As though it was like lightning, a feeling of dread rippled through Baezel, Radichio, Draft, Parakress, Phoenix and Lemogras' bodies. It felt similar to a shock, a familiar ki signature. "What an amazing ki!" they all thought. Baezel immediately put two fingers on his forehead and tried to teleport to the source. But it was harder to sense now, it seemed very low. However, he could pick up on a familiar ki signature that felt...almost 5 million times stronger than when it was last detected.
"What the hell was that?! It was like it just flared up, and then disappeared!" Phoenix said. Lemogras and Parakress could be seen flying close to the team, and then landing. They had sensed the ki as well. "There's only one person I know with that ki signature...Pepkorn. I knew that he had something against you, Baezel, but why the hell is he so much stronger than before?!" he asked.
"I - I don't know! It just...skyrocketed!" Baezel replied.
"Regardless of how it appeared, it's very clear that it's going to be a threat soon if we don't do something about it," Lemogras said to his father. "Dad, I suggest that we investigate this power before it becomes an issue."
"Good idea. Draft, is there anything you wanna add to that?" Baezel inquired, asking Draft for a suggestion.
"Actually, yeah. Lemogras, your idea's pretty good, but I really suggest that we go full power from the start before we go visit him. We cannot let him have the upper hand," Draft said.
The gang nodded, and they all began to power up. Baezel and Radichio both went Super Saiyan God. Phoenix used 100% of her strength. She didn't really have transformations; she just relied on her own strength. Draft went up to maximum power as well, entering Potential Unleashed. Lemogras goes into Super Saiyan 2, and began to roar. His hair grew out, and his eyebrows disappeared. With a ferocious shout, he showed off the fruits of his training - Super Saiyan 3. Turning his eyes to Pararkess, the older Saiyan smirked at Baezel's son, as he transformed into a Super Saiyan, and began to bulk himself up. To everyone else, it looked like he was going into Super Saiyan Grade 2. But they were wrong. Pararkess' sharp and refined Super Saiyan hair became fluffy once again, as though he had just achieved the form. His musculature increased, and his eyes were now red, rather than the blue of Super Saiyan. His teeth were sharp like an Oozaru's, and his expression was wilder.
"Whoa! What's that, Parakress?" Baezel asked, sensing Parakress' ki. His aura was wispy like the first grade of Super Saiyan, and he was a bit taller.
"Well, I'm sure you all remember the Golden Oozaru form...especially you, Baezel." Parakress chuckled. He remembered when he first arrived on Earth and became a Golden Oozaru, nearly murdering Baezel. "The form had a bigger multiplier than your Super Saiyan 3, but I realized that the transformation was too long to initiate, and just made me a giant target. So, I figured that if I could just use the power of Oozaru in my humanoid state, it'd be better overall for me. Thus, Oozaru Power was born."
"But that's just a ten-times multiplier. Worse than the Kaioken's upper limits," Baezel replied. "It looks like you mixed that power with Super Saiyan to create this form. Is that right?"
"Precisely."
"That's brilliant, Parakress!" Radichio said. "But then, why didn't that create Super Saiyan 4?"
"Super Saiyan...4? Is that that red-fur form you used on me initially?" Phoenix commented.
"That's the form, alright!" Baezel replied.
"Oh. Then I've got the same question."
"Well, I'm guessing that the reason why Oozaru Power plus Super Saiyan doesn't equal Super Saiyan 4, is the source of where that power is coming from. Instead of just controlling Golden Oozaru, I'm using Oozaru's power in my humanoid form and combining it with Super Saiyan. In other words, it's a bit like mixing an artificial version of cinnamon into a traditional apple pie recipe – it'll be tasty as hell, but it won't be an entirely new dessert. You just mixed the artificial stuff with traditional stuff," Parakress explained, in an effort to get his friends to try and understand what the hell he was talking about. Now that the team was all at full power, they were ready to fight. However...something different happened. Rather than the Grand Battlers going to Pepkorn, he appeared before them, as though he had just used Teleportation.
"Hello, 'son'. How are you?" Pepkorn asked, showing off faux-politeness. "My, my, this is certainly a surprise! We've got the entire team here! Baezel and his crotch spawn, his idiot friend, the redhead, the emo, and Gangal's shitty boss. It's a full house." He smirked, knowing that he could kill them all in an instant. He was extremely confident, and rightfully so.
"Pepkorn! You've got a hell of a lot of nerve, to show your face to me!" Baezel said. "If it's a fight you want, I'm MORE than willing to beat your ass! So either prepare to fight...or leave immediately."
Rocks began to rise around Pepkorn, the small pebbles of the tar road tearing out of the ground. A car was driving up to the road, and before it hit Pepkorn, the driver stopped in the road. "Get the hell out of the road, idi - " were the last words the driver said, before his car was overturned with a kiai. Pepkorn's hair was spiking up, with red electricity beginning to generate around him. "Who do you think you're talking to like that? Didn't your dead father ever teach you not to talk shit to your SUPERIOR?!" The red aura of the Kaioken burst to life around Pepkorn, as he then pulled off a Kaioken x10.
