RISE OF THE SAIYANS

By: Cephius

A DRAGONBALL Z fanfic

A lone figure hovered over the barren, flat landscape, looking over the area as if he had been there before.  As the wind swept through the area, a wave of anger began to build in the young man.  His fist began to clench as the anger began to build.  "I couldn't save them," he thought to himself as his other hand became a fist.

FLASHBACK

"Get out of here," the young man yelled as the energy bolts from the heavens slammed into the ground.

"I can't leave the others," a young woman yelled back as she helped a young boy up.

"You've got to.  The shelter is the only place left that will protect you."

"I will not leave the others," she yelled at him.

"Damn it," he thought to himself as the rain of destructive energy continued to strike the ground around them.  At one point, a energy beam slammed into a house near where they stood, the explosion blinding him for a second.  At first, he became worried if she was still alive, but he could still sense her lifeforce.  He breathed a sigh of relief.

"You okay," he yelled out to her.

"Yes," was the reply, "but there are others still out there.  They need help."

He pauses for a second and concentrated.  He could sense no others in the area.  Those that were still alive were in the shelter.

"There are no others out here.  All those that made it are in the shelter.  Get moving!"

"Are you sure," she asked him as she got closer.

"Yes, I'm sure," he said as he hugged her.

"All those people," she whispered to no one in particular.

"I know, but you must get to the shelter.  I'll do what I can to stop this."

She looked up at him as if he were crazy.

"You'll never survive this."

"I have to, otherwise, this whole planet could be destroyed."

"Please.  Come with me," she pleaded with him.

"I have to stop this.  Too many people have died already."

She placed her head on his chest, knowing that what he said was true.

"Alright.  Please come back to me," she said just before she looked up at him and kissed him passionetly.

He returned the kiss.

"I'll be back," he said as he smiled.

Fighting back her tears, she nodded her head and disappeared.

"Now to finish this," he thought to himself and he let the anger build inside him, causing the young man to begin to glow.

It started with an invisible energy that pushed his blonde hair upwards.  As the power inside him began to build, his eyes shifted color from the blue eyes he had had all his life, to those of green.  His hair began to lengthen a bit as remained upright.  Finally, his body was incased by a golden energy sheath that completed the transformation.  No one on this planet knew of this ability and he had kept it a secret for over a year, but now, his hiding this ability was over.  He became a super saiyan once again.

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Overlooking the empty field as the anger grew, he felt the familiar feel of the power rising, changing him as it had so many times, into the legendary Super Saiyan, the golden warrior of his people.  But, the anger began to build beyond that point, and, as the anger grew, so did the energy.  It continued to rise, seemingly coming from no where.  He felt the power increase continue to grow as he continued to recall what had happened only a week ago at this very spot.

FLASHBACK

He fired back at the energy bolts, destroying as many as he could before they hit the ground.  The resulting explosion would of killed a normal person, even a normal saiyan, but he was no ordinary saiyan.  He was a super saiyan.  And he had a purpose. . .to protect these people. . .to protect her at all costs.  So, no matter how numberous the energy blasts were, he would never give up.  For what seemed like hours, he fired back, holding nothing back.  Blast after blast rained down, and he made sure most never made it to the ground.  But even he knew that he couldn't keep this up.  His energy was diminishing every blast he shot off.  And if this didn't stop soon, he might not be able to keep his promise to her.  All of the sudden, the energy blasts stopped, as if answering his little prayer.

"Was that it," he thought to himself.  

For some reason, he didn't believe it.

Then, he sensed an energy build up in space.  One of massive proportions that continued to grow.  Whatever it was out there, it was planning on finishing him off, along with the planet!

With his remaining energy, he powered up an energy blast that, hopefully, would be able to stop this.  But, in the back of his mind, he wasn't sure he could.

************************************************************************************

The dust and dirt around him began to swirl away from him as his energy level increased even further.  The golden aura began to strengthen around him.  Every now and then, a bolt of energy arched it's way across his aura.  He remembered this.  This is his maximum power level.  His muscles bulged out all over his body, making him look like an oversized body builder.  Yet, the power still increased.

FLASHBACK

The energy blast from space headed towards him at incredible speeds, striking the atmosphere as if nothing was there.  He fired back with his energy blast.  His blast, compared to the one from space, seemed so small, but, as it collided with the massive energy blast, a sphere formed where they connected, the energies fighting against one another.  He continued to pump his remaining energy into it, which seemed to be holding it's own against the energy blast.  But, as his power began to lessen, he quickly realized that it was all in vain.  The energy blast had suddenly picked up more power and pushed against his blast, moving it back towards him.

"No, I can't let it," he thought to himself as he continued to fight against it.  He drew from some inner pool of reserve and pumped it into his blast, stopping the advancement of the blast.  But, as he tried to figure a way of deflecting it away, the energy blast suddenly widen and lanced down at him.

He watched in horror as the beam slammed into the ground right where he stood.  He screamed out in pain as the energy blast slammed into him, trying to snuff his life out.  A brilliant white light was all he saw before all went black.

When he woke, he did not know how long he had been out, nor know how he had survived the blast.  As he looked  around, all he could see what scorched ground.  Not a single building, or even part of one, stood.  There was nothing to let the universe know there was a town here.  All that remained was burnt ground, and the smoke that still rose.

He slowly rose to his feet, his entire body protesting the action.  As he stood, he began to search around for power levels, to see who had survived.  He tried again and again, but for some reason, he couldn't read anything.

Then, it struck him.  No one had survived the attack.  Even those that he sent to the shelter were gone.

"No," he thought in shock.  "They're all gone."

His eyes suddenly went wide in horror as he realized that his loved one, the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, was gone.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOO," he yelled out at the top of his lungs.

He collapsed on his knees, tears flowing freely from his eyes.  All that he had cared for, all those that he had loved, all those he had spend the best two years of his life with, were gone.

He began to cry, holding nothing back, letting all of his emotions go.

************************************************************************************

As the last part of that memory crossed his mind, he screamed out loud.  The barrier that, for so long, had put a limit on his power for the last six years, had shattered as if it were made of glass.  The energy behind the barrier poured through him, causing all around him to be pushed back from him as the energy arched through his aura.  His hair had increased in length a couple of inches, but, other than the aura that now has energy arching through it on a near constant basis, as well as the waves of dirt and dust being pushed away from him on all sides, there was no difference in appearance.  But, once he stopped screaming, he realized that he had reached the next level.  He knew that there was something past where he was at, and knew he had reached it.  But, he did not celebrate.  For the cost of him getting his new powers were too high.  It had cost him everything he had held dear.

"Mira," he said quietly as tears streaked down his face.

For an hour, he did not move, letting the energy course through him.  Then, he slowly flew away from the area, heading towards his spaceship.  He knew that she would want him to carry on, to continue his mission, to continue to protect the innocent, to help those who needed help.  He knew that was she wanted, but it would be difficult for him without her.

He finally arrived at his spaceship, hidden in the caves to the north.  As he lifted off, he glanced at the place where his life had nearly ended.  As he flew higher and higher, he finally realized the scope of the damage dealt.  Even from space, the 100-mile burn circle could be seen, as if to remind him of his failure.  He knew that it would be a long time before he would return to this place.  It would be along time before  he became himself once again.