Shells And Shadows

Episode 7 – Betrayal?

Midway Conclusion

Krillan ran into the main room of the Sanctuary first. He made a beeline for Bulma's podium. Once there he waited at the base for about a minute. Nothing happened. By this time Bulma would have greeted him or in some way made her presence know.

"This isn't good." Krillan said to himself, a worried tone in his voice. Something had happened to Bulma. If her downloaded personality were damaged in any way there would be no chance of having her reclaim her body. The thought of it sent shivers down Krillan's spine. He couldn't allow that to happen.

Gohan came in just moments later, already sensing that something had gone wrong.

"She's not here, Gohan. The building might have been hit by a stray blast, but I don't remember seeing any damage on the outside. It just doesn't make sense." It was then that Krillan saw the look on Gohan's face, the faraway look. He wasn't focusing on what was in front of him.

"Krillan…" He stopped.

"What is it, Gohan?"

"Krillan… I can't feel Hunter's chi anymore…" A silence rushed over them both. The possibility that they had over estimated Hunter's fighting ability that much hung over their heads like dead weight. If he had died while protecting the city from Kale they would hold themselves responsible.

"Gohan… don't jump to conclusions. If Hunter is hurt he might not be able to focus his energy enough to be detected. Go ahead and try to find him. I'll see what I can do here."

"Hai!" Gohan was out the door in a flash. Krillan sighed, knowing full well that Hunter could be dead. It wasn't something that he would take lightly, but he could only focus on one thing at a time. Bulma was the main priority right now. Krillan approached the console on the base and began typing in commands. Something had to show up on the screen. Not to long after started Krillan halted his typing, sensing the person behind him… and it wasn't Gohan.

"So you did it." Krillan balled his fist up, gritting his teeth. Back now to the console Krillan faced Syther, who held a small, thick disk in his hand. "What did you do? Upload a virus?"

"Not at all. Miss Bulma is safely within this disk, unharmed. Would you like her to stay that way?"

The anger and frustration bled over Krillan's face. Every muscle in his body ached for him to unleash one good punch to the chin, but to do so would endanger his friend. For the time being he had to play it cool.

"Of course you would," said Syther, answering his own question. "All you have to do is show me a little blood."

"What?" Krillan took a step back, but it didn't make a difference. Syther covered the amount of ground between them in a mere second, driving one of his claws deep within Krillan's chest. There was no chance to dodge. Krillan tried to gasp, but couldn't. Syther simply pulled his claw out and shook off the excess blood.

"You disgust me. Be gone!" Syther planted a vicious kick right into Krillan's stomach, launching him backward into the podium. It snapped in two, exploding in a fiery blast. Syther tilted his head up, satisfied by the carnage. Holding the disk carefully he retreated out of the door and disappeared. Krillan laid on the floor among the shards of metal and the broken pieces, clinging to life.

"Gohan…"

Rocks. A graveyard of rocks. That was all that was left. Anything that had the unfortunate luck to be within the blast radius of Kale's attack was no more, transformed in the most violent of fashions into rubble. Gohan came upon this graveyard instantly knowing that his search would start there. He didn't waste anytime; he dove right in. Mounds of them moved away in seconds. Even then the task seemed daunting. Gohan made sure not to direct his loads in the direction of any survivors. Trading lives was not an option.

Gohan continued parting the seas as fast as he could. For all he knew his friend was dying, calling out to him in a voice too weak to produce any sound at all. That drove him to move faster and faster still.

"Gohan…"

He froze. That hadn't been a voice in his head. It was Hunter. He was nearby.

"Hunter! Where are you?" Gohan shifted through the rubble as quickly as he could, finding nothing but more rock.

"We… over here…" Hunter's voice trailed off. Gohan frantically escalated his search, not wanting the worst case to happen. He wasn't going to let anyone die. He wasn't!

"There!" he yelled, almost startling himself. He had finally felt something other than rock. It was cloth, the kind that Hunter wore. Gohan cleared away the wall of stones, finding Hunter clutching onto something with his body.

