Friend vs. Friend Part III

Summary and Author's Notes: The last chapter saw Videl finally reaching Gohan and explaining to him the significance of the saiyan bond. Gohan, true to form, had a hard time grasping the concept. Videl used her powers and a kiss to show him what it was all about. Caught up in the moment, however, she gave in to her deepest desires and they…well, you get the picture. How could that be crucial to the story, you ask? I'm thinking long term here (hint, hint). Anyway, everything fine and peaceful until Videl doubles over in pain. Gohan, feeling the connection between her and him, realizes that his body is doing some hefty damage to her on the outside. Then she starts fading away. Gohan is powerless to stop her since he doesn't have access to his powers. When she fully disappears the bonds come back and Gohan's back at square one. Well, at least that's how it looks anyway. Caught up? Good! Now back to the story.

Dalron stood over the fallen body of 18. She had gotten farther into the fortress than he anticipated. He guessed right when he said that the guard robots wouldn't be a problem for her. She nearly got to the detention area before he got to her. She didn't know who he was, how could she? She assumed he was a guard and clumsily attacked. He dodged her assault and k.o.'ed her with a blur of punches. She was out before his second punch landed, be he had to give her credit for not backing down. Had she known who she was dealing with she might have used a different tactic, or even given up. He sighed as he picked her up and carried her off to the detention area. Maintenance robots came out of their holes in the wall and gathered the remains of the guard robots as he pressed the keypad to open the door.

The detention area was a collection of small cells that held the friends of the warriors outside. Each captive was in a separate cell and each cell glowed brightly with electrical power. The one called Yaumcha found out first the folly of trying to escape. He was still unconscious from grasping the bars. The others looked up at Dalron as he entered.

"Let us out," complained Puar.

"Just wait until the others get here," the blue haired woman exclaimed with a hateful expression on her face, "then you'll be sorry!"

Dalron said nothing as he opened an empty cell and gently laid down 18. He stepped back and activated the cell.

"18," the older man yelled. He turned to Dalron, "What have you done to her you…"

Dalron cut him off before he could finish, "She is alive. The others are outside attempting your rescue as I speak." He could feel their morale soar as they heard his words.

"Then you know, " the old man pressed with renewed confidence, "that nothing will stop them from defeating you and your plans!"

A strange feeling of deja vu suddenly came over Dalron, and a few seconds passed as he considered the old man's words. "We shall see," was his quiet response, and then he left. The doors hissed shut, leaving the captives to their own silence and private hope.

Dalron stood there outside the detention area for a long time, his mind was filled with similar conversations he and others of his kind had said during the saiyan occupation. These earthlings are fighting for their home, he thought. And yet, it is ironic that I am the aggressor here. His thoughts betrayed him more as he walked back to the command room.

Vegeta knew that time was running out. The Spirit Bomb loomed larger than life as he streaked toward it, a Kamehameha Wave at his back, pushing him ever closer to oblivion. He didn't have enough time to gather enough energy to get rid of the Kamehameha Wave, and he was fairly certain that he couldn't dissipate a Spirit Bomb even if he was at full power. A slew of cursing issued from his mouth; the languages included Saiyan, English, Japanese, German, and even some French. Forced to play his Ace Card, he brought his hand up to his forehead and concentrated. He disappeared right as the two attacks met. He reappeared above and behind Goku, breathing heavily. Since he and Goku had fused on two occasions, that gave them intimate knowledge of each other's attacks, if not the knowledge of how to use them. It took Vegeta almost two years to finally figure out how to use the Instant Transmission technique, but the time spent was well worth it.

"I wonder were you got that," Goku asked as he turned to face Vegeta.

"Don't patronize me, baka!" Every bone in his body ached, and his hands bore blisters from the intense heat of Goku's trademark energy technique.

"Did you learn this one?" Goku smiled as he raised his energy.

Vegeta crouched in a defensive position, he knew what was coming next, and he wasn't too pleased at it.

"SUPER KAI-O-KEN!"

Goku's aura turned reddish brown as his power multiplied to ungodly levels. He leapt to the air with a speed that defied meaning. Vegeta brought his arms and knees up to defend himself as Goku punched him. The force of the blow knocked him back and nearly broke his arm. Goku came at him with a speed that Vegeta couldn't match and appeared behind him as he flew backward. Goku caught him in a super bearhug and squeezed. Vegeta screamed in pain as he heard the bones snap in his right arm! Goku squeezed tighter.

