The situation at hand was eerily similar to the situation that happened when Pepkorn returned to Earth for the first time. Despite how much they trained, all the new power they gained, how much they struggled to achieve greater heights, it was seemingly all in vain. Jimaka was dead. Taro was blind and unconscious. Parakress had a left arm that was essentially unusable now. Draft and Lemogras were both fatally wounded and exhausted. Phoenix was the only one who still had some fight left in her, as Baezel and Radichio were in pretty bad shape. She hovered out from the building she was blasted into and raised her hands into the sky. A large orange and red ki sphere erupted to life, drenching the area in an orange glow. Baezel opened his eyes, to see what Phoenix was doing. The sphere of ki was growing larger and larger, heating up the area more and more. Parts of the ground tore up from it, seeming to orbit it like an asteroid field. "SEE YOU IN HELL!" Phoenix shouted, as she threw her enormous ki sphere at Pepkorn. The Saiyan had to hold it back with both hands, as his feet sunk into the ground. It looked like he was struggling; Phoenix might be the one to end this once and for all!
Except...not. Pepkorn, as per usual, was faking the struggle. He grinned, and casually stood up like he was lifting a teddy bear. The giant ki sphere began to shift colors, from a fire-based palette of orange and red, to a more malicious purple. Baezel sighed with disappointment. "I won't be going back to Hell, but I'm sure there's lotsa room for YOU!" Pepkorn shouted, as Pepkorn performed an ahp-chagi front kick, hurtling the sphere towards Phoenix. She didn't even have the time to move out of the way or dodge, as she was caught off guard and was overwhelmed by the attack. The clouds disappeared from the sky with a purple explosion, with ashes falling down to the ground. Parts of a building had been blown away as well. Phoenix fell down to the ground with a loud thud.
Simultaneously, Baezel was shaking with shock, his brain still trying to process what happened. Radichio had gotten up due to how loud the explosion was, and tried to put his hand on Baezel's shoulder. Then it hit him. Where was Phoenix's ki? His eyes darted around, trying to find any signs of her, but there was...almost nothing left. Oh no. "You...what have you done?!" Baezel shouted, as Pepkorn merely folded his arms. "Oh shit, my bad. Didn't mean for that to kill her. But hey, at least one of you is dead; that's always good," he mocked. Radichio's teeth gritted, as he turned away from Pepkorn, slowly stepping back. "Who else have you killed?! Tell me this instant!" Baezel demanded Pepkorn. For some reason, Draft had the energy to stand up, even with the injury he had. Pepkorn turned his head to him, wondering what Draft could possibly do. The cyborg stared at Pepkorn with an ice-cold glare, as he put his hands into a diamond shape. Pepkorn's eyes widened, as yellow electricity began to dance around Draft's hands.
Radichio, making haste, flew as fast as he possibly could to where he heard the thud, quickly finding Phoenix's body. He landed, slowly walking to her. She was barely alive, and could die any minute now. Holding her head in his arms, his voice was on the brink of tears. "Phoenix. Come on, speak to me, I can't have you dying on me yet!" he said, struggling to hold it together. Phoenix grunted, barely able to move from how badly she was hurt. She held her hand onto Radichio's shoulder, and shakily stood up. She held his face with his hands, and began to weakly speak. "I don't have much time left, so I'm gonna hurry it up. I want to thank all of you guys, so much. I never thought that you guys would be so kind to some rando from space you never met before...but you extended a hand of friendship and a new home. I can't thank you enough for that," she uttered. Radichio was still holding it back, but his facade of being mentally strong in the face of death was starting to shatter into pieces. She leaned in for a kiss, and Radichio let it happen, knowing this could be the last time he'd see her. Pulling back, she asked, "Do we have any Senzu left?" Radichio nodded no, and Phoenix's eyes widened in shock. "...fuck." Her legs then gave out, as her head fell onto Radichio's shoulder.
