by Jamie L. Word
"The Battle Ends"
Koji screamed and grimaced in the strenuous effort to repel Xarlok's deathball, and the arena continued to collapse around them! The lightning became more radical as it flashed more intensely across the pitch black sky! Lava erupted from the ground and sprayed into the air around them! Whirlwinds over land and water full of debris flew about for miles around! More mountains over the landscape began to crumple! Rocks, stones, and pebbles of all sizes began rising from the ground, and some of them split or exploded in the air while huge rocks erupted from the ground!
"My father died at Tarboz's hands because I was not strong enough to save him!" Koji began reminiscing as he struggled to repel Xarlok's deathball. "My mother, my father's battle team, and our entire home planet were all destroyed because I was too weak and too late to save them! My best friend Chih died at Tarboz's hands, and I was helpless at the time to save him from that cruel fate! Even now, an Earth woman and an entire planet are lost if I am now proven incapable of stopping this threat! Regardless, the woman is dead, and it's all my fault because I wasn't strong enough! Now I'm going to die with the planet all because I'm not strong enough! No! This cannot be! I refuse to accept this fate! I defy destiny! I will be strong enough! My losses end here and now!"
"I stake my claim as the most powerful warrior in the universe!" Koji yelled out with grim determination, and his eyes flickered with incredible rage and intensity as he shoved the deathball away and sent it hurtling past Xarlok and into space where it exploded.
The explosion out in space buffetted the planet with strong winds, amd Koji stood on the ground glaring up at Xarlok with strengthened determination! Xarlok exerted himself to resist the buffeting winds, and then he looked down at Koji incredulously! The Changeling seemed astounded at Koji's power!
"There's no way!" Xarlok thought to himself in utter disbelief. "How did he get this power? Why can't I finish him and this planet off? How is it possible for a worthless ape-boy to possess this much power? How did that barrel of monkeys generate a warrior like this? What is their secret? What is his secret? It makes no sense!"
"You don't get it, do you, Changeling?" Koji taunted in his arrogant fashion. "I have transformed into the legendary Super Saiyan, and you now have no chance of winning this fight! The legend is true, and I am the living embodiment of that reality! I am the legendary superwarrior of the Saiyan race, and that means you're done for!"
"No!" Xarlok cried in terror at the realization of the possibility. "This can't be! No way! This isn't possible!"
Koji flew right at Xarlok, and the fight continued! Koji began penetrating Xarlok's defenses, pummeling the pumped-up Changeling with powerful punches and kicks! Xarlok tried to flee, but Koji's speed was equal to the task, enabling him to keep on Xarlok relentlessly! With a driving knee to the midsection, Koji caused Xarlok to cough up blood as the impact from the blow doubled him over and stunned him! Koji then busted Xarlok's nose with a spinning reverse elbow smash, rocking his head back violently! Koji then grabbed Xarlok by the tail, swung him around in circles, and flung him high into the sky! As Xarlok streaked into the sky, Koji began powering up a massive blast much like Vegeta's final flash attack!
Xarlok struggled to regain control of his flight in time to see what Koji was up to! Koji screamed as he launched the final flash-like attack at Xarlok, and Xarlok's eyes widened in terror as he saw the attack streaking towards him! Xarlok just managed to narrowly avoid getting hit with the powerful blast, and Koji grimaced in response to the missed attack! Xarlok and Koji glared at each other menacingly!
"Well, you luck keeps you in the fight a little while longer!" Koji growled at Xarlok as he tensed his muscles in preparation to keep fighting.
"I could say the same for you, you wretched monkey!" Xarlok snarled at the powerful Saiyan warrior.
They closed the distance immediately and renewed their hostilities in hand-to-hand combat! Their fighting once again echoed across the landscape, and they moved with unfathomable speed! Below them, space ship after space ship began leaving as the spectators began evacuating the planet! Kien and Yuen had succeeded in escorting the fleeing spectators from the danger zone! Kien and Yuen then turned their attention back to the fighting!
"It's unreal!" Kien declared in stunned amazement as he struggled to follow the movements of the two warriors. "They're unbelievable!"
