Power from the Past

It took Goku precious seconds to stand. The kick from Dalron nearly splintered his jaw in half! His eyes refused to focus on the battle that raged before him. Needles of pain assaulted his brain and traveled down his spine. He knew that his natural healing abilities wouldn't be up to the task to keep him going in this fight; Dalron was simply too strong. Dalron's strength was at least equal to Buu at his most powerful form, but Goku sensed that he didn't have the endless reserves of energy that Buu had. That was a variable that worked in his favor, if they could sustain the attack long enough to weaken him their chances of survival greatly increased. His right shoulder suddenly went cold and numb, refusing to flex. Goku had been in enough battles to understand the seriousness of nerve damage, and he feared the worst. Slowly his eyesight returned, revealing the desperate struggle before him. Krillin had joined the fight but Dalron easily dodged the attacks from his friend. Goku was astonished at the pure technique of their winged enemy, and his senses whispered darker things to him that he forced from his mind, even though he knew his suspicions were correct. There was a presence beneath that of Dalron's, a presence of pure destructive instinct and power; the power only a super saiyan could muster…Brolly's.

He didn't understand it and he didn't care. All he cared about was what he was forced to do while he was under the influence of Dalron's evil mind control. Never before had he felt so…violated. The numbness in his shoulder and arm disappeared, replaced by a constant prickly feeling, but he was able to flex it through the pain and force it to work. Rage welled up within him, and the cold purpose of the destruction of this enemy became his overriding goal. Dalron could never be forgiven for the sins and blood that were now on Goku's hands! The only thing Goku wanted was death…no matter at what cost!

Goku clenched his fists as his power rose of its own accord. The familiar golden aura flared to life around him, but it wasn't the same as before. The aura had a malevolence about it that mirrored the dark desires that were in Goku's soul. Goku let all the anger and rage consume him. He felt his mind lose the subtle connection between rational thought and pure chaos. Had his brother, Radditz, lived to see him the way he was now, he never would have laid a finger on Gohan all those years ago; he would have left the galaxy screaming in fear! The ground around Goku reacted to the ki given off by him and exploded as he charged into battle, screaming with rage, pain and the loss of innocence.

Gohan snapped his jaw back into place and rubbed the painful bruise on his cheek, courtesy of Dalron's kick. He was up in a second, leaping back into the battle. Krillin was easily swatted away and struck the far wall with a sickening crunch. Piccolo was already engaged again, using every dirty trick in the book to keep the winged warrior away from him. Gohan attacked Dalron from behind, thinking he'd get in a blow or two while he was busy with Piccolo, but that wasn't the case. At the last moment Dalron spun and kicked upward with amazing speed. He aimed for the exposed front of Gohan's neck, intent on snapping it, but Gohan flipped over the attack and leapt backwards with his arm outstretched and bent. His elbow found Dalron's mid-section, and he brought his fist back and smacked him squarely on the face. Dalron reeled back from the blow and slammed into the wall, the impact of the blow pressed him almost a foot deep into the wall. Piccolo and Gohan didn't waste time as they sent powerful waves of ki energy at Dalron. A few of the blasts struck, causing massive amounts of debris and dust to fill the area. Piccolo remained alert and dodged the first attack from Dalron that immediately followed. His sword cleaved through the space where the Namek once stood and created a large rent in the floor from the force of the blow. Piccolo flipped backward and landed in a defensive position ready for the next attack. He braced himself as Dalron attacked, swinging his sword wide. Both Gohan and Goku, who had re-entered combat, tackled him from both sides, Gohan pinned the deadly sword strike with his arms while Goku lashed furiously onto Dalron. Goku had Dalron pinned underneath the other arm and was continually punching Dalron in the back of the head while the momentum of their combined attack knocked Dalron off balance.

Piccolo readied his Special Beam Cannon and fired while Dalron was disoriented and hit him point-blank on the chest. Dalron screamed in pain as the energy of Piccolo's attack coursed through him. He snapped his head back and a shockwave of energy issued forth from his aura knocking back the three Z warriors. Goku and Gohan were up before Piccolo and braced for the following attack, but Dalron spent the seconds picking up his sword and swinging it around him before crouching down in a high defensive stance, his wings flared out, giving him an even more ominous appearance that he already had.

