Bound
Chapter 13
Oooo! Chapter 13. How scary! As usual, I don't own the characters, so don't sue me please!
A shadow loomed over the fighters as a primitive roar echoed through the sky and deafened the warriors temporarily. With Goku in his Oozaru state, the fate of Earth seemed deathly grim. Dende was in bliss knowing he had the upper hand at that moment as the warriors looked like they had lost their last hope for victory for good.
"Yes! Kill them all, Kakarot!" shrieked Dende. Goku looked down at the others as Shin lunged at Goku in pure vain. Catching the warrior like a fluttering butterfly, Goku was held the dynasty within his giant hands. "Make them suffer! Shenlong! Let us reek havoc on the Earthlings!"
"As you wish, my master," said Shenlong as both he and Dende flew off, leaving the warriors to contend with Goku.
"Kakarot! You monster!" yelled Vegeta. Goku opened his hands and plucked the Kai by the back of his shirt as he cried out in terror. Opening his gigantic mouth, Goku dropped the Kai in and snapped his mouth shut as he chewed the dynasty to death.
"CANNIBAL!" roared Kibito in pure rage at Goku. He smiled evilly down upon the insect-like warriors and almost seemed to chuckle a rather dark chuckle. "YOU SICK BASTARD! I'LL AVENGE YOU SUPREME KAI! I SWEAR UPON MY LIFE!"
Alas, all hope seemed lost. Until...
"Kibito!" cried a familiar voice as Kibito looked up and saw Shin perfectly alive on the end of Goku's tail as it wavered. "I'm perfectly fine! See?"
"What?!" said Kibito in pure shock. "M-master! But how?"
"I teleported out just in time," said Shin. "It was as though he wasn't going to hurt us."
"I'm not," responded Goku from above them as his poker face wore through.He chuckled a light-hearted chuckle this time; greatly amused of scaring the shit out of his own allies. They glared at him, but sighed in relief that their doom wouldn't be at the hands of their leader after all.
"You have the nerve to pull a stunt like that, Kakarot," growled Vegeta. "You're lucky he bought that bluff and left."
"True it was pretty risky, but it worked," said Goku as he started to shift back to his humanoid shape again; completely nude for the second time that day. "Now we have some time to form a plan to stop Dende and save Earth."
"I... see..." said Piccolo as a blush appeared on his face.
"Goku, we know you're naïve, but aren't you in the least ashamed by your nudity?" said Krillin as Goku took notice of his lack of attire and smiled goofily.
"Not really," said Goku. All of the warriors, sans Goten and Trunks, face vaulted from the way he acted at that moment. Though he was brainwashed by Sin, he was starting to become the same person he was before he was captured seven years prior. The warriors picked themselves off the ground as Goku laughed innocently and grinned.
"For the love of Kami," groaned Piccolo as he rolled his eyes. "You're completely impossible to figure out, Son!"
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Minutes later, Goku was dressed in the same fighting gear he wore earlier as the warriors started to talk over the options on how to take down Shenlong. Some of the ideas involved group strategies, but others seemed too farfetched and could end up failing in the battle beforehand.
"Why can't Goten and I just use Fusion again?" said Trunks as Goten and him went through the fusion dance out of practice. Goku and Vegeta both saw the dance performed without the fusion and Vegeta was disgusted by the poses. "We both are at the same power level to perform it!"
'Only as a last resort will I do that with Kakarot,' thought Vegeta.
"We can't endanger your lives over it," said Goku. "Goten, can you check up on your mother for me and make sure she's all right?"
"Kakarot's right," said Vegeta, agreeing with the Earth-raised Saiya-jin for once. "We can't have children on the battlefield. If you die, then I know the harpy will be rather moody and wield the frying pan."
Trunks and Goten grimaced as they remembered when Chi-chi slapped Vegeta across the face with a frying pan. Poor Vegeta had a concussion for a few hours afterwards. Nodding in unison, the boys left quietly to make sure that Chi-chi was safe.
"Son, why not do a sneak attack?" said Piccolo.
"Sneak attack? On who?" said Goku.
"On Dende," said Piccolo. "He's the guardian of the Dragon Balls, isn't he? We'll need to kill him in order to stop Shenlong."
"What?!" said Krillin. "But the Dragon Balls..."
"We have no other alternative," said Piccolo. "If we don't stop Shenlong, then we might as well give up and die right now!"
"The Namek's right," agreed Vegeta. "If that bastard's to be stopped, he must be stopped at the roots and we must kill Dende!"