"You never could beat me," Goku goaded as he gripped harder. "You were always the weaker one."

"No!" Vegeta grunted as he felt his life being squeezed away. "I…am…" he raised his ki to its highest level and started pushing beyond, "…the…King…of…all…"

His muscle mass increased and his aura flared. Beams of golden ki shot from his eyes as his power increased. "…SAIYANS!' As he finished the sentence his body went rigid and his aura flared out. The sheer force of the display caused Goku to release him from his bearhug. Vegeta's aura burned brighter and changed into pure fire as he screamed. His aura blasted out, hitting Goku and bringing him out of his heightened state. Vegeta's power flung Goku across the desert. He caught himself and raised his ki to protect himself from Vegeta, and flew down toward the ground to regroup.

Vegeta's aura died down, but his eyes glowed with the power that was his and what he had reached. He blurred effortlessly to where Goku was going, and got there before he did. Goku felt the aura die down but realized what was going on a split second later. Vegeta stood staring up at him with the golden eyes. Goku shifted and blurred to super speed and attacked from all angles. Vegeta blocked each attack with his good arm and kicked behind him. His foot was there before Goku was, and the connection caused all of the air to be forced out of his lungs. Vegeta pivoted on his other foot to face Goku and sent his outstretched leg back across Goku's face. Goku tumbled to the ground in a heap as he skidded a good hundred feet away from where he stood previously.

Vegeta blurred and appeared behind him as Goku slowly got up. Vegeta watched calmly as Goku spat out blood from his mouth. He powered up and flew at Vegeta, his fist outstretched. The sound like a thunderclap was very satisfying to Goku as his fist connected squarely on Vegeta's chest. His smile disappeared as Vegeta didn't even flinch from the blow.

Piccolo grasped the stump of what was left of his right arm. His regeneration abilities were already in overdrive, and it would still take precious moments for him to get his arm back. But they didn't have the moments to spare as Leviathan charged through the group again, sending the warriors tumbling in all directions. Leviathan was truly a wounded beast and he fought like one now. Gone was the pretense of playing, he was out to kill, and if the fighters weren't careful, none would leave alive.

Tien was on his feet first and charged the enraged monster. The Grand Kai was up next and he did the same. Leviathan was in a berserk rage as he howled and flew at Tien. Tien saw the clumsy attack and shifted his weight and pivoted in mid-air, avoiding the creature's outstretched arm. As he turned, he grabbed the monster's arm for leverage and swung around, bringing his knees up to Leviathan's face. The creature staggered back as several of it's fangs shattered from the attack. The Grand Kai appeared between the creature's legs and viciously punched upward, crunching the creature in a very sensitive spot! Leviathan swept its legs out in an attempt to crush the wily old man under his weight, but he back-flipped out of the way. Tien let go of his arm as he went down, and hovered there waiting for the creature to impact the earth. When he did, he brought his hands up to his face in a triangle shape and used his gravity attack to press the creature further into the ground. Pikkon and Olibu appeared beside Tien and screamed as they sent hurtling balls of energy down to where Leviathan was. The explosion caused a lot of sand and debris to fly into the air, obscuring their vision. Leviathan appeared from out of nowhere and clotheslined both Pikkon and Tien to the ground. The impact of the attack sent deep splits in the ground out in all directions.

Dende teetered over a vast chasm that wasn't there a moment before. The ground shook which kept him off balance and he fell into the abyss below. Before he knew what was happening, he was suddenly in someone's arms…er, arm.

"Thanks Piccolo."

"Don't mention it," was the gruff reply. "Just watch where you step next time." Piccolo flew back up and dropped off Dende and flew toward Leviathan.

Videl streaked through the darkness to a point of light that was the physical world. She felt the sensation of an explosion as she passed through the barrier then everything went white.

