Body Snatching Mishap, Chapter 4

With a forceful grunt and a subsequent yell, Vegeta finds himself freed from the end of the Kamehameha, the beam flying off into the distance and dissipating into the air. The prince clutches at his chest, a good portion of his spandex top burnt off to expose his bare chest. 'How did he still have that much power to attack, despite all of the energy he's exerted!' At this point, Vegeta is certain that 7,000 is not the extent of Zamasu's power, but he's entirely confused as to how.

'There's no way that he could have gone from weaker than Raditz to equal to me in the span of a year. There's absolutely nothing that should allow him to hold such power!' A sense of dread wells up in Vegeta as one thought passes through his mind… HIs arms - previously up in front of him - fall to his sides, hands limp as he thinks of the one possibility. 'Could it be that he's… the Saiyajin of legend? No, there's absolutely no way! That is my birthright, and I'll be damned if I accept that a low-class warrior such as Kakrotto could achieve it!' Vegeta looks around in the sky, to see if any sort of moon is in sight.

'Surely this planet has a moon if he was sent here as a child. I should be able to see it, so where is it?' His tail unfurls from around his torso as he looks around, finding that there's in fact no moon. "D-damnit... Kakarotto, did you actually have the foresight to destroy the damn moon…?" Perhaps it's as such, especially when Vegeta recalls 'Kakarotto' being so quick to go for his tail. It only makes sense that he knows of the form and what it would result in.

"No matter; if Kakarotto thinks that destroying the moon will stop me then he clearly doesn't know everything about me. I'll simply use my Power Ball technique to smash him into the dirt all the same." A vein bulges in his forehead as he clenches his fists, his aura flickering to life before bursting forth in a purple blaze. "I will make Kakarotto pay for humiliating me in this way; both him and that damned Namekian! Both will perish before the might of Prince Vegeta!"

With an enraged yell, he pushes his ki out behind him, leaving a trail of purple as he cuts through the air, intent on getting back to Zamasu and Piccolo and finishing what he started before any sort of backup can arrive to provide them aid. 'I will crush them…' He scowls, only increasing his pace with another fierce shout. His energy can be felt for miles, but he can't feel the two energies on a path to intercept him…

-BSM-

Tien and Chiaotzu are flying at top speed, the landscape nothing more than a blur beneath them. The bag of senzu beans is secured firmly to Tien's belt by a rope, his gaze locked on the distant location where Zamasu and Piccolo are located. He can sense Vegeta's energy as well, and he knows the truth: if they both go directly for the duo, Vegeta will arrive first.

Tien reaches down as he flies, untying the bag of Senzu and holding it out to Chiaotzu. Chiaotzu stares at it for a moment in confusion, but takes it and slowly secures it to his own outfit. "Is something wrong, Tien?" Chiaotzu asks, confused by this action. Tien shakes his head, returning his gaze to their destination as he responds.

"I know you can feel it too, Chiaotzu - we won't have the time to make it to the two before Vegeta does. One of us needs to intercept him, and I'm going to do it. You have to get the Senzu Beans to them; you're the Earth's last hope right now." Tien smirks, putting all of his confidence in his friend.

"W-wait, Tien, there has to be another way; if we both intercept him, then maybe we can stop him! You and I can both prepare Super Dodonpas and, and, and we can beat him…!" Chiaotzu falters as he reaches the end of his sentence, seeing that Tien's expression hasn't changed.

"You're brave, Chiaotzu; you always have been…" Tien lets out a light chuckle, but sighs. "I'll see you when this is done, my friend." He does a two finger salute to Chiaotzu, before breaking off at a sharp angle, his own ki trailing behind him in a brilliant white streak as he moves in such a way that he's bound to intercept Vegeta.

'What are you planning, Tien… Even with that senzu bean you ate, there's no way you can create an attack powerful enough to even slow him on your own…'' A sense of dread is welling in Chiaotzu as he considers… there's an attack that might slow him, even if it won't take him out. 'Tien, no…!' Every bit of Chiaotzu wants to turn and help his friend, but the small fighter knows there would be no point. He'd simply be wasting the chance that Tien is making for him… for all of them.

