Chapter 8: Unholy Trinity
"When a man's heart is full of sorrow and anger, it shrivels up, dies, and a pallor of darkness falls over his soul. From the ashes of a great man has risen a curse, a curse with the lone desire to strike down those who have hurt and opposed him. From the darkness of despair, with the weapon of violence, a love for a raven, and the wrath of a damned soul…this…is…"
"I don't want to be the loser, I've HAD ENOUGH!"
"At vindicta bonum vita iucundius ipsa." ("But revenge is sweeter than life itself.")
"I am the Game, you don't want to play me! I'm out of control, no way you can tame me!"
"On bloodstained wings, vengeance flies…faster then the speed of night."
When did this all start to happen?
When did the cogs of fate begin to turn?
Perhaps it it is impossible to know that answer now…
Deep within the heart of hell.
But, I know one thing for certain…
My love for one was destroyed by my hatred for many.
In trying to protect her…I lost her…
Now there is only one thing left to do…
To claim vengeance apon those who did this to her and me…
And let their screams echo…
Under blood red skies…
Had Redemption, Riot, and Bloodbath not had auras that left a trail, Goten doubted he even would have seen them when they blasted at each other, as bolts of blood-red lightning continued to rain down on the battleground.
And then they struck, one giant blood-red aura meeting two night-black ones. The auras twisted and crackled as they grew larger and larger, and then they exploded outward as the three engaged in a massive war of blows. Goten goggled at Erik's manuverablity. The bulk of his wings, tail, and other metal body parts didn't seem to slow him down at all.
Riot flew backwards and threw a black blast. Erik dodged and countered with his own. Riot himself dodged as Bloodbath flew back and let loose a spray of her own blasts. Erik manovered one of his wings in front of them and they exploded as the metal shielded Erik.
Riot was immediately back on the attack, lancing at Erik, furiously punching and kicking. Erik duckd and dodged away from every blow. Bloodbath's aura exploded around her and she joined her brother. Goten's amazement continued to increase as Erik evaded blows Vegeta hadn't been able to evade. It was as if he knew what was coming long before it came.
Riot and Bloodbath flew away and then zapped at Erik from each side. But Erik flew towards Bloodbath, and she shrieked as he impaled her on one of his arm blades, and then twisted and hurled her into her brother. With Bloodbath and Riot in a tangled heap, Erik fired a huge blast at them. But they managed to separate before it hit them and it flew off into the distance.
Clearly quite angry, Riot and Bloodbath again seperated and lanced at Erik from separate directions. But as they closed in, Erik snapped out his wings and flew up, away from him. The two clones quickly righted their path and zapped up after the dark angel.
Slowly, Erik lifted his arms.
And then he thrust them downward, firing twin crimson blasts from his black metal fingers. Riot and Bloodbath tried to dodge.
They were too slow.
Bloodbath shrieked as the blast caught her and her brother, blasting them downward towards the ground. They hit and were consumed by explosions that rocked the earth.
Goten watched Erik float down, as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"Goten!"
Goten turned to the voice as Mr. Satan came over the horizon. He was accompanied by Videl, the namek Tring…and Marron.
"Mr. Sa…MARRON! What are you doing here!?!? It's not safe!"
"And you think I'll be safe cowering in that ruin of a hallway?" Marron countered. Goten was struck silent.
"You don't get it. Until those two are dead, I won't be safe anywhere! Not here, not there, not in friggin Timbuctoo!"
"Marron…" Goten said. He didn't want his wife to see what Vagane had done to their daughter.
"Goten…I want to help. I can't let that…monster Vagane get away with what he did to me, to us, to everyone…to my child. He murdered her and gave her unholy life at the same time. I can't stand by and let him get away with it. I can grieve later."
Goten was silent again, and then he clutched his wife tightly to him. Sh was right. The time for grief was later. Now it was time for action.
"Goten, I found this! It landed near us!" Mr. Satan said, holding up a bag. Goten's heart leapt. It was the Senzu beans.
"How many are in there?"
Mr. Satan quickly counted.
"25!"
"That's it?"
"Yes!"
Goten quickly did the math in his head.
"Shit! We have 28 who need to be healed! How do we…?"
"I'll help."
Goten looked as Dende crawled out from under a rock he was hiding under.
"Dende! I thought you were dead!"
"No thanks, I'll pass." Dende said, brushing the dirt off his clothes. He looked over at Erik, who was standing, waiting, power crackling on him like it always was.
"What were you doing under there?"
"Hiding!"
"Hiding? You're the God of Earth!"
"And for all the trouble it causes me, I'm beginning to think of abdicating!" Dende said, trying to crack a joke. It fell flat.
Mr. Satan quickly divided up the beans and the remaining warriors went above distributing them. Videl flew over to the Legacy and started giving beans to them too.
Then the ground exploded as Riot and Bloodbath blasted up with a scream. Everyone froze.
But the son and daughter of Agony only had eyes for one man: Erik. And they were angry eyes.
"DAMN YOOOOUUUUUUUUU!" Riot bellowed, powering up his evil black aura. Erik just smirked.
"RIOT!" Vagane yelled, and Riot turned to his father's voice. "Get ahold of yourself! Just because he landed a few blows does not change who you are! Now show him the power I granted you!"
Riot stared at his father, then looked back at Redemption. Then tension lefted his body, and then he laughed.
"How foolish of me to get angry at someone like you. It is not worth my time."
"The opinion's mutual." Erik whispered. Riot tensed again.
Vegeta's eyes opened as Goten gave him a Senzu. He sat up quickly.
"No…!…Goten…where's Trunks and Bra?"
"We're here father. We're ok!" Trunks said, coming into his father's viewpoint. Vegeta looked relieved. Then he looked pissed.
"Get out of my way, spawn of Kakarott! I want another crack at those…"
"No Vegeta!"
Vegeta glared at Goten.
"What did you say? No one tells the prince of the saiya-jins what to do! Not especially the son of a third class baka who…"
"Vegeta, for once in your life, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN TO ME!" Goten roared. Vegeta fell silent, and then he finally noticed Erik's form as he stood before the two clones.
"Erik…I knew he wasn't…"
"Yeah, and that's what I've tried to tell you. This is Erik's fight! Of all the things Vagane has done to us…he's done tenfold to Erik! Erik has grabbed the banner and is refusing to let anyone else hold it. If you try to get involved, HE'LL probably kill you, or at least try!"
Vegeta blinked.
"So he has fallen to the darkness within him?"
"No…but he's beyond thinking rationally. His back has been broken. If he doesn't stand alone…I don't want to think of what will happen to him…or us. In the end, this was all about him. And if we try to help him, I think we'll wind up dead sooner rather then later! Just this once Vegeta, let one who is still your friend claim your revenge for you!"
Vegeta was silent. He had no idea what to say or think.
"Besides…didn't you say that what the Angel of Death could do would even be better then you?"
"That was before Vagane unleashed his trump card. And after the way they manhandled all of us…even I…I wonder if he CAN beat them."
"We beat Agony. I know he can beat them!"
"He better, or I'll kill him for taking my battle and making me look like a fool!" Vegeta grumbled, as he rose and flew over to where everyone was gathering to watch the fight.
Owww…my head…why didn't anyone offer me a Senzu bean?
"And just where, praytell, is your mouth?" Ash countered.
Smartass.
"Look who's talking." Ash countered again, before he looked back at Erik, Riot, and Bloodbath. "Can he win?"
"I know he can!" Christine said. Various other people agreed.
Buffy was silent, looking at the three figures. I think the question is more then if Erik can beat those two…it is more if he can win the battle raging within himself…
Riot was oblivious to the recovery of his former foes, and the conversations going on amongst then. He was totally focussed on Erik. He was through playing. He would show the Failure he was the true greatest creation and warrior of Vagane!
Riot brought up his hands as the ground began to shake, and then a field of rocks and pebbles began rising into the air from the forces Riot was summoning. He smiled evily, and laughed.
