A/N: The end of this chapter is rather bloody. If you don't feel up to reading it…tough luck.
Chapter 14: End of the Line
Adrian roared a monstrous, inhuman roar and he rose into the air. The air around him surged and rushed upward as it twisted back the branches on the nearby trees. As his roar grew louder a yet another strange transformation occurred. His hair, normally a dark red color changed to a neon green shine. Next Adrian's pupils completely vanished and the muscles on his arms and chest bulged outwards, looking as if they would tear at any moment.
The expanding of the muscles on his chest ripped his blood-colored shirt. The flakes of it floated to the ground and were swallowed by flame as they touched the earth.
"Stay back." Kage whispered. However it was more of an order than anything.
Kage stepped forward and pushed the sleeves up on her shirt.
Adrian now looked down upon her with mindless eyes. No mocking smile escaped his lips this time. This time he was filled with hate and rage. Gradually he drifted to the ground and breathed with ragged, wolf-like breaths. Both waited for the other to make a move first. However, neither would concede and they stood locked in a silent glare.
Kage decided to make the first move. She swung her hand towards his right ribs, but, even uncannily fast it was, Adrian still caught her fist with ease. Her eyes widened as she struggled, but his strength was completely overwhelming. His hand almost completely covering her fist held it tight as he sent a shockwave of energy coursing through her.
Kage screamed out in pain as the foreign evil smashed against her chest. Again she struggled fruitlessly to escape but to no avail. Wave after wave of his energy shot through her arm. Mantar rushed to her side and attempted to slash him with his sword. Yet again nevertheless he stopped the assault by grabbing the sword by the blade with his other hand. His gaze turned to Mantar as he sent an impulse of energy through the sword. Mantar barely let go in time to witness, to his shock, the blade shattering into millions of particles.
Mantar thought that all hope was utterly lost until-
"Broly…Stop."
A voice sounded from behind Mantar. He spun around and his jaw nearly dropped to the ground.
Goku stood behind Mantar in the clearing.
However, this was not the Goku that he had met before. This was a completely new character with power to rival Adrian's. Goku's normal black hair was gone and was replaced by a gleaming shade of yellow. His eyes were set squarely on Adrian as he spoke again.
"Let him go Broly, this does not involve him." Goku said.
Adrian's eyebrows narrowed as he replied in a voice that did not belong to him.
"You're WRONG Goku. This has everything to do with him! He, if you could not guess is part of my bloodline. And he will carry out my revenge!!"
"LET HIM GO!!!" Goku screamed as he rushed forward and plowed his fist into Adrian's chest. Before Adrian could react Goku had swung up his right leg and smashed his foot into the side of his head.
With a burst of speed so incredibly fast that Mantar didn't even see it; Goku spun around to Adrian's back and charged a blue sphere of energy in his hands. When he released it pressing against Adrian's back it exploded into a ray of sapphire energy whose energy was so great, Mantar had to dig his feet into the ground to not be swept backward.
The beam carried Adrian well over a 10 miles and Goku shot a number of spheres after him for good measure.
"Listen Mantar, there's no time to talk. Broly will be coming back any second. The only way we have any change on beating him is if we fuse together. I've done this before and it's usually the last line of defense when fighting people of his power. "
"Wait." Said Mantar, "I have things I need answered first." Kage struggled to her feet beside them and listened in.
"Why did you call him Broly?" Mantar started.
"We really don't have-" Goku started
Mantar glared at him and crossed his arms acting very childish.
Goku returned the glare but spoke back nonetheless. "Your friend Adrian carries Broly's bloodline. With this bloodline Broly can control his movements."
"But Broly's been dead for years!" Kage interjected.
Goku did not move his gaze from Mantar. "Death…is not what you view it as. Your view of heaven and earth is very askew from the reality."
"Reality?" Mantar asked
"When you die," Goku continued as if he had not heard. "You go to a place called Hell. But it is not your view hell. It is not a burning atonement for your sins. It is simply the land of the dead. From here you cannot die again, yet, you keep your body and you can move as normal. The only true difference is that you have a halo over your head."
Mantar looked extremely skeptical. "A halo over your head?"
"Yes." Goku continued. "It is the mark of one who has died in performing justice. However, in Broly's case he was utterly annihilated by one of my energy blasts, so he did not go to H.F.I.L with a body. Only his spirit rested there. Now, he has found a way to communicate through Adrian. I expect that he is attempting to come back himself, but I do not know how he would-"
A crash sounded a ways off and Goku looked over his shoulder nervously.
