Atrocities

by Ash The Wanderer

The sequel to Consuming Madness. A new evil emerges from the world that brought the curse of Agony. Is the greatest evil one of extraordinary birth, or is it all too human? And in the end, will there be nothing but doom...or redemption?

2. Shattered

Chapter 2: Shattered

"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary, men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."

Joseph Conrad

"I shall carry slaughter and cause devastation to my enemy…so my name shall live."

Genghis Khan

"I have sworn before the alter of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

Thomas Jefferson

Fall, you bitch. I don't care that you're going to love the landing, just fall. And may it take you hours to pick up your pieces, even if I know it won't!

You may be inhuman, but you can't run at supersonic speed. The one who created you ripped the life from this section of the world for hundreds of miles around, and you're at the dead centre of its ash and desert wastelands. Even if you never stop walking, you won't get out of there for days.

And there's nothing for you to kill out there. Nothing at all. I think you knew that too when I saw your face as you fell. I can still see it. I always do.

My heart is at peace for the moment, but I must go now. I've settled the problem of you for now. Now I have a far greater one.

Vagane.

I'm coming for you Vagane.

Even if I have to go through hell and back again through it, I will get you this time. For all your genius, you made a fatal mistake when you told me you were alive. When you told me what you did…how she came to be.

Wait for me…do I dare call them friends?

They would.

Wait for me, Z Warriors. Again, I have inflicted a great evil on your world. This time, I will not have a universe-wide genocide happen! I SWEAR IT.

On my own damned blood.

Despite their arrogant claims to the contrary, the human species was indeed an animal. Long before they had staked their claim as the greatest species on Earth and claimed it in it's totality, long before their intelligence grew to the point that they could use simple tools and fire, humans had had to survive by more basic means, by their instincts. And while intelligence had long taken hold as the primary tool that humankind used to live their lives, the instincts were still there, buried deep. Humans who commited terrible crimes were called animals. That was a misjudged term. All humans were animals. Indeed, it was more often the human "qualities" that led to men and women commiting the crimes that branded them as beasts. Instinct alone is not bad. Instincts warped and altered by intelligence, or intelligence too greatly influenced by instinct…that was where the problem lay.

But not many humans thought of that. They thought their instincts were conquered, emerging only at set, appropriate times. Not so. They were always there, one in particular. It was the instinct humans had dubbed "fight or flight". To stand your ground, or run away.

If intelligence had done anything, it had caused this instinct to curse humanity as cowards. It is only when you possess a high intelligence when you can understand just how overmatched you are.

Thus was the situation in Satan City, as the panicked crowd of people hurried down the street, trampling anyone who fell underfoot. Mob mentality had taken over, as every person in the crowd shared a single solitary thought: RUN!

Around them, Satan City was crumbling just like their lives, as the ground shook and buildings exploded into flame. Besides the screams, the air was filled with breaking glass, shattering concrete, creaking and crumpling metal, and a cataphony of other sounds that combined into a requiem of destruction. Like four years ago, history was repeating itself. If the occupants of Satan City could have remembered that nightmarish time, they might have least been thankful that their buildings weren't coming to life and eating them.

But that would have been little consolation to them anyway, and so the mob continued to flee. On their heels were a group of people, mostly women who were utalizing various weapons to cause the chaos. At the forefront of them were five figures who who doing their best to outdo the women in death and destruction.

One of the fleeing men at the back of the mob fell, but as he scrambled to his feet a hand suddenly seized his hair and yanked him up. The man screamed, and then screamed even louder as Spike sank his fangs into his neck. He tried to weakly get away, but Spike's grip was absolute, and eventually he fell, drained to the last drop. Spike raised his head, marvelling in the simple exctasy of drinking blood. Then his eyes snapped open at a sudden whistling noise as two of the larger Valkyries aimed large-barreled weapons at the buildings in front of the fleeing mob and fired, sending twin rockets streaking towards them. The bottom floors exploded, and as the mob screamed, the buildings toppled over. One fell in a different direction and landed on a virtually abandoned street, but the other fell right onto the seething mass of people, crushing and burning them by the hundreds. Spike smiled, a wicked smile.

"Now THIS bleeden rocks! And speaking of bleeding…"Spike said as his hand reached out and snatched one of the people who had managed to escape the building and had stupidly decided to run the other way. As Spike drained her dry, Alexia raised her hand and waved it at the burning building that had fallen down onto the mob. The structure had managed to come down onto the glorified "middle" of the mob, and while the people at the front side were now able to get away, the people on the other side were trapped with nowhere to go. Alexia made their decision for them as she reached out and the small fires that were burning on the wreckage exploded into an inferno of heat. The people closest to the building were cooked alive, and the others had no choice but to head back the other way, away from the heat.

They didn't realize the fire would have been better, as they ran right back into the group that had been chasing them.

"Smorgasboard!" Spike crowed, snatching up a girl who couldn't be any more then ten. She had one second to scream for her mother before Spike bit into her neck. The mother, realizing her daughter was gone, whirled back to find her, and then Tormentor's axe swung down, cleaving her in half vertically. Roaring his joy, Tormentor swung his axe around over and over again, bathing the streets in blood. Spike finished with the girl and tossed her body aside, then grabbed another one and bit deeply.

Those who managed to get past the vampire and demon found themselves in no less trouble. One man who decided to try his luck and attack Alicia got a rude surprise as Alicia grabbed him in mid-blow and lifted him over her head with inhuman strength. The man gasped in surprise and then screamed as he burst into flames, burning to a blackened skeleton in seconds. Alexia dropped the skeleton and placed her arm back to her side, concentrating on feeding the flames back at the building and burning all the people who had managed to survive the crash to ashes.

Adam had the simular bored attitude around him, but he was far more aggressive with it. One man who ran by suddenly got a sharpened bone dagger right through his head so quickly his body kept running a few steps after Adam had withdrawn it. Another man, like the one who had died at Alicia's hands, tried a suicidal attack on Adam that was either driving by fear beyond belief or a kind of insightful acceptence. He had the same luck as Alicia's victim, as Adam intercepted him in mid-blow by pistoning his right hand out and punching right through the man's chest as if the rib cage were made of paper. The man gasped, and then emitted a terrible wet gurgle as Adam pulled his hand back out, yanking out the heart. As the body fell, Adam looked inquisitively at the heart as it managed to throb one last time before it finally realized it was dead.

"Interesting." Adam remarked, and grabbed another person who was running by to see if it happened again.

As the woman in Adam's grasp screamed, Vagane was busy with his own pleasures. A tube expanded from his hoverchair and fired out the blue beam that Trisha and Mr. Popo had gotten to know all too well. The burning energy coiled around some of the fleeing people and electrified them, their eyes exploding as all the liquid in their brain was suddenly superheated. Vagane pressed another button and the tube withdrew as another extended and fired, throwing a small round object into another crowd. The object hit the ground, and then suddenly shot straight up as it opened and fired off scores of short thin, razor sharp metal rods. More people screamed as the protectiles turned them into human pincushions.

Even so, there were some people who managed to get through the terrible five, but when they did they hit the rear guard of the dozens of Valkyries. And no one escaped them. They had been ordered to make sure that no one did, and thus anyone who did escape Vagane and co fell to their merciless hands and weapons.

And eventually there was no one left. Some had managed to flee down alleys or over the ruins of the buildings. A few had managed to even get a manhole cover off and retreat into the sewers, before Vagane had let loose with a blast that had cooked the two people who were fighting to go down next, effectively sealing that way off. Vagane looked around at his work and grinned.

"And they call themselves the omnipotent species…humanity must suffer from one mass delusion." Vagane said as his allies gathered and the Valkyries got to removing the piles of bodies that were in front of them.

"That was great, but this does present a problem." Spike said, indicating the burning building that blocked the road. Vagane smirked and motioned to his women. They quickly finished clearing away the bodies that might have provided a problem and headed quickly behind Vagane and co.

"Not for me." Vagane said, pressing a few more buttons. The cannon extended from the back of his wheelchair and fired at the building. As the wreckage was blown to bits, a storm of deadly sharpnal flew at the group. Spike's eyes went wide, but Vagane calmly pressed a button and suddenly the shrapnal bounced off an invisible bubble that had suddenly surrounded them. As Spike lowered his arms, Vagane pressed another button and the faint shimmering that gave any indication that the bubble was even there faded. Spike noticed that the other three hadn't even reacted to the shrapnal and tried to act like he hadn't either.

"Our way is clear." Vagane said, indicating as the smoke cleared that the wrecked building and the several surrounding it had been blown to pieces. Spike shook his head with a grinning smirk on his face in a "Can you believe this guy".

"Mate, I'm REALLY beginning to like you." Spike said. Then the sounds of destruction were suddenly joined by another sound, that of sirens.

"Ah, the boys in blue."

"I'm going with you." Videl said as Gohan fixed his new pair of sunglasses. He had decided to go in his identity of the Great Saiyaman. He was better known in that guise and he could help people better if they trusted him. Gohan looked at his wife and realized she was dressed in her Great Saiyaman II gear.

"Forget it Videl. You're going to Bulma's where it's safe."

"Bullshit. If she's back, NO WHERE is safe, and you know that as well as anyone, Gohan. You died at her hands. I didn't. I'm coming with you to help."

"But Videl…"

"Nothing you say will change my mind Gohan. I'm not losing you again. This time you might not be wished back."

Gohan sighed inwardly. He knew the argument was lost.

"Ok, you can go, but if I tell you to run, YOU RUN! Got it?"

"Don't fault me if I don't."

"I'm going too." Pan said, joining her mother and father. They looked at her as if she had just suggested she should get a job as a prostitute.

"No Pan. YOU are going to Bulma's and making sure everyone gets there."

"But Dad, I'm way stronger then Mom and…"

"And nothing, Pan! If Agony's returned, that must mean she remembers this world and what happened here. I don't think she'll be very happy if the lone girl who managed to hurt her for real decided to show up again!"

"And if it's not Agony?" Pan shot back.

"GO TO BULMA'S! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Gohan yelled, and Pan shrank back, surprised that her father had actually yelled at her.

"Ok." She said. Gohan's stern, angry face was replaced by a "thank you" smile, and he rubbed his daughter's head affectionatly.

"Good girl. Don't worry, we'll be fine." Gohan said, and with that he was gone with her mother. Pan watched them fly off into the horizon.

"But if I get half a chance, I'm going after you!"

"MORE BACKUP! MORE BACKUP!" the officer yelled into his radio. He had a second to realize that it was dead, and then he was as Spike yanked him up and drank him dry. Even if the radio had been working, his panic had made him forget that every single officer in Satan City was already at the scene.

If the Shawn Monster had caused a massacre, this was a genocide. Officers found the tactics they had been taught were utterly useless against individuals who could melt bullets in mid-air or act like they were't even there.

Having finally drunk himself to the point that Spike felt like he was going to have to start vomiting up blood to make more room, Spike relieved two dead officers of their guns and let loose into the crowd, most of whom were firing at Tormentor. Tormentor didn't even notice the bullets, as he switched from his terrible axe to twin machete-like swords that seemed to be permantedly bloodstained and laid into the officers, scattering body parts and organs across the street, even as the Valkyries burned down the surrouding buildings. Spike sighed, muttered something that was not nice, and turned around to face an officer who had just noticed him as well.

He was quick, but Spike was quicker, as he aimed his guns at the officer's feet and opened fire.

"Dance! Dance!" Spike laughed. Unfortunately his aim was terrible, and instead of hitting the ground in a way that forced the officer to move his feet crazily in order to avoid getting hit, the bullets instead tore up the officer's feet immediately, and he fell to the ground, screaming in pain, the gun falling from numb fingers.

"Aw man mate, your bloody dancing is terrible." Spike said, and aimed the guns at the officer's head. The policeman's eyes went wide, and then Spike squeezed both triggers.

Dry clicks came from both guns.

"Ah bloody hell!" Spike cursed. The officer looked relieved.

Then Spike simply dropped both guns and stole another from another dead officer. Before the injured officer could react Spike shot him dead.

Then he heard rapid-fire gunfire, and he whirled. Adam's arm had converted itself into a Gatling gun and was rapidly mowing down the remaining officers. Spike made a noise of irritation at this bit of one-upmanship and emptied his gun into the nearest target, wishing he knew how to reload a six-shooter as he hunted for another gun.

Some officers managed to take cover behind their cars and began to return fire. Vagane looked a tad annoyed. This was already taking longer then he liked, and he didn't want to use any Valkyries. They were too busy destroying everything else.

"Tormentor! Go…!" Vagane finally decided to suggest.

"No. Let me." Alicia suddenly said, as she raised her arms. Suddenly the officers had no more cover as their cars exploded as Alicia lit fires within the gas tanks. As their bodies flew, Alicia made more gestures and all the police cars went up in explosive flames. Adam smirked, marvelling at the destruction. Tormentor looked annoyed, or got as close as he could to looking annoyed, that he didn't have anyone left to kill. Spike had nearly been caught in the chain reaction explosion and was none too pleased as he rejoined his group. He gave a dirty look to Alicia, who returned cold eyes to him. Vagane looked at his watch.

"They're taking their time." Vagane remarked, as one Valkyrie used an ultra-sonic force wave weapon to violently shove the burning wrecked cars and bodies of officers out of the way. She quickly fell back behind her master, and the group continued onward onto an empty street.

It wasn't empty for long.

"There they are!" came a cry, and then there was a swelling noise of rage as a sudden huge group of people turned the corner and headed for the group. The group was a ragtag bunch of people, all shapes and sizes. A good many were armed, with various lengths of wood and metal being the most common, although there was more then a few actual weapons mixed in. The only thing that linked the group was their apparent desire to stop the maniacs who were destroying their city. Mob mentality and bravado at it's finest.

"God, are these people getting stupider or just more numerous?" Alicia said with disgust.

"You would think that seeing their law enforcement be destroyed would give them the message." Adam added.

"Humanity is stupid as well as pathetic, my friends. You all know that…and here's a prime example. I assume all it took for this mob to form was its assembly and someone with charisma and a death wish." Vagane remarked, looking at the mob as they advanced. Belinda broke away from her fellow Valkyries and humbly approached her master.

"Lord Vagane, shall we…?"

"No Belinda, hold off. I think I'll use my most recent weapon instead…I have wasted enough of my time as this pathetic people, but that won't stop me from cleansing them from this planet" Vagane smirked cruelly, and lifted his right hand and snapped his fingers once.

The ground in front of Vagane, and also in front of the mob suddenly began to shake violently. The mob stopped dead, their group bravado wavering at this new and unexpected development.

Then the ground exploded upward in a rain of concrete as Goku burst from underneath it, his battle aura now night-black and a wicked look dancing in his eyes. As he floated up into the air, his hands down at his side curled into fists, the nerve of the mob broke, and they began to flee.

