccolo screamed. "SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!"

The spiraling beam drill shot toward Dabura like a bullet, but the Demon King was quick to react. He crossed his arm over his chest and then chopped the attack away. The beam shot over the horizon, landing at the tip of a distant mountain and exploding, making the entire range collapse into rubble. Not wasting a second, Piccolo rushed in and threw a massive barrage of punches at Dabura, growling in frustration as the Demon handily blocked them all. Pivoting, the Namekian slipped to the side and smashed his elbow into the side of Dabura's neck before the Demon could react. Dabura scowled and returned fire with a punch, but Piccolo quickly caught it. Yanking Dabura into the air, Piccolo drew his arm back and delivered a devastating chop to the Demon King's ribs.

Dabura winced, gritted his teeth and launched a kick forward. Piccolo shot his own leg up, wrapping it around Dabura's to stop the Demon's kick. Then, he followed up with a hefty palm thrust into Dabura's chest. Dabura roared with pain, his eyes bugging out. Piccolo smirked. "You're getting predictable. You seem to have given up."

The Demon King lurched forward, a hollow wheeze echoing from his throat. Piccolo drew his fist back for another punch, but then Dabura quickly recovered and smirked. "Have I now?!"

Dabura's devilishly red fist cracked across Piccolo's jaw with unprecedented speed. The Namekian went flying back, spinning all the while, and Dabura rushed in for more, unleashing a furious barrage of punches into the Namekian that made him feel as if twenty people were attacking him at once. Dabura drew his leg up, and then brought it down like a battle ax on top of Piccolo's head, sending him crashing into the ground.

Piccolo landed on all fours, the rock beneath him spider-webbing in combination of his weight and the force of his fall. He felt his wrists and ankles quiver in their joints, but didn't have a second to rest. Piccolo launched back into the air all at once, ready to continue the fight.

Dabura glowered down at the Namekian and held his hand out. "HADES FLARE!"

A laser beam of flames shot down at Piccolo and the Namekian gasped, his eyes going wide as he felt the sheer heat of this attack approaching. He felt all the saliva in his mouth evaporate and burn his tongue and only just managed to dodge out of the way. Reacting on instinct, Piccolo fired a massive barrage of Ki blasts up at the Demon. Dabura quickly turned and his beam didn't even bend, it maintained its straight trajectory as it chased Piccolo, swallowing up his blasts with ease and threatening to cook him alive. Piccolo snarled. "Dammit!"

But then, he bit the bullet. Piccolo shot up toward Dabura, purposefully shoving his arm into the devastating beam. Piccolo roared with fury as he felt the skin blistering off his arm, but he didn't stop. Instead, Piccolo arched around at the last moment, aiming his burning arm at Dabura's back and building a mass of energy into his shoulder. With a burst, Piccolo's blazing arm shot off and fired directly at Dabura's back. The obvious goal: to impale the demon with his own flames!

Dabura turned his slit pupils and caught sight of the attack out of the corner of his eye. He jerked out of the way at the last second and avoided the major damage, scowling with disdain as a rather large portion of the lower corner of his cape was shredded away and burned. The Demon King turned and snarled at Piccolo, grabbing his now ruined cape and examining the missing two pleats. "Goddamn you!"

Piccolo regenerated his arm. "Get the hell over it."

On the ground below…

Goku nodded. "Piccolo is pulling out all the stops. Setting his own arm on fire like that was crazy. And something that only he can really do..."

Shin was smiling wide, watching the Namekian continue the good fight. "This is astounding! It's taken me a while, but I think we can win this as effortlessly as you say! Once Piccolo is able to dispatch Dabura, victory is assured!"

The Supreme Kai turned to Goku, hoping the Saiyan would smile back. Instead, what he caught was a look he had yet to see on Goku's face in this ship: concern.

The Saiyan from Earth was staring up at Piccolo fighting against Dabura with something much less than the cool assurance of the last four fights. And, to Shin's horror, so were all of the other Z-Fighters as well. Videl and Bulla were just as cheerful as he was, moments ago, as they watched on and Shin found himself utterly baffled once again. "Goku... It's assured, right?"

Goku crossed his eyes and continued to watch the fight, stone silent and focused on each and every move.

Back up in the air…

Dabura roared with pure malice and his dark, flaming aura shot out through the air in sinister rings. His power was by far, to Piccolo's shock, the strongest malevolent force to ever set foot on the Earth. Dabura held out his hands with a glowering sneer, catching the flame rings shooting off him and gripping them tight. Armed with a massive, flaming tendril in each hand, Dabura shot forward at Piccolo with purpose.

