Demons Of A Different Sort

Even as he stared at them, settled there on the ground neatly in a circle, Piccolo still found it surreal to know that in only a single year he'd actually managed to get a hold of all seven Dragon Balls; that now, in mere moments, his youth would be restored to him! Off to the side, his human pet stood nervously bouncing from foot to foot, watching anxiously for any sign that her life may now be forfeit.

'Smart girl,' the wicked demon chuckled internally, 'but...I think I'll keep her, at least for a while.'

After all, sooner or later, one of his future children might be in need of snack.

Thinking of what a grand army he would soon have again brought Piccolo's focus back to the wish-granting orbs nestled in the grass, and he once more turned to Mai and asked if what she'd told him earlier was correct.

"I simply say the incantation, and Shenron appears?"

"T-That's right, just c-call for him like I told you, a-and you'll soon be b-back to full strength M-My Lord."

"Hmm," the scourge scanned over the trembling young woman with a critical eye, "you'd better hope they're the right words then, girl, or you'll pay dearly for deceiving me."

Sure that Mai was now too stricken by fear to attempt fleeing from him, Piccolo allowed his yellow gaze to swivel back onto the orange balls decorated by stars. A feeling of raw anticipation filled the giant, green monster as memories of the past flashed through his mind; power, the smell of fear, the feeling of invincibility.

Soon, such euphoric wonders would be his to savor, and with no foolish old man to seal him away again the Era of Oblivion would go completely uncontested!

'Though, best to be safe than sorry,' Piccolo admonished, 'and my first order of business will be to eradicate the martial arts society from the face of the planet! But first...'

"It is time; Arise, Shenron! Come forth, and grant my wish, he who has gathered the seven Dragon Balls!"

At first, it seemed as though the incantation hadn't worked, and the short-tempered scourge was nearly ready to turn around so as to strike Mai from the world for wasting his time, when suddenly all seven balls began to glow. It was a brilliant, luminescent orange that made the orbs appear to be filled with fire from the underworld, one that was soon joined by sparks of scorching electricity.

Thunder boomed, drawing attention towards the sky, and both master and slave watched as thick, black clouds swallowed up all rays of light that once filled the morning sky. Streaks of lightning struck true to the Earth and a light rain began to descend upon the land as gusts of heavy wind created small cyclones that scattered leaves from the treetops and frighten even the most diligent of birds from their nests.

Animals scattered, and their cries molded together to create a symphony of fright that Piccolo found delightful, while Mai dropped to her knees wearing a mask of discontent and worry.

This...was different from before. When Pilaf had summoned the dragon there had been dark clouds, yes, but these blotted out all light and cast the world in a blanket of shadow that felt...unnatural. The wind had whipped, but only like that of a slight storm, nothing strong enough to form tornadoes, and there had been no terrible thunder and lightning.

As ice-cold rain dropped from the sky in a depressing drizzle, slowly soaking the former military commander to the bone, Mai felt the frigid hand of fear grip at her heart and struggled to breath past what such an ominous scene might mean.

Though, before those thoughts could overwhelm the young woman, a single bolt of lightning came crashing down in the center of the Dragon Balls, or rather, it rose out from within before spiraling among the pitch black clouds and taking the shape of a mighty dragon. Soon, the outer crust of blinding yellow aura faded, and Shenron could be seen floating among the storm in all of his magnificent glory.

Yet as Piccolo gazed upon the legendary serpent with awe and excitement, Mai continued to feel her worries compound as she noticed two very noticeable changes about the wish-granting reptile; he'd grown, nearly twice the size as before, and she could see a dark tint to the edge of Shenron's once emerald scales.

'W-What in the world is going on,' she choked mentally, as there was nothing in the legends about this sort of change. It was, honestly, quite terrifying, and Mai was beginning to wonder if perhaps the Dragon Balls may not be as much a gift from the heavens as people seemed to believe.

And as he spoke, that dreadful curiosity took the form of a cold shiver trailing the young woman's spine.

"You who have summoned me, speak, so that I may grant you any one wish!"

There was a bit of a 'hiss' to the Eternal Dragon's speech now; one only noticeable if one had heard him speak before. Though it could be found by the shivering, wet soldier and the echo of such a noise nearly made Mai want to hurl.

But not Piccolo. No, the Demon King only grinned wickedly as he stared up at the creature who would be, in a sense, his salvation. Salivating at the mouth, drool gleaming as it dribbled from his fangs, Piccolo shouted loud and clear as his dark heart thundered behind the monster's chest.