"Kill them all, Goku!" Vagane ordered.

Goku raised his hands as they crackled with red ki.

"Your presense displeases Vagane, and it displeases me as well!" Goku roared, and then let loose with a blistering barrage of ki blasts into the fleeing group. The screams arose again as Goku blew the people to oblivion in an expanding series of explosions that consumed all the buildings in the several hundred feet around the people as well. Goku lowered his arms, a cruel smile on his face. The look he wore looked just like Vagane.

As the doctor raised his hands and applauded lightly, Goku looked down at his newly aquired lord.

"Do you wish anything else Master? I can easily wipe this city from the planet, and for you I will do it with a song in my heart." Goku said, speaking in a way he had never spoken more. His voice was laced with brutality and a cruel glee stemmed from destruction. Forget never speaking the way he spoke now. The old Goku COULDN'T have spoken that way.

"Ah Goku. You do me proud, but no. Do not do that yet. My main terget is finally approaching." Vagane said, as yet another panel opened on the arm rests of his hoverchair. A series of thin rods slid out that eventually formed into a small computer monitor that showed a screen that looked simular to radar. Vagane watched as two dots, one marked as special by his computer, approached Satan City.

"The first Omega Trigger approaches. Follow us Goku. We must prepare for them."

Gohan felt the sick feeling start in the pit of his stomach and travel up into his heart as he approached Satan City. He had seen the smoke from far away and had smelt the terrible scent of death and horror as he drew closer, but it took his eyes settling on the city itself for the feeling to finally bloom fully once again. The city named after his father-in-law was going up in flames.

Then he realized something. While it was in ruins, only a section of the metropolis was demolished. Agony had destroyed far more in the time she had. Then again, when she had arrived in Satan City for the first time she had possessed powers that were truly akin to godhood. If she had just arrived back…she was weaker. And possibly killable.

"Oh god Gohan." Videl said, his eyes wide and on the verge of tears as the screams wafted over to her. Her husband stopped above one section of the street, looking around in a way that suggested he couldn't decide what to do. It seemed every building was either collasping or being consumed by flames. People ran in terror or just wandered around dumbly, like zombies. And the worst part was the bodies. They were everywhere, strewn in crazy lines or stacked in in inadvertant piles. Gohan felt his gorge rise and shoved it down. The last thing he needed was to start throwing up. He had to be strong.

"Where is she?" Gohan said, his voice burning with anger. "We have to find her Videl. We can't do anything to help these people that she won't hesitate to do again!"

Gohan flew off to the side, scanning the ground. Eventually, he was able to discern a somewhat path of somewhat that ended in a huge crator. While his mind was already roiling with fear, anger, and grief for the terrible fate that had been visited apon Satan City once again, the back of it stirred in a new unease. The crator's source of creation looked rather…familiar.

Then his eyes laid on them. And what he saw was anything but familiar.

The group was situated at the center of a T-junctioned road, right at the place where the two roads intersected to form the letter shape, near where the crator was. Gohan blinked, looking at the group inquisitively. They seemed to be waiting.

"Gohan, have you…" Videl said as she flew up to him, and then fell into shocked silence as she saw the group too. Numbly, she reached up and removed her helmet to get a better look. Her eyes joined Gohan, but while she was looking at the group as a whole, Gohan's eyes were darting over all the women behind the five people situated at the front. Finally, he felt a pang of relief. She wasn't there.

But whoever these people were, they seemed to be linked to the destruction.

"OH GOD!" Videl said as her eyes lighted on Tormentor, his terrible visage enough to terrify her even from the distance he was at. "Gohan…"

"Relax Videl. She's not there. I don't know who these people are, or what they are, but I can handle them. Stay behind me." Gohan said, and slowly flew forward and down until he landed in front of the group. Tormentor's demonic countenance scared him as well, but he kept his fear hidden. He felt Videl land behind him as he removed his sunglasses, tucking them away.

"So…the Great Saiyaman arrives? We seemed to have picked a time when you were on a coffee break." The man in the hoverchair finally said, looking at the couple. Gohan gritted his teeth.

"Who are you? Why did you have to destroy this city?"

"Because it is right."

Gohan's eyes widened. What?

"Humanity is a weak, pathetic race. A human's life accomplishes only the destruction of itself, it's fellow man, and the other creatures, beings, life, that nature, that creation itself, made. Humans fall slave to their petty desires, their hates and fears and supposed "intelligence". They accomplish nothing but waste. They are a scorn to life, and they must be exterminated before they drag everything else down with them, the arrogant scum."

Gohan felt the fear start to slide back. The man who spoke sounded so sure of himself. He truly believes it. He thinks his judgement is total and absolute, with no error…it's like he thinks he's a blasted god.

"Who do you think you are?" Gohan said, his voice starting to rise. His eyes flashed green. The man was unimpressed.

"I am Dr. Thanatos Vagane."

The name burned right through Gohan's mind as a familiar face remerged, the face of a man who lived to sacrifice, a man who had almost been sacrificed himself on the alter of human evil. He could not believe that the man Erik had spoke of was standing before him.

Vagane was the most Corrupt soul there was…

Erik had been right. Vagane's mind was completely mad, caught up in delusions of thinking he had right to pass judgement.

But he was only a man. Gohan could handle that.

But almost as if Vagane had read his last thought, the doctor pressed a few buttons on one of his ever-present panels and his energy cannon slid out of the back of his chair. Gohan tensed and set a battle position, charging some ki to use for defense.

"And I am far more powerful then you think."

Then Vagane pressed another button, and the cannon swung away from Gohan to his right side, finally stopping at a 20-degree angle. Gohan's eyes followed the cannon until he saw where it had settled.

And gasped. His preoccupation with Vagane had kept him from noticing it until then, but he saw it now. Every building around them had been long abandoned, doors left wide open as people had fled the wrath of Vagane and his associates. But this building still had people. Gohan could sense their immensely faint kis. And there was a reason why people were still in the building. Every single window was boarded up with wood, the door barred with metal. Gohan's strong half saiya-jin hearing could even detect faint cries coming from within as the people tried to get out.

Gohan's eyes travelled up and down the short, red brick old-style building before his eyes finally settled on the semi-large stone plaque outside that told what it was.

SATAN CITY CHILDREN'S HOSPICE.

"Where the hell is he?" Bulma cursed, slamming down the phone. It was ironic that after all her efforts to contact everyone, the lone people who had managed to evade her were her husband and daughter. Vegeta had arrived back home, still annoyed over his pointless sidetrip to Ginger City, and had taken off with their daughter to continue their training. Bulma disliked it enough that her husband was teaching her daughter how to fight, and she disliked it even more when they took off into the middle of nowhere to do it. Combined with the fact that Pan had made a frantic call to her saying that there was trouble brewing and that everyone needed to be gathered, the fact that Vegeta had picked that exact time to vanish was causing her to do a lot of disliking.

And she'd run out of options. Trunks had not seen his father, although he had come running when his mother had requested him. Calls to everyone she knew that could have seen Vegeta had yielded nothing as well. Considering that via Tien's wanderings in the wild she had managed to even find Piccolo quickly (he'd picked up Piccolo on his way to Capsole Corp), the fact that Bulma couldn't even locate her own husband and daughter was a source of great irritation.

"Calm down mother." Trunks said, trying to soothe the angry woman. "I'm sure father will turn up soon."

"Yeah, he'll probably waltz in here any minute and demand for you to make him something to eat." Goten cracked, trying to relief the tense atmosphere that permuted the large room the Z Fighters had gathered in. It didn't work, and Goten lasped back into silence.

Pan stood off in a corner, looking over the room, trying to take her mind off her worries over her parents by taking some pride on how well she had managed to do her task. Virtually everyone was there. Goten, Trunks, Piccolo, Ubuu, Krillian, Eighteen, Tien, Yamcha and Chaozu were all there, as well as herself (obviously). Goten had even brought Marron along, mainly due to her insistance that she come along to help, and Goten wasn't going to waste time argueing with her. Marron had done some training with her parents and her husband, so she wouldn't be dead weight, but Pan was sure that didn't keep her uncle's mind from worrying. Love did that to you.

"Where are they?" Pan asked, heading over to the computer console that allowed Gohan to contact Bulma via his watch. Bulma could see the worry in the child's eyes.

"I'm sure he's fine, Pan. He'll probably call in any second and say it was just a terrorist attack or something." Bulma lied. She knew it wasn't something so simple. Nothing in her life ever was.

"No…don't…"Gohan begged as he realized Vagane was aiming his cannon right at the comfort home. "I'll surrender…just don't do it…"

Vagane snorted in disgust.

"Pathetic. Your human side overwhelms your superior saiya-jin side. Instead of using your stength to destroy me, you offer yourself as a sacrifice. You're as weak as the humans you foolishly protect, Gohan. It sickens me."

Despite his fear for the children, Gohan could feel the anger burning down inside him. Not only was Vagane threatening helpless children, children, Gohan was sure, that he had insured were helpless (he doubted the boards and metal blocking all the exits from the building had appeared out of thin air), but he was mocking Gohan for trying to protect them. The rage began to build.

"It sickens you? THERE ARE CHILDREN IN THERE!" Gohan suddenly yelled, his ki rising suddenly.

Vagane smiled.

"I know."

And then he pressed the button. Gohan's eyes snapped wide open.

"NO!" Gohan screamed as the black beam blasted outward at the building.

But he was too late to do anything.

There was a faint but audible combined scream as the beam hit the building, and then it collasped in a hail of wreckage. All Gohan could do was watch as the building fell, snuffing out the lives within.

Gohan blinked, tears springing briefly to his eyes, and then he turned back to Vagane. Behind him, Videl was making strange noises that resulted in a combination of shock and grief at the murders of the people within the hospice, but Gohan paid it no mind. His attention was focussed solely on Vagane. He ignored his wife, ignored the various strange figures around Vagane who had stood and watched all this silently, ignored all the women gathered behind Vagane, all holding the weapons they had used to destroy Satan City, looking only at the man in the wheelchair, who looked back at him, a smile of evil glee on his face.

"Why…"Gohan hissed in pure rage, as his ki continued to build.

"Why? It is the right thing, Gohan. Humanity, as pathetic as it is, is also immensely arrogant. It thinks that it can tame nature, take the rules of survival and warp them to do their bidding. They are idiotic fools, and yet they think they can do this. We both know what a hospice is, Gohan. It's a place where people, in this case children, with uncurable and fatal conditions, go to die peacefully. Survival, the rules of life, say that those who are too weak, too ill, too crippled to live are to die, and to die as soon as possible, and be eaten by the strong. The weak are not supposed to live on and waste creation's resources with their pointless existence. But humanity is arrogant enough to try and defy life. To defy the way things are supposed to be. That building defies the way things are supposed to be. Humanity does not deserve to survive, but the children in that building…they deserved life even less. It is what is right."

That was it, Gohan could no longer turn away the flow of rage as it exploded through him, shooting straight to the core of his being as his hair began to rise up and his eyes began to flash green.

"MONSTER! WHAT RIGHT HAVE YOU TO DECIDE WHO LIVES OR DIES!?!?!?!?!?" Gohan roared, the ground around him beginning to crack as the earth rumbled under his power.

Vagane only returned a gaze of emotionless righteousness.

"What right have you to tell me that I can't?"

The words sank into Gohan, and then he lost it. He screamed as he went SSJ2 and leapt at Vagane, planning to put his fist right through Vagane's chest and tear his evil black heart out and burn it to ash. At least this evil would die.

Then a black blur suddenly leapt from the building above Vagane and streaked downward, and Gohan found himself intercepted in mid-blow with one of the hardest punches he had ever felt. Gohan's quest toward Vagane ended as he flew backwards at an upward angle, accompanied by his wife's scream of horror. He smashed into an office building, and as glass from broken windows rained down around him, Gohan shook his head while trying to clear the cobwebs. As his turban fell off his head and was blown away by the wind, his eyes quested, looking for what had hit him.

He wished he hadn't when he did, when he saw the familiar figure floating above Vagane. And while he wore the orange gi that he always seemed to be wearing and his black hair was spiked in the same usual style, his face was not the same. Gohan yanked himself from the twisted steel that had crumbled around him and flew slowly back, trying to believe it.

"Fa…father?"

"Gohan." Goku said with a cruel smile. The lone word slapped Gohan across the face. The voice that had come up was not his father's voice. Even when his father spoke in a deadly serious tone, there always always a trace of the father that was always smiling, clueless and supposedly stupid. That trace wasn't there anymore. All that was left was a voice that was edged with evil, violence, and cruel glee.

"Father…why…why?"

Vagane smirked his own cruel grin.

"Goku, do you have any qualms on destroying your own child, the fruit of your loins?" Vagane asked. Gohan's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"If it pleases you master…I will do it with relish." Goku said. Gohan began to shake as uncontrollable emotion that could not be named began to flow through him. If anything, it was a combination of grief and disbelief.

And then the unknown emotion was blown away by a physical feeling, that of pain, as Goku suddenly blasted forward and punched his son in the face again. Gohan felt pain blossum and burn across his face as his right cheekbone was cracked. Videl screamed again. For the past minutes she too had been frozen with disbelief, first unable to believe that Vagane had destroyed the hospice with such lack of caring, and then that her father-in-law was actually against them. It was virtually unconceivable. Son Goku was a kind, gentle, caring man who loved his family more then anything, except for fighting.

That man was gone, and as Gohan spun around in mid-air, clutching his wounded cheek as he floated in mid-air and listened as his father chuckled cruelly, you could see that he was beginning to realize that as well. All that was left was a new being that had no love of anything, except one thing: destruction.

Gohan turned slightly, and then suddenly Goku blasted forward again and unleashed a furious barrage of attacks. Gohan threw himself into his best defensive formation, but even that barely withstood the sheer force of the assault that his father was unleashing apon him. In his heart, Gohan knew why. Who knew how Gohan fought better then his father? He had taught him a good deal of it.

"Videl, RUN!" Gohan screamed as he tried to fend Goku off.

"But Gohan…!"

"RUN! TELL-ARGH!" Gohan screamed as Goku slipped inside his guard and blasted him with a cracking uppercut that rang around the streets like a blast of thunder. Gohan flew into the air and then Goku dematerlized and reappeared above his son, bringing up his foot and slamming it down into the centre of Gohan's back. Blood vomited from Gohan's mouth as he smashed back into the ground, his impact blowing away the ground to form a small crator.

As Vagane and his allies raised their hands and applauded with mock politeness, Videl realized that she had no choice. She had to flee, and bring back help. It wasn't Agony, but it was just as bad. She whirled around.

And then all her air went out of her in a gasp of pain as Adam slammed a fist right into the centre of her solar plexus. Videl had one short moment to realize she should have noticed the huge hybrid had suddenly been missing from Vagane's side, and then she was swallowed by the darkness.

