Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball GT nor any of its characters and I earn no money from writing fanfiction about them
Chapter 2: The second wish.
In the Grand Kai's planet, the people there gathered cheered as the halo over the old witch disappeared.
"Remember" King Kai told them "This will only work once and for a day at most. And if you die, your soul will disappear. This is your only shot at this so don't miss out."
Gohan nodded. His wounds from the battle with Angra Manyu were still fresh but he couldn't afford the time for them to heal on their own. He would need to see Dende as soon as he got there. His wife stood by his side and kissed him in the cheek "Go save our daughter" she said as seriously as she could and Gohan nodded again, clutching the hole on his shoulder in pain. All around the long dead warriors gave their two cents.
"Go get them tiger." Tien said.
"Show them not to mess with earth." Yamcha said.
"Do your best, I know you can do it." Was Krillin's advice.
"Avenge our planet!" Some unknown alien shouted from the back. Gohan listened to everyone and everything, every show of encouragement. He turned to the other four chosen warriors and his face turned into one of determination. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again he was back in the lookout.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
"YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED. I WILL GRANT YOU A SECOND WISH. TELL ME YOUR SECOND WISH." A second passed. Two seconds. Five seconds. And at the sixth, six people arrived to the lookout. The first one was an old lady wearing a witch costume and sat in a floating crystal ball. Satan assumed she was Roshi's sister. As soon as she arrived the others fazed into existence.
"Goten!" "Trunks!" Bulma and Chichi ran towards their sons, hugging them before they could even breathe. The young men tried to struggle against the embrace of their mothers, but soon enough they gave up on that and tried to console the crying women. Behind them Satan saw Krillin's wife, standing beside a young man Hercule didn't recognize. He had shoulder length dark hair and blue eyes, and an uncanny resemblance to 18. They stood a little apart of the group; all of their family was already dead and even though they had friends on earth they weren't as close to them as the saiyans were. He wondered why they were there; neither them nor their families could be resurrected with the dragon balls, they had no reason to fight. A single look to their eyes was what he needed to understand. They wouldn't fight for survival like the rest of them but for justice and revenge against those who wronged them and their family. He didn't know how strong they were but he was certain they would fight until losing the last drop of their blood. Behind them was the last man of the team…
"GOHAN! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Chichi voice cracked when she saw him and hurried towards her eldest. Everyone gasped at the sight of their strongest warrior, bent to his knees by the pain of his wounds. He had cuts and bruises on every inch of his body and some burns on top of them; an eye so swollen he couldn't see with it and a large hole on his chest that had splattered blood on his torn apart clothes. Even in that pitiful state the half saiyan stood up, proving he wasn't as bad as he looked.
"I was fighting one of Abbadon's henchmen in the otherworld." The group started to murmur at the news; they had no idea that the world of death was in trouble too. "Dad and Vegeta are fighting the guy as we speak."
"Gohan, what is going on?" Bulma asked the question in everybody's mind. The man opened his mouth to answer, but winced in pain at the effort. In a moment Earth's guardian was by him working his magic. Being best friends with god surely had its benefits. Hercule looked around and was not surprised to see that Uub had already left to rejoin the fight. The rest of the other world team had also entered in action, moving apart of the rest of the group and their wounded comrade. They had positioned six steeps apart from each other and were barking orders to each other as if preparing for something.
"Hey Goten, lower your energy already, I can't go that high without turning super"
"Ha! That's precious! Who is holding the other back now, eh Trunks?"
"Shut up. Some of us have to work. I can't train as much as I want. Now lower your ki."
Mirroring them, 18 and the stranger were also bickering.
"Place your feet closer to each other! I don't want to end up being a fatso again."
"My feet had nothing to do with that. Just worry about your own movements and we will be fine."
"Seriously! Screw up now and I will never forgive you!"
By this time several members of the group turned to the pairs and some even sported knowing smiles now. Satan was starting to wonder what the heck was going on when the four started to move. nothing had prepared him to witness what happened next. They started to dance.
"FU…" They started to chant while moving closer to each other. The members of each duo moved three steps towards their partners, mirroring their movements. Their arms waved in an arc above their heads, their palms facing ahead and meeting in the center.
"…SION!" The warriors shouted. In one swift movement their arms crossed their bodies so that they were parallel to the floor and their extended fingers pointed in the opposite direction of their partner's location. One of their legs was raised and flexed, so that the upper part was at waist level and in a 90 degrees angle with the other leg, the foot touching the other leg's knee. At this point Hercule started to wonder if the pressure was too much for the kids and they went nuts. What happened next, however, was so strange that he started to wonder if it wasn't him who had gone insane.
"HA!" Both duos shouted, placing both feet on solid ground and waving their arms over their head again, this time their fingers touching with the ones of their partners. A blinding flash occurred and when he opened his eyes, were the four of them previously stood, two new fighters had come to be. The first one, placed between where Goten and Trunks were supposed to be, looked a lot like Vegeta but his hair was not only black but with purple streaks on it. He wore a black vest with purple trimming and white pants. The second one looked a lot like… well… the twins. His hair was silver with dark streaks and his clothes were the same as the fused saiyans but with red trimmings.
"Gotenks and 35 reporting for action!" Said the fused saiyan with a confident grin, right before his hair went blond.
"Let's kick some ass!" He screamed before flying off at full speed. 35 mumbled something about never agreeing to that name before following due.
" What the hell was that?" was what Hercule wanted to ask but Bra beat him to the punch. It was Bulma who answered.
"Oh right, you have never seen a fusion before. I am not entirely sure how it works but it's a technique that allows two martial artists to transform into one who is far stronger than both of them would be together"
"Wait, so that's it? How come we haven't used that yet? Did we really have to wait until we were the last ones alive to do that?" Hercule asked bewildered. If the technique was so great then if Gohan fused with someone then they may have won by now.
