by Jamie L. Word
"Keep The Hope Alive"
Zodoria.
Koji and Majestros continued to battle across the landscape as the other heroes watched on incredulously, still desperately trying to follow the two super warriors' movements! Their fighting was even more intense than before as both fighters were really showing their wares in this battle!
Meanwhile, back at Majestros' ship, a console activated, and a half-dozen demo-hybrids were awakened from their slumber in their tanks. The tanks opened up, releasing the demo-hybrids into the world. There was a pair of ki radars on a console, and two of the demo-hybrids picked up the ki radars. They turned the ki radars on and checked for signals. Noting that the ki radars indicated significant ki in two distinctly separate locations, the demo-hybrids prepared their strategy.
"There are more numerous strong ki sources over there," one of the demo-hybrids said to the others. "You three come with me. You two check out those other ki readings. Let's go!"
The demo-hybrids agreed to the strategy and the two teams took to the air and flew their separate ways to go after their targets. They laughed evilly and grinned maliciously as they went.
Meanwhile, back at the battlefield, Koji and Majestros continued to battle fiercely across the landscape! The others struggled to follow the battle with varying degrees of success among them! Kien was the most successful at following the battle with Sumio being the next most successful, following only a small portion of the battle, and Yoshio could barely follow any of the battle at all! Suddenly, Kien, Sumio, and Yoshio sensed something, and they turned their attention into the distance!
"D-d-do you guys s-s-sense that?" Yoshio muttered with quivering lip and stammering voice as he trembled in fear.
"It feels like more of those things that fought us earlier when we were trying to find the last dragon ball!" Sumio said as he grimaced.
"It looks like Koji won't be the only one to see action this go around!" Kien remarked as he revealed a subtle smile within a grim countenance, possibly indicating that he almost reveled in the thought of combat.
Moments later, four demo-hybrids appeared on the horizon, racing towards the heroic trio to close the distance in order to attack them! The heroes assumed fighting stances, but they all had different expressions! Yoshio was scared out of his wits, Sumio was grim and concerned, and Kien was both determined and slightly excited about the upcoming battle!
"You each take one, I'll take the other two!" Kien decreed as he prepared to receive their unexpected company, prompting Sumio and Yoshio to each nod in agreement with Kien's plan.
Back at the lookout, Kumi came running out to where Shun and Jontu were standing, looking out over the platform. Makiko, Tieh, and Katao made it back to the lookout and landed on the platform. Suddenly, all of them looked off into the distance as they sensed something.
"Something's followed us back to the lookout!" Tieh growled in frustrated aggravation.
"It's not Majestros!" Makiko replied as she pondered what she was sensing. "The power levels are too low, and there are two of them!"
"Katao, get back into the Chamber of Spirit and Time and train to get stronger!" Tieh instructed the fused warrior. "We'll try to hold them here!"
"Right!" Katao said as he raced back into the sanctuary to return to the Chamber of Spirit and Time, leaving the others to face the approaching danger that was closing in on the lookout.
Over the horizon, Makiko and the remaining heroes saw the pair of demo-hybrids approaching, closing the distance rapidly and seeming eager to fight the heroes! Makiko and Tieh assumed fighting stances as they prepared for the conflict! Kumi stood there, lost in wonder as she watched the approach of the demo-hybrids! Shun and Jontu appeared terrified!
"You three, get inside where it's safe!" Makiko instructed the others. "Tieh and I will hold them here as long as we can!"
Shun and Jontu led Kumi back to the sanctuary! As Shun and Jontu entered the sanctuary, Kumi remained just outside the doorway to watch! The demo-hybrids closed the distance towards the heroic fighters quickly, dropping the ki radar onto the platform in their approach! Tieh flew up and slightly backwards, leading one of the demo-hybrids to follow him, and Makiko flew straight at the other demo-hybrid to engage it directly!
Tieh quickly gathered energy for the fight with a short yell and a tense exertion before the demo-hybrid closed the distance with him! Tieh and the demo-hybrid clashed in an intense battle, but the demo-hybrid seemed to have a slight upperhand! Tieh struggled to hold his own in the struggle, despite the power and skill edge possessed by his foe!
Makiko began clashing with the demo-hybrid, but the demo-hybrid seemed to have a much greater advantage over her than it's brethren had over Tieh! The demo-hybrid knocked Makiko down easily and then laughed tauntingly at her! Makiko quickly leapt back to her feet from her back with one fluid motion, glaring angrilly at the demo-hybrid!