"TIME TO DIE FAILURE!"
And Riot blasted at Redemption.
Redemption blurred away.
The air rang with cracking blows as Redemption and Riot became little more then a shifting field of light. The Z Warriors watched, the Legacy tried to follow, and Bloodbath stood, looking bored. Her brother was a hothead, but she was sure he could handle the Failure.
Her assumption soon seemed right, as Redemption suddenly appeared as Riot smashed him into the ground with a punch. Erik flipped up and blasted at Riot, but he dodged aside and kicked Erik across the back, causing Erik to go crashing face first through a rock face.
Erik wasn't fazed by that, but Riot's dashing thrust kick was different, sending him rocketing backwards. Riot laughed and fired a ki ball at the fallen man, and Erik was consumed by an explosion.
"Ha! No problem!" Riot laughed.
His laugh faded as Erik flew out of the smoke at Riot. Riot tried to dodge, but he wasn't quick enough as Erik slashed out his talons, cutting off Riot's left arm. Riot yelled as Erik stopped and turned.
"You think something like that can hurt me?" Riot laughed, and flew at Erik again, thrusting out his knee, Erik dodged and Riot only kneed one of Erik's metal wings. It didn't stop Riot from spinning to a roundhouse. Erik ducked under that. Slamming his hand into the ground so hard the ground shattered, Erik thrust up his foot and slammed it into Riot's gut, sending him flying upward. As Riot flew backwards, he thrust his hand out with a yell of frustration and threw a black ki ball at Erik.
Erik used his position to flip forward as the ki ball struck where he had been standing, the smoke consuming him.
Erik flew out of the smoke a second later.
Only to find Riot flying right at his face. The clone laughed and swung his leg up in a high kick.
Erik dodged aside and snapped his claws out in a slash. Riot screamed as Erik slashed him across a very delicate part of his anatomy. Even he couldn't resist the male instinct to grab the wounded area as blood leaked from between his fingers.
Erik smiled and held up the bloody sac he had torn from Riot's body.
"You keep claiming you are winning…well Riot, look! It appears that I am the one who has you by the balls!" Erik mocked. Then the testicles burst into flame as Redemption burned them away.
Riot looked at Erik in fury, then he smirked.
"I have more then one way of winning."
Then Bloodbath smashed into Erik with both feet, sending the dark angel right into Riot's vengeful punch. He crashed into another rock face as Riot took his hand away from his not longer injured area.
"Hold off sis. I want a piece of him. THIS TIME, I'm through playing." Riot snarled. He thrust his arms out.
"KA-IO-KEN!"
All the Z Warriors gasped as Riot was enveloped by the burning red flame that had once been one of Goku's mightest weapons, and then Riot blasted at Erik.
Erik blocked.
Riot flew around him and punched him in the back. Erik flew, but he spun in mid-air and fired a red blast at Riot. Riot dodged aside and blurred away, reappearing in front of Erik as he tried to stop.
Another punch sent Erik backwards again, and then Riot zapped after him and kicked him in the back, sending him flying back faster. Erik flipped in mid-air and thrust his feet down to stop, punching at Riot as he flew at him. Riot stopped on a dime and flew up and backwards. He fired off several ki blasts that blasted the ground around Erik. Riot flew down into the destruction and slammed into Erik, smashing him through a rock face before he grabbed him and threw him into another one. Riot laughed as the Kaioken flame finally faded. His sister blurred next to him.
"Hey, save some for me." Bloodbath said, and then her hair flared up and turned gold. Riot smirked as the Kaioken flame exploded around him again, and then they both dove at Erik.
Everyone gasped as the two clones began to pummel him, smashing him around like a punching bag.
"Dear kami…don't tell me that he's hit his peak already!" Gohan said.
"He better not have, or I'LL kill him!" Vegeta cursed.
Do something Erik! Get angrier! Power up! Digivolve! ANYTHING!
"This is great!" Bloodbath laughed as she smashed Erik with repeated kicks, leaving the dark angel staggering. The two clones leapt backwards.
"Who gets to give his head to father?" Bloodbath added.
"Rock Paper Scissors again?"
"You're on!"
'ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!"
Riot had Paper, Bloodbath Rock.
"Damn!"
"Relax sis, I'll still let you have the Z Warriors. Now…to finish this with one punch." Riot said, as black energy exploded on his fist.
"This can't be the end…" Goku said.
And then, Riot turned and looked at the Z Warriors, smirking. They gasped again. Somehow, he had heard.
"Oh, but it is." Riot laughed.
And then turned and blasted forward, his eenrgy encased fist ripping through the air, breaking the sound barrier with a loud boom as his fist…
…smacked right into Erik's open hand. Riot gasped as Erik suddenly smiled.
"Playtime is over."
And then Erik cocked back his arm and smashed Riot so hard he head was torn off. Riot's headless body flew backwards past his sister. Bloodbath shrieked in surprise, and then growled and leapt at Erik herself.
Erik dodged aside and kicked Bloodbath in the back, sending her flying up into the air. She spun and fired a ki blast at Erik on the ground. Erik flew up. Growling, black power crackled on Bloodbath's hands as she began firing a storm of black ki balls at Erik.
Erik blocked. The explosions consumed him, forming a floating smoke cloud.
Then Erik blasted out of the smoke and smashed into Bloodbath, slamming her backwards into a cliff face so hard the impact literally caused the rock to RIPPLE before it fomed into a massive crator. Then Erik blasted Bloodbath at point blank range and the cliff collasped, carrying Bloodbath down with it. Erik remained floating in the air.
"YOU BASTARD!" Riot cursed, as Erik turned around to look at the furious clone. "YOU CAN'T STAND BEFORE US!"
"I'm rubber, you're glue, what you just said applies more to you." Erik said in a terrible mangling of the phrase. Riot snarled.
"KAIOKEN TIMES TWO!"
The red fire exploded around Riot again and he blasted at Erik, firing off a barrange of punches at Erik's face. Erik dodged every one, his body blurring back and forth so quickly Riot's fists just kept hitting empty air.
With a scream, Bloodbath blasted from the rock as Erik punched Riot away. She immediately replaced her brother, firing off a storm of kicks. She got the same result, as Erik ducked and dodged away from every blow.
Riot flew back, adding his blows to the onslaught. But to his shock, a counter blow met every blow he threw at Erik. The same was happening to his sister, as Erik blocked their punches and kicks with his own fists, arms, feet, and legs. His tail and wings allowed him to keep up the slack against his two opponents.
Riot and Bloodbath switched stratagies and flew back before they both flew at Erik.
Erik dodged aside and the two flew into each other. Erik smashed their heads together before he slashed out his wings, cutting each of them into several pieces. Blood soaked him as he flew backwards, watching the pieces reform.
Riot was utterly enraged, black power crackling on him.
"You fucking SON OF A BITCH!" Riot roared.
"RIOT!" Vagane called from the ground. "Keep your head! Find a weakness! It is something he surely has, unlike you, who possess no flaws!"
Riot looked down at his father, then look back at Erik as his body relaxed. Again, he had calmed down.
"Dear god…to have such a hold over such a powerful being…what did he do to establish it?" Ash said in amazement.
I dunno, but he probably did it very carefully!
"Indeed. I sometimes forget that I am perfect…while you, Failure, are far from it. In fact, your flaws run even deeper then a human, for you protect those who do not deserve to live due to their flaws. It is ironic that you have saved the lives of so many strangers…yet failed anyone who ever cared for you."
Erik snarled, more blood-red lightning exploding and crackling around his body in a crimson storm.
"Do you think taunting me will beat me?"
Riot smirked as he lifted his hand, dark energy crackling on it.
"No…I just wanted a little reminiscing…on how you failed everyone…including that whore of yours."
Riot thrust his hand down.