Radichio was holding the now-dead Phoenix via a hug, his eyes on the verge of tears. The only person that he ever loved, was gone. And unlike Baezel, who was basically a brother to him, Phoenix wasn't just a friend. He genuinely loved her. At this point, he never thought such a thing would be possible. When she first arrived on Earth, he saw her as nothing more than some person he fought, one-and-done. But in hindsight, he thought that allowing her to live with him and Draft was the best decision he made in years. Cutting back to Baezel and Pepkorn, Draft began to charge his ki, his hands still in the diamond pose. With a determined look on his face and a desire to finish buy Baezel more time, he unleashed what remained of his ki as the strongest ki blast he could possibly muster, in the form of a Shin Kikoho. A giant yellow ki blast shot out from the diamond shape in his hands, blasting Pepkorn head-on. The dust cleared, but it didn't do anything to him. Pepkorn didn't even block, he just tanked it. He was starting to get annoyed with all of these flies trying to hurt him. "How did he..." Draft said, before falling to the ground and collapsing. His hair dropped down to its normal shape, as Draft had just died wasting the last of his ki. For nothing!
"Doot-doot-doot...another one bites the dust!" Pepkorn said, dusting his hands off. "Jesus, can you people stop dying on me and give me an actual fight? Because if this is what the illustrious Grand Battlers are, the ones who became Super Saiyans, the ones who killed Zendoria, the immortal queen of the Demon Realm, the ones who achieved godly levels of strength, then I'm thoroughly disappointed. At this point, I don't know why I haven't killed you like your weak family." Weak family. Weak family. Weak family. Those two words echoed and repeated in Baezel's mind, like a broken record. There is no way he heard what he just heard. Were his ears deceiving him? "WHAT?!" he said, with a mix of grief and bubbling-up rage. "You said...you said you didn't touch them!"
"And your dumbass believed me? I LIED! Dana and Okara are as dead as a doornail, and there's nothing that you could've done to stop me, Baezel. Do you want to know why?" Pepkorn began, as Baezel was shaking with rage. He was on the edge of losing it at this point. Any further prodding would snap him. "It's because you are a weak disappointment. You have no power on your own, and this battle is proof of it. I remember when Zendoria blew up the Earth five years ago, and you couldn't even do anything to her because you were too WEAK; it's that same weakness that will get you killed like the rest of them. Now then...prepare to meet those two ugly cunts you call a wife and daughter." Baezel had enough at this point. First, Pepkorn waltzes back onto Earth like it's a block party, and murders literal billions of people. Then he murders his wife and child, which is even worse. Then, to top it all off, three of his friends are now dead because of him. Pepkorn had done it. Baezel had now reached his breaking point. He clenched his fists, while his head was down and his body shook. Large black clouds turned the area dark as night, as parts of the road began to tear out of the ground and rise up. Blue lightning struck down around Baezel from the heavens themselves, as his hair began to rise up into a Super Saiyan shape.
Over on Radichio's side, he held his head as though he had a raging headache. Looking at his tightly clenched fists, he saw some of his own hair ripped out. He closed his eyes, with tears of sadness flowing out of them, as he began to scream-cry. He sobbed, as his fists were clenched to the point they were starting to bleed. Baezel's eyes blanked out, as he roared with rage, his head raised, hair fully spiking up and turned electric blue, with a blue aura being unleashed from his body. With one final sorrowful cry, he let out a roar of pure fury, as a massive blue aura erupted from his body. The two auras manifested as large blue pillars of ki shooting into the sky like beacons, piercing through the dark sky to reveal the beautiful reddish-orange hues of the evening sky. The amount of ki radiating from them genuinely shocked Pepkorn, jaw-dropped and all.
