The air itself screamed under immense pressure
Two auras—crimson and violet—blazed across the battlefield like living flames, their combined energy so intense that the very atmosphere began to warp and bend around them. Goku and Sage moved as one, their footsteps synchronized, their breathing matched, their killing intent focused on a single target.
Prince Vegeta.
"This is impossible!" Vegeta snarled, his white aura erupting outward as he prepared to meet their charge. His scouter had long since given up trying to calculate their power levels, smoke rising from its circuits as it displayed nothing but error messages.
But for the first time in his life, the prince of all Saiyans felt something he'd never experienced before.
Fear.
Goku hit him first.
The impact was like a meteor strike. Goku's Kaioken-enhanced fist slammed into Vegeta's crossed arms with enough force to create a sonic boom, the shockwave rippling outward and shattering every remaining piece of debris within a hundred-meter radius.
Vegeta's feet carved trenches in the earth as he skidded backward, his arms screaming in agony from the impact. But before he could recover, Sage was already there.
The younger Saiyan's violet flames had changed him completely. Where once he'd been calculated and precise, now he fought with primal instinct. His elbow shot toward Vegeta's exposed ribs like a spear thrust, the violet energy around it making the air hiss and pop.
Vegeta twisted desperately. The strike grazed his armor instead of punching through his chest, but even that glancing blow cracked the metal plating and sent him spinning away from Goku's follow-up attack.
"How are you coordinating like this?" Vegeta demanded, landing in a crouch with both arms throbbing. "You don't even know each other!"
Neither answered. They didn't need to.
Goku came in high, his crimson aura trailing behind him like a comet's tail. His right fist aimed for Vegeta's skull while his left prepared to catch any dodge. But Sage was already moving low, his violet flames coiled around his leg as he swept toward Vegeta's ankles.
The prince had no choice. He leaped backward, but that's exactly what they'd wanted.
Goku's energy blast caught him in mid-air. Not a full Kamehameha—just a quick burst of blue ki that sent Vegeta tumbling through the sky like a rag doll. Before he could recover, Sage was there, having launched himself upward with a violet-wreathed leap that left a crater where he'd stood.
Sage's knee drove into Vegeta's stomach with surgical precision. The prince doubled over, retching, and Sage's follow-up elbow strike caught him between the shoulder blades. The combined impacts sent Vegeta plummeting toward the earth like a falling star.
He hit the ground hard enough to create a new crater.
"Impossible," Vegeta gasped, blood trickling from his mouth as he struggled to his feet. His royal armor was cracked in multiple places, and his perfect hair was disheveled with dirt and debris. "I'm elite-class. I'm royalty. This can't be happening."
"Your bloodline won't save you here," Sage said, landing gracefully beside Goku. His violet transformation pulsed with each heartbeat, the energy dancing around him like liquid fire.
"We're not fighting for pride," Goku added, his crimson Kaioken aura steady despite the strain it was putting on his body. "We're fighting for our home."
Vegeta's face twisted with rage. "Sentiment! Weakness! I'll show you what real power looks like!"
He exploded forward, his white aura blazing as he poured everything into a desperate assault. His first strike was a feint—a jab toward Goku's face that pulled back at the last second as his real attack, a devastating uppercut, shot toward Sage's chin.
But Sage read it instantly. His violet flames flared as he leaned back, the uppercut whistling past his face by millimeters. His counter-strike was already in motion—a palm thrust aimed at Vegeta's solar plexus that would have stopped his heart.
Vegeta twisted away, but Goku was waiting. The crimson-wreathed Saiyan's fist caught the prince in the kidney, a blow that sent shockwaves through his entire body. Vegeta's scream of pain echoed across the battlefield.
"You're fast," Goku admitted, his Kaioken aura flickering slightly. "But we're faster."
They came at him together.
Goku struck first—a straight punch that Vegeta barely managed to deflect. But the deflection left him open for Sage's knee strike, which caught him in the ribs and cracked another section of his armor. Vegeta spun away from the impact, directly into Goku's waiting elbow.