It all seemed to go in slow motion, as Erik followed his hand…and realized with horror that Riot was aiming right at Celeste's body, which lay on the ground like an alter.
"We don't have time to bury her…" Riot said, smiling cruelly as a huge ball of black energy erupted on his hand. "…SO I THINK I'LL JUST CREMATE HER!"
And then Riot fired, sending a huge blast directly at Celeste's body.
"NO!" Erik screamed, and dove into a steep dive after the blast. Riot laughed as he watched Erik fly after his shot. He would never make it.
"What is he DOING?" Vegeta cursed as Erik flew downward, zapping past the blast. Unlike Vegeta, Goten knew, and it shocked him to the very core.
"ERIK, NO!"
Erik made it my millimeters, hitting the ground and throwing himself over Celeste's body just before the blast hit him dead in the back.
The explosion was so violent that everyone was thrown off their feet from the shockwave with a combined scream. Even Vagane was knocked down. Spike was still sitting from having to extinquish his rear, but the force knocked him flat on his back.
The Z Warriors righted themselves in the air and began catching the various Legacy members.
"Gotcha Chas!" Yamcha said as he caught Chastity.
"I have you! Don't worry!" Gohan said as he caught Christine.
"Don't think this will be an event that happens often!" Vegeta snapped as he put Lindsay down on the ground.
Christine stared in horror at where Erik had dove to protect Celeste's body. The smoke was still billowing everywhere.
Riot's laughter filled the air as he floated down with Bloodbath. Vagane got back up with a smile. At long last he was free of the Failure.
"At long last I have proved it! No one can defeat me! No one! I am indestructible! I am the supreme master of all! None shall be…" Riot's voice trailed off as the smoke cleared.
What looked to be a black metal lump was revealed, a lump that soon split into Erik's wings, revealing his body. He was alive.
But the unprotected blast had clearly devastated him, as he slowly got up, his body language wracked in pain. Gohan could almost swear he saw blood running down the black metal that composed Erik's wings.
Riot was utterly stupified. His father was the same.
Erik turned, and it was revealed that he was holding Celeste in his arms. His metal fingers, designed to rip and kill, cradled her body like it was the most delicate of flowers.
"No…he was supposed to be the weaker half…how does he keep getting up…?" Vagane said in shock. Then Erik was looking at him.
"When will it be enough, Vagane? You already murdered the woman I love…then you set your spawn out to destroy her body? When will you be saitisfied? When will your insane mind be content with the torment you desire to inflict on me…" Erik said, almost in a Shakespearan way. He looked down on Celeste's body, and ran a hand through her long dark hair.
"No….NO! That blast…YOU CAN'T STILL BE ALIVE! WE ARE THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF DESTRUCTION! THE RIGHT AND LEFT HAND OF DEATH! YOU CAN'T STILL BE ALIVE!" Riot yelled, getting angry again.
Erik ignored him, looking down on Celeste. With her wound healed by Buu, she almost looked to be at peace.
"Erik…!" Goten said as he and Gohan ran up to him. Erik looked over.
"What…why…?" Goten stammered, trying to ask why he had taken such a blow for the sake of a corpse. From the way his body looked, his wounds were grievous.
But Erik barely seemed to notice it at all. Instead, he looked down at Celeste.
"For her…Goten."
And then Celeste's body floated out of his arms. Goten gasped slightly as Erik levitated her to him. He understood and took the body gently.
"Take care of her…I couldn't" Erik said. Goten stared back. He saw the question in Erik's eyes at the same time Erik gave him Celeste's body.
Goten nodded.
"Kill her."
Erik looked at Gohan. Gohan looked at Riot, and then nodded too. Whatever Riot was, it was not his child.
And then Erik turned, heading back towards Riot and Bloodbath. Goten stared after him, filled with grief. But it was not grief that he had just ordered his "daughter's" death. He felt nothing but loathing for her, a loathing Gohan shared. No, what he felt for was for Erik, and the terrible lonliness of his quest.
"Erik…" Goten said.
"C'mon Goten. We can't do anything else here." Gohan said, pulling Goten back. Goten looked on, and then flew back to the group.
Erik looked at Riot and Bloodbath. Riot smirked again, having recovered from his latest temper tantrum.
"Love…what a terrible weakness it must be…" Riot mocked.
Erik looked down at his hand, at the lone strand of Celeste's night black hair in his palm, a feather from his raven.
A slight breeze whipped up, blowing it away. Erik watched, keeping his head lowered.
Then he clenched his fist, as he slowly riased his head, his eyes glowing with reborn fury at the crimes Vagane had commited.
"YYYYYYAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
And then Erik blasted at Riot and Bloodbath, the power that exploded from his body so strong it torn the ground open in a channel as Erik flew at them.
Riot and Bloodbath saw it coming, leaping up into the air. So focussed on his initial move that he had no time to recover, Erik flew onward as Riot thrust down his hands.
"TAKE THIS!" Riot yelled, and then fired several large ki blasts down into the ground where Erik was. The area was utterly devastated by explosions. The Z Warrirors and Legacy instinctively threw up their arms, and Spike, who was trying to get up, was knocked on his rear again.
"Good side, I'm not fighting him. Bad side, my bum's really taking a whipping. I feel like I'm in school again." Spike groaned.
Riot looked down on his devastation with glee. Bloodbath sighed and began to count.
"Five…four…three…"
Riot looked at his sister.
"What are you doing?"
"Counting down until he comes bursting out. As I was saying…three…two…one?" Bloodbath said, some confusion in her voice. Erik had still not emerged.
Riot smiled.
"You really should show more consideration for my powers, sis. That blast he took to protect his whore's corpse weakened him. That blind charge left the same opening, which was enough for me to finish him off. Good thing, he was far harder to squash then I…" Riot said before the shadow fell over him. He snapped his head up.
Erik's laced fists came crashing down on his face, totally smashing in Riot's skull with a muffled cry. Cereberal fluid and tissue splattered on Erik as Riot fell. Erik turned to Bloodbath, who was floating in shock. She had never expected Erik to somehow get above them.
"He seems to dislike using his head, so I decided to." Erik said. Bloodbath snarled. She was far better at keeping her temper then her brother, but Erik's refusal to die had finally gotten to her too.
"BASTARD!" Bloodbath screamed, throwing a ki blast at Erik. Erik whacked it away with an almost bored effort.
Then Riot flew up behind him, his skull already finishing its healing as Riot pinned Erik's metal tail to his back with his knee and brought his arms up and around Erik's arms, yanking them backwards as he restrained him.
"GET HIM SIS!" Riot yelled, as Erik began to struggle. But Riot held up with amazing strength. With a snarl of glee, Bloodbath brought both her arms together. Flesh changed to steel as her arms melted together and formed into a giant sword blade, before she dove at Erik, aiming the sword right at him.
Erik struggled furiously, but Riot's grip was unfailing, as Bloodbath bore down on him. The siblings laughed in turn.
Then Erik suddenly yanked his body forward as hard as he could, almost turning himself upside down. With a yell of surprise, Riot was pulled with him, nearly falling over Erik and losing his grip. Erik snapped his body back up as he regained the use of his arms, and as Riot floated in front of him, he shoved Riot forward towards his sister.
Bloodbath shrieked and tried to stop, but it was too late as Riot was impaled on the same blade meant for Erik. He yelled before blood exploded out of his mouth.
"BROTHER!" Bloodbath yelled in shock, and then looked up at Erik as he flew away. Erik brought his hands up at the same time.
"BURNING MISERY!"
A giant bolt of crimson energy blasted from Erik's hands, the force so strong it literally threw him backwards. Bloodbath shrieked as the bolt blasted into and through her and her brother before it exploded.
Erik floated down to the ground, his arms crossed and his tail lashing the air.
Bloodbath exploded from the cloud, her brother's burned skeleton falling off in the distance. She landed in front of Erik as the last injuries on her face and body vanished. Riot had acted as a sort of shield and taken the brunt of the blast for her, but she certainly wasn't happy for it. Rather, she was infuriated.