"I wish...I wish...to me made young again! RESTORE MY YOUTH AND POWER; RETURN TO ME WHAT TIME HAS STOLEN! CAN YOU DO THIS!?"

The silence that followed seemed to stretch for an eternity, broken only by the crashing of lightning or booming of thunder, and for the second time King Piccolo began to wonder if his hopes had been dashed as rage slowly swelled within him. Had that fool Kami not made the balls as powerful as Piccolo imagined, or was there perhaps a certain way wishes must be made?

It was just as the Demon King was contemplating offering the human fleshbag's corpse to the dragon, that Shenron's voice echoed across the empty plains once more. And as he spoke, the elderly abomination's entire body filled with malicious glee.

"As you wish..."

Large, crimson eyes glowed for a moment and the storm's intensity picked up right before another flash of lightning came down to strike at Piccolo directly. Only, instead of vaporizing the fiend like Mai secretly hoped, this blast energized the Demon King!

"Graha!"

Immediately King Piccolo felt the changes; his muscles tightened, skin pulled itself back together. The aches that plagued him all year were soon vanishing without a trace as the demon's spine straightened him out to a full height of over eight feet tall.

Yellow eyes brightened and fangs gleamed as Piccolo's large, now muscular, frame strained against the stitching of his uniform. Yet, as grand as such a feeling was, what the scourge felt the most excited for was the return of his power.

Raw, primal, uninhibited, the well filled swiftly before overflowing, and Piccolo found himself laughing maniacally as an aura of bloody crimson tinted by a deathly black began to surround him like a flame. With a final, triumphant roar the transformation was complete, and King Piccolo stood tall and in his prime once more.

"Your wish has been granted, now, I must go..."

A devilish smirk found its way to Piccolo's youthful face as he sent the Eternal Dragon a curious leer. In moments, the power he needed was gathered firmly in a single palm, and the Demon King didn't feel the drain one bit.

Flexing his claws, King Piccolo told the dragon, "Oh yes, of course, but before you do...there's just one last thing I need—HA!"

"Raaaawwwr!"

The bright, molten-yellow beam flashed for mere seconds through the sky before colliding with Shenron, and only Mai was there to witness as Earth's Eternal Dragon was turned to ashes in and instant. Shenron's pained, enraged, cries echoed throughout the land as the skies returned to normal and all signs that a wish had been granted disappeared into the wind; the Dragon Balls themselves quickly turning to stone.

With the deed done, Piccolo breathed a sigh of silent relief, before turning his attention onto the human woman cowering a mere few feet away.

"You have served me well, human, so your life shall be spared; under the condition that it now belongs to me. As such, my next task for you is to compile a list of the martial arts community for me, is that understood?"

The young woman didn't even need to think as she answered, "Y-Yes, your E-Eminence, as y-you command. I'll leave, a-at your word."

"Good; then go now, and do try to be quick about it."

Giving a shaky nod Mai pulled out her capsules and selected the fastest jet-coptor she could afford, before clicking the trigger and tossing it. A colorful puff of smoke shrouded the vehicle for only a moment, before the girl quickly climbed aboard the silver hunk of metal.

Turning only once, the blue-eyed beauty asked her Master what he now had planned. The demon's answer though, left a cold shiver running down the young woman's spine her entire ride to Papaya Island.

"I'll just be...getting reacquainted with the world."

xXx

Piccolo wasn't the only devious fiend with a nefarious agenda however; Tien of the Crane School was bubbling with vengeance as well. The bald youth's two onyx-black eyes stared hatefully at the front gate to Capsule Corporation's home-base; home of the Briefs family. Home...to his target.

A swift, yet vicious, interrogation of Jingle Village's chief had lead the teen here earlier in the year, but the past twelve months had been spent in harsh training in preparation for taking down the one who proved themselves even stronger than Mercenary Tao. Not even the odd, short storm from moments before had stopped Tien's journey, and now...

'Now, Champion, it's your turn!'

xXx

Another set of the world's beautiful, blue eyes could be found closed in meditation, as Lazuli took steady breaths of the floral air around her. Blocking out the sounds of her brother as he worked through a kata he'd found on the internet, the blonde attempted to delve deep within herself and find the power to use energy techniques like Goku and Jackie Chun.

After witnessing just how powerful the 'Kamehameha', and even the 'Dodon-Ray' were, Lazuli realized that, if she truly hoped to stay by Goku's side, then she herself would need to harness that same energy and make it her own.

The task proved difficult however, especially with how often the blonde beauty's thoughts would stray to thinking about the monkey-tailed World Champion. Even now Lazuli could feel the blush starting to stain her cheeks as she recalled the night before; her only hope being that Bulma didn't hear her cries of passion.

