The Horror of Emptiness                                                                                                      Reda

Chapter Three: Capture

    Saiyans: the most mysterious beings in the universe. There is no end to a Saiyan’s power, which is why they love a good fight. Only Goku and Vegeta are left, though, so the only good fights for them that are not against evil are ones verses each other. So, really the most interesting fights occur when you have two Saiyans against each other. Well, what if the fight is too hard for our hero to win? That can’t happen, can it? Goku can’t lose a fight. He’s a hero, the greatest Super Saiyan life has ever known, the protector of the universe. So, how could he lose a fight? Is there a possibility for there to be someone out there stronger than him?

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They all stepped back; even Goku was surprised. “How do you know my name?” Goku asked.

“Ah...then you’re the one my master wants. You can come with us nice and easy, or you can choose to fight my friend.”

“What are you talking about?” Goku asked.

The girl sighed, obviously wanting to go back to wherever she came from. “I said...you’re coming with us. You can choose to come nice and easy or you can fight my friend.”

Goku got in his defense mode, answering the girl’s question. “Cool! I get to fight an unbeatable fighter! This is going to be fun!” The boy said as he jumped a yard closer to Goku, and began to power up.

As the strange boy powered up, Goku paid attention to the boy’s raising power level. The Earth shook, nearby trees were uprooted, Chi-Chi fell down because of the shaking Earth, and Goku realized that this boy’s power level was higher than he’d ever imagined. It might actually take a while to beat this kid. Hopefully, his friend wouldn’t join in.

Goku turned around to face his family and friend. “Krillin, Goten, take Chi-Chi and go to Hercules’s house to stay with Gohan. I’ll meet you there later, I hope.”

“But Goku, you can’t handle these guys alone! They’re way too powerful!” Krillin objected.

Goten agreed, “Yeah, Dad, let us help you!”

“No guys, you need to go somewhere safe right now. I’ll take care of these two.” Goten was about to object, but Goku stopped him. “No, Goten, you can’t stay and help me. If I happen to fail, they’d get you too. I can’t let that happen. Please, guys do me a favor and go to Gohan’s with Chi-Chi.”

“But...”

Krillin stopped Goten this time. “Your dad’s right, Goten. He has to take care of these two alone. Now, get your mother and let’s go.” As Goten gave up the argument, Krillin turned to Goku. “Goku, do me a favor and make it back alive. You can’t die now. The tournament is in a few weeks. If I don’t get to fight against you then all my training would be for nothing.” He looked out of the corner of his eye to see that Goten was ready to leave. “Goodbye, Goku. I’ll see you later.”

With that, Krillin leapt up into the air, and flew off towards Gohan’s house with Goten on his tail. Goku watched them slowly disappear into the distance. When he could see them no longer, he turned back around to face the strangers. The boy’s power level was extremely high. There was still a chance that he could beat the boy, but Goku did have a disadvantage. He hadn’t fought anyone or trained for several years.

“So are you ready for the first fight you’ll ever lose?” The boy asked, sounding mighty cocky.

Goku got back in his defense position, and got himself ready for a fight. This was going to be a really tough battle, but he was ready for anything.

“Hey, Vee, remember don’t kill him. The last time you accidentally killed someone the master almost killed you. If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t even be here today,” the girl smirked.

“Shut up, Reda, I don’t need to hear your smart-ass mouth right now. I’m not going to kill Goku, but if you remember correctly the master said that he’s the one responsible for your brother’s death. Maybe he’ll let you kill Goku when he’s done with him.”

Goku interrupted, “Are we going to do this or not?”

Vee answered him with an energy blast. Goku jumped to dodge it and saw Vee right in front of him. The boy aimed a punch at Goku’s face, but the Saiyan was able to block it. Vee then aimed a kick at Goku’s gut, hitting his mark. As Goku grabbed his stomach and gasped for air, Vee knocked his elbow into Goku’s back, causing the Saiyan hero to be plunged into the ground. Goku managed to get back on his feet, and he instantly went Super Saiyan 3.

