This chapter's content has already been released; however, please look beyond the Q&A of this chapter for an important announcement!


As he stared down at the collection of fighters below, sizing each and every one of them up in his mind, the demon king couldn't help but let a smirk spread across his aged features. Each and every one of them seemed to tremble with horror at his presence, no doubt aware of his unrivaled power and his prior reign over Earth.

Still, though, something seemed terribly off about the group: the fighters seemed to stand in unity, their miens conveying all the same expression. Surely they were allies, but how would they have caught wind of his plans so easily?

'It doesn't matter in the end, I suppose,' concluded the demon king as he began his descent toward the ground, eyes locked with the formation of fighters. 'They shall all fall to my might… and once I rid myself of the Earth's remaining fighters, none will oppose my wrath...'

"M-Master!" Tambourine cried jovially, pleased to see that his master had come for him. Though he'd been in a rough predicament before, it seemed as if the tides had turned, leaving the humans as the ones in peril. "T-Thank goodness you've come! They… they're all powerful, more so than we could've ever guessed!"

Upon hearing his subordinate's voice cry out for him, Piccolo turned his head and let loose a firm scowl. "You should be lucky your brother fell before you did, Tambourine. Had my senses not been attuned toward this battle due to my…concern… about our enemies' battle power, you wouldn't be seeing the light of day right now."

His words immediately shut Tambourine up, nervous beads of sweat drizzling down his brow. Never had he seen his master so poised and focused; it was almost as if he was an entirely different person. 'C-Could Lord Piccolo be nervous about the battle ahead? I-Is there actually a chance he might not be able to win?'

An aged, taloned index finger was pointed in an upward direction, revealing Pilaf's airship where the remaining minions were. "Go, Tambourine. It's obvious you will be of no use to me during this battle."

"B-But—"

"Go..." Piccolo snarled, his piercing gaze as unrelenting as ever. Despite his master's old age, Tambourine was well aware of his awe-inspiring power—it wasn't one he would want to be matched up against any time soon. "...Before I reconsider sparing you despite your failure."

If nothing else, those eight words opened Tambourine's eyes to the situation he was in. Knowing he would be chastised for his failure later, he stole one remaining glance at his father's enemies, hissed at them vehemently, and then took off to follow his master's orders, feeling the heat of Piccolo's gaze follow him until he had successfully boarded the airship.

Upon seeing Tambourine's figure fade into the ship, Piccolo returned his gaze to the Earth's fighters, an aged smile playing across his features. "Now, with the weakling out of the way, feel free to let loose. I must warn you that despite my frail appearance, I am single-handedly capable of decimating you all. My power is unmatched on this planet, even when compared to your combined might… and if you want to run now, I wouldn't blame you."

"Like we'd ever back down from someone like you!" spat Roshi boldly as he glared into the demon's eyes, his fury and anger all too prevalent in his words. "I'd never let you complete your wicked plans!"

In response, Piccolo raised his brow in mock amusement. "Oh? You actually do plan to oppose me? What a shame. You could've perhaps lived a while longer. Not in the case of you old men," he smirked evilly at Roshi, Gohan, and Shen, "but at least the young ones could've. However, you've all signed your own tombstones by electing to stay here." He gently levitated down to the ground, folding his arms.

Tien scowled at the arrogance Piccolo had on him as he began a slow, ominous stride toward the group of warriors. "There's no way he has the strength to back this up! Is he actually implying he could take on all of us?"

"He can, Tien," he heard his mentor telepathically respond. 'And he's going to. We have to come up with something… anything… to get a fatal shot on him."

Tien looked to either of his sides, seeing his fellow allies - if they could even be called that - tighten their battle stances. Slowly, carefully, the corners of his lips turned upward in a devious and knowing smirk.

"I've got an idea, master."


'They don't need me.'

That was the one resounding thought that pinballed throughout Gohan's mind as Piccolo approached. 'I'm an elderly man who's past his prime. Master Roshi has more experience than any of us do… and I'm sure Yamcha could learn well from him.' With a brief glance over to his master, Gohan sighed. 'I'm the one who has little else to live for… while everyone around me has so much left to do.'

In truth, he did know the Evil Containment Wave. That was a fact he'd kept well-guarded from his master. Paranoia on his end from all the stories he'd heard about Piccolo had compelled him to dig deep into the origins of the move following his graduation from Roshi's training, and though he'd scoured the world for several years to do so, his labor was rewarded generously when he'd heard about the properties of the technique. From there, it hadn't taken long to emulate it.

But there was more to the story now. Goku, the Red Ribbon soldier, was easily the biggest threat right behind Piccolo. Even with the demon king gone, the world wasn't safe from total anarchy.

Even as Gohan considered this fact, he wearily smiled. 'But one threat is better than two, right?'

He flung himself forward, dashing toward the demon and kicking off the battle with a mighty punch to his adversary's aged cheekbone. The shock and surprise of the human containing such power within his aged form forced Piccolo to stagger backward, applying pressure to the bone in order to ease the pain.

"Gohan, no!" Roshi cried in protest, gripped with fear at the fact that his student had been so reckless. Gohan never had been one to lose his cool; he'd thought his student could keep a level head—perhaps all the legend and lore of Piccolo's wrath had affected him more than he could've anticipated. "You're going to be killed if we don't attack together!"

Not heeding the warning, Gohan landed on the ground for a split-second before he pounced again, a battle cry accompanying his high kick to his foe's skull. Again, the blow went unguarded, eliciting an audible crack that echoed around the reticent forest lands.

Gohan performed a few backflips to regain distance from his foe, panting heavily as rational thought returned to him. The sight of his foe's aching, groggy form was enough to pull a smile on his drenched visage. "Haah… haah…"

But his satisfaction would soon wither away with the mere sound of the demon king's laughter, immediately snapping the elderly man out of his illusion and reminding him of his foe's continued existence. In one fluent motion, the green-skinned figure had regained his posture and his menacing grin as if he hadn't been hit at all.