"Goku, help us out here!" said Krillin. "Are we really going to kill Dende to stop Shenlong?"
Silence settled upon the ruined Lookout like a heavy blanket. The only sound heard was the rough wind blowing across the damaged Lookout as it gently brushed against the warrior's clothes. It was a chaotic suspense on the warriors when Goku didn't answer at first; his eyes were looking at all of the other warriors around him that he trusted with his very life. If time would have stopped then, then they probably would have never noticed. Finally, an answer escaped the Earth-raised Saiya-jin's lips.
"We need to do it. We need to kill Dende. If not, then he'll just bring this calamity upon mankind again after we defeat Shenlong."
"No!" cried Krillin. "You mean there's no other way?"
"Once corrupted, the innocence will be lost forever." To prove his point, Goku's eyes looked into Krillin's as he saw the pain and despair that he went through in his seven year absence. "Let's go before it's too late and more die needlessly."
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Meanwhile, in Pepperidge Town, Shenlong was reeking havoc blowing up random objects as people were screaming and running away from the God-like beast. Dende smirked at the handiwork Shenlong had done to the once tranquil town as the blood of the innocents were shed in Sin's name.
"Excellent work, Shenlong," said Dende. "Perhaps we should go see how Kakarot's doing with the other warriors."
"A fine idea," said Shenlong as the two were about to head back to the ruins of the Lookout when Goku and the other warriors appeared out of thin air ready for battle.
"Traitor!" hissed Dende. "How could you betray me?"
"When you threaten Earth," growled Goku as he transformed into a Super Saiya-jin 3.
"Really?" said Shenlong. "Master, shall I kill him quick and painless or slow and painful?"
"Either one's fine as long as you kill him," said Dende.
"As you wish," said Shenlong as he lunged towards Goku. The Earth-raised Saiya-jin dodged the maneuver by phasing out; however, Shenlong threw a punch behind him as Goku got hit in the face. Blood ran down his face from his nose as he growled a warning towards the God-like beast. Coaxing the Saiya-jin to come at him, Goku charged and was thrown to the ground painfully as Shenlong grabbed Goku by the throat.
"Ungh!" cried Goku.
"You should have remained on our side," said Shenlong. "You're no match for me."
"Maybe not," said Goku. "But you're no match for Vegeta either!"
"What?!" growled Shenlong as he turned and saw the Saiya-jin Prince holding Dende hostage. "Let him go!"
"I'll kill him if it's the only way you're going to be destroyed," said Vegeta angrily.
"Don't do it!" cried Shenlong as he released Goku. Vegeta smiled a sadist smile before crushing Dende's throat mercilessly as Shenlong shrieked out in pain. He crumpled to the ground in front of Vegeta as he threw Dende's dead body to the ground.
"It's over," said Goku as he sighed in relief.
"Wait a minute," said Piccolo. "If that's true, then Shenlong would have disappeared."
Dark laughter was heard as Shenlong lifted up his head and fired a blast at Vegeta, hitting the Saiya-jin Prince. All eyes were on Vegeta as he went flying into a cliff side and was mortally wounded in the chest. His hold on the ascended form was lost as blonde hair faded back to black in moments.
"Vegeta!" cried Goku in pure shock.
"Nice theory, but my master was smart enough to separate his life force from mine before summoning me into this realm," Shenlong boasted.
"Then we're doomed," said Yamcha.
"If we admit that, then we are just giving up," said 18 as she lands along with 17 behind the other warriors.
"18! What are you doing here?" said Krillin.
"I'm coming to help you guys in battle," said 18. "Besides, I still am curious whatever happened to Goku these past seven years myself."
"I'm here so that you don't get my sister killed," glared 17 as he looked at the nervous Krillin standing there.
"I-I won't!" choked Krillin. "Honest!"
"More fighters coming to meet their doom at my hands, huh?" said Shenlong. "I suppose it would be honorable for warriors to come flocking to death rather than cower like the losers they are."
"Did you just call me a loser?" cried a voice as the warriors of Earth look and see Mr. Satan standing there. "I will not take that from a guy that thinks he's utterly arrogant. I shall show you! SATAN'S ATOMIC PUNCH!"
"No! Stop!" cried Goku as Mr. Satan runs towards Shenlong with his fist extended and punched him in the face. Though normally, a human would be thrown back a few feet, Shenlong didn't make a single move. Mr. Satan pulled his hand away from the God-like beast's face and started to blow on his hand as Shenlong looked sick at the way the false champion of the world tapped his face like a gnat would.
