Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. I'm merely torturing the characters for a bit.
Chapter Thirty-Three
When one is falling to their death, one has much time to contemplate the meaning of life, earth-shattering revelations, or simply how to either prevent this from happening or make it as painless as possible. All these thoughts passed through Yajirobe's mind in under ten seconds, and after he'd exhausted all possibilities of learning how to fly, he settled on a favorite pastime of his…panic.
Oh, Kami, I'll never hide another senzu bean for myself ever again if you can get me out of this! he prayed urgently, squeezing his eyes shut and hoping for a miracle.
He didn't scream – or even yelp – much past the initial squawk that escaped his throat. He was a samurai, unconventional as he was, and he had been brought up to believe in meeting death with honor. Even a gruesome, horrible death, such as the one he was about to face. He still held his sword…he might be able to run himself through and spare himself that terrible impact, where every bone in his body would snap, when every internal organ would be crushed. As the demon had said, he would be a greasy smear, even though it would be across the ground instead of a wall.
Yajirobe carefully thumbed the blade of the sword. No sense in detaching a few fingers before he died. All it would really take would be one quick jab to the gut, and he'd never feel sudden impact. But it wouldn't be an honorable death, and that was a problem. He'd be doing it just to escape. Suicide was only honorable if it was ritual, at least in his eyes.
This was no ritual.
Yajirobe frowned lightly and began to think, hard. He was missing something. He knew he could get out of this. There had to be some way. Even Goku managed to get himself out of some seriously sticky situations before, and in one piece, too! So what if the man could fly? Ki wasn't always the answer to everything.
He suddenly snapped his fingers and smiled grimly. He had it. Now all he needed was a bit of luck and a whole lot of balance. He eyed the base of the tower and then the ground, and ran an estimate of how long he had before he'd become a permanent part of the landscape. Two, three minutes. No more.
Slowly, so slowly, he extended his free arm and one leg away from his body and began directing his fall toward the pillar. Too fast, and he would hit the tower at full speed and splatter himself all over it. Too slow, and he would literally be kissing the ground. He had watched enough movies to know what would happen to him. No need for his imagination to kick in again.
When he thought he could free-fall no closer to the tower, he pulled his arm in and grasped the sword hilt with both hands. This had better work, he grunted to himself. Then, with all the strength and force he could muster, the samurai shot his body forward and drove the end of his sword into the side of the tower.
The demon emerged from Korin's Tower growling softly and smelling of smoke. "Son Goku knows, Ma Junior," he told the Namek. "He'll be along in a few minutes for the senzu beans that will heal his wife and friends. Shall I wait here for him, or shall I pay the Guardian another visit?" He unclenched one of his fists and regarded the five senzu beans in his hand with a curious stare. "I think we shall do something with the Guardian, now that I think about it. Make certain he will not kill himself to get rid of you."
Demon, the Namek snarled back, even if I cannot throw you out of my head, the Saiyans and humans will kill this body and send you back to the Underworld. You can't defeat three Saiyans.
Ah, but I can defeat a naive man who refuses to kill his friend, a broken prince, and a little boy who sees only his beloved mentor, not this monster you've become. None of them are fit to be called warriors.
You underestimate them.
Do I? They have yet to impress me.
Even if you can hold one side of the offensive, I will still be here. Shadow could envision the vicious smirk that would have crossed his face, lips curled back and fangs bared. Every move you make I will fight, every bit of ki you gather I will disperse. For every blow you land I'll find a way to make you feel it just as hard.
"Doubtful," the demon scoffed. "But we'll see." The stench of the charred and burning senzu vines was beginning to bother him, and he could still hear the plants crackling and popping under the intense heat. He cast one last glance at the tower before setting his sights on the Lookout far above. With any luck, he would be able to enjoy himself for a while before the pathetic Earthling warriors made their appearance.
He flew up alongside the air currents and allowed himself a grin.
Kami heaved a shuddering sigh when he felt the demon leave the tower. So this was it, then. Goku was on his way, but until then it was up to him to stall the creature. He pushed himself away from the broken pillar and held his staff loosely at his side. It was time for him to confront the past, both his and Piccolo's.
"You appear to be waiting for someone, Kami," a voice hissed into his ear. "Have I kept you long?"
To his credit, the Guardian did not jump in sudden fright, but Shadow knew he had caught the old Namek unawares by the speed at which he whirled around. "You look surprised to see me," he drawled, folding his arms across his chest. "Don't tell me you were not expecting this from your own flesh and blood?"
Truth be told, Kami had not expected the younger warrior to arrive as soon as he had, but it did not matter. The creature hovered a full three feet above the tiled floor, the winds around the Lookout causing the battle-torn cloak to unfurl behind him like a macabre flag. When his gaze fell upon the raw weal across the warrior's left cheek he winced. Daimao's own mark. Someone in another realm had access to this plane. What allies had his other half made in the Underworld? What magical powers had the Demon Lord acquired?
"Did you think you could hide yourself from me?" the Guardian asked instead. "I am joined to you, Piccolo. I know you as well as I know myself."