The Demon swung his tendrils and the Namekian dodged as quickly as he could. Ducking another swing, Piccolo turned and fired off a dozen Ki blasts. The flaming tendrils swallowed them up in one heavy swipe and Piccolo ate a whip crack to the chest for his troubles, crying out in pain and flying across the sky with smoke billowing from his chest.

Dabura cackled. "Fool! You think your paltry energy a match for my malevolent flames?! Surely you're 1,000 years too young for that!"

Dabura whipped his arm into the air and then cracked his flaming tendrils down on Piccolo once more, driving the Namekian into the ground and starting a wildfire that spread around for miles. Dabura's slit eyes glittered at the horrid scene he had caused below and laughed out loud. Piccolo shot up from the flames, using his aura to extinguish any that were left crackling on him. With a snarl, the Namekian rushed in to attack again, wanting desperately to find some way to get around this new attack. As he shot forward, however, Dabura swung his tendril forward and wrapped it tightly around Piccolo's neck.

The Namekian growled and Dabura reduced the tendril on his free hand, drawing it inward and making it straight and stiff. He thrust the pointed end at Piccolo and smirked. "Now, I impale your wretched heart~"

The tendril shot forward and Piccolo, reacting almost on instinct, clapped his hands together. A shockwave of Ki echoed out and the Namekian felt the binding around his neck warble. Dabura shot out his shorter tendril, aiming it at Piccolo's chest, and the Namekian clapped again. This time, a sharper noise echoed out and both of the tendrils dispersed.

Piccolo immediately retreated and Dabura frowned. "Was that a Holy Reverberation? How did the Supreme Kai teach him that in such a short time? Unless... he was perhaps the God of this planet at one point...?"

On the ground below…

Shin cried out in shock. "A HOLY REVERBERATION?! HOW DOES HE KNOW THAT?! EVEN I WASN'T TAUGHT THAT BEFORE-"

Vegeta cut him off. "Smart of Piccolo to pull out a trick like that, though at quite an inopportune time. Dabura isn't likely to fall for such a ploy again. Even if it is a trick of the Gods..."

Videl turned to Vegeta. "Trick of the Gods? What?"

Vegeta pointed upward. "The green man used to be the Guardian of Earth. Essentially, he was Earth's God at one point. But Dabura seems beyond the tricks of mere Gods..."

Videl shook her head. "... Every new thing I learn about you guys. Sheesh."

Yakon whimpered in Goku's shadow. "Y-Your friend is gonna kill Dabura, right? I'm scared of what will happen if Dabura wins..."

Goku still remained silent, his face becoming more serious by the moment.

Back up in the air…

Piccolo snarled under his breath. "Goddammit, Kami. Stay out of this..."

Dabura floated forward, his cape flowing behind him. "Are we so desperate we're speaking to imaginary phantoms? Do you feel cornered, bug?!"

Piccolo roared and shot forward, crossing Dabura across the face with a hefty right. He went on to deliver a massive barrage of punches, each one finding a true target on the Demon King. Piccolo ended his assault with a double boot to the gut that sent Dabura flying and then tented his fingers together.

A shimmering ball of Ki formed between Piccolo's hands and he launched it with gusto. "LIGHT GRENADE!"

The attack crashed into Dabura's chest and exploded in a fabulous display. Unfortunately, the Demon King shot right out. He was scuffed for sure, but no less worse for wear. And he looked quite annoyed at these continued displays of defiance from Piccolo. Piccolo rushed right back at his foe, refusing to just back down and surrender. Grabbing his cape with both hands, Dabura launched a furious attack. He swung both ends of his cape and sent shimmering blades of power flying at Piccolo. The Namekian dodged each slicing attack and watched in shock as they cleaved through the mountains in the distance like butter.

Piccolo turned back to Dabura as he prepared to do his Cape Swing once again and fired a massive Ki blast. Reacting quickly, Dabura thrust his hand forward with intent to repel the attack, only to watch in consternation as the entire attack curved into the air. Expecting something more, Dabura was surprised to see the attack merely disperse into nothing. He turned his attention forward just in time to suffer a sharp spear kick to the chest.