"Well… it's not that simple. Both warriors have to be of the same height and if they don't even their power levels at the time of the dance the technique doesn't work. And unless they follow the steps perfectly and at the same time they end up as a weakling instead of a fighter so not everyone can fuse and is very risky to do it without practice. If their fingers don't touch properly or if they make a mistake in one of the forms or if they mess the distance or tempo then it's worse than useless"
"Are they going to remain like that?" Bra asked her mother. The older woman shook her head.
"No, the technique lasts half an hour at best and it needs an hour of rest time between fusions. They are a lot stronger now though, so they might end this before they need to do it again." She said reassuringly. Hercule sighed. Now that he thought about it he remembered seeing something similar when they fought Buu. He made a mental note to remember about this stuff, who knows, maybe if there is a next time he would be able to help…
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Left, up, right, down. Only split of second decisions allowed Abbadon to dodge the constant barrage of attacks the great ape was throwing his way. Not only was the saiyan bigger and stronger but way faster than she was before. A wild grin crept to the god's face as he barely dodged a punch, the wind alone created from it menacing to send him flying hundreds of meters away. He quickly grabbed hold of a mass of golden fur and accelerated to speeds unheard of before as Pan retracted her arm, not knowing she was also pulling of him. Releasing his hold right before it stopped, Abbadon was propelled towards Pan's face, sword in hand and ready to stab her eye. Sensing the danger, the quarter saiyan back rolled on the spot, barely avoiding the lost of an eye but receiving a deep cut in the forehead instead. The destroyer couldn't dwell in the little victory though as in the same movement the monkey sent a kick his way, hitting his back and sending him flying thousands of meters away.
The Oozaru phased out of view and appeared behind its opponent. She readied to punch the approaching foe but something held her arm. Behemoth had decided to join the fray, using one of his techniques to hold her with some kind of energy whips that were now burning past the golden fur and into her skin. Pan let out a roar of pain which snapped Abbadon out of his daze. He twisted in midair and aimed his sword for a slash, speeding up towards the giant. Realizing what was happening; Pan used both of her foot to crush Abbadon, very much like one would do to a mosquito. Only by using both of his arms to stop her could Abbadon avoid a flattening end.
Pan waved her arm wildly, sending the king of beasts, who was still holding her, flying behind its master at the same time that she prepared an energy beam on her mouth. Abbadon's eyes widened when he saw the humongous attack prepared to blast him. He powered up and released the paws, which quickly closed onto him. With a powerful slash the conqueror made a great cut on the base of the limb and right before he was crushed took refuge into it. With a sharp energy beam he made his way out of the clutch, enlarging the wound in the process and coming out between the incoming energy attack and his shadow servant. Abbadon flew towards his companion, the beam right on his heels. He grabbed hold of Behemoth and went down not a second too late; he felt a hellish heat behind him and blisters forming and exploding on his back. Turning his head a little he confirmed what he felt; he not only had several burns now but half of his cape had ceased to exist, the other half surely soon to follow. Not only that, but his clothes were ruined, dyed black with blood.
A not so gentle push got him out of his musings; a giant monkey's fist was where he was not a second ago. As he began dodging the monstrous punches again he made a mental note of thanking Behemoth for getting him out of the way. He then felt a familiar energy coming their way but he couldn't really bother with it while fighting the great ape. He sent a nod in his servant's way, who growled to show he understood. Behemoth then phased out of sight, reappearing less than a second later behind its master to block Uub's incoming kick with its knee. The king of beasts caught the two following punches with its hands and head butted Uub in the face, cutting one of his eyes with its horns. The monster then bitted the Indian man in the shoulder and flew away from the main battle to deal with him in peace. Abbadon mentally told him to hurry.
The fighting resumed and Abbadon found himself dodging and parrying the attacks with his sword again. The destroyer found himself laughing at the situation, low at first but growing in volume as the fight went on. It had been a long time since a planet had provided with such an entertainment. It was then that he felt an approaching energy, somehow familiar yet unknown. He flew left and up dodging a kick from his opponent and raised his hand over his head; he threw two energy balls in rapid fire, the second faster than the first and both aiming for his opponent head. The ki blasts collided midway, making a big explosion of blinding light. While his foe couldn't see him, Abbadon powered up and dived towards his enemy, hitting her in the stomach and sending her speeding to the ground. No sooner had he done this that he turned around and blocked with the flat of his sword an incoming left punch from his new opponent.
The new opponent (he had golden hair so he was probably a saiyan) threw another punch at him, this one with his right and aiming for his stomach. Abbadon caught it with his right and did the same with his hand holding the sword when the newcomer tried again with his left. The saiyan went for a headbutt which Abbadon countered with one of his own, then he sent a palm strike to the man's chest, followed by a point blank energy attack that sent the saiyan flying away. Sensing an energy signal coming from behind Abbadon flew up and thrust both of his legs down, kicking Uub's back, who tried to ambush him from behind. The swordsman frowned at this, Uub shouldn't be able to defeat behemoth on his own yet he was here and the King of beast's energy signal told him he was wounded. He didn't felt any warrior going their way so how was he here so fast?
No time to think about that, he was now surrounded by what seemed the human version of ghosts; all of them looking like the male saiyan he had been fighting before. They formed a perimeter around him and one of them tried to tackle him. Abbadon promptly cut it in half with his sword and a big explosion took place that made the destroyer shake in its spot. He raised an eyebrow at the strength of the explosion. If a single one could make a blast so big then…oh.
The specters went for him in groups of two and three and he had to resort to either dodging or blasting them from the distance with energy attacks. The apparitions started to grow bolder, using some as decoys to try to surprise him by the sides. At the end eight of the ghosts remained and charged for him all at the same time. The destroyer prepared himself to outfly them and finish this when Pan's gigantic hand flatted them all. Abbadon felt the brunt of both the hit and the explosions as he fell toward the ground. He felt his sword slip from his hand and flying away from him. He opened his eyes and made to grab it but had to stop midway and spin in the opposite direction to evade an energy beam from Uub. As he was spinning however he saw that someone else had already got the blade; a new silver haired warrior was holding it with both of his hands and was ready to cut him in half. In a split of a second decision, Abbadon sent a ki blast towards the blade. Both fighters were knocked away by the resulting explosion but at least he was still in one piece and the sword was again in the air and going up.