"Pathetic. I'm beginning to notice that truly is a quality you humans all share." Adam said, as he caught Videl's falling unconscious form and slung it over his shoulder. As he began to calmly walk to Vagane, Gohan managed to pull himself to his knees, his hands out in a pleading gesture.

"Videl…!" he said. Then he heard the noise of his father landing, and he turned around to face him as Adam returned to Vagane's side, handing Videl off to the Valkyries.

"You were right mate, I sure as hell couldn't hang with these sods, but watching this guy beat the holy hell out of them is almost as good." Spike smirked. Vagane did not answer, as he watched Goku with admiration.

"Father…"Gohan said, looking up into his father's dark face and now-cruel eyes. "This isn't you! A madman has taken control of you! You're stronger then that! I'm your son! Please, for the love that we share, snap out of it!"

The darkness in Goku's face suddenly faded a bit, and Gohan felt a surge of hope as confusion suddenly bloomed in Goku's eyes.

"Gohan…for the love that we share…"Goku began, as he slowly looked over to Vagane.

Then his head snapped back, as the darkness flowed back into his face and the evil reappeared in his eyes, spreading to his smile and then manifesting itself around the saiya-jin as a black battle aura exploded around him, sending a storm of pebbles and shards of rock flying around.

"…I will WEEP ON YOUR GRAVE!"

As Goku brought his hands forward, Gohan screamed, a scream of despair and fear.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

The message suddenly exploded out of the computer, almost causing Bulma to fall out of her chair. Scrambling to her feet, Bulma tried to open up the return mike as the Z Warriors, drawn by the noise, began to gather around the woman.

"Gohan?" Bulma asked.

"Father!" Pan said. The scrambled message that had come through had not sounded good.

"…ot her! Help! Monster! Has con…AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And then the mike went dead. Bulma frantically pressed at buttons to try and get something, anything more from Gohan. But it was useless. Whatever had happened to Gohan, it had rendered the radio in his watch useless.

"Guys, I…"

And then she heard the breaking noise and looked up as Pan vanished out of the hole in the roof she had made. For a moment, everyone stared after her.

Then Goten took charge.

"Everyone after her! She's not going to Satan City alone!"

And then Bulma was pushed back as half a dozen battle aura flared to life around the various fighters and they all took off after Pan, Goten and Marron leading the charge. Within seconds, Bulma was alone. Slowly, she righted her chair and sat back down in it, turning around to her main computer. It would take a little programming skill, but she could quickly set it so she could follow the battle, as best she could, from afar.

"Oh guys…I hope…please be alright, all of you…Vegeta, dammit, where are you?"

The moonlight suddenly washed around the female as she leapt twenty feet up into the air with seemingly no effort and perched herself on the huge rock that was jutting upward out of the earth, placed there eons ago by natural forces. Her eyes, a lovely shimmering green, blinked as she saw the large clouds of smoke rising from the city off in the distance.

"There."

The female leapt off the rock and the moonlight shone off her daggers one last time before she sprinted off, the shadows swallowing her once again.

It did not take the group long to arrive at Satan City, and it took even less time to find and follow the path of destruction. But there they hit a brick wall, as it ended at a T-shaped junction, and there seemed to be nobody there. There were clear signs of a battle, as illustrated by the wrecked buildings and various patches of shattered concrete. But there wasn't a single soul around to claim responsablity.

"What happened here?" Goten said, as he landed with his wife. Behind him, the other Z fighters landed, all of them looking around. Pan landed next to him.

"Where's my dad? Where's my dad?" Pan said, the panic rising with each repatition.

"Something's wrong here. Very wrong." Piccolo said. His voice was calm, but his soul was turbulant. There was a tangible sense of evil in the air, so strong he could almost taste it. And it tasted bitter.

"Tien…" Chaozu said, as he clutched the pant leg of his friend. "I can sense it too…" The short fighter said before trailing off, not wanting to say audibly that he was scared. But Tien picked it up anyway, and he rubbed his friend's head in an attempt to assure him.

"Don't worry. No matter what, I'll be by your side. That's what friends are for."

"Guys, I dunno about you, but I think we missed the show…" Trunks began to say.

Then the laugh suddenly came out of nowhere. It was quiet at first, but it eventually swelled into a roarious tirade.

Then the air shimmered in front of the Z Fighters, and suddenly the group reappeared, fronted by Vagane as he continued to laugh. The Z Fighters stared at him even as they all assumed battle positions.

Then Krillian glanced up and saw it.

"Oh…my…kami…"

His words attracted the attention of all the warriors, as they looked at him and then looked up to see what he had seen.

The shock went through all of them as they saw Goku floating there, holding a green, lifeless figure over his shoulder. As all of them finally settled their gaze on him, he laughed and tossed the bundle down towards them like a bag of garbage. It hit the ground in front of Goten and Pan, bounced once, turning over in the process, and then lay still.

"DADDY!" Pan screamed, running to the battered and broken body of her father.

"Bro!" Goten said, running to Pan's side.

"Daddy…daddy…daddy…" Pan said over and over, rocking back and forth slightly, as Goten checked his brother. He felt a slight surge of relief.

"He's alive…but barely…god, we need to get him help…"

"I think you will be the ones who need help." Vagane chuckled. Goten's eyes were drawn away from the terrible injuries of his brother back to the man in front of him. His eyes went from him to his father.

"No…not possible…dad…oh dad…why?"

"Not grandpa."

Goten looked at his niece.

"What, Pan?"

"I didn't tell you…I think because I didn't believe it…that it was all a bad dream…but that's not grandfather. Not anymore. Something evil has seized control of him."

Goten looked back up at his father, who floated there, his arms crossed and a bored look in his eyes, and then looked back apon Vagane as the anger began to seethe in him.

"You did this." He hissed.

"Oh, how brillant of you. Humanity is redeemed by your genius observation." Vagane said mockingly, his cruel smile back on his face. As if they were linked, Goku smiled cruelly as well.

Then Goten felt a sudden and dramatic rise in Pan's ki, and as he looked at her a blue battle aura exploded around her as she set her legs and continued to power up, her fists cletched so tightly her nails bit into the tough leather of her gloves.

"You hurt my daddy…you…you…I'LL KILL YOU!" Pan screamed, and suddenly launched into the air and flew right at her grandfather, putting all of her power into a pistoning punch that she slammed right between Goku's eyes.

Goku didn't move an inch. Pan drew back, horrified both at her failure and at the rage that had caused her to attack her grandfather, and Goku smirked.

"Was that supposed to hurt?"

And then Pan gasped as Goku suddenly slashed his foot out and slammed it right into her gut, doubling her over. But as she began to crumble, Goku reached out and grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her up. As the Z Warriors watched in horror, Goku smashed his fist across Pan's face, blood spraying from her as he did so, before he brought his hand backward and did it again. Then he slammed a knee into her stomach, and as Pan let loose with a small cry of pain, Goku reared her above his head and hurled her sideways into a skyscaper. She crashed through it, and then Goku thrust out his hands and sent several ki blasts into it, collasping it onto his granddaughter.

"Pathetic." Goku remarked, and floated down slowly until he was closer to Vagane but still some distance away from him. The Z Warriors continued to stare in stunned silence, not believing that it was Goku that was opposing them, much less what he had done to Pan.

Krillian was the first to find his voice.

"Goku…why?"

"Sensei…why?" Ubuu echoed.

"Son…" Piccolo said, unable to belief how merciless and cruel Goku had been in his disposal of Pan.

"Father…"Goten said, and his voice held the most horror.

Vagane laughed again.

"Son Goku no longer exists. All that is left is the mightiest saiya-jin that ever lived, and he lives for one reason: to serve me. Goku?"

"Yes master?" Goku replied.

"Destroy them all."

"Yes………YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Goku roared as he thrust his arms down. The Z Fighters felt a surge in ki so strong it nearly fried their minds as black and red lightning began to dance on Goku's body and build in intensity until they wrapped around him in a red-black energy ball. Then the ball exploded outward, and everyone gasped as Goku was revealed again, the red fur, tail, and long black hair flowing around him in the magnificence of the SSJ4 state.

"For so many years I have been saving your weak, incompetent lives, all of you relying on me, sacrificing me, so that you could live. I grow tired of it. LET'S SEE JUST HOW STRONG YOU ARE WITHOUT ME!" Goku bellowed.

And then he blasted towards the Z Warriors at top speed. Even with their far beyond human reflexes, most of them couldn't do anything as he plowed through them and sent them flying.

"Marron, hide-UGH!" Goten gasped as his father smashed into him, sending him flying backwards and imbedding him into a brick wall. Marron gasped and started to protest, but then she looked at SSJ4 Goku's mad eyes, she realized her husband was right, this was way out of her league. As she fled into a nearby alley, Goku turned those mad eyes on Yamcha. Yamcha blinked.

Yamcha lasted less then a second as Goku uppercutted him in mid-blink and then used his other hand to deliver a cracking jab, sending the former desert bandit flying. He bounced off the wreckage of the hospice, causing him to go angled into the air before he crashed through the twelth story windows of an office building and flew out the other side. As his unconscious body made a one way trip back into the ground, Goku was already whirling to the attack again, leaping forward and slamming his heel into Tien's face, before twirling his body in mid-air and slashing his other leg up so the sole of his boot slammed across Tien's face. All three of Tien's eyes managed to cross as her flew sideways and crahsed into the lobby of another building, not moving when he finally lay still.

"Tien!" Chaozu cried, looking as his friend flew off and then back to SSJ4 Goku as the mad saiya-jin's eyes settled on him. He clenched his fists. He may be a million times stronger then me, but I will at least TRY!

And with that, the mime-like warrior leapt forward.

Laughing, Goku caught Chaozu with one hand, lifted him up so he was face to face with him, and brought his hand up and drew back his finger, smacking Chaozu with a flick to the forehead. But it was enough to send Chaozu flying back with a cry of pain, before he crashed into the same lobby Tien had gone into and slumped, unconscious as well, next to his fallen friend.

The fact that Goku had mercilessly taken down three of their numbers in as many seconds made Piccolo able to snap out of it much quicker then the other Z Fighters. He had called Son Goku a friend, but he had also once called him an enemy, and as he snapped back to the latter style of thinking. He had to, for the sake of himself, his other friends, and the world.

His mind sent, Piccolo brought his fore and middle fingers up next to his forehead as energy crackled to life on them.

"MAKKANKOSAPPO!" Piccolo screamed, and aimed his fingers at Goku's red-furred back, hoping for Goku's sake it would be quick and with little pain.

But as the screw-shaped beam fired, Goku turned around with a cruel smirk on his face and brought up his hand. As the blast flew at him, Goku reached out…

…and CAUGHT IT. Piccolo's jaw dropped as Goku somehow grabbed his attack like it was a length of pipe that Piccolo had thrown at him. Goku lifted up his hand and looked at the Makkankosappo blast as it burned in his hand.

"You call this an attack?" Goku asked mockingly.

And then he threw the attack back at Piccolo, and Piccolo screamed as it burned through the metal plating in his cloak and tore through his shoulder, before it exploded outward through the back of it and drilled through the building behind Piccolo before the Makkankosappo detonated, blowing it up. As Piccolo fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder, Goku suddenly blurred into existence in front of him.

"That's payback for the TB." Goku smirked, and snapped his foot up in a snap kick, slamming it into Piccolo's chest and driving all the air out of him in a gasp. As Piccolo reared up and fell on his back, trying to clear the stars in his vision and block out the pain, Goku was turning around again, his eyes settling on Krillian. Krillian saw him at the same time, and his eyes filled with fear.

"Goku, NO! I'm your best friend! We grew up-"

"Forget it Krillian, Goku's gone. We can't show him any mercy." Eighteen said as she leapt past her husband. Krillian made his decision. He didn't want to fight his friend, but evidence was clearly weighing against the fact that the saiya-jin that stood before him was the same man. And he wasn't going to let his wife and daughter get hurt.

So Krillian leapt at Goku as well, drawing level with Eighteen and joining her as they both unleashed a furious barrage of blows at the same time. But they couldn't hit anything, as Goku blurred away from every punch and kick they threw. This futile dance continued back and forth across the street.

"This grows boring." Goku sighed.

Then he suddenly thrust both his fists out, driving them into Krillian and Eighteen on each side of him. As both of them doubled over, gasping in pain, and blood pouring from Krillian's mouth, Goku leapt up and snapped both his legs up in a full mid-air split kick, the toes of his boots slamming into both of the couple. Eighteen flew backwards through another building and came to rest on the wreckage that had buried Pan. Krillian flew upward at an angle, and then Goku zapped up above him. As Krillian flew up, Goku flew down, driving his knee into Krillian's back and using it to shove Krillian all the way back down into the street. The concrete shattered as Goku drove Krillian into it, and then Goku used the momentum to bounce off and flip in mid-air, landing almost delicately in the middle of the street. Vagane clapped politely again. Tormentor, Adam, and Alicia looked rather bored, both the hyrbid and demon looking like they'd like a piece of the action. Spike, on the other hand, was getting more and more into it with every Z Warrior Goku brutally dispatched.

Goku didn't have time to respond to the applause, as he sudenly leapt upward into the air. A second later the ground where he had been standing exploded, and as Goku looked down with a little surprise, Ubuu lowered his arms as he clenched his fists.

"Forgive me teacher." The mohawked teenager said, and then blasted into the air at his former sensei, both fists out.

Goku took the hit right in the chest, but he didn't even notice. Ubuu gasped, and Goku smirked.

"They say there is no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher. Clearly that is wrong." Goku said, and slashed his fist out, splitting Ubuu's lip with a cracking jab. As Ubuu began to flip backwards in the air, Goku whirled and slammed a reverse heel hook kick against Ubuu's back, sending his former student crashing back into the ground face-first. Ubuu's body spasmed, and then he tried to get to his feet as he vomited up blood.

Goku zapped back to the ground and began running towards Ubuu. But there were two warriors between him and Ubuu, Piccolo and Krillian. Both were also trying to get to their feet.

In the narrow street, they never had a chance. As Goku ran at Piccolo, he thrust his arm out in a cracking clothesline, knocking Piccolo off his feet and finally knocking the Namek out of it. As Krillian, with far more pain, also tried to regain his feet, Goku leapt and spun in mid-air, catching Krillian in the face with a leaping reverse roundhouse. Krillian spun around in the air six times before he crashed back to earth, his human body far too damaged to continue. With Krillian down, that only left Ubuu, and as Goku charged at the warrior he charged a black ki ball on his hand. As Ubuu finally made it to his hands and knee, Goku reared back his leg and brought his foot up into Ubuu's chest, sending him into the air with a scream. As Ubuu flew up above him, Goku thrust his hand up and threw the black ki blast into Ubuu's torso, and Ubuu's scream continued as the ki blast carried him upward to the level to the tops of the skyscraper before it exploded. A second later Ubuu's limp smoking body crashed back to earth at Goku's feet. Goku snorted in disgust.

