Dragonball: Rewritten

Chapter 10

Out in the vast nothingness of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, two thundering roars echoed, the sound of pounding feet following. The dimension's blank floor rumbled from the power of ki blasts, more roars, more pounding feet. A gust of cold wind attempted to break the terrifying monotony of sounds, as if the Room itself rebelled against what was happening inside its dimension. But the cold wind and it's oncoming snow did nothing to quell the fight, only feed it.

A succession of deafening chimes, one after the other, stopped the roaring. No more pounding. No more ki blasts.

In a gravely, monstrous voice, Vegeta sneered, "Dammit. Out of time."

Across from him, panting from effort, Goku nodded from where he knelt, sweat running down both sides of his large, furry Oozaru face.

"Do you really have to go fight this Namekian?"

Goku's large red eyes narrowed.

"Yes yes, I know—vowed revenge, killed his dad, might kill your friends again, take over the world, blah blah blah." Vegeta spat off to the side, a huge lob of spit splattering across the floor. "I expect it to be quick, or I will step in, and you cannot complain about it. Got it?"

A nod.

"Hmph." He crossed his arms. "Then I agree to meet your..." His upper lip twitched into a snarl. "Friends."

Goku let out a happy trill, his wide grin showcasing rows of large sharp teeth. The top of his furry cheeks overlapping the bottom half of his red eyes from just how big his grin was.

"I still don't think they'll recognize you," he added, but Goku wasn't paying any attention to him anymore. He raised his fists in the air, hopping from one foot to the other, his large tail wagging in circles behind him. Vegeta shook his head, sighing at the same time his snarl transformed into a small smile. "Idiot." He rose a hand up to the sky, where a bright white ball of ki hung from above, emitting a light akin to a full moon. "Now for the part that sucks."

A second passed before Goku stopped his victory dance, registered what Vegeta said, and then nodded, turning his back to him. Vegeta did the same.

The moment Vegeta's hand turned into a tight fist, the ki ball above dissipated with a hiss. Almost in tandem their Oozaru forms shrunk, the fur submerging under skin, the teeth and snout and every body part returning to normal. By the time they finished, they stood with their backs to each other, naked and panting for air, the exertion of the de-transformation exhausting them.

It wasn't too long until Vegeta on the other side of the room, Goku shouted, "I'll go get ready first!" Bare footsteps sprinted across the floor. "Thanks for the spar, Vegeta! I owe ya!"

Vegeta grunted, crossing his arms again, his cheeks tinted a light pink. The one good thing about training Goku was the fact that he listened to him and trusted him over the last year, teaching him how to control his Oozaru form. It was difficult the first few months. Goku's nightmares of crushing his loved ones didn't help. Nor did his frustration and cries of anger and rage when he woke up post-transformation, unable to remember a single thing.

He did his best to hold Goku together during those times, but the probability of Goku needing his tail cut off for his own sake rose higher and higher with each passing day. The worst were the times Vegeta listened Goku's nightmares, crying out things like stay away, run, forgive me. He tried to block it out, but it was impossible when Goku post-nightmare would cling to Vegeta, begging him to help him, to stop him, to never let him hurt anyone again. Those were the moments that almost broke Vegeta's resolve, where controlling the Oozaru meant nothing compared to Goku's mental and emotional health.