"So, not too impressed with a normal Saiyan, eh?" she inquired rhetorically as she began to smile in a sly fashion. "Well, let's just see how you fare against a Super Saiyan!"
With a scream, she powered up massively! Her hair began spiking as it turned golden blonde, and her eyes turned green! A golden, flaming aura ensheathed her as she transformed into a Super Saiyan! The demo-hybrid looked at her in awe, but she smiled confidently now! With the suddenness of a sharp clap of thunder, Makiko closed the distance to the demo-hybrid and engaged the fiend once again! This time, Makiko held the advantage over the demo-hybrid, her Super Saiyan strength and skill far surpassing that of the demo-hybrid!
Meanwhile, Tieh began getting pummeled by the demo-hybrid who was fighting him! His disadvantage was seemingly growing as the fight drug on, but he remained valiant and determined to fight on! The demo-hybrid then drove Tieh down with a series of brutal hand-to-hand attacks that bruised and bloodied the poor Namek warrior!
Seeing this, Kumi grimaced in rage, her body becoming ensheathed in a pale, flaming energy aura! She let out a drawn-out grunt as her power began building in her rage! Her hair stiffened and began to spike as she screamed in rage, and she became ensheathed in a golden, flaming energy aura, but her hair and eyes remained black! Powerful winds blew out from her energy aura in all directions as she transformed into a "Golden Flamed" Saiyan!
The demo-hybrid turned around as the young girl charged it, screaming in her rage! She drove a flying side kick into the demo-hybrid's midsection, knocking it back and away from Tieh! Kumi then fired an energy blast at the demo-hybrid, but the demo-hybrid swatted the blast aside and lunged at her to attack! Tieh fired a powerful energy blast into the demo-hybrid, intercepting it before it could reach Kumi and knocking it back a great distance away!
Makiko, meanwhile, was hammering her foe with hand-to-hand attacks! After several moments of this pummeling, she fired a barrage rapid-fire energy blasts into the demo-hybrid's position! The demo-hybrid screamed in horror while simultaneously generating a defensive force field with its energy to shield itself from the blasts! The blasts exploded one after another upon reaching the energy field the demo-hybrid created!
Meanwhile, Kien, Sumio, and Yoshio prepared to fight with the approaching demo-hybrids as the ki radar the demo-hybrids used to find them was dropped to the ground during the approach! Sumio gave a yell as he transformed back into his Super Zodorian state, Yoshio yelled as he powered up greatly in preparation for the fight, and Kien also yelled as he raised an incredible amount of energy for the fight!
Sumio flew up to one of the demo-hybrids and threw a flurry of punches and kicks at it, but the demo-hybrid was up to the challenge, matching the Super Zodorian move for move! Kien flew up to a pair of the demo-hybrids and engaged them in battle, and the one-against-two fight seemed somewhat even! Yoshio flew up to fight the remaining attacking demo-hybrid, but it swatted him aside like he was nothing at all! Kien noted this with some concern, watching as the demo-hybrid pummeled Yoshio mercilessly and with great ease!
"These creatures are too strong for Yoshio to fight against!" Kien thought to himself as he fought against the pair of demo-hybrids. "Sumio is just barely able to hold his own against them, even in his newfound Super Zodorian state! These things are no real match for me, however! It looks like I'll have to bear the lion's share of our end of the fight! I wonder how the others are doing! I can sense their struggle back at the lookout!"
Kien began pummeling both of his foes, controlling the fight with a slight edge over his foes in fighting prowess! The demo-hybrids were capable opponents, but Kien was just a bit too much for them, being a Super Namek with extensive experience and techniques to draw from! Sumio continued to struggle against the demo-hybrid he was fighting, but Yoshio was knocked to the ground by his foe!
"This thing's way too strong and powerful for me!" Yoshio thought to himself as he sat up on the ground, badly bruised and bloodied. "It's stronger, faster, and probably a lot tougher than I am! I can only guess at how tough it is because I can't even land a single punch to find out! I've got to do something! I can't let the others fight all four of those things! Maybe I can cut their numbers advantage down a bit!"
Yoshio stood up, his legs wobbley beneath him, and he raised his hand over his head, powering up a destructo disk technique to use against the demo-hybrid! It looked on with curious interest, but it wasn't worried! Kien realized what was happening, even while fighting two foes simultaneously!
