by Jamie L. Word
"The Valiant Hero"
Zodoria.
Koji and Majestros continued to gather more energy as they engaged in their staredown. The ground began trembling in the vicinity of the two fighters. Both fighters were surrounded by flaming energy auras, Koji's being golden and Majestros' being blood red.
Back at the lookout, Kien arrived to see the others waiting, sensing the imminent battle between Koji and Majestros. Sumie, Kumi, Kimie, and Yuko were absent from the assembly, however. Kien landed on the platform.
"What are you waiting for?!?" the Super Namek rebuked the others as he garnered their attention. "Get those boys into the Chamber of Spirit and Time now! We don't have time to waste!"
"H-how did you know about the training?" Makiko inquired in stunned amazement at Kien's uncanny insight.
"I'm a Namek," Kien answered matter-of-factly. "My ears do more than just frame my face. A Namek's ears are very acute. I heard everything while I was fighting with Dokharis. Now, get moving while we still have time! Jontu, show these four to the Chamber of Spirit and Time!"
"Of course," Jontu replied submissively with a keen sense of the urgency of the situation. "This way, please."
Jontu led the team of Makiko, Isao, Kato, and Tieh away from the group and into the sanctuary to find the Chamber of Spirit and Time. Kien and the others then turned their attention back to the battle that was about to be waged between Saiyan and alien warlord. They all trembled at the power they sensed between the two warriors.
Other World.
Tong-Li had been training Yukio, but he paused suddenly, and Yukio paused when he noted Tong-Li's moment of distraction. Tong-Li seemed deeply troubled, frightened actually, as he sensed something. Yukio seemed confused.
"What's the matter, old Kai?" Yukio inquired as he tried to pry the old Kai's attention back to him.
"The true battle is about to begin!" Tong-Li muttered in apprehensive dread. "Koji is about to face the master fiend behind the danger to the planet Zodoria! They're gathering energy for the battle now!"
"Koji will win," Yukio replied with full confidence in his newfound friend's power and ability. "He's a Saiyan. How could he not win?"
"Don't be so certain, Yukio!" Tong-Li rebuked his naive new pupil. "This monstrous power he is about to battle is like no power I have ever sensed before in this galaxy! Frieza, Xarlok, even Usami - they all pale in comparison to this being! Frieza and Xarlok were nothing compared to this being, and Usami was little more than child's play next to this one!"
"You - you've got to be kidding!" Yukio proclaimed in absolute shock as he regarded Tong-Li with a disbelieving look on his face.
"I only wish I was!" Tong-Li muttered with a quivering lip while trembling in fear. "I only wish I was!"
Zodoria.
Koji moved like a shot, closing the distance with amazing speed! Koji hammered Majestros with a punch to the face, followed that up with a knee to the midsection that doubled the fiend over, drove him to one knee with a downward elbow thrust to the back of the head, and finished the sequence of moves off with a front kick to the ribs which hurled Majestros through the air like a bullet from a gun! Majestros performed a series of flips in mid-flight and landed on the ground a great distance away as Koji regarded his foe's countenance with stern scrutiny!
"Very good!" Majestros exclaimed as he wiped a trail of blood from his lip with the back of his fist and smiled. "You might actually be a worthy challenge for me!"
"So, you're tougher than I gave you credit for," Koji replied as he allowed a slight smirk to form on his face. "Well, things are about to get a lot rougher for you! Brutality is one of my specialties!"
"Oh, I think I'm becoming a bit of a masochist!" Majestros declared with a wide grin. "I hope that's a promise!"
With a battle cry, Koji closed the distance and engaged Majestros in a fierce hand-to-hand battle! The techniques were fast and furious, beyond anything displayed before, but Majestros was able to match Koji move for move as they fought across the battlefield! Koji pushed himself harder, but Majestros' speed enabled him to evade Koji's attacks!
Back at the lookout, the heroes waited with baited breaths as they tried to follow the action by sensing the energy of both fighters as they fought. Everyone's forehead was sweating profusely, and all of them trembled in fear as they sensed the power emanating from the battlefield.
"Man, what power!" Yoshio gasped as he blubbered, his lip quivering and his entire body trembling. "I c-c-can't believe what I'm s-s-sensing!"
"No!" Kien muttered in horror as he seemed be feel that he realized something. "Koji can't win! That monster is just toying with him! He's at Super Saiyan Two, but it's still not enough!"
The others gasped in utter horror at the notion of Koji not being up to the task, each one praying that Kien was wrong. Kien grimaced in frustrated horror as he focused on the battle.
