Syndrome

DISCLAIMER: I do *not* own DBZ (Hee hee…. Yet… *thinks about plan to take over FUNimation and grins*) or any other licensed stuff (Pop-tarts, the Weather Channel, etc.). Think about it: If I owned it, I'd be too busy counting my money than to write useless stories about an animated TV show! So DON'T SUE ME!

. : : Chapter 9 : This is My Fight : : .

"Vegeta/Dad!" Trunks and the others rushed into the room, having gone through the brilliant teleport. They found themselves in a large, practically empty room. Vegeta was in his fighting pose (in Super Saiyan form), facing Aaron, who had a satisfied look on his face. Rienna and Trunks went into identical stances at the mere sight of him. Aaron laughed.

"Looks like your reinforcements have arrived, Vegeta," he said. "What's wrong? Don't you think you can take me on yourself?"

"Shut up, old fool!" Vegeta shouted. "Trunks, you stay out of this!" Trunks glared at his father.

"No!" he shouted back. "This is as much my fight as it is yours!"

"No, Trunks," Vegeta said sternly. "It's not. This is my fight, and mine only."

"Dad-"

"Adrienne!" Adrienne stopped and stared at Vegeta. "Take the children and go!"

"What?!" Adrienne clenched her fists. "Dad, I can't do that! We're in this together, remember?!"

"I'm not going!" Jamie shouted defiantly, crossing his arms. Leah did the same.

"Yeah, me either! I want a piece of this guy!"

"I'm touched," Aaron said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Everyone wants to take a shot at me." Aaron cocked his head at Vegeta. "Why not, Vegeta? I promise to let them live long enough to see your  sickeningly slow and excruciating death." Vegeta growled and narrowed his eyes.

"You stay out of this!" he yelled angrily. "Just go!" he repeated to Adrienne. His daughter shook her head in response.

"I'm not leaving," Rienna said, "and I'm not missing out on this battle."

"We're not going anywhere, Vegeta," Darrin said. He, too, crossed his arms. "Don't try to make us."

"So what's it gonna be?" Aaron asked impatiently. "I don't have all day, you know. Well, actually," he corrected himself, "I have two!" Aaron laughed at his own joke.

"What do you mean?" Goku asked.

"I mean it's already begun!" Aaron declared triumphantly. "The world has two days, then all of humanity will be wiped off the face of the earth!"

"He's already unleashed that blasted virus of his," Vegeta hissed through clenched teeth.

"So in all honesty, Vegeta, I don't see why you want them to leave," Aaron said. "There's no where to go! My Syndrome has covered everything! The minute they set foot outside, they'll be infected!" Aaron smirked. "Just like the rest of those pathetic earthlings."

*Too late…* The words flashed across Rienna's mind before she realized what was happening. She shook her head. No, they weren't too late. The world had two days left. There was still hope!

"Even Capsule Corp. can't save you," Aaron added, trying to keep as straight a face as he could. Trunks felt his stomach lurch. But everyone was at Capsule Corp.! He shook his head. They were safe there, for now; even if it was only for a short while. They just needed to get this over with.

Aaron could tell that that had really shaken them up. He tried not to smirk at their faces, astonished and full of anxiety. Vegeta growled and relaxed his stance a little. Aaron took that opportunity to side-kick him into the wall, surprising him enough the Vegeta lost his SS form.

"Grandpa!" his three grandchildren exclaimed. Vegeta muttered something under his breath and picked himself up. He dusted himself off and stood there, tall and proud.

"Listen to me, you filthy piece of scum," Vegeta said sternly. His voice was low and almost soft, but commanded respect all the same. His eyes were full of fiery determination and anger, but the rest of his body didn't show it. "I will not have you destroy my family or this planet! There is no chance of salvation for you or what little honor you ever possessed in your pathetic lifetime. You're dealing with me now, and I don't lose!" Vegeta re-entered Super Saiyan form and stared at Aaron, who didn't look impressed in the least.

