Greetings and salutations. It's getting closer to the end. Thankyou for all the reviews. Much appreciated. Disclaimers on chapter Two.
Before we start, there's something I need to explain. It has been pointed out to me that the way Faith and Goku broke into the forbidden archives may not have properly represented their capabilities. What has to be remembered is that what was inside this vault were things that the Watcher's did not want to be made public, for example, Slayers who had quit or been turned (heaven forbid). The idea of Slayers getting their hands on this was horrific, because it may have coloured their attitude against the Council. Therefore, the door would have been absolutely lousy with protection spells and wards, designed to keep people out, and Faith and Goku probably would have needed to go Super Saiyan to bust through it all. I hope that clears it up.
Okay guys, here we go. The battle of the century (well, maybe not); Faith vs. Belasco. LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!
"Go to hell, you self serving bastard." She said, dropping the heart into the ocean. She watched as he fell as well, a look of shock on his face. She floated there, tears still streaming down her face. "Oh, Trunks, I'm so sorry. You gave me so much, and I couldn't even save you." She let go of her power, falling towards the water. Drowning would be better than living with that pain.
"No need to think like that." She whirled to see Trunks behind her.
"Trunks?" She looked around. They were in the afterlife. "Am I…"
"Not yet." Trunks said. "Dad got to you first. I'm just here to make sure you go back."
"I can't. I failed." She said. "I let you die. I could've saved, but I just didn't move fast enough. I should've nailed him the first chance I got."
"Hey, enough that that." Trunks said. "I don't blame you. I should've seen it coming, but you have to go back. There are people that need you."
"I…guess." She said, hesitantly. Trunks smiled at her.
"Just remember, it hasn't been a year yet." She gave him a confused look.
"Wait, what does that mean…"
"Trunks!" She sat upright in bed. Goku and Vegeta came rushing in.
"Faith, are you alright?" Goku said.
"Where's Trunks?" Vegeta demanded. "Where's my son?"
"He's dead." Faith said, bitterly. "Gorog burned him to crisp, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it."
"No…" Vegeta breathed.
"I would've joined him, too, if you hadn't fished me out." She said angrily. She bowed her head. "I still don't get what he meant." Goku placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What do you mean?" Goku said.
"I…saw him, before I woke up." She said. "He said…it hasn't been a year yet." Goku's eyes widened.
"Of course." He said. "The Dragonballs." Faith's head shot up. Of course! They could wish him back.
"One problem, Kakarot." Vegeta said. "He got wished back after he died in the Cell Games. We can't wish him back."
"Not if we use the Earth Dragonballs." Piccolo said, walking in. "But if we can convince the Namek Elder to let us use Porunga, it doesn't matter."
"Then we can bring him back?" Faith asked, jumping up. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go."
"Hold it." Goku said, pushing her back into bed. "You'd better stay here."
"Why?" She demanded. "I'm fine. The only reason I fell was because I wanted to. I…I didn't want to live on, when Trunks had died because of me." She clenched her fist. "Please. I know I can help convince them."
"You're staying." Goku said, adamantly. Faith looked at him, furious.
"I'm going." She said, just as adamantly. "You may be my big brother, but that doesn't mean you boss can me around."
"I'm only looking after you, sis." He said. His face softened slightly. "I don't know what mind set your in. If I let you go, it might endanger you."
"Please, Goku." She begged, tears in her eyes.
"That's quite enough of that, young lady."
"Mom?" Faith breathed.
"Your brother's only looking out for you best interests." Diedra said. "Listen to him. And to me. You're staying behind Faith, and that's final!" She cut off contact before Faith could utter another word. She sank back onto the bed, defeated. Vegeta watched on. She had been so determined; it had taken her mother to make her stay. Did she love Trunks that much? Even if the feelings were mutual, and he was pretty sure they were, was there anyway something could come of it? He grinned. Not without his help.
