Fallen Hero

Chapter 8

CMG: In the words of some unknown author, all good things must come to an end. However, this story has only begun to get exciting. Right, Scrix?

Scrix: Whatever.

CMG: Now comes the moment you've been waiting for: the confrontation between Scrix and Zi-Kita.

Zi-Kita: About damn time! *tosses log into a fire*

Scrix: This confrontation better be more interesting than what we're going through right now.

Zi-Kita: Did you bring the marshmallows?

Scrix: Only if you brought the graham crackers.

Zi-Kita: Got them. CMG?

CMG: *holding her lovely box full of Hershey bars* Wah! *Zi-Kita takes the box as the two begin the process of making smores at the campfire*

Scrix: *calls out to the authoress* Come on! You're missing the fun!

CMG: Fine. *looks at the readers* Anyway, I don't own the original Dragon Ball characters. I only own some Gods, Goddesses, and other original characters, including Tronikor and Ganki. *comes to a realization* Where are the others (not counting Tronikor) anyway?

Zi-Kita: Around. *thinking* Caduto finding Slug so they get the dragon and make my ultimate revenge on the authoress! *outloud* Muhahaha!

CMG: *sweat drop* I think I'll go for a walk. *thinking* He's plotting something...

________________________________________________________________________

****************************************************

Fallen hero, what were you trying to prove?

Fallen hero, all you got was front page news

It's too late, tough break, read your epitaph

Fallen hero, how many others will follow in your path?

He had a lady, now she cries alone

It would come to this, she's always known

She remembers how he used to say, there ain't no future anyway

Sirens echo in the night, now his name is the battle cry

Of another boy who lives to die

~Vixon-Fallen Hero

****************************************************

Chains hit the ground as Goku was shoved down the hallways of the palace by Brolly rather roughly. As Kakarotto, the Saiya-jin remembered how he was put into the torture chamber after he accidentally ripped his mate's dress and had a hundred lashes against his back at one point. The etiquette that he learned from Ganki was still fresh in his mind as well since there was a point where she completely abandoned the discipline wand and punched him into a wall. Growling from the remembered pain, Bardock felt how edgy his son was since he just recently regained not only control of himself, but the memories of what happened to him in the past month since he was brought here against his will. Scrix remained quiet as he walked calmly behind the others like he was in the park instead of some spooky palace where death awaits.

As they reached the throne room, the guards opened the door as Brolly literally threw Goku to the ground unceremoniously as he went sliding against the red carpeted ground towards the altar that stood in the middle of the room. On the opposite side of the altar sat Zi-Kita on the throne as Goku's back hit the altar rather painfully. Wincing in pain, Goku cried out in pain as Bardock growled at Brolly as though he was daring the rogue Saiya-jin to do the same to him.

/Brolly, you know that's not the way I want you to treat guests. Including those I plan on killing later on,/ said Zi-Kita casually as he looked at Scrix. /Hm. I never seen you before./

/I am the Saiya-jin God sent from Infr to kill you,/ said Scrix coldly.

/How rude!/ mocked Zi-Kita. /I never been so insulted by anyone./

/Well, let me insult you further then,/ said Scrix as he breaks out of his chains and punches Brolly in the face. Bardock follows suit and the two were about to gang up on the Saiya-jin when...

/Ah!/ cried Goku as the two turned and saw Zi-Kita had his tail rather tightly as the young Saiya-jin was coughing up vile.

/Kakarot!/ said Bardock. /Let him go!/

/You're in no position to negotiate,/ said Zi-Kita. /You will all die in due time, but not until I get some answers./

/What kind,/ said Scrix.

/First, I want to know why you don't cower under my name,/ said Zi-Kita as he aimed the question at Scrix, /and I want your name./

/I don't fear you because you aren't a God like I am and if you need to know my name, then I rather die than tell you,/ said Scrix.

/Actually, I can force Kakarotto to tell me,/ said Zi-Kita as the grip tightened as Goku cried something inaudible. /Tell me!/

/Scrix is the God of the Saiya-jins,/ moaned Goku weakly as Zi-Kita suddenly realized what he was dealing with.

/It can't be,/ said Zi-Kita in a worried tone as Scrix growled. /If he's the God of the Saiya-jins, then that must mean he's come to punish me./ The whole thing was a muse as he suddenly smirked. /If he dares try though, then those prisoners will be assassinated with no effort./

/.../ Goku chose that moment to remain silent.

/Do you even care about them anymore, Kakarotto?/ said Zi-Kita mockingly as an unusual quietness seemed to descend upon the Saiya-jin. Squeezing Goku's tail, Zi-Kita did not even hear a cry from the Saiya-jin, but the look on his face changed; not of pain, but pure anger. Zi-Kita was left completely off-guard in confusion and was thrown back by a telekinetic blast into a wall with embroidery on it as it was knocked off and fell upon the Dark God.