"Let's see you block this, you creep! Destructo Disk!" Yoshio yelled at the demo-hybrid as he threw the disk at it.
The creature laughed as it prepared to deflect the disk with its hands, and Yoshio looked grimly determined as he watched the disk streak towards his foe! The demo-hybrid went to deflect the disk, but the disk sliced the demo-hybrid in half, causing a delayed-reaction explosion of the demo-hybrid while it had a stunned, disbelieving expression on its face!
"Yeah!" Yoshio celebrated as he noted the success of his attack in eliminating one of the demo-hybrids. "Eat that, you slimeball!"
Sumio, encouraged by Yoshio's success, fired a masenko ball at the demo-hybrid he was fighting, but that demo-hybrid managed to dodge the attack as it approached! Sumio was stunned with disbelief over the turn of events! The demo-hybrid closed the distance and drove a spearing side kick into Sumio's chest, driving him deep into the ground like a hammer driving a nail into a board!
"No!" Kien cried out in concern over Sumio's condition, being momentarily distracted by the plight of his friend.
While Kien was distracted, the two demo-hybrids he was fighting both hammered him with a series of attacks in concert, making full use of coordinated attacks against the Super Namek! Kien was stunned by their powerful attacks, driven steadily towards the ground! Yoshio watched his two more powerful friends being pummeled with blubbering fear!
Meanwhile, Koji and Majestros continued to fight with greater intensity and vigor, surpassing even their previous battle! Various energy wave techniques flew between them like volley balls, and their physical techniques were superb! The incredible battle raged epically across the landscape!
Back at the lookout, Makiko resumed her dominance of her demo-hybrid opponent, pummeling it at will with physical attacks! She was beating her foe all over the place, and the demo-hybrid realized that it was woefully outmatched by the female Super Saiyan! Makiko seemed to be reveling in the heat of battle, but the demo-hybrid was not so enthusiastic!
Tieh and Kumi concentrated rapid-fire energy attacks on the powerful demo-hybrid's position, and the demo-hybrid shielded itself with his crossed forearms to defend itself against their energy waves! Their blasts exploded upon impact with the demo-hybrid's position, obscuring the view of the fiendish minion of the evil Majestros with the fury of the explosions!
"Maybe our combined efforts will be enough to defeat this thing!" Tieh shouted out over the sound of the explosions.
"Yeah!" Kumi replied with joyful anticipation of their victory-to-come. "We'll beat this guy for sure!"
The demo-hybrid released a power surge with a scream of fury, clearing the obscuring explosions and forcing Tieh and Kumi to cease their attacks and cover up from the force of the power surge! The raging demo-hybrid then fired a powerful energy blast towards the pair of fighters, but Tieh managed to pull Kumi out of the path of the blast and narrowly evade it himself as it streaked off into the distance!
"Whoa!" Tieh cried out as they watched the blast disappear in the distance and explode like a small nuclear warhead. "That was close!"
The demo-hybrid then unleashed its sumo zumo rapid-fire energy attack at the duo, and the heroes looked horrified at the sight of the inescapable assault headed their way! Tieh held Kumi tight and turned to shield her from the blasts with his own body, preparing to sacrifice his well-being for one of the children he'd grown so parentally close to over the years! He grimaced in preparation for the inevitable!
Suddenly, Tieh felt a pair arms wrap around him! Before he could turn his attention to discern the identity of the person holding him, both he and the child he held so tightly were swept out of the path of the incoming blasts! When he finally managed to look over his shoulder to see, he realized that Makiko had come to their rescue!
"Makiko!" Tieh gasped, relieved at the turn of events which had transpired. "You ... saved us!"
"In as much as you were prepared to save my daughter, dear friend," Makiko replied with a gentle smile of both respect and gratitude. "Now, you two get back to the sanctuary. I'll take care of these two!"
"But, Mommy, -" Kumi began to voice her concerns in the form of a protest of Makiko's plans.
"Just do it, Kumi!" Makiko gently scolded her daughter, prompting Kumi to lower her head in acceptance of her mother's wishes.
As Tieh and Kumi made their way to the sanctuary to remove themselves from the battlefield, Makiko turned her attention to both demo-hybrids, steeling her resolve for the conflict! The demo-hybrids bore a mixed expression on their visages, a combination of pleasure and determination! Makiko shared their facial expression, but she seemed even more excited about the upcoming clash!