In Other World, the Old Kaioshin felt an amazing amount of ki coming from Earth. Him, Shin and Kibito had all been watching the battle on Earth via their crystal ball. It looked as though Baezel and Radichio had transformed into a form with blue hair. What could this be? "ALRIGHT! I don't really know what this new form is, but if that 50 times boost in power is anything to go by, I know they'll be the ones to finish Pepkorn off!" the old Kaioshin said, jumping up and down with glee. Shin went over to the crystal ball, and looked at it with awe. Never in his millenia of existence did he expect to see two mortals wielding this much strength. Baezel and Radichio truly were something else. "It's sad that so many had to die before this power could be awakened within them," Kibito spoke up. "But so long as they win against Pepkorn, they will be able to make things right via the Dragon Balls." The old Kaioshin frowned at the mention of them. "Those pesky things?! You know they disrupt the balance of nature! But...given that this is a dire situation, I'll allow their usage."
"Great! Which ones will we use? The ones on Earth, or Namek?"
"...the WHA - "
Baezel and Radichio turned their auras off, giving Pepkorn the coldest stare known to man. Pepkorn was staring back, sweating bullets. He didn't expect them to go full-on Super Saiyan with blue hair dye on him. But this meant that they could go all out on Pepkorn. "How do you think we should punish Pepkorn?" Baezel asked. "I think we should be slow and painful with this," Radichio replied. The two of them devilishly smirked, as with speed that was too fast for Pepkorn to notice, they rushed him down with two heavy punches to the gut. Pepkorn's eyes temporarily went blank, as the two of them barraged him with a combo of perfectly synced punches and kicks while moving forwards. Pepkorn was too weak and slow to do anything to counter their attacks, and was being beaten to a pulp. Blood was being spilt from his mouth, and they ended the combo with a large kiai to send Pepkorn flying away. Baezel followed up by teleporting behind him and kicking him into the air, where he then dashed towards him and gave him a hard elbow to the ribs, shattering them almost instantly. He finished by hitting his face with the side of his fist, sending Pepkorn flying downwards.
Pepkorn was barely able to stand on his own two feet at this point, his internal organs - particularly his lungs and abdomen - damaged from the serious hits he was taking. Baezel and Radichio aimed two hands at him, and unleashed a rain of ki blasts on Pepkorn, which were too weak to kill him, but would still badly hurt him. So much dust was kicked up around Pepkorn, whose clothes were now almost entirely burnt to ashes. There were several bruises and burns all over his body from Baezel and Radichio, including blood trickling down his forehead. The two stared at each other, nodding and aiming a hand at him. A yellow ki sphere formed in front of it, which would instantly finish Pepkorn off if it hit. But before they would do so, Pepkorn spoke up, in between heavy breaths. "Wait...wait. If you...let me go full...power...I promise that...you'll receive the greatest battle...of your lives! Trust me!" he begged. He clutched his left arm in pain, which was badly damaged from the onslaught of attacks he endured. How he survived any of it must've been a miracle. Baezel and Radichio put their hands down, and folded their arms. "You know what? Sure. I'll let you go full power. But only to humiliate you before we exterminate you," Radichio said, allowing Pepkorn to fulfill his desires. Pepkorn cracked his neck, which caused far more pain than he thought it would.
Rubbing his neck in pain, he turned his head back to its normal position, before going into a power-up stance. His yelling started low and subtle, much like the rumbling of the streets they were in. Pepkorn's hair slowly rose up, becoming a similar shape to that of Lemogras as a child, when he was a Super Saiyan. It flickered between golden and pale blonde, his eyes flickering between blue and pure white. His ki was beginning to rise more and more, surpassing the level Pepkorn would be at if he were a Super Saiyan 2, then surpassing the level he'd be at if he were a Super Saiyan 3. The rumbling was intense now, as a black and white sphere of electricity surrounded his body, similar to a plasma ball. The center was the black and white ki sphere surrounding him, while the electricity bolting out was purple and black, blasting into the clouds above them. Pepkorn's ki reached its peak, and he unleashed it in the form of an Explosive Wave that was filled with such raw power, that not only could the resulting city-leveling explosion be seen from space, it could be felt all across the entire Seventh Universe itself. Namek, Other World, the Kaio, the Kaioshin, even the inhabitants of Heaven and Hell could feel them.
