Chapter 8: Triumph

The Paprika Wasteland…

Bulma stared sadly as Master Roshi and Oolong rolled the containers housing Yamcha and Tien's bodies onto the airship. Tears built up in her eyes, but she was trying her best to maintain composure. Puar was already crying enough for the both of them. The miserable talking cat was laying on top of Yamcha's coffin and hysterically weeping.

Another explosion rang out and Bulma turned her attention to the north. The battle in the Gizard Wasteland was heating up. Master Roshi and Chi-Chi both stepped over to Bulma and stared toward the horizon along with her. Chi-Chi's face was filled with a silent fear for her child.

Master Roshi's gaze was full of concern. "We really shouldn't go that way while the fighting is going on... but Baba says that it should all be over by the time we get there..."

Bulma wiped her eyes and nodded. "R-Right... Then, let's go."

Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Master Roshi all went back into the airship and took off towards the Gizard Wasteland.

The Gizard Wasteland…

Vegeta lunged at Gohan, Krillin, and Raditz. The Saiyan Prince was rabid and eager for blood. His fist connected with Raditz first and busted the weaker Saiyan in the jaw. Raditz went tumbling and Vegeta went to charge a blast, but Gohan quickly headbutted the prince in the stomach.

Vegeta coughed up blood and stumbled back, only to be met again by a swift kick from Krillin. Raditz got back to his feet and charged at Vegeta, slugging the prince in the face twice before sweeping his feet. Krillin then capitalized on this with a lightning-fast stomp to Vegeta's chest.

Vegeta bounced off of the ground and Gohan flew at him with another kick, smashing into Vegeta's back and sending him flying into a rock. The rubble collapsed on Vegeta and his three opponents all stood in waiting. They knew this wasn't over yet.

Sure enough, Vegeta screamed out and blew away all of the rubble in a display of raging power. He charged at the three of them again with a series of heavy blows and frantic swipes. Gohan and Krillin were each dealt a punch and sent flying back. Vegeta then focused his attention on Raditz.

Raditz tried to defend himself, but he was considerably more injured than Vegeta. It didn't take long for the elder brother to be overpowered and taken to the ground. His face contorted with rage, Vegeta began to wail on his former subordinate. Several punches smashed into Raditz's face, breaking his nose and busting his teeth. He was defenseless against Vegeta's assault. "This is all your fault!"

Vegeta punched him hard. "If it wasn't for you wanting to come to this damned miserable ball, Nappa would still be alive to serve me!"

He punched him again. "I wouldn't have lost my precious tail!"

Vegeta stood and stomped on Raditz's throat. "And my pride wouldn't be in tatters, you miserable-"

He stomped again. "Worthless...!"

He stomped again. "Low-class...!"

He delivered a final, heavy stomp. "... RUNT!"

Vegeta kicked Raditz hard in the side, sending the weaker counterpart flying. As Raditz smashed against a rocky wall and tumbled to the ground, Vegeta turned to Krillin. "And now you!"

Shaking, Krillin took up a fighting stance and yelped in fear as Vegeta charged at him. From the sidelines, Goku shakily sat up and watched as Vegeta and Krillin fought. He looked all around the battlefield and groaned. Glancing over to a nearby crevice, he saw one of Bardock's arms sticking out. The older Saiyan wasn't moving.

Goku looked over at the pile of rubble that Gine was buried under, hoping that maybe she had dug herself out. But not a single rock had been displaced.

He looked over at Raditz and cringed. His brother was beaten and bloodied and totally out of it. Raditz wouldn't be getting back up to help.

Goku was shaking as he endeavored to even stay sitting up. He watched, helpless, as Vegeta beat on Krillin. Right as Goku was about to try to get to his feet, however, Gohan came running over. The boy was scared as he ran up to his father. "Daddy!"

Goku grunted in pain. "G-Gohan..."

Gohan tightly grabbed his father's arm, sending waves of pain all throughout Goku's body. Goku stifled back the screams of pain and gently tried to comfort his child. "I-It's alright, Gohan... everything is going to be okay..."

Gohan stared up at Goku, tears streaming down his face. "B-But... how are we going to stop Vegeta? He's so strong! And everyone is hurt! And I don't think Mr. Krillin can last much longer!"

Goku glanced over at the fight between Vegeta and Krillin. He cringed as he watched the prince take out all of his frustrations on Goku's best friend. Krillin was trying to fight back, but he was hardly able to defend himself.

Goku shuddered in pain and stared down at his hand. Faintly glowing from his skin was what little bit of the energy from the Spirit Bomb that Goku had left. The broken Saiyan from Earth sighed and motioned to his son. "Gohan..."

Gohan looked up at his father. "Y-Yes, Daddy?"

A wave of pure agony ran up Goku's entire body as he lifted his arm. "G-Give me... your hand..."

Gohan nodded. "O-Okay. Here you go. But what are you going to-"

Goku tightly gripped Gohan's hand and transferred the energy of the Spirit Bomb from himself to his son. And then, he collapsed back to the ground in a heap. "L-Listen carefully, Gohan... That energy is our last shot at beating Vegeta..."