"Only one more question." Mantar said
Goku did not respond so Mantar continued.
"Why is your hair yellow?" He asked.
Goku turned around and smiled. "It is because I have Saiyan blood in me. This is a state of transformation that multiplies the person's power level by 50. Plus, you hair turns a bright golden color."
"Well I've turned into a white state before," Mantar thought out loud "What would that be?"
Goku thought for a minute and then responded, "That would be the false Super Saiyan state. It multiplies your power by 10, however it's very difficult to control and it saps your energy. So it's not too efficient. Each person has their own distinct color."
"So Broly's False Super Saiyan is Green?" Mantar asked hopefully.
Goku looked grim. "No. Broly has a genetic disposition to the Super Saiyan ability. When alive he lived constantly in his Super Saiyan state. The Green Hue of his hair is what is known as the "Legendary Super Saiyan" state. This is the most powerful state for a Super Saiyan. His power is nearly limitless. And as he fights, he becomes more and more powerful."
Kage and Goku turned around simultaneously.
"Get ready." Goku said.
A vacuum of wind surged past them and a figure appeared behind Kage. She spun around and ducked as Goku flew forward and tried to plant a kick in Adrian's stomach. Adrian vanished and appeared again behind Goku this time, throwing a heavy punch toward his shoulder. It connected and sent Goku spiraling into the underbrush, leaving Kage and Mantar to defend themselves alone.
Kage leapt forward to exchange a series of heated blows with Adrian. She seemed to keep her footing but it only took once, when she forgot to defend herself. Leaving her left side open Adrian kicked her legs out from under her and spun around to throw his elbow into her skull. Blood trickling behind her, Kage was sent sprawling onto the earth.
'If only I could change into this Super Saiyan' Mantar thought 'but Goku didn't tell me how. It must only be attained through years of training.'
"Come." Rumbled Broly through Adrian's body as he turned to face Mantar.
Mantar rushed forward and clutched Adrian's shoulder with his right hand. As Adrian grabbed his right arm to pull it off him Mantar threw a punch laced with exploding energy. As it connected with Adrian's face his neck cracked sickeningly and sent his body rolling to the right. Gliding through the air for a moment Mantar flew after him elbows down by his hips and hands clenched into fists. As he charged a small beam and shot forward Adrian disappeared and appeared above him with a look of insanity. With another inhuman roar Adrian raised his left leg above his head and then drove his heel down on Mantar's spine. A bone crushing sound emanated from Mantar and he hit the ground plowing a large furrow. Coughing up blood Mantar barely turned over and tried to move his arm to retaliate, but to his absolute fright, was unable to do so. He was not left time to think on this however as Adrian flew down on his chest with both feet. Forcing absent all air and bringing immense pain, blood flew from Mantar's mouth as he cried out in unimaginable agony.
Blow after blow was dealt to his torso as he was helpless to defend himself. Soon the ground around him was spattered with his blood and sweat.
Kage, now returning unsteadily to her feet, wiped the blood away from her head as she stood looking at Mantar receiving the worst torture of his life. Losing all caution she charged a violet shine of voltage in her hands and called out to Adrian. "Suck on this, Freak!" As Adrian turned toward her she let fly a vertical line of violet energy crackling with electricity. Mantar twisted over again onto his stomach and, using his one working arm, turned himself around to observe what was happening better.
It connected with Adrian head-on and he was thrown backward into a tree. Large pieces of wood fell from the tree as he was covered from sight by smoke and small snaking bolts of lightning.
As Kage rushed forward to begin another assault a brilliant flash of purple blinded Mantar. A small popping noise was heard and instead of Kage standing mid-rush, Kailaya and Crystal stood looking confused.
"The…The fusion time." Crystal stammered, looking aghast down at her hands, "It must have worn off!"
The mist around Adrian cleared and he emerged with an even more-infuriated glower carved on his face.
As he took sight of the separated Kailaya and Crystal a malicious smile spread across his face. He looked at crystal and with a wave of his hand a ball of energy connected with her chest and sent her flying into a tree nearby and knocking her unconscious.
Kailaya's eyes widened in fear as his gaze turned to her. Lifting a hand into the air Adrian made a neon green ring of energy appear above Kailaya. Sweeping his and down and clenching it Adrian forced the ring to fall and contract around Kailaya's waist, pinning her arms to her side. Next, Adrian reached down on the ground and picked up one of the fallen branches from the tree behind him. Making it levitate between his hands Adrian concentrated on the foot-long branch and Mantar watched in terror as small, green, scythe-like beams flew around the branch and cut it into the shape of an ironically-elegant arrow.