"I will admit, you're quite powerful—even more so than I'd anticipated. Never had I expected for one of my children to fall to a lowly human… tell me, which one of you was responsible for that? Was it you, old man?"

"W-What the…?" Krillin stuttered, subconsciously stepping back toward his allies. 'H-How could he possibly just take Gohan's full-powered attacks without even feeling any pain at all?! ...Master was right… this guy's a monster...'

Yajirobe, despite all his previous bravado, now had been reduced to trembling in his boots, unable to muster up even the slightest response. 'Those were the minions of Piccolo? Damn it, what the hell did I just get myself into?!'

A small scowl adorned Roshi's face as he raised his fist, clenching it tightly to prevent himself from making any irrational movements. "Does it really matter, Piccolo? We know all about your reign of tyranny over the Earth—you'd sooner snap our necks than allow us to get away."

"Heh! I'm impressed that you know my name despite my last appearance on Earth being so long ago… enough so that I'd normally ask how you know it. But there are more pressing matters at hand." His eyes narrowed at the group of fighters, indicating that the time for idle threats was over. "Now… the Dragon Balls. I'm aware you've got them stashed around here somewhere, so if you would be so kind as to fetch them… I might consider making your deaths painless."

"Do you really think we'll just hand them over to you?!" the Turtle Hermit exclaimed loudly, disgusted with the mere notion that he would submit to the demon. "That time you spent in containment must've really slowed your brain down!"

A visible twitch in the aged warrior's face was evident after that taunt, Piccolo's face contorting into the foulest of glares he could muster up. "You have no way of knowing I was sealed in that jar," he darkly hissed, small tendrils of energy arcing around his fingertips to accentuate his rage. "How could you possibly know about my original reign over Earth?! No human has a lifespan that long…"

An elderly voice, broken down by the natural progression of time, was the only sound that could be heard around the isolated forest."If you really want to know… this isn't our first meeting, Piccolo. The last time… I wasn't alone. I was with my master."

"W-What are you even—?"

"His name was Master Mutaito!" Roshi grinned, a knowing look in his eye as Piccolo was visibly taken aback by the mere mention of his mentor. "We both know why you fear him… you're concerned he might have passed down his knowledge of the Evil Containment Wave, aren't you? His teachings do indeed live on through me, but solely me alone—you have no reason to target any more fighters any longer if I fall."

Krillin immediately whipped his head to look at his master's grinning expression, shell-shocked by his bold approach to the situation. 'M-Master… why would you make yourself a target like that?! And what's worse… why would you lie to us? Is he really that powerful that you had to refrain from telling us all this?'


Gohan remained deathly silent.


'Hold your horses, kid. Your master has a better plan in mind than I'd thought.'

'Wha—Tien?!' the ex-monk internally exclaimed, his eyes stealing a glance at the triclops' form. He was perfectly still, concentrating on the enemy, yet he somehow had pervaded through the child's consciousness and had opened some form of telepathic link with him. 'How did you even do that?'

'Master Shen taught me how to connect with another person's mind and hold a conversation, but that's beside the point. It took me a second to figure all of this out, but Roshi did have plans to use the attack—he hadn't accounted for everyone else's presence. If he tried the attack right now, his minions could swoop down and strike him when he's exposed, both dooming us without a fighter and rendering him dead. Had the circumstances been different and there wasn't a warrior there to stop him, I've got the feeling that he would've given his life to end it all right then and there.'

'But why would he let it slip that he knows the technique?' Krillin asked, trying his hardest not to spare a glance over at his fellow fighter. If Piccolo was able to catch onto their sudden connection, they wouldn't likely live much longer.

'Because...' Tien paused for a moment, determining how best to word this. After taking an extra breath, he 'spoke' again, this time more slowly and carefully. '...I don't think he believes he'll make it out of here alive.'

Instantaneously, Krillin knew exactly what the triclops was suggesting; he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it sooner. In his master's mind, of course it would make sense—he was attempting to appease the demon with the knowledge that the Evil Containment Wave would cease with his existence so that they could live to see another day. After all, he would surely believe that sacrificing one life would be more pragmatic than the remainder of them falling, even if it wasn't likely that Piccolo would spare their lives in the slightest. Did he really just not have any faith in their chances any longer?

Feeling the link with his comrade sever itself, Krillin suddenly felt a terrible lump in his throat as he thought of all the memories he'd shared with his master. From all the training they'd gone through, the world tournaments they'd experienced together… he could remember it all so clearly. Despite how much his peers had belittled and taunted him into believing he could never be a successful fighter, they'd been far from the truth. His life had turned around since departing from Orin Temple, performing a one-eighty all thanks to the kindness and generosity of one hermit. Had he not truly pinched himself and recognized how fortunate he had been, he could've sworn that this experience was a half-remembered dream.

'Master… you can't die…' Krillin thought to himself, a single tear cascading down his cheek and falling to the still grass below. 'I can't be a part of this next generation you spoke about before ...not when the world needs you… n-not when… I need you...'

"Well, well, is your little chat finished?" sneered the demon king at the child, his eyes widening in utter shock. "In case you weren't aware, I too have the capability of opening mental links with my children. While I can't exactly intrude upon each individual word you said, I was able to predict enough that you were concerned about not having the time to properly mourn your demises. I figured it wouldn't be a proper sendoff without allowing you to say your goodbyes."

"As if!" Tien snarled, cracking his knuckles before pounding his fists together. "You may be more powerful than anything the Earth's ever seen, but there's no way in hell we'll let you take over the world without a fight!"

"This is the end of the road for you, Piccolo!" shouted Roshi as he too prepared for close combat with the demon. "For every single martial artist's life you've had your demons tear away from their loved ones, you'll pay tenfold!"

Yajirobe gripped his katana, recognizing he had no other option but to ally with the human fighters or face the demon king's wrath alone. "Yeah, that's right! We're gonna dine on your flesh!"

Alongside him, Krillin took up a fighting stance as he readied himself for battle. "I don't care what Master said about your power; when there's a will, there's a way!"