"The power of the saiyan spirit is strong indeed as is that of the Nameks," Dalron growled begrudgingly, "But it is no match for my strength!"

Gohan took a moment to look over his dad and almost took a step back in shock! He almost didn't recognize him from the amount of dark waves of ki that flowed from his aura. Gohan didn't have time to wonder however as Dalron blurred to super speed and attacked.

The Grand Kai and Gotenks blasted through room after room destroying all robots that got in their way. They were able to home in on their friends' signatures and headed in that direction, which was in the opposite direction that they originally headed. Both knew that the final battle was already going and they didn't want to miss any of the action. The old Kai was deeply concerned by Goku's ki signature. Something was definitely wrong, he reckoned his ki was all out of whack. He didn't want to think of the ramifications on that line of thinking and he kept his concerns to himself as they smashed through room after room and wave after wave of deadly attack robots.

Gotenks sensed their respective fathers power signatures as well and were in a hurry to meet up with them. He sensed that the battle wasn't going to well and was eager to test his own strength against the true enemy. The robots were tough and the living guards were even tougher but they weren't a match for a fused super saiyan, let alone one at third level strength. Past experience taught Gotenks to conserve as much energy as he could, so he wouldn't burn himself out too quick and he picked his shots when he could. Still that part of Gotenks that was Goten was confused and more than a little worried by the ki signature given off by Goku. It didn't make much sense, but the endless waves of attack robots and other guards didn't give Gotenks much time to dwell on the matter. Each room the pair exited from was a ruin of fallen bodies and scattered robotic parts, and there was still a few rooms to go before they reached their friends. The Grand Kai and Gotenks kept up the pressure and pressed on, knowing that their goal was getting closer by every step forward.

Goku ducked a sword slash that was intending to sever his head from his shoulders. His right arm was tingling with damage and was reacting slower than his left. Several strands of gold hair were cut at the ends from the speed of Dalron's attack. As he ducked he brought his left fist up in a vicious uppercut that impacted squarely on Dalron's stomach, forcing the air out from him. Goku tried to follow through with his right, but the pain and strain to get it to move made him move slower than expected and the Enemy spun out of the way. The Enemy attacked as he spun, slashing his sword following his spin and caught Goku on the injured arm. The cut wasn't deep, and Goku barely felt the blow, but the damage to his arm lowered its effectiveness even further.

Gohan was ready to meet Dalron as he finished his spin. His mystic form was powered as high as he could go and he went toe to toe with Dalron. He kept his hands up, carefully gauging the deadly arcs of Dalron's blade, and used careful timing and a precise swaying motion to swat away the flat side of the blade. Dalron caught on quickly and changed the angles of his sword strikes, trying to keep the powerful saiyan guessing. Gohan realized the danger he was in and clapped the blade between his hands and hen locked his fingers together to stop the blade from gaining any further forward momentum. For a half-second both warriors strained against the other trying to gain the upper hand in the contest of strength. Neither side gained ground and they broke off from each other.

Piccolo blurred and appeared under Dalron and punched upward, but Dalron back-flipped and avoided him. As he landed he had to bring his sword up to defend himself from the flurry of blows from Gohan. Goku joined his son, attacking the Enemy from behind.

Videl stopped advancing to the battle in order to check on Krillin. He twitched and convulsed as he struggled to stand; he wasn't getting very far prior to Videl's assistance.

"Thanks," he grunted as she hoisted him up over her shoulder.

"You alright?"

"Ugh…I'll be fine," he answered, but she could tell he was more injured than he was letting on.

He shrugged her off and powered up his ki. He charged into combat with a grim expression on his face. Videl charged after him, intent on helping out her friends and her love.

Both her and Krillin slammed into Dalron while he was busy with the others. The battle was now joined!

Vegeta stood weakly and stared in white-hot anger at the fight, his attention fully focused on Videl. Involuntarily he went super saiyan. How dare her! Doesn't she know that he's too strong? They've sacrificed too much to make a mistake now, and even though Videl had gotten far in her training, it wouldn't be enough once Dalron started concentrating on her. Even with the Room of Spirit and Time she hadn't come far enough, hell, he didn't even think that Goku and himself could take him at their strongest. But now there was no other choice. He didn't want to fight; all he wanted was his wife and son back. But just like so many good plans, they fall through and chaos reigns.