"Damn you…DAMN YOU! YOU HURT MY BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!" Bloodbath screamed as her hair flared up and went gold. But she didn't stop there, as golden and black beams of light blasted up from her feet and shone and blasted all around her in a marvelous display of colours. Her hair didn't get any longer, but it suddenly formed into spiked locks as her eyebrows vanished. Erik's acts had so infuried her she had managed to mimic SSJ3.
"DIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" Bloodbath screamed as she thrust her hands to the side. Black light poured from between her fingers as a windstorm whipped up, blowing her golden hair around.
"KA…ME…"
Erik thrust his hands out as crimson energy exploded on them.
"ME…HA…"
Erik brought his hands up.
"HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Bloodbath screamed, and fired the black bolt of power at Erik, the ground tearing away underneath the attack as she fired it.
"SMOLDERING BLOOD!" Erik yelled, and thrust down his hands as he fired twin crimson blasts at Bloodbath's attack.
The two met and canceled each other out, blasting out and around in an inferno of energy. Everyone recoiled from the power, missing Erik and Bloodbath flying into the inferno and enganging in a blistering war of blows. The power they had dove into would have vaporized solid steel, but to them, it was just like a day at the beach.
But Bloodbath wasn't having one, as Erik plunged his tail through her. As it exploded out her back, Erik slashed out his claws and turned Bloodbath's front into a mass of gore before he twirled and kicked her. Blood spraying everywhere, Bloodbath flew backwards, a huge cloud of dust exploding from the cliff face she hit.
"YAHHHHHHH!" Riot screamed as he leapt at Erik from behind, half his face still a pink mass of healing muscle.
Erik snapped up his fist right into Riot's face, and then spun and kicked Riot's legs out from under him. As Riot fell, Erik leapt up and tried to jam one of his elbow blades into him.
Riot dodged out of the way just in time, and as the blade bit into the ground Bloodbath came flying in out of the distance and kicked Erik, sending him flying backwards into another cliff face.
Riot spun up to his feet and the two siblings barranged the cliff face with black ki blasts, sending it crashing down on Erik. The two didn't let up, creating a larger and larger smoke cloud as they kept firing.
Then Erik burst from the cloud, zapping up to Riot and caving his face in with a punch. Riot flew backwards, and as he did Erik thrust out his foot, burying it into Bloodbath's gut and doubling her over. Erik spun and slashed his wing out, nearly cutting Bloodbath in half as she too flew backwards, crashing down near her brother.
Erik flew up into the sky, stoppin after going a few hundred feet. He began to growl.
"What's he doing?" Trunks said, as a ball of crimson power appeared around Erik, a see-through around that swirled around and into Erik as his wings flapped.
Then with a disgusting tearing noise, Erik's upper arms suddenly split. Everyone gasped in horror as what had appeared to be some of the still living flesh on his body ripped open to reveal more metal underneath. But it wasn't just metal, it was a group of jagged circular holes. The same holes were on the other side of the flesh that had split and opened up.
The red power cracking around Erik began flowing into the holes, and then the blood red lightning exploded around him and began flowing into it as well.
Gohan realized what they were. Cannons.
Erik's growl built to a roar as Riot and Bloodbath finally finished healing and looked up at Erik.
Erik twisted his arms towards them.
"DEATH OF 1000 DEMONS!"
And then crimson blasts of power began spraying from the barrels, hundreds apon hundreds of blasts that seemed come raining down everywhere around Erik.
The two siblings barely got a cry out before the blasts came rain down on them, consuming them in explosions. Erik didn't stop, as he rained fire down on Riot, Bloodbath, and anything that got near him. The earth shook under the onslaught.
"What power!" Pan gasped, and she meant it. She was glad that she couldn't properly measure the power of the destructive forces Erik had at his command, and she had no intention to. She feared any attempt would destroy her mind. Her sentiments were shared by everyone, even Vegeta. Vegeta had felt stronger ki's, but never something so violent and deadly.
And then Erik stopped the blasts comeing from the cannons in his arms, but he wasn't done, as he flew backward slightly. The circle of red crimson power, however, did not follow him. Instead, it floated in the air where Erik had floated a second ago when he had been raining havoc down on Riot and Bloodbath.
Erik placed a hand on the circular ball, as if the surface were solid, and then red power began forming in the center. It grew and bloomed until the whole ball was no longer see-through. Instead, it was a dark crimson ball crackling with blood-red lightning, about the size of a car.
"GET DOWN!" Goten yelled, senseing what was coming, as Erik raised the ball above his head.
"EYE OF THE HOLOCAUST!" Erik roared, and hurled the ball down onto where Riot and Bloodbath had been.
Even lying down, the shaking of the ground nearly tossed everyone into the air as the ball exploded in a gigantic blast. The only one who didn't move was Erik, who floated as the force and smoke washed over him.
"What the hell is he trying to do, kill us all?" Brigh cursed as he was tossed about like a ship in the middle of the storm.
Do you really want him to answer that question?
Erik was again revealed as the smoke cleared, debris raining down around him. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting.
Black power exploded up from the area where the clones had been. Everyone else gasped, but Erik watched calmly as the power flowed up and intensified before it exploded out, revealing Riot and Bloodbath.
But their demeanor had changed. In his attacks, Erik had come extremely close to completely destroying them, and they knew it.
"This can't be happening…WE ARE THE RIGHT AND LEFT HANDS OF DEATH!" Riot screamed again.
Erik's cold look never wavered, but his words said more then any expression ever could.
"I am Death."
With a combined yell, Riot and Bloodbath blasted at Erik, and the three engaged in another war of blows. The air rang with their combat, and most of the Legacy covered their ears, as well as a few of the Z Warriors. The only one who wasn't affected was Celeste, who lay on the ground where Goten had put her when he had dove for cover. She lay, forgotten, as everyone watched the battle.
The war went down to the ground, and shattered rock and dirt began to fly from the force coming off the three participants.
Vagane watched in horror as Erik leapt and snapped his legs up, kicking Riot and Bloodbath away from him. The two spun and ran back at Erik as he formed a Piercing Strike blast in his hand.
Erik looked back and forth, trying to decide who to throw the ball of power at as the two bore down on him.
In the end, it was the ground who received the attack, as Erik threw it down as the two reached him, causing him to vanish in smoke. Riot and Bloodbath stopped, and then looked up as Erik flew into the sky. They blasted up after him, each drawing to one of his sides. Power cracking on his hands, and her fingers forming into daggers, Riot and Bloodbath lanced at Erik.
Erik flew up and the two almost crashed into each other again.
"GRAVEDIGGER!"
And then Erik slammed down into them, his claws piercing through the clones as he flew back into the ground. He crashed into it and drove Riot and Bloodbath into a crator before energy blasted up in an explosion, blowing the crator even bigger. The Z Warriors recoiled as they were pelted with rock shrapnal.
Erik flew out of the hole, doing some acrobatics along the ground. At the same time, Riot and Bloodbath flew out, their flesh finishing its healing as they landed.
Erik thrust out his hands, firing a crimson blast at the two.
Riot and Bloodbath each thrust out an arm, sending out a combined black ki blast to counter.
The two met and began pushing at each other, beams of light blazing off the apex of the battle. It was almost pretty.
Sweat beaded on Riot and Bloodbath as they tried with all their might to force the blast their way. But no matter how hard they pushed, their beam wouldn't bulge.
Then Erik laughed.
"You call that a blast? THAT IS NOTHING!"
And then Erik snapped his wings out, and his blast seemed to multiply tenfold. Riot and Bloodbath gasped as their beam was shoved back and destroyed, the explosion blowing them backwards, their bodies sliding across the ground in a trail of dust and smoke.
Erik leapt backwards, stopping a few dozen feet before the combined Z Warriors, his tail lashing, waiting.