Abbadon went again for his sword, the energy signals around him telling him Gotenks was doing the same. He sped up to reach it first but had to stop because Pan was again on him. He blocked the ape's punch with both of his hands, grabbed one of her finger and with a mighty battle cry he swung her around and threw him to the fused saiyan, stopping him from grabbing the weapon. Abbadon flew up again to catch the now falling sword but got tackled from behind by Uub. The destroyer cursed as the sword passed by them and elbowed the Indian man, breaking his arm and the hold on him.
Once free, the swordsman shot down, decided to this time get the weapon. 35 was in the way though and already releasing a stream of energy attacks. Abbadon dived between them like a madman, evading the attacks and passing by 35, but not before sending his own energy blast to the android's face. He finally reached and seized the weapon and allowed himself a little smile but had to quickly turn around and block two energy disks with it. The energy attacks pushed his sword back a little and he felt how they cut a few locks of his hair before sending them away.
He stared at the four warriors floating in the distance. They were all panting by the effort and so was he. He recognized two of them, the others this was the first time he met. They had halos on their heads, meaning they were dead. It worried him a little that they could bring people from the otherworld but shrugged the feeling off, focusing again on them. On closer inspection he recognized the clothes they were wearing. Their style was that of the metamorphan race, which would make them fusions. That explained why the saiyan felt familiar, his signal felt like Goten's and trunks, which would make him their fusion. The other one he had no idea though, he could feel no energy signal coming from him.
"HAHAHA! I LOVE THIS PLANET!" Abbadon felt his body tremble and his voice quiver from the excitement: "A GIANT MONKEY! A MAJIN REINCARNATED! A SAIYAN FUSION AND A WARRIOR YOU CAN'T SENSE! WHAT KIND OF WONDER WILL I FIGHT NEXT?"
This statement didn't sit well with the earth's warriors and soon Pan, Uub and 35 were fighting him again. Abbadon used his sword to keep them at bay, blocking the hits from the saiyan girl and making the others keep their distance less they wanted to be cut in half. Soon the human and the android decided to change their strategy, flying away and blasting him from the distance, leaving close quarters to the giant.
It was when Pan tried to hit him with a kick that something smashed against her leg, making her miss. Abbadon didn't have to look to know Behemoth had finally healed its wounds and was now ready for action. The beast had changed its color to white and his face was thinner, had no scales and had lost its spikes. It was in a shape that favored speed and waited no time to prove it. It phased out of view to appear behind the android, kicking it on the back and phasing again to do the same to Uub. It repeated the process, knowing they wouldn't recover in time on their own.
Abbadon didn't waste the opening his servant gave him. He slipped through the ape's guard and slashed its stomach viciously, several times. He stopped his onslaught with a roundhouse kick, sending her away. He prepared a house sized ki blast to smitten her, only to be hit in the hands by a laser-like ki beam which made him miss. The destroyer looked up to see that it was Gotenks who attacked him, holding his hands together with his indexes extended like a gun to take aim better.
Gotenks sent a volley of the same attack against him and Abbadon flew around them as he charged against Gotenks. Seeing that the god was still closing the distance the fused saiyan switched to throwing a huge energy blast with both hands. Abbadon, however, was already too close to let that kind of thing stop him so he backslapped the blast with his right and thrust with his left. His blade sunk on the man's stomach, he twisted it and retreated it. Grabbing the man by the neck to stop him from falling, he prepared to pierce the man's heart when he felt someone grip his hand. Turning around, he met Gohan's stern face.
"Honey! You're back!" He squealed happily in his best imitation of Videl's voice. Gohan didn't seem to think it funny as he punched him hard, making him fall. The mystic warrior was soon into him and they started to exchange hits as they flew to the ground. Abbadon cursed under his breath since at that distance he couldn't properly use the blade and the half breed wouldn't let him get away. The swordsman looked down to see the ground approaching fast, this being the opening Gohan had being waiting for. He kicked his wife's look alike in the chin, sending him to crash in the ground.
Abbadon kicked the floor and jumped to the side leaving a crater behind him but he wasn't finished. Stabbing the floor with his sword, he used it to spin around its hilt and fly again towards the saiyan. Gohan raised his arms just in time to block the following kick though he was sent crashing to the ground by the force behind it. Abbadon landed and walked in Gohan's direction, wiping the blood from his mouth as he did so.
"Okay, my bad, I shouldn't have said that. Shouldn't you be in limbo fighting my shadow though?" Asked the entity. Gohan scowled as he got up from the pile of debris.
"I was sent here to stop you. But don't worry about it, King Enma is safe from your shadow." He said as he readied his stance.
Abbadon frowned at this and closed his eyes. A second later he was smiling in glee. He raised his right hand and several green sparks came to be, dancing around it.
"I see, your father and the prince took your place. Well, let's see how long they last against a fully healed Angra Manyu."
Gohan's eyes widened when he heard this. "NO!" He screamed as he put his hands together and threw a masenko to his opponent. Abbadon flew up evading the attack; the boisterous sound behind him informed him the place had just become a giant trench. A second wave came his way, if the previous one was any indication of this one's strength he would have to dodge it. He went higher and faster, the beam missed him by little. An incoming energy signal made him look up; Uub was falling with his arms crossed in front of his face, it seemed he had just taken a hit and hadn't noticed the destroyer below him. Taking advantage of the opening he phased behind the human and kicked him hard on the back, a sickening crack telling him this hit would surely count. The human was sent flying up, right to the hands of the quarter saiyan who was following him down.
