"Dad!"
The sound of his children shouting in excitement caught his ears and even though it did, he didn't acknowledge it, a quiet rage had settled into the lone warrior who had joined the battlefield, his eyes dared to his children then to his best friend who laid on the ground a few metres behind the larger saiyan looking completely astonished at him. His eyes shifted to Nappa who stood in confusion at his sudden arrival and slowly he walked forward step by single step at the large saiyan.
"Vegeta?" Nappa called out, looking back to his short partner who stood a few metres behind him.
The prince of the saiyans looked on quietly as he watched Goku walk forward slowly, a barrage of numbers assaulted his left eye on the scouter he wore and it slowly settled into one number "Three thousand, a power level of three thousand" Vegeta stated, unimpressed. "Kakarot, how glad you could join us"
"That's all?" scoffed Nappa as he locked gazes with the shorter warrior who walked forward to meet him, slowly Nappa settled into a stance and as soon as Goku was in striking range, he fired the first punch but to be only met by air, Nappa blinked rapidly as he looked around to find his opponent, Vegeta's eyes widened on the sudden display of speed from Goku who was now behind Nappa and walked away from him.
"What was that?!" Vegeta thought out in surprise, completely shocked "The scouter blinked for a moment and his power shot up to 6000, as I thought, the scouters are completely useless when fighting these trash"
"Wha? where?!" shouted the baffled Nappa as he frantically looked around and once he looked back, he saw Goku slowly walking away from him and to the young bald warrior who laid on the ground completely motionless
"Hey Krillin" was the small sweet greeting from the young saiyan warrior who slowly knelt down to meet his bald headed compatriot, Krillin who in turn chuckled wearily at the sight of his best friend who was alive
"T-took y-you long enough...huh?"
"Yeah, sorry about that, I kinda thought King Kai would just zap me over here before the fighting started" Goku apologized as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and slowly brought up his right hand and scrimmaged through his little brown pouch at his side and pulled out a small senzu bean "Here, a gift from Korin" he told him and slowly slid the small bean into Krillin's mouth, Krillin began chewing and as he did, a flurry of footsteps assaulted both their ears, Goku's eyes widened as two small figures crashed into him sending him nearly faltering down
"Daaaaad!"
"Woah!" Goku cried as he struggled to regain his balance, both Pan and Gohan had crashed into him, tears welling up at their eyes as they looked to see their father who they hadn't seen in a whole year. Goku simply chuckled "Wow, guess you guys missed me huh?" and slowly stood up while he looked on at his two children who had grown over the entire year.
"Hey, are you wearing the turtle school uniform, Pan? wait, is that Kami's symbol? did you train with Kami? and you've become so tall!" asked a surprised Goku,
"Mm-hmm! Krillin and the others trained me along with Kami at the lookout, it was really fun and a bit hard too" murmured his young daughter, Goku's eyes then darted to Gohan to see him wearing a set of clothes very familiar to him "And I guess, Piccolo trained you up too huh, Gohan? you look pretty good! and you look alot stronger too!"
"Yeah! he did" Gohan replied, cheerful as tears streamed down his face at the sight of his father, his mood suddenly sombered as he looked down "but he died protecting me.."
"And so did Tien Chiaotzu and Yamcha too.." added a somber Pan as she slowly looked on to her father whose eyes narrowed "Don't worry, we'll get them back somehow" he answered, slowly standing upto his full height, a sudden thought came to him as his eyes widened "Say, where's your mother? I'm surprised she let you guys go train with the Piccolo and the others..."
"Mom is..." Pan began, unsure of what to say, hesitant of what to say, fortunately for her, Krillin stepped in to cover for her, a serious atmosphere suddenly took hold between the four warriors.
"Goku, there's something you need to know about 18..." he began, dreading what the reaction his best friend would give him, he couldn't lie about it, not to Goku of all people, he silently wished both master Roshi and Bulma was with him but he was alone and as his best friend, it was his duty "B-but It's not something I can tell you right now, you need to fight.."
"Wh-where's my mom?" asked a surprised Gohan, now equally as curious as his father, had something happened to her? now that he thought about it, it was weird that his mother wouldn't have come for him when Piccolo took him away, there had to be a reason, his mother loved him too much to leave him alone, she could be cold, silent and strict at times but one thing he did know was that she always loved him.
"Krillin" Goku began, his eyes narrowing, his heart skipped a beat and his demeanor changed to that of desperation, Gohan and Pan looked on as Goku questioned his best friend "What happened to 18? where is sh-"
A sudden blast was sent Goku's way, he zipped out of view carrying Krillin, Pan and Gohan altogether, Nappa's laughter echoed through the wasteland as he looked at Goku "So, you little punk? think you're a hotshot eh? showing up out of nowhere and then ignoring me?"
Goku glared at him, he was annoyed which wasn't something that Krilln, Pan or Gohan had seen on a regular basis, they hadn't seen such a expression at all, Goku's gaze slowly turned to Krillin as he slowly let go of them to float on the sky, "Head to master Roshi's house, I'll finish up here and meet you there, alright?"
"But dad!" Pan interjected "y-you can't fight them alone"
Goku just smiled sympathetically at her "Don't worry, Pan, I'll be fine" and then looked to Krillin who looked on at the conversation between them and before he could speak, Gohan tugged on the side of his gi prompting Goku to look to his younger child
"Dad...I don't wanna be alone again, please come back this time" he murmurmed, downtrodden, Goku placed his hand on Gohan's hair and ruffled it in affection "Hey, you're not alone, you got Pan with you but I'll come back this time alright?"
"A-alright.." Gohan nodded, with the assurance now done, Goku slowly looked to Krillin who stood in silence at their small conversation "Krillin, I'm counting on you"
"Got it, be careful, Goku, they're strong" Krillin told him, Goku simply nodded and then in an instant, rocketed down to the ground to meet his adversaries.
"Dad..." Pan murmured, in awe and insecurity, she didn't know what her father was thinking, she knew he was always the strongest but the power that Nappa had displayed had made her faith waver in her belief, could her father really beat them? there was an unknown source of confidence she could sense in Goku as he descended down to the battlefield, it had made her anxious and a sudden excitement had overtaken her.