'Kakarot?' thought Bardock as the Earth-raised Saiya-jin got to his feet slowly. His head remained downcast the entire time as his father had trouble reading his youngest son's emotions. His fists were clenched as though he was going to fight as Zi-Kita got up rather pissed off. Bardock noticed Goku's tail was deathly still as the hair stood on end.

/How dare you,/ said Zi-Kita as the blood ran from his forehead. /I'll make you pay for shedding my blood!/

Zi-Kita charged at Goku as the Saiya-jin made no attempt to dodge or block. As the hit almost seemed to connect, Zi-Kita's right hook ended up hitting nothing as the Dark God was tripped by an invisible force. As he fell, Goku reappeared in the same spot he vanished from moments ago; making it seem as though he didn't disappear or cause the Dark God to fall. Scrix was able to read the Saiya-jin's movements though and he was reading his soul clearly as Bardock remained in the dark about what was going on.

/Scrix, were you able to keep up with that?/ said Bardock as he noticed Scrix was nervous about something.

/Bardock, you need to find the others and get out of here,/ said Scrix. /Kakarot's not acting normal!/

/What?/ said Bardock.

/Just go!/ yelled Scrix as he shoved out at the Saiya-jin as he disappeared. 'Kakarot can't reach the forbidden level again or he'll lose to the bloodlust!'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Bardock! How did you get here?" said Krillin as Bardock found himself with the others back on the spaceship in the cargo area.

"Scrix sent me to get everyone out of here," said Bardock as everyone grabbed onto the Saiya-jin. "Hang on!" 'Please bring my son back or I'll hunt you down, Scrix!'

With Earth in mind, Bardock teleports everyone off the spaceship as guards entered the room with Brolly.

/Sir,/ said one of the guards. /The stowaways have escaped./

/This very mistake is the mistake that will cost you your life,/ growled Brolly as he killed the guard that reported the whole thing.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

On Earth, Chi-chi was hanging clothes out on the line before the air shifted around her as a large group of people appeared out of nowhere.

"Bardock! I was doing the wash!" yelled Chi-chi. "Now they're all dirty again!"

"Sorry," said Bardock sheepishly. "I didn't mean to teleport here. Really! I didn't!"

"Well, where's Goku? I thought you were going to drag him home by the tail!" said Chi-chi angrily.

"Well, you see, he's still kind of kidnapped mom," said Goten. "Scrix's with him though, so maybe he'll come home later."

"Oh no he's not!" yelled Chi-chi. "Listen, you're his father, so bring your damn son home or I'll make sure that you don't get fed for a month!"

"Fine," pouted Bardock. "Anyone else coming?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" said Radditz. "Mom, you better stay here."

"I know son," said Celpia. "Have fun kicking ass."

"Dad can I go?" said Pan.

"I'm afraid not, honey," said Gohan. "Hey Grandpa. If you see Zi-Kita, give him a punch for us, won't ya?"

"Sure," said Bardock.

"Count me in as well," said Vegeta as he and King Vegeta join the party.

"I'm not a party pooper like the rest of you, so later!" said Nappa as he joins up.

"Daddy, bring me back a souvenir!" said Bra.

"I'll try," said Vegeta as he smiled at his little girl. "Trunks, you and the others safeguard Earth while we're gone in case Zi-Kita sent any of his minions towards Earth while we weren't aware of it."

"Right dad," said Trunks.

"I'm coming as well," said Piccolo.

"Alright then," said Bardock. "Let's go!"

Bardock sensed Scrix's life force as the group returned to Caduto with a small army of Saiya-jins and a Namek as they appeared in the throne room where Goku was standing there deathly still.

"What happened while I left?" said Bardock as Scrix looked towards the group.

"Besides Kakarot insulting Zi-Kita, nothing much," said Scrix as a matter of fact.

"Dammit Kakarot!" growled Vegeta. "Where's your fighting spirit? Why are you holding back against this bastard?"

"Don't tempt him," warned Scrix. "Kakarot's is on the verge of losing what's left of his sanity."

"Is that a good thing?" said Nappa.

"What do you mean?" said Radditz.

"What Scrix is saying is that if Goku loses what control he has left, then we might as well be fearing for our lives instead of worrying about Zi-Kita," said Piccolo.

"Meaning?" said Nappa.

"The forbidden level can be triggered at any given moment," said Scrix.

/Stop toying with me,/ growled Zi-Kita as Goku kept his head downcast. It looked as though he wasn't into fighting against this psychopath who had a grudge against the universe. Besides Bardock, no one else could read what was going through the young Saiya-jin's mind, except the elder couldn't read the Earth-raised Saiya-jin's mind that easily anymore. Almost like...

