Part 11, Chapter 2: A True Warrior

Now's your chance, Cabba! Get out of here!

Y-Yes, sir!

(...They're wrong...! Back then...!)

(All right! We're sure to keep the city safe until Master comes back now!)

(Back then too...!! I should've been able to do it myself...without Master's help!!)

But this time...this time is different!! Even without Master...

I'll take them down myself!!

Guh?!

Why won't you just die already?!

Hmph! Calm yourself... All this bravado is just for show! He can't keep it up for long...!

Y-Yeah...! You're right...!!

...

Save yourself some pain and give up now! Either way, you've got a one-way ticket to the afterlife!!

Wroahh!!!

Haaa!! Haaa!!

Tch...!

(T-This kid isn't slowing down... If anything, he's getting stronger...!)

This runt! What the hell is happening?!

You little...! I've had enough! Bido...!

Got it!!

Eat this!!

...!

This is the only way this fight was ever going to end.

You're all out of options. Time to say goodbye! Kya ha ha!

Heh! You put up a pretty good fight...for a weakling! Now all you gotta do is die for us!!

F-Finally...!! I knew there was no way we could lose!

...

Hah...Ha ha ha...! You really wasted our time, boy...! But it doesn't matter!!

Because in the end, you were never a match for us!!!

...

...?!

Gah haha! That's it! Beat his last worthless breath out of him!!

(W-What was that?! What did he...?!)

Hey, Gokua! Come on! Don't let up now!!

S-Something's wrong...! He's...

...Is that it...?

...?!

Huh? What are you talking about?

You must've realized by now... There's no way you can kill me with such pathetic attacks...!!

H-Huh?!

Tch! Quit the tough-guy act! We've got you trapped and surrounded. Just what the hell could you possibl...

...HAAAAAA!!

Ughnnn?!

I-Impossible!! O-Our barrier...?!

Wh...What the hell is going on?!

...Some...

...Something's definitely wrong!!

After all, from what Rilldo gathered, this little twerp can't do much other than get rescued by his friends!

Heh heh! We know everything there is to know about you!

You're completely useless alone! Your only special move is calling for help! Pwah ha ha!!

T-This isn't what we were told...!

I won't...let you escape...!!

I'm taking you all down, right here, right now!!

...Now you've done it, twerp...!!

We're done playing nice!!

U-Urgh...!!

Gokua! Get it together!!

Leave him!! There's no way this kid's beating us anyway!!

You've had your fun, but now we're gonna crush the life out of you, you worthless brat!!

Daaa!!

Gyaaa?!

Gwaaa?!

Aaah!

(I-I think we might've made a big mistake underestimating this kid...!)

(He didn't depend on others because he was weak...!)

(It's the complete opposite!! He was only weak because he depended on others...!!)

I hope you're ready...

Hyeee?!

(T-This pressure...there's no mistaking it! To think he had this much power...!)

(He finally decided to fight by himself and unleash his true potential...!!)

H-How...?!

There's no way we can lose to this damn brat...!!

I wouldn't expect the likes of you to understand...!!

Besides...

...it's over!!!

D-Damn you!!

Gokua, wait!!

Gyaaa! Arghhh?!

Haaa! Haaa!!

I...I did it!

Somehow, I did it...

Look Master, I did it!!

Nice work, Cabba!

...!

N-Nail?! You're alive?!

Sorry for giving you a scare like that, but so long as my head is unharmed, I can regenerate...

Gohan and Trunks are hurt pretty bad, but it looks like they're gonna make it.

Are you guys alright?!

Mai!

I noticed that all the explosions had subsided and came to investigate... Thanks for taking care of things!

What about the others? Is everyone safe?

They sure are! When those guys attacked us, they all managed to make it out in time. Everyone's fine!

Who knows how ugly things might've gotten if you weren't here, Cabba.

Heh... One managed to get away though...

Yeah, but that loser now knows full well he doesn't stand a chance against you.

His fighting days are over... And even if they're not, there's no way he'd be so stupid as to come back here again!

You had them shaking in their boots! You really are a Saiyan!

Thanks, but I've still got a long way to go...

If Master had been here instead of me, things would've been so much easier...

What are you going on about now?! A latecomer like me doesn't deserve all that praise!

...!!!

You were the one who stepped up and protected everyone, not me! You should be proud of yourself!!

M-Master?!

Yo! I was making my way here too. That's when I smelled your scent!

I figured I should give you a hand and got here as fast as I could, but it looks like you've got everything under control!

Turns out I had nothing to worry about! You're a true warrior, Cabba!!

Ha ha! You really think so? A "true warrior"...!

I'll never forget those words! Thank you, Master!

It's good to have you back.