"Well? Did that teach you a lesson?" said Mr. Satan as he grew nervous at the fact that Shenlong didn't even flinch at the punch at all.
"No, that proves how much you humans make me sick," growled Shenlong holding an energy blast in his hand aimed at Mr. Satan. "DIE!"
Mr. Satan ran away like a mad man as the energy blasts destroy the ground behind him. Shenlong laughed evilly as he watched the pathetic human run like the dog he was. A punch stopped the God-like beast from killing him as Shenlong looked up to see Piccolo growling at him.
"So is this a former father's way of punishing your own son?" said Shenlong.
"You're no son of mine since I technically disowned you the moment I fused with Kami," scoffed Piccolo.
"Hm, I wonder who would win the fight between us," said Shenlong with a smirk on his face as he slid into a fighting stance.
"We'll just have to wait and see," said Piccolo.
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While Piccolo was about to face off against Shenlong, Goku was at Vegeta's side as he gasped for heavy breaths.
"Vegeta, hang on," said Goku. He placed his hands upon his chest as he concentrated upon the healing ability he learned when he was abducted by Sin. Concentrating, a faint glow surrounded his hands as the energy transferred into the Saiya-jin Prince's body. His breathing was shallow and uneven. Goku knew he was just hanging on by a thread as he focused upon the task at hand and began his work.
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Piccolo and Shenlong lunged at one another with a melee of punches and kicks against one another as both of them fought on equal footing. Neither one seemed to be gaining an inch against one another in the duel against the former God and God-like beast. The other warriors watched; honoring their wishes for an honest duel rather than gang up like him and killing him easily.
Shenlong, being older and wiser, had more surprises for Piccolo, but did not use them just yet. He felt he needed to weaken him in order to start showing his true power. Piccolo seemed almost aware of the God-like beast's plans, but had no idea that he was slowly, but surely falling into a trap that he couldn't get out of.
"They're even," said Krillin.
"No, I think Shenlong's holding back," said Tien.
"How can you tell?" said Krillin.
"Don't you notice how he's not giving into opposition?" said Vegeta. "This means that Shenlong is hiding his true power until it's too late for the Namek to do anything about it!"
"Then why are we not warning Piccolo about it?" said Yamcha. "He'll die again if we don't tell him what's going on!"
You cannot interfere with this fight, said Shenlong's voice through the warriors' minds. Suddenly, they found themselves in a barrier that kept them from contacting Piccolo. He shall not know anything about what's going on!
You bastard! hissed Chou-su. Do you care what happens to him?
Not really, said Shenlong with an evil smile on his face.
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Trunks and Goten were flying towards Mount Paozu when they suddenly felt the other warrior's power levels drop off the face of the Earth.
"Goten! Stop!" cried Trunks as the youngest Son stopped.
"Why?" said Goten.
"The guys are endanger! We need to go save them!" said Trunks.
"But what about my mom?" Goten said.
"We'll have to trust that she's fine and save the others before it's too late!" Trunks cried as he turned around and flew towards the battlefield.
"Wait for me!" cried Goten.
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Darkness. It was like a void of emptiness stretched out in front of the Saiya-jin Prince. It was where life and death meet and battled often. Dying once in front of his former nemesis, it no longer mattered anymore whether he lived or died. If he continued to live, then Shenlong would destroy all life and kill him anyway. If he died, however...
'It would be a worthless and pitiful sacrifice,' thought Vegeta. 'Damn that beast for catching me off guard when I'm vulnerable!'
Vegeta was aware of his bodily pain; even though it started to lessen. Perhaps he was going back to Yemma's court to be judged for the atrocities he committed all his life and be sent to hell where Sin was waiting. The very thought of going where Sin was at made him bitter and vengeful. If he did go back, he might as well give Sin a one-way ticket to non-existence when he got there.
'Hopefully, he won't have a dummy already possessed to take me down when I see him,' thought Vegeta in anger. 'If I do see him, I'll tear off his head first and break his body slowly until...'
Without realizing it, he felt something warm piercing his broken and dying body as it seemed like Death had finally come to claim him. Opening his eyes, he saw a figure there in the form of an angel as he tried to reach up weakly towards the figure to get a better look at the face. The pain receded slowly before all became clear to him.
"No way! How is this possible?!" whispered Vegeta.