However, such wonders were pushed aside at the sound of an explosion, followed swiftly by the rumbling of Capsule Corps grounds.

'W-What in the-'

"Sis, you alright!?"

"I am," Lazuli answered as she dusted herself off, "but we need to hurry and find Bulma! That didn't feel like any earthquake I've ever experienced!"

Sprinting from the garden, the twins ran at full speed through the large, empty house in search of their friend, yet stopped dead at the fierce shout that soon rang throughout the building. The owner's voice was firm and full of rage, and a weight seemed to settle over Lapis and Lazuli from it simply carrying through the air...but it was what the voice said that truly tightened their cores.

"Kakarot! Where are you!"

Immediately, Lapis' eyes sharpened with focus and his arm went straight across Lazuli's chest, before the pair began a much slower trek; this time in the direction of that voice. Lazuli's own face was twisted into a mask of curious indignation, as she wondered who could be looking for her crush in such an uncivilized manner.

The answer? A bald young man, who looked to be about Bulma's age, if not a little older, standing in the destroyed entrance to Capsule Corp. His attire mirrored that of Tao's, though the colors were an emerald green, trimmed by a bloody-red, and the kanji for 'vengeance' stitched over the breast. A look of pure fury was settled over the guy's face, and his fists were clenched so tight that Lapis was sure he could hear the knuckles pop from where he and his sister were ducked away.

Before anything more could be gleaned from their intruders appearance though, he opened his mouth wide and yelled once more...

"Kakarot, you coward, show yourself at once! It is time for you to pay for your crimes!"

"The only one paying around here, is you buster," Bulma hissed as she finally came storming into the room, "look at what you did to my front door!"

"A paltry offense," the stranger scoffed, "when compared to the wrong I have come to make right. Now, tell me where Kakarot is hiding; I will not ask nicely a second time."

Bulma's blue eyes widened for a moment, her hands still on her hips, before a snort rippled through the air and the young woman pinched the bridge of her nose. "So, what, are you someone he put the smack down on, and now you want a rematch? Kami above, that little punk, he goes off to train and leaves me to clean up his mess huh?"

"Kakarot isn't here!? Where is he, then, surely you must know!"

"What am I, his keeper!?"

"As that coward's lover, I'm sure he told you before departing!"

The female genius' pretty face erupted into a fierce blush at the accusation, though a thrill tingled at the base of her neck at the thought some stranger already assumed she and Goku were lovers. However, it was the reminder that there was, indeed, a stranger in her home searching for the aforementioned alien that drew Bulma's ire back to the forefront of her expression.

"E-Even if he did tell me, what makes you think I'd tell a creep like you? Besides, if you couldn't beat the kid a year ago, you're definitely not gonna be a match for him now; go home, and tell your parents that they owe me for the door you destroyed!"

Tien felt his whole body fill with rage then, and aura flared around the martial artist as his power rose. Staring coldly at the heiress, he grit his teeth and began to move towards her.

"I have no family; Kakarot stole them from me! So now, I'm going to do the same to him!"

Bulma's anger was quickly replaced by fear, as her strengths lay in science and machines, and was about to turn and try to run for her gun when Lapis and Lazuli stepped out from behind the corner of the hall.

"Sorry," the younger boy snapped, "but we can't really allow that. If you want her..."

"You'll have to go through us first..." his sister continued

"And we won't be making it easy," the twins finished together.

Tien allowed himself to be be drawn away from the trembling girl before him, and instead stare down the pair of fighters who now challenged the Crane school prodigy. A vicious smirk made its way onto the bald youth's face then, and as he watched the twins carefully, grew interested when he saw them step one behind the other.

"Bulma, run," Lapis ordered, "we'll hold him off as long as possible, but you need to get away from here."

"R-Right; please be careful you two-"

"Nobody's going anywhere," Tien growled, flexing his fingers, "besides, you'll both be dead long before the bitch can get too far, so what's the point?"

"I guess we'll just have to see about that!" Lapis and Lazuli screamed back, before dashing forward.

Even after seeing it, Tien couldn't help trying to keep his focus after the pair split off, and came at him from two sides. The blonde went low, trying to sweep his legs, while her brother tried for an aerial kick, but a lift of the leg and a single forearm stopped both attempts, and Tien returned fire by throwing Lapis across the room by the ankle.

Lazuli found herself rolling backwards to avoid being knocked in the head by her foe's pivot-kick, before pushing off the rug to try and land a straight shot to their stomach. He parried it, but the blonde managed to duck under the knife-strike aimed at her throat before a knee to the stomach sent Lazuli flying back into the wall.

