"In The Future"
Chapter 25: Fusion Reversion
A little boy by the name of Robby walked casually down the empty sidewalk. Hardly anyone used such an archaic mode of transportation, but Robby didn't see the harm in it. It was a Saturday afternoon and he had absolutely nothing to do. Arbitrarily, he had decided to go to the local playground—it was a mere two blocks away. When he turned the next corner, he could see the large playground in the distance, but besides this, in his immediate view, he noticed a man walking rather slowly down the same sidewalk.
Robby slowed his pace almost subconsciously as his position became closer and closer to him. From what Robby discerned, he had to be an elderly man as he noted his starkly white hair. Yet there was something more, but Robby couldn't place it. His pace continued to lesson until it was the same snail pace as the old man in front of him. Robby considered simply stepping around the senior and moving along to his intended destination, but something internally stopped him despite his growing impatience. Soon, the old man stopped walking altogether and Robby had to build up some courage to say something.
"Hey, Mister, are you lost?"
Robby stepped back a little when the old man turned to him. A jolt of fear came through him and he almost made a run for it if it weren't for the jewel-like eyes that steadied him. Robby quickly retracted his first assumption of the slow moving stranger being an old man. The stranger made not motions of answering his question and his eyes continued boring holes into his head. Robby hesitantly opened his mouth again.
"A-Are y-you lost, mister?" Robby repeated.
"Yes…I am."
Robby cowered a little when he spoke. His voice was sinister and dark yet Robby too could hear the hesitancy in his tone.
"Umm, where are you trying to go?"
"I'm not…entirely certain."
"What do you mean? Are you homeless or something?"
"Home-less…" the stranger said trying out the word, "Perhaps I am. I exist only to fulfill a purpose and I believe that I have fulfilled it."
"What purpose," Robby asked despite himself.
"To protect the world from certain chaos. I…" the stranger furrowed his eyebrows, "Was sent back here so that I could exist as two instead of one."
"What?" Robby asked wondering if he was talking to a man in need of mental help.
"To exist as two instead of one," he repeated but this time quieter.
Robby began to step back from the strange man.
"Child, will you help me? You are the first person I have seen since I have arrived. Why is it so deserted?"
"Deserted? What are you talking about?" Robby said pointing towards all the noisy traffic.
The stranger turned his eyes to the passing cars and immediately the spell was broken on the child. Robby quickly made a run for it in the opposite direction. When the child was only inches away from turning the corner, he glanced back and he noticed that the strange man had merely returned to his previous slow pace down the long sidewalk. Robby stopped and looked for a little while and a feeling of guilt began to build. The man was so obviously lost—he couldn't just let him continue on his aimless way. Chances were, the man wasn't going to meet anyone else and he'd become completely lost and hungry. His guardian had always told him not to talk to strangers, but something felt wrong about simply running away from someone who needed help.
"Hey, Mister," Robby called to the stranger as he ran back.
The stranger slowly turned to him again with a perplexed expression."Yes, child."
"You said you needed help?"
"You will help me?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Why did you run? Why is it so deserted?"
"I don't know," Robby said answering both questions at once.
The stranger was silent once again as his gaze began to pierce the other's skull. The air became thick with tension as Robby felt that he was being evaluated.
"Kind child, do you know of a place where I could rest."
Robby was about to suggest a homeless shelter, but the very thought gave him another feeling of guilt. What else could he do?
"I, uhh, I know a place."
"Will you take me to it?"
"Sure, no problem. Just follow me."
This was exactly what the stranger did, but still his pace was painfully slow and he found it hard to keep up with Robby's moderate pace.
"Can't you move any faster," Robby complained.
"No…I feel weak…and tired."
"How come?"
The stranger thought for a moment, "I am fighting something internally, I think. Something evil and chaotic. A man named Shenron tells me that I should not let it conquer me or else all is lost. If I became two instead of one, the infection will become so diluted that it would lose its potency and cease its progress."
Robby had no idea what the stranger was talking about, but it sounded rather unsettling.
"Umm…infection? What are you talking about? How'd you get it?"
"I was protecting the universe from disorder, but I was utterly tricked. Cain was a shape shifter and at some point he pretended to be Shenron. He wanted to poison my spirit above all else and he was granted his wish. He reveled in widespread turmoil and chaos—he wanted my help. Even as the trickster lay dying, he felt secure in the thought that his dream would come to pass. Shenron sent me back here to become two instead of one."