"I'm sure," he said dryly. They launched at each other and met in the center of the room. Vegeta overwhelmed him with a series of punches and kicks that, to any human, were just a blur. Vegeta kicked out with both feet and knocked him into the wall, creating a large crater and tons of dust. Vegeta narrowed his eyes and tried to sense where Aaron's next attack was coming from. Suddenly, Aaron appeared behind him- but Vegeta was ready. He ducked (dodging Aaron's rather predictable attack) and kicked him up into the air. Aaron flew upwards and hit the ceiling, causing a small bit of plaster to fall. An idea flashed across his mind as he watched the debris hit the floor, and he grinned inwardly. It was so completely obvious, and yet they wouldn't ever suspect it! Why hadn't he thought of it before?

"HA!" Vegeta was about to drill him into the ceiling when Aaron disappeared and reappeared on the ground. Vegeta flipped around and bounced off the wall, landing next to his family.

"Aren't the rest of you going to fight me?" Aaron asked. "Vegeta isn't much of a challenge." Vegeta growled and narrowed his eyes. The hair on his neck bristled. What was he up to? "Of course," he said, turning to the twins, "I can understand if *you* don't." Vegeta's eyes widened. No, he wouldn't stoop that low!

"What do you mean?" Leah asked. Adrienne shook her head. She knew her children well, and knew what was coming next; the mixture wasn't a good one.

"Don't listen to him!" she said.

"Quiet, Adrienne!" he snapped. He glared at Vegeta, who was about to yell something at him. "You, too, Vegeta!"

"I will not have you poisoning my grandchildren's minds!" Vegeta shouted angrily. "Don't say another word!"

"Aw, you don't want me to tell them?" Aaron asked, sounding very disappointed. "But I think they should know I'm their great-grandfather."

"Y-you're who?!" the twins stuttered in response.

"Your-"

"ARGH!" Vegeta tackled Aaron and threw him into the wall. Aaron, still a bit stunned, climbed out of his crater and shook his head. Vegeta stood in the middle of the room, seething with rage.

"Grandpa, wait!" Leah cried. Adrienne groaned inwardly.

*Oh no…* "Leah," she said. "He's not who you think he is."

"How can he be my great-grandpa!?" Jamie shouted in disbelief.

"He's Adrienne's grandfather," Trunks explained.

"But… I still don't get it. If he's Mom's grandpa, isn't he yours?" Leah asked. Trunks shook his head.

"We're only half-siblings. He's Adrienne's mother's father."

"Oh, that's right…"

"Then… I'm related to him!?" This completely blew Jamie's mind. He was the great-grandson of the one person they were trying to defeat! "How can we be related to you!?" He clenched his fists and glared at Aaron..

"Read my lips," Aaron said. "I'm. Your. Great. Grandfather. Clear enough?"

"Great-grandpa my butt!" Jamie shouted. "By blood and blood alone!" He went SSJ and glared at Aaron so hard that he could have melted if Jamie had had laser-vision.

"Jamie, don't!" Leah pleaded.

"Leah, just because he's flesh-and-blood doesn't mean he loves you," Darrin said. "Just look at him!" he added with a smirk. "Ugly old fool."

"I'd watch who you're calling ugly, you Backstreet Boy wanna-be!" Aaron said calmly. Darrin's eyes flared. He hated it when people called him that.

*Chill, Darrin,* he told himself. *Just calm down…*

"C'mon, Leah, let's make him sorry for what he's done!" Jamie said, going into his battle stance. Leah shook her head.

"I… I can't…!"

"Nonsense!" Vegeta snapped. "Of course you can!"

"No… No, you don't understand!" Leah protested. "I can't kill him! Not now! Not knowing what I know about him…"

"Leah, think about what he's done!" Goku told her.