The prince staggered backward, his vision blurring. Blood ran freely from his nose and mouth, and his breathing was becoming labored. These weren't the same fighters who had struggled against Nappa. These were warriors who had transcended their limitations through sheer determination.
"This isn't possible," Vegeta wheezed, wiping blood from his lips. "Low-class Saiyans can't reach this level of power. It goes against everything we know about our race."
"Maybe that's the problem," Sage replied, his violet flames growing brighter. "Maybe your race was wrong about everything."
Vegeta's eyes widened with fury. "Heresy! The Saiyan hierarchy is absolute! Elite-class warriors are superior by birth!"
"Then why are you losing?" Goku asked simply.
The question hit Vegeta like a physical blow. His mouth opened and closed soundlessly as he struggled to find an answer that didn't shatter his entire worldview.
But before he could respond, his survival instincts kicked in. This wasn't about philosophy anymore. This was about staying alive.
Vegeta launched himself at Sage with desperate fury, recognizing the younger Saiyan as the more dangerous long-term threat. His assault was vicious and uncontrolled—gone was his perfect technique, replaced by raw desperation and killing intent.
His first strike was a haymaker that would have decapitated a normal opponent. Sage ducked under it, his violet aura trailing behind him as he pivoted. But Vegeta's knee was already rising, aimed at Sage's temple.
The younger Saiyan caught the knee on his forearm, the impact sending shockwaves up his arm. His counter-strike was instantaneous—an elbow aimed at Vegeta's exposed ribs. But the prince twisted away, using his superior experience to turn the missed attack into a grapple attempt.
Vegeta's hands locked around Sage's throat. "Die, you low-class scum!"
That's when Goku intervened.
"KAIOKEN TIMES TWO!"
The explosion of crimson energy was blinding. Goku's power doubled in an instant, the sudden spike in ki creating a pressure wave that made the air itself scream. His fist, wreathed in doubled Kaioken energy, drove into Vegeta's exposed side with the force of a freight train.
The prince's armor didn't just crack—it shattered. Pieces of metal flew in all directions as Vegeta was launched sideways, his grip on Sage broken by the devastating impact. He hit the ground hard, bounced twice, and skidded to a stop thirty meters away.
"Thanks," Sage gasped, rubbing his throat where Vegeta's fingers had left bruises.
"Don't mention it," Goku replied, though sweat was already beading on his forehead. The doubled Kaioken was pushing his body beyond its limits. His muscles screamed in protest, and he could feel his energy reserves draining rapidly.
Vegeta struggled to his feet, his movements shaky and uncoordinated. Half of his armor was gone, revealing a torso covered in bruises and cuts. Blood ran freely from multiple wounds, and his breathing was ragged.
But his eyes still burned with pride and fury.
"This... this is impossible," he muttered, spitting blood onto the cracked earth. "I'm the Prince of all Saiyans. I'm elite-class. How are two low-class warriors pushing me to the brink of defeat?"
"Because we're not fighting for ourselves," Sage said, his violet transformation pulsing with renewed intensity. "We're fighting for something bigger than pride."
"For our friends," Goku added, his crimson aura stabilizing despite the strain. "For our families."
"For everyone who can't protect themselves," they said almost in unison.
Vegeta's face contorted with rage and something that looked disturbingly like panic. "Enough! ENOUGH! I'll show you the true power of elite-class!"
He began gathering energy, his white aura expanding rapidly as he prepared what was clearly intended to be a planet-killing attack. The air around him crackled with electricity, and the ground beneath his feet began to disintegrate from the sheer force of his ki.
"He's lost his mind," Sage breathed, his violet flames flickering with alarm. "That much energy—"
"Will destroy everything," Goku finished grimly. "Including us."
Above them, Vegeta's power continued to climb. His aura had grown so bright it was painful to look at directly, and the energy readings were off the charts. This wasn't just an attack—this was a tantrum from a prince who couldn't accept defeat.
