Chapter 13: A long, expected battle pt2
The three stood in a circle, each facing their new enemy with a look of contempt. Saruman's face was not at all menacing though. Through his withered visage and old man disguise could be seen a pitiable inner sanctum that inspired sympathy in its beholder as it was now doing to Krillan. Khamul did not fall for the spell though, he was too far gone from humanity to feel compassion any longer. His face could not be seen but the expression on it was clear as he growled at the traitor, Saruman.
"What would you have an old man do for you?" Saruman now asked. "I have little but I am in your service for as long as it is needed of me."
"You cannot trick me, Saruman!" answered Khamul. "Stormcrow I name you as once you named many who had the misfortune to cross your path. You have no service to provide that I can make use of."
Saruman turned to him slowly and smiled. "I realise that," he said with a soft voice. "I can not help what I am or what I have become. With the loss of my power I have withered quickly and soon shall start to decay slowly as my conquered land has. Can you not forgive me for my misgivings now that it is in the past?"
"You betrayed me and my Lord!" came the reply. "You promised us your service once before and planned to take the Ring for your own use!" the anger was clear in the Nazgul's voice and it did not look as if Saruman could persuade him through any means, but he still had his voice and with that the power to manipulate and change both mind and heart as he now planned to do.
Saruman smiled in private; he had expected this answer and waited for it to come, to set his trap. "Many others have bore the Ring," he said with a hint of malevolence in his haggard voice. "You did not serve them as you now serve your new Dark Lord."
It was hard for Khamul to form a reply to this. He had been caught in Saruman's web.
"You seek only to serve power," continued the wizard. "You have no loyalties whatsoever Khamul. You serve out of fear and desire for power and you cannot claim otherwise."
"That may be true," Khamul said unwillingly, "but I have my own power now. Lord Vegeta gave it to me for my own use and now it is wholly mine."
"Yes, but it is not as great as his."
Khamul remained invisible but his anguish was evident from his now drooped posture and inability to respond. This is what Saruman had been hoping for, and now there was hope in his plan. Khamul could be persuaded after all and he soon would be.
"If power is what you seek, I can be more powerful still than Vegeta. Remember I am a wizard. What I lack in strength, I make up for in wisdom and power. With the dragonballs I can overthrow Vegeta and replace him on my throne, with you by my side if you so wish."
"And serve you?" Khamul asked with a look of disgust on his face.
"Serve with me. Together we can rule all of Middle Earth! You seek to serve power as you have done since the moment you were given a ring by Sauron. Now you can be the ring giver and rule as you see fit without a master. You know it is your desire Khamul. Why would you refuse?"
The question went unanswered for a while as Khamul thought over his response. The power was tempting, too tempting for his mind not to be fooled by the offer, and he, indeed, found no reason to refuse.
"I shall join you," he said at last. "Vegeta shall be betrayed as Sauron was. But those left of the Nazgul shall rot and wither before us and not be allowed to rise into power. We shall rule alone, Saruman."
"I agree," he said with a smile and beckoned for Khamul to stand by him.
It was then he turned to the short man who had been waiting patiently, listening to the conversation that been occurring. He smiled softly and looked him in the eyes, the hardship and years of created toil showing once more in his own. Krillan's eyes told a different story though. His were full of power and strength and more recent anger that was aimed at Saruman, whom they now looked upon. They showed no sign of weakness or willingness to be overcome by Saruman's poisonous words.
"You can't fool me so easily!" he announced. "I'll never join you."
"Are you sure?" Saruman asked, sounding slightly confused. "There are three wishes and room enough in our kingdom for one more ruler. We can each possess power greater than the Dark Lord."
"I don't live for power like you two!" Krillan answered sharply. "I only want the dragonballs to destroy the Ring and end Vegeta's reign of terror!"