As her eyes focused, she realized Gohan was standing over her. Her heart jumped at the sight, but the look on his face brought back the pain at failing to rescue him. Despair overwhelmed her, as she understood the predicament she was in. She was on the ground and her body exploded in pain as Gohan stomped down hard on the small of her back. Her spine threatened to snap from the force of the blow! Gohan jumped off her and kicked her savagely. Videl felt her rib cage explode and heard the sound of several of her ribs cracking. Through her despair she heard her own voice in her head, detailing things she learned in Anatomy class about punctured lungs, but she didn't care. She failed him and the others when it mattered the most. If only she hadn't given in to her deepest desires, maybe then they would've had enough time to figure out a way to get him back. Her back exploded again as she slammed into the side of the mountain. Whatever little air she had in her system was forcibly expelled from the impact and she crumpled to the ground in a heap, but, unmercifully, she did not pass out.

Gohan's connection had been renewed to himself and his mind's eye showed him every excruciating detail of what he was doing to his love. He snapped as his rage took complete control, and he howled at the forces that held him. A singular thought burned within him, he had to escape! If he didn't, he would kill her. His screams of rage were drowned out by evil laughter, laughter that was eerily familiar. The laughter was the thing that got him under control, and the more he listened to it, the more familiar it sounded. Finally it came to him; it was his! As soon as the realization hit the bonds disappeared. Gohan fell down to the rocky path below, the darkness surrounded him, yet it moved and pulsed as if it had a life of its own.

"It'll be all over soon," a dark voice spoke from the darkness.

Gohan's eyes widened in shock as he realized the voice was his. His eyes darted everywhere, searching for the source of the voice.

"You're not me," Gohan growled, "Show yourself, coward!"

"As you wish," the voice responded.

Gohan crouched in a defensive position expecting an attack, but none came. Instead, he heard the soft echoes of footfalls as they slowly became louder. Eventually he saw a boot step out from the darkness to his right. The rest of the figure followed. Gohan was so astonished; he couldn't breathe as 'he' came into view.

An exact replica of Gohan stood before himself. The only difference between the two was the replica had an aura of menace about him, and the smile made plain the evil intentions of him.

"It's…" Gohan stammered as he stepped back. "It's…impossible!"

"So, I'm not you," 'he' mocked in a conversational tone. He brought his hand up to his chin in a thoughtful gesture. "Well, if I'm not you, then who am I?" He took a step toward the other Gohan.

Gohan instinctively stepped back. "Stay away," Gohan warned, which prompted the other Gohan to erupt with evil laughter.

"Or what?" He took another step closer, "You'll attack me? You'll attack yourself? Don't you see the significance of this?"

Gohan collected himself and resumed his defensive stance. "I don't know what's going on here," he stated as he started raising his ki. "But I do know that you are keeping me from finding a way out of here."

The other Gohan nodded, "Well, that much is true at least." He crouched down in the same defensive position as the other. "I'm having too much fun out there, and I hate being cooped up in here."

Both Gohan's powered up as their auras flared to life. The evil Gohan glared evilly at the other. "Now that I've tasted the freedom that was denied me, I won't go back!" In unison, the two Gohans charged.

Goku went for broke as he used nearly all of his energy in a cataclysmic Kamehameha Wave attack. The energy expanded from his outstretched hands, growing several times larger than Goku was tall. The beam shot out at Vegeta, who had his arms in position for his Final Flash attack. But it was a feint on Vegeta's part. As the Kamehameha Wave reached Vegeta, he leapt over it and sailed down to Goku, flying barely inches above the highest point of the attack. Goku blurred away in time as Vegeta smashed the ground with his powerful fist. Goku capitalized as he blurred above the Saiyan Prince and brought both fists down on Vegeta's head. Vegeta plowed through the earth face-first. Goku shot beam after beam through the hole in the ground, exploding the area, and exposing the ground underneath. As the smoke cleared, Goku saw the still form of Vegeta, who was no longer in super saiyan form, and unconscious. Goku was breathing heavily and sweat dripped from his brow. He floated down to the still form of Vegeta.

"That was a nice trick," Goku panted as he smiled. "I didn't even know there was a level beyond third. You've been busy! But it looks like it has the same problem as super saiyan 3; so much energy is being used and the body can't handle it for long. You were barely in that state for a minute."

Vegeta started to stir and he groaned in pain and exhaustion. Goku's smile turned evil as he powered to ki balls in each hand. "You did pretty good, "he remarked, "but it wasn't enough."

Vegeta painfully opened his eyes to look at Goku. He struggled to raise his good arm up at him in defiance. "Blast…you…Kakarot!"