Good to be back!

...How's it looking?

Oh, it's you, Nail! It seems like quite a few of our supplies are still in good shape. We just need to clear the debris!!

That's great! Let's recover as much of it as we can!!

Whoa, whoa, hold up! You need to take it easy, Nail! Don't worry, you can leave this to us!!

You're kidding, right?! ...On second thought...I guess I could use a lie down...

I can't believe what happened over there...

Don't let it get you down! So long as we're all still alive, there's nothing we can't overcome together!

I've been thinking this for a while now, but you're one tough cookie, Mai! What exactly were you doing back in your era?!

Ah, ha...ha! Let's leave that for later! For now, I think we should get each other up to speed!

Mai's right. That was the reason Gohan, Trunks, and I came here in the first place.

Oh... You had something to tell me?

Yes...it's about Master and Zahha...

But now that we've reunited with Master, I suppose I can skip his part of the story!

You sure can! It'll take more than that to take me down! ...Maybe not THAT much more...but still!

A-And what about Zahha?! Is he safe too?!

It's complicated...

...Leave that part of the story to me!

N-No way?! Zahha couldn't possibly...?!

...

Unfortunately, it's true... No matter how much we all wish it wasn't...

But preparations for Lord Beerus' counterattack have already begun!

That reminds me! According to Lord Beerus, we're gonna need all the allies we can get if we want to stop Zahha!

Allies...to stop Zahha...

...

Got it! I'll do anything and everything I can to help! You can count on me!

A-Are you sure? Don't get me wrong, we could really use your help, but...

What's the matter, Bulma?

It's just... I thought you'd be more in shock, having found out about Zahha's betrayal and all...

You bet I'm in shock. But all I want right now is to know why he did it.

In order to find that out, first we have to stop him! Especially if this is the path he's chosen!

You feel the same way, don't you Shallot?

You bet I do!!

Even still, you're something else, Mai! It took me longer than I'd like to admit to get my head straight after I found out...

That's sweet of you to say, but don't go underestimating me! Don't forget that I'm way older than you guys!

(I-I didn't know that...! Just how old is she?!)

We're under attack!!

I-It can't be?!

You gotta be kidding?! This place can't catch a break...

Not again! Let's go stop them, Master!!

N-Not again!

You lowlifes!!

Heh heh! Looks like you only just got done fending off an attack... Let's see if you can handle two in a row!

If you don't want this place to get any more messed up, you'd best be handing over some grub! Hya hya hya!!

You filthy cowards! You would really take advantage of this situation?!

Of course! You go in for the kill when your prey is at its weakest... That's hunting 101! He he he!

Nail! Is everyone alright?!

Cabba, you're just in time!!

What's this now? Don't tell me you're who they sent as backup?

What are you mangy mutts up to now?!

Y-Yikes!! Sh-Shallot?!

...Master, do you know these guys?

I guess you could say they're old sparring buddies of mine...!

W-We're your arch nemeses!!

As if! All you guys do is follow me around, trying to start fights!!

Look who's talking!! You were the one who started it last time...!

You don't know anything! You'd better shut your big mouths before I shut them for you!!

Gyaaah!!

No matter how you look at it, you took things way too far back then!

Ahh... Yeah, that was my bad for sure. Let's just say you caught me at a bad time...

You think?! You scared the hell outta, er, not that I was SCARED or nothin', but anyway! This time, it'll be you howling in pain!!

Ummm... I don't know exactly what happened between you and Master, but you made a big mistake coming here!!

Sorry to break it to you, but we have a zero-mercy policy for anyone that attacks this place!!

And just who the hell is this pocket-sized Saiyan supposed to be?! You keep yapping on, kid, and there'll be a beating!!

...

And just who do you imagine will be the one doing the beating?! Allow me to introduce Cabba, your newest sparring buddy!

You gotta be kidding me!!

You wanna see what he's capable of? Then let's go somewhere more suited to an ass-kicking!! Come on, you slobbering losers!!

Hmph! We'll show you!!

Alright then, Cabba, time to show 'em what you're made of! No going easy on them, OK?

You got it, Master! I can't wait for you to see my full power!!

Wroahhh!!

Guugh!!

Daaa!!

Gwaaa?!

(C-Crap! It ain't just Shallot... This pipsqueak is way tougher than he looks!!)

I dunno why you came here looking for trouble, but do yourselves a favor and give up already! You don't stand a chance against us!

Like hell we don't!! We're just getting started!!

Yeah! Like we'd listen to you meat-headed Saiyans...

...

...Was that the sound of a stomach rumbling...?

Like hell it was!! You got some problem with your ears, boy?!

...I guess there's only one thing you can do in this situation!