"Well, whether you fight him or not," Rienna said, clenching her fists and glaring at the old Saiyan. "I will. He killed my brother and took away everything that was ever important to me! And I'm not going to let him get away with it!"

"Fine, stay here, we'll fight him," Goten said.

"But Dad-" Aaron laughed.

"What's so funny!?" Vegeta snarled.

"That I think I've found a new favorite," Aaron said, gesturing at Leah. "Too bad she has to die." Before anyone knew what was happening, a huge explosion rocked the building and brought the roof down on everyone except Vegeta, Leah, and Darrin. While they were distracted, Aaron fired a large blast at Leah, knocking her into the wall and killing her instantly.

"Leah, no!" Darrin cried. He rushed to her side and hoped beyond hope that she was still alive. Vegeta did the same.

"What did I tell you?" Aaron said with a smirk. He sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that. I miss her naivete already!"

"SHUT UP!" Darrin shouted at the top of his lungs. He went Super Saiyan and flew into a rage, the like of which even Vegeta had never seen before. Before Aaron even knew what hit him, Darrin sent him flying across the room and through the wall into the next one. Aaron was just standing up when Darrin rammed him again, sending him skidding across the floor. Aaron groaned and stood up, holding his shoulder. He stared with wonder at the young man standing in front of him.

Darrin's eyes were filled with hatred, and the signature green eyes of a Super Saiyan burned brightly- so bright, in fact, that it hurt Aaron's own eyes. Darrin's fists were clenched tightly, tight enough that his knuckles were turning white.

His heart was pounding inside him so fast that he could barely tell one beat from another. They all bled into one solid pounding. Darrin's head was aching, throbbing with all the pressure. He didn't care. All he could think about was killing the murderer that stood, crippled, before him.

"How dare you!?" he demanded. "How can you do something like this?!" Another attack from Darrin sent Aaron flying again. Darrin slowly approached the injured old villain. "You deserve Hell for this and everything else you've done, today and in the past!" Darrin picked Aaron up by the shirt and bore holes into Aaron's eyes.

"Leah was everything to me!" he shouted in his face. Aaron's sensitive ears rang, and the old man winced. Darrin dropped him so he could stand on his feet… then punched him in the face. "She was the kindest-" Darrin punched him again. "-funniest-" Another punch. "-most beautiful-" Darrin elbowed his face "-and important person to ever walk this planet!" he yelled, kicking Aaron so that he fell over backwards. "I don't even deserve to be in the same room as her!" Darrin picked him back up and blasted him across the room. "You can't just kill people like that! You can't kill anyone!!" Aaron stood up and tried to attack Darrin, but the younger Saiyan blocked and picked Aaron up by the throat. He squeezed hard and narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to kill you for this!" he hissed. "Kami knows you don't deserve to live." Darrin tightened his grip on Aaron's throat, but just as he did so, his eyes widened, and Darrin passed out on the spot, dropping Aaron on the floor. Aaron looked up, bewildered- but his face fell when he saw Vegeta standing there, a determined look on his face.

"Sorry, Darrin," Vegeta said softly. He glared at Aaron. "But no one kills this jackass but me."

The glass shattered, sending Aaron flying out into the orange-covered countryside. Vegeta stood triumphantly in the window, staring out with his eyes narrowed to the fullest extent. Aaron rubbed his jaw where Vegeta had walloped him only a second ago- Aaron could have sworn he'd heard it crack. Aaron smiled. But now he had an advantage.

"Come on out, Vegeta," he taunted. "I'm waiting!" Vegeta snorted.

"Funny, I thought you'd had enough!" Vegeta flew out the window at Aaron. As he did, a dull pain started to fill his chest. *What?* Vegeta shook his head. *Maybe he punched me harder than I thought…* Aaron smirked at his opponent.

*I can't believe he's falling for it!* Aaron gloated. *How stupid can you get?!*

Behind the two of them, dark storm clouds started to roll in from the city. The menacing clouds threatened to drench the earth in a blanket of steady rain. Neither of them cared. What could rain hurt?

