Tough Choices

Coge continued to attack Vegeta relentlessly. The prince was doing the best he could to fight off his brother, but Coge was using a new fighting technique, one that seemed to be making Vegeta weaker with every punch. Goku and the others had their hands full already. The Mock-Arrancars had exhausted a number of them by their mass numbers.

Piccolo: "We can't keep this up much longer!"

Goku: "I know! We need help and fast!"

And just like that... Help came. A black figure appeared in the clouds above and shot down towards the battle field like a rocket. The ebony black creature flew towards that powerful Hollows and, with the elements of fire, earth, ice, and electricity, started picking them off one by one. When it flew by Goku and the others, they all knew it was friend.

Goku: "That's Ebony!"

With the added fire power and air support, the Mock-Arrancars stared to get pushed back until the last one was defeated. But the crisis wasn't over. The sound of a body hitting the earth reminded them all that a much greater enemy was among them. The others all turned and stood by him as Vegeta struggled to stand. Coge, on the other hand, was uninjured.

Coge: "I can't tell you how long I've waited for this. The day I take back my honor."

Krillin: "Try some sanity first!"

Goku: "You can't win against all of us, Coge!"

Coge: "Oh I think I can. With just a few punches, I've rendered Vegeta practically helpless!"

Vegeta: "He's right. I don't know how, but I feel like I've been fighting for 5 hours straight."

Coge: "And once all of you are gone, there will be nothing left to stop me from blowing this filthy planet into star dust!"

As Coge prepared am energy blast, the others all watched on helplessly. If they attacked him, he would surely follow through with his threat! For the sake of his friends and family, Vegeta stepped forward, preparing to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Goku: "Vegeta, don't!"

Vegeta: "Let's settle this, Coge!"

Coge: "... Gladly..."

And just at that last crucial second...

Kosa: "Dad, stop!"

Coge flinched and turned around as all eyes fell on the young saiyan.

Vegeta: "Kosa?!"

Coge: "What are you doing here, boy!?"

Kosa: "Mr. Hitsugaya was right! You are a monster! You don't care about me or anything! All you care about is how much blood you can spill! That's why you tricked me into helping you! You got those scars from Uncle Vegeta because he was defending himself, didn't you?!"

Kosa stood his ground as his father slowly started coming towards him. But although he was standing his ground, he was very scared.

Coge: "You think you can beat me boy!? You don't have the guts!"

Toushiro: "But I do!"

The crazed saiyan turned around just in time as Toushiro appeared out of nowhere and swung his blade at him! Coge jumped out of the way and Toushiro stood next to Kosa. With his sword pointing a him, Toushiro bravely stood his ground against Coge. All of a sudden, the scarred saiyan felt something run down his face from above his right eye. He wiped the spot and looked at what was on his hand. His eyes widened with rage. Blood.

Toushiro: "That's just for locking me in that cage."

The young captain then gripped the handle of his Zanpakuto with both hands.

Toushiro: "And this is for tricking your own son!"

With a solid swing of his sword, a wall of ice came rushing at Coge! Although he leapt out of the way, Coge was hit from behind by Ulquiorra! The moment Coge hit the ground, all hell was unleashed upon him! This was it! This could very well be their best chance to get rid of Coge once and for all... And they TOOK IT! Not one person did not take this chance, no matter how weak or injured they were! They all charged at him! From each side, from each angle, they attacked him! Gohan and Ichigo went first. They attacked while Val and Piccolo attacked from behind! Coge attacked and defended himself as best he could but with every attack, he gradually got weaker and weaker! Byakuya, Soifon, Ulquiorra and Krillin attacked next after their friends were pushed away. When they got pushed away, more took over. Finally, the only ones remaining were Toushiro, Gin, Vegeta and Goku. The four of them attacked as one! Gin got a good headlock on Coge and literally wrestled him to the ground! Coge rammed his elbow into Gin's jaw and the silver haired man lost his grip. Just as Gin was pushed away, the scarred saiyan started to stand and as he did so, he lashed out at Toushiro as the young captain tried to impale him! Coge's own claw-like fingers struck Toushiro at his right brow! The cut was small but deep. Toushiro had to back off as blood ran into his right eye! With adrenaline pumping, Vegeta and Goku smashed themselves into Coge and forced him to the edge of the chasm. In his weak state, there was a chance that Coge may not survive a fall into the chasm. Seeing this, Vegeta and Goku threw the scarred saiyan over the edge! But just as Coge was thrown over the edge, the mad saiyan did the unspeakable! He grabbed Kosa's leg! The boy screamed as he was pulled into the canyon with his insane father! Toushiro tried to grab him but he wasn't fast enough! The others all watched in horror as Kosa and Coge tumbled into the rocky canyon! To Chiaotzu, it was like deja-vu when he had pushed Coge over the edge of a gorge to save Vegeta when the saiyan first came to earth. But this time was different... Both father and son were holding on the steep cliff for dear life! Kosa gripped the rocks with all his might! But the 6 year old wasn't as strong as his father or uncle and his hands bled from the strain! Below him, his father was holding on just as hard! At the top, Toushiro and Vegeta were the first to start climbing down to save the poor boy. But for some reason, Vegeta was taking a different route then Toushiro, the slower route. But the young captain wasn't paying attention to his second lieutenant, he was focused on Kosa. He had promised the boy that he wouldn't let anything happen to him, so he felt responsible for what was happening. Finally, Toushiro made it to the edge of a smaller cliff and gazed down at Kosa.