"Get him!"

Goku turned around as his son and Trunks, their bodies crackling with golden energy as they both went SSJ2 and leapt at Goku. Goku suddenly found himself on the defensive as the twin hybrids unleashed an onslaught of blows that made Krillian and Eighteen's seem like nothing. A windstorm whipped up as the three dueled, lashing the combatants and Vagane and his fellow observers. However, as Goku, Goten, and Trunks fought into the air, it was clear that Goten and Trunks's advantage was vanishing by the second, as Goku was blocking nearly all of their blows, and the ones that landed didn't seem to be doing anything.

"Goten, this isn't working! We need to break off and AHHHHHH!" Trunks screamed as Goku blurred aside and then slammed his elbow into Trunks's forehead, sending the son of Vegeta spiralling backwards. Goten flew back before his father could get his hands on him, regrouping with his staggering friend.

"You're right, we have no choice!" Goten said as he set his body in a certain position. "Let's do it Trunks. FUUUUU-"

"I DON'T THINK SO!" Goku yelled, as he zapped forward. Trunks tried to snap out of the Fusion position to defend himself, but it was too late, as Goku's fist smashed into his face, breaking his nose and sending him flying backwards into the night sky. Goten's eyes filled with fear.

"Father, NO!"

Then Goku's fist smashed across Goten's face, knocking him groggy, and then in a furious combination of punches and kicks, Goku pummeled his younger son into a bloody mess. As Goten's body finally slumped, Goku spun in a counterclockwise circle and smashed his foot into Goten's back, sending him crashing back into the ground, just a few feet away from his battered brother.

"GOTEN!" Marron screamed, her love overriding her reason as she came out of hiding and knelt by her husband's body.

"Oh kami…where did he keep his emergency senzu bean…I knew he had one…please…kami?" Marron said as a shadow fell over her. As she turned to look, a fist struck her between the eyes, and all thoughts faded from her mind as she was knocked out.

"Stupid bitch." Spike said, hoisting Marron up on his shoulder and carrying her back to the Valkyries. Vagane smiled.

"We have the Omega Triggers. Excellent. Now we just have to wait for Goku to finish off that last insect." Vagane said, as Marron's unconscious form was placed by Videl's, even as up in the air, Trunks was recovering from Goku's attack and trying to take on the SSJ4 by himself.

He may as well have tried to find the bunyip, as all his efforts were stopped cold as Goku pistoned out his hand and drove it into his throat, cutting off his air and nearly destroying his windpipe. As Trunks agonized, Goku spun, smashing Trunks across the face with a mid-air reverse hook kick and roundhouse. Trunks reeled, and then Goku wrapped his hands around Trunks's throat and began to squeeze.

"I always save my best for last." Goku smirked, as he began to crush Trunks's throat. As the darkness began closing in, Trunks's thoughts began to blur. How ironic…our demise comes from the one who always saved us from it…

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY SON!"

The blast took Goku in the forehead, and he flew backwards, releasing his grip on Trunks. Trunks had enough energy and sense left to be grateful, and then he hit the ground and lay there.

Goku shook his head, the attack having been more annoying then painful, and looked at the building where the voice had come, knowing what he would see.

Vegeta stood there, his hair resplendid in gold that seemed to light the night sky as brightly as the sun itself. He smirked with one corner of his mouth. Behind him, Bra stood at the ready behind her father, dressed in a simular outfit like the black bodysuit he wore.

"Kakarott." Vegeta said.

"My prince." Goku replied with heavy sarcasm.

"So, at last you think like a true saiya-jin. I have been waiting for this day. Now I can finally and truthfully claim my destined supremacy over you!" Vegeta said, as he set his arms and legs.

"But father…" Bra said.

"Stay out of this sweetie. This is between eternal rivals. Rivals who can finally war as saiya-jins were meant to war!" Vegeta yelled, and then screamed as red lightning crackled to life on his body and wrapped around him. When it was done, Vegeta also stood proudly as a SSJ4.

"Um mate…that guy can go all furry and apey as well, this could be a problem…" Spike said to Vagane as they watched the new development.

"Have no fear Spike. Vegeta is going to get a nasty surprise."

Vegeta screamed and blasted forward at Goku, and the two began to battle, the forces coming off of them so strong all the buildings that were still standing roofs began to crumble, including the one that Bra was standing on. She cursed and threw up a ki shield as Goku finally got a hit in, driving his foot into Vegeta's stomach. Vegeta's face contorted in pain, but he countered with a fierce punch that sent Goku flying backward. As he crashed through the windows of the top floors of the building Vagane and co were standing in front of, Vegeta growled in a way that eventually became a roar as he let loose with a barrage of gold energy blasts. The top of the building vanished in explosions, and the building began to collaspe. Vagane activated his shields as debris began to rain down on the group, the glass and rock bouncing off the invisible force field. Vegeta continued his onslaught until the building was swaying on its foundation, then he drew his hands back as twin gold ki balls enveloped them.

"Here's a new attack I've been developing just for you, Kakarott! NEO FINAL FLASH!" Vegeta bellowed, and thrust his hands forward as gigantic gold twin beams exploded from each hand, all four twisting and combining into one mega-blast that struck the top of the building. The building collasped like it was made of matchsticks, as the force wave caused all the surrounding building to collaspe in the same way. Vagane and his allies were forced to move forward to avoid the building even as smoke billowed down and enveloped them.

Vegeta smirked. It was done. There was utterly no way…

Then his jaw dropped as the smoke cleared to reveal Goku floating there, not a hair out of place. Vegeta's jaw dropped so much it looked like it was going to hit the ground.

"No…how…how…our powers as SSJ4 are virtually equal! I used everything I had on that! You should be dead!" Vegeta gasped.

"Did you think it would be that easy, Vegeta?" came a voice from the ground, and Vegeta glanced down as the smoke cleared to see Vagane there.

"As you might have guessed, Goku is no longer the same man. Now he obeys me, and thinks like I do! And that way of thinking is far different then his old ways. Now, he truly taps his power as a saiya-jin. The old Son Goku always held back. His ideals always crippled him, no matter the situation. How could he avoid it? He was raised as a human! But now, he truly thinks like a saiya-jin, a pure one, one like you used to be before the human species corrupted and weakened you! Now he commands the power of saiya-jin royalty! You can't hope to defeat him! Goku, I tire of this! DESTROY HIM!"

"NO! I WILL DESTROY HIM FIRST!" Vegeta screamed as he leapt forward, driving his mightest punch into the center of Goku's face. Goku's head snapped backwards as his body began to twist from the impact, and Vegeta felt a surge of glee within him. He lies! I can defeat him!

Then Goku's body suddenly blurred away. Vegeta's eyes filled with confusion.

Then he felt Goku blur into existence behind him. He tried to turn.

The kick that Goku lanced into Vegeta's chest was so fierce that the impact practically bulged out of Vegeta's back. Vegeta gasped as blood welled up and spilled out out of his mouth, and then Goku slammed his fist across Vegeta's face, breaking the saiya-jin's nose with a twisting snap. Goku brought his other fist into Vegeta's gut, drove a knee into his chest, and then whirled as he brought both his legs up, slamming both feet across Vegeta's face. As stars exploded in Vegeta's vision, he began to fall, only to have Goku reach out and grab him by the fur on his chest. Raising Vegeta up so they were face to face, Goku smirked with one corner of his mouth like Vegeta used to do, and as Vegeta's eyes filled with shock and horror, Goku brought up his other hand as it glowed with blue ki.

"Goodbye, "my prince"." Goku said, as thrust his hand backwards. "KAMEHAMEHA!"

The one-handed blast enveloped Vegeta at point-blank range, sending Vegeta, screaming all the way, down into the ground, before he struck the concrete and the blast detonated. Satan City shook as a mushroom cloud rose up from where Vegeta had been. Goku laughed.

"I was always the true saiya-jin elite Vegeta. Maybe now you will accept that you will never be stronger then me." Goku said, as he looked down at Vegeta's battered body spawled at the bottom of the huge crator. Vegeta opened his eyes slightly, back to normal, and groaned as he tried to pull himself to his feet.

Vagane clapped.

"Well done Goku…"

"BASTARD!"

The female voice attracted both Vagane and Goku's attention, and as they looked, Bra rose into the air. She had stood by and watched them beat and humilate her father, the father she had never been so close to in her life. And she had never been so angry as well.

"YOU…HURT…MY FATHER!" Bra screamed, as her purple hair flared up and blasted into a golden hair style that she had never worn in her life as she went SSJ for the first time. "I'LL BEAT YOU MYSELF!"

Bra, golden battle aura shining around her, blasted at Goku, planning to rip him to shreds.

And ran right into Goku's knee as he thrust it out. Bra gasped, and then her charge, her desire, and everything else was knocked as dead as her senses as Goku slammed his elbow down on the top of her head. As she slumped, Goku grabbed her body.

"No!" Vegeta tried to scream as he got a surge of adrenaline. He got to his feet and managed to pull himself out of the crator as Goku watched. Goku smiled evily.

"I can't count the times you tried to kill my son, Vegeta. Call this payback." Goku smirked, and then thrust his hands up, holding Bra above his head, planning to bring her back right down onto his knee.

Then Trunks's arm snaked around Goku's throat as he locked on a chokehold from behind.

"I won't let you hurt my sister!" he growled, squeezing for all he was worth. Goku staggered slightly, then smirked.

"Well, if it displeases you so much, I'll do the same to you!"

And then he threw Bra's limp body into the air, and at the same time he snapped his leg up, the limb going up so high he managed to kick Trunks behind him. Trunks's grip was broken as he reeled backward, and then Goku whirled around and blasted the hyrbid with two cracking punches, knocking him out again. Goku grabbed Trunks's body before it could fall, and then reached up and caught Bra's body.

"Hey Vegeta, CATCH!"

And then Goku hurled Bra and Trunks down into their father, who was knocked back into the crator, tumbling to the bottom with his son and daughter as all three came to a rest at the bottom. Goku laughed and began to power up.

"It's time I finished this! KA-ME-HA…"

"Wait Goku! That's enough!"

Goku looked down at his master.

"Enough, my lord?'

"Yes. You have wasted time and energy enough on these pitiful fools. It will be far more saitisfying to let them live, broken and humilated, knowing they stand not a chance against you. Instead, I have a new task for you. Wipe this city from the face of the earth!"

"I will do it master!" Goku said, as he turned and faced a section of Satan City. Laughing, he completed his power up.

"CHOU KAMEHAMEHA!" Goku screamed, throwing the huge blue ki blast. The blast struck the middle of the city and a massive explosion consumed it, burning all the buildings and everything else to ash. Laughing, Goku spun around slowly as he let loose with hundreds of ki blasts from his hands. The beams spiralled off in different directions and laid waste to the city. Goku laughed again, his joy mirrored in Vagane as Satan City went up in flames. Millions still resided in it, unable to escape in time, and they were consumed by the flames as well in a cataphony of screams.

Vagane smiled at the destruction.

"Come my friends. We have…"

"No…"

Vagane and everyone else's eyes were drawn to the noise, as Gohan began to stir. Despite his terrible injuries, the hybrid began to crawl towards Vagane, the broken and defeated bodies of his friends and allies strewn around him.

"Won't…let you…take Videl…"Gohan whispered pitifully. Vagane sighed.

"Such heroic nonsense. Tormentor, please take care of him."

"Yesssss…."Tormentor said with glee as he unsheathed his axe, striding over to Gohan. Gohan watched as his shadow fell over him. He couldn't do anything.

"Don't worry about dying, child. You'll live on, in eternal torment, as a part of me!" Tormentor growled gleefully, and slowly raised his axe.

"Videl…I'm sorry…"Gohan sobbed as tears sprung to his eyes. Not because he was going to die, but because he had failed his wife.

Tormentor's axe slashed down.

"CHAOS FLARE!"

And then Tormentor screamed as the black fireball suddenly slashed through him, cutting off his hand at the wrist. As his terrible axe fell to the ground, narrowly missing Gohan, he roared and clutched the stump as black blood oozed into the ground.

"IMPOSSIBLE! NO BLADE CAN CUT MY SKIN!" Tormentor roared in pain and anger. Everyone else was as surprised as the demonic malevolence, and their eyes all followed the black fireball as it whirled around and headed back where it came from. As they followed the fireball, they saw it.

The figure stood on the top of one of the buildings that was somehow still standing, perched on its edge with perfect balance. As the fireball spun back to it, it turned back into a long dagger that flew into a small hand.

Everyone stared, unable to believe it. Spike, dumbfounded, was the first to speak.

"A GIRL?"

The woman looked down on the group, murder in her eyes. She looked simular to Valkyries in build, with a very slim and alluring figure that was also very well muscled and looked to be in phenominal shape. However, this girl did not have the short cut the Valkyries had. Instead, her raven-black locks tumbled down past her shoulders, nearly reaching past her hips and down to her feet. She had a face that looked very delicate and fragile, as well as a dark lovliness around her. She was a beautiful woman.

But her face's looks was ruined somewhat by the anger that was in it, especially in her eyes, a brilliant green. She raised her other hand, revealing that she had the twin of the dagger that had somehow managed to cut off Tormentor's hand.

Vagane blinked.

"Well, well, well. The Failure actually did decide to bring help. I thought for sure he would cut her out, but it appears I was wrong."

"Who is that?" Adam asked quietly. Gohan managed to crane his head for one look at the mysterious woman, and then he passed out again. Vagane smirked.

"I failed to mention her, didn't I?" Vagane said, as the woman leapt off the roof and landed on the street, the impact causing her to fall to her knees. Gracefully, she raised herself up and once again faced Vagane and co.

"This is the one the Failure took under his wing some time ago. My allies, meet Celeste Pearl. I believe she calls herself Retribution."

"You have no right to speak my name." The newly named Celeste said. She had a melodic voice, but it was laced with anger and hatred.

"And I thought the Failure wouldn't bring help. I guess he decided that you had to die too."

"Monster. I won't be the one dying." Celeste hissed. She had been holding her weapons so the hilts faced out, the blades curled inward towards her, but she she spoke she flipped them over so the blades faced outward. Tormentor, his axe once again on his back, rejoined Vagane, holding his tore off hand in his other hand. The pain in his face was gone, replaced totally by anger.

"How did her knives cut off my hand? No metal can pierce my skin!"

"Not to worry Tormentor, I can easily reattach it. But those daggers aren't any normal daggers, Tormentor. Those are the Ruined Soul Blades. They're not forged from metal, they're forged from rage. This girl before us uses manifestation of her pathetic emotions to fight, for lack of true power."

