by Jamie L. Word
"The Desperation Mounts"
Zodoria.
The robot's blast that was fired at Sumio and Yoshio collided with Sumio's crossed forearms and exploded with great force! The bright light from the explosion obscured any view of the two heroes at the heart of the explosion, and debris and dust were thrown up and out by the force of the blast! The robot hovered in the air, waiting for the view to clear!
Meanwhile, Kien and Dokharis continued their battle, and they hadn't even begun to slow their pace down! If anything, they'd intensified their conflict even more! Around them, Makiko and the two kids were still dominating the robots they were fighting! Kien and Dokharis paused their conflict momentarily to reaccess the situation!
"What's the matter?" Dokharis inquired with a taunting smirk, his face bruised as he breathed heavilly. "Is the game too hard for you?"
"Oh, don't mind me," Kien replied through his heavy breathing, his face also bruised as a result of the intense fighting. "I'm just getting warmed up! I just hope you're ready for round two!"
"Oh, you're a cocky one!" Dokharis taunted as he poised himself to renew the conflict, prompting Kien to do the same.
"Well?" Kien challenged the demon lord to lead off. "Let's do this while we're young, okay?"
"Fine by me!" Dokharis shouted as he drew in a deep breath, confusing Kien in the process.
Dokharis exhaled flames from his mouth at Kien, and Kien's eyes widened with astonishment at the sight of the demon flames approaching him! Kien managed to leap over the flames just in the knick of time! Dokharis then released a rapid-fire barrage of multi-shot blasts towards Kien, and Kien responded by dodging them with great effort! After several moments of this, Kien responded by firing a special beam cannon attack at Dokharis, but Dokharis managed to narrowly evade that attack! Kien then fired a masenko ball at Dokharis, but the fiend managed to evade that attack! Kien then fired a makosen-ha energy attack, but the fiend managed to evade that attack as well! Kien then tried to hit with a scattershot energy attack, but Dokharis managed to evade it again!
Meanwhile, Makiko and the kids were finishing up their clash with the robots, finishing off the last of them! Upon the delivering the final strike in passing, Makiko landed next to her sword, which was embedded in the ground standing up! As she touched down onto the ground, she removed the sword from the ground and twirled it in her hands before readying it in her fighting stance for whatever might come next to threaten them! The kids landed on the ground, one on either side of her, and also assumed fighting stances!
Dokharis threw an energy disk at Kien, slicing off his left arm at the shoulder! Kien screamed in agony as his severed limb fell to the ground! He clutched the stump of his severed arm and descended to the ground to regain his composure! Tieh landed next to Kien as the wounded Super Namek prepared to resume his conflict!
"Kien!" Kato shouted to the wounded Super Namek with great concern in his voice, very worried for his friend.
"Don't worry too much about your friend, boy!" Dokharis taunted with a smile on his face. "You'll all be dead soon, so his little injury won't matter much when I'm done with the rest of you!"
"You seem too hasty to assume you've finished me, Dokharis," Kien interjected as he stepped up in front of Tieh, still clutching his stump. "I'm not finished with you yet!"
With a drawn-out yell, a new arm almost exploded out of the stump of the severed one, and Kien stood ready to engage him once again! The heroes breathed a sigh of relief, but Dokharis seemed baffled by the Namek trick! Kien then removed his heavy cape and tossed it aside, and it crashed to the ground with a tremendous thud!
"Now, I think it's time to turn this up a notch!" Kien said with a smile as Dokharis grimaced in anger and confusion.
"Now, I remember!" Dokharis snarled in seething anger and confusion. "Nameks can regenerate themselves! You played me for a fool!"
"You made it so easy, Dokharis!" Kien replied as he stood ready to resume the battle. "Now let's finish this!"
Kien and his friends assumed fighting stances, and Dokharis took a few steps backwards while reaccessing the situation!
"If I fight them all at once, I can't win!" Dokharis thought to himself. "This Super Namek is my virtual equal all by himself, but, if I flee back to the ship, the master will be very unhappy with me! He'll destroy me, but so will they! I may be finished either way!"
"It looks like the tables have turned in our favor now!" Kien said with a confident smile on his face. "This is where we end our fight!"
"So, you can't defeat me one-on-one after all, can you?" Dokharis taunted Kien with an odd smile, taking yet another step backwards. "For all your bravado, you're little more than a coward who cannot fight me without the help of your friends!"