"Pan, Gohan, you heard your father, let's go" Krillin commanded them, wanting to get them to safety as soon as possible, Goku had placed his trust in him to get his children to safety and he was dead set on seeing it come to fruition.
"No..." Pan whispered.
"What?"
"Krillin, I wanna see..." Pan began, her look now set on her father's back, on the symbol that had engraved itself into her mind
"What are you talking about, Pan?" asked a surprised Gohan
"Don't you wanna see it too? Gohan?" Pan questioned him "it feels like dad is a whole new person, there's something really different about him.." she explained, her gaze set on her father, Krillin sighed, she knew when Pan wanted her way, she would get it no matter the obstacles, Krillin himself wanted to see how strong Goku had gotten, why was he so confident? it was a mystery to him.
"We'll stay for one fight, alright?" Krillin told them "as soon as his fight with the big guy is done, we're leaving" Krillin told them. Pan and Gohan simply nodded at him and their gazes went down below to latch onto their father who stood in defiance to the two saiyans that had come to fight him.
"Why haven't they left yet?" thought a surprised Goku as he spared them a glance and then focused on Nappa who looked on condescendingly at him. Goku began walking forward a few steps and then stopped, his eyes darting across the battlefield, he saw the bodies of his friends, lifeless on the wasteland and a silent rage crept up on him, his right open palm tightened into a small fist and he began whispering.
"Tien, Yamcha, Chiaotzu...Piccolo" Goku murmured, regret seeping into his voice "Please forigve me, I couldn't make it in time" and with his apology delivered, his eyes set itself on the large saiyan before him and then he placed both his feet in a wide stance and balled his palms into a fist, the ground began shaking with fear as both Nappa and Vegeta's eyes widened in astonishment as chunks of the ground began tearing themselves away from the ground and slowly levitated into the sky and with a loud cry, Goku began powering up.
"5000, 6000, 7000, 8000..." whispered an awestruck Vegeta as the scouter blinked rapidly with simultaneous beeps.
Up above in the sky, Pan, Gohan and Krillin looked on in shock as the very ground shook with Goku's power, beads of sweat began rolling down their faces as they were unable to comprehend the sheer magnitude of power that was flowing out of Goku
"N-No way, t-that's my dad?" murmurmed a nervous Gohan.
"W-what, s-so strong" Pan stated as she looked on wide eyed.
Krillin was left speechless as he slowly watched Goku stop his battle cry, the levitating debries around him fell back to the ground and dust slowly settled over the area, Nappa and Vegeta were both left shocked at the spectacle
"Ve-Vegeta!" Nappa called out, shaken from his stupor, he turned back to his small partner "What does the scouter say about his power level?!"
Vegeta slowly took his scouter off with his right hand, a thick vein popping out on his forehead, he gritted his teeth and crushed the scouter as he finally replied to Nappa "It's over 9000!"
"What?!" Nappa shouted, utterly shocked "That can't be right! the scouter's broken!"
"Are you done talking?" asked an annoyed Goku, he wanted the fight to be over with quickly, Krillin's statement on 18 and his reluctance to talk about her had caught him off guard, he didn't know what had happened and it had made him anxious, it had been a year since he had seen her, his eyes narrowed onto Nappa who stomped on the ground infront of him.
"Shut up, you little brat! don't think for a second you're stronger than me!" he shouted and then lunged towards Goku who stood still.
"Oh no! dad! move!" Gohan called out from above.
A second passed and all of them watched in awe as Goku was now infront of Nappa, a fist completely lodged into his gut, Nappa's eyes widened as he looked down and suddenly he was assaulted by immense unbearable pain in his gut, Goku stepped back and watched as Nappa tumbled down onto the floor convulsing in pain, the young warrior spared him a glance and then slowly picked him up by his large leg and then threw him effortlessly to Vegeta who stood silently contemplating what had happened.
"What was that? I saw a flicker of red when he punched Nappa" thought a curious Vegeta as he kept his gaze on his opponent.
Up above, Krillin, Pan and Gohan looked on in awe at the sight below them, Goku had essentially taken out Nappa in one shot, they couldn't believe their eyes, the opponent they had such trouble with, the opponent they had barely survived against was taken out in a punch by Goku.
On the ground, Nappa convulsed with pain and slowly he faded to unconsciousness, his pupils turned white as he lost consciousness and blackness overtook him, Vegeta then spared Goku a glance and then looked to the fallen saiyan in front of him, Goku's eyes widened as a beam of energy began forming in Vegeta's right palm, his body crackled with energy and then a smirk played out on his face.
"I have no use for saiyans who can't fight, goodbye Nappa"
The beam of energy shot itself from Vegeta's right hand, Goku looked on in horror as the blast took up the whole area and a white light lit up the sky and the ground below it. A few seconds passed as the light died down and only dust remained, Goku had been unfazed from the blast, the same however couldn't be said for the ground around him that was leveled.
A small smirk settled itself onto Goku's face, his opponent was strong, it would be a difficult battle for him, he could tell just from the sudden power he had exhibited that his opponent was no laughing matter.
"Well then, Kakarot" Vegeta began, addressing the saiyan before him "Did you enjoy the lightshow?"
"Can't say I did" Goku replied, smirking. Vegeta simply chuckled as he folded his arms over his chest once more and looked to the younger saiyan.
"A shame" Vegeta chuckled "now then, shall we get on to the main event?"
Goku spared a glance to Pan, Krillin and Gohan who floated a few metres away from him and then back to Vegeta who simply looked at him bemused "Not here" Goku replied.
"Lead the way to your grave then" Vegeta told him, arrogantly, Goku didn't respond rather just disappeared in the next second in a flash of light, Vegeta followed suit immediately and together they disappeared from Pan, Krillin and Gohan's gaze, the second battle would decide the fate of their lives and of earth.
Gohan watched as the two warriors faded from his view and then looked to his sister who levitated in quiet contemplation "Sis, they're gone"
"Yeah.." Pan answered, barely acknowledging him, she was too stunned by what had happened, both of them were leagues above them in power and in strength, it had scared her but more so it had made her excited, just what training had her father done to achieve such a level of strength, not only that, what kind of power did the shorter saiyan Vegeta possess to be able to rival her father?