"How...how did you learn the Kaioken?!" Baezel said, astonished. "That's my move!"
"No, it isn't. Moreover, a magician never reveals his secrets," Pepkorn replied, winking. "Besides, a Kaioken x10 is overkill anyway. I only need a x4 to fight you all off." With incredible speed, almost instant to everyone else, the Saiyan gave Baezel a fierce gut punch, causing him to cough blood onto Pepkorn's wrist. He then uppercutted him and elbowed his back, effectively shattering his spine. This caused the others to turn their auras on and attempt to fight Pepkorn five-on-one. They leapt into the sky, only to be made quick work of. Pepkorn started off with a kick to Lemogras' face and blocked Parakress' sledgehammer fist with his wrist, only for Pepkorn to throw Parakress into the ground. Radichio and Phoenix put him into a Full Nelson, which he broke out of by performing an Explosive Wave. He then clasped his hands together and created a white outline around himself, creating a copy of himself, effectively cutting his strength in half. Despite this, he was still superior in strength to them. Radichio burst dashed towards one of them, fist out, and had his fist dodged. He was then kicked in the nuts to stun him, then Pepkorn swept his feet downwards, hitting Radichio's nuts once again and causing him to face-plant himself into the ground.
Phoenix held up both hands, creating two large purple ki discs. Draft teleported behind him, creating multiple afterimages, as Phoenix then threw a barrage of discs at Pepkorn. The Saiyan effortlessly dodged a few, shattered a few by swatting them like flies, and with the last one, he caught it, holding it with both hands. He then pushed both hands into it, and shattered it like candy glass. "Are you kidding me? You can survive an onslaught from two Super Saiyan Gods, but you can't stand up to me?" Pepkorn mocked.
"Shut up, you bastard! I'll have you know that I'm considered a prodigy on my planet!" Phoenix shouted angrily.
"Planet Stoicheio, eh...? Perhaps I'll destroy it once I'm done with this place," Pepkorn mocked.
Phoenix's aura flared. This son of a bitch was irritating her immensely. "YOU LEAVE MY HOMEWORLD OUT OF THIS!!" she screamed, as she then pulled her arms back and unleashed a giant orange and red ki beam at Pepkorn. With his hands wide out, he held the ki beam back, slowly being pushed away. He removed his right hand, clasping two fingers together and placing them on his head, then teleported behind Phoenix, putting her in a chokehold. This dissipated the ki beam, and allowed him to choke her. He tightened his grip on her neck, with his free fist in her back. Phoenix screamed, as she then bit him right on his wrist. Her teeth sunk into his skin, hoping to either distract him, or draw blood.
"AAAAAAARGH!! ANNOYING BITCH!" Pepkorn yelled, punching Phoenix in her nose. Blood squirted from the wound on his hands. He began to wail on her, with a right hook to the cheek, and a punch to the nose once again. He was giving her hit after hit to the face, and Parakress saw this beatdown. Thrusting out one hand into the sky, he fired a one-handed Galick Cannon at Pepkorn. Thanks to the superior speed, he could see this coming a mile away. Knowing this, he grabbed Phoenix's face and threw her into the beam. It didn't really do anything, but it stunned her, allowing Pepkorn to fire a kiai at her, shoving her into the grass. Turning to Draft, he smirked. Aside from fighting Baezel, he was waiting to confront Draft ever since his potential was unlocked.
The seasoned Saiyan warrior stared down the strongest human with the intent to kill. Pepkorn had murder in his eyes, and he wouldn't hesitate to turn Draft into a formerly alive pretzel. Nothing more than a punching bag. Target practice, even. "If I'm going to be honest with you, cyborg, I had no idea that you would get so powerful so quickly. But I guess that's to be expected with someone like you, right?" Pepkorn says, giving a backhanded comment.
"I know you're trying to flatter me. It won't work," Draft firmly says.
"Oh, no, no, no, I disagree. I'm being genuine. I honestly didn't expect you to power up like I did. But it's fine. It's nothing I can't handle."
"Then stop shoving empty words into my ears and get going already."
"Fine by me! Your funeral."
They both cracked their knuckles, and prepared to battle. Pepkorn turned his head and tapped his cheek with his fist, indicating that Draft should hit there. Draft nodded no, and instead burst dashed towards Pepkorn, with a punch to the gut. He then performed a barrage of punches to the gut, pulling his hand back and flying backwards a bit, before putting his hand on his wrist. He unleashed a yellow ki beam, which overwhelmed Pepkorn, but when the beam dissipated and the dust settled, it was revealed that it did...absolutely nothing. Draft was a bit shocked, but it was okay, it was a generic ki beam.
Pepkorn yawned. "Is that all you've got in your arsenal? Some basic ki beam? Even Gangal could do that as a little kid."