“Whoa, he’s got long golden hair. I want hair like that,“ Vee muttered to himself. “Of course, I’d like to keep my eyebrows.”

Reda, still standing calmly in the exact same spot, thought to herself, Master told me about this. Goku knows how to go Super Saiyan 3. Vee shouldn’t have a problem with this. He doesn’t even need to transform to beat a Super Saiyan at this level. Still, I’d like to know how Goku is a Saiyan...

Meanwhile, Vee was beating the crap out of Goku. Not even the Super Saiyan 3 could stop this strange and unusually powerful young boy. The fight went on with Goku getting weaker and weaker. He was barely hanging onto his Super Saiyan 3 form while Vee was still in his prime condition, and he was even a little bit stronger.

The boy kicked Goku in the chest and caused the Saiyan to go back to the first Super Saiyan stage. Another punch in the gut and Goku was barely hanging onto consciousness. Goku landed on the ground, but Vee was quick to kick our hero and send him skidding across the ground. He stopped just two feet in front of Reda.

Vee hovered in the air as Reda walked over to see if Goku was still awake. She signaled to Vee, letting him know that Goku was unconscious. Vee landed next to Reda and saw for himself that the fight had ended.

“Mission accomplished,” Vee said with his satisfied smile. “That was quite a fun battle. I hope there are others like him on the Earth. Then, I’d have fun fighting them all.”

Reda rolled her eyes. “You know our master would probably say no to your fun. Besides, he’s going to be too busy with Goku to really care about your fun. We’d better get back. We are a little off schedule.”

“Well I’m sorry that I had my fun...”

“And took your time,” Reda finished. “Let’s just get back before we waste anymore time.”

Without another word the two strangers disappeared from the battlefield.

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Gohan was surprised to hear about what had happened. Krillin and Goten came in with his mom, bearing news that his father was fighting two strangers with unbelievable power levels. Gohan’s first thought was to go after him, but then Krillin told him the rest of the story.

So, they sat down and waited, and waited, and waited some more. They waited long enough for Pan to get home from school and tell her about the situation. After explaining it to Pan, Gohan decided that he couldn’t wait any longer. Someone had to go back and see if his father was okay.

“Can I come too?” Pan asked when Gohan announced what he was going to do.

Gohan turned from the door to face his daughter. “Pan, it’s too dangerous. We don’t even know if the fight’s finished.”

“But I want to go!” Pan insisted. “I can take care of myself. I know how to fight.”

“I know you do, sweetie...”

“Don’t call me that!” Pan yelled.

Gohan just acted as if he didn’t hear her. “Pan, I know you can fight, but until we find out their power you’re just going to have to stay home with Mom.”

 “Awe...” Pan said, pouting, but giving up the argument.

“Are you ready Gohan?” Krillin asked.

     “Yes,” Gohan answered.

     At that word, Krillin, Gohan, and Goten went outside. They all flew up and went at high speed to Goku’s house. The closer they got the more worried Gohan became. He couldn’t sense his father when he should have been able to. Something had definitely gone wrong in that battle.

     It didn’t take long for them to reach the well-known house. Gohan knew something was wrong the moment they landed. He still couldn’t sense his father, and he didn’t sense any strange powers. What made it worse was the fact that there had been a battle earlier today. Trees were gone from the ground, and there were plenty indentations all across the ground. The most obvious was a skid mark that reached about five yards. Then there was nothing. There was no indication of anyone standing up after skidding for five yards. It looked as if whomever had been here had just flat-out disappeared.

Gohan searched for his dad’s energy. Still nothing. This wasn’t good. He didn’t like the looks of this at all.

     “Hey, I can’t sense either one of them, Gohan.” Krillin said, walking up to the half-breed Saiyan’s side. “They’re gone, and they’ve taken Goku with them.”