But something in the air changed. Some new presence could be felt. Goku staggered from the bushes, his hair returned to its normal black sheen. But that wasn't it. The presence seemed to come from Adrian himself. Silence fell and Mantar could hear Adrian murmuring.
"No…I won't do it. I love her. I won't…I can't…you…can't make me." This voice belonged to the true Adrian.
"You will do as I say." Broly's voice rumbled from Adrian's lips."
"No…You can't…make me." The real Adrian spat out. It was obviously straining him to stay in control, the arrow shaking violently in his hand.
"Very well." Broly's voice sounded once more.
Adrian screamed as the arrow dropped from his hand. His arms straitened out sideways and his head leaned back as his body arched unnaturally backwards.
It was a scene right out of a horror movie. Something rippled in Adrian's chest. With a great green light a figure burst from Adrian's chest. Screaming in pain Adrian clutched his stomach. It was strangely only covered in what looked like a slight burn mark. The figure landed on the ground full clothed and began to grow in size. The figure grew until it was nearly eight feet tall and only then did Mantar recognize him. As if straight from a nightmare Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan stood before them. His hair was a bright shade of neon green and he wore a red shirt wrapped around his waist. His eyes were completely devoid of any color besides white. His muscles were gigantic. His biceps alone were larger than footballs and the muscles on his chest looked as if they had been brought to what the pinnacle of evolution would require.
Knocking Adrian into the forest with his fist Broly grinned evilly toward the bound girl. If Kailaya could have found her voice, at the moment she would have screamed. He then bent down to the earth and picked up the wooden arrow. Without warning he laughed psychotically and thrust it forward toward Kailaya. A streak of green followed it as it connected with Kailaya's chest. A scream of agony sounded from her but was immediately cut off as the arrow passed through her chest and cut a passageway connected to her lungs. The crimson arrow then flew behind her and embedded itself in a tree, thrilling as it hit the wood.
Mantar's eye's widened in horror.
"NO!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as tears streamed from his eyes. 'This can't be happening!!' he thought desperately.
"NO!" he screamed again, reaching out an arm toward her.
She stood still and gave a short cough, blood flying from her mouth. Without warning she dropped to her knees, and then sequentially fell on her chest. Her head was curved looking at Mantar, her cheek resting on the ground. She gave a small, horribly sad smile and reached out an arm toward him. His eyes teared even more, but he couldn't look away. From her outstretched fingers white snake-like tentacles slid their way toward him. Slinking lazily through the grass and leaves they seemed to take hours to reach him. When they made contact with his arm they instantly shot down his entire body and limbs, repairing them to their full extent and rejuvenating him to over twice his normal strength. However he still lay on the ground and cried silently as he watched Kailaya.
Her arm lowered and she began to mouth a sentence.
"I………love….."
But before she could mouth the last word Broly brought his foot down on her spine. Her eyes widened for a moment, and then closed, never to open again.
"Shame…" Broly said as he crouched down next to her and stroked her hair with his hand.
Mantar rose to his feet trembling with anger. "DON'T TOUCH HER!!!" he roared.
Broly looked at him and sneered. Just to add further insult he bent down, brushed aside her hair and kissed her forehead. Then he roughly kicked her limp body so that it rolled beside a tree.
Mantar roared into a fury that earth itself had not seen for centuries. The un-burnt trees that were still left around them not only burst into flame, but instantly turned to ash. The ground around his feet was driven from the earth and formed a crater beneath him. The power radiating off of it was enough to make Broly take a cautious step backward. Laughing manically with his elbows pointed down and hands contorted in the air, Mantar began lose control all conscious behavior. Lightning bolts crackled and flew around his body. The crater beneath his feet began to grow in size and depth. Broly took another step backward, all signs of mocking gone from his expression. Next Mantar started taking short rapid gasps of air that sounded like deranged snickers. His eyes rolled back into his head and the hair on his head began to rise. When the hair on his head rose completely upward and bunched together in large sections and curves, the dam broke. With an almighty half roar/ half laugh, he put his hands down and the roar of a thunder clap sounded as a bolt of lighting came from the heavens and struck him. The white pillar of electricity stood there for a moment and the silhouette of Mantar was vivid against the wall of light. Then the bolt of lightning detonated from within and sent bolts flying everywhere. Broly put up an energy barrier but they cut through it like butter and struck him many times, knocking him three more steps back. Eyes adjusting to the light Broly lowered his shielding arm from his eyes and stood in absolute disbelief at the figure before him.
