by Jamie L. Word
"Pride Goes Before The Fall"
Yukio and Usami continued to fight, and Yukio continued to dominate the fight with the synthetic monster! Usami struggled to keep pace with the Ascended Super Saiyan, and his frustration continued to grow with each passing second! Yukio seemed a bit more serious about the fight since witnessing Usami's ability to regenerate himself! The other fighters kept their distance from the action, in awe of the clash they were witnessing! After a while, the two fighters disengaged and separated for a moment's respite!
"I can't believe it!" Usami thought to himself as he grimaced in frustration as he studied his opponent carefully. "How could he have that much power? There's no way! He's just a Saiyan! Maybe he is a Super Saiyan, but my power is much stronger than that of a Super Saiyan! How can he be this strong? It's just not possible! I have to absorb that last android! It's my only chance to beat this guy! If I can just absorb Android Titan, I will be invincible! No one will be able to match my power!"
"He's more focused than he was earlier," Yukio thought to himself as he scrutinized the evil monster studiously. "I'm still more powerful, and I still have the advantage in speed, strength, and skill though. He doesn't stand a chance against me! This'll be way too easy!"
"I must say, you're a lot stronger than I thought," Usami commented to Yukio with a sly grin. "I'm glad to have the challenge, but I can't help but think that you're somehow bored by all of this, aren't you?"
"This is all too easy, you pathetic freak," Yukio mocked the synthetic creature with a cocky smirk on his face. "I'm not even breaking a sweat against you. You're pitiful! You're a complete waste of my time!"
"What are you saying?" Usami roared inquisitively in a bit of anger. "How dare you speak to me like that! I am the ultimate living weapon of the entire universe! I am a god ascending!"
"You're nothing!" Yukio stated bluntly as he glared condescendingly at Usami, poised to pounce upon the biomechanical beast.
"You'll pay for that!" Usami snarled as he scowled at the Ascended Super Saiyan. "If I absorbed Android Titan, your power would be nothing to me! The you would know what true power really is!"
Yukio flew forward and punched Usami in the midsection, doubling him over and forcing him back! Usami's feet carved a pair of trails in the ground as he was knocked backwards for some distance but not knocked over! Yukio scowled at Usami while the monster clutched his stomach in pain!
"Excuse me, but I think it's you who doesn't know what true power really is, fool!" Yukio retorted as Usami recovered from the punch and regained his composure.
"I know your power is formidable. I'm not denying that," Usami replied as he breathed heavily. "I was just saying that you haven't experienced me at my ultimate power yet. Doesn't that just drive you crazy, knowing that, if you manage to destroy me now, you'll never know how you stack up against my perfect power? You're a Saiyan. Doesn't your Saiyan blood crave the challenge? What do you say, Super Saiyan?"
"Hmmm," Yukio pondered the notion aloud, apparently seriously considering the option Usami had offered. "It is tempting, you ugly freak, but how do I know you're not just trying to trick me so you can run away?"
"Me? Run away?" Usami scoffed at the thought presented by the arrogant Super Saiyan. "Oh, I assure you that if you allow me to absorb Android Titan, then you'll have your challenge!"
"Oh, no!" Kien muttered aloud as he and the others gasped in horror at the scene occurring before them. "I think he's going to let him absorb the other android for the thrill of fighting him in his final form!"
Inside the Chamber of Spirit and Time, Koji and Kato were training outside the space pod, sparring once more in Super Saiyan form. Kato was giving it his all, and Koji was wearing the training weights from before to even the odds a bit. Both of them were sweating profusely as they trained hard.
Back at Shun's lookout, Shun and Jontu were perplexed over what was transpiring at the battlefield. Jontu was confused by what he sensed, but Shun was flustered over the potential disaster brewing below.
"No!" Shun cried out in horror at the temptation of Yukio. "Don't! Please don't do it! You mustn't!"
"What is it, Kami Shun?" Jontu cried out in concern, looking to the guardian for answers. "What's going on?"