Robby blinked twice at the stranger and thought something really was wrong with him. This "two instead of one" matter made no ounce of sense.
They still traveled at a ridiculously slow pace and the stranger showed no sign of speeding up. They were passing a side store when Robby asked for the other to wait for a moment outside because he needed to use the restroom. Upon stepping inside he was met with a disturbing scene.
The man behind the counter had his hands up as another man who wore a mask and held out a dangerous looking gun ordered him to put the money from the cash register in a duffel bag. Robby hadn't been noticed and he feared that opening the door again would give him away. As silently as he could, he sneaked over into an aisle to hide as the robbery progressed. The minutes rolled slowly by as Robby listened to the rustle of cash. Tiny hairs stood up on the back of his neck in response to his rising stress levels. Arbitrarily, Robby looked back and noticed a camera pointing straight at him. His eyes grew large with apprehension—it would be just his luck if the robber was also paying attention to the camera TV.
This was indeed the case.
Time seemed to freeze and Robby could have sworn that his heart had quit beating altogether.
"Please," Robby said weakly as his eyes stared at the end of a gun.
He closed his eyes instinctively and blocked out all of the robber's proceeding words. Then he heard a shot. It was a miss because the robber had pathetic aim and had never once used a gun. The second shot did not come, though Robby waited intently for its cacophony.
"Child, it is safe."
Robby opened his eyes to the familiar voice. First he noticed the unconscious robber and then he noticed the stranger who leaned heavily on a nearby shelf. "H-How?" Robby asked startled. He simply couldn't picture him moving quick enough to do anything worthwhile let alone knocking someone out. "B-By the way," Robby began still put off by the scene before him, "My name is Robby."
"Robby," the stranger stated plainly.
"What's yours?"
"Gogeta."
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"How many times do I have to tell you, Pan—I don't really know how to fight!"
"And I still say you're lying. I don't believe that you can be so completely oblivious to all the fighting happening around you. There aren't enough malls in the world."
"Well maybe you need to go to one."
"Maybe you need to step out of them."
"Pan—I'm just no good at all those boy things."
"Have you ever tried?" Pan questioned.
Bra shook her head, "I never needed to—I'm not like you. There's always someone there to protect me." She turned away from Pan. "That's probably why he likes you—you're not as needy as Mom. He can do things with you that he couldn't possibly do with her."
"Bra, I can't do this alone."
"What are you talking about, Pan, yes you can. I've seen you fight and I bet you haven't stopped training since your grandfather left."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but you're not going to get out of this one that easily. You've put up this façade that you don't 'do fighting', but I've kept an eye out on you. I know you've been training. You've been trying to hide your ki, but every time you get angry I can read it as clear as day. Admit it, Bra."
Bra glared at the other, "Alright," she said grudgingly, "Maybe you're right."
"Look, I need your help," Pan said as she glided over close enough to grasp her shoulder, "You know I can't go it alone—why did you say you couldn't fight in the first place?"
"Because," Bra said turning her head away, "I have no experience. My dad would say it's like not knowing how to fight at all—and he's right, I don't. Who do you think trained me, Pan? It was nobody—just a bunch of old kung-fu movies that I decided to copy."
"Bra, are you serious? I was here, Vegeta was here, why couldn't you just ask if you wanted to learn?"
"I couldn't," Bra said closing her eyes.
"You're ashamed, aren't you?"
"Ashamed of what?" Bra said pulling away from her, "We're just wasting time standing around chatting—we have a date to keep, right."
"Right," Pan said backing off, "And they're not getting any weaker."
The two of them shot through the air once again with Pan making sure she didn't move too fast for Bra. They were glad as they got closer and that the location was beginning to look very remote.
But then the entire situation took a startling change upon landing.
"Gohan, Goten?!" the two women said simultaneously.
Yet before they even uttered the names, they knew it couldn't be them. Their eyes glowered so angrily and their expressions were so mindlessly grimacing that their faces hardly resembled anything Gohan and Goten would make.
"They're coming towards us!" Bra exclaimed frantically as she positioned herself behind Pan.
"Of course they are," Pan said back moving into her fighting stance.