Gohan was trembling from the power running through his body. "But... if it's our last shot, then why did you give it to me?!"

Goku winced in pain. "B-Because... you're the only person left who can use that power, Gohan. Your grandpa... and grandma... and uncle are all down for the count from the looks of it. And... I'm too injured to move..."

Gohan knelt next to his father. Goku smiled at him. "You've grown so much over the past year. I'm so proud of you..."

Goku chuckled. "Now, all you need to do is wait for the right moment and throw that at Vegeta. And then, this will all be over and we can go home..."

Gohan sniffled and nodded. "O-Okay, Daddy... I'll do it. I'll beat Vegeta!"

Gohan got up and turned, running towards the fight. Goku smiled and watched as his son ran into the fray. "G-Good luck... Gohan..."

Krillin yelped in pain as Vegeta continued to beat him down. He had held his own for a bit against the Saiyan, but even in his injured state, Vegeta still far overpowered the meek Earthling. Now Krillin was functioning as little more than a punching bag. Vegeta was holding him by the neck like a ragdoll and just laying furious punch after furious punch into the earthling's ribs.

Vegeta stopped punching Krillin and quickly pulled him in for a massive headbutt. As Krillin's blood ran down Vegeta and Krillin's faces, the prince snarled at the human. "Tell me something, trash! Did you really think you could stand up to me?! You're nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

Vegeta lifted Krillin above his head and smashed the human into the ground. He held up his hand and charged a blast. "Now! Die, trash!"

Gohan called out to Vegeta. "Hey!"

Vegeta turned to Gohan, his neck audibly cracking. "And now the brat wants a taste, does he?!"

Gohan gripped his fists. "W-Why don't you... Why don't you fight me?! Huh?! Are you sca-"

Vegeta charged at Gohan, getting right into the boy's face. "I'm sorry, what?! "

Gohan gasped in terror and Vegeta punted him in the chest. The boy was sent flying over Goku and tumbling across the wasteland. Once he came to a stop, Gohan shakily tried to get up, but he couldn't make himself. Vegeta sneered at him and cruelly laughed. "You think you have the right to ask me if I'm scared, you little half-breed mutt?! I am the Prince of all Saiyans! I am your Prince!"

Vegeta held up his hand to charge a blast. "And you will DIE for defying me!"

Vegeta began to charge a blast, but was instantly cut off. The prince gasped in pain and the blast dispersed. He fell forward, with a giant, bleeding slash mark across his back. And, behind him, was the shaking form of Yajirobe. The fat samurai held his sword and stared at Vegeta's prone body. "Did... did I save the world?!"

Yajirobe stepped forward, a grin rapidly spreading across his chubby cheeks. "I-I think I did..."

He nudged Vegeta with his foot. "HELL YEAH! I SAVED-"

Vegeta sprung up and smashed his fist into Yajirobe's face, punching the samurai through a rock. The prince gasped in pain. He was shaking. "D-Dammit... even the weakest filth on this planet is causing me damage! Even through my precious armor!"

As Yajirobe shakily got back to his feet, he noticed Vegeta stumbling in his direction. Yajirobe began sweating profusely. The ronin nervously chuckled, hoping to defuse the situation somehow. "Hehe, wh-wh-what do ya say we call it even? I-I-I mean, it... it... wasn't like I was really trying to kill ya…"

Vegeta spat. "You're the bastard that cut off my tail, aren't you?!"

Yajirobe squeaked in fear as he stepped back further, "Why-Why-Why would you... would think that! Oh, mean because of this sword? It's just for decoration."

Vegeta stepped forward. "I recognize your miserable scent!"

Seeing he couldn't talk his way out of this, Yajirobe knew he was out of options. And then, he looked past Vegeta, adopting horrified as he pointed. "What the hell is that?!"

As Vegeta looked behind him, only to see nothing. At the same time, Yajirobe lunged. His blade held up high, he jumped and attacked Vegeta. But then, in that same instant, Vegeta's hand reached up and grabbed Yajirobe by the face. Yajirobe let out a panicked, little cry as he was plowed into the ground hard, cratering the earth.

Krillin, trying to be sneaky, crawled forward and reached out for Yajirobe's discarded katana. But that didn't go unnoticed by Vegeta. The prince reached down and grabbed Yajirobe's katana, busting it over his knee. And then, for added measure, he delivered a swift kick to Krillin's jaw, sending the human tumbling across the rocks.

Finally, Vegeta turned his attention back to the last remaining combatant. Gohan recoiled in terror as Vegeta began to stalk towards him. The prince was fuming as he charged up a massive Ki blast. "I'm really going to enjoy killing you, brat!"

Gohan was shaking in terror. Goku, on the ground but still conscious, grabbed Vegeta's ankle once the prince got close enough. "Wait! Please! Don't-"

Vegeta stomped on Goku's stomach and smashed his ribs even further. A jet of blood came shooting out of Goku's mouth and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He was out cold. Vegeta continued his death march towards Gohan and the boy was panicking. He didn't know what to do. It was just him and Vegeta, all alone. He was going to die! Vegeta was going to kill him! He was going to die! He was going to die!