'He's hiding something,' thought Bardock as he slid into a battle stance.

*Don't get involved,* said Goku telepathically as Bardock suddenly became aware that his son knew his plan without looking at his father.

*Why aren't you fighting him?* said Bardock as he felt the emotions from his son.

*I'm afraid, alright?!* snapped Goku. *You try calculating the best means of attack with a huge handicap against an evil warlord!*

*I am and seeing your performance so far, you're doing a sloppy job!* chided Bardock through the mental conversation.

*There's more to this battle than you realize,* warned Goku. *I've been running possible scenarios through my mind and allowing the ability to see into the future tell me the outcome of the battle.*

*And?* said Bardock, as he stared in awe that the ability he was cursed with and shared with his son could be used in that manner.

*Most of the time, I end up losing, Scrix gets killed, or I blew up the planet,* said Goku. *All of the plans are difficult to use!*

*Then let me get involved,* said Bardock.

"Dad?" said Radditz as Bardock remained quiet.

'Hm, so he's using the bond to his advantage,' thought Scrix as a dark background seemed to descend upon both Bardock and Goku as the yards away from each other seemed like feet instead.

*Have you thought about using Super Saiya-jin 3 to kick his ass?* said Bardock.

*I have, but it failed most of the tests I ran,* said Goku. *Not even the forbidden level left a scratch. It's as though...*

*As though what?* said Bardock.

*He cannot die,* said Goku plainly.

*I've been listening to your thoughts for quite some time and they are starting to bore me,* said Zi-Kita's voice as the two Saiya-jins looked over to the Dark God in fear as he tapped a finger against his forehead. *I haven't missed a single word exchanged between the two of you and I know what you're planning. No matter what strategy you use against me, you'll die by my hands.*

/Damn,/ growled Goku. /So he was able to read my mind clearly the entire time./

/I already know your fate if you are to fight me,/ said Zi-Kita as Goku and Bardock were suddenly hit with visions of death and destruction at the same time. Both Saiya-jin winced in pain as Zi-Kita laughed in his deep baritone voice.

/Before we die then,/ said Goku, /are you really a God?/

/Of course,/ said Zi-Kita. /The only one who can kill me doesn't even know of it./

/Who?/ said Goku.

/You'll never know because you'll be dead,/ said Zi-Kita as Goku began concentrating on the visions. However, Zi-Kita suddenly grabbed him by his throat as the air escaped his lungs. /Say goodnight./

/Kakarot!/ yelled Radditz. 'This can't be happening!'

/Brolly, take care of these traitors,/ said Zi-Kita. /It's time you obey only me!/ Throwing Goku on the altar, Zi-Kita began chanting.

*Let go of me!* growled Goku telepathically as he struggled to get free.

*You will serve me if I have to purge away the memories and bond to your father!* said Zi-Kita as Goku felt pain infiltrate his mind. *You will serve me for the rest of your life!*

/Damn you,/ said Bardock as Brolly entered the room armed with a rather large axe. The blade was as big as the folding card table as the emblem of the House of Vegeta adorned the very blade on both sides. A chain with a deadly three-headed shrunken was attached to the end of it as it seemed almost impossible to carry by 10 humans alone. However, this wasn't a handicap to Brolly himself as the Saiya-jin handled the weapon with the grace and ease of a natural born killer. None of the others were armed as it seemed like an unfair match.

/Great, just great,/ said Vegeta as the rescue party seemed to have their hands full. /You don't happen to have any expertise on weaponry combat, do you?/

/Kakarot has the ability for weaponry combat, but I don't have a weapon to use to fight Brolly with,/ said Bardock.

/You mean to tell me you're going to attempt to mimic Kakarot's fighting style?/ said Radditz. /This I got to see!/

/I have his weapon, but I didn't think it would be necessary,/ said Scrix as he chanted and in his hands, appeared a red pole that looked completely flawless.

/Bwhahaha!/ laughed Brolly. /You truly expect to win with that flimsy thing?/

/I will or I'll die trying,/ said Bardock as Scrix handed the power pole to Bardock. The smooth wooden surface seemed to put the warrior at ease as he held on to the plain staff in both hands.

/Very well,/ said Brolly as the two armed Saiya-jins started circling one another. The others were watching in anticipation as though watching two gang members fighting with knives alone. Brolly struck out with his deadly weapon as Bardock blocked using the weapon that belong to his son. Metal met wood as Brolly expected the pole to split in half, but it did not strain one inch or leave a mark on the flawless surface. /Huh?/

'So it's true,' thought Bardock. 'His weapon is unbreakable!' Before Bardock could counter, a sharp pain was felt in his upper left leg as the blade of the shrunken dug into his leg as he fell to one knee. 'Damn. I was caught off guard from behind.'

