The Bond

Krillin was pushing himself to fly faster. He had nearly been turned to stone back there- he couldn't get the image of Rilan and Piccolo changing out of his mind. Rilan had sacrificed himself for Krillin. He shook himself. This was bad, way bad!

Up ahead, Krillin spotted two specks flying. He reached out with his senses and gasped when he felt Makoto and Videl. He pushed to catch up to them, calling out.

"Makoto! Makoto, wait!"

They came into proper view and stopped, looking back at him.

"Mister Krillin?" Makoto blinked at him, "I thought you went with my mom and dad."

"I did," said Krillin as they all paused, hovering in the air, "Your uncle Goku told me to come back and tell the others what's happened- we were watching them give the thing that held Gohan's power over, and-" Krillin looked at Makoto… the kid was only five- of course, that was how old Gohan was when they went to Namek, but, he didn't think it would be right explaining to the little guy how Bobbity had brutally murdered his own men, and then how Dabora turned Rilan and Piccolo to stone. He didn't want to scare him. "I- maybe we should just get to the others."

Videl looked at him with wide eyes, glancing at Makoto, "Is it… that bad?" she asked, "Is Gohan okay?"

"Gohan was fine when I left," Krillin assured, "The guy that… found us, he was stronger than me, but I'm sure he'll be easy enough for Gohan and the others."

"Of course," Makoto smirked and crossed his arms, tail lashing, "My parents can defeat any stupid wizard and his little foot soldiers. I don't know why you look so worried, Mister Krillin!"

Krillin forced on a smile. He was still thoroughly shaken after what he had seen. It had been a long time since he saw such brutal murder. It reminded him of when they faced Frieza, and he had ended up dead in that scenario.

"Let's get back to the others then," said Videl, a worried look on her face, "We can tell them what's happened… and hope for the best."

Krillin nodded, but Makoto smirked, "Well now that you're here, Mister Krillin, you can take Videl back, and I can go after my parents."

"No!" shouted Krillin, holding up his hands, "Makoto, it's way too dangerous! It's no place for a kid!"

Makoto scowled at him, "I bet I can beat you in a fight right here and now!"

Damn this kid had Vegeta's blood in him. And Krillin knew he was right- the second that kid transformed, it was game over. He waved his hands, "I know, Makoto, I know, but it doesn't change the fact that it's still too dangerous for you! You will just distract your parents, they'll be worried about you and not be able to fight at their best!"

Makoto opened his mouth, but then shut it. He glared down at the ground, "Hmph," he grunted, "I guess you're right…"

"Then let's get going," said Krillin with a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for Makoto running off into a fight that could very well end in another Cell-like event.

He didn't want to think about what Katima or Vegeta would do to him if he let anything happen to their kid. They began flying again, heading back toward the island.

*scene change*

Katima won this rock paper scissors. She grinned as she faced the door, waiting for their next opponent.

"Katima, think about this," Shin begged as she stepped forward, "Bobbity is sure to send one of his stronger minions this time, you won't be able to do this alone!"

"Hmph," Vegeta scoffed, "I think you should just sit back and be quiet, Supreme Kai. Katima has more than enough power and strength to take care of whatever that Bobbity fool sends out."

Katima chuckled and looked back, "He means that I can handle this, and not to worry, okay?"

"Yeah, Katima's got this, Supreme Kai," said Gohan, grinning, "Just relax, okay?"

Shin looked at a loss for words. Katima smiled sympathetically. She would figure that he would know about their strength, but it seemed he was just as shocked as humans got when they transformed.

Her head snapped back forward when she heard the door open. Out stepped another alien, a tiny thing, with large pointed ears, deep gold skin, and arms that went to the ground where his strangely large hands dragged. His short legs moved him into the room. He wore the same white armor as the last one, and he grinned, his mouth going all the way to his large ears. There was a small tuft of black hair on his head, shaped in a Mohawk. His eyes, which were small and beady, gleamed as he looked upon Katima.