Realizing he was giving an opening to the half breed, Abbadon turned around just in time to block Gohan's next barrage of hits. The swordsman was pushed back by the onslaught and had to retreat skyway but as he did so 35 sneaked behind him and grabbed Abbadon in a Nelson hold. Unable to fully use his arms he had to resort to kicks to try and block Gohan's hits. After a few seconds of beating Abbadon finally managed to block, spun the blade on his hand and used a wrist movement helped with his incredible strength to throw it and try to stab the android behind him, who was forced to release him to save its life. Once his arms were free the threat to earth hit Gohan in the head with both of his hand clenched together, sending him down again.
On a hunch the saiyaman 2 flew back, just in time to avoid being squashed between the great ape's elbow and knee. Another hunch told him he really shouldn't be giving his back to the android and a single glance confirmed it as two energy disks were coming his way. He changed his position to fly horizontally between both disks and kicked them both in the center, pushing them away from him. Abbadon extended his arms wide and caught the fist of Pan and her father that came from opposite directions. Father and daughter prepared themselves to hit again and as many times as it took to take him down when Abbadon heard a screech above them. He could only catch a glimpse of Behemoth before it landed into his shoulder, sending him down and using him as a platform to rebound and attack the son of Goku.
Abbadon recovered fast and while mumbling about the crude methods of his henchmen he shot up and kicked the monkey hard on the snout, taking her out of the way. He felt a volley of energy balls hit him. He looked up and saw the ones responsible. He almost burst into laughing at the sight of Uub and Gotenks holding each other and tied by the waist with what seemed to be a rope made of the remains of both of their pants. Then again both of them were severely wounded; Gotenks with a hole on the stomach and Uub with an arm broken and his legs paralyzed rendering him unable to fly.
Abbadon dodged the salvo of attacks by flying on an arc, the final destination both of the fighters. He phased in front of them and hit Gotenks twice, once on his wound and once on the neck. He allowed himself an evil smirk when he saw them both falling, Uub screaming like crazy to his friend to wake up.
His moment of joy was cut short as Gohan approached from below. Looking down he saw that Behemoth had his sword in hand while charging against 35, who was about to throw a big energy ball at it. The monster phased out of view, appearing between the ki blast and the android with the weapon ready to slash it but Abbadon could see no more; the half breed's punch to his stomach proved to be distracting enough. Both warriors traded blows, none of them backing down in the slightest. Gohan was the first to retreat, kicking him to put some distance. The unarmed fencer tried to follow, however, his attempt was cut short before it could even begin as Pan slammed both of her fists on his back. How could the giant monkey surprise attack him was beyond him but he soon engaged her on combat.
He dodged and blocked, looking for an opening on her guard to slip by but finding none of it until he sensed her father coming from behind. Thinking fast he flew to meet him at full speed, catching the warrior unaware. Abbadon made a feint with his fist and caught Gohan's hand when he tried to block; he spun fast and threw the demisaiyan to his daughter's incoming and gigantic fist. It hit the earthling warrior and kept its path, taking the warrior with it until Abbadon kicked him, sending Gohan and the fist away. Taking advantage of the hit's momentum, the Videl-look-alike prepared a humongous energy disk and threw it towards Pan's tail. However, the disk was too big and the motion too fast; his lack of aiming made it hit both of the ape's legs instead of its extra limb. The resulting explosion made the female warrior cry in pain and roll in midair as a scarlet rain now fell into earth. The light also momentarily blinded him and Abbadon blinked a few times until his eyes readjusted. When he could finally see again, he was the only figure in the darkened sky.
Looking around he saw the eternal dragon floating in the distance and realized with glee he was again level with the lookout; the thin air would play in his favor for the next round of the fight. One by one the five defenders of earth appeared in front of him. Gohan's blood was falling in torrents from his mouth; the last two hits had pulled a number on him. Pan's legs were shivering from the pain her new wounds caused her, there was so much of the red fluid coming from them that her fur was dyed brown. 35 was cut on several places so deep his bones could be seen, be it from claws or sword. His face was ruined, as half of its muscle seemed to have been bitten of, most likely courtesy of Behemoth. Uub was the most damaged, his legs were useless, one arm broken and his other shoulder bitten. One of his eyes had been cut at the beginning of the fight but the other was glaring at him, making clear he would never give up. He was still tied the Gotenks who was a lot paler than before from the loss of blood. It was to him that Abbadon spoke to.
"Hello again dear. Where is Behemoth?" He asked nonchalantly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I mean no disrespect but both Uub and two faces over there are too weak to have beaten him and, lets be honest, you are not in the best shape to fight him either. So I can't help to wonder, where is my son?" He finished with a smile.
Gotenks smirked at this and his answer was in the same carefree tone. "Well… lets say he is playing volleyball in the moon by now."
Abbadon raised an eyebrow at this, he had the feeling his shadow's destiny was not quite as fun as that sounded. "Oh, I see. When he is finished, could you tell him to finish everyone in the planet? It's not that I have anything against you but some of your friends and family are still alive and that is a big no-no to my plans so…"
"You are not going to kill anyone." Gohan interrupted him "You shan't leave this planet alive."
"Oh, come on honey! Aren't you being unreasonable?" He replied in Videl's voice "You know I'm stronger than you and I grow stronger with every second. Father has no chance against the third so in a few minutes tops Enma will be dead and I unstoppable. And darling, even if you manage to wound me a little, how long can souls like you remain on this realm? I can simply run away and return with Behemoth when there is only our Pan and Uub…"
"SHUT UP!" Pan's roar silenced the speech "Stop speaking like that! He is not your husband! I am not your daughter! Grandpa is not your father in law! I could never be related like something like you so STOP! ACTING! LIKE! MY! MOTHER!"
"But… but Pan! How could you say that to me? Sniff" Abbadon said in mocking hurt, his eyes becoming wet from his false tears. He raised his ki as he said this and the warriors readied their stance as thunder started to dance around him "How could you say we are not related? Don't you see my face? Don't you hear my voice? Gohan, talk to her!"
