Chapter 47
"It...it can't be," Gohan said quietly, completely overwhelmed by the sight of his brother, whom he had thought to be dead, standing before him as an enemy.
Goten flashed an unpleasant grin. Several of his teeth were chipped and broken, making the smile appear even more evil. Under the robes he had been wearing the pair of baggy, black pants that he'd had on when he left his house the day before. His upper body was covered in hastily healed wounds, including an enormous scar on the right side of his chest.
"It's good to see you too brother," the last word sounded like a swear word as Goten powered up to Super Saiyan. "Too bad our little reunion is going to be cut short."
Vegeta's eyes narrowed, "It doesn't have to be this way Goten. It's not you I wish to fight."
The younger Saiyan looked at Vegeta as if he'd only just noticed his presence, "You're right Vegeta, it doesn't have to be this way...or more accurately: it didn't have to be this way. You could have joined us and avoided all this whole hassle, but no," he spit at the Saiyan Prince's feet, "Your foolish pride wouldn't let you bow, even to your superiors. You had your chance, but now it IS this way." Goten dropped into his fighting stance and scowled, "I won't hold back like I did at the tournament, there isn't a judge here to disqualify me if I kill you.
Vegeta smirked, "What tournament were you at? A weakling like you doesn't have a shot at defeating me, much less killing me."
"Vegeta...don't do it," Gohan's voice betrayed the emotions his face was trying to hide. "Don't kill him...it's...it's Goten."
"You sentimental fool, can't you see it?" the Saiyan Prince asked without taking his eyes off Goten. "Your brother is gone. This is nothing more than a puppet whose strings are being pulled by a weak coward who's afraid to fight his own battles.
Goten's face darkened, "Before this day is done you'll be begging for forgiveness at the feet of the great Lord Ammit!"
With a roar he launched himself forward and threw a right hook at Vegeta's head. The Saiyan Prince easily dodged it and landed a powerful punch to the younger Saiyan's gut, followed by a knee to the face and, after vanishing and reappearing behind the dazed warrior, used a vicious kick in the back to send Goten crashing to the ground.
"I thought you were better than this, I thought you had more pride than to let yourself be controlled."
"Yeah, like you're one to talk..." the young man groaned as he slowly climbed to his feet. He looked at Vegeta and smiled, "By the way, I love what you've done with your hair. Tell me, did you do it yourself or did that bitch of yours have to help you again?"
He started to laugh, but was cut short as Vegeta pounced on him and began raining brutal blows down upon his head. In no time at all, Goten's face was battered and bruised. Then the Saiyan Prince grabbed his former rival's son and threw him into the air, shooting several rapid fire ki blasts after him. For a moment, Goten seemed like he was being juggled as blast after blast hit him and kept him in the air. When, at last, he began to plummet back to earth, Vegeta appeared above him, brought both fists above his head, and slammed them down like a hammer upon Goten's chest. The injured Saiyan rocketed to earth so fast that Gohan and Uubu lost sight of him until his landing kicked up an enormous cloud of dirt.
As the dust settled, Vegeta could be seen standing over the broken and bleeding body of Goten, his teeth bared in rage and a powerful ki beam charging in his hand.
"No!!!" cried Gohan as he and Uubu rushed to rescue his unconscious brother. The Saiyan Prince blinked and some of the rage disappeared from his face, but he did not stop charging the attack.
"I have to Gohan. He's not Goten anymore. He's just another one of Ammit's followers."
Suddenly the younger Saiyan's eye's fluttered open. "Vegeta?" he asked in apparent confusion, "What are you doing here? Where am I?"
Gohan jumped into the hole and placed himself between his brother and the powerful Super Saiyan. "Goten? Are you alright?" His brother smiled in the way that made him look so much like Goku and Gohan breathed a sigh of relief. "See Vegeta, I told you...I told you it was Goten. He was just brainwashed or something, but he's...he's going to be better now."
Vegeta scowled, but he also let the energy building in the palm of his hand to dissipate. "Fine, I have bigger fish to fry anyway." He turned to face the large alien, "Well, coward, are you ready to face me or are you going to hide behind another of your pathetic minions?"
The alien bristled at the Saiyan's words, but then he smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid you haven't finished your last fight," he said with a chuckle.
"KameHameHa!"
The enormous, blue ki blast hit Vegeta in the back before he had a chance to put up any sort of defense. The Saiyan Prince screamed in pain as the blast burned his skin. The attack seemed to last forever and the agony was almost unbearable. Just as Vegeta started to black out, Goten stopped the attack, limping towards the devastated Saiyan Prince.
Through blurred vision, Vegeta could just make out two large lumps on the ground where Gohan and Uubu had been standing with Goten. He looked up at his attacker and his eyes widened in surprise, the Super Saiyan's aqua colored eyes were clouded over with a red mist.