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Piccolo felt his body starting to wear out from the continuous fighting with Shenlong. The God-like beast started to get the upper hand as the other warriors looked on in horror; unable to help the Namekian warrior. The moment Piccolo knew this, it was too late; an uppercut was driven into his face and a spinning kick sent him flying into the remains of a building. The impact forced the structure itself to cave in as Shenlong smirked evilly. The warriors were at a loss to save Piccolo from the prison they were in. Slowly, the God-like beast walked towards the debris where Piccolo was buried to finish off the experienced warrior. Before he could move any further, he felt two chi-blasts hit him from behind.
"What?!" hissed Shenlong as he turned and saw Trunks and Goten behind him.
"Missed us?" said Trunks.
"Nyah!" Goten stuck his tongue out playfully.
"You little brats!" growled Shenlong angrily.
"What are you going to do about it, Shenlong?" mocked Trunks. "We're stronger than you think and we won't let you hurt our friends!"
"You should be more concerned about your own lives or what's left of them!" growled Shenlong as he fires a blast at the boys. They both screamed, unable to dodge or block the blast as it came screaming towards them. Before they could do anything, Piccolo suddenly teleported in the way and deflected the blast.
"Piccolo!" cried Goten. "You're hurt!"
"You brats are more trouble than I thought," said Piccolo. "How come you came back?"
"We couldn't leave you guys to fight! Including when they're trapped!" yelled Trunks as he pointed to the magic casing surrounding the warriors.
"So, you figured out my illusion," said Shenlong as Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo slipped into a fighting stance. "Too bad it won't save you from your immediate funeral!"
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The golden tresses of hair spilled down Goku's back. The strain of healing Vegeta was difficult since his life force was plummeting like a rock would in in water. Sweat ran down the warrior's brow from the effort before he felt Vegeta's energy begin to steadily rise again from the near-death experience. Slowly, the Saiya-jin Prince opened his eyes and got a glimpse of the third-class warrior. Goku barely heard the whisper off the warrior's lips.
"No way! How is this possible?!"
Goku replied, without realizing it, in the same tone of voice: "I learned this through the abuse I took from Sin. I was forced to heal my own wounds through my own power. It was maddening because I felt so sick after what he did to me..."
"Why didn't you tell me that you had this power?!" said Vegeta in a demanding voice. Goku almost fell backwards on the battle-scarred ground as Vegeta continued; nearly shouting at the warrior, "It could have saved us the trouble of healing you earlier!"
"I would have said something, but my power takes time to call forth," defended Goku. "Also, when I was with Sin, he didn't wound me that deeply."
"Pitiful excuse," growled Vegeta. "So I take it the Namek's fighting the blasted dragon-like beast now?"
"Yes, but he's losing because of the reserves Shenlong has," said Goku. Suddenly, he growled. "Goten and Trunks are here! We need to go and st-"
"No, we can't do this alone," said Vegeta.
"What do you mean?" Goku cried out. "What can we do at this moment?"
"We need to do something I normally would have been against if it was suggested earlier," Vegeta scowled.
"What?"
"Fusion."
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Goten went flying as Trunks cried out in pain. Piccolo was already on the ground near-death as Shenlong grabbed Trunks by his throat.
"Now you can join your father in hell!" yelled Shenlong. His fist was cocked back to deliver the final blow. Trunks closed his eyes in shame.
'Father, I'm sorry,' said Trunks with tears gently streaming from his eyes. He felt Shenlong's grip loosen as Trunks fell to the ground with a thud. Looking up, he saw a man there in a black and orange-trimmed vest, white pants with a blue sash, and black shoes with binds on his ankles. He looked like Gotenks, yet different within the eyes.
"What?" growled Shenlong before the mysterious man punted Shenlong into the air.
"Who are you?" said Trunks in pure awe and confusion.
"My name is Gogeta," said the warrior in a blend of both voices. He stared at the opponent before him with a glare of pure hatred: Shenlong.
The story's almost over! I think I'll wrap this up next chapter. Now onto the traditional reviews:
Luna's Meow: I know teasers aren't your cup of tea, so I won't add one in this chapter.
DBZ Chick1: Gohan's death scene was perhaps one of the hardest things I ever had to write. Originally, he would have just been dead when the smoke cleared, but I decided to add a little more drama to the scene.
Gokugirl9: Not exactly. Don't worry though. Everything will all work out in the end.
And now for whoever is the 60th reviewer (if I get that many reviews), I shall give that reviewer the next chapter early. That way, it will make up for not adding a teaser. So please review and if you're the lucky 60th reviewer, then make sure you have your e-mail address ready! Until next time, bye!