Meanwhile, Koji continued to struggle to hit Majestros, but the fiend continued to evade the Super Saiyan with apparent ease! Koji's frustration began mounting, but Majestros gave him something else to think about! A quick knee to the midsection doubled Koji over, and then a two-fisted smash sent the Saiyan hurtling to the ground with a crater-forming crash! Koji flew up out of the dust-cloud obscuring the crater with a rage-filled battle cry, and he charged straight at Majestros, preparing to punch him again! Majestros smiled as he watched Koji charge at him, and then he ducked under Koji's charge, drove both feet into Koji's midsection from underneath so that he both stunned the Super Saiyan and knocked the breath out of him, and then he slammed a thunderous punch into Koji's face, knocking him backwards across the battlefield and into a mountain! Koji's rocketing form was buried deep within the mountain upon impact! Majestros smiled again!
With a cry of rage, Koji released a burst of energy, ripping the mountain apart in his fury as he extricated himself from the mountain! He hovered there in the air, his cheek slightly bruised, his lip bleeding, and his body ensheathed in an electrified, golden, flaming energy aura! Koji wiped the blood from his face with the back of his fist as Majestros chuckled!
"Don't you get it?" Majestros mocked the Super Saiyan. "Don't you see? Even with all the power your new transformed state affords you, you are still no match for me! No one is! I am supreme in the universe! I am the lord of all that exists in our dimension! Everyone will bow to me, yielding up whatever I demand of them! You can either concede now or be destroyed in a slow, painful exercise of my supreme power! This new transformed state of yours is quite impressive, but it won't be enough to defeat me!"
"Possibly so, but this is last year's transformed state," Koji retorted with a smug smirk that caused Majestros to be somewhat confused. "I've been able to use this form for a long time now, but I do have a few new tricks up my proverbial sleeve. You've seen my natural state, you've seen my Super Saiyan state, and you've seen Super Saiyan Two. Now, I'd like to show you something new. Are you ready?"
Majestros noted Koji's renewed confidence with a hint of interest and bewilderment. Koji floated gently into the air until he was high up in the sky, prompting Majestros to likewise raise himself up to that elevation. Koji then tensed up every muscle in his body until his veins all bulged, and he gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. Majestros was still baffled.
Suddenly, Koji began a drawn-out yell as he began powering up even more, his energy aura flaring massively as powerful winds began blowing out from him in all directions and the electricity crackling in and around his energy aura intensified! All shapes and sizes of rocks, stones, and pebbles began rising from the ground as the entire planet began shaking extremely violently, and the sky went black as radical lightning flashed across it! Terrible whirlwinds formed around the battlefield, mountains crumbled, and bodies of water parted to the bare ground beneath as they formed towering walls of water! Huge rocks erupted out of the ground as rising rocks, stones, and pebbles shattered in mid-air and were swept up in the howling winds! The radical lightning flashed across the blackened sky, and occassional bolts actually struck the ground and even Koji, but the Saiyan was unaffected!
Back at the lookout, the heroes were all struggling to maintain their balance as the lookout shook strongly beneath them and threatened to crumble around them! They all were in shocked disbelief as they sensed Koji's power increase from a-far!
"Unbelievable!" Kien cried out in disbelief as he trembled in astonishment. "Koji's power - it's growing! I've never felt that kind of power before! What's going on?!?"
"The whole planet's going to shake apart if he doesn't stop this!" Yoshio screamed in terror as he fell on his backside after loosing his balance.
"How is he generating this much power?!?" Shun inquired rhetorically as he fell to his knees, using his hands to prop himself up.
Other World.
Both Tong-Li and Yukio looked in awe as they sensed Koji's building power, and both trembled in awe, their lips quivering.
"Is that ... Koji?" Yukio muttered, struggling to find the voice to make his inquiry against the paralysis of his astonishment.
"I never thought it would be possible for even a Saiyan to reach that level of power until I met Koji and saw him do it for the very first time," Tong-Li said with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Did what?" Yukio inquired almost in desperation to have an answer. "What is he doing?"
Zodoria.
Koji's power-up continued, and the side effects of that power-up intensified steadily! Then, suddenly, his hair began to grow longer in the back, and his muscles bagan increasing in size slightly! Majestros seemed astounded by the transformation he was witnessing before him! Within moments, Koji's golden locks were down to his waist, and then he threw back his head and screamed, a brilliant light erupting out of him like a massive explosion of a small star! Majestros shielded his eyes from the blinding brilliance of the final moments of Koji's transformation!