Meanwhile, Yoshio looked on in blubbering horror at the sight of the demo-hybrid flying up from the deep crater where he drove Sumio with that kick in preparation to unleash a finishing energy wave onto Sumio's location! Kien was managing to reassert himself in the clash against his two demo-hybrid opponents at that moment, but he was not in any position to help Sumio! Yoshio finally managed to shake his momentary combat paralysis, and he grimaced in both shame and great concern for his friend's well-being! With a scream of rage, Yoshio fired a powerful energy blast as the demo-hybrid fired its energy attack towards Sumio's vulnerable position, and Yoshio's blast knocked the demo-hybrid's attack away and into the distance, successfully thwarting the fiendish demo-hybrid's plan to finish the Super Zodorian off!
"Way to go, Yoshio!" Kien thought to himself as he gradually began to regain control of his fight against the pair of demo-hybrids he was battling. "You're a true hero, my friend!"
"Alright, you ugly monster! You want somebody to fight? How about me?!?" Yoshio screamed in rage as he flew at the demo-hybrid to buy Sumio more time to recover from the demo-hybrid's previous attack.
Yoshio flew into a flurry of physical attacks against the demo-hybrid, but the demo-hybrid managed to defend itself successfully against Yoshio's furious assault! Kien beamed with pride as he noted the surprised expression on the demo-hybrid's face, still battling his pair of opponents! Yoshio was fully focused on attacking the demo-hybrid relentlessly, and the demo-hybrid was incredulous at the human's fury!
"What's this?!?" the demo-hybrid remarked in amazement as it continued to defend itself. "Are you mad?!? What possesses you to engage in such a rash and futile act?!?"
"Honor!" Yoshio replied with grim determination as he continued to throw his rage against the demo-hybrid.
Yoshio finally managed to land a powerful roundhouse punch to the demo-hybrid's face, turning its head but little else! Yoshio's exhilerated expression turned to shock when the demo-hybrid turned its head back around to look him in the face, a sinister smile contorting its features! The malevolent demo-hybrid slammed its fist into Yoshio's jaw, knocking Yoshio to the ground with a thud! Yoshio lay there, motionless and borderline unconsciousness! Blood trickled from his mouth, and his cheek was heavily bruised!
The demo-hybrid launched a powerful energy ball into the sky, and then he used hand gestures to direct the enormous energy ball towards the ground - directly towards Yoshio's prone form! Kien found himself unable to break away from the battle against his two demo-hybrid enemies to help Yoshio! Suddenly, a powerful blast of energy intercepted the demo-hybrid's energy bomb and deflected it away from its original trajectory, hurling it off into the distance where it exploded like an atomic bomb! The demo-hybrid's attention then turned to the source of the energy wave, and Sumio stood just outside of the crater he had been driven into earlier, bruised and bloodied but determined to renew his struggle!
"Hi, there! Did you miss me?" Sumio commented as he assumed a fighting stance on the ground below the demo-hybrid. "Let's dance!"
Sumio flew up to the demo-hybrid's position in the air and engaged him in a hand-to-hand battle, barely able to hold his own against the fiend! The demo-hybrid fought back fiercely, trying to fathom Sumio's renewed fervor! The Super Zodorian was more determined than ever to defeat his foe!
Meanwhile, Kien managed to create some distance between himself and his two foes! He placed two fingers to his forehead and powered up a special beam, cannon energy technique, and then he pointed his fingers at one of the attacking demo-hybrids and fired it! The straight beam with the spiraling beam encircling it slammed into the chest of the demo-hybrid, penetrating through and exploding out of the demo-hybrid's back! The demo-hybrid clutched its gaping wound, pausing for a moment before plumetting to the ground, and its partner hesitated as it watched in shock! Before the remaining demo-hybrid could regain its composure, Kien hammered it with a tremendous flying side kick to the chest, knocking the fiend to the ground with a crashing thud! Kien then fired his rapid-fire scattershot technique at the spot where the demo-hybrid went down!
Back at the lookout, Makiko and the two demo-hybrids prepared for their clash! It was the calm before the storm, and Tieh and Kumi watched from the door of the sanctuary with concerned anticipation! Super Saiyan versus demo-hybrids, woe be to somebody!
Continued in Chapter 13.