/It seems that even if you block, you'll still get hit by the back edge of my weapon,/ said Brolly.

'I forgot about that,' thought Bardock as he heard his son scream in pain. /The rest of you go after Zi-Kita and save my son or I'll kick your asses in hell./

'What crawled up Bardock's ass and died?' thought King Vegeta as he seemed rather peeved that he was taking orders from a Saiya-jin that wasn't even an elite. /Fine, but you owe me after this battle./

/Fine,/ said Bardock as he powered up and the shrunken was blown out of his wound.

The other Saiya-jins ran towards Zi-Kita and Goku to find themselves being blocked by a force field of some sort. (A/N: I know this is rather twisted story, but this is my fanfic!) As Piccolo looked around, he saw Slug coming in with the black dragon balls.

'Traitor!' thought Piccolo as he flew at the other Namek and held him in a headlock.

"Lord Zi-Kita!" cried Slug. "The Namek has caught me!"

"Let go of my manservant," said Zi-Kita as his eyes flashed and Piccolo found himself on the ground holding his throat as he struggled to get air back into his lungs.

'What kind of psychopath are we dealing with here?' thought Piccolo as he struggled against the paralyzing affect. 'He's worse than Freeza!'

"Piccolo!" cried Goku as he struggled to get out of the grasp that Zi-Kita held him in. "I won't allow you to erase my memories again!"

With a roar, Goku transformed into the forbidden level and smacked Zi-Kita into the very force field that was holding the others back as it shattered like glass. Looking at Slug angrily, his eyes glowed for a second as the black dragon balls were instantly destroyed in his hands. (A/N: W00t!)

"Bastard!" growled Slug. "Why did you break the dragon balls?"

"To keep you from using them against me again," said Goku bitterly as he held up a hand towards the evil Dragon child. "Any last words?"

"Yes," said Zi-Kita as Goku was punched in the face. "You will my slave if I have to force my mind into yours."

Paralyzed, Goku couldn't scream as his very thoughts were purged from his mind through the evil gaze of Zi-Kita. His body went limp as his memories were erased and he was suddenly forced to revert back to normal against his own will. Slug ran out of the chamber before he was to be killed to recreate the black and silver-starred dragon balls. On the other side of the battlefield, Bardock felt his son's pain as he suddenly grew angry and reached the forbidden level out of anger.

/That form won't save you,/ boasted Brolly.

/It will help me save some time killing you!/ said Bardock as Brolly swung his axe at the other warrior. This time, Bardock was able to block as he used his own tail to catch the chain holding the shrunken as he used his tail to break it off the axe.

Backing off, Bardock attached the shrunken to the end of the staff as it became a spear-like object. Now even with blades, Bardock charged at Brolly as the weapons clashed against one another. As Brolly pressed down with his full strength, the power pole Bardock had was starting to strain under the pressure, but it didn't break. Instead, the very blade on Brolly's weapon shattered as though it was made of ice as the metal shards buried into the fur on Bardock's body. Ignoring the pain, Bardock swung the weapon aside with the power pole as he delivered a kick to the larger warrior's face. Dropping the axe, Brolly tried to pick it up again, but Bardock's foot came down on the warrior's hand as an energy blast was held in his right hand and the blade attached to the power pole was against his throat.

/Die,/ said Bardock coldly as the energy blast tore at the evil Saiya-jin's body, breaking every single cell in his body down to dust. Dropping the altered weapon to the ground, Bardock flew at Zi-Kita as he hit the force field. Growling, Bardock punched the force field with every bit of strength in his body, but it still didn't budge.

/You're too late,/ said Zi-Kita as the force field broke away moments later. /Your son will never remember his Earthen memories ever again./

Bardock stared at his son as the ember eyes flashed in Goku's eyes. Kakarotto has been revived.

________________________________________________________________________

CMG: W00t! The whole weapon fight was inspired from Kenshin up to the last part where Bardock blasted Brolly's ass to hell.

Zi-Kita: The end was well written too!

CMG: Huh?

Scrix: I never thought you'd throw another cliffhanger this good!

CMG: This has got to be a dream. *wakes up* I was right!

Zi-Kita: Have a nice nap?

CMG: *chained up* You drugged me by using the whole smores thing as a decoy, didn't you?

Scrix: Yep. Have a nice flight!

CMG: What are you talking about?

*Scrix hits the button as the rocket, carrying CMG, goes flying*

Zi-Kita: Have a nice flight!

CMG: Damn all of you! *rocket explodes as Zi-Kita looks at Scrix*

Scrix: I didn't do it. *looks at Saria and the others as they returned with Slug and the black dragon balls that hold Tronikor*

Saria: Don't look at us. This wasn't our fault!

Zi-Kita: Damn. Our fun-time didn't end well. Summon Tronikor now!