A/N: I don't have much warning to give, except for the foul words, possible yaoi scenes, the occasional random crap and whatnots.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball nor do I generate any profit from this. This is for entertainment only.


Final battle

Cold!

That was the first thing on everyone's mind.

It was so cold that the party felt like fresh produce being stored in a freezer.

"Even the warriors in my balls are freezing" Turles shivered, feeling very extremely underdressed. "Why is this room so cold?"

No. 17 shook his head, not even he knew the answer to that mystery and it would seem as if the temperature had dropped even more compared to his last visit.

The temperature in the room wasn't the only thing that baffled them.

"What the hell?!" that statement was on everyone's mind as they moved their hands instinctively in a bid to cover their noses and mouth. Turles was the first to gag, again cursing his sharp sense of smell.

"Did someone kill somebody and forgot to bury the corpse!?"

There was a nauseating stench in the air, the source becoming apparent as they proceeded forward; standing before the deepest interior of the room, the bed separated by a curtain of silk.

They came to a stop a few feet before the curtain, cautiously waiting, listening for any sudden moves. Then they heard it.

A groan like voice sounded from behind the curtain, a voice so hoarse and weak that it could make anyone assumed it belonged to a sick, elderly man close to embracing death's summon than a healthy man.

Goku's sword however disagreed with everyone's evaluation as it increased the frequency of its vibrations; not even Goku could calm it down.

Trusting his sword's judgement, Goku unsheathed it; initiating the fight. The others followed his lead, bringing their weapons into fight and defence position.

The figure behind the curtain began a crackling laugh.

"Your majesty…" No. 17 almost stepped forward then before stopping himself, the laughter emitting a sheer sense of dread, threatening to invade his being with vile intent; his king was long gone, there was no other way to salvage the situation. With hardened resolve he raised his crossbow, joining the other 4 as he took his position.

"Good… All of you are here"

The figure behind the curtain got up, taking slow steps forward as if emphasising his difficulty in the simple task of walking. He came to a slight halt in front of the silk separator, then in a Freddy Krueger like fashion, slashed the curtains into shreds; revealing himself to the party.

"Your Majesty, you're-"

Disbelief was present on No. 17's face, a close resemblance to the horror reflected on the rest of the party's faces.

Aside from the golden, jewelled headgear, there was nothing on the surface that gave him the vibe of a dignified highborn; someone of royalty. His face displayed an obvious lack of personal care and grooming, the colours of his robe had faded with time and the man himself looked as if he belonged in a different timeline or lifetime.

The king should have been no older than 40 years of age, yet the man before them looked as if he had aged another 5 decades overnight. His eyes were discoloured and white yet they seemed capable of recognising the whereabouts of Goku and the others.

The colour of the skin on his face was a pale grey, matching the stench that carried over despite the chilly freezer air; the king's condition, colour and smell reminded Goku and Vegeta of something, and it was something they knew too well about.

"He's dead" Tarble became shaken as he came to the same conclusion.

"How could he still move? How does that make any sense?" Turles found it difficult to comprehend.

"Dead…" if the king was dead, then who had he reported to during those times?

"LOOK OUT!" Goku brought everyone's attention back to the present. The party quickly scattered as the figure came rushing forward with a speed that surpassed even Turles, reappearing behind them before any of them could registered what happened.

(Goku HP – 182, 6218/6400)

Despite the quick reaction, Goku was still unable to avoid sustaining an injury. A red thin line became visible as a trail of blood trickled down his arm; a small injury, but it could have been a lot worse had Goku not reacted in time.

This demonstration was more than sufficient to remind the party not to underestimate their opponent. This man or corpse had faced many challenges and won all of them thus far, his trophies, the haunting faces of frozen gamers along his walls behind the now exposed bed further bragged of his capabilities; the sight driving home the fear they've suppressed ever since they've known the truth, that they would eventually join those tormented faces should they fail.

(Salve used. Goku HP recovery + 150, 6368/6400)

Visibly shaken as moral took a slight dive, Goku was almost startled when Tarble came to his side and applied a small amount of salve on his wound.

(Chastity Shield cast. Party – 30% less damage received)

"Don't you waver now, Goku" Vegeta frowned, as if annoyed by Goku's actions.