"Well, then," Piccolo cackled as he thrust a palm forward, charging it with a faint yellow hue of energy. "Make your move!" With that, he howled in malicious laughter as the wave of ki shot forth, forcing the fighters to zip out of the way as quickly as possible.

Krillin, Gohan, and Roshi followed their martial arts styling, quickly leaping backwards to avoid the demon king's attack and create distance between them. Tien, having a different schooling, leapt upward into the air to avoid being stung by the wave.

Yajirobe, however, was the wild factor—possessing only the knowledge he had taught himself, he was without any sort of technique whatsoever. He merely tucked and rolled out of the way, but this had foolishly left him susceptible to attack—something that Piccolo was quick to capitalize on, darting forward and landing a firm kick to the side of his opponent's skull that sent him flat onto his back.

"That's one down," he grinned sinisterly, raising a sharpened claw in order to end the human's existence. "Really, I'm stunned that someone like you had the power to match my children. But I suppose your raw power has failed you…. RRGH!"

Tien, crossing the distance of the forest in what seemed to be a split-second, rammed shoulder-first into his adversary with all the force he could muster up. The impact certainly stunned him, forcing him to tumble backward awkwardly until he landed face-first on the grass.

"Rgh…" Piccolo snarled as he stood tall once more, brushing off the debris of his gi as he looked toward the triclops. "That was quite a nice shot. But can it compare to this?!"

Kicking off the ground, the demon darted forth and buried his mighty fist right into Tien's midsection, all three of the latter's eyes glazing over in sheer pain. Then, just as quickly, he struck with a swift headbutt before being interrupted by Krillin's sliding kick, having to guard that with his left arm.

"Despite your puny strength, you have the ability to work together, don't you?" Piccolo commented as he let Tien drop to the ground in pain while still keeping a firm hold on Krillin's leg. "It's a shame; that would've worked well on any other opponent…"

He tightened his grip on the boy's leg, applying enough pressure to just slightly twist the bone until it was bent at an unnatural angle. While the sound of the bone cracking itself was already thrilling to the sadistic demon, the cries and shrieks that accompanied it were music to his ears.

"...but not the Demon King Piccolo!" the monster shouted to the heavens, performing a one-eighty and hurling the bald child into the approaching Roshi, the force of impact slamming them both down into the grass. He already felt Gohan's presence from above, which he swiftly rectified by ducking downward to avoid his roundhouse kick and raising his legs up from behind, the sole of his moccasin crashing against his back and sending him flying away.

Tien used the opportunity to flip back upwards, whipping himself at the demon and trying to connect with a rapid barrage of jabs. Each one made firm contact with the green-skinned warrior, forcing him to resort into a slight defensive tactic, but the flurry itself felt like a swarm of wasps than anything else.

"Give up now," the demon king sneered as he endured another wave of strikes, a demonic grin flashing upon his features. In the split-moment that Tien used to breathe, Piccolo threw a quick punch that slammed into Tien's brow and another to the solar plexus that knocked the wind right out of him as he dropped to the floor. "If you simply tell me where the Dragon Balls are, I'll cease all this pointless battle, slaughter the one with the knowledge of the Evil Containment Wave, and be on my way."

"You're not… ruling this Earth..." Tien coughed, trying desperately to refill his lungs with air. "...Y-You're asking me to stand aside from my destiny. What I was born to do. As long as I have the means to fight… I-I will…"

In mock amusement, the green-skinned warrior plucked the triclops up by his skull, his obsidian eyes of terror staring into his foe's very soul. "Those are some motivating words, I'll give you that." He reared back his free palm, tightening it into a fist and sneering sadistically. "But they mean nothing if you can't back them up."

THUMMM! Piccolo's fist slammed against the triclops' unguarded rib-cage, slamming directly against the warrior's bone and sending him barreling backwards until he collided with the bare bark of a tree. Needless to say, he was down and out for the time being.

But he had no time to rest whatsoever; from behind, Krillin struck with a dropkick to the spine that sent Piccolo awkwardly stumbling forward and left him susceptible to a spinning kick from Roshi that actually managed to force him to the ground. Both fighters gave a curt nod to each other before they kicked off the forest grounds, darting at their opponent from two different directions.

Piccolo scowled at the sneak attack before using his lengthy limbs to his advantage, cutting the master-student duo with a quick sweep of his legs. From there, he used the momentum to roll back on his feet and punt the hermit backward, sending him tumbling on his side until he came to a full stop. As he pivoted on his heel, he tucked his leg backward before burying it into Krillin's side, leaving him to suffer the same fate as his master.

"Pesky Earthlings…" Piccolo muttered to himself, seeing Yajirobe clumsily attempt to regain his footing. "D'AAAH!" He fired a quick bolt of energy at the samurai that was sent right into his chest, knocking the wind straight out of him as it detonated and forced his foe down yet again.

Suddenly, Piccolo sensed Roshi's sudden revival, his energy signal rapidly approaching him from behind. Swiftly, he spun around and swung his arm in a knife-edge chop, sending him spiraling to the right before being blasted in the stomach by another energy bolt.

Looking to his side, he saw that Krillin was once again to blame for the attack. He scowled. 'I don't know where those other ones went… but if these fighters keep this up much longer, it's going to be one hell of a battle.'

Observing the battle from high in Piccolo's airship, Mai was simply floored with the demon king's impressive might. "W-What unbelievable power! He's just knocking them around as if they're mere flies on the wall!"


"Tch!" Tambourine gave an annoyed scoff as he continued to nurse his injuries, sparing quick glances down at his master below. "Clearly you fools were in the dark in regards to his actual power. Not only is Lord Piccolo the most powerful being to have ever walked the Earth, his power far eclipses that of any combination."

Piano concurred, nodding his pterodactyl cranium with a grin. "I must admit that I lacked faith in our master to take on four formidable foes who were capable of dispatching of Cymbal individually… but now I'm convinced he is without any challenge. Our ruling over Earth isn't far from our grasp now."