Dabura growled in his throat, tasting the metallic odor of blood on his tongue. He turned his hateful gaze to Piccolo and grabbed him by the ankle. With a savage roar, Dabura drove Piccolo into the ground. The Namekian tried to recover quickly, flipping back up, but Dabura sent him flying with a punch to the gut. Piccolo flipped in the air and landed on his feet, only for Dabura to appear and hammer him across the face with a furious punch. The Namekian went flying and Dabura gave chase, his opponent now purely on the defensive.

Back on the ground…

Raditz bit his thumb. "This isn't good. He's losing a lot of ground..."

Bulla rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Raditz! What do you know?! Piccolo has got this, right Daddy?!"

But Bulla's bombast was met with grim silence from Vegeta. Goku, as well, was watching on with a now fully serious look on his face. "Shit... come on, Piccolo..."

Videl shivered, feeling a sudden shift in tone compared to the rest of the experience in the ship so far. She turned to Gohan with an almost pleading look on her face. "Hey, he's got this right?! Tell me... he's..."

The girl shivered as she glanced over at Gohan, watching with utter bafflement at what seemed to be little fiery explosions surrounding Gohan. Almost like an aura that Videl felt stupid to think wasn't actually his. She spoke in a hushed whisper. "G-Gohan...?"

Gohan seethed to himself, watching as the fight continued in front of him. "Piccolo... no."

Back with the fight…

Dabura let loose a hideous howl, driving his fist into Piccolo's cheek and making the Namekian's head snap back. Unpleasant memories of Cell doing the same years earlier blossomed in Piccolo's mind and he made damn sure to dodge the second attempt. The Namekian leapt back to create some space, but Dabura quickly closed it. He zoomed into Piccolo's range once again and slammed his knee into Piccolo's gut. The Namekian coughed, struggling to regain himself. Dabura smirked, his eyes flashing. And then, he pulled his hands out wide. The ground beneath Piccolo's feet fissured and he fell in. And then, with a sharp bark of a laugh, Dabura clapped his hands together and the ground closed right back up, crushing Piccolo's body and drawing a wail of agony from the proud Namekian.

Dabura held his open palm over Piccolo's head and summoned the same flame he had used to dispatch Kibito. "I wonder what your skeleton looks like?!"

Not wanting to find out, Piccolo roared at the top of his lungs and, in an eruption of Ki, freed himself from his rocky prison. He shot up into the air, breathing hard, and shook his head. "Not yet..."

Dabura lazily followed, his arms crossed. "Tell me, peon, are you ready to concede yet? The true Demon King clearly displays his majesty before you. Admit to your folly and your execution shall be made quick~"

Piccolo spit to the side. "Not a chance. We're still in the warmup stage..."

Dabura smirked. "The shadow of death that swaddles you like a helpless newborn would care to disagree."

Piccolo raised his hands, using telekinesis to lift all the rubble surrounding him. "TRY THIS!"

All at once, all of the rubble from the fight so far launched at Dabura. The Demon King rolled his eyes and gripped his fists tightly, setting them aflame. "FIENDISH FIRE FIST!"

Punching like a machine gun, Dabura made short work of all the rocks that came his way. Some of them simply shattered to pieces while others very quickly liquified. With the rocks dispatched, the Demon King chuckled. "As to me, so to you~"

And then, he performed the exact same maneuver that Piccolo did, picking up every bit of debris behind himself and launching it all at once. Piccolo quickly got to work dodging, still not weary enough that mere rocks would cause him grief, only for a familiar white boot to narrowly miss his head. Dabura had charged into the cascading rocks, leaping between them again and again to try and land a blow on his distracted foe. Piccolo, however, was the victor of the exchange, kicking with all the force he could muster and sending Dabura shooting into the air.

He quickly tried to follow-up with a charging haymaker, swinging his fist into Dabura's back and instead punching through a cloud of solid mist. Piccolo snarled. "Damn it!"

And then he turned just in time to see Dabura raise his hand and summon a hellish looking sword. Dabura howled with triumph and brought the sword down right at Piccolo's face. Piccolo narrowly avoided death, catching the blade with his palms and rewarding Dabura with a kick to the stomach for his troubles. Dabura took the kick in good cheer, holding the blade aloft and cackling. "The Darkness Blade. My personal armament. How do you like her edge?"

Piccolo looked down at the steadily bleeding gashes on his palms and growled. "Two can play at that!"