"Feel that?" Aaron asked. Vegeta stopped a few yards from his opponent and glared at him.

"Feel what?!"

"That pain in your chest." Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Ah, so you do. Good…"

"What are you rambling on about now?!" Vegeta was quickly becoming impatient. Why couldn't people just say what they mean?!

"Oh, nothing…" Aaron said with a smirk. Vegeta growled.

"Just say it, dang it!" he commanded. Aaron chuckled to himself.

"You really do have a short fuse, don't you?" Vegeta snarled again.

"Stop your ranting and fight me!" Aaron shrugged.

"Might as well," he said with a sigh. "Seeing as you won't be able to in too long." Vegeta frowned. Now what was he talking about?! Vegeta pushed the thought from his mind as Aaron charged him again.

Goten groaned and shifted underneath the heavy weight of the rubble covering his body. A few of them rolled off, creating a window through the rocks and letting a little bit of light shine down on his face. He tried to push the rest away, but found that he couldn't. *Must be lodged in there pretty tight,* Goten thought.. Someone near to him groaned.

"Adrienne?"

"Goten?" Goten smiled.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah…" Adrienne replied groggily. "I think I can get out of here if I move fast enough…"

"Can you move at all?" Adrienne chuckled softly.

"Yeah. Enough to pass through them." She smiled to herself. "Here goes…" The rocks next to Goten suddenly caved in where there had once been support and suddenly Goten's arm was free. Goten smiled.

"Good job, I think I can move them now." Goten used his free arm to free the rest of his body. Adrienne was standing over him, smiling.

"Hey, you ok?" she asked. She took his hand and helped him to his feet.

"'Course," Goten said with a smile. "Head hurts a bit, but it won't be the first time." He grinned. "Thanks for the help." Adrienne grinned back.

"It pays to be the Speed Demon's daughter."

Trunks opened his eyes and looked around. Why was he covered in rocks? As soon as he'd asked the question, the answer came back to him. *Oh, yeah…* He wondered how long he'd been out. *Must have hit me pretty hard…* He grunted and pushed away a few rocks, uncovering the top half of his body. He sat up, and almost immediately, someone gasped. He turned around and found the pair of them standing there.

"Adrienne! Goten!"

"Trunks!" All three of them grinned at each other and the couple helped Trunks up.

"You ok?" Goten asked his best friend.

"Sure. Must have knocked me out for a while there, though…" he said. He scratched his head and looked back at the pile of rocks he had, until recently, been under. He looked back at Adrienne and snickered.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Sorry, but your hair's a mess!" Trunks said. Adrienne narrowed her eyes at him.

"You don't look so hot yourself," she muttered.

"C'mon, now, no fighting," Goten said. "We need to-"

"Dad…" All three of them heard Jamie's quiet plea and quickly found the young Saiyan under a nearby pile of rocks. He looked up at them and smiled weakly. "Hi."

"Jamie! Great Kami, look at you!" Adrienne exclaimed. She brushed the blood from around his eye where it had trickled down his forehead onto his face. Jamie fought back the urge to roll his eyes.

"It's ok, Mom, I'm all right," he reassured her. Goten offered his son a hand and but Jamie couldn't lift his arm  without sending a sharp pain jolting through his shoulder. Jamie winced. "Maybe not." He looked up at them. "I can't move my right arm!"

"Might be broken," Trunks said gravely. "Can you move your fingers?" Jamie tried to and could barely do so. He shook his head.

"Not without it hurting," he said. Trunks shook his head.

"Has to be broken." Adrienne bit her bottom lip.

"Hey, I'll be ok, Mom! It's just broken! I'm not dead, you know!" Adrienne smiled.

"No, you're not," she agreed.

"Here, give me your other hand," Goten said. Jamie did, and his father helped him up. Jamie held his shoulder with his other hand.