"Yeah!" Pilaf shouted giddly, raising a stubby arm upward in encouragement. "Now… let's talk business. When Piccolo takes care of these meddling punks, it won't be long before he takes over Earth. Which half of the Earth are we taking as our own?"

"Half?" Tambourine sneered, a raspy laugh forcing its way through his lips. "I'm sorry to say, but once these four are disposed of, I doubt that our master will see any more use in you. Once he gives the call, you'll be following those weaklings straight into the Otherworld."

"W-WHAT?!" the trio cried out in unison, each of them chilled to the bone with nothing short of fear. Was Piccolo truly that heartless to simply forget how he'd escaped his captivity to begin with?!

"Y-You've got to be kidding me!" shrieked Shu, his eyes widening until they were nearly the size of dinner plates. After all him and his cohorts had done to aid Piccolo in his quest, it was just stunning 'I-I don't wanna die… there's still so much I've got to live for!'

"Oh, please don't kill us!" Pilaf winced, dropping to his knees and keeling over in a last-ditch attempt to get in the demons' good graces. "We can still offer you all so much more than you realize! W-We can be your enforcers! The public knows our faces and will fear us, and in addition, there's still my own empire we can add to the mix!" He wasn't about to admit that his 'empire' consisted of one castle in the Mushroom Forest, but at this point, it was irrelevant. He didn't care about ruling any longer… all he wanted was to ensure he'd escape with his hide intact.

There was no reply from the winged beast, which only made Pilaf and friends whimper with fear and anxiety regarding their fates. All of them turned their attention to the battle, the trio recognizing that their fate truly hung on the outcome. If the rebellion won, they would live… but if Piccolo won, there was little to no chance of their survival.


In all his time as a martial artist, Krillin had never experienced pain like he had now. Despite being one of the most powerful fighters the Earth had to offer and having been able to stand toe-to-toe with many warriors older than himself, it had only taken Piccolo a few strikes to fell him and leave him a broken mess on the battlefield.

'T-This isn't what Master would want of me...' Krillin internally reasoned, trying futility to push up off the ground with his left arm. His master had vowed to fight until his dying breath, much like his master before him. Krillin knew that live or die today, he'd make his master proud. 'I…I've gotta keep fighting… for the Earth… for everyone!'

Summoning up his resolve, the Turtle student made it to his knees and panted heavily. He could see the demon strolling toward Yajirobe with a menacing cackle, ready to end the samurai's life once and for all.

Krillin would be damned if he did.

Mustering up every ounce of strength within him, Krillin fully stood, favoring his right leg as he did so. The pain of the twisted bone still unfortunately lingered, but he knew it was something he'd have to cope with if he wanted to keep on fighting.

Exhaling, Krillin tried to drown out the world around him, concentrating solely on harnessing his energy into his body and his target. While he'd normally be able to execute any sort of ki attack within the span of a few seconds, the searing, white-hot pain rushing throughout his leg made it rather difficult to concentrate on his energy.

"C-C'mon…" Krillin murmured to himself as he saw Piccolo continue his deadly saunter toward Yajirobe, now only a few short moments away from his weakened ally. It wouldn't be long before the ronin met his end if he wasn't able to gather enough energy in time.

Suddenly, Krillin… changed. The world around him became crystal-clear, Piccolo's dark-green skin suddenly becoming a bright and dazzling olive hue. He looked down at his arms and saw that they were crackling in static lines, a clear sign that he'd left a perfect afterimage of his physical form right where he was standing.

And in that one moment where he recognized his Shaolin Mirage had worked perfectly, Krillin zipped forward, ever so silently dashing toward his opponent while leaving impeccable afterimages of himself in his trails.


Piccolo's moccasin-covered feet came to a full stop in front of the fallen samurai, sneering at his fallen opponent as he tried to regain complete consciousness. Though he had prolonged the man's death for far too long, the demon king knew it was time to end his opponent's suffering.

"Consider it an honor that you've opposed me now..." chuckled Piccolo sinisterly as he thrust an arm forward and charged it with a golden sphere of light. "...for in only a day's time, this world will have been plagued with anarchy and despair…"

"YAAAH!"

Piccolo immediately re-directed his energy back into himself, whipping around and snarling at what appeared to be a perfect afterimage of his opponent. Knowing he'd been duped into sparing the fighter for a second longer, Piccolo whipped around to confirm that Yajirobe was still laying semi-conscious as he was before…

...and sure enough, he'd been moved, settled down to the ground by yet another afterimage of his child-like foe.

"How dare you mock me?!" Piccolo snarled, opening his maw and firing off a brilliant blast of a golden hue at the duo, consuming them both in his pure and utter rage with deadly accuracy. Much to his surprise, however, the beam hadn't just stopped and swallowed them whole; it continued to stream forward as if nothing had been hit.

And much to Piccolo's chagrin, he found this out a minute too late. He whirled around and indeed felt a double-booted kick to the sternum, eliciting a gag of pain from his aged lips. His foe was much too savvy to allow the opening to go to waste, punching and kicking the demon king with everything he had in his arsenal.

"Why don't you just…" Piccolo hissed, the constant blows raining down on his body taking more of a toll on him than he would've liked to admit, "give up?!" He reared his fist back for a split-second before launching it forward, slamming the ex-monk back with both the physical force of his blow in addition to the kiai he'd summoned with his sheer strength. The force of impact sent Krillin sailing back until his nearly unconscious body skidded into the now-torn blades of grass.

Piccolo took a moment to assess the situation, eyeing the two unconscious bodies in the area and scowling to himself as he realized he could barely handle the human's combined offense. 'This body is far, far too fragile to handle combat of this intensity for so long… if I were able to subdue them by now, this wouldn't have been a problem. My breath is growing shorter and shorter with each passing minute, damn it… I need those damn Dragon Balls...'

"Don't think you're finished with us yet! Take this!"