"What… is this…" Katima pouted, "I thought you said he would send someone strong, not a gremlin."

"I know that man!" Shin cried, "Katima, do not under estimate him by his size! That is Laken, he is very powerful, and his grip can break your arm clean off!"

Katima looked at the little creature, noseless and that M on his forehead. His hands were large, just like his ears, and Katima guessed that for anyone normal, sure, it could break off a limb. But, a smirk coming to her lips, Katima knew she was far from normal.

The door closed behind Laken and he tilted his head, those massive ears bouncing a bit.

"You plan to fight me alone, female?" he asked, his voice horribly high pitched and squeaky.

"Sure," she replied, "It's not like I'll need help," she smirked, readying her stance.

Laken cackled, his giggle like nails running down a chalkboard.

"You think you will beat me because I am small, female? You will be disappointed!"

"I don't care about your size," said Katima, "Even if you look hilarious. If you were seven feet tall and five feet wide I'd still win, now come on, let's get this over with, hm?"

Laken giggled again, "So be it female, I will crush you to dust in my hands!"

He darted forward, and as Katima figured, he was quick from his small size. She jumped to the side, dodging him with ease. But instead of pausing in annoyance or shock like Pui Pui had, he caught himself on the ground with his massive hands and propelled himself back toward her, fingers extended. Katima launched her leg up, slamming a kick into his center mass and sending him across the room like a kick ball. He managed to twist and catch himself on the ceiling instead of slamming into it. He twirled and landed and jumped forward again, hissing like a mad cat.

Determined, and fast paced, this one, Katima thought with a grin. Still not much of a challenge. She thrust up her knee as he went by her, making contact with his head. He went up and bounced off the ceiling and then landed heavily on the ground with a squeak. Katima folded her arms.

"Well, this is boring so far," she said.

Laken pushed himself up, his tiny eyes glaring toward her.

"Female strong," he said, "I did not expect an Earthling to have such power."

Katima smirked, "Yes, well. Let's just say it's in my blood."

She saw Vegeta smirk out of the corner of her eye.

And then, the room changed again.

Katima blinked as the round room vanished and was swiftly replaced with a wasteland, hard and dead earth underfoot, and an incredible heat bearing down. Katima instantly began to sweat. Looking up, squinting, she saw four bright sources of light overhead and a near pure white sky around them. Four suns? Katima felt her skin tingling with the heat. Laken began to giggle madly again.

"With thanks to my master Bobbity, we have been placed on my home planet," he said, "You feel the heat, female? This planet has eight suns, four are always overhead at all times… isn't this hotness just wonderful?"

"Laken's kind operates the best in extremely hot environments," said Shin, wiping his brow, "Katima- you can't do this alone!"

"Bullshit I can't," snapped Katima, making Shin blink in surprise as she turned to face the little devil, "A little heat isn't enough to stop me."

"Female is foolish," Laken laughed, and rushed at her.

His speed had increased tenfold, and Katima just barely managed to block a massive punch in time, her arm that met his huge fist bending with the blow. She grinned and laughed, "Ha! Now that's more like it!"

She threw out a fist, catching him in his tiny gut, but as he bent with the blow, his massive hands clasped around her arm.

And he began to squeeze.

Katima grunted in surprise, then yelped in pain. How did that little thing have such strength? Her arm was slowly being crushed- she felt her skin split a bit, blood seeping. She had to get this little bastard off now before real damage could be done, like a broken arm.

She wrestled, but his grip would not release. Using her other hand she punched him, hard, and while he grunted in pain and he head went back with the blow, he did not release her.

Blood dripped on the ground.

Shin began to step forward, "He's going to break off her arm-" he began.

"No he isn't!" cried Katima, and howled as she powered up. Gold flicked around her, lacing around her body until it reached her hair, which it turned up and dyed yellow. The sheer force of her transformation caused Laken to be blasted back. She stood there, her green eyes narrowed as she looked at her arm. It had split the skin at the edges of where he was gripping, and looked bruised, but otherwise unharmed. She wiped away the blood and smirked.