Hey, losers, wait there a sec! I'll be back in a minute, promise!!

Huh?!

Wait, what are yo?! Master?! Where are you going?!

I brought you something! This "Cap-sel" thing from Mai has food in it, so here, take it!!

What?!

W-What the heck are you up to?!

You were right when you said I went too far last time... Consider this my way of making it up to you.

You guys are famished, right? Your attacks were even weaker than usual back there!

...!

Beating you guys like this would leave a bad taste in my mouth! So chow down on this for now and let's have a rematch later!

Tch! Helping out your nemeses is a dumb move, even for you! There's almost no reason to even fight someone that stupid!!

How do you think I feel?! There's nothing fun about fighting someone whose stomach is crying out for help!

If you're giving us all this grub, then we'll have to give you something in return! He he!

Don't worry about that! Just take the food and get out of here!

No, no, please. Here, I've got just the thing...!

...?!

Thanks for the food, idiot!!

W-What?!

Ughh!!

How'd you like that?! This makes us even! We'll be getting out of here now...with the food, of course!! Kya ha ha!!

...?! They're gone!!

Those cowardly, slobbering mutts!!

T-They're a vile pair for sure... But at least things ended without getting too ugly. Let's get back to the others!

Welcome back! Any injuries to report?

Nope, we're all good! But I'm sorry about before, barging in here and making off with all that food!

It's no problem! Anything to help get that meddlesome pair out of our hair!

And now that they are, I assume you'll be heading straight back out to recruit more allies? We don't have much time to spare!

Speaking of which, Mai, do you have any information that might aid our search?

At the base with you there's Cabba...plus Gohan and Trunks, but they're sadly out of action for the time being...

We'd love to recruit Bardock, as well as Caulifla and Kale, but we have no clue as to their current whereabouts...

Hmmm... I can't say for sure, but if that's who you're looking for, there are rumors...

...rumors that a hulking Saiyan and a strong-willed woman have been spotted in a town someplace far from here.

A strong-willed woman... That might just be Caulifla...!

And a hulking Saiyan sounds a lot like Kale...!

It's like trying to solve a riddle!

Sorry I can't be of more use! I've been so busy with everything going on here that I've lost track of the outside world!

And I hate to say it...but that exact same rumor has been coming out of two towns at once...

Two towns?

In other words, either one of the towns is a dud, or there's actually four warriors out there.

Or both towns are duds and there aren't any warriors at all...?

Well, there's only one way to find out! It may not be much to go on, but it's better than nothing!

What are we waiting for? Let's get out there and find those two towns!!

Sounds like a plan! And with Cabba helping us, you two can split up and cut the search time in half!

I'd love to help...but if I leave, we won't have enough people here to defend from another attack...

I'm not sure I can abandon my responsibilities here...

Hmmm, if that's the only problem, then I think I've got the perfect man for the job!

He's a reasonable fighter and a whiz on the transmitter, so he'll definitely come in handy! He also just so happens to be free!!

Who?

Yeah, who? I don't know anyone like that!

I'm talking about you, Jaco!

What?!

That's...actually a really good idea! If Shallot just needs an extra pair of eyes, I can handle that!

Plus, it'll be great to have Jaco reporting back to me from the ground!

Woah, hold up a moment! I'm not exactly in the mood to leave the safety of Kami's Lookout to go risk my life down there!

W-Would that really be okay, Bulma?

You bet! It's A-okay with me!!

Alright then! I'll get Jaco ready to go and send him down to you! Sit tight, he won't be long!

You gotta be kidding me! You can't tell me what to do! I refuse. I won't go! I wanna stay here where it's safe!!

I-Is he going to be alright? He hardly sounds enthusiastic...

Don't sweat it! That's just his way of getting himself pumped up! You can count on him!

Besides, Cabba's right. Recruiting allies is super important, but so's defending our base!

Agreed! In that case, I'll put my faith in Jaco! Now you're free to go too, right, Cabba?

I sure am! Alright then, if Master and I split up, we should be to get to the bottom of those rumors in no time!

Go get 'em! And with Jaco coming here, we'll be able to take good care of Gohan and Trunks, so you've got nothing to worry about!

I love me an adventure! I can't wait to see who we find!!

Hmph! All the greatest warriors from across history...and still nothing but weaklings to be found... Pathetic!

Regardless, no matter what era this is, my mission is unchanged.

Destroying this filth-infested universe is my sole purpose!!

Well, well, what do we have here...

...!

Settling for the destruction of just one universe is setting the bar a little low, wouldn't you say? Fwa ha ha!

That voice... It must be some sort of telepathy... Who are you?

One who shall bestow upon you a task of epochal magnificence... Do I have your attention?

...