But as Gohan was panicking, a voice suddenly called out into his head. "Gohan! Listen to me!"

Gohan called out. "Wh-Who's there?!"

King Kai spoke calmly within the boy's mind. "Listen to me. My name is King Kai! I am the one who trained your Saiyan family for the past year just for this battle. And right now, within you, you have my most powerful technique: The Spirit Bomb!"

Gohan nodded, backing up to a pile of rubble to make space between him and Vegeta. "R-Right... my Daddy told me about that! But I don't know how to-"

King Kai interrupted. "You must concentrate. The Spirit Bomb is of no use if you can't give it form. You must concentrate on shaping the Spirit Bomb, and then you can use it to attack Vegeta!"

Gohan was confused. "Concentrate... to give it a shape?"

King Kai nodded. "Indeed. Picture that you are trying to use this energy to make a miniature sun. Get the image in your head. And then, you must release the energy into that shape!"

Gohan closed his eyes and concentrated. He held his hand open and focused the energy. And then, after a moment, the Spirit Bomb was floating above his hand. Gohan stared at the warm ball of energy in awe. "This is... amazing..."

King Kai smiled warmly. "Indeed. That is the power that the Earth gave your father and grandmother in order to stop Vegeta. Now, it is up to you to use it! Do it Gohan! Toss the Spirit Bomb and put an end to Vegeta's reign of terror!"

Shakily, Gohan stood and stared down Vegeta. "Y-You might be bigger and stronger than me... and you might be mean and scary... but I won't let you hurt and kill anymore! I'm going to put a stop to all of this right now and save my family! It's over, Vegeta!"

Gohan drew his arm back and tossed the ball of energy at the advancing prince. "Spirit Bomb!"

Vegeta glared as the Spirit Bomb shot right at him. But rather than panic, the prince calmly tossed his own energy blast at it. In a massive explosion, the Spirit Bomb was gone and Vegeta stood unharmed. "Once again, boy...all bluster and no bite..."

Gohan's face went white and he fell to the ground. Vegeta continued his approach and to the boy's utter terror.

On King Kai's Planet…

King Kai's arms fell limply to his sides. Vegeta had beaten his ultimate technique, and now Gohan had no way of defending himself. "The Spirit Bomb's power..."

King Kai thought back to pointblank Great Ape Cannon that Goku had absorbed. "Vegeta's attack... it must have dispersed nearly all of the energy that Goku and Gine had gathered..."

The overseer tightly gripped his fists. He had no idea what to do now. "Gohan... I am so sorry..."

Back at the Gizard Wasteland…

Vegeta laughed as he continued to walk towards Gohan. "You aren't going to let me hurt or kill your family, eh?"

Gohan was shaking as Vegeta got closer. "You're going to stop me, huh? Put an end to this, are you?!"

Vegeta's smile quickly became a grimace of utter fury. "I AM SO SICK OF THESE GAMES!"

The prince lunged at Gohan, drawing his arm across his chest, extending his fingers in a brutal stabbing motion as he cloaked his hand with a blade of pure energy. He was going to take this insolent little brat's head off and then he was going to kill all of the others and blow this planet to Kingdom Come! Vegeta didn't even take the time to spout a one-liner. This boy didn't deserve a final address. He just deserved a swift death.

Vegeta began to swing his arm at Gohan's neck. But as he did, he was caught off guard by one final surprise.

A few minutes earlier…

As the Great Ape Cannon shot towards the four of them, Gine knew that she had to act fast. Raditz was defending Bardock, so she had to do her part to preserve their chance of victory. Gine grabbed Goku's hand tight and siphoned as much of the Spirit Bomb's power as she could from her son. The mother barely had time to brace for impact, but she was lucky that Goku was there to shield her from the majority of the blast.

Back in the present…

Vegeta stared in shock as, from underneath the rubble behind Gohan, Gine popped up. Her face was bloodied, but her eyes were steel. For the first time in her life, Gine felt a real urge to fight. She drew her fist back and formed a massive Spirit Bomb with all of the energy she had taken from her son.

Gohan stared up at his grandmother. The initial shock of her showing up had distracted him from his fear. But then, something more welled up within him. Gohan looked down and felt a sense of relief as Gine wrapped her arm over his chest, almost as if to tell him that everything would be okay.

Gine gripped her grandson tight and snarled a simple five words at the prince: "Stay away from my grandson!"

Before Vegeta could react, Gine flung the Spirit Bomb forward and smashed it directly into his face. The impact with the vile prince caused a massive explosion. Gine and Gohan were both blown back, smashing against a rocky wall and knocking them both unconscious.

Vegeta, meanwhile, was sent screaming across the battlefield at high speeds. The Spirit Bomb carried the prince over the horizon, and then it exploded.

With that, he battle was over. Everyone on the side of good was out cold, but they had won. Vegeta was defeated and they were triumphant.