"I always thought you were powerful Vegeta, almost as strong as my father, but now that I've seen true power I know the truth: you were both pitiful pretenders. You acted powerful, but what you had was nothing compared to the awesome power of Ammit. Even if you were still a Super Saiyan 4, his power would dwarf yours."
Vegeta wished Goten would shut up so he could pass out in peace, but he knew that if he lost consciousness all would be lost. The inner strength that had always driven him to reach higher and higher levels, now forced him to climb shakily to his feet. He took a deep breath and faced the advancing Super Saiyan.
"You call that a Kamehameha? Please, you're father could do better in his sleep. Come on now; show me what you've got!"
Goten flew forward and leveled him with a single punch, but again, after a moment of lying on the ground, Vegeta got back up.
"Ha! You really are pathetic, you know that? Here I am, mocking one of your best attacks and you can't even throw a decent punch in retaliation. Really, I thought you'd gotten stronger these last few months, but you're weaker than you were as a child...I'm reminded of the day Majin Buu attacked and I was forced to knock you out cold with one shot to the stomach. Do you remember that?" The Saiyan Prince gave a slightly lopsided smirk, "No, I expect you don't. I wouldn't be surprised if a weakling like you spent most of the day in a comma after a light jab like that. Looks like not too much has changed since then."
"SHUT UP!!" Goten was in a rage as he threw another punch, telegraphing it the whole way. Exactly as Vegeta had hoped he would.
With a smooth sidestep, the Saiyan Prince was out of the way and Goten was at his mercy. Strength fueled by desperation flowed through Vegeta's veins as he reared back and drove his fist into the back of Goten's head. The young man was unconscious before he hit the ground and this time he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
The sole remaining protector of Earth looked down at him and shook his head. "Weak and stupid; an unfortunate combination for a warrior; perhaps when this is over you'll no longer be controlled and then maybe you'll be more of a challenge."
He once again turned his attention to the large warrior standing on the ship. "Now will you fight me Ammit?" he asked with contempt.
"Ammit?" the red alien smiled, "I'm flattered Prince Vegeta, but I'm afraid you're very much mistaken. I am merely a humble servant of the great Dark Lord. Those who serve my master call me Supreme Commander Runihura, but I realize that's a mouthful so you may simply call me The Destroyer."
Vegeta rolled his eyes, "If you aren't Ammit then you're just another nuisance for me to crush before I get to the scary, dark lord. I swear, this Ammit is really hard to get a hold of. After all the stories used to frighten little children about how they better do their chores or Ammit would come get them, I guess I expected him to spend less time hiding from me. I suppose that shows how exaggerated children's stories can get."
Runihura was about to speak when three people suddenly appeared just behind Vegeta; the Saiyan Prince whirled around in surprise and found himself face to face with Akira, Pan, and Krillin.
"Eh, sorry we're a little late Vegeta," Krillin said with a nervous chuckle as he gawked at the Saiyan's new form, "Akira and Pan were...uh, kind of hungry after their journey so they stopped for a bite to eat at Dende's before coming here."
"Whatever," Vegeta said with a scowl. "Did you get the senzu beans?" The former monk held up the bag triumphantly and the Saiyan Prince continued, "Good, go give them to everyone but Goten." Pan started to ask why her uncle was being left out, but Vegeta anticipated her question and quickly added, "Goten is being controlled, we can't trust him right now. Now hurry."
The three each grabbed two beans and hurried to give them to their injured friends. After taking several steps in the direction of Gohan and Uubu, Akira turned and called out, "Vegeta, catch!" as he threw one of his beans.
Vegeta's reached for the bean, but before it got to him, a big hand intercepted it.
Runihura examined the bean closely and then popped it into his mouth. "Hmm, that does hit the spot," he looked down at the Saiyan's outstretched hand and smiled. "Did you really think we'd let Goten live and not get some information out of him? I know all about your 'magical' beans and I don't think it would be a good idea for you to have one." He smiled and then his fist slammed into Vegeta's mouth, sending the already weakened Saiyan flying through the air.
.
A/N: Well this was a relatively quick update, for some reason this chapter took shape pretty quickly and the next one is coming along nicely as well, so there should be another update within the next few days...hopefully.
Anouk—For the purposes of this story I'm just going to leave Gohan as is. Basically because he uses his SSJ form in GT and seems to have been neglecting his training, I'm going to assume that he has lost the ability to use this form. That's not to say that he can't access that power, but I think he's back to the way he was as a child (it only comes out when he's really pissed or feeling helpless).
Draco the Destroyer—Wow, man, thanks. Saying that I've inspired you to write your own fanfic is probably the highest compliment I've ever gotten about my writing. Let me know when you publish it, I'd love to read it.
Everyone else—Thanks again for all of the reviews. It brings joy to my heart to see how many this story has gotten. You guys rule!