"But don't you want anything for yourself?" Saruman asked, catching Krillan off guard. I saw the way your friend controlled you while you were in Isengard. He did not wish to be with you and it seemed to me the only reason he was with you was because he was ordered to carry you. You were useless without him and he did not need you. Now you have the chance to change that and you choose not to."
At once Krillan began to think of Gohan and how he had been 'mistreated' by him. He suddenly became aware of how Gohan had always made him feel unwanted and not ever truly been his friend, or at least that is how he now felt. But then he remembered Namek and how Gohan had been dependent on him and he realised that he was being manipulated. "Gohan's my friend and he always has been!" he declared. "I won't betray him or anyone else like you two seem to do so well."
"But Gohan doesn't work for himself, does he?" Saruman now asked. "He takes commands from others who themselves take commands from others. Who might those others be?"
"He takes commands from noone," answered Krillan. "He offered to help as we all did. Goku's in charge of this operation and even as we speak he's fighting Vegeta not so far from here." As he spoke, thunderous explosions could be heard, louder than the usual frightening sounds that plagued Mordor in more 'peaceful' times. "Goku doesn't work for any others also," he continued. "He acts only to keep peace throughout the land and protect this planet from evil forces like Vegeta! So I will never join you or him!"
Saruman smiled, partly an evil smile, and began to talk again. "But you have contradicted yourself there my young friend," he said. You claim you and your friends work only towards peace and harmony, yet you feel hatred for us, your enemy's enemy. And that is not the only contradiction. Even if you hate us, why would you oppose us, knowing our plan is to overthrow evil as you claim you wish to do? Surely if your claim was true, you would wish to aid us or even join us and deny the Dark Lord his power. We would rule a peaceful kingdom and banish the evil of Mordor, casting it out from our land to roam lands where it could not cause any mayhem. Would you deny Middle Earth of the peace we are able to bring it?"
Krillan listened and could not find any lack of logic in the old man's argument. He looked at the bag of dragonballs in his hand and wondered if, together, they really could bring peace to Middle Earth. A part of his mind still did not want to believe it though. This part was filled with memories of Isengard and his long, hard battle with the Nazgul, one of whom now stood before him managing to look evil despite being completely invisible. Then the noises outside the vast tower made him think of Goku and he sensed his friend powering up. 'That's the power of a Super Saiyan 3!' he thought, and this in turn reminded him of Buu, and Cell, and Friesa and the justness of their cause. "I will never join with you!" he declared, and sent a Destructo disk towards Saruman. The powerful disk spun rapidly and sliced the wizard in two. "This shall be your bane, unwise one," was all the wizard could utter before the last of his life drained from his body. Those words lay heavy on Krillan's mind for a long time afterwards, filling it with guilt and remorse and the thought that maybe he should have joined with Saruman after all. Then, still fresh with the poison of Saruman's words, the Nazgul turned to Krillan and said "It's not too late for you to join me," and for a second it was as if the wizard were not dead.
For the third time the battle was now even. Goku's transformation had re-powered him and filled his body with the full extent of its strength. There was nowhere to go from here and should he fail now, all hope was truly lost. Middle Earth had been forced to resort to its last defence, much to its terror, but as long as its hero could hold his own for a while longer it knew it would be okay.
"I see you feel the need to turn Super Saiyan 3," Vegeta gloated. "I suppose I should feel a sense of pride at that. Not many others have pushed you to that level before."
Goku was angry but did his best not to show it. "It's not you Vegeta. The Ring pushed me to this level. When will you put aside your arrogance and realise the power doesn't belong to you?"
"Fool!" replied Vegeta. "The Ring and I are now one of the same. Our powers are combined as one. It accepted me as I accepted It!"
"It might still betray you," mused Goku.
"It will never betray me!" Vegeta shouted. As he did so, the Ring became heavy once more. Goku's words were beginning to show It that Its master may not be as powerful as he thought and perhaps there is another who possesses power far greater, perhaps Goku. It shrunk away and released some of Its power from Vegeta, but not enough to make him less powerful than his adversary. It was still not convinced but Goku had been right; the Ring would betray Vegeta if It had the chance at greater power.