"You want some more of me? Let's go!" Kien said as he widened his stance so that his teammates were forced to back up. "You guys sit this one out! He's all mine!"
Dokharis chuckled sinisterly, almost maniacally, as the other heroes backed away to allow the one-on-one fight to continue! Dokharis then assumed a more confident fighting stance as he prepared to renew the conflict!
Meanwhile, the explosion where the robot's energy blast had collided with Sumio's crossed forearms finally subsided! Sumio was a little roughed up and breathing a bit harder, but Yoshio was okay, and he had fully recovered his composure from being hit by the robot's fist earlier! Sumio uncrossed his forearms and held his arms by his sides, bent at the elbows and fists clenched! Yoshio stood up next to Sumio and assumed a similar pose!
"Yoshio, go and find that dragon ball!" Sumio implored his human ally. "I'll send this lumbering pile of junk back to the scrapheap!"
"Right!" Yoshio replied as he retrieved the dragon ball radar from the backpack and prepared to resume the search. "You be careful!"
"Don't worry about me!" Sumio answered as Yoshio flew off to search for the dragon ball. "Just find that dragon ball and wish Koji back!"
Sumio began raising more energy to battle the robot, being immediately surrounded by a pale, flame-like energy aura as strong winds howled around him and small rocks, stones, and pebbles began to rise from the ground around him! The robot's sensors noted his increasing power level much like a built-in scouter, measuring the quantity of the mighty Zodorian's power increase!
"Now, let me show you something that nobody else knows about yet!" Sumio yelled at the stoic, mute robot as his power level continued to climb. "I'm going to show you my people's greatest legend come to life!"
At that declaration, Sumio began a drawn-out power-up scream! Lightning began to flash in the darkened sky, and the ground began shaking beneath Sumio's feet! Sumio's energy aura flared massively, and then the aura turned jade green as Sumio's muscles increased in size slightly! Sumio's hair then stiffened and turned bright white! The transformation released an incredible rush of force in all directions, leveling an area about fifty feet in diameter and pushing the robot back a short distance!
In the distance, Yoshio suddenly stopped his flight and looked back in Sumio's direction, sensing his power increase. He shuddered as he sensed Sumio's power from a-far.
"Whoa!" Yoshio muttered in astonishment. "That's Sumio, but how did he generate that much power?!? What happened?!? ... I better not spend too much time worrying about that! I've got work to do!"
Yoshio continued on his dragon ball quest, leaving the curious pondering of the Zodorian's transformation for another time.
Meanwhile, the robot's sensors blew out trying to register Sumio's super-charged power level, and Sumio stood ready to fight a-new! Then the robot's sensors withdrew back into its head and were replaced with new ones which didn't possess the qualities of a scouter! Sumio noted this development with a grim look of determination!
"Do you like my new look?" Sumio inquired of the mute machine rhetorically. "This is what's known as a Super Zodorian!"
Meanwhile, back at the space ship, the diabolical master villain activated a switch on a control panel, and a wall slid back to reveal numerous demonic-looking fighters in battle armor consisting of chest protectors and shoulderpads and knee-high, black boots. They were in holding tanks similar to Saiyan isolation chambers used to heal them after missions. These fighters appeared very similar to Dokharis, but they had wild black hair like Saiyans and were clean-shaven with fang-like teeth and pointy ears like Nameks. They were a bit more slender in physique than Dokharis but no less muscular in build. About that time, the master villain's insignia beeped, and he placed his hand upon it and then activated it.
"Speak," the diabolical lord of this evil entourage said in a stoic tone of voice, awaiting a reply.
"Master!" Dokharis' voice called out from the master's insignia, covering vast distances. "The fighters of this planet have defeated the robots that accompanied me! I need new back-up, better back-up!"
"I'll send the organic demo-hybrids," the master replied without any hint of emotion. "They'll be there shortly."
Deactivating his insignia communicator, the master flipped six switches on the control panel, and six of the tanks opened up, releasing six of the demonic-looking fighters into the world revived. He then took a radar-like device from a stand next to the control panel as the six fighters stepped out of the tanks and stood before him. He handed the device to one of the fighters, and that fighter accepted the device.
"There are two battles occuring a great distance from this ship," the master informed the creatures. "You will use that ki radar to locate and track the power levels of our enemies. Find them and destroy them all."
"Yes, Master," the fighter who accepted the radar answered in a hissing voice before leading the other five fiends out of the ship.