"GALICK GUN!" Vegeta screamed, his hands coming together as purple energy began building between his palms. The energy ball that formed was massive—easily the size of a building and growing rapidly. "I'll wipe you and this pathetic planet off the map!"
The threat was real. Even from their position on the ground, both Goku and Sage could feel the destructive potential building above them. This blast wouldn't just kill them—it would sterilize the entire continent and potentially crack the planet's crust.
"We have to stop him," Goku said, his crimson aura flaring as he began building his own energy attack. "Kamehameha!"
Blue energy began forming between his hands, swirling and growing as he poured power into it. But even with the Kaioken boost, it was clear that his attack alone wouldn't be enough. Vegeta's blast was simply too large, too powerful.
"Together," Sage said, stepping up beside Goku without hesitation. "If we're going to save Earth, we do it together."
He placed his hands in the same formation, violet energy beginning to build between his palms. But instead of forming a separate attack, something unexpected happened. The violet energy began reaching toward Goku's blue Kamehameha wave, the two energies drawn to each other like magnets.
"What's happening?" Goku gasped, sweat pouring down his face from the strain of maintaining both the Kaioken and the energy wave.
"I don't know," Sage admitted, his violet transformation burning brighter than ever before. "But it feels... right."
The two energies were merging, creating patterns of light that defied physics. Violet and blue swirled together, sometimes separate, sometimes becoming something entirely new—a color that existed between them, shifting and changing with each pulse of their combined will.
Above them, Vegeta's Galick Gun had reached critical mass. The purple energy ball was now larger than a city block, crackling with enough power to vaporize continents.
"GALICK GUN FIRE!" Vegeta roared, releasing his ultimate attack.
The beam that descended from the sky was like a falling star made of pure destruction. The air itself ignited in its wake, creating a column of superheated plasma that turned night into day.
"Now!" Goku shouted.
"KAMEHAMEHA!" both Earth-raised Saiyans screamed in unison.
The beam that erupted from their joined hands was unlike anything ever seen before. Violet and blue energies spiraled together in a double helix of power, creating a column of light that seemed to tear holes in reality itself. Where the individual colors touched, new hues were born—indigo, azure, amethyst—creating a rainbow of destruction that shot skyward like a pillar of heaven's wrath.
The collision was apocalyptic.
When the two attacks met, the sky exploded. The shockwave shattered every window for fifty miles, knocked birds from the sky, and sent every remaining fighter on the battlefield tumbling like leaves in a hurricane.
The sound was beyond description—like the world itself screaming.
For a moment that lasted eternity, the attacks were perfectly matched. Vegeta's Galick Gun pressed downward while the combined Kamehameha pushed upward, the meeting point a roiling sphere of barely contained destruction that threatened to consume everything within miles.
"It's not enough!" Goku gasped, his Kaioken aura beginning to flicker. His body was at its absolute limit, muscles tearing from the strain of channeling so much power. "I can't hold this much longer!"
Sage felt his violet transformation wavering as well. The power required to match Vegeta's attack was enormous, far beyond what his battered body should have been capable of producing. His vision was blurring, and he could taste blood in his mouth.
But then, something miraculous happened.
"Dad!"
The voice cut through the roar of clashing energies like a knife. Gohan had struggled to his feet, his small form battered but unbroken. His eyes were wide with wonder and terror as he watched his father fighting for the world's survival.
"Goku!" Krillin shouted, forcing himself upright despite his injuries. "You came back!"
"Don't give up!" Piccolo's gruff voice carried across the battlefield, the Namekian's usual stoicism cracked by genuine emotion. "We're all counting on you!"
One by one, the fallen Z-fighters began to stir. Tien pushed himself up on his elbows, his three eyes focused on the battle above. Chiaotzu's small form sat up slowly, his psychic abilities adding their support to the emotional outpouring.
"You can do it, Sage!" Krillin called out, his voice hoarse but determined. "You're one of us now!"
"Show that prince what Earth warriors are made of!" Tien added, blood streaming from his forehead but his spirit unbroken.