"Enough of this foolishness!" declared Vegeta. "Let's finish this!"
He flew to Goku and sent a barrage of ki pulses at him, all of which were blocked or deflected. Not stopping, he quickened his pace and rammed Goku, driving his elbow into the Saiyan's stomach. It did not do much damage and Goku returned the gesture with his own elbow. This also did nothing and both fighters now realised the battle would be won by energy attacks alone. Finding the right opportunity to strike was the hard part though. Vegeta was still faster than Goku, giving him the advantage, plus he had the home-field advantage, but at the moment Goku possessed the superior skill.
Both Saiyans flew some distance apart and powered up energy waves. Each respective wave met and fought once more for their creators. Unlike before, their powers were equal and the activity seemed pointless. Goku saw it as the opportunity he had been waiting for, however. He released his beam and quickly dodged Vegeta's oncoming beam. The latter fell forward due to the release of pressure and regained his composure only to find a large kamehameha heading his way. Just in the nick of time he managed to raise his hands and send it back to its maker. As Goku waited to deflect it back once more, Vegeta powered up a quick Big Bang attack and hurled the massive ball of energy at his opponent. At the same time Goku sent his kamehameha beam to Vegeta once again and the two powerful sources of energy collided with a huge explosion that sent both Saiyans flying back into different cliffs. For the first time since the battle had begun both competitors were down and out.
Goku rose first. He considered his next move in the time it took Vegeta to rise and was not sure how to use the Dark Lord's fighting style against him. It was random as always, but masked partly by the influence of the Ring. The thought of creating a Spirit Bomb came to mind, but he had only the nearby energies of Piccolo and Krillan as far as he knew and that would not be enough. Also, he knew he would not have the time to create one. Looking back to the battlefield he saw Vegeta had now recovered and was powering up something big. Sensing the energy of the attack he knew it was large and deadly, yet somehow Vegeta was able to power it up in a matter of seconds. "Final Flash!" came to the cry as it was released. A beam more powerful and massive than both the kamehameha and Big Bang combined. He waited for it to arrive before using his Instant Translocation technique, that only he knew, to transport behind Vegeta. As the latter finished pumping energy into his attack, the former kicked him in the stomach, lifted him behind his shoulders and swung him round, landing him headfirst on the plains below. Then, wasting no time, he released another kamehameha, more powerful and deadly than his last, and sent it to the same spot on the plains where it found its target and fed him the full force of its power. Vegeta was thrown up and across the plane only to land, exhausted, again.
He waited for Goku to approach him before starting to get up again. His lifelong nemesis showed no signs of superiority or a want to gloat; only anger was visible in his eyes. Anger and disappointment. There had been a time, not so long ago, where he would have done anything to be Vegeta's friend. After all, they were the only two pure-blooded Saiyans left in the universe and the only remaining link to their kind. Now he was being forced to destroy that link and be the last remaining pure-blooded Saiyan for the rest of eternity.
"I really don't want to have to destroy you Vegeta, but you're leaving me with no other choice," he said as he came within six feet of his enemy. "This is your last chance to hand over the Ring and do the right thing. For once in your life don't be a martyr. You'll still have your pride and noone will think any less of you for it."
The anger in Vegeta's expression heightened and he did his best to conceal it. "No, Kakorat!" was his reply. "If I can't defeat you with the power of the Ring I will have no pride left at all. I have never backed down from a fight before and I'm not about to start now, so destroy me if you have to cause I will never accept defeat at the hands of you!"
Goku frowned and started to realise that Vegeta's words were true. Much as he hated to admit it, the death of Vegeta would benefit the entire world, and since the Dark Lord would not give up the fight, he knew what he had to do."
"Very well Vegeta," he exclaimed. "You leave me no choice." He closed his eyes and powered up a growing ball of energy in his hands, aimed at his opponent below.