Indeed they were rushing towards them with incredible speed. It was much like a nightmare for Bra as their mocking faces became easier and easier to make out. Goten's distorted features haunted her and she wanted desperately to escape. Gohan and Pan were already locked in heavy combat—Goten was after Bra and she was stiff with fear. It wasn't until she was thrown to the ground when Bra knew it was time to fight back.
The first thing she did was snatch Goten's suffocating palms from her face. Then she thrust a poorly made ki blast towards him. Goten stared at her unfazed and brought forth two ki blasts of his own—Bra was hard-pressed to evade. When she did, she found herself face to face with him and she stumbled fearfully to the ground. Goten advanced on her quickly, striking down with a skull-shattering fist. Bra caught it with both of her hands and gritted her teeth as the pain rolled through her body. At the same moment, Bra began conjuring a ki blast. However, she did so a little too slow and inadvertently gave Goten enough time to move out of the way as the ki blast was finally fired. Before she knew it, three ki blasts came flying towards her. She flipped back to dodge one, sidestepped to miss another one, but found it impossible to evade the last one. Bra cried out as she was struck down and then again as Goten relentlessly retaliated with his fists. By the time she began to react to his attacks, she was bruised from head to toe.
Bra was allowed one breakout attack to the face of Goten and he stumbled back from the force. Bra, as quick as she could, stepped forward so that she could execute her three consecutive aerial kicks. Goten, however, caught her last kick, ripped her from the ground and slammed her back into it. At point blank, he fired two more ki blast and turned away from her.
Bra groaned when she tried to pick herself back up—she had never felt such pain. How could one ever become used to fighting if this was all one would get in repayment? She felt blood trail down the side of her chin from a cut lip and wiped it away.
"Hey you! I'm not through with you yet," Bra spat as she found the strength to sit up again.
Goten turned to her with a cocked head and a ridiculous grin. He came towards her too quickly for her to react and she was sent sailing through the air.
If there was one thing she despised, it was losing—especially losing badly. She yelled out angrily when she met with the ground.
"Slow down, damn it! At least give me one more hit."
Goten seemed to appear in front of her. Without a second thought, her fist struck out at his face. Not enough strength. She wounded up hurting herself more than him when she yanked her hand back. Goten grabbed her by the throat and began to grip it harder and harder. With a shout, she allowed her aura to expand for a short moment knocking him away. Bra fell to her knees in despair. She only hoped Pan was faring better.
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"We're almost there, Mr. Gogeta," Robby said encouragingly.
This had to be the fifth time Robby had said so. Each time, Gogeta would respond with a chiefly nod and then a monotonous "okay". This time, however, Gogeta had said nothing and had continued looking straight ahead.
"Where are you taking me," Gogeta asked after another long ten minutes.
Sweat glistened on the Saiyan's skin and his breath was only then beginning to become heavy.
"My home—it's the least I can do after what you did for me."
"How far is it?"
"We're almost there," Robby reassured, "Another corner and we're there."
Robby was afraid to actually turn back and look upon the man's face. Robby was sure that the other was irritated beyond belief. If he had learned anything that day, it was that he should avoid Gogeta's eyes at all cost—they did strange things to him.
Robby was relieved to turn the corner. The two of them stopped in front of the door. Robby, who had the key quickly used it and led Gogeta in. Immediately upon entering, Robby went to the phone in the kitchen.
"Yeah, I know you'll be home soon—yeah, I know, but there's something I gotta` tell you. Don't get mad. Alright, alright I'll spit it out. There's this guy, you see, and he needed a place to stay so I decided to let him stay here." There was a slightly long pause. "Why not!" Robby argued, "No it's not like that—I mean he's homeless, but…Arg. C'mon, he saved my life. I'm not lying he did. His name? It's Gogeta." Another pause. "No rush—he's completely harmless…I think. Just…" Robby peered out into the living room, "I think he'll be sleeping in the living room. Is that okay? Alright, see you in ten minutes."
Robby let out a relieved sigh as he hung up the phone. Things could have gone a lot worse. What else could he have done for Gogeta if not take him to a homeless shelter or mental hospital? Robby had almost felt obligated to take him in—it wasn't often that he encountered near death situations. He felt indebted to his apparent savior and he had jumped at the chance to be able to lend a hand.