Swinging around, the demon king had only a moment's notice before a ki blast of Gohan's own crashed into his stomach, forcing him off his feet and sending him barreling backwards as it edged against his abdomen, just daring to explode. Piccolo seethed, snarled and roared in pain as he pushed against it with both of his hands. "I am growing tired of you meddlesome idiots! Just die already!"

He was about to push back Gohan's attack with even greater force; however, a shrill cry diluted his attention.

"Dodon Ray!" he heard a voice cry out, and turned just in time to see the triclops fire a pencil-thin ray of light against his back. Instinctually, he threw a free hand up to try and parry the attack away, but soon found his body had little more to give against the combined assault of Tien and Gohan.

'RRGH! Damn him, that intelligent triclops… he must be well aware of the stamina issues I'm having...' Piccolo growled to himself as he forced his aged palms in either direction of the blast and tried to channel his own energy to halt the attack's progress. 'But my throne awaits! I won't perish here!'

"I…" Tien stuttered, his body wracking with sheer pain as he tried to put everything he had into the attack. "...I can't give in now! I made a promise to myself… of what I would become… and I'm hellbent on it! Die, Piccolo!"

The demon's eyes widened as he realized the dire situation at hand, feeling an extra pulse of power fire its way through the ray of light and force it to expand against his palm. The energy being poured from Gohan's hands was beginning to grow even more threatening as well, as if this was being puppeteered by someone in the shadows. If he wasn't able to repel this combined onslaught quickly, he knew that it wouldn't be long before he was no more.

"Y-You… are… nothing to me!" Piccolo cried out as he could feel the Dodon Ray begin to spear into his inner flesh, white-hot waves of pain traveling through his stomach and causing him to hack up a spray of blood. "I am your superior! I am the Demon King Piccolo!"

With that, he felt new life surge within him and fired a spiraling wave of yellow-purple energy, the contrasting colors rotating as they arced forward and backward toward the Crane and the Turtle with malicious intent. He was satisfied with seeing Gohan be consumed in the explosion before whirling around toward Tien, a dangerous gleam in his eye.

"I'm not surprised you managed to dodge that one, three-eyes. You're craftier than I imagined any warrior could be. Unfortunately, I won't tolerate such a presence in my world!" Piccolo howled, kicking off his foot and rushing in with an elbow, his intent to crush the human's skill beneath his blow. Much to his surprise, at the very last instant, Tien leapt straight over it and began ascending into the air as quickly as possible.

"W-What?!" the demon king roared as he looked upward at the triclops. "There's no way… a human in this day and age has mastered the art of flying?!"

"Master! Chiaotzu! Do it now!" Tien cried out.

Piccolo immediately felt his body immobilized, ensnared by telekinetic ropes that even began to sting ever slightly. If he could turn his head, he was sure it'd been those two freaks who hadn't partaken in the battle to this point. "D-Darn you… do you really think you can restrain me for long?!"

"They don't need to!" Tien cried out, thrusting his arms forward and placing them in a diamond-like formation, energy beginning to coalesce within them. "This is the end, Piccolo! I'll put in everything I've got into this one! No one can take this dead-on and live! Full power… Tri-Beam! Hyaaaahh!"

Despite being hastily charged, the flash of light that normally accompanied the triclops' ultimate attack came roaring from above came just as quickly as before. Though its power hadn't been fully charged, the raw energy packed into it was more than enough to slam Piccolo into the ground and cause a large explosion of light all around.


"Rrgh!" snarled Tambourine, clenching his scaly fist hard enough to draw blood. "Why did Lord Piccolo have to be so damn overconfident?! He might've just gotten himself killed due to that stunt!"

"H-He's not really dead, is he?!" asked Pilaf to the pterodactyl-resembling demon, his tone laced with concern. Though he had seemingly broken free from working for Piccolo, he wasn't about to take any chances—he was well aware that the two demons in front of him were fully capable of slaughtering his entire gang within the blink of an eye.

Neither Tambourine nor Piano responded.


As the aesthetics of the Tri-Beam began to die down, the forest was deathly silent aside from the triclops' heavy, ragged panting. The tension was so thick it could only be cut with the sharpest blade, the atmosphere filled with an air of uncertainty.

The former Crane student surveyed the damage as he began his descent down toward the ground, noting the diamond-shaped crater formed in the plains of the forest. Judging by the close-range impact, it was fair to assume that the demon king had been buried inside of the seemingly endless abyss.

TAC. Tien's feet landed lightly on the blades of grass, the only sound within the otherwise dead-silent battlefield. Sweat poured down his brow as he tried to catch a breather, just praying that the sudden surprise attack had been enough to do the deed.

"Haah…. haah…" the triclops panted, desperate to fill his lungs with as much oxygen as his body would allow. No matter how often he used the Tri-Beam, there was no ridding it of the brutal side-effects it took on his body; however, he recognized that with desperate times came desperate measures. Needless to say, his current predicament couldn't be described as anything but.

Five seconds ticked by without any sudden movements, each of them feeling like an eternity. For those five seconds, the battle was seemingly all over, the threat of Piccolo vanquished forever. All finally seemed right in the world, Mother Earth itself seeming to take a sigh of relief

And then not even a second after, the embodiment of hell rose once again.

Piccolo rocketed out of the crater with a scowl, his obsidian eyes burning with nothing short of hellacious rage. Despite the wounds and bruises covering his aged form, it was all too clear that he was alive and kicking. "You… I will slaughter you and tear out that third eye of yours!"

Even as he stared death in the eyes, unable to move the slightest muscle, Tien couldn't help but give one last defiant growl toward his foe. Piccolo zipped forward and swung his forearm in an arc, crashing it against Tien's cheekbone with sheer, unadulterated power. As if he'd been hit by a freight train, the triclops soared backward until he landed against the bark of a tree, unconscious.

"And that… takes care of the annoying one," Piccolo coughed out, clutching at his head for a noticeable moment. 'My power is unmatchable… yet are these humans really managing to wear down this body?! This is unacceptable!' Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gohan desperately trying to crawl to his feet and hissed violently. "Don't even think about it!" he screeched, firing off a careless bolt of energy that struck the elderly man right where he lay.

