Dragonball Z fanfic Chapter 3: Reunited for a moment

Story by Flame Warrior on SoFurry

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#3 of DBZ

Goku lost his first World Martial Arts Tournament, but that hasn't stopped him from training, and Flame learns a bit more about life on Earth, as well as the fact that some Earthlings look out only for themselves.


As Goku awoke, Flame smiled at him, gently patting his head. "Alright brother, get up. You may have lost the match, but there's always training."

Goku nodded and hopped up, a happy-go-lucky smile on his face and fresh clothes on his back. Everyone greeted them and they were having a nice, although rather large, meal when Bulma got a call from her father, saying something was going on in Penguin Village. Krillin shivered at the idea of going to such a cold place, but Goku and Flame were more than willing to go.

"So, is Penguin Village really that cold?" Flame's younger brother asked.

"Yes, but think of it as endurance training. Also, if there IS something wrong, it gives us a chance to train further."

Over the course of the next few months, they encountered Red Ribbon Army soldiers, facing them down one after the other, even the hired mercenary who nearly killed Goku. Flame knew that, while his instincts to worry over his brother flared up, a few near death experiences could easily increase his strength in great leaps. Finally, they had managed to cripple the Red Ribbon Army at their home base, picking up the last Dragonball they had.

After having gone to Bulma to check the radar for the whereabouts of the last Dragonball, they realized that it couldn't be picked up by the device. Thinking this as odd, Master Roshi himself mentioned his sister, Baba, and reluctantly agreed to show them the way to her place. After many questionings, the brothers revealed that, while fighting off the Red Ribbon Army, a young boy lost his father who stood up to a mercenary, so they wanted to wish him back so the young lad wouldn't be defenseless.

Flame explained it was Goku's idea, seeing how his brother cared about others before himself. As they arrived to Baba's Palace, Flame sensed something amiss. Master Roshi didn't want to stick around long, so he left back to Hermit House, leaving Flame and Goku with Yamcha, Krillin, Bulma, Oolong, Puar, and the young boy, which Goku insisted on picking up. They saw a crystal ball rolling out towards them, then a small woman hop up and sit on it.

"So... you're Baba." Flame said softly.

"Yes, I'm Baba the Fortune-Teller. Now, what is it today?"

"We need to locate something we can't pick up on a radar."

"That'll be ten million zenni." The old hag replied.

Bulma, of course, went ballistic, but Yamcha calmed her down as Krillin asked if there was another way. They learned that they had to face five of her fighters, to which they happily agreed to, Krillin stepping onto the stage first, grinning at being able to fight. However, the first opponent happened to be a boxing vampire, causing Krillin to, eventually, pass out from too much boiling blood or lack thereof.

Puar and the young nomad decided to take this fight and, with using some craftiness, beat the vampire. Flame could only smile at this and nodded at the pair, "A fighter isn't just one who fights with his fists and feet, but also with tactics. From what I see, Baba's fighters seem to be on the edge of the undead, am I right?"

Baba nodded and Yamcha stepped up next. He couldn't quite see his fighter, who happened to be an invisible warrior. After figuring out how to fight using his hearing rather than his sight, Baba decided to cause noise to silence her warrior's footsteps, much to Yamcha's annoyance. Surprisingly, Krillin told Goku to hurry to Master Roshi's for some tomato soup, which he then used to reveal the warrior, who gave up rather quickly.

As they moved indoors for the next few fights, Yamcha met his match, and nearly his end, at the hands of a mummy. After the soup run Goku did, Master Roshi stayed, mumbling that nobody ever got past the third fighter of Baba's. Flame decided to stretch his limbs a bit as he stepped forward, mentioning that Goku should be the last to fight. He stared at the massive behemoth of his foe, and grinned in his usual Saiyan way.

"This... is too easy." He mentioned before felling the mummy with one, well-placed blow to the stomach.

Baba stared awestruck and clapped her hands, her fourth fighter appearing, looking exactly like a devil. After introductions, Devil Man decided to strike first, to which Flame just grinned, grabbing his pitchfork, and delivered a resounding blow to his face, knocking him back. As Devil Man righted himself in the air, he laughed quite demonically, causing Flame to raise his eyebrow a bit.

"I find it quite enjoyable to find something amusing, but in a fight, that is rather difficult. So, what's so funny?"

"Ah... forgive me, but I can sense the evil in your heart."

