//------------------------------// // Monkey Business // Story: Dragon Ball Zeeyup! // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Big Mac sat atop the spire of rock where Piccolo had left him and Gohan before sundown. While there weren't any supplies around, Piccolo had circumspectly dropped a few apples down for food. Big Mac had promptly planted one of the seeds and encouraged it, and before long they had a full tree with plenty of apples to eat. Gohan had been amazed and began peppering Big Mac with questions about how he did it, though being careful to coach each one as a yes or no question, as that was all Big Mac was able to say at this point. All he knew for sure was that Gohan had one type of energy to draw on inside him, while Piccolo had two...though the second one seemed mostly untapped. Big Mac only had the second type, however, which he'd used to encourage the growth of the tree. Unfortunately, he had no way with just 'yes' and 'no' answers to explain that to Gohan. As the moon rose, Gohan became less and less verbose...and Big Mac began to cast him worried looks as energy began flowing into him from the moon as he gazed upon it. He could feel the moon energy being converted inside Gohan somehow, and his body beginning to overflow with the energy. As he started to expand, Big Mac quickly pushed him off the edge of the plateau they were on so he wouldn't damage the tree...or him. Gohan expanded into the form of a giant monkey, and roared as he reached full size, towering over the pillar of rock. Turning towards Big Mac, he let out a bestial roar...which cut off as Big Mac tossed an apple into his mouth from the tree. Gohan paused, his mouth snapping shut as he rolled the apple around in his mouth once it was crushed by his shut jaws...and sat down to clap his hands over his head before opening his mouth for the next one. Big Mac was happy to oblige. Alright, Raditz, Raditz thought to himself as he gazed up at the moon and began to change. Time to go tame the brat once he turns into the Oozaru, and hope he has enough of a mind to be taught how to control it. He's a child, so that should be easy...but he's only half-Saiyan. He might be fully instinctive. Best to keep the collateral damage to a minimum, if only to convince the Namekian that I'm actually on his side. Once he'd fully transformed, his armor having stretched with him, he turned to look for Gohan...and saw him sitting before a plateau, peaceful as could be. "Okay...that's unexpected," he spoke as he walked over, his voice much deeper and more gravelly in this form. "Still, it's helpful if you're already in control-" Gohan turned and roared at him, only for the roar to cut off as the pony tossed something into his mouth. He still glowered at Raditz, but didn't roar again. "Got him tamed already, have you?" Raditz observed in amusement as he crouched down next to the plateau so he could look at the pony. "How did you manage that-" His words were cut off as the pony tossed something from the tree into his mouth. He pressed it against his teeth with his tongue... "Okay, whatever that is, I want more!" Raditz insisted as he leaned forward. "And I want to try it when I'm not an Oozaru so I can savor it." "He made an apple tree sprout from a seed in a few seconds," Piccolo pointed out as he floated down. "So...this is what you were telling me about? Can all Saiyans do this?" "Yes, they can," Raditz confirmed. "Well, as long as they have their tails, anyway. Moon's of a certain size and reflective properties create Blutz Waves when reflecting sunlight, which enter through the optical cortex to travel down to the tail. If the effect is strong enough, it triggers the transformation." "So...cut off the tail or blow up the Moon to reverse it?" Piccolo clarified. "Basically, yes," Raditz confirmed. "But for now, I want to see if I can teach Gohan to be in control of himself when he's like this." He turned to face the other giant monkey. "Gohan, this is Uncle Raditz. Do you understand me?" Gohan glowered at Raditz, but did not respond. Raditz sighed irritably. "This is going to be difficult..." "Is it really worth it?" Piccolo asked. "The transformation multiplies our power level by a factor of 10," Raditz pointed out. "And the strain of combat at this level is proportionate when we change back. Push ourselves hard enough while in this form, and when we recover after changing back we might get another Zenkai Boost. That's the sort of thing that will greatly accelerate how fast we can grow stronger." "So you need him to fight you?" Piccolo clarified. "Preferably without leveling the countryside?" "Precisely," Raditz confirmed. "Now how to get it started?" "Hey Gohan!" Piccolo yelled out. Gohan immediately turned to face him. He pointed at Raditz. "Sparring partner! Loser doesn't get any more apples from Big Mac!" With a fierce roar, Gohan flung himself at Raditz with fists bared, delivering a solid haymaker that made Raditz stagger back since he hadn't expected it. "Now that's more like it!" Raditz called out as he caught the next punch before using his tail to sweep Gohan's legs out from under him. "Fight me as hard as you can, and learn to think it through!" Piccolo settled down next to Big Mac. "So...do you think this is going to work?" "Eeyup." "Any idea how to make it work better?" "Eeyup." "Got something better than apples to offer?" "Eeyup." "Does it grow on trees?" "Nnnnope!" "Does it involve apples?" "Eeyup!" "Gonna bake apple pies?" "Eeyup!" "Need me to make an oven?" "Nnnope!" "Need me to get spices?" "Hmmm...nnnope!" "Need me to get seeds so you can grow spices?" "Eeeyup!" "I can find those. You good staying here under Raditz' watch while they spar?" "Eeeyup!" "Can you get Gohan back in line if he goes out of control?" "Eeeyup!" "Can you contain him by super growing some vines if he starts to lose it?" Big Mac shrugged. "You'll figure something out?" "Eeeyup!" "Good enough for me. Shouldn't be gone long." With that, Piccolo flew off to get some spice plants for Big Mac to tend. "Who would have thought cooking would be training?"