Chapter 5
The Saiyan continued to transform before the horrified heroes! His body began growing larger, and he began to sprout brown fur all over his body! As his size increased dramatically, his Saiyan attire stretched to keep up with his new giant proportions! His face contorted into that of a pointy-eared ape, and he looked a lot like King Kong with pointy ears, a long brown tail, and a suit of Saiyan armor! The great Oozaru Saiyan roared its rage into the heavens, and the heroes trembled!
"What a horrible transformation!" Ho-Jun cried out in horror as he gawked incredulously at the transformed Saiyan. "His power just skyrocketed tenfold! This is bad! Very bad!"
"What are we gonna do now?" Kyoji cried out in perplexed panic, putting both hands to his head and getting hysterical. "He just turned into a giant monkey! How are we supposed to deal with that? Does anyone have a banana? What do we do?"
"We die!" Yoko muttered in despair as she gawked wide-eyed at the giant Saiyan ape form. "We die very horribly as he squashes us like bugs!"
"That's no way to talk!" Ho-Jun rebuked them, getting the attention of all three humans. "You guys make a run for it! I'll stop our big furry friend!"
Kyoji and Yoko swooped down and snatched up their weapons in one hand and Master Mitsuya between them! They began to fly away as Ho-Jun had commanded them to!
"Should we really leave him alone with that big ape?" Kyoji inquired with a bit of concern for Ho-Jun's well-being.
"Well, that's what he said, so that's the plan!" Yoko replied aloud before thinking to herself. "Besides, I don't wanna end up a smudge under that thing's big, smelly feet! That would be too horrible!"
As the human fighters all flew away from the battlefield, Ho-Jun clenched his fists and crossed his forearms in front of his face! The ground began to tremble, and the sky began to darken as electricity crackled all along the Namek's body! Small pebbles, stones, and rocks began to rise from the now-violently shaking ground as the Namek yelled out a power-up cry! Powerful winds buffeted the battlefield as the Namek began to grow massive, soon becoming almost the same size as the Oozaru Saiyan! The transformed Saiyan was startled to behold such a transformation!
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, you miserable bully?" the giant Nameccian taunted the Oozaru Saiyan before the fight began.
The ground shuddered under their weight and power as they clashed in hand-to-hand combat! The Oozaru Saiyan also tried a series of energy blasts from his mouth, but Ho-Jun managed to dodge them all! The missed blasts caused great damage to the surrounding landscape! Ho-Jun seemed to be a little more relaxed in this fight against the transformed Saiyan after transforming himself!
"This brute's a lot more powerful than he was before, but so am I!" Ho-Jun thought to himself as he and the giant ape fought. "My strength and power are ten times stronger in my giant Namek form, which puts me back in the ball game! It would be a lot more fun if it leveled the playing field instead of giving me so much of an advantage over this guy, though!"
Ho-Jun continued to dodge energy attacks while moving in closer to engage the giant ape up close where he could conserve energy! Ho-Jun stretched an arm out a great distance to grab the Saiyan by the arm, and then he pulled himself forward by restoring his arm to normal size, punching the Oozaru right in the face with the added momentum of his movement! He then ducked and dodged a series of powerful clubbing attacks by the Oozaru before stunning the ape and doubling him over with a knee to the midsection! Ho-Jun then dropped the giant ape to the ground with a chop to the back of the neck before leaping back to create some distance between them! The Oozaru stood up and roared once again!
Ho-Jun then blurred out of sight, befuddling the Oozaru! When he blurred back into sight, he was positioned behind the Oozaru where he stunned the big ape with a double-earslap from behind! As the Oozaru clutched both of its ears and roared in pain, Ho-Jun flew back and began charging up a special beam cannon attack by placing two fingers to his forehead! Ho-Jun then fired the attack, and it ripped straight through the Oozaru's armor from the back and then right out through the front, splattering blood as it continued on out into space!
The Oozaru gasped in shock trauma as it collapsed to the ground, and the transformation was reversed, leaving a dead Saiyan. Ho-Jun landed on the ground and noticed the dead Saiyan's lack of an energy signal, allowing himself to revert to normal form. Suddenly, the hysterical cries of Yoko caught his attention, and he turned around to see the three humans surrounded by several Davorkian warriors.
"Hmmm," Ho-Jun grunted as he noted the arrival of the cavalry. "You guys are a little late. I just finished the last minion of the chief troublemaker around here, but you could still help me find and finish off the top monkey himself!"