Content when he no longer moved, Piccolo returned his attention to the battlefield, looking all around him. He sinisterly smiled in satisfaction when he realized all that remained to do was eliminate the old man and the doll-looking one, who seemed even more drained than himself. "It seems your little psychic trick has cost you big. I'll admit, you hit me hard with your little set-up. Hard enough that I doubt I'd survive it again," the aged demon regrettably admitted. "But it's a good thing I won't have to deal with any more of your feeble antics."

Shen trembled in fear as Piccolo rapidly approached him, laughing all the while. The demon revealed his fangs as he grew closer to the Crane master, amused as he tried to assume any battle stance he knew of. "What's wrong, human? Are you scared?"

BOOOM!

Piccolo whirled around to see his ship explode in a brilliant flash of light and those idiotic, incompetent excuses for henchmen freefall straight to the ground. They fell unconscious, to be sure, but what he more concerned himself with was Tambourine, who looked worse for wear as he carried Piano in his arms.

"My son, are you all right?" the demon king called up to him, concerned. If someone had the power to destroy his ship so easily, would they prove to be a formidable foe? "Who in my name would dare to provoke us further!?"

Tambourine looked from side to side, evidently searching down the culprit behind the attack. "I'm fine, father; don't worry about me." But the demon king had already long submersed himself in his mind, a fact which his pterodactyl-resembling son was quick to notice.

'Father… he's nearing the end of his rope, isn't he…?' Piano thought to himself. Though he only let out a few more breaths than normal, it was clear from his demeanor that he was far from his optimal strength. 'It's as I thought… his body just can't take fighting for this long! We have to get out of here now!'

And just as if the universe itself wanted to spite Piano, his father immediately found himself spiraling backward from a well-aimed kick. Although he backflipped and managed to regain his stability on the ground, it was clear it had stung quite a bit.

"G-Grah!" Piccolo seethed, caressing his cheek as he stumbled backward. With a fanged snarl, he scowled at the new arrival as he touched down on the ground. "And just who are you supposed to be?"

Cold, unfeeling eyes bore through Piccolo's own stare. "My name is Goku," he spoke. "The newest commander of the Red Ribbon Army."


Commander Goku?! There's definitely a missing piece to all this here, that's for sure! But fear not, because the next chapter will feature just how this development(and Goku's eyesight being restored) came to fruition before the titans meet head to head.

Now that we're finished with that, I would like to take a brief moment to address my future plans for this site. I wouldn't normally want to beseech you all with this(as I tried to explain in my previous chapter's notes), but given how my life is set to undergo rapid change, I feel it is quite prudent to do so.

As you may or may not know, I've launched a YouTube channel(which has actually undergone a name change - I decided to opt for the name DeltaRott over DeltaDialga because I felt more of a connection to the name - and subsequently, my twitter has changed to DeltaRottYT) and, as any YouTuber who legitimately wants to try and build a fanbase would do, I'm going to devote a relatively significant portion of my free time to it. As I previously mentioned, I want to get into doing Let's Plays, reviews, and all the like(which will still see Dragon Ball be featured on my channel quite a bit), which is going to be a definite adjustment period for myself. Since this story has last updated, I have procured all the recording software I need for recording Xbox One and Wii U content; now I'm just waiting on getting a capture card 3DS and potentially building a personal computer for gaming purposes. This is a legitimately serious endeavor on my part, one that is going to outprioritize my FanFiction at every turn. As a result, I may be writing less than I used to. The channel isn't set to launch for another month or two, because I want to really grow comfortable with everything that goes into YouTubing(commentary, learning what I need in terms of editing videos together, etc.), but when it does, I plan to hit the ground running.

However, there is still a ray of hope for this story yet. I've recently decided that I'm going to be doing a revamp of sorts to the plot of Red Son. The core direction and major events that are destined to happen within the story are still set; I am merely changing around a few things that I feel will tell a better story than what I had previously(and make it more concise). The one most significant change, however, is that the ending of DB will potentially culminate in the story's grand conclusion(and, as such, will resolve many plot threads that I'll have opened by then). This isn't due to a lack of motivation or anything, but ultimately is because of my realization that traversing throughout DBZ might be a genuinely impossible task considering my update speed(and that's something I just can't break my back over anymore) and plans for the future… even forgetting YouTube.

-Raos: I think I asked this in a previous review but why did Goku act exactly the same in the begining? I mean The only reason Goku became who he was, was because of the hit to the head. Even if he was taken out of his pod before he was brainwashed by the message shouldn't he have started with a cold attitude instead of having Tao beat it into him?

By the way great story. Everything you've written has been great. But I would like my question answered if you can.

If you go back to the earliest chapter, you'll notice Goku's head takes a rather significant bump against the spacecraft. That was my subtle(yet potentially overlooked) hint at Goku's personality being changed from the very get-go.

-Lord Kratos: Any more "Turbulence" chapters?

I'm debating on giving it a conclusion. When I went on my hiatus, I knew full well that I was only going to go up to Frieza with that story, but I've realized since then that even getting up to Frieza would become a chore. Truthfully, I'm not even happy with the way I set up the initial story now, so finding a reasonable ending to it is already difficult in itself.

Scratch that. There IS something I could do, which I might entertain. But I'll keep that under my hat.

-Transformersg1's-Prime I see Tien is more hostile to the Z-Gang than he was in the original canon and Turbulence. I wonder just how much will affect events to come, cause I only hope he doesn't go down the path of darkness as a human version of Vegetation, though Goku may already occupy that position now.

I wouldn't qualify Goku or Tien as necessarily substitutions for Vegeta as a whole. They're not meant to be. If the story gets up to Dragon Ball Z, I'm sure Vegeta will make himself known in some capacity.


ello, my viewers, and thank you for tuning into what will be the last ever update from Super Vegetarott. After a long year of wrestling with the decision to formally do so - and, in my opinion, having done so already in all but genuine fashion - I will be officially retiring from Fanfiction.