Baezel and Radichio's armor was mostly obliterated by the blast, leaving only the boots, pants, and shredded gloves. The city had been flattened into nothing, with the dead Grand Battlers' bodies being eviscerated and the remaining ones killed in the blast. What remained was a barren, scorched wasteland, with Pepkorn standing in the middle of it. His skin was bluish and metallic-looking. His hair was bright and white. His eyes glowed purple, with a black and white aura surrounding his body. A strange, open lemniscate-like symbol appeared on his forehead, the logo of the Time Breakers. Pepkorn had gone full-on Supervillain Mode. Baezel and Radichio prepared to do battle once again, but suddenly, a loud but vaguely familiar voice began blaring in Baezel's mind. "Baezel! Baezel, can you hear me?!"
"Who the heck is that?!" Baezel asked to the voice in his mind. "It's me, Kaio! The one who you trained with in your youth? Who taught you the Kaioken?" the deity said. "Kaio! I haven't heard your voice in years, dude!" he replied. "How are ya, old pal?"
"I'm doing well, thanks for asking. But no time for that!" Kaio warned. "That infinity-like logo on Pepkorn's forehead is no good. It's the symbol of the Time Breakers. I know you need to make haste, so in short, they want to gather enough energy to open the seal on the Demon Realm, which will cause IMMENSE chaos!"
"Thanks for telling me. I'll talk to you later!" Baezel responded, as he and Radichio dashed at Pepkorn. They readied their fists, but the moment they did, he disappeared. Randomly, he landed five punches on Baezel. Then teleported and did the same to Radichio, finishing it with a sweeping kick. Baezel's eyes temporarily glowed white, as Pepkorn was blasted away with invisible eye lasers. Radichio got up and made chase, with Pepkorn struggling to block his attacks. Baezel flew up behind him and grabbed Pepkorn via a Full Nelson, then lifted him above his head and gave him a heavy high kick to the gut, before dropping him down to the ground. Pepkorn landed on one hand, and as Baezel prepared to land a sledgehammer fist to his back, he turned around and shouted, "STEP OFF!", firing a large red ki beam from his mouth to catch him off guard.
The malicious Saiyan got up, pulling his fist back, before blasting towards Baezel at blinding speeds. Radichio used Teleportation to tank the blast head-on, being punched in the ribs. He gave Pepkorn a hook to the cheek, followed up by a cross, and ending it with a double-handed punch. Staggering backwards, Pepkorn stopped to ask a question. "I've taken note of how you're fighting me right now. Why are you mostly using melee attacks?" he asked. It seemed as though he put two and two together, and realized that this new blue-haired transformation was eating away at Baezel and Radichio's stamina.
The malicious Saiyan got up, pulling his fist back, before blasting towards Baezel at blinding speeds. Radichio used Teleportation to tank the blast head-on, being punched in the ribs. He gave Pepkorn a hook to the cheek, followed up by a cross, and ending it with a double-handed punch. Staggering backwards, Pepkorn stopped to ask a question. "I've taken note of how you're fighting me right now. Why are you mostly using melee attacks?" he asked. It seemed as though he put two and two together, and realized that this new blue-haired transformation was eating away at Baezel and Radichio's stamina.
"Why should I care about what I use to kill you?" Baezel asked. "Your ki is dropping like a rock." Adding onto him, Radichio continued with, "And besides - at the rate that you're at, you'll be dead before you have the chance to defeat us." Pepkorn gritted his teeth in anger. They were right about this. His one weakness...how did they figure it out? The Supervillain transformation was powerful, but it was taking away a month of his life every second. Similar to the Kaioken, but to a far worse degree. At this point, he had aged over 4 years, around 50 seconds in real time. This wasn't good at all. He'd have to start hurrying the hell up if he wanted to come out of this battle alive.