Goku however, knew better; Vegeta was afraid as well, who wouldn't be in a life or death situation. Goku took a quick glance at his party; all of them were, confidence shaken after what just happened. Everyone was well aware of the danger should they begin to falter but in the face of such tyrant strength, it was impossible to be indifferent.

As the party's fighter, Goku naturally became the unspoken appointed leader and it was the leader's call to keep the group's spirits up. Aside from that, as the only person who had the strongest HP reserve and defence, if he fell then the party might not last long either.

"Everyone… do me a favour" Goku took a deep breath. "Hit me"

"EH?!" everyone echoed.

"HIT ME!"

(Goku HP – 59, 6309/6400)

(Goku HP – 64, 6245/6400)

(Goku HP – 157, 6088/6400)

(Goku HP – 143, 5945/6400)

Call it an instant chain reaction but no one thought things through until after the deed was done.

"I apologise. I had no idea what came over me"

"Ah... I'm sorry Goku… Are you alright?"

"I change my opinion, you're no virgin boy. You're a masochist"

(Goku Hp recovery +40%, HP +2560,6400/6400)

"Was that enough or would you like a kick to go with it" Vegeta asked, otherwise grateful that exasperation had overwritten his fear; and from the looks of it, everyone's as well.

"No... it's enough" Goku readjusted himself, his face returning to its usual composed state.

(Berserk Rage Initiated. Goku – 1.5 Str, 20% crit. Enemies def – 30%)

"Sorry I've kept everyone waiting" Goku tightened his grip on his sword. "Let's finish this fight!"

(Party has gained Party bonus)

(Party gained a +10 bonus to all stats)

With their enemy now in their line of sight, the party recovered their original calm state as they took their stand.

The battle had officially begun.

"Wind Slash!"

(Last Boss HP – 332, ?/?)

It wasn't working.

Despite everyone's best efforts, the King had proven to be just as formidable as a goddamn cockroach.

Physical damage did not pose much of a threat to him, magic could barely damage him. His body would repair itself after a short period of time; which was unusual for an undead.

Unless they could destroy their opponent quickly without giving him ample time to regenerate, they would still be back to square one; his stats were too high and his health pool though unknown, must be huge as well.

"His body's defences are too strong" Goku moved away after his strike, narrowly missing another meele attack.

"We're wasting our time targeting his body" Vegeta agreed, casting another round of Chastity Shield.

"Where else can we focus on!?" Turles quickly parried, minimising the damage.

(Turles HP – 258, 2219/5200)

"Fireball!" Tarble released his spell, scoring a perfect hit on the enemy's head.

(Lucky Hit! Last Boss HP – 742, ?/?)

This time there was a reaction from the zombie villain. He growled, his face full of murderous malice as he lashed out at Tarble.

"Tarble!" everyone started to fear for Tarble as he was now exposed and vulnerable.

At that precise moment, Vegeta lost his concentration just as he readied a cure spell for Turles, he turned at the sudden outburst, accidentally casting it on the King.

(Last Boss HP – 766, ?/?)

A second unearthly growl pierced the room.

"The head!" No. 17 had a sudden breakthrough, that was the weakness.

(High HP potion used. Turles HP + 3000, 5200/5200)

"Cure spells could damage him, that would work!"

Just as Turles, Tarble and No. 17 inwardly cheered at their discovery, Goku and Vegeta resisted the urge to smack their own heads. After so many zombie games, they should have known better, yet that little detail managed to slip their minds; clearly common sense and knowledge somehow must haven taken its chance to escape earlier.

Always aim for the head!

Healing items or spells naturally work on the dead as well!

"Great work, Tarble" Goku smiled.

"Thanks... But I was actually aiming for the body..." he whispered the last part to himself; deciding not to tell anyone.

"We have to aim for the head" the party knew what needed to be done but of course executing it had to be possible first.

(Rejuvenate cast. Party HP recovery +60%, Neutralise, +5% HP regen)

"Well it's going to be tough, he knows what we're up to" Turles pointed out the obvious as their enemy doubled up his efforts in the fight.

"For an undead, his brain's still working" Vegeta cursed as he downed another MP potion.

(High MP potion used. Vegeta MP + 3000, 6100/7200)

"On guard! He's regenerating himself!" No. 17 readied his crossbow, becoming as frustrated as everyone as he saw the King's body closing up the wounds once again. His bear growling beside him awaiting further instructions.