And then, with Magic Materialization, Piccolo summoned a blade of his own. It wasn't as ornate as Dabura's, a simple scimitar with a rustic handle, but Piccolo spun it in his hand like an expert and motioned Dabura forward.

The Demon King obliged, both hands gripping the hilt. "ENGARDE!"

Piccolo obliged, meeting Dabura's two-handed swing with his one-handed swing and immediately registering the error. His attack was repelled without issue and his arm was lost for the trouble. Piccolo immediately regenerated, catching the sword with his fresh hand and meeting Dabura's next two-handed slash with one of his own. The clash was much more even this time, but even Piccolo's pride couldn't mask that Dabura was stronger in this case. The Namekian gritted his teeth and continued his attempts, matching Dabura blow-for-blow in a lightning fast, intense display of swordsmanship. The sound of striking metal rang through the air and the two Demon Kings crossed blades again and again and again, neither daring to look away from the other for even a moment.

Seeing an opening, Piccolo swung for Dabura's exposed neck, but quickly found that he had fallen for a trap. Dabura crossed blades and forced Piccolo's into the air. Then, moving quickly, he aimed a thrust right at Piccolo's chest. The Namekian blocked with his knee and howled in pain as his right leg was sheared off from the thigh down. Piccolo retreated and Dabura chuckled. "An intermediate level of skill will not save you from me."

Piccolo wanted to say something biting in return, but instead focused his energy on regenerating his leg. Dabura shrugged with a chuckle. "What's the point in replacing what is to be shortly removed once again?!"

The Namekian responded by suddenly stretching his leg, shooting a kick that nailed Dabura in the shoulder of his dominant left hand. For the moment, the Darkness Sword was disabled. Piccolo charged forward, sword at the ready, and stabbed it directly at the center of Dabura's face. Dabura responded by throwing his sword and catching it with his right hand, deflecting the attempted murder and turning the blade in reverse.

With the dull side now facing his foe, Dabura rushed forward and called out. "CHAOTIC DANCE!"

Seemingly all at once, Piccolo felt the dull side of Dabura's Darkness Sword strike him from multiple directions, including a heft shot to each side of his head. Dazed, Piccolo stumbled back and Dabura came in for more, alternating between slow swings of the blade that served to disorient his foe and overly fast swings that caught Piccolo off guard consequently. The Namekian felt as if he were under a spell, trying his best to react but being nearly unable to respond. Once more, the Namekian stumbled back, his head spinning in a very bad way. Dabura smirked devilishly, turning his blade back to the sharp side and giving a fast-paced, mightily powerful swing. "RESOLVE HELL SWORD DANCE!"

The three slices all seemed to hit at once: from right hip to left shoulder, from left hip to right shoulder, and once right across the diaphragm. Piccolo's chest exploded with blood and he fell back, his eyes rolling up. Dabura howled in triumph and raised his blade into the air for the coup de grace!

Off on the sidelines…

Gohan cried out in panic. "PICCOLO!"

He tried to rush forward, but Goku quickly caught his son by the wrist and pulled him back. Gohan flashed his father with a look of pure hate for just a moment and Goku flinched. But, quickly, the Saiyan raised on Earth calmed his boy. "Not yet, Gohan! He's okay! The only thing that will be hurt now is Piccolo's pride if you rush in!"

The Supreme Kai snapped. "ARE YOU JOKING?! PRIDE?! WHAT DOES THAT MATTER?!"

A Ki blast crashed into the ground at Shin's feet and he stumbled back. Vegeta was glaring at him and he looked pissed. "If you ever try to discard a real warrior's pride like that again, I'll end you myself! Shut up and watch!"

Shin turned his attention back to the battlefield.

Back with the fight…

Dabura brought down a skull-splitting strike, but then Piccolo's gaze refocused. His chest was on fire, but the Namekian forced all of his strength into his legs and sent himself flying back. He smirked at Dabura's blade cleaved into the ground and Dabura frowned. He gave chase and Piccolo rasped out. "I won't die...so easily..."

Dabura scoffed and drew his blade to the side, ready for another swing. Piccolo tossed his blade at the Demon King like a spear and watched with consternation as Dabura shattered it to pieces in a single swing. Dabura leapt forward, smashing his blade's pommel into Piccolo's chest and crushing him into the ground. Piccolo groaned in pain and Dabura raised his blade once more. "Impudent cur! HELLISH BEHEADING!"