"Gohan… help… her…" Hunter's grip finally gave way and he fell unconscious.

"Hunter? Hunter!" Gohan pulled him up quickly. As he did another body began visible that wasn't before. Gohan reached in and grabbed the second person. It was Kale. There was no time to waste. He would ask questions later. For now they both had to go to the hospital and get treatment. Gohan blasted off for the hospital at full-speed, determined to save everyone.

Once again Aku was in deep thought. The visions of his father that he kept having were disturbing him. Why did they keep appearing? Who was responsible? He has already donned his clothing. He wore baggy, dark purple pants with bare feet. A loose, dark purple sleeveless shirt with rips in the armholes. On his arms there were long, dark purple, padded wrist guards that extended almost to the elbow.

I need to concentrate more than ever before. I must focus.

Aku sat down on the floor in the darkened room and began to meditate. As he started the thought flashed through is head 'When was the last time I did this?'

No sooner had he started, though, he heard a large explosion. From the direction he knew it was Zeus.

He never quits; always blowing someone or something up. It's annoying.

Aku started to get back to his mediation when he noticed something else. In the same area where Zeus was there were two other life signs. He couldn't make them out just yet but he could tell that they were very strong. The blast had been fairly large and no normal person would have survived. Still they were probably close to dead.

"He's started a fight with an opponent and not given me a chance." Aku stood up. Meditation wasn't for him. Fighting was. The Doctor's words loomed over him, but he didn't care. No one was in his league anyway. He could beat most of them with half his power.

"It's time to get a bit of exercise." He headed for the door. His destination: the throne room.

Trunks smirked evilly before charging. His speed was uncanny. Vegeta knew it would be faster, but he still only barely defended himself against the wild clothesline. They bounced off of each other diagonally before both charging at each other again. This time Vegeta rolled under a point blank blast by Trunks. The energy ripped along the floor of the arena and hit an invisible barricade. Vegeta jumped back to put some distance between himself and his son. That last attack had bad intentions.

He is vicious now… almost like I was. The true destiny of a Saiyan… to be killed by his own son.

Despite Vegeta's tactic Trunks didn't want to waste anytime. In almost a rage he powered up to Super Saiyan level and crashed into Vegeta's stomach with a head butt. The only response to that was a gasp for air. Trunks followed up with an uppercut to the chin. He flew above the prone body of Vegeta, spun around once, and clobbered him on the back of the head with an unorthodox kick. Vegeta spiraled to the ground headfirst, almost drilling himself in.

"You aren't so tough," grumbled Trunks in a low, possessed voice. "You can't compare to my power."

Vegeta pulled himself out of the ground, breathing only slightly harder. "So you can talk."

Trunks gave him a stern look. "Do you really think that you can fight me with a clear conscience?"

Vegeta shot the look back at him. "Do you really think that you can beat me even if I couldn't?"

"Humph." His hand whipped around, carrying a surprise attack. Vegeta caught it with one hand, using it to pivot around. Doing so led him right into Trunks' knee. The crushing blow nearly broke Vegeta's nose. He took an awkward step to the side, unable to regain his balance. Trunks circled around him once, waiting for the right moment, and then rushed into with one more knee to the stomach.

"Sh-" Vegeta couldn't squeeze out any more air to finish his curse.

"You-" Trunks grabbed his father by the back of the head, smirked once more, and then drove Vegeta's face straight into the ground. "Are weak. Why bother fighting when you know you cannot win?"

"You haven't won yet. "

The ground began to rumble. Trunks steadied himself on the uneven surface, but was still having problems staying on his feet. A low growl coursed through his lungs. As the ground continued to shake the Saiyan Prince began to glow, the sweet yellow aura of a Super Saiyan taking over his body. He began to float up diagonally, returning to his feet.

Vegeta never made eye contact with Trunks, nor did he ever bother to look in his direction. "You shouldn't be just sitting there. You just lost your chance to attack."