"... " Goku had a moment of silence, then turned to Vegeta. "Neh Vegeta... remember our first monster?"

"Of course I do, how could I not. What about it?" Vegeta pondered on Goku's question.

"Remember how we killed it?" Goku saw the slight twitch on Vegeta's face and he nodded. "I'm going to do it again"

"Don't leave us in the dark" Turles came forward.

"There's no time to explain... please just trust me" Goku turned his gaze towards the King as he spoke. "Vegeta, Heal, distract him. No. 17, Hail Shot, slow him down. Tarble, earthquake. Turles, burrow and restrain. I need all of you to work in that order. I'll do the rest from there"

"RRRRAAAAAHHHH!" Mad with rage, once the wounds closed up enough, the King sprang to his feet; giving Goku no time to explain further as he sprinted towards them.

"NOW!"

(Berserk Rage Initiated. Goku – 1.5 Str, 20% crit. Enemies def – 30%)

At Goku's outburst, everyone instantly responded.

(Rejuvenate cast. Party HP recovery +60%, Neutralise, +5% HP regen)

(Last Boss HP – 1151, ?/?)

Vegeta casted his strongest cure spell, burning and dissolving the undead's flesh enough to incapacitate him.

(Hail Shot, success. Enemies paralysed for 5 mins)

No. 17 quickly followed up with Hail Shot. A shower of arrows rained down, inflicting little to no damage, instead it bought them the 5 minutes of paralysis Goku had hoped for.

"Earthquake!"

Tarble was next as the ground shook. Floor tiles broke apart as the earth under them cracked, swallowing any small items that fell into its depths. Coincidently or by some strange luck their enemy lost his footing and staggered backwards. This action worked in the party's favour as the walking corpse managed to get his right foot up to his ankle trapped within one of those cracks.

Seeing this, Turles dashed forward rather than use the unpredictable 'Burrow' skill. He quickly reappeared behind him, capturing both wrists as he kept them behind their foe's back.

They quickly realised they had overestimated Turles' strength when he was abruptly pulled forward. Unable to react in time, he was struck by a hard blow, knocking him down.

(Turles HP – 453, 4747/5200)

"Argh!" Without a moment to lose, Turles rolled aside; barely evading another pummel.

"Turles!" he was in a dangerous situation.

"GO!" No. 17 quickly signalled with his hand forward, ordering his bear onwards.

In sync with his friend, No. 17's bear rushed swiftly, lunging itself at the hand that was about to strike again. It bit down on the wrist hard, pulling backwards as it restrained that limb.

Seizing the chance, Turles grabbed onto the other wrist with all his strength.

"WE GOT HIM!"

"DON'T LET GO!" Goku took up his sword, gaining more speed as he pushed his body forward; he could not afford to slow down. Clutching his sword firmly in hand, he swung his sword forward with all his might.

"WIND SLASH!"

...

No one moved, nor did anyone make a sound.

Not after the sound of a thud or the sound of metal as it fell and bounced off the floor, rolling until it came to a sudden stop. Not even after the game villain slumped forward, the body nothing more than dead weight. It released a stream of dead body fluids; no longer able to regenerate itself.

Wordlessly, Turles and the bear released the corpse; letting it drop onto the ground.

"Goku..." someone started it off.

Then, it started. The ground shook, startling them as they fought for balance.

"It wasn't me!" Tarble exclaimed, confused over the sudden quake.

"It's not you, it's the Keep!" everyone looked up as cracks started to appear on the floor, spreading to the walls and ceiling; without the final boss the structure was quickly falling apart.

"We got to move! Now!"

"This way!" No. 17 took the lead again.


"Which way!?" everyone stopped in their tracks, along a narrow pathway as they came to a crossroad leading to 2 different passages. Unable to take the earlier route; the way blocked by concrete debris, no one else aside from No. 17 knew the way.

And as luck would have it, it was about to get worse.

"The floor!"

Someone shouted as another quake shook the already unsteady flooring, the floor surface crumbled beneath their feet; giving them no more than 2 seconds to react.

In the next instant, No. 17 grabbed onto Tarble as he and his bear threw themselves onto the path of one of the passages, by a narrow margin they've managed to avoid falling to their deaths.