At the same time, Piccolo did two actions at once. Dabura's sword rained toward his head, ready to drink the fluid of life from the Namekian's very brain. Piccolo, however, had a strategy prepared. Summoning a Rebellion Edge onto his hand, Piccolo swung his arm up and cleaved through the Darkness Sword like butter. And, at the same time, he used telekinesis to summon every shard of his ruined blade and pulled them flying into Dabura's exposed back. The Demon King cried out in pain, dropping the remains of his ruined sword and Piccolo called a third action into the midst, rolling over and kicking Dabura in the side of the head with a furious ax kick.

Piccolo stood, silently praying that this was over and that he had won. He found himself damning every God from Dende to Shin when he discovered that he hadn't even taken Dabura off his feet.

The Demon King scowled, firing beams from his eyes at both halves of his ruined sword and making them vanish. "That was the impudent Bardock's technique!"

The Namekian was breathing hard. "Normally, I'm not one to use other people's techniques, but I hate even more being victim to the same trick twice. I had Bardock show it to me after we faced a guy immune to blunt-force trauma, but not precision assaults. Plus, it's fitting that I nearly killed one of his chief slavers with it..."

Dabura seethed. "I knew I hated you from the moment I met you outside. You have the same arrogance about you as that flea-bitten chimp!"

The Demon King's eyes widened and he shot an invisible blast from them. "EVIL IMPULSE!"

Unable to defend in time, Piccolo was sent flying with another cry of pain. Dabura quickly followed, overtaking his foe once more!

Stage Six…

Babidi stared on with disgust as he watched Dabura pummel Piccolo in his crystal ball. "To think that Dabura is still playing with this one! I would have assumed he would have moved on to one of the others. I mean, honestly!"

Bardock listened to Babidi's growing ire with only half interest, instead shifting the view of the ball back to the sidelines. His mask reflected on the surface as he studied each of his fidgeting former allies very closely.

Outside of Babidi's Ship…

Chiaotzu gave a mighty warcry and rapidly aimed his finger between multiple targets, unleashing a flurry of Dodon Rays that pierced their hearts with ease. A varied mixture of Zoonian Soldiers and scumbag human criminals hit the ground with a thud and Chiaotzu grimaced, throwing up a barrier to block their return fire and glancing back at his petrified friends with an anxious look. With a psychic burst, Chiaotzu restrengthened the barrier domes protecting Krillin and Tien.

He then glared back at the bloodthirsty army staring him down. "THE CRANE SCHOOL ISN'T ABOUT ASSASSINATIONS ANYMORE, BUT DON'T THINK YOU DUMB BASTARDS WON'T FORCE MY HAND!"

The army quickly circled around and Chiaotzu groaned. This was going to be a long day, it seemed. He shouted. "MULTI-FORM!"

Four Chiaotzus appeared, and then each performed the Four Witches Technique. The four, four-armed Chiaotzus quickly got to their murderous work, flitting around in the air like unmanned drones and unleashing bursts of Dodon Rays that pierced several hearts at once. The main Chiaotzu spear-kicked a massive Zoonian to the ground and unloaded five shots into his back before turning and firing a Tri-Beam into a group of ten. His eyes glowed with telekinetic power and he grabbed another twenty all once, waving them around like ragdolls before squeezing his fist tight and crushing all of them.

Blood rained down on the battlefield as a human grabbed Chiaotzu around the neck and jammed a pistol, of all things, into his temple. Chiaotzu snarled and yanked the man in front, using him as a human shield to charge into a crowd of Zoonians and send them all flying with a psychic shockwave.

The dwarf looked up at all three of his clones latched onto the backs of three Zoonian soldiers, directly the three struggling fools into clouds of their allies and exploding just as he did with Nappa so long ago.

A Zoonian with an energy blade charged in behind Chiaotzu and immediately tried to cleave his head off. Chiaotzu's afterimage disappeared and he quickly shot an Aura Sphere into the Zoonian's back, driving him into the rocks until his limbs stopped twitching.

More of them came and Chiaotzu blocked all their punches and kicks with only a modest effort. "This is crazy. How did that Babidi guy expect to conquer us with an army of losers like this...?"

The tiny martial artist leapt up, allowing two Zoonians to run each other through with the energy blades. He flooded their brains with psychic energy and quickly tossed both of them into the air, snapping his fingers and making them both explode amidst crowds of their comrades.

As gore rained down, Chiaotzu laughed to himself. "Heh! Dirty Fireworks!"