Tien didn't get to rest though, as Lapis had returned to his feet and went for a full-body tackle, before attempting to put the bald martial artist into an arm-bar.

"Nice try," Tien sneered, before ripping his arm free, and bringing his elbow down hard.

"Gaha!"

"Lapis!"

Lazuli scrambled to her feet despite the pain she'd been feeling, and barreled into she and her brother's opponent as he rolled to his feet, before sending a full-force punch down to crush the young man's nose.

Only, the attack never made it, as Tien sent the blonde rocketing away with a burst of his aura before rolling back onto his feet with an irritated look creased into his brow. Looking between the twins, the Crane-school student sucked his teeth in annoyance at the sight of them both unconscious after such a short scuffle.

"Pathetic, " energy began to build at the tip of Tien's finger, "though, you did get in my way; so I'm afraid you'll both need to pay. Maybe in the afterlife you'll learn your place-"

"Don't even think about it!"

Bulma's biting command drew the martial artist's own fury to where she now stood, feet firmly planted and the barrel of a handgun aimed straight at him. Normally, Tien wouldn't worry about some weak civilian pointing such a weapon at him, but when he stared into Bulma's eyes, the young man could tell that she was perfectly capable of pulling that trigger, of taking his life.

...and that's when he laughed.

"W-What's so funny," Bulma hissed, finger on the trigger even as the mocking guffaws echoed inside her home, "This isn't a joke; get out of my house, or I'll shoot you!"

"Were I an ordinary man, I'm sure you would, unfortunately...I am nothing so simple."

Before she could blink, Tien vanished, only to reappear with her weapon clutched in hand. Gaping in both shock, as well as horror, Bulma' entire body began to grow cold as her knees shook. The weight of fear quickly became too much for the young woman to handle though, and she dropped to the floor, left helpless as the martial artist now towered over the heiress; a cruel look etched into his own face.

"I'll commend you for your efforts," Tien snickered, "I even respect that you were fully prepared to kill me, simply to save those two, but I'm afraid this is the end for all three of you. I'll kill you each quickly, and then wait here for Kakarot's return so that I can watch as his entire world comes crashing down around him...Hahahahahaha!"

Tears welled at the corners of Bulma's eyes then, as instead of the end of her own gun she now stared down the point of Tien's finger; a bullet of yellow energy beaded at the tip. The horrible truth, that she may very well die, began to finally settle in the blue-haired genius could feel her body starting to shut down. A strangled cry for help, for Goku to appear and save the day, lodged itself in Bulma's throat, and in its place was a singe gasp; like that of a dying fish.

All hope seemed lost then, as Tien lowered his fingertip to rest no more than an inch from Bulma's forehead, letting the young woman feel the heat of his attack, and finally those tears began to fall as the young woman broke out into a fit of sobs.

"N-No...please...y-you don't have to do this."

"Tell that to Tao, when you see him in the next life."

Resigned to her fate, Bulma simply closed her eyes and waited for the sour embrace of death, when suddenly, a new echo of laughter filled the air .Immediately, Tien whipped his body around to aim the prepped Dodon-Ray at whoever dared to interrupt the start of his vengeance. What he found though, stopped the young man in his tracks, as the hideous cackle slowly came to an end...

Standing at a startling eight feet tall, with skin green like the purest emerald and pointed ears, this newest arrival looked down his pointed nose at the motley crew from high above the ruined entrance. Large, malevolent, yellow eyes stared in sadistic amusement as powerful arms crossed over a muscled chest. Dressed in a purple fighting gi, with the symbol for 'Demon' stitched across the front, it was easy for Tien to discern that the new face was a warrior; though what role they would soon play in this scene was yet to be determined.

"Oh my," their voice was deep, and guttural, with a tint of dark glee coating every word, "please, don't stop the fun on my account; I'd love to see how this story ends."

"So then, you're not here to stop me?"

"I'm here because I sensed an unusually high power, one that's far beyond anything I've felt from a human before."

Hearing his race be spat out like rotten milk from this newcomer's tongue turned something in Tien's stomach, and he moved his attention from Bulma, to the green giant as he called "Oh, really, and what makes you such an expert on what we humans are truly capable of?"

Piccolo raised a single, amused brow as he began to descend from the sky. Clearly, this upstart had no idea just who he was speaking to.

'No matter; he will soon. The hard way.'

"Considering I've killed a countless many of you in my own lifetime," the Demon King chuckled as he finally touched down, "I'd say that makes me quite the expert on your races...limitations."