"Hm… We need some kind of sling…" Trunks said. He put crossed his arms and thought for a second. He smacked himself in the head. "Duh, research center…!" He shook his head. "You guys look for the others. I'll be right back." With that, Trunks disappeared.

Vegeta tried to ignore the ever-increasing pain that was growing and spreading throughout his body, but he couldn't help it- it HURT. And the fact this he was fighting Aaron at the same time didn't help much.  Aaron himself, meanwhile, was beside himself with glee. He knew exactly what was going on.

*It won't be long now…* he thought joyously. *Though I am surprised. In all accounts, he should be crippled by now…* Aaron shrugged. *No matter. He'll end up like the rest of them if I have anything to say about it. And I have plenty to say.*

Trunks reappeared next to Jamie, who was watching his parents dig through the rubble, with a sling in his hand. "Here you go, Jamie," he said with a smile, holding it up for him to see.

"Thanks, Uncle Trunks," Jamie said, smiling back. "Gonna need some help getting it on, though," he added with a laugh. Trunks smiled.

"No problem."

With a little bit of difficulty on Jamie's part, his arm was soon supported and hanging in front of him.

"Thanks," Jamie repeated. "That feels a little better." Trunks smiled.

"Sure."

"Hey, look what I found!" Goten exclaimed suddenly. He held up Rienna's necklace, which was now broken and formerly spread out on the floor. Trunks took it from his best friend and examined the rings carefully. He remembered giving the one to Rienna when she was just six years old. He closed his fist around both rings and looked up at them.

"Guess we'll have to get her a new chain," he said with a small smile. *If we find her…* Trunks mentally scolded himself. *Stop thinking like that, you moron! Of course we'll find her.*

"Hey!" Adrienne cried suddenly. She had just moved a few smaller rocks and had uncovered a small, feminine hand.

"Rienna!" Trunks exclaimed. The hand twitched as she heard her voice.

Rienna was certain she was dreaming, though it was completely dark. Obviously she wasn't dreaming about anything, but she had to be dreaming. There wasn't a place on earth that was this dark. It had to be a dream. She suddenly could have sworn she heard someone singing. The voice started out low and hushed, and started to grow. Whoever was singing had the voice of an angel- peaceful, calm, and yet strong and sweet. And the tune… It sounded so familiar, and so did the voice; but Rienna couldn't quite put her finger on it. It certainly wasn't her, that she knew for certain.

Rienna listened closely. As the song continued, the blanketing darkness started to lift, and became dimmer and more opaque with each note. It was almost bright now, and the song started to fade. The singer became slower and softer until Rienna had to strain to hear the words. The voice struck the last note, and faded into nothing. The light, however, remained.

"Wait!" Rienna called. "Come back!" She stared off into the light and hoped for an answer.

"Rienna…" Rienna recognized the voice immediately.

"Mom?"

"I love you…" Rienna smiled.

"I love you, too," she answered.

"Rienna!" Suddenly, Rienna snapped back into reality. She opened her eyes and found herself covered in rocks.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes and blocked Aaron's latest punch, countering with a kick to Aaron's side. Aaron was pushed sideways a little, but the attack didn't faze him at all. Why wasn't he winning? Vegeta wondered. He was hitting him with all the strength he had earlier. What was wrong? Aaron certainly wasn't getting stronger. Was he getting… weaker? Vegeta's train of thought was interrupted when Aaron attacked him with another series of physical attacks. Aaron found an open spot and hurled Vegeta into the wall of the research building. Vegeta winced and pushed off the wall, charging at Aaron with all his strength. Vegeta rammed into him at top speed, only to bounce backwards. Vegeta held his head in his hand. Why did it feel like he'd just run, full force, into a brick wall?! And why did he feel so dizzy? Vegeta looked up and his eyes widened.

"What?!" Vegeta exclaimed. Instead of one Aaron, there were now three of him, standing there with their arms crossed, gloating over their imminent victory.