With a sinking feeling in his gut, Chiaotzu continues on his own path, knowing that the battle is about to be decided by both his own actions and Tien's. Both of them have a duty to fulfil, and it's not up to him to decide whether he wants to or doesn't want to do it.

Meanwhile, Tien has made his way into Vegeta's path with some time to spare, readying himself for what he'll have to do. He holds his hands out in front of him, pressing his fingers together so that the area in the middle creates the shape of a diamond. Taking deep breaths, he begins to focus his power, feeling it rush through his arms and into his fingertips. Electricity crackles off of his hands, arcing onto his arms and leaving small burns in its wake.

Tien can feel Vegeta coming rapidly closer, his muscles bulging as his power begins to swell beyond its normal limits. Veins can be seen over his arms, at the same time that Vegeta's aura comes into view, the distant purple dot nearly dead center in Tien's crosshairs of sorts. He smirks, narrowing his eyes and preparing to let loose the attack, bigger than anything he had ever unleashed before.

Vegeta narrows his eyes as he sees a fighter in the distance, standing between him and his target. 'If he thinks that I'm going to slow down, then he's sorely mistaken…' Vegeta keeps his pace, his rage blinding him to the power Tien's storing up. 'I'll simply plow straight through him and continue on my way to finish what I started…'

It's not much longer before the gap between Vegeta and Tien is closed, and time seems to slow down for both parties. Now within very close quarters, Vegeta is able to see the massive quantity of electricity arcing from Tien, and even the power beginning to surge forth from his hands. Though he tries to stop, or move, it's far too late now.

'I'll see all of you soon… I hope that you take this opportunity I've given you to defeat this monster…' Tien roars out, unleashing an attack of epic proportions at point-blank range. "KIKOHO!" The energy surges forward with a blinding light, enveloping everything in front of Tien in a focused radius. Vegeta is entirely enveloped in the explosion, and even blown back by the amassed power.

Tien pants, his hands weakly falling away from each other while his arms hang. His body is slumped forward, but his job isn't done yet. 'I have to hold him off for as long as I can…' His body burns and his muscles resist as he weakly slips into his fighting stance… but there's no power behind his movements. He's running on empty, on nothing more than fumes.

As the smoke clears, Vegeta is floating with bloodshot eyes, seeing red as he stares down Tien. His clothing is in even worse shape now, only his boots and spandex leggings remaining. The shock of what just occurred slowly but surely wears off, and if he were any angrier he would be letting loose smoke from his nostrils like a bull.

"Y-you… you worm!" He moves quicker than Tien can blink, within point-blank range with his fist pulled back in the same moment that he moved. Tien can see one thing, though: scratches litter Vegeta's form, small wounds and burns of varying sizes. He may not have killed the prince, but he slowed him and wounded him… and that's good enough for Tien.

Vegeta throws his fist forward, opening it at the last second to slam his palm flat against the triclops's chest. "Now… DIE!" He lets loose an attack of his own, enveloping Tien and completely obliterating him with far less effort than had been used on Vegeta only moments ago. In the next moment, Tien is no more.

-BSM-

Chiaotzu soon arrives at the battlefield where Piccolo and Zamasu are located, seeing the chaos that's occurred in the form of the decimated landscape. Beyond that, his eyes settle on the winded forms of Piccolo and Zamasu, who seem to be in the middle of discussing some sort of plan amongst themsevles; no doubt trying to create a workable strategy in their equally weakened states.

"Hey, you two!" Chiaotzu comes to a stop before Piccolo and Zamasu, frantically, undoing the rope that holds the sack of beans to his belt. "Tien sent me here with senzu beans for the two of you. Quickly, take them!" He retrieves two of the dry beans from the bag, handing one to each of the two. Piccolo and Zamasu both chew them up without wasting a moment, their energies filling back up… and then some in Zamasu's case.

"Tien said he was going to do something to slow down Vegeta, but I have a bad feeling about it; maybe if the three of us hurry, then we can help him and he won't have to risk his-" All three go stiff as they feel a sudden surge of power upon the release of Tien's attack, the energy behind it strong enough to both scare and impress Zamasu even.