"Let's get going" Krillin told them, this broke her stupour and she reluctantly agreed, nodding her head. "Goku will be fine, you guys" Krillin told them, reassuring them once more of their father's strength "You saw what he did to the big guy right? he's got this."
Gohan and Pan simply agreed with their bald headed compatriot, but a sudden uneasiness had set itself over them, they were nervous at their father's chances, despite the strength he displayed, Vegeta's strength seems to have even eclipsed his. They looked back to where both of them had disappeared and silently hoped that their father would be alright
"Sis?"
"What is it, Gohan?" asked a surprised Pan as she slowly looked towards her younger brother.
"Earlier, Dad asked about mom, where is she?" Gohan asked, he watched as Pan bit her lower lip and looked away from him.
"That's..." she began, once again unsure of what to say to her little brother, both Krillin and her had a huge responsibilty on their shoulders.
"Pan? we can tell them once Goku is back if you don't wanna talk about it" Krillin turned back to look at them, his face sympathetic to her current predicament. Pan simply shook her head "He deserves to know, Krillin" Pan replied.
"Alright..."
Pan then slowly turned back to Gohan who flew next to her "Mom was..."
Gizard Wasteland
Goku slowly descended onto the barren wasteland below him and onto a broken cliff, his stare narrowed onto Vegeta who did the same but onto a cliff of greater height. He smirked condescendingly as he looked down onto his opponent, his arms folded over his chest, the wind raged onto the wasteland as the two warriors stared at each other.
"You should be honored" Vegeta began, smirking."A lower class warrior like you getting to play with an elite like me, such an honor is rare if not non-existent, we, saiyans are tested for our combat potential at birth, the rejects with the lowest numbers are shipped off to other planets with no serious opponents, just like you were, Kakarot"
"And that's how I ended up on earth right? I should be grateful" answered a smirking Goku "Here, even a reject can surpass an elite if he works hard enough"
"Heh" Vegeta chuckled in mirth "you have a sense of humour, now let me show you the wall that no amount of hardwork can overcome!"
And with that final statement delivered, both Goku and Vegeta setlled into their respective stances and locked gazes with each other, Goku had cleared of his mind of everything as he stared down his opponent, however at the back of his mind, Krillin's hesitance to answer about 18 still plagued him, for now, he decided to concentrate everything on the fight, a few meters away from them, a part of a cliff began deteriorating, cracks formed albeit suddenly and then immediately a piece of rock attached to the deteriorating cliff fell apart, that was the sign that both Goku and Vegeta were waiting for.
Both of them lunged forward and a barrage of punches and kicks were exchanged without a second's delay, they disappeared and reappeared in several places, such was the speed of their fight, Goku was keeping up with each of Vegeta's attacks and his speedy movements. Goku then proceeded to kick the saiyan prince only for Vegeta to dodge and jump a few meters away onto multiple cliffs, Goku pursued swiftly but his eyes soon widened as he saw Vegeta use one of the cliffs as leverage and jumped back and landed one straight blow on Goku who was setn flying away, recovering quickly by rotating himself in the air, Goku jumped onto a number of striations on a cliff and then to the sky to get a better read of the situation.
"What?" Goku murmured in surprise "Where did he-"
Hi strain of thought was cut as he lowered himself and avoided a fatal hit from the back, Vegeta had appeared behind him, in the confusion, Goku gritted his teeth as Vegeta landed the first blow into his gut, his eyes widened in pain as Vegeta brought forth his hands together and with a double knuckle lodged them into Goku's back sending him sprawling down to a cliff below him. Goku recovered almost immediately and landed safely on the broken cliff, slowly he looked up to see Vegeta smirking at him.
"Surely this isn't all you have?" Vegeta asked him as he slowly descended "Why don't you use that little trick you used when you gutted Nappa?"
At the mention of his technique, Goku's eyes widened "He saw me using it?" thought a surprised Goku who slowly smirked in disbelief, he knew hiding it wouldn't do him any good at this point "Well if you're up for it..." he began "guess I'll give you a demonstration..."
Vegeta simply floated calmly in the sky as he watched Goku take up a small stance, a myriad of colors flashed through Goku's figure before it settled onto a deep shade of red, Vegeta's eyebrows raised itself in surprise as he looked onto the ki that blazed so brightly like a raging fire and in it, Goku smirked as he stared down his opponent, the air around them had gotten hotter from the excess of energy that was flowing out of Goku, Vegeta could feel the pressure but it did not faze him one bit as he calmly watched on, standing ontop of a cliff.
"Kaioken!"
With that one word, one shout, Goku sprang his arm forward from where he stood, the cliff on which Vegeta stood shattered into a million pieces, Vegeta however had dodged the force of air and had ascended into the sky, Goku's red aura blazed forth once more and he followed after Vegeta who looked on wide eyed as Goku punch him right in the face, he didn't stop there however as a flurry of punches from Goku's side connected with Vegeta's face and then with a swift kick, Goku sent Vegeta flying away once more and proceeded to follow once more only for Vegeta to recover suddenly and appear right before him, with a swift kick to the chin, Goku's red aura died down and he looked on in shock, holding his chin in surprise.
"That's a nice trick, you have but if that's all you got" Vegeta smirked as he looked down at Goku "I'm quite dissapointed"
"Heh..." Goku chuckled as a bread of sweat rolled down the side of his face "This isn't good, he took it straight on but still..." Goku murmured, a smirk found itself onto his face "I kind of like the challenge"
"Now then" Vegeta began "Shall I show you the true power of a saiyan elite?"
"What?" questioned a surprised Goku.
"I told you before, Kakarot" Vegeta smirked "it's a rare opportunity for a low class warrior like yourself to play with an elite like me" and then he formed his open palms into fists and began grunting, electricity began to sparkle from his body and then a white light engulfed him, Goku looked on astonished as the once blue skies above him began forming black clouds and soon it covered the entire landscape, the cliffs and rocks beneath him began levitating and huge chunks of them began breaking off of the cliffs and slowly the whole area began shaking with such a violent force with Vegeta's shout that it left Goku speechless.
"W-what...power" Goku murmured "it's...it's like the whole world is shaking!"
