Standing at the rim of the farthest crater, tall and gaunt, its ribcage glowed an unnatural green from the inside out. A swollen, pulsing sphere of acid sat right where its heart should have been, dripping down its chest in bright, sizzling strings. Wherever its heavy tail dragged across the ground, the rock hissed violently and sank into a boiling sludge. It opened its jaws wide, unleashing a stream of concentrated green fire straight into a wrecked transport hull. The metal didn't simply burn—it melted instantly, sagging into a steaming, bubbling puddle.
The last one made no sound at all. It was low to the ground, pitch-black, with its ribs showing starkly through its coarse fur and blank white eyes fixed directly on Goten across the distance. Sharp bone ridges jutted aggressively from its shoulders, and its curved claws resembled twin scimitars. Dark, oily smoke trailed from its shallow breath. It didn't growl, nor did it pace or circle. It simply waited, every muscle bunched tight, and Goten realized with a cold flicker of adrenaline that it had been staring right at him from the exact moment they landed on the ridge.
Melody: "Goten," *Melody said quietly, her voice barely carrying over the wind.* "Look behind them."
He did. The rest of the second wave was swarming the open field. There were dozens of them—perhaps more—and at a glance, they all looked identical: lean, grey-skinned, faceless, moving in a loose, unsettlingly synchronized stutter. There were no distinguishing marks to tell them apart. No battle scars, no armor plating, no color variations.
Then Goten focused, catching the underlying pattern in their ki signatures. They weren't the same at all. Half of them burned hot and aggressive, built for tearing things apart, yet their auras flickered like thin candle flames, making them fragile against heavy energy blasts. The other half barely registered on his internal radar; their physical strikes would be weak, but any direct ki attack would shatter against them like water hitting solid stone.
They look the same, Goten thought, his jaw tightening. That's the trap. You can't tell which one to hit with a physical punch and which one to hit with an energy blast until it's too late.
Across the field, the hooded figure tilted its head sharply upward, as if it had heard his thoughts echoing in the air.
Somewhere in the haze of smoke, Vegeta swore violently. Not far away, Goku let out a short, tight laugh—the exact sound he reserved for the only fights that truly mattered.
Melody: *She took a slow, deep breath, her hands steadying over her power-boosting aura.* "Tell me you have a plan."
Goten: *He flashed a quick, sharp grin, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.* "I'm working on it."
The wolf-thing vanished from the crater rim.