"What's wrong, Vegeta?" Aaron asked. The three of them cocked their heads and smirked. "Feeling a bit dizzy?"

Vegeta shook his head. The world was spinning, spinning, spinning… Vegeta started to feel queasy as the earth beneath him spun faster and faster. Before he knew what was happening, Aaron rammed him into the wall again. Vegeta slid down the concrete to the ground. He tried to stand up, but the earth shifted beneath him and he fell over. Aaron laughed.

"About time," he said. He floated down and landed in front of Vegeta softly. Vegeta looked up at him. Even the three Aarons were spinning now! Vegeta groaned and laid his head back down and closed his eyes. He quickly opened his eyes again- closing them made the world spin faster. Aaron gloated over his opponent. "Feel that?" he asked. "That's my creation, my Syndrome you're feeling." Aaron laughed. "I can't believe you actually came out here."

"Is this your idea of justice?!" Vegeta hissed. Aaron laughed again.

"No, this is revenge!" he replied. "With a little bit of fun mixed in."

Suddenly, Rienna found herself staring up into her father's concerned blue eyes. She smiled. "Dad!" she exclaimed. Trunks smiled back at her.

"Hey, kiddo!" he said. "Welcome back." He looked her over. "You ok?"

"Yeah," she replied. Rienna sat up and looked around. She spotted Jamie's arm, and her eyes widened. "Jamie, what happened?"

"Broke it," he said simply. "The rest of me's fine, though." Rienna smiled.

"Good." She and Trunks stood up.

"Oh," Trunks said, opening his fist and revealing her necklace. "I found this. The chain's busted, but the rings are ok." She took it from him and examined the damage.

"Guess I need a new chain, huh?" she asked with a smile. She put the chain and the rings in her pocket. She surveyed the damage to the room. "So the others are still under there?"

"Supposedly," Goten told her.

"Guess we'd better get to work…"

It didn't take them very long to find Goku- the real problem was waking him up. Lucky enough, Rienna had a caramel in her pocket, and that revived the old Saiyan.

"Caramel…" Goku mumbled dreamily. He opened his eyes and stared, cross-eyed, at the piece of unwrapped candy dangling in front of him. He lifted his head and took the candy from her with his teeth, them dropped it in his mouth. Goku purred with pleasure as the milky caramel literally melted in his mouth. Goten shook his head.

"Good thing you had that, Ri," he said, "or we'd have never gotten him up." Rienna smiled.

"I always have one in my pocket. I kinda sneak them out of the candy bowl at home." She grinned. "I can't help it if they're my favorite."

"Sorry, was I out again?" Goku asked, sitting up. "Must have really been out of it…"

"You're always out of it," Trunks muttered under his breath.

"What'd you say, Trunks?"

"Nothin'." Rienna giggled.

"Hey, what'd he say?"

"Nothin'," Rienna repeated innocently.

"Hey, c'mon, that's not fair!" Goku whined. "Tell me!"

"Don't worry about it, Grandpa," Jamie said with a smile.

"You better stop picking on Goku, Trunks," Adrienne warned. "He's going to catch you one of these days."

"What was he saying behind my back?!" Goku demanded.

"Even if I did say something, you can't prove it," Trunks said with a grin. Goku started to pout.

"Everybody's mean to me…!"

"It's ok, Goku," Rienna said. "You know we love you." Goku grinned. Goten nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, Dad," he said. It was then that he noticed Jamie's face had turned white. "Hey, Jamie, what's wrong?" Jamie didn't answer. A tear ran down his cheek as he slowly lifted his good arm and pointed to the opposite wall… where Leah was lying on the floor in a small pool of blood. Adrienne gasped and felt her stomach lurch. The next thing she knew, her legs crumpled under her, and everything went black.

Goten gasped and caught his unconscious wife before she hit the ground. "Adrienne! Adrienne, wake up!"