Likewise, Goku, Vegeta and Turles dived for the passage closest to them; the other one. The party of 5 was now separated into two groups.

"Is everyone alright?!" Goku called from the other side, unable to see Tarble or No. 17 from his angle.

"We're alright!" No. 17 answered. "Find your way out, we'll meet up outside!"

"Alright! Stay safe!"

Left with no choice the two groups left via different routes.

...

They had no idea how much further they had to go, but if they did not get out soon the outcome would not be favourable. Just as they pondered on which direction to take, Goku's sword started its signature vibration, putting him on immediate alert as anxiety took hold; not now... not when they were so close.

"What is it?!" Vegeta used to Goku's telltale signs and his body language asked.

"The place's already caving in, danger or not, we have to keep moving!" Turles urged urgently, noting the impending danger they were in.

At that statement Goku quickly descried the threat, he looked up; dust and falling debris gave it away.

"Move out of the way!"

As predicted, a large section of the ceiling came apart.

Goku and Vegeta lunged forward while Turles used his speed and took quick side steps back. The debris came crashing down, the impact collapsing the ground they stood on moments ago. The destruction was immense, their faces fell as they took in the aftermath.

"Shit..." Goku mouthed when he saw Turles on the other side.

"Balls... wrong move" Turles cursed as he looked towards Goku and Vegeta. The distance was too wide, there was no way he could make a jump for it and there were no leverages of any sort for him to reach those two.

"Fuck" the same thought crossed Vegeta's mind.

"Get your asses out! I'll find another way!" Turles came up with the only idea he had.

"TURLES!"

Another aftershock interrupted them.

"GO!" Turles turned back to find another exit, leaving no room for arguments.

Taking Turles' hint Goku grasped Vegeta's arm, pulling him to his feet; they had to keep moving.


"There!" Tarble pointed towards two figures as they exit the castle. "Goku! Vegeta! Over here!" Tarble waved frantically.

There they were. Goku and Vegeta raced towards them; a fair distance away from the battle ground. A huge grin plastered on his face as everyone's faces came into view. Their allies, Sharpner and their army, Big Beard, Zarbon, Tarble and No. 17.

Wait...

Goku's breath stilled. He looked over everybody, but 'he' wasn't amongst them.

"Turles?" Vegeta looked around as well, anxiety was starting to surface. "Where's Turles?"

"Wait. Wasn't he with you two?" No. 17 was aghast at the question.

"Then he's still in there!?"

A thundering boom sounded behind them like an explosion, the earth at their earth shook as the Keep finally gave way. Stones and rocks fell like hail from the blast, crashing everything within its path; the courtyard, the houses and shops, many of its occupants saved as they had already fled their houses.

"No..." Tarble staggered back, leaning heavily against No. 17.

No. 17 held Tarble steady, his own hands trembling as he looked elsewhere.

Goku could not mutter a word, he looked at Vegeta from the corner of his eye.

With his insides close to suffocating with apprehension, Vegeta promptly opened up his profile menu. Understanding what Vegeta was doing, Goku mirrored his action as he brought up his own profile menu.

In the next instant, their faces became dark.

Goku closed his profile menu slowly; not wanting to take another look.

"Vegeta... Turles' face-"

"I know" he said with strain in his voice as he took note of the now grey face portrait with a red cross on Turles' love meter profile. His shoulders trembled, again just like the old man he befriended in another game; he had lost someone dear to him.

Goku came closer, locking his arms around him from behind without a word. His eyes just so happened to glance over at Vegeta's profile menu before gently bringing Vegeta's head closer, allowing him to lean against his chest; he brought his hand over his head gently, offering what comfort he could give.

Vegeta did not turn down his offer, quietly he expressed his grief in Goku's embrace. Unaware that during the time, Goku had once again brought out his own profile menu, without a word he took a second look.

The expression on his face unseen by all.

To be continued ~


Been over a year this time, hasn't it. Real life has been taking up most of my time as always...

There's still one more chapter and an Epilogue to go, plus a short 'extra content' consisting of some information I've drafted for the characters as well as the 'game' before I started. So please bear with me, I hope to get them done as soon as I can.

As always I hope everyone enjoyed this.

Don't forget to tell me what you think, have a great day everyone~ XD