Beads of sweat began to form on Draft's face. Just sensing his ki, he knew that he wasn't getting out of this one in good shape. This would be yet another fight, that he'd lose. "N - no! I've got more for ya." He clasped his hands together, fingers on fingers, and began to generate a yellow ki sphere in his hands, with electricity jittering around it. He put everything he had into this singular attack. He at least wanted to put a scratch on Pepkorn, even though he knew victory was impossible. Pepkorn rolled his eyes. "Good lord, is this friggin' boring. But you know what? Today I feel generous. So I'll humor this half-assed attempt to try and challenge me."
"I haven't used this technique since I fought Phoenix...prepare yourself for one of my greatest attacks!! FIERCE LIGHT BULLET!!" Draft shouted, blasting the giant yellow ki blast at Pepkorn. It created a giant yellow explosion, which lit up the neighborhood for a few seconds. A smoke cloud was created thanks to the explosion, and a burst of Pepkorn's aura was all it took to blow the smoke away. Draft gulped, knowing that he was done here. Pepkorn cracked his neck, and his knuckles. "Whew! That was something fierce." He then turned around and pointed to his back. "Say, could you fire another one of those at my back next? Being dead for nearly 2 decades doesn't do your body very good." Shocked and irritated, Draft just floated there, frozen with fear. Pepkorn them turned to face Draft, frowning. "Hm. Pitiful. Well, hopefully you'll enjoy not going to the afterlife once I kill you."
"What - "
Pepkorn, with speed that was almost instant from Draft's perspective, quickly fired off a Makankosappo at Draft, drilling a clean hole through his chest, aimed below his throat and going straight through his ribs like it was nothing. The cyborg fell down to the road, bleeding out. The light had faded from his eyes. If he were to die right now, they would turn completely blank. With that, Pepkorn had successfully taken out every Grand Battler...or did he? Parakress was relatively unhurt, and he felt that it was time to talk. So, Gangal's former boss flew up to Pepkorn, trying to talk some sense into Pepkorn.
Pepkorn's aura radiated with an almost malevolent energy as he looked down at the fallen Draft. His cruel words and actions had left a heavy silence hanging in the air, and it was clear that he had no intention of showing mercy. Draft, lying on the ground, his life ebbing away, had been soundly defeated.
But as the dust settled, Parakress, battered but not beaten, rose from his defensive stance and stepped forward. He knew he had to try to reach out to Pepkorn, to make him see reason, even if it seemed like a long shot. It was as if the former boss of his son was trying to talk to his employee's father, a final attempt to bring some semblance of reason to a chaotic situation.
"Pepkorn, listen to me," Parakress began, his voice firm yet pleading. "I get your desire for power, I've been in your situation, but this path you're on...it's leading you down a dark and destructive road. What the hell happened to you? I used to look up to you. You used to be a goo...decent. You used to be a decent person. Now you're willing to kill your adoptive son, after ditching your actual son. You're willing to kill his friends, who didn't do anything to him. Is this the path you truly seek?"
Pepkorn regarded Parakress with a mix of annoyance and curiosity. "Why do you care? You always played the role of the wise, responsible one on the team. But the way I see it, I'm the one who's truly embracing my potential. Power is all that matters in the end. Besides, I've been meaning to do this for years. It's only now that I had the power to do it."
Parakress shook his head, his eyes filled with genuine concern. "I disagree. Power isn't everything. It's what you do with it that matters. What good is unrivaled raw power if you use it to hurt the person who you once cared for like he was your own son? Surely you can still turn back, call off this plan to eradicate the Grand Battlers. It's not too late. You DON'T have to kill us all. You DON'T have to lump everyone else into a plan which I'm rather confident was just about Baezel."
Pepkorn's eyes flashed with a mixture of anger and frustration. He felt a strange turmoil within himself, torn between his desire for power and the words of his former comrade. It was as if the battle within him raged on, and Parakress had ignited a glimmer of doubt in the depths of his soul. But that doubt was pretty quickly extinguished by a surge of anger and arrogance. "You don't get it, do you, Parakress? I've gone too far to turn back now. I didn't absorb the power of Baezel Yami, Zendoria, Nori and Gangal's souls to not use it, did I? I've gotten a taste of what it feels like to have true power, and DAMN, does it taste good. It's great to be back on top again, just like the past, and anyone suicidal enough to stand in my way of galaxy conquest, can die by my hand. The Grand Battlers, this world, every intelligent being in this vast universe - they'll ALL bow down to me. Ruler of the Galaxies, Ruler of Hell and the Heavens, Ruler of the Universe - Ruler of EVERYTHING!"
With those words, Pepkorn lifted his foot and delivered a powerful kick to Parakress' head, sending the former boss into unconsciousness. Parakress' eyes dulled, and he lay on the ground, looking lifeless. Pepkorn turned away from the fallen warriors, his resolve solidified. The "battle" had been one-sided, a brutal display of his newfound strength. He was determined to see his dark plan through to the end, no matter the cost. To make it even harder for the team to try and fight back, he put out his fingers and maneuvered them as though he was quickly playing a piano. 28 thin ki beams shot out from them, and one of each punctured through one of everyone's limbs. Both arms and both legs got blasted, which would hopefully immobilize them. Pepkorn then flew off, with the intention of causing more havoc on this world. The Grand Battlers had just gotten owned; what could they do?