Within seconds, though, the feeling of Tien's energy fading into nothingness makes the end result clear - he was able to buy time, but it was all he could do. To buy that time, he had to give his life… to make matters worse, Vegeta's ki can be felt moving once more within only a short moment of the disappearance of TIen's energy.

"We don't have much time, but here's the plan: we believe that when Vegeta reaches us, he will transform into a Great Ape. I'll use my giant state to take his focus, while you and Zamasu work to sever his tail. It's not a foolproof fan, but it might be the only one that doesn't end in us getting crushed." Piccolo explains as quickly as he can, getting a light nod from Chiaotzu.

"So, it's settled then." Zamasu cracks his neck and knuckles, rolling his shoulders before smoothly slipping into his own fighting stance, standing at an angle, both arms bent at 90 degrees and hands flat like blades. "I'll just summon a ki blade when the time is right, and sever his tail at the base. Quick, clean, and easy." Vegeta arrives in mere moments, fuming as he looks to the trio.

He raises his hand to his side, forming a ball of white ki, said ki crackling quite strangely. "Yo will all regret the day that you chose to challenge Prince Vegeta!" He throws the ball of ki high into the sky, holding his hand up towards it as his tail flicks behind him. "Now… PERISH!" He squeezes his hand into a fist, and the contents of the ki ball seem to mix, growing multiple times over.

Wind blows across the landscape from the force of the reaction, keeping the fighters rooted to the ground and unable to act as Vegeta looks up to the artificial moon, power coursing through him. His existing wounds appear to heal up halfway, as he slowly grows larger and bulkier. His eyes are overtaken with red, and his face contorts, transforming into that of a monkey's with small cracks and snaps.

Fur coats his body, soon, as his remaining clothing grows to equal the enlarged size of Vegeta. Now an Oozaru, he looms over Piccolo, Chiaotzu, and Zamasu with a rather devilish smirk on his ape face. "I will crush you three in mere seconds. If you wish for it to be painless, you'll be best off simply surrendering. If you resist, it will only become more painful!" He laughs, his deep laugh rumbling the landscape as he smashes his fists together.

Piccolo grits his teeth, readying himself with his fists clenched at his sides and his stance wide. 'It's been years since I attempted this…' His muscles begin to bulge, the ground cracking beneath him as he already begin to gain height. 'Let's see if i still have what it takes!' He's soon twice his size, then triple, and it isn't long before he's grown to match Vegeta's height. Though his power increase isn't as potent, it boosts him enough to pose a viable threat.

"Let's tussle, monkey boy." Piccolo lurches forward at the same time that Vegeta does, their hands locking together and their feet digging into the rocks below. Their powers clashing cause heavy winds to whip up, so much so that Chiaotzu and Zamasu are thrown away from the large duo, crashing into different rock formations and becoming pinned.

Vegeta and Piccolo look into each other's eyes, and the latter is showing off a rather confident grin, while Vegeta has an angry snarl locked on his face. 'I may not have become strong enough to equal him like this, even if he's weakened…' His pupils begin to glow, and Vegeta's eyes widen as he moves back.

'But I can still put up a hell of a fight here!' Two beams of energy shoot forth from his eyes, one of then managing to graze the side of Vegeta's head. He retorts with a roar, opening his mouth and letting loose a mouth blast towards Piccolo. The Namekian takes it head on, throwing Piccolo back and leaving him vulnerable to a punch to the face. Piccolo falls to the rocky landscape with a heavy crash, embedding himself slightly in the ground.

Zamasu is able to get up, repositioning himself relative to the colossal fighters so that he's roundabouts behind Vegeta, preparing to attack at a moment's notice. Meanwhile, Chiaotzu springs into action, throwing himself between Vegeta and Piccolo with his hands at the sides of his face. "Taiyoken!" Vegeta is met with blinding light, and he reaches up to cover his eyes.