"It...it can't be," Gohan said quietly, completely overwhelmed by the sight of his brother, whom he had thought to be dead, standing before him as an enemy.
Goten flashed an unpleasant grin. Several of his teeth were chipped and broken, making the smile appear even more evil. Under the robes he had been wearing the pair of baggy, black pants that he'd had on when he left his house the day before. His upper body was covered in hastily healed wounds, including an enormous scar on the right side of his chest.
"It's good to see you too brother," the last word sounded like a swear word as Goten powered up to Super Saiyan. "Too bad our little reunion is going to be cut short."
Vegeta's eyes narrowed, "It doesn't have to be this way Goten. It's not you I wish to fight."
The younger Saiyan looked at Vegeta as if he'd only just noticed his presence, "You're right Vegeta, it doesn't have to be this way...or more accurately: it didn't have to be this way. You could have joined us and avoided all this whole hassle, but no," he spit at the Saiyan Prince's feet, "Your foolish pride wouldn't let you bow, even to your superiors. You had your chance, but now it IS this way." Goten dropped into his fighting stance and scowled, "I won't hold back like I did at the tournament, there isn't a judge here to disqualify me if I kill you.
Vegeta smirked, "What tournament were you at? A weakling like you doesn't have a shot at defeating me, much less killing me."
"Vegeta...don't do it," Gohan's voice betrayed the emotions his face was trying to hide. "Don't kill him...it's...it's Goten."
"You sentimental fool, can't you see it?" the Saiyan Prince asked without taking his eyes off Goten. "Your brother is gone. This is nothing more than a puppet whose strings are being pulled by a weak coward who's afraid to fight his own battles.
Goten's face darkened, "Before this day is done you'll be begging for forgiveness at the feet of the great Lord Ammit!"
With a roar he launched himself forward and threw a right hook at Vegeta's head. The Saiyan Prince easily dodged it and landed a powerful punch to the younger Saiyan's gut, followed by a knee to the face and, after vanishing and reappearing behind the dazed warrior, used a vicious kick in the back to send Goten crashing to the ground.
"I thought you were better than this, I thought you had more pride than to let yourself be controlled."
"Yeah, like you're one to talk..." the young man groaned as he slowly climbed to his feet. He looked at Vegeta and smiled, "By the way, I love what you've done with your hair. Tell me, did you do it yourself or did that bitch of yours have to help you again?"
He started to laugh, but was cut short as Vegeta pounced on him and began raining brutal blows down upon his head. In no time at all, Goten's face was battered and bruised. Then the Saiyan Prince grabbed his former rival's son and threw him into the air, shooting several rapid fire ki blasts after him. For a moment, Goten seemed like he was being juggled as blast after blast hit him and kept him in the air. When, at last, he began to plummet back to earth, Vegeta appeared above him, brought both fists above his head, and slammed them down like a hammer upon Goten's chest. The injured Saiyan rocketed to earth so fast that Gohan and Uubu lost sight of him until his landing kicked up an enormous cloud of dirt.
As the dust settled, Vegeta could be seen standing over the broken and bleeding body of Goten, his teeth bared in rage and a powerful ki beam charging in his hand.
"No!!!" cried Gohan as he and Uubu rushed to rescue his unconscious brother. The Saiyan Prince blinked and some of the rage disappeared from his face, but he did not stop charging the attack.
"I have to Gohan. He's not Goten anymore. He's just another one of Ammit's followers."
Suddenly the younger Saiyan's eye's fluttered open. "Vegeta?" he asked in apparent confusion, "What are you doing here? Where am I?"
Gohan jumped into the hole and placed himself between his brother and the powerful Super Saiyan. "Goten? Are you alright?" His brother smiled in the way that made him look so much like Goku and Gohan breathed a sigh of relief. "See Vegeta, I told you...I told you it was Goten. He was just brainwashed or something, but he's...he's going to be better now."
Vegeta scowled, but he also let the energy building in the palm of his hand to dissipate. "Fine, I have bigger fish to fry anyway." He turned to face the large alien, "Well, coward, are you ready to face me or are you going to hide behind another of your pathetic minions?"
The alien bristled at the Saiyan's words, but then he smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid you haven't finished your last fight," he said with a chuckle.
"KameHameHa!"
The enormous, blue ki blast hit Vegeta in the back before he had a chance to put up any sort of defense. The Saiyan Prince screamed in pain as the blast burned his skin. The attack seemed to last forever and the agony was almost unbearable. Just as Vegeta started to black out, Goten stopped the attack, limping towards the devastated Saiyan Prince.
Through blurred vision, Vegeta could just make out two large lumps on the ground where Gohan and Uubu had been standing with Goten. He looked up at his attacker and his eyes widened in surprise, the Super Saiyan's aqua colored eyes were clouded over with a red mist.