"You will see just how much power I possess, Vagane. Erik told me all about you, what you did to him. And after seeing the crimes you have done, the atrocities you have comitted, I loathe you as much as he does."

"Oh, the Failure opened up to you. How touching." Vagane mocked. There was a slight gust of wind as Goku lowered himself until he was floating slightly above Vagane.

"Master…"

"Be silent for now, Goku. I can handle this."

"So this is the Failure's ally. Strange, from what you told me, he did not seem like the person who would make friends." Alicia said, looking coldy at Celeste. Celeste paid her no mind, her eyes fixed on Vagane.

"The Failure and her have a bond. And apparently it is far stronger then I thought, seeing how she is so willing to destroy herself for him."

"Oh, so they're…"Spike said, and made an obscene motion.

That almost lost him a finger, as Celeste whipped out her hand and the dagger flew out. Spike yelled as the dagger sliced across his knuckle, and as blood began to bloom from the small cut the dagger spun around and flew back into Celeste's hand.

"You bitch…" Spike hissed.

"Oh, very very impressive." Vagane said with heavy sarcasm, clapping mockingly. "But if you haven't noticed, Celeste…"

"My name is Retribution." Celeste hissed, and suddenly black energy began to crackle on her hands.

"Yes, whatever. You support the Failure, but you seem to have inherited his foolishness from all the times you've run and killed beside him. If you haven't noticed, you are outpowered, outclassed, and above all else, outnumbered." Vagane chuckled, as he moved his arms slightly to indicate the four people and non-people on each side of him and the large group of Valkyries behind him, all of whom looked ready to rip the women who stood before their lord to shreds the instant he gave the appropriate order. "You have no chance of beating us."

"Then how about we even the odds up a little?"

The new voice caused Vagane's head to turn to turn to the side as he saw the group of eleven other people at the end of another street to the right of him and his allies. This time, Vagane looked like he was starting to get angry.

"Legacy!" he hissed, looking at the group. With the attention of Vagane's group turned away from her, Celeste bounded over to the group Vagane had called the Legacy, stopping slightly in front and off to the side of it. It was a lonely image, but Celeste seemed quite comfortable with it.

"That's our name. Don't wear it out." The man who had spoken before said. He stood at the very front of the group, leaning on a large sheathed sword. He had long hair, although not as long as Celeste, and it was a tad curly, although the dark blonde locks still spilled down on his shoulders in a straight pattern. The man had blue eyes and boyish, yet chiselled-looking facile features. He was tall and muscular, wearing a turquise-blue full body singlet that was covered by a white-blue breastplate that had very large shoulders that was more the armour then the man's body size. He wore gauntlets and shin/knee guards of the same material, and attached to the back of his armour was a long blue cloak that swirled around him.

"Great. More introductions, and I have such problems with names." Spike said, looking at the group. There were slightly more females then males, of various ages although most of them appeared to be in their mid to late twenties. The blonde man at the front was not the only one wearing armour, others were wearing various portions of it as well, including on who seemed to be covered head to toe in it, although ironically his head was the only part not covered with metal. However, there was one member of the group who was at the other end of the extreme, as one of the girls was wearing so little she looked like she had taken a string bikini and tried to make it even smaller. Her severe lack of clothing was ruined by her serious look. Indeed, all the warriors looked serious, most of all the blonde man at the forefront, who continued to lean on his sword.

"I thought, Vagane, that the Failure was a loner and would not enlist aid." Adam said, looking calmly at the group of warriors. He was beginning to think that, indeed, Vagane was not as clever as he thought.

"He didn't have to enlist aid. He's our friend, and our ally. When we learned of what you showed him, you fool, we insisted on coming. It was hard to believe it as first, the whole story he told us about other worlds and warriors far mightier then us, but we're here now. And I would say that is a problem, for you." The blonde man said. The other people with him made noises of agreement, although Celeste stayed silent

Vagane's eyes searched the group, and he finally noticed something as his faint anger over the error of his calculations faded.

"The Failure is not with you. Strange. I am his enemy, not yours, and yet when you arrive he is not here?"

"He had to deal with something. He'll be along soon. And any enemy of his is an enemy of ours. I think his birthday is coming up soon, although I'm not sure. I can't think of a better present of giving you to him, you murderer." Said one of the females in the group, the one closest to the blonde leader. She also had blonde hair, although it was much lighter then the man's, and longer, down to the middle of her back. Her figure was like Celeste's, abet with somewhat less muscle, but still strong looking. She wore a full body outfit that was completely white, including the boots she wore and the fingerless gloves that her outfit trailed into. Her features seemed almost angelic, as if the earth had blessed a human with the beauty of a supposed angel. Instead of a sword, she held a staff weapon that was bladed at both ends, a small pointed blade at one end and a far larger and more stylized blade on the other end, the end that was pointing upward. Vagane stared at her. She seemed somewhat familiar to him.

"Mate, I asked a question. Who are these people?" Spike said. Vagane glanced over to the vampire.

"They call themselves the Legacy. They're the group that the Failure belongs to, the group that are the heroes of their world like the warriors Goku defeated are the heroes of theirs. That man at the front is their leader…the one who defeated the god Xaxargas, although I can't imagine how…his name is Ash Merseric. Or shall I say, Bloodfire."

"I prefer the latter from the likes of you. Preferably spoken in fear." The newly named Ash said. Vagane smirked.

"You won't be getting it. Nor will your wife. I believe it is Christine?" Vagane said. Christine glared back to Vagane, and he smirked inwardly. He knew why he recognized Christine now. If only she knew.

"I know, Vagane."

Vagane jerked his head to the side.

"I know now. You stole a great deal from me, and from my brother, but we both know now. He knows I live, how you used me against him, before I became a problem. I suppose you thought you had it buried deep enough in his head. Not deep enough to reach."

Vagane cursed inwardly, both at the fact his long ago crafted ruse had fallen apart and also the fact he had forgotten that one of Christine's talents was the ability to read minds.

"Impossible. There is no way the Failure could have remembered that you really lived! He thought he whole family was dead! I hammered that into him to the point where he dedicated his whole life to avenging them! How could he possibly recall it?"

"I'm getting tired of being in the dark here, although it's where I prefer to be. What is "it"?" Spike said.

"I'm Erik's little sister. I know that now." Christine said. "And I delight in knowing that you now know it, Vagane. It means you know that he has a reason to go on. You tried your hardest to make sure he lost that part of himself. You failed."

Vagane gritted his teeth.

"Well, I do know you are one thing, Christine! DEAD!" Vagane yelled, as he slammed his hand down on the button that activated his main cannon. It slid out of back of his hoverchair, armed, and fired, the black beam streaking directly at the group.

Then there was a blur of movement, accompanied by a metallic noise, and then suddenly the beam changed direction, flying off into the sky and into space. Vagane looked after it, and then back at Ash, who now stood with his sheath in one hand and his sword out and pointed into the air. The blade was also a strange blue tint, and the hilt and handle seemed to be composed of the finest crystal. Ash lowered the blade and dropped the sheath, keeping the four-foot blade at the ready.

"Care to try that again, Vagane? I do so love batting practice." Ash said in a mocking tone.

Vagane took a deep breath. Adam was looking at him with distaste, and Alicia was looking doubtful as well. He had to take control of the situation again.

"Master…" came Goku's voice, and he looked up to the still SSJ4.

"Let me deal with them, Master. I outpower them all put together by a long shot. Destroying them will be even easier then the others." Goku said. Vagane looked back down at the Legacy, then smirked.

"No Goku. You have done enough for now. Conserve your power. These fools are not worthy to fight you. They're not worthy to battle any of us."

"I beg to differ Vagane. I don't think you have any choice." Ash replied.

"I'll second that motion." Christine added. "You hurt my brother worst of all, but you hurt me as well."

"You hurt Erik. That's enough for me." Celeste added, having kept silent for the whole time. She closed the distance to the Legacy, taking a place by Ash's side, her daggers glinting in the failing moonlight. Vagane smirked.

"Oh, one for all and all for one. You warriors are all the same. I wish you would come up with something original." Vagane said, as a keyboard extended out of the side of his wheelchair and he began to tap at it. Adam glanced over, even as Goku landed next to Vagane and took a place of submission slightly behind him, his head bowed.

"What are you doing, Vagane?"

"They're not worthy to fight us, but I am a generous man. I will provide them with suitable entertainment." Vagane said, as he completed his instructions and activated them.

Then there was a sudden crackling noise that accompanied a series of bright bursts of light, each of which was accompanied by a figure appearing in front of Vagane.

The first figure to appear was an elderly lady that could have been anyone's grandmother. She was even wearing a porkpie hat and carrying a small purse. She had appeared to have been going for a walk before she had appeared before the Legacy.

The second person who appeared was a football player who appeared to have been zapped right off the playing field. The large man dropped the pigskin as he tried to get his helmet off and look around to figure out what was going on.

The third person who appeared was a portly man who was wearing a dress outfit of black pants, blue shirt, and bridged hat. The bag full of paper he was carrying appearntly signaled he was a mailman.

The forth and final figure who appeared wore a smudged and dirty boiler suit, and the empty metal trash can he was carrying immediately signalled him as a sanitation worker of some sort.

"What the hell did you do, mate? How the hell are these idiots gonna help us?" Spike asked, as Ash looked back and forth from the people to Vagane as another panel snapped open at Vagane's hand.

"I reprogrammed my MRR to randomly select and teleport four people from around the planet before us, and as for how they're gonna help us…" Vagane replied, as a vial of what appeared to cow urine slid into his hand.

Ash realized what was going on at the same second that Vagane threw the vial.

"DON'T!"

Too late, as the vial spiralled through the air and shattered on the ground in between the four people. A thin cloud of what appeared to be yellow smoke wafted up from the ground around the people.

As Vagane began to laugh, Ash motioned furiously at the people, whose confusion at what had happened to them was increased even more as the smoke wafted up higher. Trying to cover his mouth at the same time, Ash inhaled for a loud scream.

"DON'T BREATHE IN THE-!"

Too late.

The elderly lady would have been better off if she had turned around and seen some of the creatures behind her. A heart attack would have surely resulted, quick and merciful. Instead, her being the shortest, the smoke reached her first.

The pain was instant, as the senior citizen crumbled to her knees and began to scream as she held her upper chest. The same reaction hit the other three as well almost immediately. As the people agonized, Ash's eyes filled with rage.

"MONSTER!" Ash screamed, as the four men and women in front of him continued to cry out in terrible torment. Vagane just laughed again.

"The virus can only survive in the air for a few seconds, but that was long enough for it to get it into their systems. I'll leave you with these gifts, Legacy, I have what I need already! Maybe if you survive, you will be worthy enough to be destroyed by me and my allies!" Vagane said with a smirk, and then pressed another button. There was a brillant flash of light that engulfed Vagane, his allies, Goku, the Valkyries, and Videl and Marron's limp forms, and then they were gone, teleported away.

"SHIT!" Ash cursed, as the people before him began to mutate. The old lady screamed as a section of her body from her mouth all the way down to her groin suddenly tore away in a terrible huge wedge and filled with sharp teeth to form a disgusting new huge mouth, even as claws spouted on her fingertips. The football player screamed as well as he suddenly bent down so he was lying on his hands and feet. Then his hands suddenly twisted around 180 degrees even as they widened and sprouted black claws. The player's cleats then tore open as his feet formed into simular appendages. His head seemed to shrink into his chest, and then a twin pair of bulbuous objects sprouted on his shoulders and split open to reveal a pair of new eyes. But the worst was yet to come as the back of his outfit suddenly tore off as the back of football player opened from his rear to what had been his neck to reveal a large mouth filled with teeth and a barbed tongue. Once it had held muscle and the spinal cord, but Vagane's virus had completely warped the man's body into the terrible shape it now was in.

"Oh…dear…god…" one of the women of the Legacy said, her hand clamped over her mouth, although whether it was from shock or to keep from vomiting was uncertain. Ash looked in in simular horror.

The mailman screamed and clutched his gut and then it suddenly split open in a terrible new mouth. The mailman's hat fell off and was blown away by the wind as his head also suddenly shrunk into his chest as the front of his shirt tore completely off as a new pair of eyes opened on the man's chest, as his hands also sprouted black claws. The garbageman's hands suddenly yanked the can up, garbage flying out, before his hands seemingly forced the can over his head. The garbageman tore at the can, muffled screams coming from within, and then the botton lip of the can suddenly sank through the cloth of his outfit and attached to his body. The struggles faded as metal suddenly sprouted on the man's arms, bursting out of the top part of his hands like some kind of out of control nails. The can warped and then suddenly began mallable as a mouth suddenly opened in it, along with twin slits that held totally black eyes, without pupils of any kind.

And like that, it was gone. The screams faded as the new creatures, born of the humans Vagane had teleported to serve his purpose, looked at the Legacy.

"The master commands their death! We must destroy them!" said the former garbageman, his voice now a horrible metallic shriek. Ash had drawn backwards into his group, and now he turned to one of the members. She looked older then the others, in her mid-forties or so. She wore a long white robe of multiple layers that completely covered her body, and her closely done up black hair was streaked with grey like Vagane. There were a few wrinkles around her eyes as well.

"Mother." Ash said, indicating off to the side, where the Z Warriors still lay. "I think those are the people Erik spoke off. They look like they've been badly hurt. Go and try to help them. We'll keep those monsters busy."

"Be careful Diana." Said one of the males, who also happened to be the only male who also looked considerably older then the other males. He had reddish hair, although it appeared he was starting to lose it. It ended in a closely tied ponytail. He wore armour simular to Ash, and indeed, he looked a good deal like Ash as well, abet older. His sword was even longer then Ash's though, and had a strangely designed handle that looked like it would be somewhat hard to grip if the person didn't know what they were doing.

"I always am, Rod." Diana replied curtly, and headed off to the closest Z Warrior as Ash and Rod, along with the other Legacy members, looked back at the monsters, which were starting to advance on them.

"Ok everyone. Split up, no more then three to a head. Just remember these people aren't people anymore. Now they only live to destroy us. We don't have a choice but to do the same. I've got the garbageman." Ash said, and broke from his group.

"I'm with you, Ash." Christine said, as the leader of the Legacy broke from the group, followed by his wife. As if by a secret signal, the group split up, each one heading for a certain monster.

The battle had begun.

What had once been an elderly lady hissed as the scantily clad woman approached her. She had long hair as well, about the same length of Christine's, and it was a fiery red colour. Her hair matched her outfit, what little of it there was, along with the short cloak she wore that looked like a kind of small cape. Even her boots, while they did not expose her feet, looked to be of the high-heeled domanitrix kind. Her eyes were a reddish brown colour, framing a face with cheekbones and a nose that looked like they had been sculpted from stone. She usually also wore a very seductive smile, although she did not wear one now. While also in the great shape that all the members of the Legacy shared, she was the most "well-endowed", although not to a point where it would look like she would have severe back problems in later life.