"You- you changed-!" Laken gasped, propping himself up and looking at her, "How did you power get so high?"

Katima powered down, flexing her arm, her hair fading back to black, "I believe our fight is done," she said, holding out her non injured arm, palm aimed at the little creature.

He yelped and tried to scramble away.

Katima let out a small cry of effort, and a massive blast erupted from her hand, and collided into him. With a scream of pain, the tiny creature was reduced to ash.

The room returned to normal, and the panel in the floor opened up.

Shin looked at a complete loss for words.

"That little guy sure had a grip!" Goku laughed, "How's your arm?"

Katima looked it over, "Just some cuts and bruises. I didn't let him do any real damage," she smirked, "Come on, you're up next, bro."

Goku grinned and hopped down the shaft.

Vegeta grunted and followed, Katima after him, and Gohan and Shin behind her.

What sort of game was this Bobbity playing at? None of these fighters he was sending were worth the effort. Why didn't he just send that Dabora and get it over with? If that demon king was the best of the wizard's ranks, Katima was going to be disappointed.

*scene change*

Bulma looked out at the stage, a frown on her lips. She felt a slight twinge in her gut. Rilan… She hoped he was okay. She couldn't help but have a terrible feeling about this. Something wasn't right. However, she was grateful for the distraction below.

It had been about three hours since the others left, and the tournament was finally back on. The last three fighters were to all fight in the ring together and at once in a battle royal to decide who the new champion would be- Hercule Satan, that Mighty Mask fellow, and 18 who had stayed behind rather than go with the others.

"Go mommy!" little Marin called, "You can do it!"

Bulma smiled and patted the small girl's head. She supposed she would root for 18 as well, since her husband and other friends weren't fighting. 18 was nice enough anyway, and Bulma got along with her well when she and Krillin visited. It was easy to forget that she was once a threat to the entire planet.

And she was excited to see Hercule get his face beat in.

But it seemed neither 18 or Mighty Mask were interested in Hercule. In fact, as soon as the announcer said, "Fight!" they went straight for each other.

And Bulma blinked in surprise as the strength and speed of that Mighty Mask fellow. He wasn't the average fighter- there was no way. And the way he moved was remarkable, able to punch and kick at the same time and without relenting. After a moment, he launched into the air. So he could fly! This was sure to be an interesting fight.

"Go Mama!" called Marin, "Get 'im!"

"Come on 18!" cried Chichi.

18, however, got a punch landed on her. She was thrown back a bit, but rushed forward and swiftly flipped forward in midair, slamming a kick down on Mighty Mask's head. He was sent flying down and crashed into the stage, leaving behind a massive crater. Bulma cringed. That may have been a bit much, what if she killed the guy?

The announcer stepped forward, looking down in the crater.

"Mighty Mask, would you like to give up…?" he asked.

And then, the man popped up, jumping out of the crater, hands on his hips. In a high voice, almost like a child, he cried, "Haha! I never give up!"

And he launched into the sky after 18 again.

*scene change*

Katima threw an arm around Vegeta's shoulder as she watched her brother step forward, at the ready to fight. Gohan was next to her, and Shin past him. Still, the Supreme Kai was at a complete loss it seemed, totally confused by their confidence and power.

The door opened, and their next challenger stepped out. Katima blinked in surprise.

It was a monster, green skinned, tall, and menacing, his legs like that of an animal, his torso huge and bulky compared to them, large clawed hands and feet, and a frog like face, no nose and massive eyes. There was a letter M on his chest as he possessed no real forehead.

"Eugh!" Goku made a face, "Why do I get this guy? He smells!"

"I know that monster!" cried Shin, "That is Yakon! He is one of the strongest creatures in the south galaxies! Goku, you will not be able to defeat him on your own!"

"Nah, I've got this, Supreme Kai," said Goku, grinning back at him, "I may need a shower afterwards though!"