"Enough" Gohan's voice was cold, he hadn't felt this angry since his fight against Cell "We are ending this now"
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"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? SAY YOU SECOND WISH FAST. WHATEVER IT IS I WILL GRANT IT, OR DO YOU HAVE NO OTHER WISH?" Hercule heard Shen Long's voice thundering in the sky.
"WAIT! We still have a wish so if you could wait a little more time…" Roshi tried to appease the dragon but it was no use.
"IHAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOUR SECOND WISH, FOR A LONG TIME. SAY YOUR WISH OR I WILL…"
"LISTEN TO ME YOU OVERGROWN LIZARD! YOU WILL STAY HERE AS LONG AS WE WANT OR ELSE I WILL GATHER THE DRAGONBALLS NEXT YEAR ONLY TO BLOW YOU UP AND HAVE DENDE HERE REPAIR YOU SO WE CAN DO IT AGAIN!" Bulma screeched to the apparition. The god of dragons stared at her for a few seconds before turning its gaze to the distance were the fight was having place.
The atmosphere was grim at the lookout, only Dende's shouts could be heard over the raging winds. At the beginning of it they had relied on the namekian to tell them what was happening but now they also had a visual help. A bright yellow spot could be seen in the distance; Pan's size and golden fur made them know where the combat was taking place. Every now and then her shouts and screams reached their ears but about the state of the others they would know only by the guardian's tale; Roshi's sister having left for the otherworld as soon as she brought the combatants from there.
Hercule caught some movement to his left, turning around he saw that Chichi had knelt down in prayer. One by one everyone there joined her in the floor with their hands clasped together and without realizing the champ followed suit. Unbeknown to him the motion was repeated all across the universe and the otherworld, all the souls were bound together by a single wish, that of getting past this dark times. As Satan closed his eyes and started to mumble, asking for every living god out there to listen, Gohan's words resounded in his brain, reminding him of the threat they were facing.
FLASHBACK
"Gohan? What is going on?" Chichi asked shyly to her eldest. "Why is Goku fighting in the otherworld?"
Gohan shifted uncomfortably as the namekian healed his wounds. He seemed uncertain about what he was about to say but gave a surrendering sigh when his mother insisted. He looked up and stared into everyone eyes. He waited until he made sure nobody would interrupt before answering. "One of Abaddon's shadows is attacking the otherworld. The Kaio shins were the first to die, Abbadon sent his shadow to kill them and then to kill their souls again. They can't be brought back, there is nothing left of them and unless dad can stop him, King Enma will soon follow"
"What? Why would they do that?"
"He wanted them dead so they could not interfere. Many years ago when we fought Majin Buu not only did they unlock my potential but one of them gave his life to resurrect dad. Abbadon was afraid they would do something like that again so he killed them first. That is also the reason he destroyed new Namek, he thought he would kill all the namekians and the dragon balls with them"
"He what?" Dende paled as he said this and Gohan put a hand on his shoulder trying to console him. The earth guardian fell to his knees and tears fell formed on his eyes. Gohan's next words were full with sorrow.
"It's true. They all died twice already so they can't be brought back either. I am sorry." Everyone fell silent as the young namekian weep for his race. Hercule gulped as he clenched his fists, he had known Dende for a while now but for the life of him couldn't think of anything to make him feel better. Something else was bothering him though, he had the feeling something was not quite right with that story.
"There…" He said loud enough for everyone to listen "There is something I don't understand. If that guy is so afraid of the dragonballs why didn't he just blow up our planet? I mean, he did it to that… erm… Namek planet because they had them so what is so different about us?"
"That's right, it doesn't make any sense. I mean, why bother?" Bulma asked aloud and all of the present but Gohan made noises of agreement. The half breed coughed aloud and clapped his hands a few times for everyone to listen. Once they made silence he continued while sending a few glances in the direction of the battle, clearly thinking about joining.
"I can only guess but I think it's because ours are weaker than the original ones. You see, the reason Abbadon fears them is because they can bring people back from the grave. Since ours can't do that if someone died twice he probably doesn't think they are that dangerous, after all he just has to kill them again. Now, if you excuse me…"
"Wait!" Bra interrupted him "You haven't explained anything yet! Why is my dad fighting in the otherworld? Can this Enma guy bring people back to life too?"
"No," Gohan said and he looked resigned when he did so "I didn't want to tell you as to not worry you but you would still worry if I didn't."
"Abbadon is a god. One of the first ones in fact." He continued "He was one of the gods that created the otherworld, using his own soul as its base. Because the other world is actually his soul, he gets stronger for every soul in there; he uses part of their power to fight. That's why his second shadow is killing everyone in the universe; that is why he took care of everyone who could resurrect first so that his power could only grow with time"
Some of them gasped, some cursed and some only allowed their eyes to widen. It was Oolong who asked the unspoken question: "What about Enma? How does he fit in all this?"
"King Enma," Gohan corrected. "Is the god that judges people when they die; the one that decides who goes to heaven or hell. He is also the one who can allow people, like martial artists, to retain their body after they die and to use the power they attained while alive in the afterlife. That is, his permission is needed for that power to be used. As long as Enma is alive Abaddon can't use the strength those in the otherworld had when they were alive"
"So if Enma dies…" Gohan nodded
"He will be as strong as dad, Vegeta, Krillin, Frieza, Cell, Dabura and every dead fighter we know combined. Once our time in this world is up he would also have my power, the same would happen with Goten, Trunks, 17 and 18. That unless we kill him first of course."
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?GO KILL HIM!"
"But you wanted to know…" Chichi smacked his son's head.
"NOW!" She screamed along with everyone there. Gohan rubbed the back of his head as he flew away.
"Geez… everyone keeps screaming at me today."
END OF FLASHBACK
Hercule kept repeating Gohan's words in his own head, but whenever he did so, he reached the same conclusion.