Robby walked back into the living room to check on Gogeta and found that he was fast asleep on the sofa. His head lay on the armrest and his slightly bent knees allowed for the rest of his body to fit.
"Um, Mr. Gogeta?" Robby asked loudly," Mr. Gogeeeta," Robby called.
The most Robby received was furrowed eyebrows, but his eyelids never opened.
"Are you hungry?"
There was no response from the Saiyan and he finally gave up. With a shrug, Robby found the remote and turned on the television. He was really supposed to be at the playground, but now that plan seemed painfully distant. Robby continuously glanced back at Gogeta waiting for him to get upset over the fact that the TV was on. When this didn't happen, Robby gradually turned up the volume. Still Gogeta remained nonresponsive.
Robby looked up when the front door was being unlocked. In stepped the owner of the house—he didn't seemed pleased at all.
"What is this? Some kind of joke? His ki is far too low to be Gogeta."
"You mean you know him?" Robby asked surprised.
"No, of course I don't. I've only heard of him. I never saw him in person."
The man who now stood in the house and was also guardian to a little boy named Robby was none other than Oden himself—the human reincarnate of Olga, the particularly challenging antagonist that Vegeta had defeated, the now Cain-less brother of Shenron. As had been mentioned before, he spent some of his life on Earth waiting for his chance to finally destroy the miserable planet. During that time he had grudgingly conformed to Earth's ways and at some point found another woman of whom he had enjoyed the company. They never got so far as marriage; Oden would never let something like that happen especially with an earthling. She died prematurely of cancer and she had left behind her child from a previous marriage. Even under Cain's influence, he couldn't just leave the child to the hands of foster care so instead he allowed Robby to stay with him. Robby had simply been left to his own devices up until a week ago when Oden seemingly from nowhere appeared at the house after a hiatus and seemed to be a completely different person.
"Well why would he lie? He says his name's Gogeta," Robby said in defense.
"Right. Hey you," Oden said directly to Gogeta.
Of course, Oden received the same response as Robby had gotten—complete silence. Oden advanced on Gogeta's position intending to force him into acknowledging his presence, but Gogeta must have guessed his intentions and Oden's reaching hand was stopped instantly.
"Alright, now that I have your attention," Oden said unfazed by the speed of Gogeta's deflection.
Gogeta looked at the other with unfocused azure eyes and a pronounced frown. "What do you want?" asked a very chilling voice of Gogeta.
"I don't know, maybe I would like to know what you're doing here."
"And why is it important for you to know such things?"
"This is my house," Oden said indignantly.
Despite Oden's ignorance to Gogeta's overwhelming presence, he was glad when Gogeta gaze turned from his. What happened moments later confirmed what Oden suspected—something was seriously wrong with the fused Saiyan. As the powerful Saiyan clutched at his stomach in some internal pain and gasped for breath, Oden began to step back from him. He didn't know exactly what was happening, but he knew that it was no longer safe.
"Robby, let's go now," Oden ordered.
"Wait, no, we can't just leave him. What's wrong with—
"We don't have time for your whining."
And just as suddenly as the invisible attack began, it stopped. Robby looked over at Gogeta's still form—his eyes were still averted, turned down to the ground.
"Let's go, Robby," Oden warned, "Before it's too late."
"Before what's too late?" Robby asked deciding to move towards the silent form. Robby gasped when he suddenly found a fiery red gaze on him."G-Gogeta?"
Oden quickly made his way to Robby to grab him. As he did, he expected to be attacked, but this didn't happen. Gogeta seemed to be in another bout of pain of which he began to sweat so profusely that beads of it dripped from his face.
"We can't leave him!" Robby cried.
"Yes we can," Oden said obstinately.
Oden could hear Gogeta breathing heavily and even he turned to see what had happened.
"You should leave," Gogeta said monotonously.
His eyes were back to its usual sapphire hue.
Oden stood, silently looking at Gogeta. Then, before he could turn to leave there was a knock at the door. After sending a puzzling look towards Robby, he went to the door and opened it.
"Shenron, what brings you here," Robby heard Oden say to the newcomer.