"Wait!" shouted Vegeta suddenly, and Goku abandoned the ball. "I haven't lost yet Kakorat. I have one more trick up my sleeve."
Goku's eyes widened out of curiosity. He looked into Vegeta's eyes and saw the evil grin on his face he had seen so many times before.
"Before you kill me, Kakorat, I have something I want to show you." Finding the energy, he rose to his feet and stretched his arms and legs out as wide as they would go. Relaxing his body he let the Ring take control of it and feed it as much power as It would spare. He glowed golden like the Ring and shone brighter than any Saiyan ever had before. Then his hair started to grow. It grew first upward, then curved and widened, running down his back as his face took on a more wisened and stronger expression. He was Vegeta but he did not look like Vegeta anymore. He was taller, he was stronger, he was the embodiment of power; He was a Super Saiyan 3.
"How do you like my new look, Kakorat?" he asked, facing the other SSJ3. Goku did his best to be angry, but his excitement could not be held back. With the greatest of restraint, a small grin still snuck through to his face as he anticipated the coming of every pure-blooded Saiyan's dream…The fight of a lifetime.
Saruman's voice spoke not so softly now through Khamul. The Nazgul had not bought into everything Saruman had said but he liked the idea of having the Ring and the dragonballs for himself, especially now that it really would be for him alone. The only thing that stood in his way was Krillan and he knew Saruman had had the right idea in trying to persuade the man to join them rather than risk confrontation. The proof now lay in the two halves of his body that lay beside them, the wizard's eyes still watching them, wide-open and following their gaze, locked on to them for what seemed would be the rest of their lives. Khamul faced Krillan and asked him once again "Would you like to join me, Krillan?"
"I said I'll never join you!" he replied, sounding angry and less remorseful for having killed Saruman.
"Very well," said Khamul. "I'll bid you farewell then." And with that he took the bag of dragonballs and made ready to leave.
"Hey! Give them back!" Krillan shouted after him, but the Nazgul began to run to the door. A small explosion in front of him stopped him in his tracks though and he looked back to see that it had come from Krillan. Suddenly he was very nervous.
"What I'm about to do is for Gohan," he declared and stood poised for battle. They were about to fight for the dragonballs and the security of Middle Earth.
Khamul, realising resistance was futile, prepared himself for battle and started the fight unexpectedly. With tremendous speed he flew towards Krillan and landed a punch in his stomach. The two began darting around the room, bouncing off walls and hurtling their bodies at each other without a care for their own safety. Krillan was charging up a kamehameha beam and as he let it go it produced a light show as he dodged Khamul, zanzookening here and there. Finally the Nazgul stepped into it in his confusion and felt the blast's full force as it threw him into the back wall. He immediately rose and fired a small, pathetic beam of his own. Krillan wasn't phased and simply pushed it aside with his hands before returning to the battle. They fought with fists now instead, landing a punch every now and again, each beginning to tire, though Krillan still had a lot more energy then Khamul. The latter eventually stopped for a breather and sat down by the door.
"You…fool!" he panted. "Don't you know the Nazgul cannot be destroyed by man?"
Krillan looked confused as he tried to figure out if this could be true. "Before today you didn't know men as powerful as me existed," he pointed out.
"Doesn't…matter," replied Khamul. "We cannot be…destroyed by man."
Krillan fired a stronger kamehameha at the Nazgul who managed to deflect it away from him.
"Don't…hit me when I'm down," Khamul demanded, and strangely Krillan listened to him. He waited till the Nazgul had risen again and was fully functional before restarting the fight. This was Khamul's first battle since he had been given power by Vegeta and he did not yet know how to use it properly. He was wasting far too much energy and lacked proper control of it. This had not gone unnoticed by Krillan who engaged the Nazgul in hand-to-hand combat once more in an effort to wear him down. Khamul had the same idea but a different method of carrying it out. He began to zanzooken around Krillan, hoping to confuse him and wear him out eventually. It quickly backfired though as he, himself, began to feel tired. Krillan waited for him to stop then punched him hard in the stomach and kicked him in the chin. Khamul fell again and took another breather.