Riot blasted from where he had been buried under a pile of rock with a scream.
"GOD DAMN YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Riot screamed.
"RIOT!" Vagane yelled, but there would be no calming his son down this time. Riot was beyond being calmed. Bloodbath pulled herself up from where she had been pushed and also tried to calm her brother down, but Riot would have none of it.
"I AM THE GREATEST WARRIOR, THE GREATEST CREATION EVER! I AM PERFECTION! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY A FAILURE OF MY FATHER!!!!!!!!" Riot screamed. Erik said nothing, his arms crossed as his tail came to a rest. His eyes glowing red, Riot glared at Erik and the Z Warriors.
"Fuck having fun. I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PLANET! I'LL CLAIM ALL ITS SOULS AT ONCE, AND I'LL TURN YOU TO ASH ALONG WITH IT!"
And with that, Riot put two fingers to his head and disappeared, reappearing high up in the sky. The shock that Riot had just used Instantaneous Movement was repressed by what he immediately did as he raised his hands.
And then the clouds erupted with thunder as a black aura exploded around Riot, growing bigger and bigger until it seemed to cover the whole sky. Power began growing around Riot, a raging storm of darkness that seemed deeper then the night itself, and yet seemed to shine with its own unholy light.
"Dear kami…the…the power!" Vegeta gasped as the aura kepted growing, as the darkness somehow became even blacker around Riot's hands.
Bloodbath flew up near her brother, but even she seemed hesitant to approach him, as Riot began to scream. The aura grew even bigger, and the ground began to crack and shatter.
Is he doing that Fires of Sin attack again?
"No…" Goku whispered, and everyone turned to him. "He…is mimicing what I did when I was the one tainted by Vagane. He is…gathering the darkness and evil of humanity…like a Genki Dama. But he is not forming a Genki Dama…nor is he doing that attack you mentioned. That attack was a widespread blast designed to take down multiple targets…this attack is aimed at only one…and its power is infinately greater!"
Goku's explanantion smacked of a prophecy of doom, and it shook everyone to their very core.
All except Erik. He stood there, his arms crossed, looking up at Riot as he charged.
"Erik, what are YOU DOING! ATTACK HIM! DON'T LET HIM FINISH THAT ATTACK!" Goten screamed.
Erik didn't do that. Instead, he lowered his head.
"TOO LATE!" Riot screamed, as he slammed his wrists together. His palms out, he brought them up above his head with a shriek of insane triumph.
"ERIK! DO SOMETHING!"
Erik closed his eyes.
"He's lost it. He's gone totally crazy." Goten stammered, staring at Erik's prone form, standing as if he was feeling a cool breeze, utterly oblivious to the annihalation being formed above him.
"This…is it Failure! Even if I miss, this whole planet will be blown to dust! NOW FEEL THE BURNING AND UNSTOPPABLE WRATH OF PERFECTION AND POWER INCARNATE!"
"ERIK!"
Riot thrust his hands down as his body vanished, leaving only a brief silhoulette of him before the scream tore through the air.
"DOOMSDAY!"
And it blasted from the sky, a gigantic black bolt that seemed to swallow the stars and all light itself in a raging heart of darkness. It literally filled the whole sky, blazing fast and yet agonizingly slow, the self-destructive nature of humans and their ilk brought to bear against the world and the Z Warriors in a way beyond horrendous.
"ERIK!" Goten kept screaming, before Marron slapped him across the face.
"HE'S GONE!"
"Your woman is right, his weak mind has shattered! We have to stop it ourself!" Vegeta cursed, and fired a ki blast at the approaching sword of armageddon.
The blast didn't even show that it had been countered, as it swallowed Vegeta's ki blast like a hungry monster.
Vegeta screamed and fired more ki blasts, and his efforts were joined by all the Z Warriors and Legacy as they all tried to stop the blast as it bore down on them, filling their whole line of vision. But their attacks, as mighty as they were, were utterly futile.
Vegeta screamed and slammed his wrists together as Gohan and Goten brought their hands to their side.
"FINAL FLASH!"
"KAMEHAMEHA!"
"KAMEKAMEHA!"
The three blasts blew upward and slammed against the approaching blast…and were shattered like the frailest crystal.
Finally, Vegeta realized that it was hopeless. They were all doomed.
He wanted to do so much, just like he had once before when he lay in the ruined streets of a city, dying while holding his dead mate. But this time, there would be no miracle to save him.
Goten stared in utter horror.
Gohan held his wife and child close.
Everyone prayed that the children of Agony did not have a hell inside them. Oblivion would be better then that.
And then Erik spoke. It was the faintest whisper, but somehow it rang through all the ears of those present like thunder.
"Power?"
And then Erik leapt up, and his whisper turned to a mighty bellow.
"YOUR POWER IS NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The blast slammed against Erik, and for a moment everyone expected his body to vaporize, wiped out before they all met the same fate.
Then all their jaws dropped as the blast stopped.
Erik floated in mid-air, his wings twisted and crossed in front of him, the terrible power of the blast burning against him. It was like an ant holding back a falling skyscraper.
But of all the shock the Z Warriors and Legacy felt, it couldn't match Riot's.
Goten stared as Erik held the blast back, and for those few moments, he truly did look like an angel, an angel backdropped by all that was indecent and cruel, violent and hateful, prejudicial and evil. He gaped as Erik once again tried to close Pandora's Box.
And then, with a scream, Erik's wings snapped out, and the blast flew back upward into the sky, leaving only Erik floating there.
Riot's shock was so great he almost got hit by his own blast. If Bloodbath hadn't shoved him out of the way, it would have, as he floated there. The blast burned past him and flew off into space.
"N…….N-N-N-No…he couldn't have…I…he…" Riot stammered, at a total loss for words. Slowly, he floated down to the ground, staring at Erik.
"H-H-How…? Your…I am the most powerful being IN THE UNIVERSE!" Riot screamed, his anger returning full bore. "I AM THE PERFECT LIVING BEING!"
"No you're not. You're a clone of Agony, an inferior knockoff with the stolen power of a great man. Your powers are nothing before the essense of destruction. You are not perfection. You're pathetic." Erik said.
Riot tangled his hands in his hair, looking like he wanted to start ripping it out. He settled for tearing at it instead, as Vagane watched, in total and utter shock at what had happened.
"NO! I'LL KILL YOU!" Riot screamed, and flew at Erik, punching.
Erik stepped aside and Riot punched one of his metal wings.
" No…you won't." Erik said." Riot screamed and tried to kick him. Erik blocked it.
"Your father planned for you and I to be on the same team…but for you to be superior. Unfortunately, your father is far too insane to realize what I command."
Riot tried another kick. Erik dodged aside.
"I command a force older then words…older then memory…you just command stolen powers and your mother's accused cells."
Riot tried three punches, which were blocked with each arm and Erik's tail.
"You're not perfection."
A dodged kick.
"You are not the greatest warrior."
Two punches blocked with Erik's wings.
"You're just the copy of an insane mind, by an equally insane mind."
Riot threw another punch, which Erik dodged. And as he did, he cocked back his fist.
"You're nothing."
And then he swung his fist back.
It seemed to be just another punch, but when it struck, it was as if something tore through every single one of Riot's cells. Later, Gohan would speculate that Erik had somehow given Riot an idea, a vision, of just what his power was.
Whatever happened, it was brutally effective, as Riot swung up and then fell to his hands and knees as if he were a boxer being given a knockout punch. The punch had barely seemed to harm his body…and yet, as he lay there, breathing heavily, it seemed to hurt him far more then any way Erik could tear him apart or burn away his cells.
And as Riot crouched before him, almost cowering from what he had seen, Erik said his final line, as dramatic as Shakespeare might have written.
"You're breakable."
Breathing heavily, Riot lay on the ground for a few seconds. Bloodbath had stood by, stunned. Although she had no intention of showing it, she was out of ideas.