"It's horrible, Jontu!" the guardian cried out in terror as he addressed his assistant. "The new Super Saiyan is considering allowing Usami to absorb the last android! If that happens, all hope is lost! No one will be able to stop him! I don't even think Koji will be able to handle Usami then!"
Back at the battlefield, all eyes and ears are on the Ascended Super Saiyan waiting for a reply. Usami waited eagerly for the answer, but the others waited with baited breaths for an answer they feared they'd dread. After a long silence, Yukio spoke.
"Very well, foolish freak," Yukio said, much to the chagrin and horror of everyone except Usami, who was ecstatic over the answer. "Go and absorb your android. I just hope this isn't a waste of time!"
"Thank you, my friend!" Usami exclaimed gleefully as he feasted his eyes upon the prone form of the helpless android on the ground far below. "I assure you, it will be worth your time!"
Usami turned his attention fully on the helpless Android Titan, turning his back completely on Yukio as he thought to himself, "My time as well!"
"Oh, no, you guys!" Kien cried out in terror at the arrangement that was made between monster and Saiyan. "He's going to let Usami absorb the last android! We're all doomed unless we can stop him!"
"But we can't!" Sumio muttered in helpless frustration over their plight. "We all know we're no match for Usami, even if we all attack him at once - even if we were at full power!"
Oh, Koji!" Yuko muttered in desperate hope verging on hopeless despair. "Please, hurry! We need you!"
Usami wasted no time in going for Android Titan, and the heroes knew they were powerless to stop him! They glared at Yukio in anger, but they knew they were powerless to do anything to avenge his betrayal of their trust! They all trembled and grimaced in a mixture of hopeless horror and seething rage over their plight! Usami was poised to absorb Android Titan, but suddenly there was an interruption!
Android Titan saw the blast streak past him and slam into Usami's torso, driving him backwards momentarily! When Usami's feet stopped carving trails in the ground, the smoke wafted from his body, but he was unharmed! Looking across the battlefield, he saw the source of the attack: Kami Shun and his faithful assistant Jontu!
"Well, well, well!" Usami replied as he noted the guardian's grim determination and steeled resolve. "What have we here?"
"I am Shun, the guardian of Zodoria, and I cannot allow you to threaten our planet with your evil!" Kami Shun answered resolutely before turning his attention to Jontu. "Quickly, Jontu! Get the android out of here! We mustn't allow Usami to get his hands on it, no matter what the cost!"
"Right, Kami Shun!" Jontu replied as he hoisted Android Titan's limp, helpless body onto his flying carpet and mounted the carpet himself.
"Don't think you'll be getting away so fast, my friend!" Usami retorted as he poised to attack. "I intend to have that android, and I'll not let such vermin as you get in my way!"
Shun charged up another blast as he prepared to fire on Usami again! Suddenly, Kien joined Shun at his side, also charging up an energy blast to fire at Usami! Then Sumio and Sumie followed suit! Finally, Yoshio and Yuko stepped up to join their friends in opposing Usami!
"Your strengths are diminished, my friends!" Shun replied to his stalwart comrades with concern. "You should be getting back to the lookout, not standing in the path of this monster with me!"
"Not a chance!" Kien replied with a grim smile on his face as he addressed the Zodorian guardian. "We're not leaving you to face Usami alone! I know we don't have a chance of holding him at bay for long, but the entire planet is at stake! We don't have a choice! If he absorbs that android, he'll be far more powerful than he is now! We stand a far better chance against him now than we will if he becomes complete!"
"That's right!" Yoshio added, swallowing hard in fear as he rallied what courage he could. "We should stand our ground while we have the best chance of holding him off rather than waiting for him to annihilate us with minimal effort once he achieves his final perfect form!"
"Your courage is truly the stuff true heroes are made of!" Shun proclaimed with great pride and honor to be among such noble fighters. "If we win, generations of people on this planet will tell of your exploits and sing songs commemorating your great bravery!"