When the bright illumination subsided at last, the stunned warrior finally turned his eyes back upon the mighty Super Saiyan! He was rendered momentarily speechless to see Koji with his hair down to his waist and without any eyebrows! Koji's golden, flaming aura still retained its electrified status, and his smug smirk was in full effect!
"Sorry that took so long, but I haven't had much occassion to practice it," Koji said with renewed confidence in his voice. "This is what is known as Super Saiyan Three. I hope you like it."
Back at the lookout, as the special effects of Koji's power-up had subsided, the other heroes regained their balance. They were incredulous at what they were sensing, finding it difficult to believe.
"It's ... unreal!" Kien replied as he trembled in total shock at the turn of events his special sense had been witness to.
Meanwhile, in the Chamber of Spirit and Time, Makiko and Tieh were training the boys in the fusion dance technique. Kato and Isao had powered up to maximum power without transforming into Super Saiyans, and they had matched their power levels exactly. Makiko and Tieh smiled as they noted the success of this part of the training.
"They're progressing very well," Tieh said as he took note of their progress. "In just a few short hours, they've mastered matching their power levels. In a few more hours, they'll be on their way to mastering the fusion dance itself!"
"How much time do we have left?" Makiko inquired of Tieh. "I mean, if Koji was trying to buy us time for this before we came in here, what's happened out there? Did Koji win, or did that monster destroy everyone by now? Maybe that fiend is right outside this room trying to figure a way in here right now! Oh, no! What if Kumi and Kimie are in danger?!?"
"Relax, Makiko," Tieh interjected reassuringly with a smile. "I understand the nature of this room because I've heard of them before. For every day that passes outside of this chamber, one full year passes within. Although we've been in here for a few hours now, only a few minutes have passed on the outside. The battle may still be underway between Koji and that unbelievably powerful monster. Now, we should proceed to the next part of their training: matching their power levels as Super Saiyans!"
Meanwhile, Majestros finally found the words to speak as Koji hovered before him, emanating unfathomable power. Koji's smug smirk served to jar Majestros back to his senses, aggravating him in the process.
"Very impressive, Saiyan," the slightly irritated Majestros commented as he looked upon Koji's new state. "I can feel that your power has grown substantially within you. Perhaps you truly are a worthy challenge!"
"I'm glad you approve," Koji replied as he glared at Majestros, maintaining his smug smirk. "Now, let's get this underway while we're still young, why don't we?"
Koji blurred out of sight, reappearing right in front of Majestros to hammer him with a powerful punch to the face that knocked the fiend across the battlefield and into a mountain as he had done to Koji earlier! An eruption of power accompanied by a raging scream blew the mountain apart and released Majestros from his uncerimoniously makeshift prison! He looked angrier, and his face was bruised from Koji's punch! Koji smiled at his success, further aggitating Majestros!
"So, you think you're so up to this, eh?" Majestros snarled at Koji while tensing all of his muscles and clenching his fists. "Very well! We shall see!"
"I hope I can hold him until the boys complete their training," Koji thought to himself as he prepared for the renewed clash. "I can't maintain this powered-up state for very long!"
The two warriors blurred in and out of sight, engaging in the most intense fighting ever for either of them! Their movements were faster than ever, and their thunderous shots echoed like cannonfire in rapid-fire style! This time, Koji was virtually an even match for Majestros! Both fighters were fighting very seriously, and Majestros found himself struggling to find the advantage he'd lost since Koji's transformation!
Breaking away from the action, Majestros drew back his hands and released a multi-shot, rapid-fire energy blast attack at Koji! Koji crossed both arms in front of himself, and the energy blasts exploded all around his location, but he emerged from the attack unscathed! Majestros then charged a very powerful energy blast between his hands, thrust his hands forward, and discharged the massive attack towards Koji! Koji responded by firing a quick-charged Kamehameha wave attack into the incoming power blast, and both energy attacks pushed against each other as both warriors yelled from the exertion of channeling so much energy against each other! The ground trembled beneath them as rocks, stones, and pebbles began rising from the ground all around them! Lightning flashed in the darkened skies as powerful winds howled all around them!
Other World.
Tong-Li and Yukio continued to monitor the entire battle from the old Kai's world, noting the incredible power levels of the combatants.
"What power!" Yukio muttered in abject disbelief as he trembled in amazement. "What's happening out there? Can Koji win?"
"I don't know, but I think I can help you with knowing what's happening on the battlefield," Tong-Li answered as he held up his hands as if to hold something of a circular shape, and a crystal ball materialized in his hands.
The crystal ball revealed a visual and audible image for the battle between the Saiyan and the invader. Yukio and Tong-Li cast their gaze upon the crystal ball and its revelation.
Continued in Chapter 10.