I wish I could say that this wasn't an easy decision to make, that I had to do this as a result of circumstance rather than of choice. But that would be lying. The truth is, this site's shine has lost its luster to me for the better part of over a year now, and the only thing truly willing me on was my desire to create, to express, and to share.

But I soon learned that I didn't even have that. Not in the way I should've, anyway. I created to please. To put out content I thought was genuinely interesting within the DB franchise. However, I did so in a way that really wasn't healthy for me.

You might be wondering why that might be. For a while now I wanted to just simply hide that small factoid, but considering this is my retirement, I feel it is best to come clean about how it all came to be. The truth is, this site has jaded me. This site has made me cold. The commonality of tropes such as "Chi-Chi dying" and "angsty Gohan stories" have really stopped me from feeling the impact of the story and just passing it off as another fanfic out in the sea of literature. That was part of my motivator to write - to do something different. To try and stimulate my viewers as much as I felt my plot stimulated my work. However, I found myself going into this mindless grind that I think we all go through. It's what happens when your work becomes greater than the person who writes it.

It absorbs you as a whole.

I think there's a part of me that really does love to tell a story. I do. But I don't think it's here anymore. I think, if I ever foray back into the world of creative writing, I'm going to do it for myself and try to get some original work published. Whether or not I actually do manage to do that is a mystery that will only be answered as time goes by, but I know it's something that's been mulling through my head as of late.

However, what can be answered definitively is this: my next big journey, at least in terms of entertainment, pertains to YouTube. I'm going to be launching a channel sooner or later(the name isn't formally decided upon, but my profile will be updated when it has been) and just taking my best crack at it, I guess. I'm going to be hosting podcasts, doing Let's Plays, and pretty much anything I can think of. It won't be a career, of course, but it is my next shot at expressing myself. And I'm going to be certain that I allow myself the ability to appeal to both viewers and myself, instead of only just grinding it out for the former during my last run on FFN. Hell, it took me a good month to write this note

So. That leads us to this point. Now that I've found a different outlet for my ideas, I feel that my presence on this site is no longer required. I don't enjoy writing Dragon Ball as much as I used to, and it's clear to me that the spark I once felt from putting these characters into new situations and environments has faded. I still enjoy reading quality work on this site as much as the next person, but now more than ever I feel that genuinely thought-provoking pieces are few and far between. You may say, "but Rott, isn't that a motivator to yourself to go out and create?"

Quite honestly, the answer is no. I just don't feel the drive to put out such an incredibly long epic story anymore, not when I've found my endeavors in other projects and pastures to be far more fulfilling. It's about time, too, that this came about. I've been on this site for four years now, and honestly... I'm hesitant to call it a waste, as I have without a doubt refined my creative writing skills to levels I hadn't even imagined, but I am a little disappointed with myself for not carrying the epics I had to completion. There were many completed stories on here at a time(which you would only ever know if you were an early fan of mine), but I scrapped them and kept them in a special folder so I could review them at a later date. I did that very recently, and I'm not going to lie, I smiled at the memory of how far I've come.

But that's all it felt like to me. A memory. At no point in the last three months have I even entertained the idea of coming back to FanFiction, and I've found myself to be a better person for it. No lie, a good friend of mine even told me "you seem happier now; that site pretty much killed you inside." And what he meant by that was thus - I really did prioritize my writing when I could. I cannot tell you how many nights I've spent up writing, planning, and discussing work with other people. It was a fun experience, and I'm happy I had it. But that's over with now.

It's great to see so many people still going on FanFiction and enjoying work written by other people. It makes me happy to know that people are writing, engaging, and connecting with their brain in a way that not only satisfies themselves, but their viewers as well. I hope it continues long into the future so that fans all over the world can keep entertaining one another. It's nice to know that a fanbase can converge together in support of one great thing.

(And by the way, just so you know, that doesn't mean I'm leaving altogether. My eye is still on this site every now and then, despite the fact that I won't be writing for it anymore. If you want me to read your work, for any reason, message me and I'll still try to review with my thoughts about it. I won't be promising these gargantuan reviews that I used to spit out left and right, but I always believe that helping someone improve on something they love is the right thing to do.)

So ladies and gentlemen, I think we're coming to the closing moments of this all. I have given four years of my life to this site, and I think it's time I pay a bit of respect to everyone who helped me along the way.

DeathGoblin: Pity and Empathy was the fic that got me started on this site. It is, to this day, one of the absolute BEST FanFictions I've ever read, and my sentimental favorite for sure. DeathGoblin was my inspiration to write in general. I remember that my first ever PM was from him, back when FFN had the messages in these really weird sideways format, and I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe someone I looked up to so much responded to me. And now I hope I've responded to how his story spoke to me, by bettering myself as a writer and(hopefully) having inspired at least someone else as he did me.

The Forgotten Phoenix: I met Phoenix back in late 2012 as part of a "review exchange." I have to be honest and say that while my stories were more "popular" at the time, his work(and criticism) completely blew mine out of the water. A lot of reviews were exchanged between the two of us, as well as a lot of forum posts(we had been part of a DBZ forum together). To that end, I would also like to thank LucifVegeta, FinalFlashX, and Ultimate Black Ace for helping me a great deal with refining my work. It was truly this group of people that got me to realize that I could work on my writing and bring it to levels unseen before. So thank you - all of you.

Full Power: I met Full Power around the same time I met Phoenix... actually, no, a little earlier. He had been an ardent reviewer and fan of some of my earlier work, which, like I said, I'd removed for not being up to par with my later work. The reason I want to bring Full Power up is because in many ways, I feel like my progression as a writer correlates to his. We both started off as pretty basic, formulaic people, but as time passed I really feel like he grew to have genuine talent. I ribbed on him a lot in my reviews, but it was only because I believed in his potential. I'm proud to say I was right, and I'm prouder to have had him as a friend for so long.