And then Vegeta roared, a white flash of light once again engulfed the entire area and just like that, the shaking, the black clouds and the levitating derbies all but stopped, the black clouds were now gone and the sky returned to it's usual serene color of blue, a bead of sweat rolled down the side of Goku's face as he slowly turned his gaze back to Vegeta who simply floated silently in the air, a small smirk settled on the prince's face as he silently locked onto his prey
"It's over..." Vegeta replied "Kakarot!"
"Ah...Ahhh!" Goku shouted out in shock at the sudden display of power and in the next second, Vegeta appeared before him and headbutted him sending Goku sprawling away, the young saiyan recovered quickly but it was no use as Vegeta appeared behind him and lodged a kick right into his back, Goku let out a yelp as he was sent flying once more, Goku landed on a cliff as he clutched his back in pain
"Man, this isn't-"
"What's the matter, Kakarot?!" Vegeta shouted and lodged a ball of energy onto Goku who couldn't even finish his sentence as he stared down the ball of energy that threatened to crash into him
"Kaioken..." Goku called out as a blaze of red enveloped him "times two!" and with that, he rocketed into the sky avoiding the energy ball, only for Vegeta to lodge another one right at him, Goku barely dodged the next one, he quickly raised his right arm to avoid the blow but it had tore the side of his clothes, Goku's eyes widened as he watched the ball of energy slowly dissipate into nothingness and in it's wake, Vegeta's laughter rang aloud, Goku slowly descended down to meet the elite prince, a small smirk on his face
"Even a double kaioken can't match him" Goku murmured to himself "guess there's no choice.."
"So Kakarot, are we done here? is that all the fight you can muster?" Vegeta asked him, chuckling. Goku simply smirked as he tore off the rest of his upper gi and vest revealing his chiseled upper body and slowly settled into a stance, Vegeta blinked in surprise to see Goku slowly start a shout, the air around them had become hotter and an overwhelming pressure had begun to affect the saiyan prince.
King Kai's planet
"No! I told him not to!"
King Kai's voice rang out on his planet as he grew anxious and nervous at the battle, he had kept an eye on the battle ever since Goku arrived back on earth, he had seen the entire fight upto this point and he knew exactly what Goku was planning to do, his voice rang out in anguish as both Bubbles and Gregory looked on at him.
"I told him to double it but not to go any higher!" King Kai repeated once more "but in light of the situation, there's no other choice, I just hope..." King Kai gulped "I just hope his body holds up"
Gizard wasteland, Earth
An air of pressure assaulted the atmosphere as Vegeta looked on completely nervous, a steam of air blew itself forward from Goku's body and slowly but surely his body turned red and the area surrounding him was constantly assaulted with a tangible pressure.
Vegeta's eyes widened as the cliff on which he stood broke but his gaze remained on Goku, who had set his gaze on him, a glint appeared in Goku's eyes and in the next second, a fiery blaze of red energy engulfed Goku as he shot forward, time slowed down between the two saiyan warriors as Goku closed the gap between them in a second. Vegeta stared wide eyed as Goku locked eyes with him and then a punch was sent straight across the saiyan prince's face sending him flying away, the next second, Goku rocketed right behind him and shot Vegeta into the sky with a kick, the saiyan prince recovered and shot two balls of energy at his opponent only for Goku to dodge it with splendid ease, he disappeared and reappeared to Vegeta's right and with a well placed kick to his head, sent the saiyan prince flying into a mountain of rocks, a few seconds passed and then Vegeta let out a batte cry from inside the mountain and shattered it into a million pieces.
The saiyan prince was enraged, angry, he grttied his teeth as he frantically searched around the area to find Goku, he couldn't think straight, his anger had blinded him, Goku had landed three hits on him and it had hurt his pride, a lower class warrior had actually hurt him, he blinked to see Goku approaching with blinding speed and he reacted on instinct with a punch laced with purple ki, Goku maneuvered with ease and appeared behind him and struck him with a shattering knee to Vegeta's chin, that wasn't enough to deter the saiyan prince however as he tried once more to retaliate, only for Goku to land one single blow into his gut, Vegeta screamed out in anguish and spat out blood as he cluthced his stomach, he stepped back step by single step stumbling and glared a this opponent viciously.
Goku panted hard, he was losing stamina and his body was aching but he had silently resolved himself to the after effects of using the kaioken times three, a second passed between the two combatants, Goku moved first and Vegeta could do nothing to retaliate as he was still reeling in from the pain of the punch to his gut, in a second, he was assaulted on all sides with punches and kicks from the younger saiyan warrior, he was thrown into the air and then with one knee, Goku loged it into his back and forced Vegeta's whole body, specifically his gut to a mountain of rock, Vegeta screamed in agony as Goku thrust him into the mountain of rock, blood flew from the mouth of the saiyan prince as Goku slid down to the ground and tried to regain his footing, Vegeta on the other hand laid on his side, clutching his gut and foaming at the mouth, such was the impact of the pain that Goku had bestowed him with.
Down below on the ground, Goku struggled to get a proper footing and stumbled to a standstill, he smirked as he looked to see Vegeta slowly recovering up above him.
"Man, this guy can sure take a beatin-aaah!" he screamed and clutched his left shoulder, the kaioken had done more damage to his body than he had expected "Not good, I'm the one who's gonna fizzle out fast at this rate..."
"Blood..." Vegeta whispered as he slowly stood to his full height on top of the cliff "I was made to bleed by low class trash.." he continued his enraged ramblings as he wiped the blood that dripped from the side of his mouth, his attention now solely on Goku who looked on at him "That's it, I've had it, that's enough! you can keep your dragonballs! I'll blow you away along with the earth!" and with a shout of magnitude, Vegeta rocketed into the air.
"What?!" Goku looked on completely shocked and surprised.
Up in the air, Vegeta crackled with purple energy that encompassed his whole body, like a star in the night sky, such was the output of energy that he was emitting "Dodge this next one if you can, Kakarot! but if you do! the whole earth will be wiped out! how's that?!" and with that lone statement, he cackled manically as he looked down on the younger saiyan warrior
"N-Not good..I still haven't recovered from the last attack" Goku murmured as he balled his open palm into fists and then he mouthed with a quiet resolve "No choice then..."
"Kaioken times three!"