"In my day, proper ladies never dressed like that." The old woman creature hissed, the whole part of her body that had become her gaping mouth moving up and down in a repulsive way as she spoke.

"I never said I was a lady." The girl replied, looking about as dangerous as a bowl of ice cream, as she had no apparent weapons

"And disrespectful too. I guess I will have to teach you some manners!" the former elderly lady shrieked, and charged at the woman, claws extended to rip and tear.

Then the woman suddenly leapt into into the air as she reached behind her, and then there was a cracking noise and a shriek of pain as something suddenly lashed across what had been the old woman's forehead, drawing a line of blood. The woman completed her flipping move as the old lady managed to stop her charge and turn around.

"Sorry. I'm a bad student." Said the woman, as her hands coiled slinkily around a long barbed whip as she tied it up by her side. That done, she reached behind her, and there was a sound of metal unsheathing as she withdrew twin long, thin swords with fiery red hilts. "But I can tell you what I am. I'm ON FIRE!"

With that, the woman in red suddenly drew back her sword.

"RAPID HELL!" she yelled, as she slashed her sword along the ground, and suddenly fire exploded into existence and burned across the ground in a straight line at the old woman monster.

The monster wasn't stupid though, and immediately leapt out of the way, directly at the woman. She gasped.

And then hands suddenly extended out of her shadow and grabbed her, and then suddenly the woman was literally yanked into the ground where the shadows fell, vanishing without a trace as the old lady creature crashed down where she had been. Her mutated eyes looked around in confusion.

"Hey, grandma! Over here!"

The creature turned to see the woman some feet away, but she wasn't alone. The man beside her wore all black from his neck to his feet, but you could barely see the outfit because of all the daggers he had strapped around it. There were everywhere, on his shoulders, chest, legs, and elsewhere as well. He looked to be slightly older then the woman, and had dark hair that was shorter then Ash's, although he was also on the verge of a ponytail. His hand gestured and suddenly three daggers seemingly sprouted out of it as the woman looked at him.

"Thanks Brigh. I thought with her once being an old woman and all, she would lack agility."

"Not a problem, Chastity." The newly named Brigh said.

"Chastity? That harlot is named Chasity?" the old woman monster hissed in amazement, and the newly named Chastity turned her fiery eyes on her.

"That was my birth given name. However, I am far more like my self given name. You may call me Jalapeno."

"And we have a name for you too. RECENTLY DECEASED!" Brigh said as he thrust his hand holding the three daggers back. "KNIFE POINT!"

The three daggers flew from Brigh's hand and slashed through the old woman like they had a life of their own. The old woman wailed as the wounds on her jaw, shoulder, and leg began to bleed, before she roared and leapt at the group.

"Shit! I didn't hit anything vital!" Brigh yelled as he and Chasity leapt aside as the old woman charged into their midst. Brigh tried to pull out more daggers, but the old woman backhanded him and he flew into a wall, crashing there in a daze. Chastity brought up her twin katana-like swords to parry the monster's slashing blow and parried a few more as she danced around. The awkward shape of her boots not affecting her movement at all, Jalapeno unleashed her own attack, her blades drawing blood twice before her luck ran out and her constant movement caused her to trip. As she sprawled on the ground, the old woman shrieked and brought her clawed hand down.

And then screamed as a blade flashed out and cut it off. Staggering backwards, she wailed and looked at the man who had saved Chasity. He was the one who wore the most complete set of armour, although how he moved around in it was an apparent mystery. His hair was also reddish, but it was rusty red rather then a fiery red like Chastity's. In his hand he held a massive broadsword, which was about as long as Ash's sword but much thicker and apparently much heavier, as the man needed both his hands to wield it. Putting his sword down, the man offered a hand to Chastity. She accepted and he pulled her up.

"Tis not nice to strike a lady when she is down." The man said to the creature with an accent. It was hard to place, but it sounded how like someone might have spoken in medival England.

"Tell me about it William. I was there." Chastity said, as she retrived her twin swords. Bright had gotten to his feet, and he joined the two to make it a triad.

"I'd hardly think this is fair, three young ones ganging up on an old woman." The creature hissed. The fact that the monster tried to utalize what it had once been as a psychological weapon was deeply disturbing. But it was not effective.

"Life's not fair" Chastity shot back, and then the creature leapt at them again.

The man who stood to face the beast that had once been the football player was somewhat more imposing then Chastity, in the fact that it was the man who Diana had called Rod, and the fact that he immediately unsheathed his weapon to reveal a sword that had to be at least five feet long. Despite the look that the handle would be hard to hold, Rod held the massive weapon in the loose grip of a master.

"You don't look like much." Said the football creature, and the way what had been a man's back moved up and down to speak sickened Rod. But it didn't weaken him.

"Well, I may not look like much, but I am ugly, and…no no, uh, you may be ugly, but I am Winston Churchill, and…BAH! Forget it, I'll let my son do the clever insults, let's just fight!" Rod say, raising his huge sword.

The monster charged at Rod, and Rod did likewise, bringing his huge blade back and up before slashing it out. The monster leapt to the side even as Rod did his own dodge after he swung. The two stopped and turned around, each having failed to hit the other.

"Grrrr! I'll rip your head from your-GRRUHHHHH?" The former football player said in confusion. The confusion was caused when a woman had leapt onto his "back", which was now the top part of his mouth. This woman, although she appeared physically to be as old as the others, had a look about her that made her appear to be much younger. She had an air of mischief around her, from her braided black hair to her twinkling brown eyes to her purple full body suit. The woman, having successfully leapt onto the creature, got as firm a grip as she could.

"Gruh? I guess that's your way of saying, RIDE 'EM LUNA!" The newly named Luna crowed.

The monster was not amused, as it immediately began to thrash and jump about like a wild bull, trying to get the girl off. But Luna's grip was strong, and while she nearly fell off a few times, she managed to stay on top of the creature.

"Maybe I lost something in the translation?" Luna asked with a mock concerned air, as the creature gave up thrashing and began charging into walls to try and get the woman off. All it did was hurt the creature, as Luna wrapped her gloved hands in between a gap of the creature's teeth and held on.

"Hey, this is actually kinda fun! Do you mind? I've always wanted to yell this. YE-HAH!" Luna crowed. Shaking had not worked, and banging had not worked, so the creature tried abruptly jerking his body in different directions. This was met with somewhat greater success, as Luna's body slid forward so she was suddenly dangling face-first in front of the creature's open mouth.

"UGH! If you're going to fight this close to heroes in the future, may I suggest a breath mint?"

The creature, and then suddenly its barbed tongue lashed out of its mouth. Luna made a noise of surpirse and jerked her head up as the bladed organ barely missed her. Before she lost her balance, Luna shoved herself off the back of the creature and rolled away as the tongue came down barb-first on the concrete, shattering it. But as she was getting to her feet, the monster leapt at her, opening its huge mouth to bite her in half. Rod had stood by all this time, waiting for a good time to strike, but now he realized he might have waited a little too much and he leapt forward himself, hoping he could intercept the creature before it got Luna.

"El Viento!"

The creature's trip was interrupted by a sudden huge gust of wind, concentrated onto a single spot to the point that it felt like a punch, slammed into the side of the creature, and it was thrown aside. Rod stopped his leap with some surprise, looking in the direction of the attack. Scrambling to its four new legs, the football creature also did so.

Like Diana, she wore multi-layered robes, but while Diana's were white and simple, this new woman's were black and stylized with various arcane symbols. The staff she carried was also not made of wood, but metal, with many of the same patterns raced onto it. A hood, thrown back, rested at the top of her outfit, to reveal her long black hair, abet not as dark as Celeste's. She also looked to be slightly older, in her early thirties, and it gave a mature beauty.

"Hey Angie! Thanks for the save!" Luna said as she got to her feet.

"Any time Lindsay. Any time." Angie replied, refering to Luna by her actual name. Lindsay shrugged it off as she snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the large pads on her shoulders that had appeared to be some kind of armoured shoulder guard slid down her forearms. As they slid, they split and shaped into metal claws that finally came to a stop on the top of Lindsay's hands. As the young woman slipped her hands into the grips, she looked back at Rod.

"Hey Rod, thanks for the help, but hold off for another second. I want another crack at this guy!"

The young man stood to confront the mailman creature, his hands in the pockets of his leather trenchcoat. While all the other male members of the Legacy wore outfits and/or armour that suggested some kind of futeristic medival look, this man's look was more of a relaxed and "cool" style, with some punk mixed in. He wore black jeans, black shoes, and a white shirt. His hair was cut short to his head, although the end trailed off into a slight ponytail. Like most of the members of the Legacy, he had black hair, which was the same colour of the sunglasses he peeked over to look at the monster.

"A mailman. Considering the image of your profession, how fitting I fight you."

The creature roared at the leather-jacketed man, drool flying from the mouth that had once been a man's gut. The saliva hit the ground and began to hiss, suggesting there was more to it then met the eye. The leather-jacketed man was unimpressed.

"Oh really? Well my name is Paul. They call me Wyred. Nice to meet you." Paul said sarcastically, as if the creature's roar had been some kind of a greeting. The thing that had once been a mailman seemed to understand that it had been insulted, as it roared again and charged at Paul.

"Ohh, scary." Paul said in mock fear, as he pushed the sunglasses back up over his eyes and reached behind him.

And pulled out a gun unlike any that seemed to exist. It looked mostly like a cross between a shotgun, an assault rifle, and something out of the film Aliens, but there were several strange extensions and attachments to it that made it look even more bizzare. It was about four feet long and jet-black, and the barrel almost seemed to smoke in anticipation as Paul yanked on something that appeared to be something that would trigger the opening round into the barrel and aimed it at the creature.

"Scarier." Paul said, and fired. But the creature saw it coming and leapt aside, leaving the round to shoot up a small patch on concrete. It didn't have any time to enjoy its successful dodge, however, as Paul made a noise of irritation, switched his grip style even as he yanked on another small extension, and re-aimed. The creature growled, but it ran anyway as Paul opened fire with a storm of bullets.

BRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKA…

Despite the pudgy nature that the body had come in, the mailman monster proved to be surprising fast, as Paul's bullets traced a path around the road as the creature ran away. Paul seemed unconcerned, keeping the gun steady and his gaze level.

"Oh give me a home, where the firepower roams, and the deer and the antelope all get blown to hamburger!" Paul sang softly, as his gun continued to blaze.

BRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKABRACKACLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK.

The creature stopped at the clicking noise, as Paul's eyes widened, and he glanced down.

"Damn, I've got to get bigger clips!" Paul cursed, as he lowered his gun and tried to switch to another store of ammo. Seizing it's oppourtunity, the mailman beast roared again and leapt at Paul, it's cruel claws extending at the young man as he looked up in fear, even as he furiously tried to reload.

"HIYA!" screamed a female voice, and then a red armoured boot came crashing into the chest of the mailman beast, knocking it backwards several feet into a wall. Paul smiled as the woman whow as attached to the foot rolled into a sommersault from her jump and leapt to her feet, her short brown hair swirling around her head.

"You have to invest in something other then a gun, Paul." She quipped, cracking her knuckles.

"Shut up Victoria." Paul shot back, as he finally got his gun reloaded. The creature by now had regained its bearings, and it roared at the female who was dressed all in red.

Victoria just roared back, abet in a far more mocking tone, and the same shoulder pads Lindsay wore slid down her forearms and formed into claws on her hands as well. And while Victoria's claws were somewhat more stylized, they were no less lethal, as she ran at the monster and unleashed several slashing swipes as she got close. The monster proved itself a worthy foe at it dodged them all, but it didn't dodge the spinning hook kick that Victoria comboed into a claw swipe. As it staggered, Victoria tried another thrusting claw stab, but the creature recovered more quickly and dodged out of the way. As Victoria stumbled by, the creature slashed out its arm and tore four bloody swipes across Victoria's non-armoured back. While the creature's inability to get a good grip with its weapons made the wound superficial, it still hurt like hell.

"ARGH! You bastard!" Victoria yelled as she spun around, clucthing her bleeding back. Then she snapped her head backward as the creature swiped at her again, the claws coming within millimeters of her throat. The creature reared back for another strike on the female, but it didn't get the chance at its foot suddenly exploded. Wailing from the pain, it turned its eyes back on Paul, who stood holding his gun out with one hand.

"Forget about me, asshole?" Paul smirked. The creature turned its full attention on the man, but it doing so it made the mistake of forgetting about Victoria, who took her hand away from her wound and brought it together with her other hand so her claws intersected.

"IRON BUTTERFLY!" Victoria yelled as electricity crackled on her claws before she thrust her hands away from each other and an electric bolt flew from them, slamming into the side of the monster and shoving it back into the wall in a crumbling of bricks and a stink of burning flesh.

"Hey, no fair! I wanted the kill!" Paul complained as he walked up to Victoria.

Then the fallen bricks flew upward as the creature exploded out from under them, hurt but not down.

"You may yet get your chance, Paul."

Ash cocked his head, looking at the garbageman monster with some amusement mixed into his façade. Despite its certainly lethal nature, the monster, with the way the virus had somehow incorperated the garbage can into the flesh and made it the head, also looked rather ludicrous. If he didn't know the creature could rip him limb from limb, he would have laughed.

"Are you ready, sweetie?" Ash said to Christine, who stood beside him as she always did. Christine only response was to bring her blade staff up into a battle position. Ash glanced around at his allies as they fought their own battles, and back at his mother, who was tending to a figure dressed in black and green. Saitified that his friends and family were safe, Ash turned his eyes back the garbageman monster and raised his sword.

"Huh. I can see why master Vagane would not want to fight you, you weaklings. But for him, I will take out the trash!" the garbageman monster rasped.

Ugghh! That was terrible!

"Uhhh?" the garbageman creature said. Neither the man or woman had spoken, but he had distinctively heard himself be insulted.

Yoo hoo! Down here moron!

This time, the garbageman creature followed the sound…and found himself looking at the sword the man held in his hand.

"The hell…that sword can talk?"

Yeah, and I pun a lot better then you too!

"Be quiet Soulfire." Ash muttered. "Less talk, more killing."

Then as if they were one, Ash and Christine leapt to the attack. The garbageman creature snarled and took on both of them at once, using the makeshift metal blades sticking out of his hands to defend and attack as Ash and Christine dueled with him. This went on for a bit, before Ash signaled to his wife.

Christine stuck her staff into the ground and swung her body around, slamming her foot into the creature's side, and as it staggered, Ash went for a head slash. However, the blow was off and it glanced off the creature's now-metal head. The failure of the blow threw Ash off his game, and he was knocked aside by a scything right slash that he parried at the last minute.

ARGGGHHH! Ash, you IDDIIOOTTT! I told you not to use that part of me to block anymore!