"I'm sorry, Faith." Goku said. Faith muttered something in reply. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll come back with him." She mumbled again. Goku looked at her, then he and Piccolo left. Vegeta looked at her. She was sleeping, or at least pretending to.
"He'll be back." He said. "And you will be together. I promise."
Vegeta rummaged through Trunks' things. It was here he knew it. He just had to…ah, got it.
"What are you doing?" Dragon Buu said, as the prince came out of the tent. He had a white case in his hands.
"Something that has to be done." The Saiyan said, opening the case. He pulled out a capsule. He activated it, and threw it on the ground. It exploded, expanding its size.
"Is that what I think it is?" Buu asked. Vegeta nodded. "What are you up to?"
"Something for my son." Vegeta said, climbing in. "I have no doubts that Kakarot and Piccolo will bring him back. The problem is that he loves Faith, and she has the same feelings for him. I am going to make sure they get a chance together." He looked over the controls. A grin spread across his face. Similar to the controls of a Saiyan Space Capsule. "That's my girl." He said. If he pressed that, it should return to its point of origin. This one should close the hatch…
Buu watched as the hatch closed. The capsule rose, taking Vegeta with it. Buu watched as it disappeared, then went back to watch Faith. She was going to need him.
Bulma sat at her table, drinking her tea. She wished she could get her hands on something stronger. Trunks was taking his sweet time getting back. She wondered if anything had happened to him. She heard a noise in the next room. She grinned. Speak of the devil, she thought, racing out to greet her son. But that's not who she saw getting out of the capsule.
Her jaw dropped as she saw Vegeta clamber out of the vessel. "Vegeta?" She breathed. He looked at her and grinned.
"I am certainly glad you couldn't think of an original control configuration for that thing." He said. He looked her up and down. "Well, at least you haven't aged too badly." Bulma nodded weakly, then did the only natural thing.
She fainted.
Faith snuck outside. She needed to be outside, in the fresh air. Her friends were starting to smother her. She just needed to run for a few hours, work off some energy. Try get past that image. That image of Trunks, falling, his body charred…No! Stop it. Just keep running.
She ran into the park not far from Melody's house. She ran to the centre of the park. She stopped and fell to her knees. She punched the ground with her fist, sending small vibrations through the ground. It was just so unfair! The only reason Trunks had died was because of her. "It should have been me." She whispered.
"Oh, come now." A voice said. Faith looked up. "There's no need to think like that. After all, you did tell him to stay out of it." The man (if you can call him a man) was red, with horns on his head, and a tail. One arm was black, different from the other, like it was added on later. A black cloak flowed behind him, matching his black pants. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Belasco, and it is time for you to fulfil your true destiny."
"Oh really?" Faith said, getting to her feet. She pushed her grief aside, focusing on the demon before her. "And what might that be? No offence, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now." Belasco laughed.
"Such confidence, I am impressed." He said. "Much like my dear catspaw. I will appreciate your assistance in reclaiming her for me. You will be richly rewarded." He reached out to the darkness within her, bringing it forward making it dominant. Faith fell to her knees, trying to fight it. "Yes, you are powerful indeed. You will be a much better servant than Gorog ever was."
"G-Gorog?" Faith muttered through clenched teeth. Of course she was better than that wimp! She would recover what Belasco wanted. Why shouldn't she? "Gorog…was yours?" A vision of Trunks flashed in her mind.
"You're not that person anymore. Sure the possibility's there, but you do your best to turn away from it."
"You…are responsible…for what…happened…to Trunks." She climbed to her feet. Belasco stared on. It wasn't possible. Her grief, her rage, she should have fallen easily. "You…sent Gorog. Trunks…died…because…you couldn't…do your…own…dirty…work." She glared at him, gathering her power. "And…now…you're…gonna…PAY!" She released a wave of energy, knocking Belasco from his feet. She felt him lose his grip on her, and quickly shoved the darkness back into its prison. She grinned, free again. She was also slightly shocked. In her attempt to break free of Belasco's spell, she hadn't noticed that she had jumped to Level 2. "Well, that was fun." She said, as Belasco got to his feet. "Let's see how good a fighter you are!" She launched forward, fully intent on separating Belasco's head from the rest of his body.