"Yes, they are!" Yuen agreed as he too struggled to keep up with the movements of the fighters. "The outcome of this fight will determine the destiny of the universe!"
Koji and Xarlok fought hard, and the intensity of their battle was memorable and epic! They fought all over the sky with uncanny speed and skill! Their power and ability now far exceeded anything the others could have even imagined in their wildest dreams!
"I don't know where you've gotten this power of yours from, fool, but it's not going to be enough to survive this fight with me!" Xarlok shouted.
"Don't waste your bravado on me, Changeling!" Koji replied in total self-confidence. "I'm not like those other fighters! I won't be bluffed! You're wasting your breath! If you really intend to defeat me, you're going to have to do it in battle with your abilities as a fighter ... as limited as they are! So don't bother me with your empty threats and shallow words! Prove them to me with your actions!"
They continued to fight, but Koji seemed to be gaining an advantage over the diabolical Changeling! Xarlok found himself becoming the underdog in this fight, and it infuriated him! Koji scowled as he poured on the pressure against his seemingly withering opponent!
Suddenly, Xarlok hammered Koji with a knee to the face! He followed that up with a kick to the midsection, and then he finished series of hand-to-hand attacks with a headbutt to the forehead, sending Koji away from him from the impact of the attack! From there, Xarlok fired a massive energy blast into Koji's form, and the blast exploded like a small nuclear device!
When the explosion dissipated, Koji hovered in the air where he was hit, blood trinkling from over his eye and from various places on his face from the punishment he had received thus far in the battle! His intimidating glare fell upon Xarlok, and Xarlok was frightened by this sight! Xarlok began trembling momentarily, his fear transforming into anger and his anger into determination!
"This can't be happening!" Xarlok screamed in his furious rage as he clenched his fists and glared menacingly at Koji. "You can't be this strong!"
"I think I'm growing tired of your annoying yapping, Changeling!" Koji snarled at Xarlok. "It's time for you to shut up and die!"
Xarlok's eyes widened in startled shock as he heard Koji's words! Before he could react, Koji had closed the distance and driven a straight punch into the pit of Xarlok's midsection, stunning him and doubling him over! Before Xarlok could recover from that attack, Koji slammed a powerful kick into Xarlok's chest, knocking him skyward, and then assumed a kamehameha stance! While Xarlok was hurtling through the air, Koji launched the kamehameha attack after a drawn-out cry! The energy attack slammed into Xarlok and exploded like a nuclear warhead at the end of a missle! The entire planet seemed to be buffeted with strong winds, and the brilliance of the explosion forced any potential onlookers to have to turn away!
When the explosion cleared away, Xarlok's smoldering form plummeted to the ground with a crater-forming thud! Koji descended to the ground overlooking Xarlok's smoldering form in the crater! Xarlok looked badly injured as a result of that blast, and he seemed to be on the verge of death! Koji grimly cast his gaze upon the broken form of his enemy, and Xarlok looked up at his nemesis!
"How ... can ... this ... be?" Xarlok managed to mutter weakly while looking at Koji. "I ... can't ... be ... beaten ... by ... a ... mere ... monkey!"
"Even in death, you cannot yield honor!" Koji scolded the Changeling as he glared into Xarlok's eyes. "You are no warrior! You are a joke! It would be too great a dignity for me to honor you by giving you a warrior's death in battle! Unfortunately, you would become a thorn in my side if I let you live! At least you will be with your son now!"
Koji raised his hands upward in a gesture accompanied by a yell, and Xarlok's body was hurled high into the air! Koji once more charged up a powerful attack in the manner of a final flash attack! This time, when he launched the attack into Xarlok, it hit him and exploded with more force than the previous kamehameha attack! When that explosion cleared, Xarlok was on more, and Koji smiled slightly!
"His energy signal has completely disappeared," Koji thought to himself as he gazed into the sky. "He's gone."
Koji then looked towards the area where the space ships were parked, and a look of concern and curiousity came across his face.
"I wonder how the others are faring now," Koji thought to himself as he considered the Earthlings, the Namek, and the Kai.