"No…!" Adrienne moaned in her sleep. "No…! Not Leah…!" She shook her head slowly. "No…!"

"Adrienne, snap out of it!" Adrienne opened her eyes and stared up at Goten.

"Goten…"Adrienne's eyes were full of fear as she gazed up at him. It almost made him cry just looking at her. Adrienne slid out of his grip and onto the floor on her hands and knees. Goten knelt beside her. "How…?" Tears started to stream down her face and onto the floor. "How could he…?" She glared at the floor and watched her small puddle of tears slowly grow larger. "How could he do this!?" Goten put his arm around her and lifted her up into his arms. She leaned against him and sobbed He hugged her tighter and glared over her head at the blood surrounding his daughter.

"Aaron's going to pay," he whispered to himself. "I swear it."

Jamie suddenly burst into tears and fell to his knees next to his sister. He lifted her head and stared at her peaceful face. "Leah!" he cried. "Leah, come back!" He clutched her to his chest and rocked back and forth. "Please!" Goku walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. Jamie looked up at him and found that his grandfather was crying as well. "It's not fair, Grandpa!" he protested. Goku nodded.

"I know it's not, Jamie," Goku said quietly. "Nothing's fair in this world." Jamie hung his head.

"We can still bring her back, can't we, Grandpa?" Goku smiled softly.

"'Course we can." Jamie smiled a little. He brushed his sister's bangs out of her eyes and looked down at her again, this time with a new hope.

"Don't worry, Leah, we'll bring you back. No way I'm gonna let you stay like you are."

"That's the spirit," Goku told him. Jamie stood up and walked over to his parents.

"Mom, Dad…" They both looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "I'm going to help Grandpa, Ri,  and Uncle Trunks find the others. You can stay if you want." Goten nodded.

"Alright, Jamie," he said. "Be careful." Jamie nodded back.

"Sure thing." He turned to the other two. "C'mon, let's go." Trunks nodded and pushed off the wall he'd been leaning on. His shirt was splattered with tearstains, and his eyes were red. He looked almost as shaken up as Jamie's parents. "Hey, you ok, Uncle Trunks?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Trunks said with a smile. He turned to his daughter. "How 'bout you, Ri?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rienna said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Still… I wonder where Aaron got off to…"

"We'll find him later," Trunks said. "I hate to sound harsh, but the world does have two days. And we have the Dragonballs." The other three nodded.

"'Course, maybe we won't have to look long," Goku said. He pointed past Rienna at a large hole in the wall. "I'm sensing Darrin from in there."

The ground beneath him crunched under his weight as Aaron slammed Vegeta into the ground for a third time. Pain shot through his whole body upon impact. "Darn it…" he muttered under his breath. He couldn't feel his legs at all, but they were useless anyway- Vegeta hadn't even had the chance to stand for the last ten minutes. Not that he'd be able to anymore; Vegeta didn't even think he had the strength.

Aaron had been knocking him around so fast that if he hadn't already been groggy from the Syndrome, Vegeta would have been completely turned around by now. He couldn't even tell where things were anymore. Like when Aaron had charged him last time, Vegeta could have sworn that he was on his left- but when impact came, his right side was what felt it. Nothing was like it should be.

Vegeta pushed himself off the ground with his hands only to be thrown backwards by another of Aaron's attacks. He landed on his back, and the next thing he knew, he was staring into the face of a very satisfied super villain.

"Had enough yet, Vegeta?" The Saiyan Prince narrowed his eyes.

"Never," he hissed.

"Darrin!" Jamie and the others ran into the room and spotted him lying on the floor, unconscious. "Oh man, Darrin! What happened?!" Jamie knelt beside him and checked for his pulse. Jamie sighed with relief. "Pulse is normal. Should be ok when he wakes up."

"Did Aaron do this?" Trunks wondered. Rienna examined the walls and the scorch and skid marks on the floor. She shook her head.