"There is nothing I can do." He felt so useless. "Even against Cell and Majin Buu I could help in some way or another, no matter how small that turned out to be, however, I can only pray and hide behind my granddaughter. Damn it, I am the world champion but I don't think I could face this guy in a fight. Chichi is right, I wouldn't even make a decent meat shield…"
Hercule shook his head, trying to make his thoughts go away "No! That can't be right. I am Hercule Satan! I AM THE WORLD CHAMPION!" He mentally shouted to gather his courage. "I am… was the hero to millions of people. There must be something I can do, even if it is only moral support."
It was a simple and good idea. He looked around to see if anyone need it but to his surprise the mood was better than before. It still felt like it could be cut with a knife, bu hey didn't look desperate anymore. The act of praying, as simple as it was, was comforting in its own way, enough for them to calm down. Any other group of people would be desperate by now, some would break down in hysterical cries and fits of laughter; some may even contemplate killing themselves. Not this group though. Hercule had to remind himself they had been in similar situations before and that had hardened them. True, earth had been in danger before and many times the entire world knew it too but only them had always been in the midst of it all; only them had known how serious the situation was and always pulled through. For now, they would be fine.
Realizing that for now he wouldn't be needed, he neared Dende to ask him about the fight. It was a good thing he did it, for the following tremor was stronger than the others, almost making the guardian fall from the platform. Hercule and Mr. Popo quickly grabbed him and stopped him from doing so; the world champion feeling relief as he did so, before remembering the green man could fly so the fall wouldn't have killed him.
"HAAAAAAAAAA!" Pan's roar was carried by the wind and Hercule could see the golden dot in the distance go up and grow brighter. Hercule felt the world start to vibrate and soon a buzzing sound was all he could hear. Another tiny golden dot appeared near Pan but it was soon out-shined by the light his granddaughter was giving.
"What is going on?" he shouted as loud as he could, trying to make himself be heard. The guardian of earth winced in pain at the sudden outburst near his ears but answered back none the less.
"They are all powering up! I have never felt anything like this; Gotenks has gone level three and Pan, Pan is incredible! They are betting all on this one!"
Another flash of light turned their attention back to the fight. The quarter saiyan had finished her powering up and the sky, previously dark from magic, had turned golden in color, the warriors ki stronger than the endless night. Floating in the middle of it all, a primate figure that seemed to be made of pure light was in crouching position, preparing her attack.
"KAME," The cry resounded over earth. Hercule felt a chill, a bad feeling taking over him. He couldn't take his eyes off the battle ahead and it was becoming harder to breath. Everyone in the lookout could feel it, even those who couldn't sense ki, they knew by some kind of primal instinct that there was. Something dangerous, something evil that way.
"What is going on?" The ever so calm tone of Roshi's voice was gone, pure fear had now taken its place "What- what is that thing?"
"HAME," The chant sounded a lot clearer yet distant at the same time. It was as if they and the fight were the only things there. They could barely hear the raging wind that flapped their clothes, their focus on what laid ahead.
"King Enma took a hit!" King Kai's voice in their head alarmed them "He is dying, Pan, you have to stop Abbadon, he is gaining the power of hell!"
"Abbadon's power level is increasing!"
"HAAA!" Louder than any shout before it, the last part of the chant was followed by the by now legendary attack and it was soon joined by another three smaller but still considerably big energy waves. For a moment Hercule thought they had made it but it didn't last long. Time seemed to stop as all sounds disappeared, the air grew still and rocks stopped midflight. Black thunder cut through the energy beam and the golden warrior; the ki attack ceased to be like it had never been there. There was silence as the sky turned black again and the giant ape lost its golden color. There were a few minor explosions like fireworks going off but they stopped after a few seconds and they lost sight of the ape as it dropped to the earth and was swallowed by darkness.
The only sound in the lookout was the one of the small rocks falling to the ground. The world had calmed down.
"What happened just now?" the question was just a whisper but it sounded obscenely high in the quietness of the palace.
"That was Raijinken, the attack Abbadon used to kill Gohan last time. Only it was a lot stronger now." Dende replied, his gaze was lost in the distance, were the fight had taken place. "Pan won't live much longer. The others were also incapacitated soon afterwards."
Chichi sobbed and Hercule gulped. It was Oolong who asked the question. "So… where is Abbadon now?"
"I'm here." A voice he knew came from behind them. He tried to turn around but he wasn't fast enough; with the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a red flash of light. Unfortunately for Hercule he was in a perfect position to watch its results; though only meter apart he could do nothing to help Mr. Popo as he was hit by the blast, blowing him to pieces. The shockwave and surprise made him fall on his butt. He could hear a woman scream after that, but as the genie's blood and innards bathed the champ, only one though was on his mind.
We are going to die.
"And there goes the strongest warrior left. Kind of disappointing." Abbadon smirked at the shocked faces everyone sported. They would start screaming any second now. "I must say, I had quite some fun clearing this planet. Feels like something is missing though."
"SAY YOUR SECOND WISH, FAST. WHATEVER IT IS, I WILL GRANT IT"
It was a moment in which time slowed down, when everyone remembered the dragon was still there. He wasn't the fastest nor the smartest in the group but none the less it was Oolong the first to react. "Shen Long! I wish you to take us…" the pig shouted but stopped midway through. Blood poured from its neck as the pig's head fell from its shoulders and Abbadon smiled smugly as he lowered his hand. The attack had been too fast to be seen and the hand now rested near his hip like a cowboy in a duel ready to draw his gun at any moment's notice.
There is no escape.
"Tut, tut, tut. No wishing to escape for you guys." Abbadon mocked them "As much as I enjoyed wiping your planet I don't think I would like searching the universe for seven tiny power levels just to finish the job. Three martial artist, a genius scientist, a namekian, a half saiyan and a bizarre transforming cat. No threat to me at all, but you never know what can happen with time; you may be able to surprise me again. As much as I enjoy a challenge though, I don't feel like waiting. You die today."
Time moved at its normal pace again but nobody dared to move. Bra broke into sobs and her mother hugged her, her eyes trained on the god. Abbadon looked at the dragon, deep in thought. After a few seconds he flashed a smile to the group.