"To save…everyone," Shenron answered walking past his twin brother, "I spoke with the Grand Kai concerning you, Gogeta."—Shenron easily gained Gogeta's attention—"He told me that it wasn't often that he came across such a perfect fusion. Two people who are that compatible in terms of strength and personality, are hard-pressed to ever fuse much less find each other. The only way he's ever heard of diffusing such a being is by defeating the person in whatever that person excels at and in your case it would be combat. We must defeat you in battle, Gogeta."
"Defeat?" Gogeta said questioningly with the beginnings of a grin.
"I know it sounds a little impossible," Shenron began.
"In my state, I feel that it is possible." Gogeta looked at both brothers at once, "If I were double teamed with two capable fighters at full power, I know that I would eventually be overwhelmed."
"A-Are you sure about that," Shenron asked with surprise.
"Positive," Gogeta confirmed.
"What is all this about? I can take him myself," Oden said looking directly at Gogeta, "Hate to say it, but your ki is so low that you wouldn't even be a challenge if I were at full power."
"Don't be so ignorant," Gogeta responded standing up, "It is only now that you would have some remote chance of carrying out your bluff."
"Wait a minute, I don't get it," Robby said finally speaking up, "I didn't know you had a twin, Oden, and why are we sitting around thinking about how to kill Gogeta. What did he do wrong?"
All eyes turned to Robby and Shenron gave him a pitying look.
"He's done nothing wrong," Shenron answered, "It is what's inside of him which is evil. We can't take that risk that he could be taken over. He is a fusion. Besides, he encompasses two very important individuals who deserve to exist once again."
"I don't understand," Robby said with a puzzled expression.
"Perhaps it's better that you don't," Shenron responded.
"You saved my life," Robby proclaimed to Gogeta, "So I don't think you deserve to die."
"You seem to be the only person with such an opinion—unfortunately, majority rules. My time has come. I have done all that I've set out to do."
It was unspoken knowledge that they would have to move to another location to avoid destroying things and people unintentionally. Oden suggested his backyard, but soon decided that it was too close to his house despite its colossal size.
"I know a place," Shenron said.
"We should hurry and get this over with," Gogeta said.
Indeed, Gogeta was finding it harder and harder to think coherently. He appeared to be deceptively weak, hardly even able to stand without support.
"You guys are actually going to do this? You gonna` beat up on an already injured person?"
"Well, Gogeta wants to feel like he's still powerful—asking us to double team him," Oden said in a belittling tone.
"You heard King Kai—there needs to be a battle," Gogeta said back, "A battle where I would be the loser. Fighting you alone would accomplish nothing."
Oden was hardly convinced by this statement and decided right then to test the waters. Gogeta caught Oden's ensuing fist and blocked his kick without much forethought.
"Is this the extent of your skill?" Gogeta asked.
Before anyone could blink, Oden launched a barrage of punches and kicks at Gogeta, all of them hitting nothing but air. There was a stunned silence thereafter mainly by Robby. How could this man who seemed so vulnerable and weak trump such a capable fighter? Robby didn't even see Gogeta move.
Now Gogeta truly was grinning; something that Shenron had only seen Vegeta do whenever he knew he had the upper hand. Oden must have realized this and sent the other a rather disgusted look.
"Alright, let's take this someplace else," Shenron said stepping in between the fighters. He could sense the growing tension.
They quickly agreed on a location—the islands. After making Robby promise that he would stay put, the three fighters disappeared from sight. Robby scrambled to where Gogeta had been standing, but it was too late—he was gone. He hadn't realized that he would start crying. It wasn't as if he had ever known Gogeta well enough, but somehow he felt some connection between them. He felt guilty and despondent. The fading image of a sick and sweated Gogeta was the last he would ever see of the Saiyan. Tomorrow, he would no longer exist and he'd simply continue on with his normal life.
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Bra's breathing was ragged. She had not trained herself to become accustomed to long, drawn out battles. Her hair was matted with sweat and her legs could hardly keep her standing. Yet she stood back to back with her gold-haired Saiyan friend. Pan's long, golden locks sparkled in the dying sun in direct contrast to Bra's now lackluster blue hair. Bra's long hair had been set in shiny, healthy looking curls; her head had been adorned with a head band scarf. They drooped now, but Bra had better things on her mind.
"Any luck?" Pan asked Bra.
"None whatsoever, but you probably knew that."
"I haven't made any kind of dent in Gohan either, Bra. We're in the same boat."