Not realizing that he had just copied a hated comrade's joke, Chiaotzu leapt back up to the ridge and threw up a large barrier dome. He watched as the Zoonians and humans, still quite numerous, piled atop it and almost entirely blocked out the sun. Chiaotzu rested his cheek into his palm and groaned. "How many of you morons are there? I mean, this is just-"

All at once, a couple hundred of the army he was facing broke off from the rest of the pack and shot into the air, roaring with fury. Chiaotzu stood. "What the hell?!"

A mighty flash of gold illuminated the sky and suddenly, all the soldiers that rocketed into the air landed with brutal thuds on the ground or on Chiaotzu's dome. The rest of the army quickly turned to face this new threat and Chiaotzu, with a snap of the fingers, made his barrier dome burst and sent all of them flying.

In between the deluge of confused bodies, Chiaotzu saw a familiar shape and cried out in shock. "Goku?!"

Son Goten landed with an easy-going smile. "Uncle Chiaotzu! I thought I sensed you over here!"

Chiaotzu flinched. "G-Goten?! What the heck are you doing here?!"

Goten smiled, cocking his head. "It felt like a lot of these bullies were teaming up on you, so I wanted to come help out! I like getting to fight alongside my cool uncles~"

Chiaotzu's face lit up bright red. "C-C-Cool?!"

Goten beamed. "Super cool~"

Chiaotzu's head was steaming. Goten, looking around, pointed toward the petrified Tien and Krillin. "Neato statues! Where'd they come from?! I want one of me!"

The dwarf quickly shook his head. "N-No! You don't! Now, it's a lot to explain, but I just need you to listen to me Goten! We-"

The army had recovered, all of them rushing toward Goten and Chiaotzu with bloodthirsty howls. Chiaotzu groaned. "We've gotta take care of these guys!"

Goten smiled confidently. "Piece of cake!"

Chiaotzu smirked. "That's what I like to hear! KAIOKEN x3!"

The dwarf's body began to glow a bright, deep red. Goten giggled with childlike wonderment and charged his own attack. "CHIKA IS GONNA BE SAD SHE DIDN'T FOLLOW ME HERE! KAMEHAMEHA!"

Back on Stage Five…

Piccolo rushed forward with a furious punch at the ready. Dabura blocked it with ease, returning fire with a punch of his own. Piccolo felt his cheek crumple under Dabura's strength, but didn't back down. He swung a kick at Dabura's ribs and flinched in shock as the Demon King caught it, heaving Piccolo into the air and slamming him hard into the ground. Not wanting to lose momentum, the Namekian quickly flipped away from what would have been a stomp to the face and then shot forward with a kick to Dabura's neck. The Demon King went flying and Piccolo sped to catch-up, shoulder checking the brute in the stomach and making him retch.

Piccolo raised his hand into the air, making it grow gigantic and slapping it down on top of Dabura. The Namekian gingerly lifted his hand and gasped in shock to find Dabura gone. He didn't have a clue where the Demon had gone until several large droplets of purple blood rained down. Piccolo looked up and realized that he had neglected to heal the gash wound on this palm. He saw something wriggling in his viscera and winced in pain as he felt it digging its way down his enlarged arm.

Suddenly, Dabura's hand shot out from the massive limb and fired a dozen Ki blasts right into his face. Piccolo cried out in pain, falling back as Dabura burst from his enlarged arm and continued the assault, battering the Namekian with multiple punches to the face and a variety of strikes to the rest of his body. Rapidly running out of steam, Piccolo dodged an oncoming punch and threw one of his own. Dabura met that punch with a punch and then cracked his knee under Piccolo's jaw. The Namekian rose into the air and Dabura followed up that strike with a brutal uppercut. Piccolo was dazed, but quickly brought back to reality by a wicked spear kick to the stomach.

The Namekian fell to his knees, his head snapping down and his chin bouncing off his chest. Dabura clamped his hand down onto Piccolo's head, raking his claws through the Namekian's scalp with a hateful sneer. "This is the end."

Off to the sidelines…

Goku gripped his bicep hard. "This is bad. He can't do this. He can't win."

Vegeta shook his head. "No, he cannot. Something has been made very clear in this battle..."

Bulla frowned. "What is it, Daddy?"

Raditz, much to the girl's annoyance, answered. "Dabura isn't just a part of Babidi's army. Dabura is Babidi's army. He's been fighting Piccolo all this time and he still has so much power left. We have a few people on our side that can stand up to him, Piccolo being one of them, but I think we only have two... maybe three... people who could actually put him down..."