The blazing red ki returned once more and engulfed Goku's whole body and then bringing his palms together, he slowly mouthed his signature attack, up above, Vegeta did the same, putting all of his power into his one attack, purple and red ki blazed across the landscape and the whole planet began to shake, all the rocks and mountains of it began to quake near Goku and began levitating into the air at the force of their strength
"Ka"
"Me"
"Ha"
"Me"
And as Goku neared the end of calling his attack, Vegeta blazed out more fiercely, his energy sparkled in the sky violently and then he screamed "You're finished! Kakarot!" and then with both of his open palms fired a purple beam of energy straight at Goku who lifted his open palms into the air at that very same moment and screamed
"Haaaaaaaaa!"
A blue beam of energy shot itself forth from Goku's open palms and traveled faster than light to meet the purple beam of energy and finally they clashed and when they did, mountains around them shattered at the force of the blast. The force of both their energy were even invoking Vegeta's rage.
"How, how can his beam match my galick gun!? it's impossible!" Vegeta screeched, completely enraged at the thought of a mere lower class warrior matching him, Goku gritted his teeth as he struggled to keep up the clash at even strength.
"C-come on, come on!" Goku cried, putting more energy into his beam, they were evenly matched but Goku was slowly getting the upper hand bit by bit and Vegeta was losing ground, the stalemate lasted for a whole minute before Goku had enough and decided to overpower Vegeta completely at the cost of his body
"Kaioken..." Goku began, "times fouuuuurrr!"
"No Goku!" King Kai's voice reached the young warrior's mind but it was too late as Goku had already initiated the attack, Goku's beam shook violently before it doubled in size and shook everything in it's path, Vegeta's eyes widened in shock as his beam was being pushed back instantly.
"W-what?! it's overpowering my g-galick gun!?" he shouted out baffled and in frustration. "N-no! Noooo!" he screamed in anguish as the kamehameha came closer to engulfing him and then in a second, he was swallowed up by the wave and with the impact sent him flying into the sky, the beam carried it's passenger all the way to the ends of the earth.
Down below, Goku let out a sigh of relief as he watched his kamehameha rocket Vegeta into the very confines of space, his body was aching, his energy was spent, he knew he wouldn't last another round but for now, he had earned a brief moment of rest, "Gaah!" he let out a grunt of pain and clutched the sides of his body, the after effects of the kaioken were setting in, slowly Goku sat down onto the ground and rested, he knew Vegeta would return, he just didn't know how soon.
With Pan
"So you have no idea where mom is now?!"
Gohan's frantic voice echoed through Pan's small ears, she couldn't blame her younger brother, he was always attached to their mother more. Pan simply nodded her head, unable to give him a straight answer, in truth she felt responsible, if only she had been stronger, she could've fought off the man that had ambushed her, even now the very image of that man burned through her mind and whenever she thought of him, a deep hatred reared it's ugly head in her.
Krillin looked on silently as the younger of the two siblings inquired of the older one, it was such a dilemma on his hands, handling just one of his best friend's child was hard enough but handling the two of them was turning out to be a doozy especially with how Gohan was reacting to the news, he let out a sigh as Pan began to speak once more.
"I don't know where mom is, Gohan, all I do remember is the face of the guy that attacked me" Pan replied, hoping to calm her little brother down "An-"
And before Pan could finish her sentence, the earth below them began to shake with such ferocity that startled the three of them, Pan's eyes widened suddenly as the clouds above them darkened, Gohan watched in awe, stuttering as he pointed behind Pan, Krillin's gaze followed suite completely baffled, he was sweating bullets at the spectacle in front of them, not only that, the power he was sensing completely terrified him, Pan slowly turned around to see two huge beams of energy, one blue and the other purple clashing against each other, the lights were so intense that it lighted up the whole vicinity, the sky above and the ocean below reflected the lights that beamed off the clash.
Pan watched with wide eyes as the blue beam of light slowly gained strength against the purple beam of energy "I-is that..." she stuttered.
"The kamehameha?!" Krillin finished, completely baffled at the amount of power the wave was exhibhiting.
"D-dad?!" Gohan mumbled in complete fright, he too was terrified at the amount of power he was sensing from the battle.
They all watched eagerly and in awe as finally the blue beam of light overpowered the purple beam and shot it straight through the atmosphere and into the very depths of the sky, it took a few seconds before Pan, Gohan and Krillin came to their senses.
"We need to go back!" Gohan shouted, he was the first to speak up startling both Pan and Krillin "Dad might need out help"
Pan didn't say anything except simply nodding her head, she wanted the same thing as Gohan, all that stood in their way however was..
"No, Goku told us to go back, he can handle it" Krillin spoke up, denying both of them the chance "we're not goi-"
"But Krillin!" Pan interjected "Dad really may need our help! you saw that, didn't you? dad would've used up alot of power with the kamehameha wave!"
"I know, but..." Krillin struggled, he wanted to get both of his best friend's children away from the fight as soon as possible but they had made it difficult, Pan's reasoning was swaying him and against his better decision, he groaned out in frustration "Ah darn it, fine! let's go"
"Yeah!" Gohan nodded and with that, the trio lit up with aura's and began their journey back to the battlefield hoping that they weren't too late.
Gizard wasteland
Goku didn't understand what he was seeing, Vegeta had returned a few minutes after the kamehameha wave had shot him straight into space, he had recovered but his armor was in tatters and his tail frely waved too and fro his body, blood seeped down his face and eyes but more than that, he was cackling maniacally and with a ball of energy in his hand, smiling smugly at the younger saiyan warrior
"W-what is that?"
"You see, Kakarot" he began, laughing "I'm sure you know that the true power of the saiyans originate from our tails, you did a fine job on eliminating this planet's moon and cutting off your tail but in your eagerness to do that, you missed one crucial detail" he explained pointing to the white ball of energy on his open right palm. "Now watch as I show you the true power of the saiyan race!"
And with that last statement, he threw rhew ball of energy into the sky as Goku watched in awe.
"Now! shatter!" Vegeta screamed, Goku watched in shock as the ball of energy expanded in the sky and covered it with blinding white light, he covered his eyes hoping to shield it from the intense white light, a few seconds passed as he slowly opened them and looked to the ball above which shone as fiercely as the sun
"What the?" Goku murmured, completely baffled at the situation, slowly he turned to his opponent and his eyes grew wide with surprise "Ah!"