As Christine swung back to her feet and yanked her staff from the ground, the creature swung at her, and she thrust the staff up to block. However, the blow was more of a push then a slice, and as a result Christine fell backwards onto her rear. The creature, showing no mercy, immediately slashed down again before Christine could regain her bearings.

And then he yelled as his blade came down on twin intersected daggers as Celeste came out of nowhere and blocked the blow, before she shoved her daggers upwards to push the monster away. It yelled and slashed at her, but she ducked and slashed her right hand out, slicing a long gash across the monster's outer thigh that immediately began to leak black blood into the ground. Christine regained her feet as Celeste backed away.

"Thanks." Christine said, although she was somewhat surprised that Celeste, who was not a member of the Legacy and barely knew any of them, save for Erik, had been the one to save her.

Celeste was silent, instead flipping her dagger over and sliding it into the sheath she had attached to her inner forearm in one smooth motion as her fist crackled with black energy.

"Raven's Beak!" she yelled and opened her hand as a black energy projectile blossumed and exploded from her palm, directly at the creature's head. But the monster saw it coming, and rising his right arm he intercepted the beam with the blade on his hand. The beam bounced off, reflecting back at Celeste, and she squawked and dove aside as it narrowly missed her and flew across the street, striking an overturned car and blowing it to pieces.

"You missed." The creature mocked.

Then the Soulfire slashed down, and the creature screamed as the blade attached to its right hand was sliced clean off, dropping onto the ground.

Too bad for you I didn't!

"You'll pay for that!' the creature roared, turning back to Ash. Ash parried the remaining bladed hand and hoped his friends were doing well.

Brigh cursed as the old lady moved aside as the two daggers he had thrown missed her. However, his failure became an oppourtunity for others as William and Chasity pounced on the monster with a combined sword attack. The creature moved aside to get away from William's overhead horizontal slice and instead got slashed by Chastity's left hand blade across the face. Shrieking, the woman slashed at Chastity with her remaining hand, but William shoved her aside and took the blow instead. The claws made a horrible noise as they tore across his armour, but besides a long scratch he took no damage. Brigh used this oppourtunity to whip off another dagger, and he struck pay dirt as it lanced into the creature's back, drawing another wail. Maddened by pain, the old lady furious attacked William, trying to bite him with her horribly distended and mutated jaw, but William danced backward away from her bites.

Or at least he did until he slipped on a pebble. Armoured metal boots were not the best thing to wear for dodging blows. William fell, and as he tried to get his sword up to protect himself with, the old lady monster raised her remaining hand for a lethal blow.

Then Chastity's whip lashed around it and yanked it aside. The creature was forcibly spun around to the scantily clad female as she uncoiled the whip and caused its length to lash back to her. Chastity smirked and opened her mouth to say something else, but whatever witty or sacrastic comment she was about to make was cut off as the old lady creature suddenly inhaled deeply.

Then she made a noise like she was trying to pass a huge hairball and then a huge glob of some kind of clear thick fluid flew out of her mouth. Chastity gasped as the gunk enveloped her and pinned her against the wall, the disgusting paste-like substance covering the entire top part of her.

"Chastity!" Brigh screamed, and ran as the female began to struggle furiously as the guck kept her from breathing. Brigh snapped out two daggers and began cutting at the guck around Chastity's head furiously, trying to ignore the creature as it approached and began to inhale again.

"Not today, foul creature! I am thine opponent now!" William yelled, and as the creature turned to the charging warrior, the knight brought up his blade.

"PURPLE SUNSET!" William yelled as purple energy engulfed his blade. As the old lady tried to defend herself, William suddenly swung his blade low and slashed, slicing the burning sword right through the lady's right kneecap, severing the limb. As blood spurted and the creature howled, William turned around with his blade aloft, ready to strike again.

But the creature had not yet adapted to the recent loss of its leg, and as it continued to howl, Brigh finally cut enough of the slime away from Chastity's face so that she could spit out a hunk of it and take great gasping breaths. Then her eyes, visible through the goo, snapped open and it began to bubble. As Brigh backed away it began to smoke, and then it burst into flames and burnt away, revealing a very angry Chastity.

"Ok bitch, time to see just how well I can cook!" Chasity hissed, and brought her hands together as a ball of flame appeared between her palms and turned a glowing blue colour.

"HEAVENLY DYNAMITE!" Chastity screamed, and hurled the flame bomb at the former old woman. The creature howled once more as its skin began to blister, and then the fireball struck it. There was a horrid sizzling sound as fire lanced through the creature's body, and then it collasped, roasted to a crisp.

Chastity made a noise of saitisfaction and retrived her swords, and then she winked.

"Hey, if you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen."

Angie was beginning to regret picking the football creature. She was not the physical sort like Rod or Lindsay, and while they were holding their own against the monster, she had been forced to run every time the creature turned its attention on her.

However, her teammates weren't stupid, and eventually they had picked up on that fact and were now protecting her. As they sliced and clawed at the creature, trying to get through the tough hide they had found it possessed, Angie jammed her staff down and began waving her hands around it, calling apon her power.

"By the will…of…"Angie said, before she went off into a string of nonsense that only she understood. She closed her eyes, and then snapped them open again as she thrust her hands up palm first.

"Eight-Coil Serpent!"

Tongues of blue energy materilized around her, and as they floated around her body, she pointed at the creature and they lanced at it. Lindsay and Rod leapt out of the way as the beams struck the monster, and it wailed as it was tossed backwards by the energy.

"I've weakened its skin, guys! You should be able to cut it now!" Angie yelled.

"Much abliged, Angelina!" Rod said, as he lifted his blade and charged. Angie sighed. Why was it that only Rod called her by her full name…

Lindsay was charging at the monster as well, and being faster, she reached it first.

And got hit first at the creature suddenly opened its mouth and lashed its tongue out in a sweeping motion. Lindsay gasped at the hot, wet slab of muscle slammed against her side and sent her flying. Realizing that it could use its tongue as something else then a stinger, Rod tried to back away, but the creature, with lightning speed, lashed the body part at him and he too was sent airborn. As the warrior crashed to the ground, the creature turned its eyes on Angie, who was about twenty feet away. Her eyes widened slightly.

Then they widened even more in shock as the creature snapped open it's huge mouth and its tongue extended, lancing at the woman with it's cruel barb glistening. Angie immediately threw up her right hand and made a quick motion.

"HEAVEN'S HEART!"

And then a dome of white energy exploded around Angie. The tongue slammed into it and the creature wailed as the muscle was burned by the shield. At it withdrew its blistened appendage, the shield disapated.

"Lindsay, Rod, NOW!"

"On it! 11^TH MOON!" Lindsay yelled as she charged at the creature. The creature, caught off guard, screamed as Lindsay drove a clawed fist into its side, followed by another jab, a snapping kick, and another twisting kick. Pushing off the momentum of the last attack, Lindsay rose into the air as she drew her hands up as red energy crackled to life on them. She thrust her hands down, sending twin beams at the creature that combined into one blast. It struck the creature's side and blasted it through the air, the creature finally coming to rest on its back, the side Luna had struck scorched and bleeding.

"Go for it Rod!" Lindsay yelled as she landed and the monster got to its unsteady feet. It heard running and turned, and it's eyes widened as Rod drew down on it, holding his huge sword up.

"SURVIVOR OF WAR!"

The sword slashed out, catching the creature right where it's mouth opened before the blade sliced right through, tearing the whole top of the creature off in a great spray of blood. The body shuddered and fell as the sliced off top flew through the air, before it finally came to rest on a pile of rubble.

"Am I good, or what?" Rod quipped.

"Or what." Luna replied.

Rod gave her a dirty look.

Paul cursed as his gun jammed, and he leapt to the side as the mailman creature slashed at him. Victoria pounced on the monster from behind, trying to climb onto its back and drive one of her claws into where she estimated the brain now was. The attack was a failure as the creature threw her off, causing her to fall violently onto the ground, even as Paul continued to struggle.

"Ah, screw this!" Paul cursed, and switched to another ammo type. "PIERCING EYE!"

An energy charged spike lanced from the barrel of his gun, blowing right through the creature's shoulder, or what had been the shoulder before the virus had mutated the poor man. The creature wailed, but it didn't fall. Instead it turned angry eyes on the gunsman.

"Uh, can we be friends?" Paul cracked weakly, trying to switch to another kind of ammo.

The creature didn't reply. Instead it reared back and spat, sending a glob of greenish-yellow fluid at Paul. Paul leapt to the side and the blob of gunk splattered against the wall behind him. It immediately began to hiss as it ate into the wall, and Paul decided he didn't want to see what happened if it hit him. The creature spat again, and he ran for his life, ducking and rolling under other shots of acidic saliva. Finally, he sprang to his feet from another roll and aimed his gun at the creature, even as the creature spat again.

"Blood Bullet!" Paul yelled, and a burst of energy exploded from his gun, intercepting the spit.

The good news was that the two cancelled each other out.

The bad news was that it did so explosively, throwing Paul backwards. He struck his head on his landing and groaned, trying to get rid of the stars dancing in his vision.

Growling in saitisfaction, the creature turned back to Victoria as she slowly got to her feet.

"Now…to devour you…" It managed to spit out, Victoria's eyes flashed with anger.

"Someone's going to be devoured, buddy, but it AIN'T GONNA BE ME!" Victoria screamed, and then her face began to elogate as her human pupils narrowed into slits. The creature's eyes widened suddenly as Victoria slunk down on all fours as her clothes seemingly vanished into her skin as blueish-purple scales erupted on her flesh. Claws burst from her hands and feet as her body began to grow larger, her arms and legs changing shape drastically as a tail suddenly sprouted from behind her and a pair of wings unfurled and grew on her back. Horns sprouted on her head as her hair vanished and her face stretched out and became reptilian.

And then the transformation was complete. The monster couldn't believe it as the thirty-foot dragon that Victoria had become raised her head and growled.

Then it shrieked and tried to spit again, but Victoria's mouth snapped open as power crackled within it and then she leaned forward as a bolt of lightning exploded from her mouth, striking the creature and electricuting it. As it shook from the voltage, Victoria opened her mouth to reveal twin rows of sharp teeth, and with a roar she reached down and grabbed the monster in her mouth like a toy. It shrieked as she shook her head back and forth, blood spraying from her mouth as her fangs tore the creature to shreds. The noise finally stopped, and Victoria dumped the ravaged, mutilated, and lifeless corpse at her feet.

"And you taste terrible too." Dragon Victoria said, spitting.

The garbageman monster thought it was doing pretty well, as even with the loss of one of its blades it had been holding the three people at bay.

The fact that eight more people suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere to back the three up gave it pause, and then worry. If they were here…

"We got ours Ash." Brigh said.

"Ditto." Said Lindsay.

"Throwing chunks up now." Victoria said, back in her human form and continuing to spit. Ash smirked.

"I would say you've lost, monster."

The garbageman monster growled in fury.

"No! I was created to destroy you all! AND I WILL!" The monster roared, as its metal teeth suddenly seemed to drawn inward.

Then they extended outward as suddenly dozens of razor-sharp pieces of metal came spraying from the creature's maw. Ash's overconfidence vanished as he and his whole team had to dive for cover as the shrapnal filled the air.

Then a chunk of it tore across Christine's arm, drawing blood and making her cry out in pain.

Oh, you've done it now buddy.

Fury blossumed in Ash's heart and ignited in his eyes, and he got to his feet, completely ignoring the metal shards spraying at him. Surprised, the monster stopped as Ash raised the Soulfire into the air.

"NO ONE HURTS MY WIFE! BLITZKRIEG!" Ash screamed.

Then the air thundered as a bolt of lightning suddenly came out of nowhere and struck Ash's upturned sword. As the power coursed through the warrior, Ash suddenly drew back and lanced at the creature with incredible speed. The creature didn't even have a chance to block.

The sword plunged into the chest of the creature, and as blood splattered on Ash's face, the blue electricity surged and zapped into the monster.

The creature gave off one last shriek before it was blown to bits, flesh and blood spraying everywhere. As the Legacy drew themselves up from their guarded positions as Ash lowered his sword.

Yuck! This blood is sticky!

"Shut up Soulfire." Ash muttered, and sheathed his sword.

Argh! No! It smells in heeeeerrrrreeeee…

"You ok honey?" Ash said, making his way to Christine, who was being helped up by Victoria.

"Yes Ash, it's ok. Just a scratch. But you were so sweet for caring!" Christine replied, and leaned in to kiss her husband before she realized that he was still covered in the black blood of the monster. "Um, maybe later."

Ha! Shot down!

Ash hit the sheath that his sword was in.

Owwww…

"Angie, could you clean me up? Soulfire was right, this stuff is disgusting." Ash said, as he raised his arms and black blood dripped off of him.

"On it, Ash." Angie said, as she raised her staff and made a few motions. A soft white energy flowed over Ash, and when it left he was clean.

"Ok, any injuries?" he said, turning to his team. Lindsay immediately launched into a list of terrible injuries she had supposedly suffered, but a quick once over spoiled her joke as Ash said she just had a few bruises. "Well anyway, let's go check on my mother." Ash said, turning around and heading towards the woman in white who had stood by and watched the whole time while she tended to the Z Fighters.

"Are you ok, Ash?" Diana said with concern.

"I'm fine, mother, but Vicky's hurt. Better let her take a look at that cut on your back, sis. How about these guys?"

"They're all alive, but that's about all they have going for them. I think there are others, but for now these were all the ones I could find. Thank god for the abilities he blessed me with, otherwise I would have never been able to move some of them." Diana said, as she glanced at the Z Fighters she had lined up. There were several missing, due to them not being out in the open.

"How badly are they hurt?"

"Pretty bad. I stabalized them, but it's gonna take a lot of effort to heal them up…whoever did this beat them up pretty bad…" Diana said, looking at the wound on her daughter's back.

"Owtch! Watch it mom!" Victoria complained. The woman took heed, removing her hand and concentrating. A soft white glow diffused over the wounds, and then they closed up.

"Ah. That's better." Victoria said. Diana looked at Christine.

"Don't worry Diana. I'll handle it." Christine said, taking her hand away from the wound and flexing her fingers. The same soft white glow appeared, and the wound vanished without a scratch remaining.

Then the noise sounded. All of the Legacy immediately drew their weapons as they looked towards the noise.

Then the last of the shattered concrete tumbled away as Pan managed to push them off. Staggering to her feet on top of the wreckage she had been buried in, she took a few shaky steps before she collasped again, but this time she fell into the arms of Victoria and Lindsay.

"Huh…who…are you?" Pan said groggily.

"We're friends of Erik. We're here to help." Victoria said soothingly. Pan blinked, trying to clear her vision.

"Daddy…where's daddy…and the others?" Pan mumbled, the cobwebs finally clearing. She saw her father and ran to him, kneeling next to him while cradling his head.