Videl shook her head. "This is nuts..."

Yakon whimpered in panic, making himself small behind Goku. The Supreme Kai shook his head. "This is what I was afraid of. We've allowed overconfidence to get us back into a corner. Now, Piccolo will be the one to pay the price for that folly, I fear."

Gohan stepped forward. "Piccolo..."

Goku reached out. "Gohan, w-"

A sudden black and red flame engulfed Goku's hand and the Saiyan yelped in pain. He stumbled back and watched, with horror, as two sinister hands began to form out of Gohan's back. "Piccolo!"

Videl tried to run forward, to reach out to Gohan, but Raditz quickly restrained her. The two locked eyes and Raditz shook his head. "At this point, whatever happens happens."

Back with the fight…

Before Dabura could blow his head off, Piccolo cross-chopped the Demon across his rippling chest. Dabura stumbled, looking very annoyed indeed. And then he shot forward, kneeing Piccolo under the jaw again before double ax-handling him to the ground. Piccolo pushed himself up, coughing up a small puddle of purple, and quickly felt the humiliating sensation of Dabura's boot pressed to the back of his skull.

Dabura snarled. "Yield, bug! I have unleashed my full power against you and you've produced no response. Bow out and face death with dignity, or I shall you writhe!"

Piccolo spoke in a thick voice. "I believe the saying the human's use is suck my-"

Dabura stomped Piccolo's face into the dirt and aimed his palm at the Namekian's body. His face twisted into a malicious, rictus grin. "Perhaps, I'll have that head on a pike yet~"

As he prepared to fire off the attack, however, the scenery around the Z-Fighters shifted and all of them, Dabura most of all, reacted with total confusion. Dabura called out. "Master?"

Babidi's voice echoed all around them. "Dabura, return to Level Six at once. I have been informed of a new development that I am assured will be most profitable. It seems we've found a new friend~"

Back on Stage Six…

Seeing the look of disdain on his loyal subordinate's face, Babidi turned back to Bardock. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Dabura doesn't look very happy with it."

Bardock nodded. "As always, the needs of our Master Babidi outweigh Dabura's paltry fetishes for mayhem and violence. I promise, Master Babidi, that upon his return I will deliver you a truly special power indeed."

Babidi nodded and turned back to the crystal ball. "Hurry, Dabura! Return at once!"

Back on Stage Five…

Dabura seethed, but did not question. He removed his foot from the back of Piccolo's head and turned toward the other Z-Fighters. "You all-"

The Demon King gasped in terror, recoiling five steps at the sight of a wide-eyed Gohan right behind him. This boy, whom Dabura had previously mentally written off as a dullard, had something much deeper than murder in his eyes and at that moment Dabura felt a cold sweat break out from his forehead to the pair swinging beneath his demonic prick. He was almost ready to fight for his life when, suddenly, Vegeta marched forward and placed his hand on Gohan's chest. He glowered at Dabura. "Get lost, doggy. Your master beckons."

Dabura snarled. "You're all lucky fools indeed. I will skin you all, yet."

Then, with a flourish of his cape, Dabura retreated to the door of Stage Five and disappeared behind it as the hatch hissed shut.

With the Demon gone, Vegeta turned toward Gohan and motioned him to Piccolo with a head nod. As Gohan ran forward, Vegeta shouted. "Raditz! Serve your function and dispense a Senzu! Hurry up!"

On Stage Six…

Dabura thundered into Stage Six with eyes clouded with rage. Marched right past Babidi and grabbed Bardock by the jaw, slamming the back of the Saiyan's head into a wall and snarling. "WHAT IS YOUR GAME?! I KNOW THIS IS ANOTHER BOUT OF YOUR MASKED DEVILRY AND I WILL NOT HAVE IT!"

Bardock responded calmly. "Should I expect my thank you to be handwritten and slid under the door to my quarters?!"

Dabura snapped. "A thank you for what?!"

Babidi spoke in an annoyed, resigned tone. "Gentlemen, if we could cease this pissing contest, I think I am ready to begin~"

Staring at one another with pure, venomous hate, Bardock and Dabura separated and returned to their master's sides. Babidi waggled his fingers at the crystal ball, staring at the target of his magic. Dabura flinched. "H-Him?!"

Bardock nodded. "Oh yes. I have advised Master Babidi that this one is a perfect target for us..."