"At least you can turn Super Saiyan.'
"Even the second isn't much for the likes of my dad. Seems whatever influence they're under makes them stronger. I know him—he's not too hard to defeat."
"Here they come again," Bra complained.
"They're relentless. I don't know how much more of this we can withstand."
"Why did I have to listen to you, Pan? Now I'm gonna' get killed."
"There's no time for that, Bra. We fight as long as we can…and then we retreat."
"Are you—really?" Bra asked incredulously.
"I have some things I want to live for—don't you?"
"Pan, I don't need something to live for. I just enjoy living."
"You're one of the few people I know who do," Pan said with the beginnings of a smile, "Don't lose that."
Gohan and Goten were practically upon them and they were forced back into battle. Bra was back to taking and dodging hits in no time.
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He swayed as he stood and his fighting stance was less than precise.
"You ready?" Oden called to the Saiyan.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Gogeta called back.
Oden powered up only a little bit, so sure that he could defeat Gogeta without using his full power, and dashed towards the other. Shenron followed in suit, but from behind. Gogeta seemed to disappear altogether and Shenron and Oden found themselves looking at each other for split second before they were both attacked from behind seemingly simultaneously. They collided with each other as a result only to be catapulted into the air by the nonexistent Gogeta. Then they were attacked again and again in the air by their invisible assailant unable to fight back. From a distance, all one could see was two people being kicked around incessantly in midair.
They knew they had to do something before Gogeta really started attacking so they both agreed to power up to their highest letting their combined aura throw Gogeta back. Withstanding a few more quick hits, Oden and Shenron began to raise their ki level and aura rapidly. Oden saw Gogeta first when the Saiyan was knocked back and dashed towards him along with Shenron. Again Gogeta disappeared. Shenron saw him reappear out the side of his eye and so sent out a barrage of ki blasts. Gogeta easily evaded these as he flew towards Shenron. Shenron tried to fend off Gogeta, but this also didn't stop Gogeta. Before Gogeta could attack his intended target, Oden sent an exceptionally large ki blast towards him. Gogeta faded out of the way just in time, but Shenron was not as lucky and caught the blast fully.
"Sorry," Oden said quickly when he appeared beside Shenron."
"It's alright," Shenron responded as his eyes looked frantically for Gogeta's presence.
Gogeta appeared directly in front of Shenron and dropkicked him to the ground; Oden shared the same fate. The twins recovered quickly and turned to the standing form of Gogeta. His silvery aura was only then beginning to show. Shenron realized that this was the first time he had ever seen it. It meant that they were getting somewhere even if it didn't feel like it.
"You said we'd be able to defeat you," Oden accused Gogeta.
"I am making this quite easy for you. Even now I grow more fatigued. I waste energy on attacking you relentlessly without pause. Perhaps soon you might be able to throw a fist at me—or when you get tired of being knocked around."
They couldn't tell if he was lying or not, but they soon dashed towards him once again. The same routine continued despite their growing fervor.
"Why can't you hit me?" Shenron heard a nonexistent Gogeta ask, "You're so close, even now…"
"Well, why don't you slow down!?" Oden said angrily.
"I don't need to. Try harder. Just open your eyes—take a chance, attack even if you don't see. Predict where I might attack next."
"Take a chance, huh," Oden said still searching for Gogeta.
He decided to give this advice a chance and struck his fist out in front of him.
"Sorry, wrong way—but close."
Oden heard Gogeta right behind him and was already being thrown back into the air. Shenron shared the same fate. Oden watched as his brother was slung back down to earth. Then Oden knew what to do next. He was beginning to see a pattern—a very simple pattern. Oden put his arms up in defense in the direction he knew Gogeta would attack.
"Perfect," Oden heard Gogeta say.
Oden didn't stop there. As soon as Gogeta's attack was put at bay, he unleashed a barrage of attacks of his own, some of which did some damage to the seemingly invincible Gogeta. Somewhere in between, Oden launched several ki blasts, none of which made their mark. The ones from behind by Shenron did. Whilst Gogeta was fending off the now active Shenron, Oden powered up one of his lethal ki blasts. Shenron kept Gogeta in a steady position with a persistent stream of attacks. Then Oden let it rip. Gogeta evaded at the last second, but had not gone completely unscathed. Just as Gogeta dodged, another massive ki blast blocked his view. Too late. Oden's precariously placed ki blast hit its mark entirely.