"You are needed," one of the Davorkians declared matter-of-factly to the mighty Namek. "Our Sovereign Elder is waiting for us back at his sanctuary. Come with us. He has a gift for you."
"Well, I've never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth before," Ho-Jun thought to himself before answering aloud. "Lead on."
Almost half-an-hour later, they arrived at a majestic sanctuary which resembled a temple of some sort. The Davorkians led the heroes into the inner sanctuum, where an elderly Davorkian sat in a high-back armchair. The Davorkians bowed before the Sovereign Elder, and Ho-Jun and the humans lowered their heads in a show of respect.
"We have brought the aliens as you have asked, Sovereign Elder," one of the Davorkian warriors informed the old one.
"Good," the old Davorkian replied as he squinted to see the heroes. "Bring the strong one forward to me, the Namek warrior."
The Davorkians motioned for Ho-Jun, once more wearing his cape, to approach the Sovereign Elder, and Ho-Jun respectfully oblidged them. The other heroes watched on in worried intrigue. The Davorkian warriors seemed relaxed, and so did the mighty Namek warrior Ho-Jun.
"They tell me that you claim to have a gift for me," Ho-Jun said as he addressed the Sovereign Elder. "Is it perhaps the location of the Saiyan Kenichi?"
"Why should I give you that which is already so easily within your power?" the Sovereign Elder answered him enigmatically. "No, the gift I have for you is one of a different sort. You will need my gift in order to finish that which you've started here. Come forward, kneel before me, and receive my gift, Ho-Jun of Namek."
Ho-Jun did as he was instructed, and the old Davorkian leaned over, placing a hand on Ho-Jun's head. Suddenly, sparkling energies from the Sovereign Elder's hand washed over Ho-Jun, energies similar to the ones which emanated from the Borcon Comet as it passed by the humans' space ship. In seconds, the process was complete. The Sovereign Elder slumped back into his chair, thoroughly exhausted by the effort, and Ho-Jun stood up once again, marveling at the feeling of power.
"I feel many times more powerful than before!" Ho-Jun muttered in disbelief as he looked at his hands. "My strength and energy have just been increased dramatically! I have to say, this is truly a gift I can use right about now!"
"I am getting old, and my power is withering," the Sovereign Elder declared to everyone assembled. "It is becoming more and more difficult to use my power to awaken a warrior's hidden power within him, and it takes so much more out of me as time passes. Soon, I will no longer be able to bestow my gift, but, perhaps now that you're here, Ho-Jun, I will no longer be required to bestow my gift upon another. Perhaps you will finally be the one to deliver our people from this threat."
"I also hope as much," Ho-Jun replied, gazing into the Sovereign Elder's eyes and mirroring his soul-wrenching sorrow over the evil perpetrated against the people of Davorkia as well. "Thank you for this gift. How long will it last?"
"The gift is permanent, my noble friend," the Sovereign Elder replied as he took a deep breath to regain some of his strength. "I have permanently bestowed a portion of my energy into you. Use it wisely."
"I will," Ho-jun responded to the Sovereign Elder's earnest plea with a decree of commitment and resolve to succeed. "I'm going to take care of this now."
"Take care, Namek warrior," the Sovereign Elder warned the mighty Namek. "All is not as it seems. Defeating the final enemy is not what you think. Do not let the trees prevent you from seeing the forest."
The Namek warrior made eye contact with the Sovereign Elder for a brief moment as he pondered the Sovereign Elder's final words of warning to him, and then he made his way out of the inner sanctuum to begin his hunt for Kenichi. The three humans followed Ho-Jun out of the inner sanctuum.
"You three should be getting out of here," Ho-Jun informed them as he prepared to leave the sanctuary grounds. "It's about to get very dangerous around here, and I don't want anymore potential victims in the way."
"Don't worry about us, Ho-Jun!" Kyoji exclaimed with great pride and joy. "We can take care of ourselves!"
"This is not debatable, kid," Ho-Jun gently rebuked the young boy. "Now do as I ask and get far away from here as quickly as possible. This fight is going to be much tougher than the last one. I'll stop Kenichi by myself."
With those words uttered, the mighty Namek warrior flew away, disappearing over the horizon in a matter of seconds. The humans watched him go. The Davorkians joined the humans in bidding Ho-Jun farewell and good luck.