"But-" Shin began.

"Kakarot can more than handle this creature," Vegeta snapped, "Let him fight."

Shin quieted, looking worried.

The creature looked at them, and in a deep menacing voice, "Moursels… which one to devour first…?"

Katima looked over the monster. Sure he looked strong enough, but the power level she was feeling from him wasn't very impressive. She was confused. The way that Shin had been talking, these guys were supposed to be incredibly powerful beings! But what Bobbity was throwing them were just average rabble, hardly even worth the effort. This one didn't even feel as strong as Frieza had been.

So why put them through this? She barely had a wound from the last one, Vegeta wasn't scratched, and she doubted Goku would even break a sweat taking care of this one. Katima figured that Shin, the Supreme Kai, would know about all things in the universe, wasn't that his job? So how did he not understand how strong they were and that these things that Bobbity was sending were child's play?

It was almost insulting.

The monster called Yakon swiped at Goku. Her brother nimbly ducked and then jumped as the beast made to upper cut him. Blades came out of the creature's forearms as he swiped, and Goku landed, looking shocked, and his shirt ripped slightly.

"Uegh!" he yelped, looking down, "That was close!"

Those blades did seem incredibly sharp. Goku would have to watch out for those, but that shouldn't pose any issue.

However, the room vanished around them.

This time, nothing reappeared around them, and they were thrown into pitch blackness. Katima couldn't see a thing and she widened her eyes in effort to see. The smell of wet rock and mold came to her nostrils and a deep cold clung to the humid air.

"What happened?" Gohan's voice spoke next to her, "Are we somewhere new or did Bobbity just shut off the lights?"

"We are on the planet of Darkness," said Shin's voice to her other side, "It is in the far reaches of space, where no light can touch it. This is where Yakon was born… He can see in the dark, Goku!" he called louder, "Be careful!"

"Right!" Goku said, and Katima heard the confidence in his voice.

Switching to relying on her senses to tell what was happening, she felt the subtle vibrations in the air, and it told the entire story to her.

Yakon was growling, stupid of him, just making it easier to track where he was, and he launched toward Goku. Her brother leapt up into the air, and then darted down, slamming his elbow into the creature's head. It slammed Yakon into the ground, where he rolled away, hissing in annoyance.

Goku raced after him, throwing out a punch that made it's mark, the sound of knuckles meeting flesh echoing across to her. She heard the air rush as Goku thrust up his leg, kicking Yakon high into the air, the wind whistling around the creature's body as he rose and then fell. She heard him flip to land on his feet, and he was growling in anger.

"Can you tell what's going on?" asked Shin's voice.

"Yes," said Vegeta bluntly, "Kakarot is winning."

Goku was going at Yakon again, throwing out another punch. Yakon's gut met it, and he swiped out at Goku as he was hit, those blades making the air whine around them. Goku ducked and rolled away, chuckling.

"You can see in the dark?" Yakon demanded.

"Well, no," Goku said, "But I can feel you through the vibrations of the air and by your energy signature… there is one way I can see you though."

Katima smirked as Goku let out a cry and suddenly, light erupted from where she could hear him from. Golden light racing around his body to his hair, lighting it to yellow and making it stand on end. The area around them was illuminated by the harsh glow of his Super Saiyan power.

As Katima had expected they were on rock, damp and slick underfoot, with several pools of water shimmering about them. The creature Yakon was also thrown into light. He stared in shock toward Goku, a fear in his frog like eyes.

"You seem nervous," Goku clenched his fists, grinning.

Katima turned to see her husband's face put into light, the shadows crossing the handsome features. He met her gaze and she smiled. She reached out for his hand and he looked at it, then returned to watching the fight, not making any move to take it. Katima frowned a little, looking back at her brother, a strange feeling coming to her from the bond and from herself.

What was wrong? Hadn't they gotten past the awkwardness of touching YEARS ago? He seemed withdrawn, as if he had no interest in their soft emotions right now, as if all he cared for was to see Goku fight.