New Namek.
"So that's what happened." Goku said. "And that's why we need to borrow the Dragonballs. There is no telling what may happen to Faith." The Namek Elder nodded.
"I understand Goku." He said. "But I can not be sure this will help. You understand our position. If we could be sure that this Trunks could help your sister…"
"He could." Piccolo said, stepping forward. "There is one more piece of information I have. I was hoping it wasn't necessary but he has to be stopped. Trunks' murderer, it was Gorog." The Elder gasped.
"Are sure?" Piccolo nodded. "Then…things are much more grave than we thought." He turned to Goku, who was utterly confused. "It seems that Faith has gained the attentions of a demon sorcerer named Belasco. The only reason I know of him is, as the Elder, I am also the Guardian of New Namek. This demon is a threat to all worlds and dimension, so knowledge of him is important. If he is trying to gain control of your sister, then this is an even more dangerous circumstance than you had feared. We must gather the Dragonballs at once." He turned and began making preparations. Goku turned to Piccolo.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" He demanded. "This is my sister we're talking about."
"I'm sorry Goku." Piccolo said. "I wasn't all that sure until I saw him as we were approaching Faith. By then, things were a bit hectic. We had to hurry. Even now, she's in danger." He looked in the direction that the Elder had just scurried in. "I just hope they hurry."
Earth
Belasco climbed to his feet. This girl was even more powerful than he had hoped. All he had to do was weaken her. "Enough of this." He said, as Faith raced towards him. At the last second, he disappeared.
"The hell?" Faith said, managing to stop before hitting a tree. She looked around, trying to spot him. She suddenly fell forward from an attack from behind.
"My, my. You seem to have fallen over. Hahahahaha!" She looked around for him, but saw nothing. She got to her feet, only to be knocked down again.
"So that's the way you want to play it, huh?" Faith muttered. "Two can play at that game." Then, she disappeared. Belasco appeared where she had been, striking out with his fist, but hitting nothing.
"Where did she go?" He said aloud. Pain suddenly exploded in his face, and he was sent careening backwards. "Grrr. That girl is beginning to annoy me to no end."
"And that makes my life complete." He looked up at Faith, who was standing on a tree branch.
"I'm impressed." Belasco said. "I did not think you could move that fast."
"A little something my brother taught me." She said. "He called it Instant Transmition." She disappeared again, only to reappear burying her fist in his side. "If your gonna use teleport spells, I thought I may as well even the odds." Belasco grinned.
"Trying to make things interesting, are we?" He asked. "Not that it matters. You can't keep this up forever. Soon you will weaken, and then you will be mine."
"Raincheck, red." A voice said. Belasco was suddenly beaten with multiple blows in random directions.
"Yamcha?" Faith said. "What are you doing here?"
"Saw you take off, so we followed you." The Z warrior said. Belasco made his way to his feet.
"We?" He said. "Do you have multiple personalities?"
"No." A deep voice said. "Just lots of friends." The demon felt three fists slam into his back, bringing him down once again.
"Buu?" Faith stared as the remaining three landed in front of her. "Tien? Chioutzu? What are you guys doing?"
"You are in no condition to go running off on your own." Buu said, standing beside her. "We have been taking turns watching over you." Tien looked back.
"You thought we were just going to leave you alone to mope?" The tri-clops said.
"Yeah." Chioutzu piped up. "Brooding really isn't your style." Faith grinned.
"Thanks, guys." She said. She focused back on Belasco. "But this one's mine."
"No." Buu said. "Not this time. You are in no shape to fight him alone."
"I'm not arguing about this. Gorog was his creature. He's the one responsible for Trunks' death." She looked over at the demon, who was grinning widely. "I failed Trunks once, I won't do it again. He's going down, and it's my job to do it." She looked at her friend. "Please, Buu. I have to do this." Buu looked at her. She was the first friend he had made, and he wouldn't let her die.