The emotional support hit both fighters like a physical force. These people—his friends, his family, his reason for fighting—were depending on him. They believed in him.
Goku's crimson aura exploded outward, the Kaioken pushing past its safe limits as his resolve hardened into diamond determination. His scream of effort echoed across the battlefield as he poured everything he had left into the attack.
Beside him, Sage felt his violet transformation reach heights he'd never imagined possible. The flames around him weren't just energy anymore—they were his will made manifest, his determination to protect those who had accepted him despite his failures.
Their combined energy wave grew stronger, beginning to push back against Vegeta's attack inch by precious inch.
"NO!" Vegeta screamed from above, his face a mask of disbelief and rage. He poured even more power into his Galick Gun, his aura expanding until it looked like a second sun had appeared in the sky. "I won't be beaten by sentiment! I won't be defeated by low-class emotions!"
But emotions weren't making them weak—they were making them stronger than any training ever could.
The combined Kamehameha wave continued its relentless climb, pushing Vegeta's attack back foot by foot. The prince's technique was flawless, his power immense, his will unbreakable.
But he was fighting alone.
Goku and Sage were fighting for everyone they'd ever cared about, supported by friends who had become family, driven by a purpose greater than personal glory.
"This is impossible!" Vegeta raged, his perfect control beginning to crack. "I am the Prince of all Saiyans! I am elite-class! I was born to rule!"
"And we," Goku said, his voice somehow carrying clearly despite the roar of energy around them, "were born to protect!"
"HAAAAAAAA!" both Earth-raised Saiyans screamed in perfect unison, putting everything they had ever been and ever would be into their final push.
The violet-and-blue energy wave erupted upward with the force of a volcanic explosion, completely overwhelming Vegeta's Galick Gun and engulfing the prince in a spiral of light that could be seen from space.
Vegeta's scream of fury and disbelief was cut short as the attack carried him high into the atmosphere, his form disappearing into the star-filled darkness like a fallen meteor in reverse.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Both Goku and Sage collapsed simultaneously, their transformations failing as their bodies reached their absolute limits. Goku's crimson aura flickered and died, leaving him gasping and convulsing from Kaioken backlash. Sage's violet flames guttered out like candles in the wind, the sudden absence of power leaving him feeling hollow and broken.
"Is it over?" Gohan asked in a small voice, his young face streaked with tears of relief and exhaustion.
For a moment, nobody answered. The silence stretched on, broken only by the sound of settling debris and labored breathing.
Then Sage's head snapped up, his enhanced senses picking up something that made his blood run cold.
"He's alive," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Vegeta's still alive."
Goku struggled to his feet, his body shaking from exhaustion and Kaioken backlash. "Where?"
"Up there," Sage pointed toward the sky with a trembling hand. "Hurt, but alive. And he's..." His expression grew grim. "He's planning something."
Around them, the Z-fighters were slowly gathering, each one battered beyond belief but still standing. They had faced the Prince of all Saiyans and survived. They had proven that heart could triumph over heritage, that bonds forged in battle were stronger than bonds of blood.
But the war wasn't over.
High above them, barely visible against the star-filled sky, Prince Vegeta floated in the darkness. His armor was completely destroyed, his body covered in burns and cuts from their combined attack. He should have been dead. By all rights, he should have been vaporized.
But Saiyan pride doesn't die easily.
And when cornered, even princes can become desperate enough to use forbidden techniques.
Vegeta's battered hand reached toward his belt, fingers closing around a small device that pulsed with artificial light. His thumb hovered over the activation switch as a smile—equal parts insane and determined—spread across his bloodied face.
"If I can't defeat you as I am," he whispered to the wind, his voice carrying a promise of devastation, "then I'll show you the true terror of the Saiyan race."
The device in his hand was small, seemingly insignificant.
But it would change everything.
Below, Goku and Sage stood together with their friends, believing they had won. They had no idea that their greatest challenge was yet to come.
The moon was dark tonight.
But that was about to change.