"GRAH, MY EYES! WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Vegeta staggers back, nearly crushing Zamasu and furthermore nearly falling over himself, staggered for enough time that Piccolo is able to push back to a standing position, and jump forward. Chiaotzu flies out of the way as Piccolo throws himself onto Vegeta, knocking the great ape to the ground and pinning him there.

"You like mouth blasts too, huh?" Piccolo opens his mouth, letting out a somewhat garbled shout as he lets loose a mouth blast from point-blank range; Vegeta simultaneously roars in pain as the attack is a direct hit, enveloping his head.

Piccolo smirks as he lies on top of the suddenly motionless prince, but Vegeta's massive tail whips out of nowhere, knocking Piccolo off of him and allowing Vegeta to take a hold of the Namekian's arm. He yanks him high into the air, bringing him down and smashing Piccolo into the ground below. The earth quakes for miles, deep cracks coming forth in the impact.

Piccolo has no time to simply lie there, though, pushing himself up and finding Vegeta's foot pressing down on his back. With a yell, Piccolo attempts to push up against it, though he's only succeeding in pushing his hands and knees into the ground, cracking it as he begins to sink deeper. Above him, Vegeta lets out a deep cackle, lifting his foot and stomping down hard enough to flatten Piccolo to the ground once more, widening the crater.

'Damnit, I was hoping my interference wouldn't be needed yet…' Zamasu didn't want to remind Vegeta of his presence, but it seems as if his hand is being forced here. Coating his body in the fiery cloak of the Kaio-Ken, he leaps forth and puts his hands together. "Haaa!" He lets loose an energy blast into Vegeta's back, staggering the prince and giving Piccolo a breather.

Vegeta's tail once more attempts to attack, moving swiftly to hit Zamasu; though Vegeta severely outpaces him, the distance the tail has to cover allows him to narrowly dodge, grabbing the prince by the tail and flying into the air, effectively pulling Vegeta up with him. The Oozaru roars in fury and pain, and Zamasu soon spins around, releasing the giant tail and sending Vegeta flying a decent ways away.

The red aura disappears from around him, and he drops to the ground, hiding himself behind a rock formation and watching as Vegeta pushes to his feet with an enraged, primal shout. They're getting to him, and it shows, as he picks up a massive rock and angrily lobs it in Zamasu's direction. He prepares to intercept it, but Piccolo beats him to the punch, the rock harmlessly shattering against him as he runs towards Vegeta.

Piccolo delivers a painful uppercut, and this is the start of a series of heavy attacks he unleashes upon Vegeta. Piccolo is perhaps a bit larger and slower, his power heightened further yet his speed slowed as he's passed the point of equilibrium. Vegeta eventually catches each blow, and blows Piccolo back with a kiai, the kiai accompanied by another primal shout.

Piccolo puts two fingers to his forehead, and charges up a hasty Makankosappo. He launches it within seconds, and Vegeta swats it away harmlessly, the attack curving until it eventually impacts with the landscape behind him. He moves in to blow Piccolo away in a similar manner that he did to Tien, but as he comes close he has to narrowly avoid a barrage of eye beams.

"Damnit- Argh!" Vegeta is open due to the sudden dodge, and he takes a shot to the kidney, keeling over and receiving a knee to the face. While he may have the power advantage, it's overwhelmingly clear that - because he uses this form as little as possible - he has little idea how to adapt his style for it. Meanwhile, Piccolo is simply fighting normally, but on a larger scale.

Piccolo grabs Vegeta by the throat, holding him in place and jabbing him hard in the gut. "Zamasu, now!" Vegeta grasps the arm holding him by the throat, and crushes with all of his power, wrenching the limb off at the shoulder. Purple blood spurts from the shoulder, and Piccolo grabs at it with his other arm. A sharp buzzing can be heard, as Vegeta is attacked from behind!

Zamasu swears as Vegeta moves at the last second, meaning that he only leaves a deep gash in the Oozaru;s tail as opposed to slicing clean through it. Vegeta howls in agony, his wounded tail smashing Zamasu into the ground with a heavy crack, the body snatcher coughing up blood as one of his lungs is punctured by a broken rib.