"I'll admit, I've done some things that were questionable... but I have decided to turn my life around for the sole reason that I need to give my brother a proper role model. If my sins are still with me for that, then so be it."

Devil Man laughed some more, glaring at Flame. "No... my special technique seeks out the evil in one's heart and uses it against them tenfold. Most people die from this technique, so I assure you, that is why I'm laughing."

"I see. So your technique is useful against those who want only to pleasure themselves, whether it be power, glory, wealth, or anything else they desire for themselves. I see it as a useful technique that can easily win a fight, nice move."

"Then face the might of my Devilmite Beam!"

With that, he fired his technique, to which Flame responded with his Flamethrower Beam, struggling against Devil Man's impressive, yet devious, power. Grunting from the pressure, he realised what evils Devil Man meant. He had to leave his father, without looking for his brother, Radditz, and everyone else on Vegeta to save his brother and himself. He also still held onto the vengeance he had against Frieza.

"Whatever crimes I've committed, I'll find retribution through living and repentance. As for the deep rooted hatred I have against a certain someone... I'll let that go! For my brother is more important!!!"

With that, the flames of his beam turned white hot, pushing the Devilmite Beam back against the flying devil, smacking him against the wall, leaving him to deal with the entire blast of the flames. After the attack finished, Devil Man managed to pull himself out of the wall with a resounding groan, Flame gazing at him with confidance and a new resolve.

"I see you viewed this battle as one of internal conflict. For that, I withdraw."

"That leaves one fighter left Baba..." Flame said, looking at her, who nodded and lead them back out.

Flame hadn't noticed before, but Goku's tail had grown back, sighing softly to himself. Either way, if he could face off against this last opponent, they'd be able to find where the dragonball is and deal with the wish. As they stepped back outside, he knew that he probably said too much, and the only other person he said anything to was now dead. He looked at his new opponent, not recognizing the mask he wore.

"Last fighter?"

"Yes, you are correct. Now then, let's see what you have."

As he got ready, everything seemed familiar to Flame. Too familiar in fact. The clothing was the same but, the voice was muffled. The opponent's stance was familiar too, so that could mean... Flame grinned ear to ear, glad to relive this fight.

"Alright then... let's begin!"

The fighter launched at Flame, who easily countered and landed a double blow with his knee and elbow, using the force from his leg to push back the familiar opponent. As he himself rushed forward, he feigned a frontal assault before sweeping his leg out, noticing that his opponent managed to dodge the sweep. After the sweep, he readied a block, catching the fighter's leg.

"You've improved well. I guess all that extra time you had, you decided to train some more."

"Ho ho... seems like this mask has done little to hide my identity."

After they seperated, the fighter prepared what looked like a Kamehameha, to which, Flame prepared his own version, knowing that while it took much longer to charge up, it was that much more powerful than his usual technique. As they both released their blasts, they connected, both of them grunting from the impressive power of one another. Flame smiled more, enjoying the battle, knowing it was his first on this planet.

"You have improved old man!" Flame said as the blasts canceled each other out, both of them standing tall and looking at one another. Flame looked at his brother, motioning him up, explaining that he should be the one to face this final foe. With that, he forfeited the fight and stepped down, watching the fight as Goku did well, except when his tail was grabbed.

"Oh ho, still weak when your tail is grabbed eh? Makes it so much easier to win." Gohan said, Flame sighing softly. But to everyone's surprise, the old man forfeited and removed his mask, saying he couldn't win in a straight fight. Also, his time was about to be up, but he wanted to look at his grandsons without the mask.

Flame looked at Baba and smiled. "Each fight had morals for fighters. The vampire fight was to keep your cool and fight with a level head. The invisible man is fight with your senses, not just your sight. The third fight was find your opponent's greatest weakness. The fourth was fight with a clear mind and soul, fighting out of vengeance would easily give the win to the opponent. The last fight was to test if we could face against a friend, a family member even."

"Very perceptive of you. But I see that the dragonball is being carried in a small lunchbox by a small blue man, a dog, and a beautiful woman."

Flame looked at Goku and nodded, "It's Pilaf again. I'll leave this to you, go for it brother."

Goku took off on the Flying Nimbus, Flame watching him go, knowing he'd succeed. He still despised Frieza for what he did to his family, but he needed to focus more on other things. Besides, he knew that these were just the good years, evil always lurking around every corner. They both needed to be ready for whatever reared it's head.