"Let's just make sure there is a planet left for generations of people to live on to remember this day!" Yuko declared, garnering nods of approval from the others over her sentiments.
"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt this grand display of sentimental rubbish, but I really have to be about my business!" Usami interjected from across the battlefield with a sinister grin. "Give me the android, you fools! You can't stop me! You're all too weak!"
"It's not going to be that easy!" Kien rebuked the evil monster as the heroes assumed combat ready stances in expectation of the fight to come. "We might not be strong enough to stop you, but all we really have to do is keep you busy for a little while until Koji completes his training so he can destroy you! We might even die in the process, but that's the risk to be free from fear and oppression!"
"Well, I must admire your conviction, my friends, but it won't do you any good!" Usami replied. "The end begins right now!"
The heroes fired their energy blasts at Usami, and he covered up to protect himself from the attacks! He held his ground against the onslaught of the heroes! Yukio noted what was happening and frowned when he saw Jontu flying away with Android Titan on his flying carpet!
"Oh, no, you don't!" Yukio snarled as he fired an energy blast, knocking both Jontu and Android Titan off of the flying carpet.
Jontu crashed to the ground and didn't move! Android Titan crashed to the ground and groaned as he struggled to get up, unable to rise! Shun and the other heroes were miffed about that little spectacle!
"Jontu! No!" Shun cried out in great concern as he noticed his assistant's unmoving form, continuing to blast Usami with the others. "That fiend! What kind of person could do such a thing?"
Yukio then blasted the ground in front of the heroes, and the explosion sprayed over them, causing them to stop firing their blasts at Usami and be blown over from the force of the explosion! Usami found himself freed up from the shackles of opposition, and he looked up at the arrogant Super Saiyan who made this opportunity possible for him!
"I thank you, Saiyan!" Usami called out to him in glee. "Thanks to you I will finally become complete!"
"Shut up and absorb your android, you buffoon!" Yukio replied, a bit irritated at having to wait. "I don't have all day to wait on you! Make it snappy! I'm not a patient man!"
"Of course!" Usami replied as he returned his attention back to the android, averting his face from Yukio so that the Super Saiyan could not see him seething in anger before he muttered under his breath, saying, "I didn't realize you were so anxious to die!"
Usami quickly made his way over to Android Titan. He picked the injured android up and held him as he admired the sight for a brief moment. Usami's tail flared out once again into a funnel-shaped tip, and he then lowered the funnel-tipped tail onto the android's helpless form, drawing him in before anyone could respond. The heroes were horrified at what they saw.
The ground began to shake violently as Usami took on a brilliant white glow that made him appear as a shining sun! Small pebbles, stones, and rocks began to rise from the ground as strong winds began blowing out of Usami! Terrible whirlwinds of flying debris formed over the landscape and across the surrounding waters for miles around, and the sky went black as radical lightning danced in the heavens above! The waters' waves crashed into the island violently, and the whole planet began shaking very violently! Tidal waves buffeted coastal regions all over the planet, except for the island where the battle was being waged! The blackened sky turned blood red as dark storm clouds congregated over the island where the transformation was occurring! The planet became a beacon of horror and danger as Usami's power could be sensed even on distant planets!
The heroes were horrified by what they sensed from Usami, but Yukio didn't seem to notice the horrible power Usami was exuding! The brilliant white glow flared around Usami as his power surged higher and higher! Rocks exploded for miles around, and the ground also cracked open in various places to reveal boiling pits of lava that spewed their contents forth onto the upper layer of the planet's surface! Even the island seemed to be shaking apart underneath the heroes! Sumio picked up Jontu's limp form and held him in his arms, and then all of the heroes took to the air to avoid being dumped into the raging ocean! They were careful not to fly up too high and become endangered by the radical lightning which was performing a celestial dance in the sky above! Yukio casually flew up into the sky to watch the transformation of the incubus android to its completion!