Tien could hear Bulma's chocked cry of horror behind him even as he stared down the beast that stood before them both. His heart hammered beneath his chest, as adrenaline flooded the young man's veins, and the knot in Tien's stomach grew tighter as he fought the urge to turn and run from the horrible darkness that he sensed coming off this...creature in waves.

"Heh, so it wasn't just your curiosity that brought you here," the Crane-school student sniped, "but your fear. You're so used to feeding off of the helpless and the weak, that the moment you sensed a real fighter you got scared, and came to try and take me out."

A shiver of dejavu traveled up Bulma's spine as she listened to the green monster laugh at her attacker's words. Harder than ever before, she prayed that Goku would arrive soon; that his training would be over and he would come to rescue her and the twins.

"I suppose I should thank you," Piccolo chuckled, "it's been quite a long while since I've had such a laugh; you, a challenge for me? Don't kid yourself boy, I have more power in the tip of one finger than you'll ever have in your entire life; there could be ten of you, and it still wouldn't make a difference here today!"

At the first hint of his new enemy's aura flaring to life, Tien dropped into fighting stance and dug deep within for the power that he'd been saving to use against Kakarot. Staring down the mountainous, green beast, something tingled at the back of Tien's brain to let him know that this foe was nothing like those two younger punks from before.

For Piccolo, the rush of power that surged through his younger, more powerful body filled him with a wicked sense of glee that had nearly been lost to him, and as he looked down at the foolish human who dared to challenge him, there was only one thought going through his mind...

'First, this weak boy, and then...the world; all will once again fear the might of King Piccolo!'

xXx

The noises of traffic as it whizzed by a single block away from Capsule Corp filled the air of West City as its citizens went about their daily lives, each and every one of them totally unaware for the moment of the deadly stare-down taking place just outside the landmark home to the Brief's family.

One pair of those eyes belonged to Tien Shinhan, who stood only a handful of feet away from the most horrific darkness he'd ever felt in his young life. Yet, despite this, the martial artist chose to smother any sense of unease with pride and the knowledge that he had a much more important battle looming on the horizon. So, rather than panic, Tien swallowed all feelings fear, and shifted his weight so as to be ready for the fight in front of him.

A battle, which came in the form of the newly rejuvenated King Piccolo, whose identity was still a mystery to the young man.

The green giant hadn't even moved a muscle yet, and still he found himself filled with excitement. Taking a large breath of the fresh air, and promising to replace it with the smell of roasting flesh and fire, the Demon King tensed his powerful muscles and shifted into a slight running position.

'This is it,' Tien hissed to himself, 'here he comes!'

"Allow me to thank you," Piccolo chuckled, "this will be a nice warm-up for me; provided you don't die too quickly."

"Heh, well, I'll do my best not to disappoint you."

"I've no doubt you will," Piccolo chuckled mockingly, "but until then, let's have some fun!"

Tien had only ever seen Tao move as fast as this new foe, yet surprised himself with how easily he'd been able to follow the beast, and even more so as he ducked away from being smashed by the fiend's elbow. It hurt to block the overhead spin-kick that came after, but Tien was able to ignore the ache in his forearm enough so that he could slide around and drop into a leg-sweep.

Piccolo jumped to the side, avoiding the loss of his footing, before rushing back in to re-engage the bald human with a smirk on his face. They traded blows, bobbing and weaving through each other's combinations with barely a hint of strain on to show for it, and through it all Piccolo could feel the gradual control of his power return to him.

'Let the fool think he's a match for me,' the green-skinned monster chuckled as he sent Tien sliding back with a strong knee to the stomach, 'it's only a matter of time now~'

The Crane-style student though could sense that something was off almost immediately, and, as he twisted around his enemy's counter-elbow to his own knife-strike Tien began to call upon the well of ki within. Jumping back, he tensed, and planted his feet firmly into the city street.

"I don't know what you're planning, but it wont work. I've been trained by the best there's ever been, and now, I think it's time to show you just what that means. Prepare yourself; round two starts now!"

There was a twinge of fear in Piccolo's heart then, and a memory of green energy swirling around him before eternal darkness played back through his mind, before the realization that man would surely have died before his current opponent's time settled over him. Flexing his neck as he rotated a single shoulder, the Demon King grinned maliciously at the human martial artist.

"And here I thought I'd been quite open about my plans; the destruction of your filthy race. You humans are a hideously inferior species, hardly fit to live as my children's slaves, let alone challenge me. But, by all means, please do your absolute best to stop me; it'll make it that much more satisfying to watch you fail~"

"That's what you think," Tien growled as he felt the energy build to the right levels, "Multi-Form!"