"Don't worry Vegeta, I'll make this quick." He stood over Vegeta with the energy balls aimed at his back. He raised his hands over his head for the final attack…

"Vegeta and Videl are in trouble," Dende yelled as Piccolo skidded to a halt at his feet.

"We have a small problem of our own," he coughed as he got up. His arm had finally regenerated, but the damage he had sustained in the meantime was overtaxing his system.

"I have to go to them," Dende pressed. Then he ducked as Olibu barely missed clipping him as he sailed above him.

"No," Piccolo commanded. "We need you to stay here with us, the others can handle themselves."

"But…"

"No," he commanded, more forcefully than the last. "Vegeta and Videl trained for this, they know what they're doing. Now go help Olibu!" Piccolo shot off to engage Leviathan with Pikkon, Tien, and The Grand Kai.

Dende knew the truth of Piccolo's words, but gave fearful looks in both Vegeta's and Videl's directions. Sighing, he flew over to Olibu and began healing him.

Pikkon wrapped his legs around Leviathan's huge neck and flipped backward, using all of his strength in the effort. It paid off as Leviathan was lifted off his feet and landed on his back with a loud thud. Pikkon was in his face punching with lefts and rights. Tien clutched the creature's legs, straining to keep him pinned to the ground. Piccolo appeared high above the fighters and shouted, "Now!"

Both combatants leapt off Leviathan, which gave Piccolo a clear shot. "SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!"

The beam hit Leviathan square in the chest, and his screams of pain were louder than the sound of the explosion. Tien and The Grand Kai appeared on each side of Piccolo and they all shot their hands forward in unison. Their combined attack sent a large gravity wave toward the crater where Leviathan was. The attack hit, smashing him deeper into the earth. Great cracks spread out from the point of impact, and then everything went silent.

"Do you think we got him, Piccolo?" Tien asked.

He frowned, "I can't feel his ki, but I doubt it."

"Then let's get the bastard," The Grand Kai exclaimed.

Before they had a chance to move, something horrible happened. A bright beam of energy exploded through Tien's chest and continued outward toward space. Wide-eyed, Tien looked down at the gaping hole where his chest used to be. Piccolo and The Grand Kai were too shocked to do anything, as time seemed to slow down as Tien dropped to the ground…dead.

"That's what you get for forgetting about us!"

Piccolo and The Grand Kai turned to see Gotenks, his finger outstretched. "We'll show you!"

Goku's aura flared as he poured more power into the energy balls. "Any last words?"

Vegeta looked up, and his pained expression suddenly disappeared! "Yes," he said, smiling, "Your time's up!"

At first, Goku thought that Vegeta had totally lost it! HE was the one who had the edge here, not the other way around! Then it happened. As if to prove Vegeta's point, he de-powered back to a normal saiyan, his energy balls were gone. He waited too long to finish him off! He couldn't sustain the power any longer. Goku stared down, and to his horror, Vegeta was gone! Acting on instinct, he lashed out with a kick behind him. Vegeta's bad forearm blocked the kick and his face betrayed no emotion aside from a slight twitch as Goku hit. Goku was so struck with astonishment at the face he didn't move. Vegeta powered up to super saiyan and punched Goku with his good arm. His emotionless expression didn't change and Goku coughed as he took the full brunt of the attack in the stomach. A second later he passed out. Vegeta gently lowered him to the ground.

"You were right Kakarot," he commented, "You always were better than me and you always will. But this time, I…" he stopped. Thinking back, he smiled as the realization hit him. Kakarot had burned as much energy as he could during the fight, hoping that Vegeta would be able to outlast him. Even struck with the controlling poison, he had found a way to help! Vegeta continued, "We…needed to defeat you. Rest, Kakarot. Hopefully we'll be done with this by the time you wake up. I will make sure Chi-Chi and your sons are there when you do, I swear!"

Vegeta took to the air, focusing all his remaining strength to the next battle ahead…Gohan.

Next Chapter: It's a metaphysical meltdown as Gohan fights himself for control of…himself. That just doesn't sound right! Now that Gotenks is back on the scene, and Tien is permanently out, will the rest of the Z Fighters be able to handle their enemies? There's only one way to find out! Tune in next week for another exciting episode of G. I. J…er, sorry about that. The next chapter should be posted in a week or so, see ya then!

A/N: Giving a shout out to my sis for beta reading this thing, and finding way too many errors for my ego to handle! There's probably more, but thanks anyway sis!