Vegeta's concern for Kakarot was growing each passing second. Something was wrong within him; he could feel it but couldn't place it. He was getting careless and clumsy. The rage inside him was affecting him in a way that was unlike anything Vegeta had ever seen. He could tell that Kakarot's arm was nearly dead, but instead of compensating for it he was still going all out against Dalron.

Dalron. The name now matched with a face invoked powerful emotions in the saiyan. Regret assaulted him the strongest and even a sense of pity for the winged warrior. Vegeta was confused with the emotions that boiled over through him. He was a saiyan elite! He should be leading the charge into battle with his friends and destroying the stupid upstart for daring to bring down all of this misery and suffering to his friends and family. Innocent people were cast aside without any regard for their safety. Everything that made Vegeta who he was screamed at him to join in with the others, and yet, he did not. Why? I'm no coward! Don't think, baka, just act! Get in there and save your friends! What would your father think of you if he saw you like this? He would…

"No!" Vegeta screamed aloud at himself, forcing his inner voice down. Vegeta's anger redirected itself toward himself, causing his aura to flare brightly. Dende took an involuntary step back in fear. But in a flash, Vegeta composed himself, betraying no emotions on his face.

Dende tried to gather his bravery to ask what was wrong with Vegeta but decided against it. Saiyans were a touchy lot, and Vegeta was the touchiest of all!

"We're almost there." Gotenks bellowed as he sent a devastating ki blast through the latest line of guard robots.

The old Kai grunted, sensing the nearness of the z warriors' ki signatures. He leapt over Gotenks and sent a barrage of ki-charged energy out toward the next line of defending robots. Explosions thundered out everywhere as robotic scrap flayed out in every direction. There was only one room left to go they were so close! The sealed blast-doors taunted them as if daring them to get past. The robots fired their volleys of lasers and mini-missiles at the fighters, causing them to waste more time and energy…

"Can you hear that?" Chi-Chi asked in astonishment.

Master Roshi's glasses gleamed in the dim light as he concentrated on the sounds of battle coming from outside the cell walls. "Hmmm," he answered. He tried to stretch out his senses but the walls were somehow blocking him.

18 was awake and none the worse for wear. The energy bars that separated their individual cells weren't particularly strong, but without access to their ki powers there was nothing they could do to free themselves. The waiting game continued in fearful silence, each occupant of the cells straining to hear of the battle's outcome just beyond the walls.

The Enemy's wings flared forward, swatting Goku to the ground. He shifted his balance as he fell and twisted his body to the side so one foot was able to land on the ground first and he pushed himself up, still twisting. He shot his other leg out as he completed the spin, but the Enemy arched his back and He flew over him, the attack ineffective. His arm was almost completely dead now, but he still forced it to move and act by sheer force of will alone. His eyesight became a haze, only the Enemy was in sharp focus. The last vestiges of Goku's mind tried one last assault to regain control, but failed miserably. Goku, now an utter animal of destruction, went to the second level of super saiyan. A red line surrounded the Enemy in Goku's vision; everyone and everything else became so out of focus as to become irrelevant. A growl grew from the depths of darkness and rage that was his soul. As it exploded from his center, his ki exploded with it, sending out shockwaves that destroyed walls and ceilings and threatened to destroy the very mountain itself! Using his very life force to power himself, Goku began to change…

Dalron felt the shockwave and raised a ki barrier to deflect the massive amounts of ki energy that was given off from Goku's direction. The others weren't so fortunate. Krillin, Piccolo, Gohan and Videl were sent flying like dead leaves. The hideous, monstrous scream that came from Goku was unlike anything they had heard before! Piccolo and Krillin thundered into the wall, pressed in by the force of Goku's ki. Gohan was able to get some sense of motion and direction and blurred over to Videl before she became flattened against the other wall. The force of the impact was still strong enough to knock the wind out of him!

