by Jamie L. Word
"The Treachery Of Xarlok"
As Xarlok flew to attack Koji, the mighty Saiyan sensed his great power with a sense of bewilederment and disbelief!
"I can't believe it!" Koji thought to himself as he watched Xarlok's approach. "His power is unbelievable! I didn't think anyone could generate as much power as this 'Golden Flamed' form of mine!"
The two gladiators clashed once again, exploding into another flurry of hand-to-hand techniques! Their battle echoed like rapid-fire thunderclaps, and their speed was too much for most of the onlookers to keep up with them! The grueling intensity of the fight was unfathomable to most and incredible to the rest! Kien watched in terror from the fighters' rest area!
"It's unbelievable!" Kien muttered as he observed the titanic clash. "Koji wasn't kidding when he said Tao or I would need luck to beat him in the finals! All of the rest of us were completely outclassed by these two fighters, and we didn't even realize it! How could they be so powerful? And their speed! I can barely follow their movements at all! This is all so ... overwhelming! What monstrous power!"
At that moment, Yuen and Yoshio appeared in the fighters' rest area next to Kien via Yuen's instant transmission technique, startling Kien.
"Don't be alarmed," Yuen said calmly as he showed his empty hands to Kien to indicate that he meant him no harm. "We mean you no harm. We've come to see the fight between the Saiyan Koji and the Changeling Xarlok."
"Yeah!" Yoshio said passionately as he clenched his fists and angrilly looked out towards the arena. "And a couple of Xarlok's goons kidnapped my sister! They said they had plans for her! Something to do with Xarlok's fight with Koji! We've got to find her and rescue her!"
Suddenly, Yuen and Yoshio noticed the incredible fight in the arena, and Yoshio took to blubbering uncontrollably in fear for several seconds.
"I-i-impossible!" Yoshio finally managed to spit out after swallowing hard to interupt his own blubbering. "Their power is ... enormous! And they move so fast - I can't even see them except for brief moments! This is crazy! Koji's got to beat this guy! He's the only one who can!"
"Koji wasn't kidding when he said that he was far more powerful than Tarboz!" Yuen exclaimed, most impressed by what he saw. "But could he actually be as strong as Xarlok? Could he actually manage to defeat the most powerful force in the universe? In his final form, Xarlok is reputed to be even stronger than Frieza! What if Koji's power isn't enough?"
Kien and Yoshio turned to Yuen in utter terror at his comments concerning the power of Xarlok and Koji's plight.
On the battlefield, the two combatants disengaged and put a little distance between themselves, settling into a staredown! Both fighters were bruised and bleeding from numerous minor battle injuries incurred in their fight against each other! They were also both beginning to breathe more heavilly from the exertion of their grueling fight!
"I must commend you," Xarlok said to Koji in his taunting fashion. "You're very good. You might even be worthy to die at my hands!"
"Thank you," Koji said, a bit sarcastically, as he kept his eyes on the evil Changeling. "You might actually be a worthy challenge for my power! Don't get scared, but I thought you should know that I've been holding back on you, Changeling! I have quite a bit of power in reserve!"
"Don't get too cocky, monkey-boy, because I've been keeping the lion's share of my strength back as well!" Xarlok taunted the Saiyan, irritating him. "You possess five times what you've displayed so far, at most! I, however, am only fighting at one percent of my true power! Once I power up, you'll quickly see that you never stood a chance against me! All I need is seventy-five percent of my maximum power to beat you!"
"You're bluffing!" Koji snarled at Xarlok, defying him to prove his claims. "I don't believe you are as powerful as you say you are!"
"Very well," Xarlok replied with an evil, sinister, mocking grin on his face. "I'll show you!"
Xarlok tensed his muscles once again and began powering up once more! All of the previous power-up special effects returned and soared to full force within a matter of moments as Xarlok raised his energy! The very walls surrounding the battlefield began to chip away as the entire colliseum quaked under the aweful strain of resisting his power! Koji was horrified by what he sensed as he witnessed the event!
"N-n-no!" Koji muttered in utter disbelief and grave concern. "He can't be! This isn't possible! There's just no way!"
The audience began seeking shelter towards the back of the stadium as the entire region quaked violently under them in the wake of the awesome power that Xarlok was generating! Within a matter of a couple of minutes, his power-up was finally concluded, and everyone who could sense energy levels were horrified at what they sensed from Xarlok!
"Oh, no!" Koji muttered in abject shock at what he sensed. "He wasn't kidding! He really is stronger than I am! What am I going to do? How can I beat him if he's that much stronger? What if I'm doomed?"