A newly enraged Trunks lunged at his tormentor with a fist, but the blatant attack was stopped with one hand. With leverage on his side Vegeta began to crush the very bones inside of the fingers in his grip. Trunks instinctively grabbed his wrist, half trying to pull his hand away from the pain and half trying to dull it out with pressure from his own. It wasn't working. He tried with all of his might, but Trunks ended up on one knee. No sooner had he touched down, though, he popped back up with intentions on kicking himself free. Vegeta moved back to avoid the attack.

" My move." Trunks once again threw his body in Vegeta direction, arms reared back behind his head with evil intentions. Vegeta surprised him by dashing forward, arms cocked backward in a lower position. At the point where they met both unleashed their energy; Trunks into Vegeta's exposed face, and Vegeta into Trunks' unprotected gut. The Saiyan Prince was driven right into the ground by the force of the blow. Trunks was blown into the sky where he hovered for a few moments before crashing into the ground.

"Oh my!" yelled the announcer over the P.A. system. "These guys are awesome. Magus is taking it to the warrior Trunks! I don't think I've been this excited in years! Oh my god!" The crowd cheered insanely as the fighters started to get up. Yamcha and Tien watched with Talon from their cage.

"Vegeta's going all out on Trunks. What's gotten into him?" Yamcha scratched his head.

"I don't know," answered Tien, "It's weird, but this might be the chance we need. We can take out the rest of the guards. There aren't that many. All we need to do is get out of the cage." Tien tested the bars. They were pretty strong, but they could break them with a little work.

"If you plan on breaking out I can help," said Talon.

"How?"

"Like this." She raised her hand, which was instantly covered with a red glowing beam resembling a sword or knife. She swiped at the cage bars, which resisted as much as paper to a flamethrower. Both Yamcha and Tien were a bit stunned. She held a finger up, wagging it at the both of them. "Before you say anything… you never asked."

"…" Yamcha looked at Tien. "I guess she has a point."

"Right." Talon crawled through the new holes opened in the cage. Doing so put her face to face with a Furlan. They stared at each other for a second before it turned its back to her, pretending to be looking at something else.

"I guess that means we have a free pass out of here." Yamcha was the next through. Tien followed soon thereafter.

On the battlefield Trunks was now to his feet, but his upper torso was hanging limp in front of him. A low, raspy groan filled his throat and lungs as he body rocked up and down with his rhythmic breathing. The next second Vegeta was over him, ready to lay a punch into his back. There was no one there at the contact point; the fist made its impact on the floor. Trunks then appeared in front of Vegeta, smiling the whole time. His hand landed on the cheek, although more of a slap than anything. The two began exchanging blows while rising into the air, neither able to win on the offense side. The crowd, however, couldn't care less. They cheered anyway. The announcer had even stopped calling the action, as he was far too engrossed in it to worry about explaining it to anyone else.

At the peak of their assent the two parted, Vegeta threw an orb, which was stopped by another one returned by Trunks. Vegeta created two more, both larger than the last, throwing them consecutively after one another. Trunks grabbed the first one with his hand and threw it through his legs. The second one stopped abruptly in front of him and then exploded, flashing a blinding light in Trunks' wide-open eyes. The pain surged through his head and he covered up, but it was too late. That, and he left himself open for a devastating right hook. Trunks plummeted to the ground. Vegeta stayed in the air, a look of distain on his face. He said nothing, only cupped his hands at his side. Swirls of purple began to draw themselves into his palms, mixing with the black energy already there.

"Where- where are you?" demanded Trunks. He couldn't concentrate; the light had screwed up his sense. He stumbled around, almost tripping multiple times. He could still feel Vegeta was close, but at the time it seemed like he was everywhere but nowhere in particular. Finally Trunks kneeled down to one knee to keep himself from looking stupid. The pain was dulling away. He would have control soon.

I can fell him close. He is nearby. He is… above!