'Damn it all to hell, now I'm in worse shape than I had been prior to being given that Senzu Bean!' Zamasu watches with dread as Vegeta slowly turns around to face him, lifting up his foot in order to bring it down and crush him-!

Chiaotzu springs out of hiding, taking hold of Vegeta's tail about halfway down. "I got it!" He yells out, latching on tight and digging his fingers into the flesh. Though Vegeta may throw himself about and thrash his tail, Chiaotzu refuses to let go. His body is slowly surrounded by a close, thick aura, and his body glows bright white.

"Goodbye, everyone!" He yells out, shutting his eyes and detonating himself with one fierce cry. Vegeta's tail is blown clean in half, and the wounded Zamasu has to roll out of the way of the severed half, as it impacts the place where he had been only moments before. 'That was close!'

Vegeta stands in shock, his body twitching as he feels his tail split in two. He slowly shrinks down, but not fully. His tail remains, though only half, and when he shrinks he remains bulked up but in his normal state of being. He looks around for whoever it might be that attempted to blow his tail off in its entirety, but has no time as Piccolo attempts to smash Vegeta into the ground with a heavy stomp.

The 'roided out prince catches the giant foot with both hands, grunting as his arms are bent and he's forced into a crouch. Unfortunately for him, Piccolo is now the stronger of the two, and he proves it by pushing more force into his attack, Vegeta's arms quaking as they threaten to give out at any second.

Zamasu weakly pushes to a standing position, cupping his hands at his side. "Let's see if you survive the second one, filthy mortal…" He scowls lowly, hacking up a bit of blood before chanting out the name of Son Goku's attack in a rough voice. "Kaa… mee…" Once more, purple and black ki gathers between his hands, forming into a loose ball.

He and Vegeta make eye contact as the energy begins to condense and focus itself, panic on the face of the bulky Vegeta. "Haa… mee…" The ball of ki lets off a shrill squeal, and Zamasu throws his hands forward, the ball chaotically deforming before bursting forward in a powerful wave of ki. "HAA!" The blast is big enough to not only envelop Vegeta, but also the ground below and Piccolo's foot above. The giant Namekian shrinks down to normal side, floating as to avoid putting pressure on his stump leg.

Vegeta is thrown a ways back, and every bit of extra energy he has is knocked out of him as he takes the powerful attack head-on. The power ball dissipates without his ability to maintain it, and he shrinks down to his normal, wounded self. Wheezing and gargling on what he imagines to be his own blood, he pulls a chipped and barely-functional remote from a hidden pocket in his spandex.

With the push of a few buttons, he summons his pod to beside him, and slowly drags himself into it. 'They have broken my body, shattered my pride, and have even taken half of my tail… but my life will not be ended today. I must live; I will become the legendary Super Saiyajin, and defeat Kakarotto, and I will have my revenge!' The pod door shuts, and he inputs the commands for a safe planet.

"Not so fast!" Both fighters fire a heavy barrage of ki blasts in the general direction of Vegeta's pod, but right as all of the blasts near it, it takes off into the sky, managing to leave behind a series of sonic booms as opposed to simply one. Still, the two fighters fire into the air, hoping in vain that they might be able to cip the craft and take it out of the sky.

As it disappears - becoming nothing more than a speck in the sky that fades from view - they realize in dread that while they won this battle, there is still a war they've far from won…

End, Chapter 4

Author's Note: Sorry for the shorter length of the chapter, as well as the delay in actually finishing it. If you notice, the story now has an actual cover, and that took up about half a week of time to do. It was in collaboration with a friend of mine, but they lack any sort of social media so I can't link to it. Anyways, now for the power levels!

Piccolo
3,500
10,500 (Giant Namekian
14,000 (Giant Namekian, Bulked Up)

Tien
2,400
7,200 (Full Power Tri Beam)

Chiaotzu
1,000

Vegeta
9,000 (Weakened, Post-Kamehameha)
45,000 (Oozaru)
18,000 (Semi-Oozaru/Half Tail Oozaru)

Zamasu
10,000 (Senzu + Zenkai)
15,000 (Kaio-Ken, Stage One)
17,500 ("Black" Kamehameha)