"I have, however, everything I want, so I will let you make the final wish." The god smirked at the incredulous looks he was receiving. Of all things he could say that was the last thing they expected "Not that it will help you but I am feeling generous. It's been proven the dragon can't stop me, so as long as you don't run away from the challenge I will give you a chance to fight back." After saying what he wanted, Abbadon smiled smugly at them and crossed his arms, waiting for them to decide.
Hercule stood very slowly, afraid to anger the destroyer if he did it too fast. He let out a sigh of relief when he was on his feet and very much alive. He approached the group, eyeing the genocide all the while and they started a conference in whispers.
"Do you think we can trust him?" The champ asked the rest of the group.
"I don't think so." Roshi answered him "We don't know why he does what he does, most of the time he seems to do things for fun. He may be lying just to crush our hopes, or he may be telling the truth and change his mind in a fickle. It's hard to tell."
"Even so, it doesn't really matter." Bulma hushed them. She was still hugging her daughter and Hercule could see Bra was trembling with fear. He doubted she could hear what they were saying "Even if he is lying, this is our chance to do something. What should we wish? Should we ask Shen Long to heal the others?"
"Yeah, let's ask for that," Hercule agreed. "That way we have a chance to beat him"
"Even if we heal Pan and the others Abbadon still has the power of the otherworld. While king Enma is dead he can't be defeated." Dende intervened "If we want to have a chance, we must bring King Enma back to life."
"Yes, that's right! If we resurrect Enma we will really weaken Abbadon! We strip him from his power and then Chichi, Roshi and me gang up on him and beat him with numbers! That bastard won't see it coming! Hahahaha!" Hercule felt his confidence returning.
"You know, I can hear you planning if you shout like that." At the sound of Abbadon's shout Hercule whined and hid behind the hermit. Everyone else in the group released a collective and exasperated sigh.
"Abbadon killed almost the entire universe before Enma died; what makes you think we three can beat him if Enma is brought back?" Chichi replied sadly, too tired for even her to get angry. With all the things that had happened there wasn't much of a point to do it now.
"So that's it? There is no way we can beat him?" The world champion whispered sadly.
"There is a way to beat him but there is only one chance to do it." King Kai talked directly to their heads "Pan will be dead soon enough. If you ask to resurrect everyone who died because of Abbadon and his minions after Pan dies,we will have Pan, Uub and Buu to fight him, plus he will be weakened because Enma will be be alive and billions of souls would leave the otherworld. You just have to make time until them."
"That won't work" Abbadon shouted to them from the spot he was in, making Hercule jump of surprise "You see, my offer has a time limit. I am killing the green man once I feel Pan's ki banish. Even if you pull it off I will just run away and kill planets until I am strong enough again"
"What? How could…" King Kai stumbled with his words making Abbadon's smile widen.
"How could I, what? Hear you?" The destroyer chuckled "Second shadow Gilgamesh told me he could feel telepathy going on in the area. It took me a while to break into it, but I can hear you now. And since I know that plan, it won't work anymore. I have one question though, why didn't you ask this sooner? Had you resurrected everyone in the universe your warrior might have had a chance to kill me. Why wait until now if you knew the source of my power?"
It was quiet in the lookout as they waited for the kai to respond. When he did, he sounded drained, more than anyone they had ever heard before. "Goku didn't want us to. Had we asked the wish sooner, everyone who died in the crossfire would have died for good and the ones Gilgamesh killed would have died too. With all the fight happening on earth, he didn't want to risk the humans becoming extinct, neither any of the other races in the galaxy."
After hearing the explanation, the destroyer could only snort in amusement and soon he exploded into a fit of giggles "Hahaha, really, you guys are too much. Trying to save one planet and dooming everyone instead. My, what a blunder." He had to hold his stomach from the laughter and even had to wipe a few tears that fell from his eyes before he calmed down. "There is never a dull moment in this planet. But even as I said that, this is kind of a letdown. I actually expected to have a final challenge, a bonus stage so to speak but now thanks to that fool I am left empty handed."
"You monster, don't you dare insult Goku!" Puar shouted with all his might, grabbing the god's attention. "What is the point of us wishing if you are going to block any wish you don't like? You think this is a game? You meanie! Cheater!"
Abbadon's face darkened at the last word and Hercule, though shocked that the little blue cat had the guts to call the monster names, could only think they were now utterly screwed.
"Cheater, you call me?" Abbadon replied scathingly "Fine, have it your way. New rules people: you can ask any wish, if you do so before I kill you"
"WHAT?" The little cat shrieked.
"You are first." Abbadon's words sealed Puar's destiny. Laser like ki attacks struck him, burning the shape shifter to a crisp. The destroyer phased out of sight, only to reappear in front of a very surprised Chichi.
"Make a wish." Chichi opened her mouth to reply but what she wanted to say would never be known as Abbadon stabbed her in the throat with his right hand's middle and index finger. Blood left her body as she started convulsing, dying after a few seconds. This was enough time though for Roshi to recover his wits. As he saw the wife of his star student die in front of him, something broke inside of the old hermit. Releasing a roar of fury, the old man charged towards the murderer. Not even halfway there a ki blast cut him in half, the strength behind it enough to make his body parts bounce in the floor and fall out of the lookout.
"Shen Long, takes us…" Bulma started to wish but her voice was muffled when the destroyer put his hand on top of her mouth. Bra fell from the lookout when Abbadon raised the blue haired scientist in the air. Dende could save Bra from falling to her death by grabbing her hand but couldn't save her from the horror of seeing her mother being set on fire. Even with a hand covering her mouth Bra could hear her mother screaming from pain. Sickened, the earth's guardian tried to fly away to escape from the visage but was forced to stay when Abbadon put his feet on top of him and pushed him the floor.
Once Bulma's life ceased, the destroyer's focus shifted to the last living Brief. "Mmm… it takes awfully long to say you want to escape." He smirked while driving his foot harder into Dende's back. The last namekian grunted but endured the pain, refusing to let go of the girl's hand.