"Don't…hit me when…I'm down," he demanded again. It didn't work this time though. Krillan spun the energy in his hand until it took the form of a disk. Then, without words, he hurled it at the Nazgul, ending its miserable life. Its loud piercing scream rang throughout the tower but noone was around to hear it. Krillan shielded his eyes and when he looked back, discovered that he had been right: The Nazgul could be killed by man.
Krillan was left alone in the battered room now. Ironically, it now looked much like the throne room due to the amount of guts and blood that now covered it. He made sure both Khamul and Saruman were dead before taking the bag of dragonballs and deciding what to do next. But just as he was about to leave the room he heard a strange beeping noise. It slowed down as he approached the door and sped up as he walked deeper into the room. Finally he concluded it was coming from Saruman. Looking in the wizard's pocket he found the source of the noise; a dragon radar. "So that's how he tracked the dragonballs!" Krillan concluded. "I wonder how he got it though." Without giving further thought to the mystery, he exited the room and flew high above Barad-Dur and Mordor. As he looked down he could see the fire and dust and smoke that were a result of the long, bloody battle going on below. He wished he could help but he knew what he was about to do was help enough. "Just hold on a little longer Goku," he said. "It'll all be over soon." And with that he slung the bag of dragonballs over his shoulder and took off at speed for Dende's place.
The two powerful Saiyans were giving it everything they had. Each punch sent tremors through the whole of Mordor and the ground shook violently as their bodies clashed with thunderous explosions. Each was a Super Saiyan 3, the final form a Saiyan can achieve and this made them the two most powerful beings in the universe. Their hair flew about their waists, running down the length of their bodies as they zanzookened at a speed too great for human eyes to see, delivering blows that would collapse a major city in a second. The ground was cracked, moreso than before the start of the fight, and volcanoes now erupted as the tectonic plates far beneath them in the Earth's mantle shattered under the pressure.
Goku smiled the entire time. He had never had a fight of these proportions before and was loving every minute of it, but in the back of his mind the task he had been appointed with weighed heavily on him and he realised his own amusement must come second to it. For this reason he was not holding back. It was a very rare occasion when Goku used the full extent of his power but now was one of them, and it was necessary as the Dark Lord was using the full extent of his, though he claimed otherwise. Talk was over and both Saiyans lost themselves in the fight, giving it their full attention and taking it as seriously as they could. Middle Earth was at stake and they both wanted it dearly.
Vegeta was sending out rapid Final Flashes, formed from his hands in the space of mere seconds, an incredible feat for anyone. Goku, however, was able to avoid them with the greatest of speed and still created Kamehamehas in similar time, sending them back before zanzookening over to Vegeta and delivering a blow to his face in order to distract him. The latter did not fall for the cheap trick. With one arm he blocked the punch and with the other, sent the kamehamas to the nearby cliffs which by now were just piles of molten rock. He threw Goku away and swung a Big Bang at him, showing no signs of weariness despite the incredible amount of power he was now using. The Ring lightened and shined beneath the Dark Lord's vest, sensing the closeness of their victory.
The Big Bang exploded against Goku's arms as he defended himself. It did no harm and shattered into a million pieces as Goku fired a burst of rapid ki pulses, each powerful enough to destroy a planet, at Vegeta. The Dark Lord released his power and blew them away as Goku charged at him. They each kicked at the same time and landed their feet in each other's faces. Neither flinched as they zanzookened a safe distance away and faced each other.
"You are good, Kakorat," exclaimed Vegeta. "I have never seen you show the full extent of your power before, I must say I'm flattered."
"What makes you think I'm using the full extent of my power?" asked Goku.