Vegeta's features were changing, his pupils had disappeared, his teeth grew bigger and sharper and slowly brown fur covered his face and his eyes grew red, his nose grew longer and pointed outwards from his face, Goku stepped back in horror and watched as Vegeta grew bigger and bigger in size till he rivaled the mountains surrounding him, no...he was even taller than them, he laughed maniacally, letting out an animalistic roar as he slowly looked down to Goku who watched him in awe.
"How do you like this, Kakarot?" the giant ape Vegeta smirked, his teeth showing his animalistic grin. "You're finished now."
"Ah..ah...what, how..." Goku stuttered, baffled at the sight before him, of the monster before him and before he could even register what had happened, a punch was thrown his way, he dodged it on instinct, lighting up with his kaioken technique and rocketed to the giant's left, Vegeta however didn't let him and instead sent him flying with a kick, Goku was rocketed into a mountain of debris, crashing into it with blinding speed, Vegeta cackled once more looking on as the debris slowly fell on the younger warrior.
"M-man" Goku coughed, slowly standing up, his body reeling from the pain, "he's not even stronger, he's faster too..."
"Here's a little secret, Kakarot" Vegeta laughed as he eyed the smalller warrior "My power in this form is ten times that of when I'm normal, you best give up"
"H-how..." Goku murmurmed, completely shocked at the revelation "even a kaioken times four can't keep up with him, w-what do I do?" he went on as he got a better look at Vegeta's giant form "Ah!" he stuttered in shock "so...the monster who killed my grandpa...it was me?! I did that? i-is that why 18..."
"So hey, where did Pan's tail go?"
"Hm, I cut it off" 18 answered her husband as she folded her arms over her chest
"How come?" he asked her, raising a curious eyebrow at her and placing his arms on his hips
"Bulma and the others said it was bad luck, it's why they cut off yours as well" 18 explained as she looked on at Goku who simply narrowed his eyes at her
"Really? are you hiding something?"
"Yes and no, I'm not" was the simple reply from the blonde haired android, knowing he couldn't get any other answer out of her, he simply accepted the explanation and decided that he would go ask either Krillin or Bulma of it the first chance he got, they had given him the same answer and he had chosen to accept it but he knew there was more to it.
"Heh..."
Goku chuckled in mirth, completely battle weary "18...you were right afterall, the tail was bad luck" and slowly his face turned somber as thoughts of his grandfather came to his mind "Grandpa Gohan, I'm sorry, I didn't know...I'm sorry" he whispered and before he could lament on the revelation, he lit up with the kaioken once more and dodged a punch that was thrown his way, frantically he searched for any openings that the larger warrior would give him only to find none, he was thrown across the area like a ragdoll, accumulating damage as the fight drew on, he then decided to hide if just for a small minute to compose himself only for Vegeta to shatter his hiding place.
"Darn it!" Goku cursed as he looked on at the larger saiyan ape "There's got to be a wa-ah! that's it!"
Bringing both his hands to his face, he opened his palms and waited fro Vegeta to close the distance between them "Give it up! Kakarot! it's over!"
"Now! Tien! I'm borrowing your move!" Goku cried "Solar flare!"
A blinding flash of light shattered the whole area and lit it up, Vegeta screamed in agony as the light blinded him completely, he moand and cried in agony as his sight was robbed from him, with the deed done, Goku rocketed out of the area and found an open space, slowly he descended as Vegeta's howls rocked the atmosphere, landing on the broken piece of rock, he raised his arms up and slowly closed his eyes, readying his trump card.
"Earth, land, seas...and all living creatures, please, I beg of you, lend me your energy"
His plea was answered as small drops of energy floated from the atmosphere and into his body, every living creature offered up their energy to the young warrior who pleaded for it with his life, Goku slowly smiled, his plan was going smoothly for now.
"That's it, just a little more, I just need enough to shut this guy down once and for all" he murmurmed, off in the distance, Vegeta screamed in agony and hurled curses at the warrior who had stolen his sight from him, slowly he opened his blurry eyes searching for the younger saiyan.
"Damn you, Kakarot" Vegeta murmured "When I find you, I'm going to finish you! you coward!"
Goku silently chuckled as he heared Vegeta curse him more and more "Just a bit more, just a bit more" he repeated as he continued to gather energy, his gaze slowly went back to Vegeta's great ape form as he nervously looked on, the saiyan prince's sight was returning and Goku's time was running out.
Vegeta slowly rubbed his large red eyes as his sight soon came back to him "Where?.." he muttered, enraged and slowly looked around searching for Goku, slowly he rotated back and his eyes narrowed as he found his opponent on a cliff simply standing
"What the?!" Vegeta exclaimed in confusion, he could see small traces of energy going towards Goku, without wasting a second, the saiyan prince rocketed forward with a roar, sensing his approach, Goku slowly drew the energy he had accumulated into a fist and then pulled his fist back in an effort to wind up the energy into a complete ball.
"Come and get it, you big ape!" Goku shouted as he motioned to throw the accumulated energy at him, Vegeta flew towards him with frightening speed and before Goku could throw the attack, Vegeta opened his mouth wide and from it, a beam of energy shot itself towards Goku who was completely shocked at the wave of energy.
The beam hit him head on and all the energy he had accumulated was nearly lost, a mountain of debries fell upon Goku as the blast encompassed him, a few minutes passed as the dust cleared and Vegeta looked on silently.
"D-darn it, t-that was my last chance" whispered a weay Goku, all his energy was completely gone, he had spent it all trying to accumulate it for the spirit bomb, he couldn't even move and before he could even think of what he would do next, Vegeta's massive form appeared above him and with his large foot shattered both of Goku's legs by stepping on them.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Goku cried out in agony "M-My legsss!"
Vegeta chuckled in mirth as he looked down to the beaten warrior "Oops, seems I broke your legs, while I'm on the job, let's finish the whole thing as well" he brought up one large finger and aimed it straight at Goku's chest only for it to be thwarted as Goku raised his right arm as quickly as he could and blasted Vegeta's right eye causing the saiyan prince to agonise in pain once more.