But then Riot reared back to his feet with a scream of pure fury, she knew he had one: all out attack.
"DIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Riot bellowed as he lanced at Erik again, his fingers posed to rip out those mocking eyes Erik now had.
But all Riot found was the business point of Redemption's wing as he swung it up. Riot was impaled on it, blood gouting from the massive wound and then raining down on the ground as Erik lifted up his wing.
"BROTHER!" Bloodbath screamed, and flew at Erik to stop him. But Erik turned and Bloodbath was impaled herself on the other wing. The rain of blood turned into a downpour.
Then Erik snapped his wings out and flew up into the sky. Riot struggled furiously, but he seemed to be stuck to the wing. He tried to use Instantaneous Movement again, only to have Erik's tail slash his hand off.
Everyone stared as Erik reached his apex, just a little dot in the sky.
"I consign you to defeat…and to oblivion…Ultimate Technique…" Erik whispered.
And then he twisted and lanced downward towards the Earth.
"ENDGAME!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Christine's eyes widened as Erik bellowed the attack name, and she whirled.
"RUN FOR IT!"
"What? Why?" Vegeta said.
"He's doing his greatest attack! If we're anywhere near it, we'll get destroyed too! MOVE!" Christine yelled, as she grabbed Ash's hand and took off.
Everyone looked at each other.
Then Erik thrust down his hands and began firing a myriad of red blasts down at the ground.
"AHHHHHHH!" Marron yelled as one exploded near her. She was saved by Goten, as he swooped and pulled her away as everyone flew or ran for the hills.
"ERIK! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, KILL US ALL?"
"NO! JUST KILL THEM!" Christine yelled back.
Erik's blasts didn't destroy the ground and vanish. Instead, they stayed, sweeping the area into a firestorm of raging, blistering destructive energy, a field of eradication.
Vagane ran for his discarded wheelchair, throwing himself near by it and hammering at the buttons, hoping it still worked.
Erik stopped his assault and spread his arms.
Black fire erupted over him, consuming his body and Riot and Bloodbath's as they both shrieked in twine.
Vagane activated his shield.
Spike, nearly three miles away from where the battle had moved, decided he had better run for it too.
Then Erik flew into his field of energy and hit the ground.
The explosion nearly blew everyone's eardrums before it blew them off their feet. With combined cries of shock and fear, all the Z Warriors, Legacy, and Buffy Summers went flying, tossed through the air like the lightest of paper.
"YEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!" Vagane screamed as his shielded wheelchair was unable to hold its ground as all the ground around him shattered and exploded upward, throwing him through the air as he clung to his former source of movement.
A mushroom cloud didn't explode up, instead a column of pure destructive energy blasted into the sky, firing off into space as it shattered all the floating rocks to dust. The same bolt of power drilled through the whole planet and blasted out the other end. The planet went into convulsions from the violation.
And then the power was everywhere, exploding outward and washing over everything. Vagane's whole lab collasped and burned as the power blasted through it, destroying it like a house of cards. In one final blast, the power erupted upward.
And then it vanished, leaving only smoke and ruins. Hell had come to earth, but it hadn't left without leaving its mark.
Slowly, the grouped heroes got to their feet, still unable to believe what they had seen.
And as Goten stared at the destruction around him, he realized something: he had left Celeste's body laying when he had run.
Vagane coughed as he tried to get up, bracing himself on his ruined hoverchair. His shield had held, but barely, and now the mechanism was destroyed, burned out from the force of the explosion.
He looked around at the utter ruins of his magnificent lab.
"No…he couldn't have done this! He is a weakling! A Failure! He should be dead!" Vagane said, his madness totally uncapable of understanding Erik's strength.
Gasping, Vagane slid open the lone panel he hadn't opened on his ruined hoverchair. It contained a single, melted button.
"I never thought…I would have…to activate this…but I…need…the Wildcard!" Vagane gasped, and slammed his hand on the button. Spent, he slumped, gasping for air in the thick clouds of smoke that roiled around him.
Then he heard it, the slight noise that might have been a pebble being kicked. He looked around.
"Riot…Bloodbath? Are you there?" Vagane said, feeling fear for the first time in a long time and hating himself for it. His head looked around, trying to see anything in all the smoke.
Then he heard the whisper.
"The prince and princess of destruction are dead."
Vagane's heart turned to pure ice as Erik walked out the smoke, standing before him. His outfit was torn and ripped, and he had burns, bruises, and cuts all over his body. But he was still standing, with eyes that glowed with fury and anticipation as he looked at Vagane.
"Long live the King!"
The DBZ World was being ravaged by forces beyond imagination, but elsewhere, there was a strange calm as a female figure tried to clamber over a cliff.
She failed and fell, hitting the ground with a scream and a splattering noise. The scream turned to a sound of pleasure, though, as the broken, shattered bones healed.
The female stood, shaking her head. While the world she was in was not being ravaged, it was not without desire to do so. But for the moment, she was stuck. He'd dropped her into the desert and she hadn't seen a single living thing since she'd begun her trek out several days ago. She hadn't stopped once, driven by her need to kill and an endurance that was almost demonic.
Now she was close. All she had to do was get over this mountain range. The range had given her a great deal of fun due to constant accidents, but her need to destroy was beginning to override her love of being destroyed.
Once again, she clambered up, finally making it to a thin rock ledge that dropped off on both sides.
And in another world, someone pushed a button.
She was almost shocked when the air suddenly tore open in front of her, and that was saying something. Unfortunately, her semi-shock had not caused her to fall again.
She cocked her head and stared at the Gateway opening.
Then she felt something rip through her as an incredibly small droid tore its way through her back, ripping out and flying around in front of her. The female cocked her head at it as it floated in front of her.
"What?"
Then something opened and an incredibly small beam was fired right into her eye.
And then she reeled as memories exploded through her, returned by the droid. She suddenly knew what the Gateway was, and why it had appeared, who had sent it and why.
And she knew once more, memories that had been ripped from her by a wish restored by terrible technology that had not had its records erased. Memories of another world…of people and places there…and what she had done.
She…had been a god.
She blinked as the robot fell, its purpose served. Such a surge of memories would have surely overwhelmed an ordinary human being. But not her. She looked at the Gateway as she turned the restored memories over in her head.
She was filled with acceptance…and an overpowering desire.
The robot was crushed under her foot as she walked into the Gateway.
Vagane stared in horror at Erik, part of his mind thinking he surely had to be having a nightmare. And in a way, he was. But he wasn't dreaming it. He was living it.
His fingers fumbled at the chair, as another panel opened and extracted Vagane's gun. He yanked it out and began firing at Erik.
Erik began walking forward, smirking slightly as the bullets flew at him.
They melted, vaporizing long before they got near his skin. Erik smirked again as Vagane emptied the gun into him, not stopping his walk.
The gun clicked, and Vagane furiously tried to pull out another clip.
Erik's tail lashed out, and Vagane screamed as the blades sliced off two of his mechanical fingers, throwing the gun away. He reached for his chair again, but Erik raised his arm and fired a blast, blowing it to pieces. Vagane yelled as he was pelted by shrapnal, rearing back and falling on his rear, staring at Erik in horror.
Erik looked at Vagane. With his youth restored, he looked just like the Vagane he had known, who had tormented him as a child and loved doing it. The path Erik had walked to get here would have broken another man long before he had reached the end.
But Erik had withstood every one of fate's hammers. And now he was finally going to claim his greatest desire.
"No more walls, Vagane. No more distractions, no more guards, no more tricks up your sleeve. Just you…and I."
Vagane tried to scramble backwards as Erik walked towards him again.
A pile of stone clattered noisily as something stirred underneath it.
And then a hand thrust out as Riot pulled himself out, gasping for air. He held his hand to his chest, not believing what he was feeling.