Kosa: "Mr. Hitsugaya! Help me!"

Kosa was in real trouble! He was hanging off of a vertical cliff over the huge and endless canyon! No one could see the bottom, it was all just black. Kosa was too far down to reach by hand, but maybe... Toushiro released his Zanpakuto's Shikai form and the crescent-shaped blade attached by a long chain emerged. This is what he needed! Using all his strength, Toushiro drove the blade of his sword into the ground and ice formed around it to anchor it further. With that done, the young captain could now focus on rescuing the helpless boy. As he tossed the second blade down to him, Toushiro shouted out to Kosa.

Toushiro: "Kosa! Grab hold!"

The blade and chain stopped right next to Kosa. Although he was scared, Kosa bravely reached for the chain! But below him, Coge looked up and saw what was going on.

Coge: "You won't get away that easily!"

As he held onto the chain and watched Kosa reaching for it, Toushiro's eyes widened when he saw Coge starting to climb up the cliff! But just as he saw Coge climbing, he felt weight on the chain and saw Kosa was holding on tightly.

Toushiro: "Hold on tight, Kosa! I'll pull you up!"

Kosa: "Hurry!"

Toushiro then started to pull up the chain and Kosa with it. But there was a problem. Although Kosa was a quarter of Toushiro's size and weight, he was still too heavy to pull up fast! Kosa was now close to the edge!

Kosa: "Mr. Hitsugaya!"

Toushiro: "Grab my hand!"

Toushiro reached out with his hand and Kosa reached out with his! All around him, the young captain could hear the others all shouting to hurry! Coge was almost upon them! But after an intense few seconds, the Soul Reaper grabbed the child's hand and held on tight. But just then, Kosa was almost pulled right out of Toushiro's hand! Both boys looked down and saw Coge grabbing his son's tail, a saiyans main weakness! Kosa felt dizzy and his grip was almost lost! Toushiro grabbed the boy's hand and wrist with both of his hands as he held on for dear life!

Toushiro: "Stay with me, Kosa!"

Coge: "If I'm going to Hell, I'm not going alone!"

Coge tried to pull his son out of Toushiro's grip, but he didn't expect the young captain to have such a firm grip. But as luck would have it, he was not only pulling on a saiyans weak point but also a detachable one. With another tug from his father, Kosa's tail broke off! Coge lost his hold on the rocks and he fell a few feet before grabbing onto the rocks again. He looked up and saw Kosa just coming out of his daze. With a snarl he tried to climb the rocks again! He was just below a shallow cave when suddenly someone dug their fingers into his hands! All eyes fell upon Coge as the evil prince roared in pain! No one could see who it was. But just like that, they knew as Vegeta materialized from the darkness! The two brothers stared into each others eyes, both just as cold as the other. Then, Coge started to bellow out in laughter!

Coge: "HA HA HA HA! YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL ME!? HAH HAH HAHA! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! YOU DON'T HAVE THE GUTS, VEGETA!"

Coge's maniacal laugh could be heard even through the wind. Suddenly, everyone started shouting at Vegeta to do it! Toushiro finally had a decent hold of Kosa and he looked down at his second lieutenant. Vegeta just stared into his brother's eyes and could see all of the insanity, the hatred, the blood-lust, the overwhelming evil that was his older brother. There was no helping him now, it was pointless to think that he could change. Vegeta saw this and with his last words to Coge... He ended it.

Vegeta: "See you in Hell..."

Before Coge could do anything, Vegeta thrusted his hands forward and released his hold on his brother! Coge was thrown clear of the cliff and plummeted into the darkness, his defiant scream echoing throughout the canyon! Toushiro looked on like all of the others as the evil saiyan disappeared from view and into the black abyss below. A minute later and all was quiet. Vegeta had covered his eyes right after he had thrown his brother off of the cliff. Some of the Z-Fighters and Soul Reapers continued to look down at the spot where Coge had vanished from while others started to climb back up the canyon to regroup. Goku just stood where he was, never taking his eyes off of Vegeta. He knew that what Vegeta had just done was hard for him. He not only had to send his own brother to his death but he had to revert back to his own evil self to do it. The saiyan prince had abandoned that life a long time ago. Back at Vegeta, he suddenly looked up and searched for his nephew. Kosa was finally pulled up and he fell into the safe arms of the Squad 10 Captain in tears. The poor boy had been through a traumatizing ordeal. His own father had tried to kill him. While Kosa cried in his arms, Toushiro pulled his sword out of the rock and returned it to its sheath. Once Hyorinmaru was back in the sheath, Toushiro turned his attention to Kosa.

Toushiro: "It's ok, Kosa. It's over now. You're safe."