"Is he…is he…?" she asked, dread rising in her voice.

"He's ok…he was beat up pretty bad, but it's nothing we can't handle…with time. The same with everyone else…although I was amazed to find them all alive. Whoever did this must have been incredibly powerful, if these guys are as strong as Erik said they were." Ash said, a hint of distaste creeping into his voice. Pan ignored it.

"It was…it was…"Pan said, trying to answer.

Then her eyes went as wide as saucers.

"IYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!" she suddenly screamed. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?!?!?"

The Legacy whirled and saw the creature just as it finished forming. So fixed had their attention been on the Z Fighters that they hadn't seen it, hadn't seen the pieces of flesh and the remains of the creatures they had slain suddenly start to move, start to slide towards each other, start to gather together to twist and combine to form a single body, a whole new mutation.

The monster that now stood before them was huge, at least ten feet tall, and it looked like something out of the nightmares of H.R Giger with a horrible distended head that was a good seven feet tall itself. The head was narrow on top, but bulged outward as it went downward before narrowing back again, the opposite of an hourglass shape. Sharp blades of natural armour pointed from the sides of the monster's head, tracing down into a huge mouth filled with crooked barbed teeth below burning, slitted red-iris eyes. The rest of the monster seemed to to consist of two huge, thin arms that trailed into giant, skeletal-like hands and a small torso that somehow supported the huge head and amrs. The creature appeared to have to legs, but that was no comfort. The creature's skin was as dark as pitch.

"Holy shit!" Ash cursed, looking at the new creature in horror as it tested its new body. "That virus is even more volatile and resistant then I thought!"

"IYEEEEEEEE!" Pan screamed again, her body too weakened for her to do anything but. Ash glanced back at her, at the unconscious and helpless bodies of the Z Fighters, and then his eyes snapped back at the creature.

"EVERYONE, GET IT!"

With Ash's yell, the Legacy scattered and prepared to strike.

But the creature struck first, as with horrible speed it suddenly reared back its huge bony hand and swung it out. Lindsay's exhuberance proved to be her downfall this time, as the hand slammed into her first and sent her flying before it went on and knocked over Chastity, Rod, Victoria, and Paul like bowling pins. Not discouraged. Ash drew the Soulfire and was ready to charge when the creature swung its other hand at him. He leapt into the air and the hand swiped under him, and as he landed Christine, William, and Brigh came running up to his side.

"Ok, guys, let's…"

Then the creature opened its mouth and suddenly a massive appendage shot out. It wasn't so much a second set of jaws then an organic pole covered with sharp barbs and a massive spiked, barbed end attached to a flexable length of muscle. The appendage slammed down between Ash and his friends, failing in its goal to impale one of them but sending out a seismic shock that scattered them like rag dolls and even knocked over Angie and Diana, who had held back near the Z fighters.

Ash sat up while shaking his head, trying to clear the cobwebs and think of the next thing they could do.

"HAAAAHHHHHHH!" came a scream, and Ash's head jerked as he saw Celeste charging head-long at the creature, drawing her daggers out in mid-stride. The creature swung a hand at her, but Celeste easily dodged it, leaping twenty feet through the air and pulling several sommersaults on the way down to make her body a smaller target before she hit the ground running.

"Celeste, what are you DOING? Don't charge at that thing head first! You don't have any idea what it's capable of!" Ash yelled at the female, wondering if she had any sanity left in her.

"I know it bleeds! That's enough for me!" Celeste shot back as she raised her daggers and brought them together above her head, even as she bore down on the huge creature. "BLACK…RAINBOW!"

Dark energy crackled to life on Celeste's knives, and then she brought her hands apart and down to form a wedge of crackling black energy above her head. The wedge pulsed and then suddenly began spraying small black energy shots from it, which flew through the air and slammed into the creature, ripping small holes through its body. As the creature wailed in sudden pain, Celeste drew back the wedge and hurled it at the creature's head. But even through its pain, the creature was thinking, and it snapped its head to the side. The wedge blew a chunk out of the creature's upper crown, causing black blood to spray.

But it wasn't fatal, and Celeste knew it. But that didn't slow her down, as she brought her daggers up and leapt directly at the creature.

The creature growled and brought its hands up a sudden, powerful clapping motion, and Celeste was caught in the middle. Ash, back to his feet, gasped as the hands slammed together on the female, drawing out a cry. The hands then immediately withdrew, and as Celeste's falling body was exposed it brought one of the hands back up and slapped her with it, sending her driving downward into the concrete.

Although she was far tougher then any average human, Celeste was still in a great deal of pain as she slowly pulled herself up. The creature was measuring her, and she knew it. The blows had caused her to lose her daggers, so she had nothing to defend herself with. She looked up at the creature, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth, and her eyes shining defiance to block out the fear that burned underneath it.

Take your best shot.

The creature shrieked and opened its mouth.

"CELESTE!" Ash screamed as the black barbed appendage shot from within the creature, aiming right at the girl.

And then a black blur suddenly leapt from the shadows, a black blur that blazed past the creature even as a massive surge of red energy exploded from out of nowhere.

"HELL HEART SLICER!"

And then the creature howled as its barbed appendage was abruptly severed in one brutal, ripping slash, flying through the air as blood gouted from its mouth. As it agonized, Ash looked at the blur finally came into focus. He knew what he would see.

Day was coming, and the night seemed to be being drawn into Erik's frame as he thrust out his fingers, the last of the red energy fading from his metal hand talons and cyborg arm even as black blood dripped from the hand blades. His cyborg eye burned red, and his human eye matched the look of hatred, fury, and intensity in the other one. Celeste blinked, and then her eyes lit up faintly.

"Erik…" she whispered. By now, the creature had recovered, and even as blood flowed from its mouth, it looked at Erik.

"Foul spawn of a monster's mind, I will let your presense stain this earth no longer! I will burn your polluted blood and your corrupt flesh from this planet, so you can no longer impose your mocking visage of life on it!" Erik snarled, as his talons withdrew and parts of his hands slid around to form a large barrel. He aimed it at the severed appendage, and then flame gushed forth from the tube, igniting it. As it burned, the creature's eyes filled with rage, and even worse, a recognized purpose.

"Vagaaaaannnneeee…you…for…himmmmmm…DIEEEEEEEEEE!" the creature shrieked at Erik. And then a wooshing sound erupted as the creature opened it's mouth and black fire spewed forth from within it, a terrible lance of flame directed right at the dark warrior.

"I will not fall to your dark energies! I AM THE DARKNESS!" Erik yelled, as he brought up his arm and more parts reformated. Suddenly what appeared to be a clear film extended from Erik's arm, growing larger and larger until it was slightly bigger then him. As the flame bore down on him, Erik knelt and held his arm out towards the fire as it engulfed him in burning destruction.

"ERIK!" Celeste shrieked as the warrior's figure vanished in flames, even as the sidewalk and everything else around where he had been began to melt to slag.

"Brother!" Christine cried out in fear. The Legacy watched in horror. Surely…

The creature continued to pour on the fire, even though it appeared the flame was doing damage to itself as well as its enemy. Celeste looked back at it and growled, a low growl of pure fury as she brought her hand up and clenched it into a fist, black energy bursting to life on it.

"Heartseeker!" she yelled, and thrust her fist out, sending a spiraling bolt of energy at the creature.

So focussed on its target was the monster, it never even noticed until the bolt tore through its skin and lanced through it's mutated, twisted heart.

The creature shrieked, and the flame tampered off, leaving only smoking ruins where a street and various other things had once stood, before they had been melted or burnt beyond recognization.

Then the smoke cleared as Erik rose to his feet, the shield snapping back into his arm, not harmed in any way. Celeste's eyes lit up again. She had known it.

"I cast you out from this life. BEGONE!" Erik yelled, as he drew back his hand. "SCARLET DOWNPOUR!"

A red energy spear appeared in Erik's hand, and he hurled it at the creature. It tore through the creature's shoulder in an explosion of burning flesh and sizzling blood, and the creature wailed, as another spear appeared in Erik's other hand and he hurled that one as well. It burst through the creature's torso. The next one slashed through the creature's right eye, the forth nearly severed the creatures left arm, and the fifth ripped right through the creature's huge toothed mouth, exploding out of the back of it's skull. As the monster wailed, Erik leapt into the air as a giant red energy spear, at least three times as long as the previous one, appeared in his hands as he thrust them above his head. With a scream, he hurled it downward, splitting the creature's head and body asunder. It screamed, and then it exploded as a tornado of flames burst from where the spear hit the ground, burning the creature to ashes in a purifying inferno.

Erik landed, still glaring as his flames disapated and the ashes began to blow away. As if it was relieved that it could finally show its face, the sun began to peak over the horizon.

And then Erik finally relaxed, his muscles relieving themselves of tension as he turned around, letting a long breath out.

"All right Erik! Way to make an entrance! Yay yay yay yay yay!" Lindsay crowed, jumping up and down. The other members of Legacy were more serious, but they all gave him simular gestures of approval.

Lessee. He kills the big monster, you get smacked around. Why are you the leader again?

"Shut up Soulfire." Ash growled, stuffing the talking and ever so annoying blade back into the sheath on his side.

The only one who did not make the gesture of approval to Erik was Celeste, and as he approached her, she lowered her head slightly, her eyes filled with shame.

"I'm sorry teacher. I foolishly attacked without thinking, and it almost got me killed. Forgive me."

Then her head was lifted up by Erik's hand.

"Foolishness is one way of looking at it. An intelligent move? Maybe not. A brave move, made for people you don't know all that well? Definitely. Don't call yourself an idiot, Celeste. Call yourself a hero, because that's what you are to me. You always will be. Remember that."

Celeste smiled shyly.

"Thank you teacher."

"Celeste, my name is Erik. You have every right to use it as I do yours. Come on." Erik said, as he walked past her to the gathering Legacy group. Celeste looked after him.

"Always there to pick me up…in battle and in heart…"Celeste said.

"Oh dear god." Erik said, as he looked at the sprawled Z Fighters. With Pan's help, the Legacy had managed to locate the missing warriors, and now everyone who had opposed Vagane lay before him, motionless and looking as if the diagnosis that they were still alive was a grave error. The only one who stood was Pan, and Erik looked to her.

"What did this Pan? Who could have…" Erik's voice trailed off as his mind realized two things. One, there was only one logical choice on who could possess enough power to brutalize the Z Warriors, and two, he wasn't there.

"Grandpa…I mean Goku. He…he…the evil man…it's not grandpa anymore…it's something else…something evil…even more evil then those monsters…Erik, I'm scared." Pan said, looking to the only familiar face she knew in the group of warriors who stood around her.

"It's ok, Pan. It's all right. We'll just get some Senzus and…"

"There aren't any Senzus."

Now Erik looked a tad worried.

"What?"

"They're gone. I asked everyone. They're gone, like they vanished into thin air."

"Or like somebody stole them." Erik replied. Anger began to burn in his eyes. Damn you. DAMN YOU.

"Well Erik, surely this can't be anything we can't handle…"Ash said, before his brother in law stopped him with a look.

"Oh Ash, I think it may be far far more. Look." Erik said, gesturing the flaming ruins of the streets and buildings around him. "What you see now, is the same all over this city. It's been totally destroyed. And whoever did this did it without blinking an eye."

The Legacy was silent, as Erik looked back to the prone Z warriors. Dear god…my sensors are telling me they're alive…but their bodies…what has Goku become? How could he…wait a minute.

Erik looked around, looking at the Legacy and back to the Z Warriors.

Thirteen of us, including me, and thirteen of them…so why am I reading 27 life…signs…dear god.

But the creature was not reviving itself again. It had no flesh to reform. Instead, Erik turned his worried eyes to a pile of rubble that had once been a building. Specifically, if the sign had not been destroyed, it would have been identified as a hospice.

"Hey Erik, what are you doing?" Ash said as Erik suddenly broke from the group and ran to the rubble, climbing up on it and furiously pulling chunks of stone aside. It's so faint…come on..come on…hold on…

And then Erik yanked aside the last rock to reveal the crushed body of a little girl. Erik bit back a curse at the terrible damage that had been done to the girl's body.

"Mommy…mommy…?" the little girl croaked so weakly Erik could barely hear her, as he looked at Erik. Erik stared into her milky-white nearly pupil-less eyes and realized the girl was blind.

"It's ok. Hang on girl. DIANA, CHRISTINE, GET OVER HERE!" Erik screamed, before looking back to the little girl. The life sign began to fail. No! Not when I'm so close.

"My mommy…she was here…she said no matter what happened she'd always be here for me…now she's gone…where's my mommy…I don't want…to…go…alone…"

And then the little girl slumped, and in Erik's head the reading he could see in his mechanical eye flatlined. As Christine and Diana, followed by the rest of the Legacy, drew near, they saw Erik's shoulders slump and knew they were too late.

Erik stared sadly at the little girl, slowly closing her dead eyes. Born without sight…stricken with a terrible illness…crushed under rock and dying alone…how can fate be so cruel?

But as Erik rose himself to his feet, looking around at the flaming wreckage, at the city that had been wiped from the face of the earth, he knew. And he knew fate could be even crueler. Far crueler.

For it let the man who did this live. A man who though he had the right to decide what lived or died.

And just like Agony, he wanted everything to die.

Erik's knuckles whitened as the fury rose and exploded through him, and he threw back his head and screamed.

"VAGANE! I DON'T CARE IF I HAVE TO GO TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, TO HELL ITSELF, OR BEYOND! I WILL FIND YOU! AND FOR YOUR CRIMES, YOU'LL GET NO MERCY FROM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Far away, the smirking face of Vagane watched Erik scream his vow to the heavens.

"I think not Failure. Not for you. Not now. But soon."

And with that, Vagane pressed a button, causing the image to vanish as he turned around to look at his prize acquisitions.

Marron and Videl floated in twin tubes, wires and various other mechanical devices attached to them. For now they still slept, but soon they would awake, and he could begin.

His godhood was nigh.

"Soon, Failure. Soon."

To Be Continued! (And remember, I like long reviews! Nik Nak, this means you!)

Editor's Note: No, Ash Merseric is not a self-insertion. I just really like the name Ash, hence I have it and so does he. That's all.

Another Editor's Note: No, the final creature the Legacy fought was not based on SkullGreymon.

Useless Trivia Question: The monsters that the Legacy fought seem vaguely familiar? In truth, I patterned them after a very old toy line I recalled one day. If anyone can name what the toyline was (hin: very popular and rather old) in your review, or if you can even to me one better and name the names of the toys, you win…uhhhh…my respect! And uh, the promise I'll do something wonderful for you someday! And if you're an author, uh, I'll mention you to try and help you get more reviews! Well, good luck! In any case, gimme a long review! I love 'em! GIMME GIMME GIMME! *Men in white coats give Ash his medication.* Ok, I'm better now.