"So Bra… any last wish?"
"I wish Abbadon dies!" The girl screamed defiantly. Abbadon closed his eyes and shook his head, a knowing smile growing on his face. He remained silent, waiting for the dragon's response.
"I CAN'T GRANT THAT WISH. ASK FOR ANOTHER WISH."
"Tough luck." The god's feet left the guardian's back, only to crush his arm an instant after that. The young namekian's screams of pain were eclipsed only by Bra's howl as she fell to the abyss.
Videl's look alike turned around in order to see the last human on earth. Hercule had been trying for a while to subdue Abbadon by using punches, kicks and holds but he had still managed to kill everyone else while acting like he hadn't noticed.
"You bastard!" he cried while releasing a barrage of punches "You killed everyone!" Tears running down his face, Hercule could not see clearly anymore. He was swinging wildly, all finesse gone from his attack in a vain attempt to cause more damage. Abbadon smirked as he was engulfed in light. The god released his ki and the world champion was sent flying to the other end of the platform, his charred body lading harshly with a very loud thump.
"And that leaves the namekian" Abbadon muttered softly "It's been a fun ride but everything has end. One last kill, that is all it will take and I can finally shape reality."
"…cker!"
The god arched an eyebrow at the sound. With one swift jump he reached the world champion and landed on his legs, breaking them. The human let a scream of pain escape his throat and his tormentor hovered above him waiting for its end.
"You are one resilient guy, you know." Abbadon told him when Hercule's shout couldn't be heard anymore, only whimpers now. He scowled at the smell of burned flesh "How did you survive that anyways?"
The fighter wanted to cry, he wanted punch the one in front of him, to kill him, but he couldn't. His body wouldn't respond, wouldn't listen to his call. He knew his back was broken, his legs all but gone, his body to burned. He knew he should be dead. But yet, he wanted revenge.
"Dra'on…" He coughed blood while trying to speak, that alone made his body ache like it never did before "kill him".
"I CAN'T GRANT THAT WISH. ASK ANOTHER WISH"
"You know that won't work." Abbadon shook his head while speaking "Healing Pan is useless, she won't last a second against me now. Your best gambit was to resurrect everyone and its useless now! There is nobody to stop me!"
"There will," Satan answered while wheezing "Someone will stop you. You will… pay"
"No I won't." He deadpanned. He let out a sigh "I can't believe I am having this conversation." Abbadon's voice increased in volume to show how annoyed he felt.
"Listen! The strongest warriors are dead, everyone is, I made sure of that so stop deluding yourself! This is not a story where the hero comes and defeats me, there is none to begin with!"
"…will be…" Satan whispered but his words were lost. Abbadon though had heard him speak and was now curious about it.
"Will be what?"
"Then I wish to be a hero!" Hercule managed to say. Abbadon looked at him like he had grown a second head before smirking.
"I CAN'T GRANT THAT WISH. ASK FOR ANOTHER WISH."
"Well, I guess it was worth a try." The god mocked him in a sing-sing voice, which further enraged the champ.
"Why?" He shouted at the top of his lungs "Why won't you help?"
"You really are dense, aren't you" Abbadon scoffed at the question "Shen long! Please explain to this fool why he can't be a hero!"
"BECAUSE ONE IS NOT MADE A HERO, HE HAS TO BECOME ONE. A HERO INSPIRES THE PEOPLE. HE FIGHTS WHEN HE HAS TO AND WINS WHEN HE NEEDS TO. ONE IS NOT A HERO BECAUSE HE ASKED A MAGIC DRAGON, HE IS ONE BECAUSE HE MADE A DIFERENCE, HE STOOD UP AND DID AS HE MUST, WHEN HE HAD THE CHANCE. ONE CANNOT WISH TO BE HERO."
"See? Its impossible. How can you be a hero if you can't do anything? You didn't even have a chance to do anything against me!"
"Then… give a chance." With his strength spent in the last shout, his last words came of like a whisper. As everything turned black and his life left his body, he could barely hear the response coming from the dragon.
"YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED."
A/N: First thing I want to say is that the following chapters will hopefully be way shorter than this one. This was a special case as the beginning of the story. Second I want to explain something: I know that there are warriors like Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Piccolo that were resurrected only with the namekian dragon balls. The same applies for most of earth's inhabitants. Technically, since the restriction on earth's dragon balls is that you can't ask for the same wish twice, they should be able to resurrect with the ones from earth as they were never wished back with those. However, in order to make the story more interesting, we will go with this rule: if someone was brought back with dragon balls, you can't do it again using the earthling ones. R&R!
OMAKE
"Dra'on…" Hercule coughed blood while trying to speak, that alone made his body ache like it never did before "kill him"
"I CAN'T GRANT THAT WISH. ASK ANOTHER WISH."
"You know that won't work" Abbadon shook his head while speaking "Healing Pan is useless, she won't last a second against me now. Your best gambit was to resurrect everyone and its useless now! There is nobody to stop me! This is not a story where the hero comes and defeats me, there is none to begin with!"
"…wanna be…" Satan whispered but his words were lost. Abbadon though had heard him speak and was now curious about it.
"Want to be what?"
"Then I want to be a hero!" Hercule managed to say. Abbadon looked at him like he had grown a second head before smirking.
"I CAN'T GRANT THAT WISH. ASK FOR ANOTHER WISH"
"Well, I guess it was worth a try" the god mocked him in a sing-sing voice, which further enraged the champ.
"Why?" He shouted at the top of his lungs "Why won't you help?"
"BECAUSE YOU ARE ALREADY A HERO. YOU KILLED CELL, REMEMBER?"
There was silence in the lookout as Hercule just stared at the dragon in disbelief. After a few seconds the champion released a sour chuckle.
"Yeah… I guess I am." He answered before dying. He just didn't have the heart to tell the dragon the truth.