"I can just tell. The Ring can just tell," replied Vegeta with a small grin appearing round the edges of his mouth. He folded his arms and waited for Goku to speak.
"This is hopeless," Goku finally said. "We're both too strong and fast to damage one another. This fight has lasted through the night and still we're both standing. How long do you expect to keep this up for?" He was willing to keep it up all year if possible, having too much fun to stop, but still his task came first and he decided to sacrifice his entertainment for it.
"I'm perfectly willing to keep it up as long as you are, Kakorat," Vegeta replied, and the Ring glowed at the mention of 'perfect'. "However," he continued, "I think it might be time to reveal to you the true extent of our power." Again the Ring glowed, this time because Vegeta had acknowledged Its existence by saying 'our' rather than 'my' for once. It had become submissive to Vegeta and let the Saiyan rule over them both, something It had not done for a long time now. Vegeta's word was Its command and anything the Dark Lord desired, the Ring would do Its best to help him achieve.
Goku watched as Vegeta took the Ring out from under his vest and held it in front of him. He watched his opponent create a small ki pulse from his finger and send it through the golden object. It was very small, both the Ring and the pulse, but one was immensely powerful. The ki pulse entered a kitten and emerged from the Ring a lion. It immediately grew a million times in all of size, power and speed, and was now heading for Goku. It was too fast by far for the Saiyan to dodge. His arms instinctively rose to protect his face but all at once the blast hit him and he felt it was more powerful than anything he had ever felt before. His arms did nothing to shield the blast as it threw him to the ground and exploded on him violently, the sound of the blast travelling throughout Middle Earth, and the ground it had hit flying in all directions, shards of rock landing as far away as Mirkwood and Isengard. Vegeta pumped more power into it, sending rapid ki bursts through the Ring and watching them come out as Big Bangs on the other side. He laughed as he toyed with Goku, watching the ground the Saiyan had landed on being destroyed and deepening as its rock left it and travelled to other lands. He felt he could keep it up all day, and planned to until he was sure that Goku was dead, but suddenly he felt a small blow to the back of his head. It was too small to damage him, but large enough to move him. At once he stopped and turned to see where it had come from. Noone was behind him, but a third party stood on the ground below, near the crater Goku lay in, not looking at all happy. "The Namek!" declared Vegeta before he could even see Piccolo. Then he turned and found him. "What are you doing here?!?" he shouted with immense fury, but Piccolo did not immediately reply.
The angry Namek rose from the ground and hovered over to Vegeta, the tenseness of his muscles revealing the mood he was in as they bulged with every breath he took. He stopped when he was close enough for Vegeta to both see and hear him clearly and decided to answer the question.
"I came to watch over Goku," he said. "And it looks like he needed me after all. Good job I was here." A small smirk escaped from his stern expression as he realised he had the right to be cocky at Vegeta's expense. The Saiyan was not someone any Namek wanted to mess with though, not even Piccolo.
"Fool!" said the Dark Lord. "Attacking me will do no good. I can destroy you in an instance! And as soon as I do, I'll go right back to Kakorat. Unless you have someone to watch over you too of course."
Down below, Hercule heard those words and cringed.
"It's just me Vegeta. Destroy me if you can, but I think you'll find it's more difficult than you expect."
And with that Vegeta was pushed over the edge. He swung furiously at Piccolo, but the Namek had moved by the time the punch had reached the spot he had been standing in.
"Don't make this too easy for me Vegeta," mocked Piccolo.
"I won't!" replied the Dark Lord. "You've given me an opportunity to try something out I've been wanting to try since I first acquired the Ring."
He took the Ring out and snapped the chain, freeing it. He then proceeded to put it on his index finger and disappear. Piccolo's eyes widened in disbelief of what he had just seen. His opponent had vanished and was nowhere to be found.
"How do you like fighting blind Piccolo?" asked Vegeta.