"Somehow, I think it was Darrin," she said.

"But if Darrin was winning, why is he out?" Rienna shrugged.

"Maybe Aaron just caught him off guard." She clenched her fists. "He has a habit of doing that."

"Maybe…"

"Well, we can't just leave him here," Goku said.

"What do you propose we do?" Trunks asked.

"Well, why don't Jamie and I stay here, and you two go look for Vegeta?" Goku suggested.

Trunks nodded. "Right. C'mon, Ri." She nodded and followed her father out of the room.

As soon as they were out of earshot, she scooted closer to him. "Dad, I don't think it was Aaron that knocked him out."

"What do you mean?"

"At this point, Aaron would be more focused on destroying the world and getting his revenge than anything else. I don't think he leave anyone alive that could stand in his way."

"Maybe he went after your grandfather," Trunks suggested. Rienna shook her head.

"I think it was the other way around." Trunks stopped walking and stared at her in confusion.

"What are you saying?"

*That's it,* Vegeta thought. *I've failed.*

He hit the ground again as Aaron swung him around by his leg and thrust him at the earth below. He didn't care- Vegeta had long since lost any feeling in his body at all. The previous pain, along with the Syndrome, had completely numbed his senses. In all honesty, he was surprised he hadn't lost consciousness yet.

*I've failed everyone… my family, my friends… and I've failed Trunks, again.* He let his mind wander from the battle (if that's what you could call it) to other places, other times. *It's my fault we're even here in the first place,* Vegeta thought. *I should have done something, right then and there! What a fool I am…*

Aaron batted him around a bit more before slamming him into the ground again. He laughed and stared down at Vegeta with a crazed satisfactory look on his face.

"Vegeta, you fool! Give it up! You can't win!" Vegeta snapped back into his senses and glared up at Aaron, who was hovering several feet above him "You just can't beat me!" Above them, the clouds that had been threatening to cover the battle with rain decided to carry out their threat. Soon it was pouring down in sheets.

"Shut your big mouth!" Vegeta croaked.

"Losing your voice, are you? Or do you not have the energy to speak?"

"Even if this is a losing battle, I'll fight you to the death!" Surprising even himself, Vegeta stood up and stared at Aaron defiantly.

"So you do have a bit of energy left in you," Aaron said. "I'm surprised. Under normal circumstances, you would be dead."

"These aren't normal circumstances," Vegeta said sternly. Aaron started to pop his knuckles.

"I guess they aren't." He smirked. "But the outcome is the same- one Saiyan, down and out."

"Well it won't be me!" He didn't know how he did it, but suddenly Vegeta felt all of his energy flood back to him and channel down into his fists. Vegeta yelled something in his rage, and before either of them quite knew what was happening, a large energy blast engulfed the two of them. It lit up the sky so brightly that it blotted out the lightning that was beginning to strike all over the countryside. Aaron looked down at Vegeta, his eyes wide as they could go.

"How could this be?!" he shouted. Vegeta narrowed his eyes and smirked.

"You underestimated the power of a true Super Saiyan." Aaron clenched his fists and started to fade into the light.

"Curse you, Vegeta!!" With that, both Aaron and the blast disappeared into nothingness, and Vegeta was left alone in the heavy rain. He suddenly realized how labored his breathing was, and how weak his legs felt under his weight. He looked down at his hands, and then up into the rain where Aaron had been standing. His head was swimming, throbbing with every heavy heartbeat. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open.

"There," he said softly. "I did it." A tear rolled down his cheek as he smiled. "I fixed it, Trunks…" Vegeta let his fatigue wash over his body and collapsed on the ground face first.

Oh my... What has happened to Vegeta?! Erm, yes... CLIFF-HANGER!!! *cackles maniacally* Don't you hate them? ....You do?! Then click the next chapter, already! Er... after you r/r, of course. ^^