Ch. 28: Pigero and the Giant Ape

"I don't feel right about running away like this..." Krillin called out to Chiaotzu and Gohan as they flew away from the scene of the fight.

"I know what you mean..." Gohan agreed, looking back, "Can you sense all of that power, guys?"

"Yeah, Gohan. They're tossing out power strong enough to shake the whole planet!" Krillin said, feeling the energies that Raditz and Nappa were throwing off as they fought.

"That Raditz guy seems to be stronger... Are you guys sure that we can trust him?" Chiaotzu wondered.

"I doubt it. Just remember what he did last year. I don't think someone can change that much in a single year." Krillin agreed with Chiaotzu's opinion. The man had kidnapped Gohan, and as much as Piccolo fired the last shot, that Raditz guy was the one who'd really killed Goku. Trusting someone like that was absolute madness in his eyes.

Gohan didn't agree with Krillin at all, though. "My dad trusts him, so we should, too. Everything's going to turn out fine, so long as we trust in my daddy." He said firmly, as if he was trying to convince himself as well as them.

Krillin didn't agree with the younger kid at all, but he wasn't about to burst the kid's bubble, "Alright. I hope you're right. But just in case, I think I should go back." He decided.

"Just trust... my... daddy..." Gohan trailed off, slowing to a stop as he turned back just in time to see Nappa fire the energy orb into the air. Seeing this, Krillin and Chiaotzu stopped as well.

"Gohan, what's wrong?" Chiaotzu asked. Gohan didn't answer, instead just kind of hovering in midair, entranced by the orb in the sky.

"Gohan?" Krillin put his hand on the child's shoulder, thinking that the boy was just scared for his father, but when he saw the boy's face, he immediately realized what was going on.

Gohan's face was turning into a snout. Hair was starting to grow all over his body as his breathing changed, becoming something closer to a snarl. His body slowly began to bulk up.

"Chiaotzu! Get out of here, now!" Krillin yelled, distancing himself from Gohan just as the child burst right out of his clothing. Since he was still carrying Yamcha's body, Chiaotzu didn't argue. He started flying away as fast as he was able to. Krillin, meanwhile, could only sit and watch as his best friend's son became the same type of mindless beast that had endangered his own life on multiple occasions.

"Oh no! Gohan!" Krillin spared a glance behind him, to find a teenage boy flying up to him at a pretty fast pace. Though he didn't recognize the kid, he knew that the only people on Earth with flying techniques like his own were either the two Saiyans that they were fighting, or someone affiliated with the Z-fighters, so he didn't worry that much.

"Who are you?" Krillin asked, wondering if the new kid would be any help as backup.

"My name's Pigero. Hanna's been training me for the past six months, ever since I ran into Gohan during his own training. Since I wasn't strong enough to fight the Saiyans, I've been watching from Kame House through Fortuneteller Baba's crystal ball, along with everyone else. I figured that I'm at least capable of meeting you guys half-way, but..."

"Then, Gohan went ape." Krillin finished for Pigero. Honestly, the idea that Hanna had the time and wherewithal to train someone else for six months while preparing for the Saiyan invasion seemed a little far-fetched to Krillin, but he wasn't about to turn down help at a time like this. Piccolo, Tien, and Hanna herself were probably too embroiled in the fight between Raditz and Nappa to even realize what was going on with Gohan, after all.

"Exactly. What do you think our chances are?" Pigero asked. Hanna'd explained the transformation that Saiyans were able to go through to him once before, but she'd never actually transformed herself, so he'd taken the stories with a grain of salt. Seeing Gohan changing before him made the young man realize how stupid he was to not ask her more about it, their strengths and weaknesses, especially.

"When Goku transformed, he needed the moon, and his tail. If either were gone, he'd pretty much instantly change back." Krillin told Pigero as Gohan finished transforming and let out a roar.

"RAWR!!!!" Gohan's ape form gathered a beam of energy in its mouth. Apparently, even as an ape, if the person knew how to use their energy instinctively, they'd use it. That wasn't good. The two barely managed to dodge a beam that went on into the ocean, parting it like the tale of Moses for miles before disappearing into the distance.

"Yikes. And there is no moon!" Pigero exclaimed, trembling a little at the incredible destructive force. He'd seen Gohan and Hanna use incredible powers in their human forms for sure, but this was on another level from that. There was nothing that could survive that. Pigero also knew the tale of Gohan's last transformation, and how Piccolo had destroyed the moon in an attempt to ensure that the other Saiyans didn't use it to transform themselves.

"I think that that energy orb in the air is acting like some sort of pseudo-moon!" Krillin shouted as Gohan blasted a hole in a mountain. Unfortunately, he shouldn't have been as focused on thinking as he had been, because he wasn't able to dodge Gohan's huge ape backhand, which smacked him straight through a mountain and off into the distance with a huge "Boom!"

"Dude!" Pigero shouted, not knowing Krillin's name. They hadn't exactly had the time to get properly acquainted, after all. Realizing that he couldn't do anything for the bald monk-ish guy, Pigero turned back to Gohan, "Sorry, man, but if I can't destroy the moon, I'll have to destroy your tail instead."

"ROAR!" Gohan shot another huge energy blast into the ocean, aiming badly at Pigero. Thus, the battle between Pigero and the Giant Ape began