It seemed that her brother's return had brought back more than just old flames of their rivalry. Vegeta seemed to be reverting comepletely, as if these last seven years never happened, like they had never faced Dengen and learned the true secret of the Bond.

But she didn't have lond to dwell on it.

Because Yakon had began to smile.

"You seem pretty confident all of the sudden," Goku said, crossing his arms, "Are you ready to continue our fight?"

"That light, it just looks so delicious," grumbled the beast, and opened his mouth wide.

To Katima's surprise, a great wind began sucking them all towards the creature. Yakon was sucking in, and the light from Goku's aura went right into his mouth like a golden streamer. Goku had to dig his feet into the ground to keep from being dragged right into the monster's mouth, and then, quite suddenly, the light vanished from Goku completely and went all into Yakon's gaping maw.

"What?" Katima gasped.

"Wugh!" Goku's face shrieked as they were thrown into complete darkness again.

"Yakon feeds on light energy, Goku!" Shin called, "You can not go Super Saiyan, or he will absorb it and gain strength!"

Katima could feel a significant difference in the monster's power level. He was much stronger now, and she knew that Goku would not be able to defeat him without transforming.

"Such delicious pure energy!" cried Yakon, "I have never tasted something so potent… Give me more!"

"We will have to fight him together!" Shin said.

"No," said Goku, "I'll fight him alone."

"Dad!" Gohan called, "I think we should listen to the Supreme Kai this time, he's absorbed a lot of energy!"

"I'll fight him alone," Goku repeated, and Katima could almost hear the smirk on her brother's lips.

What was he planning?

To her surprise, Goku powered up again, transforming to Super Saiyan, throwing everything into view again.

Yakon grinned toothily at him, "Yes… more…" he opened his maw wide, and began to suck in the light once more.

"Dad, no!" Gohan cried, "You're just making him stronger!"

"Shut up," Vegeta snapped, "Kakarot would not let the creature win on purpose. He has a plan."

Gohan quieted but frowned toward his father.

Katima waited for the same thing to happen, for the light to go out and Goku to return to normal, but her brother was clever. As soon as his energy was dropping to the point of losing his transformation, he let out a cry, and began to power up. His energy level rocketed, and Katima watched as the light was sucked into Yakon's wide mouth. The creature's body began to glow with the golden light from beneath the skin, and his belly began to grow.

Katima slowled smirked. She understood. Yakon's body grew and grew as Goku powered up. The creature only began to show signs of panic when it was far too late. He stopped sucking in the light, closing his mouth and his entire body was bulging. The light from beneath his skin grew brighter and brighter, and then… pop.

Yakon exploded, the light bursting out among the raining gore of blue blood and bits of body. Goku grinned and folded his arms.

"He blew up!" Shin yelped.

"His body couldn't handle all that energy," said Katima, "It wasn't prepared for such and increase of power. It rejected it."

"And energy to spare," she heard Vegeta murmur, "Interesting."

A panel appeared in the ground, and it opened. Goku pointed at it, grinning, "Look guys! Final stage before Bobbity!"

He hopped down it and Gohan laughed and followed him, "I hope I get to fight someone worth while. So far these guys have just been a bunch of jokes."

Vegeta went after Gohan, the three of the boys jumping down the shaft to the next stage. Katima looked at Shin who looked totally boggled.

"Are you going to keep looking like that or finally understand that we're more than strong enough to defeat anything Bobbity can throw at us?" Katima asked, smirking.

"I don't understand!" Shin said, "We checked on Earth's progress after the defeat of Cell, and all of your power levels- how has so much changed?"

"It's been seven years," said Katima, "Vegeta and I have been training non stop, I'm sure Goku has been doing the same in Other World, and Gohan has always had access to a strange power since he was little. We are Saiyans. Training and becoming stronger is what we do. Now come on," she winked, "I bet you he sends that Dabora next. We'll kill him, and get Rilan and Piccolo back!"