Soon, Piccolo watched as his one foe became four, and the grin stretched across the villain's face took on a tint of intrigue at the memory of the first time he'd seen it. Amused, the Demon King even allowed the blue-haired human to scuttle away from behind them and drag two others with her. There'd be plenty of time to toy with them, but only after putting this whelp in his place!

"You'd said ten of me wouldn't be enough, well, I'll bet even four of me is too much for you. But, for good measure, let's see how well you do against this; Four Witches Technique!"

Now, this was a move Piccolo had yet to encounter, and the Demon King found himself mildly impressed as he watched each of his foes grow an extra set of arms from behind their backs. Chuckling deep in his throat, the green giant readied himself once more for combat, and leaped forward in a burst of great speed, enjoying the apprehensive look on the human's many faces as he went.

"Very fancy, boy, but let's see just how well you've perfected those techniques!"

This, Tien hadn't been expecting, and watching his foe be so eager in the face of what should be overwhelming odds sent off alarm bells at the front of the young man's brain. However, there was little time to think on this before the monster fell upon him and his copies. They tried to circle him, to surround the green beast and force him to defend from all angles, yet with each passing second it seemed as if this fiend was getting faster!

It wasn't long before Tien found himself s the one on the defensive, despite outnumbering his opponent, and watched as one-by-one each doppelganger was smashed into oblivion and faded from existence, leaving just he and the green giant to continue their fight one on one.

The arm coming from Tien's left shoulder-blade reached out hastily to catch the incoming fist meant for the young man's face, but the sheer pain that surged through its muscles forced the martial artist to stumble back. This left him open though, and a powerful knee came crashing into Tien's stomach, sending the bald warrior flying across the street and crashing into the park grounds a few yards away.

Piccolo watched his foe as they curled into a groaning ball of pain, and a malicious grin stretched tightly across the giant's face as he began to float over to inspect the damage.

"Come now, human, surely that wasn't all you had? Or perhaps, this teacher of yours wasn't as powerful as you made him sound? Whichever it is, get up, I'm not finished playing with you yet; I've hardly even begun to get warmed up!"

Hearing this strange creature talk down about his master fueled Tien's already burning rage at Tao's untimely demise and the bald martial artist used this to roll over and launch a powerful blast of ki from the palm of his hand. Brilliant, blinding light filled the teen's vision then as his attack erupted in a violent explosion upon contact with the giant's chest.

Those next few moments, silence reigned supreme as even the noise of capsule cars came to a halt.

Still on the ground, Tien huffed for breath as his aching lower-ribs cried out for medical attention, but there was a triumphant grin on his face despite the pain as he stared at where his foe had once been.

"How's that, you freak, hot enough for ya?"

What came next though, was nothing like what the Crane-style student had been expecting, as a large hand came rushing out of the smoke to wrap around his throat! Gurgling for air, Tien found himself hoisted into the air as the arm attached to the hand began to retract, until finally he was once more face-to-face with the unharmed form of the green giant.

"Oh, you humans, always such a crafty, cowardly lot; taking any chance you can to score the victory over your superiors. No, boy, that poor excuse for an attack couldn't even scotch my uniform; all you've done now is make me angry!"

"ARGH!" Tien choked out a cry of pain as the claws around his neck lightly pierced his flesh, leaving rivulets of blood to ooze down the chords of his throat as the demon squeezed his windpipe. Through the agony, Tien fought for the breath to speak before his gravely voice filled the air.

"I-I don't understand, who are you; what are you!?"

Piccolo looked into the eyes of his prey and raised a single, amused eyebrow as the human struggled to free himself. "So then, you truly didn't know; figures your kind would do their best to erase me from their history. Ah, you poor fool, perhaps if you had known, you could have survived just a bit longer; but I digress."

Tossing Tien back down onto the ground, Piccolo then gathered energy into the tips of his first two fingers, and sent rings of ki out to surround the young teens wrists and ankles so that he couldn't move.

"I, am pure evil made into flesh; the bringer of death. I am the one who is meant to rule over the humans with an iron fist! I, am the very thing each and every human fears in the darkest corners of their hearts! I am, the supreme King of all that is unholy and despicable, the one and only-"

"King Piccolo; I didn't want to believe it. But, your energy is far too horrible to belong to anyone else."

Large, angry, yellow eyes shifted as their owner growled, "Who dares interrupt my return to greatness!?"