"H-hehe, t-there" Goku murmured "That's all I got, d-darn, to think it'd e-end like this again..." his thoughts slowly went back to 18, Pan and Gohan and more importantly what Krillin had hesitated in telling him "G-guess I'll n-never know now", his thoughts went back to a year ago when he had told 18 he would come back
Don't be too long"
18's calm voice echoed through her home as her gaze fell to her husband who slowly wore his weighted boots, her aqua eyes watched in patience as he slowly rose to his full height and wore his trademark orange gi over his dark blue weighted vest, her eyes softened as his cheerful face looked back to her.
"Aw, don't worry" Goku reassured her "I'll be back before it's dark"
"I'd be more inclined to believe you if you hadn't pulled that stunt a few days ago" 18 coldly complained, her eyes now narrowed onto him, she recalled how he had told her of what had happened, of how Pan had been kidnapped and how he had searched every nook and cranny for her and ended up fighting an immortal monster to get her back, the most surprising thing she could recall was the fact that Pan had saved Goku and not the other way around, just hearing about what had transpired had given her a headache.
"Oh come on" Goku complained, annoyed at her and one eyebrow raised, his hands clenced into fists and placed on his hip "I didn't know something like that would happen"
"I know" 18 stated, no emotion in her voice "I'm just telling you to be careful, Goku" her voice softened and Goku caught it, his features softened at watching 18 worry about him, it wasn't always obvious nor was it on a regular basis, she rarely expressed any emotion until he did something that incited her rage or when she was genuinely worried about him.
"S-sorry 18. g-guess I wasn't careful t-this time, heh" he chuckled as he watched Vegeta rage around in anger and pain, slowly the saiyan prince looked to the beaten warrior before him with his functioning left eye, blood was pouring down his right eye and he was enraged.
"I've had enough of you, Kakarot! die!" Vegeta screamed as he scooped up Goku in his hands and then bringing his palms together he began squeezing Goku's whole body, he smirked as he heard Goku cry in agony, he could hear his bones breaking and the pain Goku was feeling was unimageneable. Vegeta smirked as he continued crushing Goku's whole body, the deed was nearing completion, every bone in Goku's body was broken and all Vegeta had to do was deliver the final blow but before he could however.
"Hey!"
A voice rang out and Vegeta's lone left eye widened as Pan appeared in front of his face "W-wha"
"Solar flare!"
Vegeta cried out in agony once more as he was hit by the solar flare that had robbed him of his sight again.
"Krillin! now! now!" Pan cried and her mentor acted as soon as he could, appearing behind the great ape, Krillin threw his destructo disc straight down and cut off Vegeta's tail, the plan was successful and slowly Vegeta returned back to his normal form, his size shrunk, his fur disappeared and his teeth returned to normal, Goku slowly dropped to the ground but not before Pan caught him and slowly brought him down to the ground.
"Dad?! dad!" Pan cried, she was heartbroken, desperate, to her, her father was invincible, no one could beat him but now, looking at him completely bruised, battered, bleeding all over made her heart shatter, she couldn't stand seeing her father like this, she slowly shook him, trying to stir him from his unconsciousness, it worked and Goku slowly opened his eyes.
Everything was a blur to him but as he opened his eyes, he was greeted to the sight of blonde hair and his heart skipped a beat "18?" he whispered and slowly his as his sight fully cleared, his lone right eyes widened to see not 18 but.
"Pan?!"
Tears formed at Pan's eyes as she embraced Goku in a hug "Dad!" she couldn't bare to see him like this, it angered and hurt her, Goku simply chuckled in pain as she embraced him "O-ow! P-pan! hurting!" he cried and Pan withdrew himself from him in an instant
"S-sorry dad" Pan whispered and before they could converse, their attention went behind them to see Krillin and Gohan fighting Vegeta, Krillin had put up an impressive fight but was quickly knocked aside by the tyrant leaving Gohan alone to deal with their opponent.
"Come on! I won't forgive you for what you did!" Gohan screamed as he lunged at Vegeta who in turn simply smirked as they exchanged punches and kicks at lightning speed, Vegeta however had the upper hand as he suddenly disappeared and lodged a punch in Gohan's gut, followed by a headbutt sending the smaller warrior flying, Gohan crashed next to Goku and Pan as Vegeta slowly descended onto the cliff below them
"Gohan! are you alright!?" Pan called out
"I-I'll be o-okay" Gohan murmured as he slowly stood up only to falter once more and before Pan could act, Vegeta appeared before her kicking her straight at her chin sending her flying, she was sent a few meters away but quickly recovered as she flipped in the air and skidded to a halt, spitting out blood, she glared at the saiyan prince who was now right next to her injured father.
"Now, Kakarot, watch as I kill your son and your daughter!" Vegeta chuckled much to Goku's dismay
"N-no, s-stay aw-ooof!"
Goku's plea was answered as Vegeta lodged a kick into Goku's broken body, Pan watched in agony as he father spit out blood from the attack, Gohan watched in horror and slowly an untamed anger built up in Pan and in the next second, she lunged at Vegeta, punching him away from her father.
"Gohan!" she cried, looking back "stay with dad!"
And with the command given, her fight had begun, Vegeta growled in rage as he entered combat with her, a flurry of punches and kicks found it's way onto each other as they fought neck and neck, Goku had considerably weakened Vegeta to a great degree making it easy for Gohan and even for Pan to fight him head on.
"G-gohan, c-come here" Goku called out slowly, struggling to even breathe
Slowly the young boy walked upto his father, limping "W-what is it, dad?"
"Hold my h-hand, there's something I have to give you" Goku told him and slowly Gohan did as his father told him and clutched his father's right arm "G-good" Goku commented "just hold on for a few seconds"
Gohan slowly stood silently as Goku closed his eyes and garnered the rest of his energy, Pan on the other hand was bleeding profusely as was Vegeta.
"Stupid brat! die already!" Vegeta cried as he lodged a ball of energy towards her, only for Pan to dodge it with ease "You first!" she cried and punched him across his face, the attack was met by another attack from Vegeta who kneed her in the gut.
"W-what is this, dad?!" Gohan stuttered as energy lodged itself in his open palm
"It's the energy I was saving up when I was fighting Vegeta" Goku answered "l-listen Gohan, you have to throw i-it at him"
"B-but dad" Gohan stuttered, afraid as fear took a hold of him "I-I can't! I d-don't k-know if I can.."