"One condition." He said. He would make it as easy for her as possible. "Me first." Before she could stop him, he launched forward, slamming into the demon. Belasco was thrown back, crashing into the ground. Buu followed up, releasing blast after blast. He kept going until, surprisingly, he stopped moving.
"Buu?" Faith said, seeing it. She watched the smoke clear as Belasco stepped out. "Oh, no. He's got him in some sort of holding spell." Belasco grinned.
"The freak stepping in?" He said. Buu grunted, trying to break free of the spell. "You are a fool. I think it's time to say goodbye." He waved a hand, sending the Dragon man flying through the air.
"BUU!" Faith rushed to her friend's side. "You better be alive, or so help me, I'm going to…" She lifted his head. He coughed once, opening his eyes.
"I'm…sorry…" He said. "I…failed…"
"I told you to leave it to me." She said. "I'm used to this, I was born for this." Yamcha looked at Buu, then at Tien and Chioutzu.
"What do you think?" He asked. Tien looked over at Belasco.
"Our turn!" He said. The other's nodded. They launched forward, fists ready.
"Guys, no!" Faith yelled. Belasco shook his head.
"You fools never learn." He said, holding his hand up. The three of them rammed into an invisible wall then found themselves flying backwards, landing next to Buu. "Well that was enjoyable, but its time to end this."
"No!" Faith said, standing. "Leave them alone, you've done enough." Belasco grinned.
"Are you going to stop me?" He said. "What thinks you will succeed where they have failed?" He laughed at her, as her rage grew. "You couldn't do anything to me before, what makes you think that you will be able to do anything more this time?" Faith glared at him. Golden energy exploded around her.
"Here, I'll show you." She disappeared, reappearing to connect fist to jaw, then disappearing again. She did this several times before ramming her foot in his gut. She propelled herself backwards, landing, once more, next to her friends. Belasco took a couple of steps back before regaining his balance. Faith pulled her palms back. "KA-ME-HA-ME!" A blue glow surrounded her hands. Belasco grinned at her.
"Do you really think you can hit me?" He laughed. Faith grinned, then disappeared. "What…"
"HA!" The beam hit him square in the back, sending him sprawling on the ground. Smoke wafted from his form. His cloak was non-existent, his body covered in burns. Faith looked at him, fire in her eyes. "That's just a taste." She said. She brought one hand up in front of her, forming a golden stake. "SLAYER STRIKE!" She sent the stake flying, ripping through the demons body. Belasco looked down at the hole in his body, then up at her.
"I am…suitably impressed." He said. "There is…still time to join me. I could…put your skills to…great use." Faith walked over to him and extended her palm. She thought about Trunks and the rest came easy.
"Go to hell!" She said her teeth clenched. "And take a message from me." She fired, hitting him in the head. He fell back, alive, of course, but seriously injured. He faded from sight, returning to his palace. Faith looked at where he had been, and then collapsed to her knees, returning to her normal form. Tears streamed down her face. "You were right." She whispered.
"Faith!" She turned. Buu and the others had recovered and were racing toward her. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? Where is he?"
"Gone, and I'm fine." She said, getting to her feet. She walked over to her friend and hit him on the arm. "What the hell did you think you were doing? I told you to leave him to me."
"We thought we could make it easy for you." Yamcha said. "Guess we screwed that up."
"It's alright." Faith sighed. "Just mental note for the future; leave the demons to me, 'kay?"
"Got it." Yamcha said. Faith looked at Buu. There was no way he was going to take that advice.
"Let's get out of here, before something else happens." As she was about to learn, something already had.
Ow. Somebody get Belasco a Panadol, he needs it. Don't think for an instant that's the last we'll be seeing of him. As the X-Fans know, that guys harder to kill than Magneto, so he'll be back, if not in this story, definitely in one of the others.
Next: The Last Will and Testament of the Bossman, and another secret, revealed.
Stay tuned.
Doc.