It was pain. But a pain he couldn't draw power from, a pain that gave him no pleasure…a pain that coursed through his every cell. He felt weak…tired, barely able to lift a finger.
He felt…human.
He heard a faint groan, and he turned towards it, crawling and digging before he uncovered his sister.
"Brother…" she whisped, as Riot gathered her in his arms. He tried to call apon the power given to him by his father, tried to get rid of the pain he couldn't control. But he couldn't. This was the taint of Erik's Endgame.
"Brother…I burn…please stop it…" Bloodbath pleaded. Riot wanted to, more then anything, but all he could do was lie there, cradling his sister. A thought crossed his mind, one he never thought would. He wondered if he was dying…if somehow Erik had inflicted a wound that could do that to him.
Riot had barely noticed the metal structure near him…and perhaps that was as fated as the fact that he and his sister had been laid to rest near it.
But he smelt the smell.
He heard the crackling.
And then he looked up in surprise as the smoke cleared to reveal the Gateway that had been Vagane's lab as it exploded open. Riot stared at the white field that lay beyond the rip.
Then the figure stepped through. His eyes widened.
"Mother!"
"What the hell was that?" Gohan said, as he saw the faint white glowing in the distance. Goten looked.
"I don't know…but we have to find out!"
"Why?" Vegeta said, turning away from his inspections of his son and daughter. He had barely escaped death, and he had no desire to head back where it might try for him again.
"Because we have to find out what happened. We owe that much to Erik!" Christine said, heading back towards where the battle had been.
Sigh…we'll all gonna die.
"Oh shut up." Ash said, as he headed after his wife, surrounded by his teammates and the Z Warriors.
She looked at the two as they managed to get to their feet, feeling confusion the first time in a long time.
"Mother…" Bloodbath said. And she understood.
"Of course…that is what…he did…he made you…using me…didn't he? You are…my children."
Riot nodded as he tried to stay on his feet, stumbling towards her.
"Mother…I'm sorry…he hurt us…somehow…he did…we can't beat him. Help us mother…help us destroy him…I'm sorry…" Riot said, feeling like he was going to cry from his failure.
Her eyes normally showed things that would drive men mad, but they did not show them now. Instead…they seemed to show a matronly understanding.
"Shhhhh…come here."
Riot nearly fell into her arms, his sister joining him. He felt comforted as his mother stroked his hair.
"You don't have to worry…you lost to the boy…but you won't lose to him again…" she whispered as she closed her eyes.
Then she opened them as darkness and delight blazed in them.
Riot screamed as she brought her hands around and punched through his chest. Bloodbath screamed as the same thing happened to her.
Then they collapsed as she tore both their hearts out, her bladed fingers dripping blood as the two convulsed behind her, blood spilling in a pool around them. She looked at the black organs…they were so much like her own.
"Because you won't be fighting him again." She said, and with great rapture she bit into the hearts.
She almost fell to her knees as the power exploded through her. She had torn it from them, for they possessed no souls for her to absorb. Instead, it was placed in their hearts…and now, it was in hers.
The ascent was as marvelous to her as it had been the first time. She almost fell to her knees, giggling, as she finished eating the hearts.
Then she looked back at Riot and Bloodbath as they stirred, trying to get up, as their wounds began to heal.
"Hmmmmm." She said. "This could be a problem…"
Then her eyes fell on the Gateway, still open and crackling with white power. Her eyes lit up as she remembered one of the things she had been told.
"Of course."
Riot lay, unable to believe what his mother had done. His grief at that was only matched with the grief of the terrible emptiness inside him now…the god-like power he had now gone. His sister felt the same way.
Then she reached down and grabbed them, dragging them towards the Gateway.
"Mother…why…what…?" Bloodbath whispered.
"Interesting thing about this machine. It opens pathways between worlds…but only as long as there is an entrance and exit to stabalize it. Should one be shut down while someone is traveling in it without the proper precautions, the pathway will be violently torn apart and scattered into the nothingness between realms…and so will anything in it."
Riot and Bloodbath's eyes widened.
"No! Mother! PLEASE!" Riot begged as she reached the Gateway hole. Bloodbath tried to hold onto her, like an infant clutching its mother.
She smiled cruelly at them.
"Sorry. But I never wanted kids."
And she threw them into the hole.
"MOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Bloodbath managed to shriek. Riot just screamed.
Then they were gone. Laughing, she lifted her hands as black power exploded on them.
And then she thrust them out and the Gateway exploded in black fire, the white opening emitting a strange shriek before it blasted into oblivion, vanishing. Broken parts of machinery rained down around her as she turned, smiling, her black eyes dancing.
"And I don't like competition…I have a dream to accomplish. And this time, it will be twice as nice." She said, licking blood from her bladed hands.
As Erik walked towards Vagane, Vagane continued his futile attempt to flee. He almost managed to get to his feet before he fell down again.
And then he started laughing. That gave Erik pause.
"You idiot…you think you've saved the day? You think to call me a fool, the way you think? You are the fool! You think by killing me, you will save humanity? I am not humanity's worst enemy: THEY ARE! They with their hatreds and their desires and their petty, destructive NEEDS! Look what they're done, what they're still doing, to themselevs and everything around them! If you save this world, it will just wipe itself out eventually. Same for your world and every other world there is!"
Erik stopped, allowing Vagane time to get to his feet.
"My species…what I was to create…there would be none of that! They would have no hates, no needs to kill others due to their differences or their perceived threats! They would all be happy, and they would always be that way! They would be the perfect species!"
"A species ruled over by you, a species without individuality, without difference, without any change. That's not life, Vagane. That's madness. Life is difference…and while that difference may lead to all I loathe, we are better with it then without it. For while that difference made Hilter, it also made Ghandi. Where it made Vlad the Impaler, it also made Mother Teresa. Where it made you…it made me. But you couldn't see that, could you? All you could see how your creation would be so superior to what already is…creation made men like you. You think you can create things. Make such glories. It was men like you who invented gunpowder and designed projectile weapons, men like you who built the atom bomb, created napalm, and designed viruses for the sake of warfare. All you create…it's just to destroy the creations of others…and of creation itself. You don't have a clue of what it is to truly make something…" Erik said, before he trailed off. He looked down at his black metal hands.
"My time here…it made me realize…I didn't want this, and I didn't want what I had, any more. I wanted to stop my destruction and start creating…make a future…make my dreams come true…perhaps even make a child. That is creation, Vagane. But…it appears that this is not meant to be…this power I now command shows it…perhaps I am fated to only know the death of life and the oblivion of war."
Erik closed his hands, his fists cracking, as he looked at Vagane in fury.
"But if I am fated to never know anything but destruction…THEN I SHALL SHOW YOU HOW TO DO IT!"
And then Erik backhanded Vagane, sending him flying with a spray of blood.
Vagane crashed to the ground, trying to recover, but then Erik walked up to him and kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying again with a cry.
"GET UP! FIGHT ME!" Erik yelled. "You wanna wipe life out, you go through me first!"
Vagane was struggling to his feet before Erik punched him in the gut, then spin kicked him, sending him flying again. Blood pouring from ruptured lips and a broken nose, Vagane struggled to his feet as Erik approached him again. Rearing back, he punched Erik in the face.
Erik didn't budge. Instead, he smirked, bitter and vicious.
"With a punch like that, no wonder you always had your lackies fight for you."
Erik's wings snapped out, smashing Vagane through the air again. Vagane landed badly, trying to get up. Erik's foot pistoned out and kicked him down again.
The Z Warriors and Legacy arrived as Erik threw Vagane through the air again. He landed with a cry of pain and tried to run. But Erik blurred away and reappeared in front of him, smashing him through the air again with his tail.
"It's done. Now we just sit back and watch justice be done." Gohan said. Everyone agreed, even Goku, as he was supported by Mr. Satan and Yamcha.