"Are y-you a coward?!" Goku shouted at him, completely enraged at his son "What did Piccolo teach you!? if you d-don't, P-Pan will die!"
"Pan!" Gohan exclaimed as he looked on to see his sister fighting, she was losing badly, she couldn't match him and the only way to help her was to throw the spirit bomb, gaining complete determination, Gohan stood to his full height and focused on the energy in his palm
"Th-that's the way, G-Gohan" Goku praised him, chuckling, "N-now concentrate adn try to form it into a ball"
Gohan did as he was instructed, it took a few minutes but slowly the energy began to take shape and it formed into a ball into an instant, Gohan's eyes widened as he was mesmerized by the blue ball of energy that floated in his right palm
"A-alright!" Goku exclaimed, impressed at Gohan's qucik learning, "N-now find a g-good spot to throw it at him"
"Right!" Gohan chirped and in the next second, he slowly found himself a vantage point on a nearby cliff, he watched as Pan matched the weakened Vegeta blow for blow but she was losing badly, blood dripped from her mouth and bruises were rampart on her whole body
"H-Hold on, sis" Gohan murmured as he watched the fight "Darn, they're moving t-too fast, I can't get a clear s-shot!"
"Don't aim with your eyes! feel the eveil energy from the saiyan!"
"What?!" Gohan shouted in surprise "Who!? who was that?!"
"I am King Kai, the one who trained your father, I'm communicating with you telepathically, do not use your eyes, Gohan, feel it out and then throw the ball!"
Gohan nodded his head as he heard King Kai's instruction and kept began sensing Vegeta's energy, once he got a complete lock on it, he readied himself, back in the fight, Pan and Vegeta were engaged in a bloody brawl with Pan struggling to match the saiyan prince, she was tired and weary and bleeding profusely but the thought of what the monster in front of her had done to her father spurred her on and she fought tooth and nail
Vegeta grew agitated, Pan would just not die, every time he thought he put her down, she kept coming back, he kneed her in the gut once more and watched as she spat out blood, with his open palm, he readied a blast to finish her
"This is goodbye, kid! I've had enough of you!" he shouted and before he could land the blow, his eyes widened as he was hit by a ball of energy, Pan watched in shock as the ball of energy encompassed him, she brought up her hands to cover from the blast and watched as he was rocketed into the sky, Vegeta screamed in agony as he was once more sent into the very confines of space, Pan's gaze slowly fell down and her knees buckled, she was tired, spent, her gaze slowly fell onto Gohan who stood a few meters away from her, a smile on his face.
"G-good going, Gohan" she murmrued as she fell to one knee.
"Pan!" Gohan cried as he raced towards her and helped her from falling, together, slowly they walked towards where their father laid, Krillin was a ways off, beaten and battered as well, slowly he too was regaining conciousness.
"Y-you did good, Gohan" Goku chuckled as both Pan and Gohan sat next to him.
"Y-yeah, you saved me" Pan added, causing Gohan to blush as both his father and sister complimented him.
"W-wow, you guys sure have gotten s-stronger, I'm r-really proud of you t-two" Goku chuckled and then let out a groan of pain as he struggled to breathe, Vegeta had shattered every bone in his body much to his dismay.
"Y-you need to r-rest, dad" Gohan added, as he wearily looked on at his father
"Hehe, same g-goes for you two" Goku chuckled, soon their attention turned to the footsteps that had suddenly found itself in their ears, Krillin limped up to them chuckling "Looks like you guys managed" he was bruised, beaten and battered and struggled to even walk.
"Y-yeah.." Goku chuckled and before the conversation could continue any further, his eyes widened as a figure appeared in the sky above them "W-what's that?", everyone's attention now fell onto the figure, their eyes widened as it hit the ground and realization dawned on them, it was Vegeta, the blast had taken it's toll on him and he was groaning in pain from the blast and from the fall,
"D-damn you, insects..." he muttered as he slowly opened his left eye, slowly with the last of his strength, he pulled out a small device from his chest pocket, Pan, Gohan, Krillin and Goku watched as a round spaceship suddenly appeared near him, Krillin however moved forward step by single step
"K-krillin, what are you doing?!" asked a surprised Gohan
"I'm going to f-finish him off so he never troubles us again" he answered, Pan and Gohan said nothing as they watched Krilln step forward step by single step, Vegeta slowly crawled to his space pod, his body was completely worn and injured from the impact of the spirit bomb, so much so that he could only crawl and not walk.
"Krillin wait!" Goku called as he coughed violently
"What?" Krillin questioned, surprised
"Please" Goku began a small plea "Please let him go"
"What?!" Krillin shouted, completely baffled as to what went through Goku's mind, Pan and Gohan were shocked as well, they didn't know what was going through their father's head and so they interjected.
"Dad! you can't! it's because of him everyone's dead!" Pan cried, completely confused as to her father's line of thinking.
"Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha and even Piccolo! all of them died because of him! we can't even use the dragonballs anymore to wish them back!" Krillin cried, berating Goku's plea "What on earth are you thinking, Goku!?"
"I-I know, but.." Goku murmured "b-but killing him now would be such a waste"
"Such a waste?!" repeated a confused Krillin, he too was unable to process Goku's line of thinking, "I...I trained under king kai, I...I thought I had hit the peak of p-power but Vegeta was so far above me, i-it was scary, I was shocked but somewhere in-inside I felt really happy that I-I was fighting such an i-incredible power"
"Tch.." Krillin grunted, unable to believe Goku's reasoning.
"I know it's not s-smart, it must be my saiyan b-blood but next time I'm g-gona beat him, I'm g-going to surpass him so pllease..." Goku pleaded, Krillin struggled with Goku's plea and then slowly stopped his walk towards Vegeta, the saiyan prince who in turn slowly got into his space pod, he smirked as he eyed Krillin
"N-next time, t-there won't be any m-miracles, you trash" and with that final statement between the warriors, Vegeta's space pod rocketed into space leaving the four people who had survived the battle to themselves.
"I hope you know w-what you're doing, dad" Pan told him and Goku simply chuckled "Y-yeah" and watched as the space pod finally disappeared from their sight, They had survived the battle, Krillin's mood however was somber, the time had come for him to tell Goku of his wife's disappearance, he just knew it wouldn't end well.
End.