Back on Stage Five…

Wringing his hands, Shin was pacing around the room as Piccolo summoned a new outfit for himself and Gohan melted in a corner with Videl at his side. The Supreme Kai was rambling in panic. "Another new ally?! Who could it be?! Who could be so imposing that Babidi would recall Dabura, of all people?! How can this be happening?!"

Vegeta's face twisted into anger. "Would you shut up?!"

Bulla echoed. "Yeah! Shut up!"

Raditz offered a hand to Piccolo which the Namekian, stewing in his own self-disgust slapped away. Raditz took it on the chin, it seemed, but the discerning onlooker would have no trouble seeing that his shoulders had visibly drooped and his frown had deepened.

Goku was crouched next to the whimpering Yakon, trying to encourage him that everything would be okay.

Shin, meanwhile, continued to panic. "WHERE COULD HAVE PULLED THIS NEW FIGHTER FROM?! WHO COULD IT BE?! WHAT IF HE HAS A WAY TO HASTEN BUU'S REVIVAL! THE UNIVERSE WON'T SURVIVE THAT! WHAT IF-"

Finally, Vegeta snapped. He turned on his heel and slapped the Supreme Kai to the ground. Bulla cheered. "Yeah! Way to go, Daddy! That shut him up!"

Shin shrieked, his lip bloody. "HOW DARE-"

Vegeta gripped his collar. "COUNT YOUR LUCKY BLESSINGS THAT I DIDN'T TAKE YOUR HEAD OFF! THIS ROOM IS TOO SMALL FOR YOU TO KEEP SHRILLING ON ABOUT NOTHING!"

Shin snapped back. "COUNT MY LUCKY BLESSINGS?! THE ONLY LUCKY BLESSING I HAVE TO COUNT IS THAT AT LEAST WE'RE ALL SAFE!"

He stood, straightening his sacred vestments. "We have our disagreements, but at least I've managed to surround myself with warriors that have never walked the path of darkness..."

At that moment, the Z-Warriors all flinched. Vegeta, the former murderous space pirate, Raditz, the former murderous space lackey, Piccolo, the former murderous Demon King, Bulla, the near-mirror image of her father, Yakon, a former slave of Babidi's, and Videl, who held such a deep-seated rage in her heart that she sometimes lost herself to it, all looked at one another. And, at the same time, they all uttered the same crude vow. "SHIT."

The Supreme Kai flinched. "... 'Shit' what?!"

Videl was quickly on her feet, proffering a solution. "Okay! I've seen this in a movie! We'll just have to get Goku, Gohan, and Mr. Shin to tie us all up! That way, just in case-"

Raditz cut her off. "Tie us up with what?! Rope?! You're the weakest person here and you could break that!"

Videl shouted back. "I don't know, then! Try chains! Or Kryptonite! Or personal responsibility! You people have to be weak to something, right?!"

Bulla chimed in. "THE PRINCESS OF ALL SAIYANS IS WEAK TO NOTHING!"

Raditz looked down at her, trying to speak calmly. "Bulla, you aren't helping! Why don't you-"

Bulla snapped at him. "You don't get to order me around! Only my Daddy does! Cuz unlike you, he's not a piss-poor warrior or a lousy daddy!"

Raditz's eyes went wide. "Wha... I... you... you little..."

The elder Saiyan brother's face twisted into an emotion that he hadn't truly felt in quite a while: anger. He sneered at Bulla. "You should watch your mouth, you little-"

Vegeta shoved Raditz. "Back off of my daughter."

Goku, looking up from Yakon, tried to chime in. "Guys! Come on, we can't break down into in-fighting now. We need to all relax, and-"

Yakon was whimpering and Piccolo snapped. "GOKU! SHUT THAT DAMNED BEAST UP BEFORE I DO IT FOR YOU!"

Soon enough, the entirety of Stage Five had broken down into vicious verbal infighting. Shin was numb as he suspected physical infighting to be just around the corner. "Wh-What are you all doing?!"

Shin went unheard. He started to raise his voice. "H-HEY-"

But then, he was cut off by an even louder voice. "PAAAAPAAAAARAAAAAAPAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The silence that filled Stage Five was so complete that one could have heard a speck of dust drop. Everyone was frozen in place for a single second that seemed to last a year. And then, to all their collective horror, the Z-Fighters turned and watched Son Gohan fall to his knees, clutching his head and screaming in the worst agony of his life.