Vegeta braced himself from Goku's shockwave and guarded Dende from the worst of it. Such power! I…I don't believe it! He cut the rest of his thoughts from his mind and concentrated on protecting himself and Dende.

The growl was now a roar of death. The pupils in his eyes were gone, replace by a white-hot fire of pulsing ki. The floor trembled and buckled beneath him, but he paid it no notice. His muscle mass nearly doubled as he grew. Blue lightning flashed and danced around him as the air reacted to his ki. His hair was long now and his features were more angular. Veins popped in his arms and chest, as if they too struggled to keep the raging power within him in check. His hair glowed just as brightly as his eyes. The aura that surrounded him was like living fire melting and disintegrating all debris that dared to come close to him. Finally his roar died down casting an eerie silence in the large chamber, even his aura was deathly quiet.

Dalron raised an eyebrow in surprise, "That was…impressive." He was able to suppress the need to smile; there was no need to bring things further…possibly.

If Goku heard him he gave no indication. He raised his injured arm and found that it worked perfectly. His pulsing eyes regarded the arm curiously as if it wasn't his and when he flexed it he was satisfied with the outcome. He turned to the Enemy and bared his clenched teeth. An animalistic noise escaped from his mouth and he charged at the Enemy, full of fury and purpose.

Both Gohan and Videl stared in horror at Goku's transformation. Gohan was the first to shake himself out of the shock. He nearly went back into shock again as he realized that he held Videl in his arms.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to find a way to get the others free!"

Videl turned around and stared into his angry face. Her expression was angry as well. "I won't stand around and do nothing while you get tossed around! If I'm gonna die I want to die by your side fighting!"

"It too dangerous," he said with a tone of finality. "If I lost you again…" he couldn't finish.

The anger disappeared from Videl's face, and she chanced a small smile as she looked deep into his eyes. Suddenly she grabbed him and kissed him passionately for a long moment. She released him from the kiss, her mind still light-headed from the rush and emotion. "I love you Gohan," she said simply, "Forever and ever."

Gohan was caught off guard by the suddenness of her and was too disoriented to catch her. Videl blurred away from him as she powered up, her silver aura disappeared with her. It took Gohan a moment to realize where she was going…back into combat.

Piccolo dragged Krillin, who was unconscious, over to where Dende and Vegeta stood. He gently put down Krillin in front of Dende who immediately went to work healing him. Piccolo and Vegeta's eyes met each coldly regarding the other. No words were exchanged, as they knew what the other was thinking. Suddenly there was a loud explosion coming from the left wall and scraps of metallic robot pieces littered the new entrance. Gotenks and the Grand Kai had arrived!

Gotenks didn't waste any time and immediately flew toward Goku and Dalron, eager to finish the battle. The Grand Kai flew over to where the others were. "Sorry we were so late," he said with a smile, "but we got a bit tied-up back there."

Vegeta grunted, while Piccolo nodded. Piccolo turned to the blast doors that held their friends; "We have to find a way to get in there."

Vegeta didn't pay any attention; he was focused on the battle at hand. Gotenks, Goku and Videl were engaged with Dalron, but both Gotenks and Videl were giving Goku a wide berth. Gohan yelled something and was rushing over too. Vegeta looked over at Dende who had finished healing Krillin. He rubbed his head as he got up; "Ugh…what hit me?"

"This is it," Piccolo said as he looked at the fight. "They are our last chance between victory and defeat. We'll have to hold up our end and find a way to rescue the others," he said as he turned to the blast doors.

"It's resistant to your ki attacks," Vegeta said flatly. "You have any ideas?"

Piccolo nodded, "I think so."

Dalron was hard pressed against the savage fury of Goku's attacks. Gone was any pretense of training and martial arts, pure instinct and rage was what he was up against now. The small, fused super saiyan attacked but he was easily able to deflect the attacks of the powerful warrior. Dalron didn't even give the woman any consideration at all in battle, his energies was focused fully on Goku.