The answer came in the form of two old men; with another, younger, fighter off to the side. Roshi of the Turtle school stood beside Tien's own Master, Shen, with a young man the Crane-style student had never seen before beside them. He wore the Kame-style's orange gi, and was bald just like Tien with six dots decorating his forehead to show that he'd studied from Oran Temple.

"We dare," Roshi hissed from a few yards away, "and if you think for even a second that we'll just stand back, and allow you to throw this world back into chaos, you've got another thing coming Piccolo!"

"Oh," the Demon King scoffed, "So you managed to survive my last reign of terror on your pathetic species then, hm? Well then I must say, the two of you are the very reason humans need to be eradicated; they don't know when to surrender!"

An immense pressure descended on the new trio, and Krillin found himself struggling not to drop down onto all-fours while the two martial arts masters were reminded of just how terrible their foe truly could be. But, before they could think on it too much, their enemy let out a snarl and launched himself at the trio in a mind-boggling display of speed.

Roshi barely had time to push Krillin away before the Demon King fell upon him, but those precious seconds cost the elderly fighter, and he was left unprepared for Piccolo's fist as it rammed into his chest. Roshi's whole world went white then, and the old man hardly felt the way his own body crashed against the street after being sent flying.

Shen tried to catch Piccolo off-guard with a Dodon Ray at point-blank range, but the technique failed to even scratch the green giant, and Tien's master was soon ducking in a desperate attempt to keep his head as Piccolo countered with a swipe of his clawed hand. A knee that followed though caught the Crane-style master in his gut, and soon enough he too was laid out on the street.

"No, master!"

Tien forced himself to his feet at the sight of his teacher being manhandled by vile monster, and in a blind fit of rage went charging down King Piccolo.

"I don't care who you are," the bald young man growled, "I won't allow you to get away with what you just did!"

Piccolo just allowed himself to smirk as he swatted away each of his opponent's strikes with the palm of his large hand, "Just be glad you've proven to be so amusing, human, or else you'd have already been ready to greet your master in the afterlife. Now, show me more of that rebellious fire, so that I can stamp it out before sending you to oblivion!"

It was easy for Tien to see now that his foe was merely toying with him, holding back the full force of his power, and while the warrior inside felt disgusted that it was still too much to handle Tien chose to put such thoughts aside and try to find a way to use this to his advantage.

Just then, an angry voice shouted from the side, drawing both fighters attention...

"Kamehameha!"

There was a bright, blue beam of energy rocketing through the air on account of Krillin now that he'd gotten over the shock of Roshi being so easily brushed aside, yet the former monk had checked to see that the Turtle Hermit was still breathing before taking up the fight and allowed a bit of relief to flood his system even as Piccolo sent the beam off into the sky with a flick of his wrist.

"You humans truly are nothing but overgrown roaches,harmless yet annoying in your resilience; did you really think a sneak attack would catch the mighty King Piccolo off-guard so easily?"

Krillin chuckled, "Honestly, I was kind of hoping, yeah."

"Then you're as stupid as you look, but this is good, I can tell you're much stronger than those old fools who accompanied you, together with this other fool it may just be enough to finally get me warmed up."

"Your arrogance will be your downfall," Tien hissed as he slipped into a defensive stance, "I don't care what it takes, you wont conquer the world while I'm still standing!"

Piccolo scoffed at this, "Don't try to act so noble now, boy, not after what I walked in on earlier; you and I aren't as different as you'd like to believe-"

"That was revenge, justice, what you are doing is nothing but mass murder for your own enjoyment!"

"Ah~ is that all it takes, then?" Piccolo's face twisted into a maniacal grin, one that sent shivers up both young men's spines, "Very well, my conquest will be a mission of revenge, justice, against the human race for imprisoning me!"

Krillin didn't want to hear anymore, "Enough! I don't care what you wanna call it; you're murdering innocent people, and I can't let that happen!"

"Then please," the Demon King chortled, "come, and do all that is within your puny power to try and stop me."

xXx

As the two martial artists were about to enter into a fight for their lives, Bulma had long since escaped from West City in a capsule car, and sped away with the unconscious twins in the backseat before switching to a jet-coptor for the rest of her journey.

Even though she wasn't a fighter, Bulma had still been capable of feeling the horrible energy that the green giant had given off in waves; her stomach twisted even now just thinking about it! And without knowing the stories, Capsule Corp's heiress could still tell that the new arrival to what had been meant to be her execution was the very evil which Goku had been taken away to train for.

This pushed the blue-haired beauty into action then, and rather than simply run away, Bulma now steered her airborne vehicle towards Jingle Village.

Surely, Goku's training was finished by now!