Now his clothes were ragged and his ki level too low to detect. There was no aura now around the ultimate Saiyan. Gogeta struggled back to his feet as the dust began to clear. His posture wavered now and his eyes unable to focus on anything. The only thing he knew to do was fight which required no thinking on his part. A clear vulnerability to the likes of Shenron and Oden if they realized this. Like a mindless drone, he dodged and attacked both of them together in a methodical manner.
"Hurry," Gogeta said as he saw no advancements in their fight, "Before it's too late."
A weaker Gogeta meant a weaker internal defense against the poison. It progressed at an accelerated rate this way, unhindered by the previous obstacles.
In midstream, Oden launched several ki blasts directly at Gogeta, but they simply bounced off of him. Shenron threw stronger blasts at Gogeta and Gogeta was forced to dodge them. Yet as he did, he was already in pursuit of Oden. Gogeta formed a ki blast in his hand and thrust it into Oden's chest—an unavoidable attack—and threw him back a good distance.
Then Gogeta fell to his knees. It was the same pain from before, but amplified to incredible levels. And he was gasping for breath. If he could yell out, he would have, but he had no breath for it.
Shenron had no idea what do next as he stood watching helplessly.
"Well, what are you waiting for!?" Gogeta griped through gritted teeth.
Shenron watched as sweat dropped so often from the bent Saiyan that it began to make a small puddle.
"I can't attack a defenseless man," Shenron said desperately.
Gogeta looked up at Shenron and then looked away, "Fine. I'm going to try to attack you…You'll dodge it, I know you will…Right then, conjure your most powerful ki blast…and I won't be able to evade…I won't have the strength."
Shenron stepped back as Gogeta climbed to his feet. The attack was quicker than what Shenron had anticipated, but he managed to evade. Gogeta's recovery time from his dodged attack was poor and it gave Shenron just enough time to conjure his Ultimate Blast. It wasn't as strong as a Spirit Bomb could be, but he had no time for such things. The blast was so large that even the ground became seared from the heat.
Red fiery eyes stared at the approaching blast and the unthinkable happened—he began to push back the blast.
"I must be too late," Shenron said worriedly as he realized his attack had not struck.
Shenron held his hands up to continue his blast's advance, but he was quickly losing ground.
"Allow me," Oden said from beside Shenron. He had finally recovered from the fierce attack.
Oden brought forth the same exact blast as Shenron had conjured and doubled the strength of the existing blast. Together they stood with arms out as the blast finally struck home. A mushroom cloud emerged as a result and the twins covered their eyes as the dust rushed over them.
The one question on their minds was—Was it over?
They walked forth when the dust cleared and they found a single body sprawled on the ground. He lay on his stomach with his head turned to one side. His eyes were halfway opened, but completely lifeless. Shenron and Oden looked at one another. What now?
Then the body began to illuminate brighter and brighter until it stung their eyes. With a blinding flash of light, the diffusion was over. Vegeta and Goku existed once again.
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AN: Sorry for the wait, but I was sick for awhile—better now. Man, that sucked. I had absolutely no ideas to write down; until I got better and then there was a flood of ideas. This has to be the longest chapter I've ever typed; hopefully it'll compensate for the wait. My brother doesn't like how I'm passively dissing Gohan's abilities, calling them rusty and having Pan say that he's not all that hard to beat—don't worry, I'll give him his "brief" time to shine. Can't wait to finish up with the next chapter. Stay tuned. (And by the way, I did pass the test and now I have my provincial driver's license—which equals more time to write for you guys :)
It's really nice to know that people are still keeping up with this story:
Leadx: That's just going to be one of his weaknesses—he never recovers his memories.
xzavx: Wait, I don't get it. Actual murderers? You can't "kill" an anime.
Bluebanany: Yeah, I loved writing about SS5 Gogeta—I was so sad when I had to get rid of him…Yep, Pan and Bra are definitely fighting, but will they be able to endure long enough? Bra and 17; I never thought of that before. 17's one of those other under rated characters. I don't think he's going to make an appearance in this fic. Good luck if you ever make a Vegeta/Pan fic; I'd love to read it.