I-Am-So-Original: This guy actually made me a Tenkaichi edit of Sins of the Father Goku, complete with a background, and it is still to this day one of the coolest things I've ever received. We also worked on a story together, but unceremoniously finished it when Original went to(assumedly) retire. I wish him nothing short of the best, and hope he's doing well in his pursuance of happiness in the field we know of as life.

American Vigor: I knew him for a very short period of time(as this was just before he likely retired for good), but his passion for living and motivating others made me really enjoy the time I spent with him. While his story is quite loquacious, it was still entertaining to read for quite a while.

Dark Domination: Thank you for letting me into your little internet family. My passing interest in the DBM2 project turned out to be something that changed my life and let me meet so many different people. For that, I'm truly grateful. Get online more and I'll actually write the same thing to you, man xD

Mr. Arkham: He's long since retired now, but I felt the need to honor him anyway. This man has the best fight scenes I've ever read on this site, bar none. It was so awesome to read his work and become such a huge fan of his, soon after learning he followed my work almost as eagerly as I did his. It's a great feeling to have someone enjoy your work, but I think the best feeling is when you're both eager to see what the other can come up with next.

Npberryhill: You're a pretty good friend, np, and whether you know it or not I actually took a lot of inspiration from how you wrote your story. More than anything, I respect your dedication to Bringer of Death even though it's become extremely difficult to find the time to write.

Saucemonkey: Piccolo's Choice inspired one of my biggest projects, and you were just an inspiration to me overall. Whether it was introducing me to competitive Pokemon or even getting to work on Piccolo's Choice with you, it's always been a wild time. And I love you for it.

ArcaneSuperPooperScooper: Thanks for being a huge friend and also telling me a lot of your plans for A-Z. Our DBZ discussions really do teach me a lot. And I'll also thank you for beating the living hell out of me in Smash Bros, because if you didn't I wouldn't be even halfway decent at the game.

MattixEnder: You've always been honest with me about a lot of things, and it was that honesty that allowed me to confide in others as well over the internet. We've spent a lot of time just talking, playing Smash, or Cards Against Humanity, and you really have no idea how much it means to me. You keep being you, and things will work out.

SpiderLedgic: Oh god, I have to mention this guy. I'm just kidding, of course. Ledgic and I have spent COUNTLESS hours talking about story elements(for either of our works) and almost everything under the sun. I honestly wonder if I'm doing him a disservice by not mentioning him in my story titles because of how much of a hand he has played in them. This guy is legitimately awesome, even if he updates slower than a retired author. If he ever does write, you should give him all the love you can.

Kaise: Okay, so legitimately, this guy I love almost like a goddamn brother. Although our friendship started on the foundation of DBZ, it's since expanded to encompass Pokemon(especially Mystery Dungeon - which I am the BIGGEST fanboy of) and wrestling. It's to the point where it's a surprise if we don't speak to each other about it at least daily. This guy is one of the most passionate people I know when it comes to a lot of things, he's extremely knowledgeable, and a genuine joy to spend time with. He's a lot like me when it comes to updating, but if you're a diverse anime fan, I guarantee he's got at least something cooked up for you. He's someone I plan to do some stuff with on my YouTube channel when it launches, too, so if you're interested, feel free to keep an eye out!

InfinityGohan: When it comes to talking about people who have influenced my Fanfiction career, I can think of nobody more important than this guy. Infy(as I call him) has been a ridiculously supportive and creative person over these four years. I honestly wonder if what I'm writing is just rambling the same old thing at this point, but let me tell you that this guy is one of the most genuine, honest people I have met - including in real life. We have helped each other through FanFiction for a long time, as well as through other endeavors. But I'd be lying if I said that I've felt more impacted by him than vice versa. Although we're both absolutely terrible at starting conversations, when they get going they're just plain awesome. I'd recommend you to his channel, but he retired a few months before I did. With that said, he's got a co-hosted YouTube channel up by the name of Flying Schwa, which I highly recommend you check out at some point, because it's pretty damn rad.

...So I think that's it. I've mentioned everybody I wanted to and gotten everything off my chest that I've needed to say.

Except this.

Most FanFiction, if you've noticed, is about 95% written for fanservice(including that of the author's own) and isn't necessarily the best stuff around. I can understand why some people would want to veer away from those. But let me tell you, the other 5% of FanFiction will make your jaw drop. Not just at the quality of the work, but at the quality and dedication of the person behind it. Do me a favor... or, no, not just me, but those authors a favor, and please be sure to let them know how much you appreciate their work. These people really do their best to entertain you all, even if you don't see them furiously typing away behind their screens.

I've always said that to be a good reader, one must be a good writer. I'd like to think I've become both over the course of this journey, though that will always be relative and conducive to my experience level. That said, I'm happy with where I am, and I'm happy with the road I took to get there. It's really unbelievable that this run has lasted four years and has been filled with so many different stories. I remember having only been here for two goddamn months and looking at awe with the forums that had these 5-year silver badges.

Time really does fly, I suppose.

Selfishly, there's one last thing I want to ask of you now. I want you - and that could mean any of you - to just tell me your favorite memory of my work, if ever you had one. This sounds like the most arrogant thing in my head, and especially now that I've typed it out here, but I'm just genuinely curious to know if there's any moment of my career that I missed out on remembering.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I really do bid you adieu. I've said everything I need to say and fully realized it onto this document. It was a wonderful time getting to work on DBZ-inspired content, and here's hoping that I can eventually parlay that endeavor into my own YouTube channel. I hope you'll all come along for the ride, because I'm hoping it'll be even better than this.

I look forward to connecting with all of you in the future, whether it be through this site, YouTube or others! You've been the best audience I could have asked for, and I can't think of a way to repay you. (Other than potentially releasing my outlines for my stories to show their conclusion or writing an extended epilogue, which I may consider doing.)

I always knew I would say my final farewell with these words, but it feels sublime to have finally come to that point. Nevertheless, I say these words as a token of appreciation for what you, Toriyama, and the Dragon Ball community has given me as a whole.

Till we meet again!

- Rott