"You see, you pathetic brainless monkey?" Xarlok taunted Koji while smiling arrogantly. "You never really stood a chance against me! Like Frieza, I discovered a third transformed state! This is my ultimate form! How do you like it? Now you will see what true power really is!"
Xarlok streaked towards Koji and hammered him with a punch, sending him reeling! Before Koji could regain his composure, Xarlok hit him from the other direction with a flying side kick to the face, turning his head and causing him to reel again! Before Koji could recover from that attack, Xarlok hit him from another direction with a driving knee to the midsection, doubling the Saiyan over and knocking all of the breath out of him as the lightning continued to flash in the still-blackened sky above! Xarlok then grabbed Koji by the wrist and began spinning him around in a circle very quickly! Releasing Koji to send him hurtling skyward, Xarlok powered up and fired a powerful energy blast! The blast slammed into Koji and exploded with great force!
Koji's smoldering form plummeted from the sky and crashed to the ground, making a small, smoking crater where he his with thunderous impact! Koji's armor was heavilly damaged, and one of the shoulderpads was broken off of the suit completely! Koji was badly battered, bruised, and bloodied from that exchange, and he struggled to rise back to his feet again!
Like a shot, Xarlok closed the distance and slammed his knee into Koji's midsection again! Koji spewed out a fair bit of blood as he was doubled over and had the breath knocked out of him again! Xarlok wrapped his tail around Koji's neck and began pulverizing him with power punches to the face and torso! When he was hit in the torso, Koji coughed up more blood, and, when he was hit in the face, his face was bruised and occassionally bloodied even more! Xarlok pounded Koji mercilessly, and the impacts of his attacks echoed like cannon shots across the landscape! The three fighters in the rest area cringed as they watched the torture of the Saiyan warrior! Koji seemed totally helpless against Xarlok now, and, after several moments of this torture session, Xarlok tossed Koji to the ground with nonchalant disdain!
Koji gasped for breath as he lay there on the ground, trying to get back up as he coughed up a bit more blood! His body trembled under the strain of trying to get back to his feet! All onlookers watched with baited breath, horrified at what they were seeing! Xarlok smiled at his handiwork!
Xarlok then looked to where Zheng had gone to earlier when he left the battlefield. One of Xarlok's minor minions approached him carrying a packet in his hand. This minion was dressed in a suit of Saiyan armor, including the chest protector, shoulderpads, gloves, and boots; and the minion also had long, skin tight pands tucked into his boots and a long-sleeved, round-necked, skin-tight shirt tucked into his gloves. Xarlok motioned towards the ground, and the minion knelt down and began planting little seeds in the ground where Xarlok had instructed. After he had planted ten seeds, the entire packet, the minion stood far back from that site. The ground where he planted the seeds began stirring, slowly at first, and then ten short, monstrous-looking plant creatures managed to dig their way out of the ground to the horror of all but Xarlok and his minions.
"I'm sure you recognize them," Xarlok taunted the battered Saiyan as Koji stared in disbelief at the creatures before him. "Saibamen! You Saiyans used to love to grow them on planets you were sent to conquer so you could test the power of your opposition and enjoy a good show! Now I have another surprise for you!"
With that said, Xarlok turned to the place where the minion had come from with the packet of Saibamen. Zheng and Kun came forth, each grasping an arm of the captive Yuko, and they led her out to the battlefield to the horror of all who bore witness!
"If you don't get up and fight me right now, then my Saibamen will make short work of the girl!" Xarlok snarled with a diabolical grin on his face. "Her life is in your hands, monkey-boy! The life of your precious Earth woman for the sport of finishing you in front of all of these worthless idiots in the most torturous fashion I can concoct! What do you say?"
From the rest area, the trio of fighters saw this sight and reacted with stunned disbelief and horror.
"Yuko!" Yoshio screamed as he beheld his sister in the clutches of the fiendish minions of Xarlok. "Oh, no!"
"They mean to kill her in a most gruesome fashion if Koji cannot rise to continue this fight!" Yuen exclaimed in horror.
"We can't let that happen!" Kien gasped in horrified disbelief. "We can't let this go on! No matter how strong this monster is, we have to do something! This is terrible!"
"No!" Koji muttered weakly to himself as he grimaced in a mixture of pain and rage while still trying to get to his feet. "What is she doing here? This is no place for her! Xarlok, you fiend! How dare you!"
Xarlok laughed an devilish laugh as he waited to see if Koji could get back to his feet, and Xarlok's fiendish minions laughed as well!