The Namek was angry but not dismayed. "I can still sense your power level, Vegeta," he replied. "That's just about as good as eyesight."
"Can you really sense my power level?" asked Vegeta.
Piccolo tried but found he couldn't. If he didn't already know the Saiyan was in the room, he would never have known. "What did you do?" he asked, the anger now showing in his voice.
"I masked my power level," Vegeta replied. "Did you forget I could do that? I learnt it on Earth. You and your friends taught me it, ironically." He laughed maniacally and flew, unbeknownst, towards Piccolo.
The Namek felt a powerful blow strike his face, forcing him to the ground. Another followed, this time to his stomach, then two hands were driven into his back. Every time he managed to get up fast enough to return a blow, Vegeta had moved. "This…isn't funny…Vegeta," Piccolo struggled to say, but there was no reply. Suddenly a large beam came flying at him. He moved to dodge it, but it turned and followed him, gaining on him until it had him cornered, then exploding with all its force.
"Prepare to be sent into the next dimension Namek!" Shouted Vegeta from high up in the sky.
"Stop!" cried Piccolo. "If you destroy me the dragonballs will disappear!"
"I don't need them anymore," said Vegeta. "The Ring is all I need from now on. I cannot be more powerful than I am now and It will never betray me!"
Piccolo felt Vegeta's energy rise and he could sense him again. The Saiyan was planning something big.
"Say goodbye to Middle Earth, Piccolo!" shouted Vegeta, and a powerful beam was sent flying. It did not come from the Dark Lord though; it flew towards him and exploded on him, sending him into the rocks below. It came from the crater where Goku lay. The Saiyan was drained of energy but had enough to stop Vegeta from destroying his friend. That was the last of his energy though and he now lay motionless, unable to speak or move. Furious, Vegeta flew to the crater and peered in. "Blast you Kakorat!!!!!!!!" he screamed at the top of his voice. Still invisible, he rose his power again and began to create the most powerful Final Flash he had ever created. Piccolo flew to him and sent rapid punches and kicks, but the Dark Lord blocked each one without delaying the completion of his final attack. Not even a Masenka-ho could move him now. Vegeta was completely focussed on destroying Goku and he wanted to pump all his energy into his attack to make sure that would happen.
"Kakorat will die and then so will you Piccolo!" he declared, an evil smile on his face. With one arm he threw the Namek to the ground again and continued powering up his Final Flash. Goku, Piccolo and Hercule all looked on but could do nothing. Fearing the worst, they closed their eyes and hoped for a miracle to happen. Then it happened.
Vegeta suddenly noticed he was visible again. He released the energy of his attack back into his body and looked down at the Ring on his finger. "What is happening?" he asked it. "What are you doing?" He felt his body being dragged by the Ring. It was taking him somewhere and after a short time he realised It was heading for the volcano. Mount Doom, the place of Its creation, the only place It could be destroyed. Vegeta struggled to pull It off but the Ring tightened on his finger and dragged him harder. "Why have you turned on me?" screamed the Saiyan, but there was no answer or any change in the actions of the Ring. It reached the volcano and hovered over it. The all-seeing eye watched them both and a silent laughter filled the lava below as the flames jumped at them, impatient for the moment they had been waiting for since the birth of the Ring. "No! Don't do it!" pleaded Vegeta as the Ring began to fall. Again the Dark Lord struggled but the Ring was too tight to take off. It fell into the lava with Its master as a large rush of magma rose quickly into the atmosphere for all Middle Earth to see. His final scream was buried in the volcano along with his molten body and the molten Ring he had treasured so dearly. Piccolo heard it and smiled, though he was not sure what had happened. He just knew that Vegeta's power level had rapidly decreased to nothing and this meant one thing…the Dark Lord was dead.
So the Dark Lord has finally been destroyed along with his Ring. Middle Earth is safe at last...or is it? here are still some loose ends to be tied up. Find out how all our heroes fare in Chapter 14, the final chapter!