Trunks opened his eyes, slowly, and allowed them to adjust to the light. It took a few seconds, but he was finally able to see again. What he saw wasn't good.

"What? No!"

"!" Vegeta forced his hands forward, expelling a massive beam of energy. "GALLIC GUN, FIRE!" The beam screamed forward, almost over taking Trunks completely. Unfortunately for Vegeta, Trunks did manage to get a return beam charged and fired before he was obliterated. His wave in was able to slow the progress of Vegeta's, but it was losing ground. Trunks growled, unable to express his extreme hatred for the position he was in. Vegeta's features were stone cold; not showing any emotion whatsoever.

"I will not be defeated!" Trunks screamed, almost at the top of his lungs as he increased the power input in his wave, evening out the battle and putting them in the same position. Everyone looked on in completely awe and excitement. What they didn't notice was that the guards, who were also watching the battle, where falling one by one. Talon, Tien, and Yamcha were quietly going about their business. Vegeta did not notice them, as his attention was completely on Trunks. His only desire was to win the battle, dispelling some personal demons.

"Trunks…" Over the roar of the crowd and the sound of the energy his son would have heard nothing he said anyway. Still Vegeta was slightly conflicted about using his full power to win the battle. If he did…

"Weak!" A substantial increase was delivered into Trunks' beam as Vegeta silently contemplated to himself. Quickly the tide changed against him and he cursed himself for allowing his mind to wander.

He has seen my emotions. I cannot allow myself to make mental mistakes like this.

Despite the burden now on his shoulders Vegeta hesitated one more instant to use any more power to even out the battle. Still he realized that his son would not be vindicated if he did not survive. That fueled him enough to inject a new high into his own beam. They evened out again.

"Trunks… I will not let you die, but you will not kill me. A Saiyan's destiny… should not be to die by the hands of his own son. You… no… Zeus…." Vegeta eyed the face of Trunks very carefully. Slowly he could see it transforming to that of Zeus. The thought of it enraged him, nearly driving him off of the deep end. Zeus had taken so much from him. As the Prince of the Saiyans he was powerless to stop him… almost. Vegeta was certain that if he could use his full power he could defeat him, but that-"

"Now you die!" Trunks increased his beam ten-fold, almost instantly. Vegeta looked on, horrified, nearly yelling out. He had wavered again, and so soon. How could he allow that? It didn't matter now; it wouldn't be a problem when he was dead. There was no stopping it. Trunks' beam overtook the Gallic Gun and engulfed Vegeta. It exploded in a violent fashion, with Vegeta in the middle. The crowd became silent, watching to see if it were possible that he survived. His body falling to the ground, motionless and limply was enough answer for that.

Piccolo couldn't tell how much of the ceiling had fallen down on him, but he knew it was a lot. Maro had dived over to his position in an attempt to combine their powers to keep most of the building from actually falling down on them. It worked, but they were still buried under everything.

"Are you okay?" she asked. She had her arm over his shoulder. "Should we even try to dig ourselves out? He's probably waiting for that."

"He is, but if we don't he might try to kill us down here. I for one don't plan on dying in my grave." Piccolo began push the rocks up with his back. He focused his chi so that it was directed above him as well, producing double the efforts. It wasn't long before he found himself standing knee deep in the rubble instead of under it. Maro was up a few seconds later. Zeus was there too; he was waiting.

"So the intruders finally show themselves. That's just fine. I suppose you have come for the dragonball."

"No," said Piccolo. "I've come for you head."

"Interesting. How do you plan on going about getting it?" Zeus laid his arms to the side. "Are you going to fight me?"

"Gladly." Piccolo dropped into a defensive stance. Maro did the same. They knew that if they were to have a chance they were both going to have to go all out. Other than that they might as well give up now.

"I'll destroy you and your creation, Zeus," cried Maro. "You and Aku must die!"