The Enemy was kept guessing by Goku's vicious attacks. That was one thing that was in his favor, but there was a drawback as well. Due to Goku's animal instincts taking over, he left himself wide open to attack, forgoing any kind of defense. The Enemy slashed with his sword, which Goku blocked with his arm, but the blade cut deep. Before the Enemy could retract it Goku grabbed the end of the blade with his other hand, cutting his palm up. Screaming, he snapped the blade in half! The savageness and quickness of the attack made the Enemy lose his balance, which Goku capitalized on by leaping directly on him. His hands were slick with blood, but he was able to grasp a wing as they fell to the floor. Goku wrenched backward, still howling like an animal. Now his howl was joined by screams of pain coming from the Enemy. There was a sick snapping sound as Goku ripped off the Enemy's left wing clear off!

Through the red haze of blood and pain Dalron flipped backwards and used his knees to launch Goku off of him. Goku was sent flying; Dalron's bloody wing was still clutched in his hands as he slammed into the wall. Ignoring the searing pain from his back he flipped himself up to his feet and raised his arm up in time to block a ki blast from Gotenks. He kicked sideways, landing a glancing blow on Gohan before his fist could connect, and he ducked under the woman's clumsy assault. Things were starting to get out of hand. Goku was already up and was leaping back into the fray. Gotenks decided to attack as well, telegraphing his fist aiming at Dalron's face. With impossible speed, Dalron grabbed the outstretched arm of Gotenks and spun him around, using Gotenks' body as a bat and smashed Goku away. He let go of Gotenks and the momentum carried him into the already crumbling wall. He struck the wall headfirst, which got stuck. He struggled to get his head free from the rocky prison.

Both Gohan and the woman were preparing to strike. Gohan was using the Kamehameha Wave while the woman was gesturing some type of energy attack that he did not know. They released their attacks simultaneously from opposite ends of Dalron and their aim was true. Dalron tapped into his ki and thrusted his arms out at the last second and caught both energy blasts. For a split second it looked like the energy blasts would win and crush Dalron, but he was able to counter them with his great strength. He angled his hands and leapt to the air, releasing the energy blasts. The new angles of the blasts sent them hurling towards the other. Videl was caught flat-footed by the Kamehameha Wave and took it full force. Gohan was able to leap out of the way of her attack. Videl was sent flying from the explosion.

Vegeta blurred into action immediately. He caught Videl in mid-air and gently lowered her to the ground. Gohan blurred and was there when Vegeta landed. "Videl! Are you okay?"

Her eyes fluttered open and focused on both Vegeta and Gohan. Her clothes were burned and burn marks and bruises covered her. She nodded and Vegeta released her. The three of them turned as they felt a massive surge of ki being expended in the direction of Dalron.

Dalron hovered high in the air and he raised his ki. He screamed as the air around him swirled in reaction to his ki. Gray lightning danced around him as his aura flared to life. Even with the loss of a wing he looked just as deadly as before. Then, impossibly, his aura changed color. It became golden in appearance and his hair began to change color as well. His muscle mass nearly doubled in size and continued to grow. His hair shifted fully to a golden color and the pupils in his eyes disappeared. Finally, his transformation was complete and there Dalron hovered, infused with the power of a super saiyan!

"No way!" Vegeta breathed.

"Impossible!" Piccolo stammered.

"What the hell's going on here?" the Grand Kai asked incredulously.

Videl said nothing, but she clutched Gohan in fear as she felt the massive power that was Dalron. But she knew the signature of the super saiyan power as well.

"It can't be," Krillin exclaimed, "that's…Brolly's ki signature!"

Goku stood up and regarded the Enemy who hovered above him. If he knew what the power signature signaled, he didn't seem to care. He stood there and waited.

"Yes," Dalron boomed. "Now you know my true power! Now the game shall truly end!"

Goku and the Enemy's eyes met, and they charged at each other…

Author's Notes: Sorry I was a day late on this one. Florida was nice and I think my batteries are recharged. Since the war in Iraq is basically over it sounds like my wife will be home sooner than expected! Anyway, thanks for all your kind words of encouragement. I copied and pasted the reviews of support and sent them to my wife and she thanks you for your support.

Anyway, I got 2 chapters left, the final chapter and the Epilogue. I wrap up everything next chapter, but some things will never be the same. There's one more twist that will change the lives of one of the Z Warriors forever! Tune in and find out!