"I always thought you were powerful Vegeta, almost as strong as my father, but now that I've seen true power I know the truth: you were both pitiful pretenders. You acted powerful, but what you had was nothing compared to the awesome power of Ammit. Even if you were still a Super Saiyan 4, his power would dwarf yours."
Vegeta wished Goten would shut up so he could pass out in peace, but he knew that if he lost consciousness all would be lost. The inner strength that had always driven him to reach higher and higher levels, now forced him to climb shakily to his feet. He took a deep breath and faced the advancing Super Saiyan.
"You call that a Kamehameha? Please, you're father could do better in his sleep. Come on now; show me what you've got!"
Goten flew forward and leveled him with a single punch, but again, after a moment of lying on the ground, Vegeta got back up.
"Ha! You really are pathetic, you know that? Here I am, mocking one of your best attacks and you can't even throw a decent punch in retaliation. Really, I thought you'd gotten stronger these last few months, but you're weaker than you were as a child...I'm reminded of the day Majin Buu attacked and I was forced to knock you out cold with one shot to the stomach. Do you remember that?" The Saiyan Prince gave a slightly lopsided smirk, "No, I expect you don't. I wouldn't be surprised if a weakling like you spent most of the day in a comma after a light jab like that. Looks like not too much has changed since then."
"SHUT UP!!" Goten was in a rage as he threw another punch, telegraphing it the whole way. Exactly as Vegeta had hoped he would.
With a smooth sidestep, the Saiyan Prince was out of the way and Goten was at his mercy. Strength fueled by desperation flowed through Vegeta's veins as he reared back and drove his fist into the back of Goten's head. The young man was unconscious before he hit the ground and this time he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
The sole remaining protector of Earth looked down at him and shook his head. "Weak and stupid; an unfortunate combination for a warrior; perhaps when this is over you'll no longer be controlled and then maybe you'll be more of a challenge."
He once again turned his attention to the large warrior standing on the ship. "Now will you fight me Ammit?" he asked with contempt.
"Ammit?" the red alien smiled, "I'm flattered Prince Vegeta, but I'm afraid you're very much mistaken. I am merely a humble servant of the great Dark Lord. Those who serve my master call me Supreme Commander Runihura, but I realize that's a mouthful so you may simply call me The Destroyer."
Vegeta rolled his eyes, "If you aren't Ammit then you're just another nuisance for me to crush before I get to the scary, dark lord. I swear, this Ammit is really hard to get a hold of. After all the stories used to frighten little children about how they better do their chores or Ammit would come get them, I guess I expected him to spend less time hiding from me. I suppose that shows how exaggerated children's stories can get."
Runihura was about to speak when three people suddenly appeared just behind Vegeta; the Saiyan Prince whirled around in surprise and found himself face to face with Akira, Pan, and Krillin.
"Eh, sorry we're a little late Vegeta," Krillin said with a nervous chuckle as he gawked at the Saiyan's new form, "Akira and Pan were...uh, kind of hungry after their journey so they stopped for a bite to eat at Dende's before coming here."
"Whatever," Vegeta said with a scowl. "Did you get the senzu beans?" The former monk held up the bag triumphantly and the Saiyan Prince continued, "Good, go give them to everyone but Goten." Pan started to ask why her uncle was being left out, but Vegeta anticipated her question and quickly added, "Goten is being controlled, we can't trust him right now. Now hurry."
The three each grabbed two beans and hurried to give them to their injured friends. After taking several steps in the direction of Gohan and Uubu, Akira turned and called out, "Vegeta, catch!" as he threw one of his beans.
Vegeta's reached for the bean, but before it got to him, a big hand intercepted it.
Runihura examined the bean closely and then popped it into his mouth. "Hmm, that does hit the spot," he looked down at the Saiyan's outstretched hand and smiled. "Did you really think we'd let Goten live and not get some information out of him? I know all about your 'magical' beans and I don't think it would be a good idea for you to have one." He smiled and then his fist slammed into Vegeta's mouth, sending the already weakened Saiyan flying through the air.
.
A/N: Well this was a relatively quick update, for some reason this chapter took shape pretty quickly and the next one is coming along nicely as well, so there should be another update within the next few days...hopefully.
Anouk—For the purposes of this story I'm just going to leave Gohan as is. Basically because he uses his SSJ form in GT and seems to have been neglecting his training, I'm going to assume that he has lost the ability to use this form. That's not to say that he can't access that power, but I think he's back to the way he was as a child (it only comes out when he's really pissed or feeling helpless).
Draco the Destroyer—Wow, man, thanks. Saying that I've inspired you to write your own fanfic is probably the highest compliment I've ever gotten about my writing. Let me know when you publish it, I'd love to read it.
Everyone else—Thanks again for all of the reviews. It brings joy to my heart to see how many this story has gotten. You guys rule!