"You had better not cause me to have to do this myself, Dokharis," the master villain growled with a slight hint of malevolence but not quite an overt display of emotion. "If my presense is required, you will pay."
Other World.
Koji, in Super Saiyan Two form, was preparing to spar with Yukio, in Super Saiyan One form. Tong-Li was quietly observing the whole scene. Yukio was still trembling in his rage, and Koji was once more fiercely determined and grim-looking in his visage.
"Well?" Koji taunted Yukio in his raspy, authoritative voice. "What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?"
With a battle cry, Yukio flew at Koji and threw himself at the mighty royal-blooded Saiyan with a fervent passion, launching flurries of hand-to-hand attacks at Koji! Koji managed to fend off Yukio's heated volley with great ease, frustrating Yukio all the more! Tong-Li noted the sparring session with great interest! The harder Yukio tried to hit Koji, the more frustrated he became at Koji's ease in defending himself!
"You are a Saiyan warrior, yet you fight like a mindless savage!" Koji taunted Yukio while seemingly effortlessly defending himelf. "Where is your training? Were you a true warrior, or just a pretender? Did your father train you, or did some feeble clown? Maybe it wasn't the instructor! Maybe you weren't such a good student after all! Maybe you could enlighten me as to the answers, if you could reclaim your mental faculties long enough!"
"Don't taunt me!" Yukio screamed in greater fury as he intensified his still futile efforts to hit Koji, who still seemed to have no trouble defending himself. "I am no child! My father trained me, and he was a great warrior! I learned my lessons well, and I'll show you! I am a true Saiyan warrior!"
Yukio screamed his fury into the darkened sky as lightning flashed above them! Yukio's energy aura flared as his power level increased, and great winds blew out from him in all directions, prompting Koji to back away from him to give him room! Small rocks, stones, and pebbles began rising from the ground as Yukio's power level continued to surge! His hair stiffened a bit more and spiked a bit more, his muscles increased in size slightly, and electricity began crackling in and around his energy aura! As the side effects of Yukio's power-up subsided, Tong-Li looked on in amazement! Koji simply smiled at his success!
"Now, I'll show you just what kind of a warrior I am!" Yukio screamed as he flew at Koji to renew the conflict.
"Yes, you shall!" Koji replied with an eager smile upon his face as he began flying backwards away from Yukio to lead him on.
The two warriors clashed in the sky with tremendous fervor! This time, Yukio seemed much more in Koji's league than before! He seemed to be Koji's equal in this round of sparring! Koji was quite impressed and also quite thrilled to be challenged so! Yukio seemed to be starting to enjoy himself as well, not quite as out-of-control as he was earlier!
"Very good, Yukio!" Koji commended the great warrior as they clashed in their sparring session. "You've done it! You've achieved the next level of Super Saiyan, just as I told you that you could!"
"Your arrogant taunting and your smug smirk were all that I needed, my friend!" Yukio replied with a smile. "I must thank you properly!"
"Indeed!" Koji responded with his usual confident smirk, relishing the thought of the contest in which they were engaged.
Both fighters were able to hit each other from time to time with their hand-to-hand attacks, but, despite the bruising and the cutting their attacks inflicted upon each other, both Saiyans reveled in the battle! Yukio was nearly Koji's equal in this clash, but Koji was still a bit more capable in skill as a warrior! He still managed to slightly outperform Yukio in their fight, but Yukio was faring far better than before his transformation!
After several moments of this sparring, both Super Saiyans ceased their fighting and landed upon the ground, looking each other in the eyes with similar smiles of confidence and elation. The old Kai smiled as well.
"Now, you have tasted the power I have known for some time," Koji said as Yukio looked at his own hands and savored the sensation of his newfound power. "It is exhilarating, isn't it?"
"It is!" Yukio replied with a big smile as he seemed almost intoxicated from the euphoria his transformation gave him. "It's incredible! To believe that at one time I couldn't imagine what it would feel like being a Super Saiyan, and now I stand in the unimaginable splendor of this phenomenon!"
"Be careful, my friend," Koji warned Yukio from the arena of experience. "Don't let the intoxicating euphoria of the experience overwhelm you. Remember that you are the one in control, not it."
"I understand," Yukio replied with a nod of his head as both he and Koji powered down to their normal states once again.
Zodoria.
The demo-hybrids were flying towards their destination, following the ki radar that the master had given them. They smiled evilly as they flew along in their quest for the heroes to destroy them!
Continued in Chapter 7.