'I'll pick him up, and we can go back together so that he can clean those freaks clocks!'

Yet, even she had to concede that her family's fastest jet-coptor would take over an hour to make that trip, with another hour devoted to the return, so Bulma could only hope that her home and all that she'd been working on would still be standing after so long.

Pushing the machine to its limits, and praying that it would somehow break its own mechanical limits and go faster, the young woman's heart thundered in her chest as a sense of dread tried to take hold then; what if the training wasn't enough?

She'd already seen Goku lose to Tao, her vision of his invincibility forever shattered by the image of the boy battered and bloody on the ground, so who was to say that even a full year of training with a talking cat would be enough to take on a hideously evil being like the one she'd just escaped from in West City!?

'I guess...all I can do is hope, and have faith that Goku won't fail, not when so much is at stake.'

Yet, nagging in the back of her brain, Bulma wondered if 'Hope' was really going to be enough to save the day this time.

xXx

Hope; the only thing Roshi had at the moment. This single word was what allowed the elderly martial arts teacher to keep his body from giving out on him even after the breaking of his ribs. Even now, after crawling with his fingertips and huddled behind the rubble of Capsule Corp's entrance, Roshi forced himself to hope that his plan would work.

Watching Krillin use the After-Image technique so flawlessly however did fill the old man with pride though, and solidified his resolve to do what needed to be done so the former monk could take those talents and attempt to become the next World Champion.

Thinking of the tournament and the gold-plated belt given to the winner, sent Roshi's mind drifting a bit to where an image of a certain monkey-tailed former student filled his thoughts.

Proud to a fault, yet stronger than anyone he had ever known, the Turtle Hermit could only dream of what sort of student Kakarot may have been if he'd taken to Gohan's kindness, if he'd lost their bout in the Tenkaichi Budokai...just what sort of man would 'Goku' had been?

It was a bitter-sweet thought, but one Roshi couldn't help but ponder as he gathered every last bit of energy within himself and prepared it for one, final technique.

'Perhaps Gohan and I can talk about it together; dream an endless dream of happiness and possibilities. Yes, that sounds nice.'

Krillin's howl of pain nearly broke the martial arts master's concentration, but the elderly man managed to push it into the back of his mind alongside the devastating truth that he could no longer feel Shen's energy. Instead of dwelling on them, Roshi used those feelings to fuel his power to the point the man's knees shook.

He was only going to get one shot.

"You've both begun to bore me," Piccolo's gruff voice filled the air now, finally drawing Roshi's attention at last, "I think it's time we end this pathetic little game now."

Snapping his eyes open, the Turtle Hermit could now see his greatest nightmare towering over both his own student as well as Tien, the monster's hand was outstretched and glowing with the build up of evil energy. Roshi's heart began to thump wildly under his damaged ribs as the thought of those two young warrior's deaths pushed him into action.

"You're right about one thing, Piccolo, it all ends here!"

The Demon King's head swiftly turned to find this new speaker, and an annoyed snarl decorated the fiend's face at the sight of the old man he'd thought to be dead still standing.

"Damn you, humans, when will you all learn to just accept the inevitable and die!?"

"I've no doubt I'll die this day," the Turtle Hermit lamented, "but not before I see you sealed away again; this time permanently!"

Piccolo's already large eyes grew wider with fear as he recognized that familiar green energy swirling around his foe, the monster's cold, black heart even began to race as images of another eternity in darkness filled his every thought.

"N-No, you can't, I won't let you!"

"Evil Containment Wave!"

xXx

"W-What do you mean they aren't back yet!?"

"I apologize," Bora bowed, "but it is the truth; Master Korin and your friend have not come down from the Tower."

"W-Well can't you go up and get them, this is an emergency! That evil, the one Goku's supposed to be training to fight, yeah, it's here!"

"I...am aware," the dark-skinned warrior pinched his eyes shut in dread as he spoke, "Piccolo's malice is all to easy to sense, even here. Unfortunately, even if I did make the climb, it would do us no good; they are in the Dead Zone. Only a deity may travel to limbo freely."

Dread filled Bulma to her core at this reveal, and she dropped to her knees as the young woman's entire body shook. Normally expressive, crystal-blue eyes dimmed, and air became nearly impossible to pass through her lungs as the girl whispered...

"So then, w-what you're saying, is that all we can do..."

"Is wait, and hope, that they will return soon."

'Hope'? What good was 'hope' in the face of certain doom?

For Bulma, it was a question she dreaded the answer to as she turned her face to the sky and screamed...

"Goku, where are you!"

xXx