Piccolo blinked once, knowing that Gohan was simply being controlled. He wouldn't kill the boy if it weren't necessary. It was a last resort. He would have to keep an eye on Maro if Aku showed up. Then again, they would have to fight just to survive if he showed up. All Piccolo could do was hope that the half-Saiyan wasn't nearby.

Aku walked through the hall. He had tried to run earlier, but his head was still woozy from his treatment. He had made a mental note to kill the doctor afterward. Still he made his way to the throne room. He was closing in when he began to feel Zeus' power rise again. The volume of it made him feel a bit weak, but he marched forth. Just one more corner.

What…. Why can't I move? My body feels like it doesn't have anything left in it.

Aku stopped to rest, panting as if he had just sprinted a long distance. His head felt weird, like he was floating around. It didn't make sense.

Gohan…

"Dad?" Aku looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Dad, where are you?"

Gohan… now is your chance. End this. You are free right now. Take this chance to break free for good.

"I can't, dad! I'm scared!" Aku clenched his fists, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. "I don't know what has happened to me. Why have I-"

Gohan. Zeus is directly responsible for the power controlling you. Now that he is using his power for other means he can't control you as well. Now you can use your power against him.

"I can… I feel it, dad."

Good. You are close, son. All you have to do is concentrate.

"Right!" Aku said, a new determination over him. By an interesting turn of events it seemed that Gohan had once again taken control of his own body. If he acted now Zeus would never know until it was too late. It was settled. It was time for payback.

Maro and Piccolo were losing hope at a massive rate. Each had tried to advance on Zeus on more than one occasion, but neither had any luck. Zeus hadn't attacked them at all; he had kept them at bay by raising his power. It was too much for them to even get close.

"This isn't good," said Maro. "We are going to have to try something more powerful."

"Agreed." Piccolo now retrieved his gun, ready to make some fireworks. Instead of firing, though, he let the mechanism inside steadily drain his energy, building it up inside. Maro interlocked her fingers, allowing the last three to point to the sides while the index and thumb pointed up. She began to mumble some words to herself. Swirls of pink and purple energy started to collect around the tips of her index fingers. The ball grew to the size of a large fist before completing and floating above her head. The process began again after that. Piccolo couldn't believe that she could use her energy.

How… how can she? The generator…

"Well this should be interesting," said Zeus, keeping his barrier in place. He began to laugh at the feeble efforts being put forward by Maro and Piccolo. He didn't notice that Aku had made his way to the doorway.

Now… he's occupied. He doesn't know that I'm here. That's just fine.

Aku cupped his hands at his side, beginning the process that he had used so many times before. What a fitting way to introduce himself to Zeus! Still he kept his voice low to keep himself from being detected.

"Kaaaaaaaaaaa…"

By now Maro had created for large energy spheres and was working on her fifth. Piccolo's attack was reaching critical mass and almost exploding out of the gun chamber. Both were just a few moments away from being ready to unleash. What effect they would have was yet to be seen.

The Kamehameha wave was nearing completion as well. Aku would be ready to attack at the same time as Maro and Piccolo. His head was completely clear now; he knew what to do. Zeus must have been completely oblivious to his presence. Perfect.

"It will be a shame to see such potential warriors wasted away in this slaughter," stated Zeus. "But it seems as if you are determined to be destroyed. Attack if you must; it will be you last." He cocked his head just a bit, noticing someone else in the room. It was then that he saw Aku. His face began to curl up in anger before he composed himself. Immediately he dropped all of his previous power until he was at normal level again.

"He's unprotected!" yelled Maro, opening her eyes. She touched the bottoms of her hands together and the energy spheres began to collect in the space in front of them.

Piccolo strained to pour as much power into his blast as he could. He was going to make it count. "So-"

Aku had reached his limit. It was ready. He thrust his hands forward, ready to unleash an untold force on Zeus when a feeling that could only be described as a spike plunging into his brain caused him to alter the course of his beam. To his dismay it headed right for Piccolo. The Namek hadn't even released his own beam yet, but he was in no position to defend against it. It ripped into him, throwing him violently and carelessly against the wall behind. Maro peeked over her should briefly to check on him. Zeus took that as a weakness and swung his arm at her, firing a wave. Maro managed to use her energy as a shield, but the force of it still launched her to the same wall. She slumped to the bottom of the structure.