Mantar stood in a 40 foot wide crater eyebrows narrowed and furrowed down to a point. His headband glowed white hot above his eyes. His muscles had grown twice their size moment before. His eyebrows and the hairs grouped together on his head had transformed into a bright shade of gold. However, it was the unnervingly calm demeanor that he showed which was the most frightening. The look on his face could only be described as pure fury and contempt.
Goku stood silently behind a tree out of sight and watched in utter incredulity the scene that unfolded before him.
'That's impossible.' Goku thought 'He's…he's…he's surpassed a Super Saiyan. He has become…a Super Saiyan 2! He is, the most powerful being ever to have lived. Super Saiyan 2 was thought to be purely myth. This…is impossible. It surpasses even the Legendary Super Saiyan. Super Saiyan 2 multiplies his power by…' Goku gasped as he realized the answer. 'Two Thousand Five Hundred Times!'
Goku no longer wished to interfere. It was said that those who attained the Super Saiyan 2 state were extremely unstable.
"You will not pay for what you've done," Mantar said in a deep, chilling voice. "You will DIE for what you've done."
With that, Broly took one final step backward and sealed his fate.
With the roar of the wind and heavens behind him Mantar slammed his fist into Broly's stomach; when he keeled over from the pain Mantar sprung upward and connected his knee with the bottom of Broly's chin, sending him flying backwards. Disappearing and reappearing above Broly's gliding figure Mantar dropkicked him downward. As Broly hit the ground he created a large hole and stuck there.
Hovering in the air 20 feet above him Mantar looked downward and charged a gigantic ball of pulsing white energy at his side with both hands. As Broly began to struggle feebly out of the crevice Mantar put the mammoth ball of energy in-front of him and shouted, "PENANCE RAY!!" The sphere exploded forward in a gigantic column. It engulfed Broly and sent him plummeting into bowels of the earth.
This was not good enough for Mantar though. He was consumed completely by bloodlust and flew down over 2 miles reaching a Broly that was barely hanging onto life. He grabbed him by the hair and flew back up, making no attempt to ease Broly's suffering. As he returned to the surface he locked Broly back against the largest tree in the clearing with bands of energy and his arms spread out perpendicular to his body. Walking away from his broken body Mantar walked a hundred paces until he reached the edge of the clearing. Here he uprooted a tree 3 feet in circumference. Picking it up easily in his hand he closed his eyes and sent white cutting beams down the length of the tree, completely severing its branches and forming the entire tree into…an arrow.
He turned around to face Broly.
With the colossal arrow in his hand Mantar locked his glare.
"You will die like the monster you are." Mantar said calmly, but with fury.
"Ka…Kakarot." Broly spit out. Then, he began to laugh inhumanly with increasing vigor.
"DIE!!" Mantar shrieked as he threw the arrow forward. Cutting through the air it hit Broly full on in the chest and ripped a hole in him as it passed through him and came out on the other end of the tree. Broly took one last gasp of air, "Kakarot-"
And then he died. The limp body however did not stay on the tree, as it dissolved back into Adrian's own flesh and blood, seeping down to the ground, dyeing the grass a shining hue of crimson.
Mantar, returning to his normal state and hair color fell to the ground and stood there, not wanting to take in what had happened. He looked over at the limp body of the girl on the ground and newfound tears sprang into his eyes. He rushed over and cradled her body in his arms. He put his forehead to hers as he slowly sobbed. The real, un-possessed Adrian now walked out of the forest as well, his hair color back to its blood colored shade and his shirt gone. His chest was covered with lacerations and blood was all over him. He limped over beside Kailaya, his eyes wide and he fell to his knees beside her too; his head in his hands he also sobbed. Both of them lay there silent except for the mourning they showed, mourning for the one they both had loved.
Waiting for the correct time, Goku stepped from the trees and put a hand on Mantar's shoulder.
"I bet she was a fantastic person Mantar. She died to protect you. That alone…that alone is a feat of pure heroism." Goku said softly.
"You have no…no idea." Adrian said through sobs.
"But she's dead." Mantar crooned as he rocked her body softly. "She's…dead."
"Death," Goku said slowly "is not what you view it as. I know how she can be brought back."
Mantar did not respond.
Goku's gaze hardened more. "What would you do for this girl?" He asked.
Mantar turned his bloodshot eyes to Goku, still cradling Kailaya. "Anything."
Adrian looked up at Goku and nodded his head as well.
Goku smiled. "Then follow me. Hell is a strange place to those unfamiliar with it…"
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: Well that's all! I hope you liked it! Please review! If you want you can give suggestions on what should happen next!