Vagane slammed against a cliff rock face, crumpling to the ground a bleeding wreck. He tried to get to his feet, but he failed as Erik's fist grabbed him by the front of his shirt, lifting him up. Vagane stared with blurry eyes at Erik, who smiled, quite content. On his other hand, his talons snapped out.
"Wait…if he defeated Riot and Bloodbath…why is Goku still so weak?" Tien suddenly wondered out loud. Everyone looked at him, except Vegeta, who was watching Erik's deeds with great pleasure.
"Game over Vagane. Your dream joins the dream of all other tyrants…in hell, where you belong…but you will take a LONG time in getting there." Erik said, as he thrust his claws back.
Then the voice spoke.
"Creation made me too."
The familar female voice made everyone whirl with a gasp, their hearts suddenly encased in ice. Some almost wet themselves, while others began to tremble uncontrollably.
It hit Erik like a bolt of lightning, and he turned, his eyes filling with shock and horror.
Then the black ball flew out of the smoky shadows.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Erik screamed as it slammed into him, Vagane torn from his grasp. He fell to the ground as Erik was carried away again, but this time he didn't bellow for Vagane. His scream was somehow even more raged.
"NOT YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
He hit the cliff and it collasped on him. Everyone paid that no mind though. All their eyes were fixed on the figure that appeared in the smoke.
Then she walked out, smiling. Everyone's hearts somehow went even colder.
"Ladies and gentleman, THE BITCH IS BACK!" Agony crowed, raising her hands and giving a slight bow.
"Daddy…daddy…" Pan whimpered, clinging to her father. Indeed, everyone was holding someone. The only one who did not seem scared was Vagane, as he stood up, wiping blood from his face.
"Ah…my daughter…you made it here." Vagane said. Agony looked over at Vagane, and again, she seemed confused.
"You're my father…" Agony said. Vagane smiled.
"Yes…yes I am…"
"Oh god…I feel father's ki in her...no…she didn't…she didn't…" Goten stammered.
"My dear…where are…your…?"
"My children are gone. They were not worthy of the power they had…so I took it…and got rid of them." Agony said. Vagane smiled.
"I should have known that clones would be unworthy. Only the real thing would do. I see that now." Vagane said, as Agony continued to look at him. "Come, my daughter. You wish to destroy everything? We can do it together! I will create life for you to wipe out, and we shall go about unchallenged FOREVER!" Vagane said, his voice triumphant.
Agony kept looking at him.
"You're my father…" she said again. Vagane looked at her in confusion.
"But then…that means…Daddy, you never tucked me in at night and gave me a kiss." Agony said.
The evil in her voice made Vagane's eyes go wide.
"You never dressed up as Santa Claus and brought me presents…or gave me a Corvette for my sweet sixteen…"
"No…no!" Vagane stammered as Agony's hand came up crackling with black, damning power.
"You never put my pictures on the fridge…you never threatened my boyfriends…you never even said you…loved me." Agony said, her voice a low chuckle.
"NO! NOOOOOOOOO!" Vagane screamed, as he turned and ran. Agony laughed and thrust back her hand.
"So as you might have guessed, I have a few UNRESOLVED ANGER ISSUES!"
And then Agony hurled the black ball of power at Vagane as he fled. He screamed.
The explosions consumed him, and Vagane vanished in the destructive power with a wail of agony, as her attack blew up the ground everywhere around him as well. Everyone gaped at the act.
A stop of charred black material came floating down, a burnt strip of Vagane's lab coat. Agony smiled and brought her hand up to her mouth, blowing a kiss.
"Love you Daddy." She said, and then turned to the Z Warriors and Legacy.
"Ah…so many faces…I don't know you and yet I do…but I think you know me."
And then Bra snapped, as she looked at the face that had haunted her nightmares for years, even though she couldn't remember what had occurred. The face of the woman who had caused unbelievable torment to her and her family.
That terrible smile…and those inhuman, horrible eyes…
Bra leapt forward, going SSJ in mid-leap.
"BRA, NO!" Vegeta screamed, as Bra bore down on Agony.
"YAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Bra screamed, as she thrust back her hand and fired a huge golden bolt forward at Agony.
The explosion consumed her as Bra stopped and began firing hundreds of ki blasts at the spot where Agony had been, screaming the whole time. She kept it up until she was exhausted and unable to throw any more ki.
Then the laughter floated out of the smoke, and Bra froze. She had a dim feeling of wetness as her bladder again went loose.
Agony was revealed, her flesh healing as the terrible black power floated over her. She smiled and looked at Bra.
"Well well well…the little girl who was my first victim the first time I came here…my my, how big you've gotten." Agony chuckled, before her smile turned to one of terrible delight.
Bra couldn't move. Her legs seemed to be fused to the ground. As she could do was tremble, her heart pounding so fast it felt like it might explode.
Agony brought up her hand as black power crackled on it.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Vegeta screamed, leaping forward towards his daughter. He would not let it happen again! NEVER!
"So little girl…I CLAIM YOU ONCE MORE!" Agony shrieked, and fired the black bolt of unholy energy at Bra.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Vegeta screamed as he flew as fast as he could. But it wasn't fast enough, as the bolt headed towards Bra. He wasn't going to make it, he was going to see his daughter die all over again…
The red bolt slammed into Agony's attack from the side, throwing it away from Bra. The next second Vegeta had scooped his daughter up and flown away. Bra collasped against her father, weeping, as he set down and looked at Erik.
Erik stood, one hand out, blood red lightning crackling all over his frame. Agony turned to look at him.
She smiled, her face lighting up.
"Erik…I had a feeling that was you."
Erik said nothing, staring at Agony. He cared no more for Vagane, Riot, Bloodbath, or anything. She had stolen them all…but he didn't care.
"You…somehow…it always comes down to you…" Erik snarled. Agony smirked.
"I see you got a makeover. Looks good. I like the elbow blades."
"Always you. Vagane ordered the murder…but you did it…you have plagued my life seemingly forever...you were the hand that took all I held dear…you…always you…"
And then Erik screamed as the ground was shattered around him. The Z Warriors and Legacy flew backwards as Erik destroyed all the ground around him except where he and Agony were standing.
"Here we go again!" Brigh said.
"Erik…"Christine whispered. "Oh please…don't…you dare die…against her."
"KILL HER!" Vegeta screamed. His scream was joined by all the other Z Warriors.
Agony was again inflicted on their world…but this time, someone had been waiting.
Agony stood on her pillar, her eyes showing no impression. Instead, all she did was smile.
And then Goten saw it. It had come out of nowhere, the golden necklace in Erik's hand. But he knew what it was. Erik had shown him it an eternity ago.
As what was burnt ruins of Vagane's lab were finally and utterly destroyed by Erik's power, Erik looked at the open necklace. The force in his hands could shatter buildings, but the necklace remained undamaged.
Erik looked at his family, as his sisters, his mother, his father…him. They had always been happy. But ever since Agony had come, he had known no happiness.
No more. It ended now.
Erik closed the picture and then slowly brought the necklace up, bringing it down gently as it put it on. He fought for more then himself now. He fought for them.
"This…is the end of the road…AGONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The lightning bolts increased tenfold. Agony laughed, calling up her own power. She had no fear of Erik. Indeed, she feared nothing.
"THIS…IS THE END AGONY! ONLY ONE OF US LEAVES THIS BATTLEFIELD ALIVE!" Erik bellowed, the powers of destruction raging around him.
Agony said nothing. But her eyes showed delight.
The sun would rise soon…and it would either rise on a new day…or the last day of all existence.
They're different…
Yet hauntingly simular…
Inhuman…unearthly...and yet more so then any mortal being…
The light the dares the darkness…
The darkness that devours the light…
Bound by a past still etched in the minds of all those it has touched, they cannot coexist…
They can never rest in peace…
They can only fight…
And fight…
Till DEATH DO THEY PART!
Next Chapter: Redemption vs Agony: CONSUMING MADNESS!
God have mercy…