"No… so close…" Maro tried to stand, but she was hopelessly low on energy. Zeus only frowned at her.

"My dear, you made a mistake coming here. Don't worry, though. I will make sure that Aku makes you pay for it. Aku, be a good soldier and kill this one."

Aku walked into the room, showing a familiar cocky look on his face. He cracked his knuckles and his neck, getting himself ready. "I remember you. You were that girl who hit me when I wasn't looking. It was you."

Piccolo glanced at Maro after hearing Aku's words, knowing that it was true. He hadn't realized it before, but she was the one responsible for the attack on just about everyone.

"I'm… sorry, Piccolo. I was consumed by hatred for Aku. I didn't want anyone to kill him but me. I had no intention on hurting you or anyone else… I just wanted him." Bracing her back against the wall Maro was able to push her way to her feet.

"That' really touching… no, wait. I'm lying." Blazing across the room Aku froze, hand forward, right in front of Piccolo. He pointed his palm right between the Namek's eyes. "This is what I plan to do to you." He then turned to Piccolo, making sure they were eye to eye. "Buh bye."

"No!" she yelled. Aku fired a pointblank blast that engulfed Piccolo's entire body. The wall was unable to take the pressure and he was forcefully pushed through it and many more after. His body didn't stop until it crashed into the castles last wall and barreled through, leaving him outside amidst all of the boulders and stones he had collected along the way. Inside the castle the spot where Piccolo had been blown through was still smoking.

Aku smiled, very happy with his work. He never really did like the color green. He stood up, pretending that he didn't know Maro was there. "Well… that was fun. I haven't done something that fun… well… since the last time I killed someone."

"You monster!" Maro jumped back, moving back to her defensive position.

"Well you are welcome to try, but just remember we've got plenty of walls left." Aku settled into his fighting position. "You'll get your turn soon enough."

The hospital was now the resting place of heroes. Gohan had Hunter and Kale placed inside healing tanks as soon as he arrived. Right after that he went back to help Krillan. That was when he saw the carnage left behind just moments after he had left the first time. Examining the marks on his friend as he transported him to the hospital Gohan knew who he was looking for. Syther now had his full attention. Krillan managed to tell him that Syther had Bulma's personality disk on him so he would have to be a bit careful, but Gohan was thinking about less than nice things.

"Are they going to be okay?" asked Gohan. The nurse nodded cheerfully.

"You brought them back just in time. They will be fine. Are you okay? You aren't going out hurt, are you?"

"No. I'm fine."

"Okay. Don't worry about them. I'll keep an eye on them." She walked away to check on the tanks. Gohan turned around and exited the room. He left the hospital, an empty feeling in his gut. Anger swelled in his veins. Revenge was on his mind. There was only one problem; where was Syther? Gohan decided that he would not rest until he found him and punished him for what he had done. With rage guiding him Gohan blasted off through one of the hidden exits in search of his prey. Syther had hurt his last victim.

Conclusion

Gohan seems to be losing friends left and right. Krillan is down, suffering an attack from Syther. Hunter is out of commission from trying to save Kale. Now Gohan leads a one-man war to rid he world of the psychopath but first he has to find him. Trunks has used his dark power and unclouded judgment to win the battle against Vegeta. If he has killed his father, what fate awaits Yamcha, Tien, and Talon? Aku showed signs of his true self, the boy he once was. Zeus ended that quickly and turned him against Piccolo. The one-time friends are now separated by death and Maro is left to fend for herself against both Zeus and Aku. Does she have a chance of survival against such odds? And what of the dragonballs that Piccolo had carried with him? Who will claim them? Things are getting serious now. Be ready for the next episode of Shells and Shadows.

Next Episode: Retribution