"Piccolo will not exist for much longer," came the guttural reply. "You realize this."
"I am aware of the fact," Kami said dryly. "I also know that Piccolo is still in his body and mind, somewhere, and that he can hear me."
The demon whipped his body around to the older Namek's side so fast he could not follow the movement with his eyes. "He may have ears so he might hear. But he has no voice, so you cannot hear him speak. You cannot hear him scream." He stared straight into the Guardian's eyes, meeting ebon orbs with ruby and holding his ground.
"It makes no difference, demon."
Shadow's eyes narrowed to mere slits. "Then get to the point. I have not the time to waste playing word games with you. I have an agenda, so to speak."
"I apologize."
Had the situation not been so grim the Guardian would have laughed. The expression on the demon's bruised face was just short of being comical; he did not seem to be able to make up his mind about whether he was confused, disgusted, or just fed up with him. Kami pressed his slight advantage and continued. With luck, he would leave this encounter with all his limbs intact. "Surely you did not think I could not feel remorse for wrongs committed years ago?" he asked, mimicking Shadow's earlier drawl. "I realize now what I should have long ago, and I know – "
The old Namek did not complete his sentence. He tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth, and he wondered why for the briefest of moments before the pain of the blow bore down on him.
Shadow bit back a laugh as the Guardian hit the ground some distance away. He hadn't thought he hit the old man's jaw that hard, but apparently he was wrong. Apparently he was not the warrior he thought he was. Ah, but he mustn't kill him, as tantalizing as the idea was. Not until Ma Junior could be separated from him, and that was still in the future.
"Now, now, Kami," he reprimanded, baring his fangs in a wide smile and approaching the downed Namek, "you are failing in your capacity as Guardian, aren't you? If you were half as capable as you should have been, you would have seen that coming. Or, perhaps," he said, drifting closer, "you hoped the brat would somehow come to the rescue, miraculously tear himself from my grip and hurl me out into the open, where the tower itself would destroy me upon impact?"
Kami grimaced as a foot connected with his gut and sent him sprawling.
The demon leaned down until his face was inches from Kami's own. "I think not." The expression on his face would have caused a lesser man to quail. He bent forward conspiratorially and brought his hand up between their faces. "Do you recognize these?"
The other Namek forced his eyes open – he couldn't remember closing them – and inhaled sharply. He found them, he thought dully, staring blankly at a handful of senzu beans. Which meant the rest would be gone, and the vine either badly damaged or utterly destroyed.
Shadow chuckled, a deep rumble resonating from his chest, and the senzu burst into flames. He quickly flipped his hand over and let their ashes blow away. "Can't be leaving these out for the Saiyans to find, can we?" he said in reply to the Guardian's groan. "But this one will do just nicely." He opened his other hand to reveal one last senzu.
Kami's vision began to swim, and the last senses he registered before blacking out were the sight of his own flesh and blood devouring the last of the precious senzu, and the sound of Goku's startled cry. The latter confused him, since he had not felt the man's arrival, but he had not the time to ponder the thought further. The comforting darkness of unconscious swiftly enveloped him.
Goku had nearly caught up to the demon by the time he reached the base of Korin's tower. There wasn't much time left for Piccolo, he knew. The atmosphere of the tower was rotten with demon-stink, and not in the literal sense. The Saiyan felt dirty just flying through the same air as the foul creature, as if a polluted cloud had descended upon his mind. He gritted his teeth. That thing was at the Lookout now!
He sped up, increasing his aura as much as possible without ascending. It was bad enough that the demon could sense him coming. He didn't want him knowing the extent of his strength as well, but he had to get himself up there fast. Too bad he couldn't do Kami's teleportation trick. That would've been a big help.
A hoarse cry shocked him from his thoughts.
The startled Saiyan stopped in his tracks and actually dropped a few feet before regaining his senses. Where on Earth did that – oh!
Two pairs of eyes met.
"Yajirobe?" Goku flew in closer, momentarily distracted and curious as to why the man was dangling from his sword. "How did you get down here?" he asked, watching the samurai.
"You imbecile!" the fat man shouted, clinging to the length of metal. "Piccolo tossed me over the edge! I'm lucky I had my sword with me, or I'd be a smear on the ground by now!"
Goku looked above the samurai and saw a jagged tear in the tower itself, extending past his line of vision and up into the clouds. Yajirobe must have stuck his sword in the column and tried to catch himself. Well, it worked, all right, but the tower would definitely need some fixing once they were able to detach the man from his sword and his sword from the tower.
"I almost went deaf!" he raged. "Do you have any idea how loud steel on tile is?"
Wow, had he been lucky, Goku thought.
"Get me down from here!"
The warrior cast a glance at the other man and decided he could hang on for a bit longer. "I'll be back for you later, Yajirobe," he told the samurai. "Be careful, all right?" If Goku heard the fading insults and curses coming from the human, he gave no indication of it. His ki blazed through the dark sky, leaving a burning trail behind him.
He did not register passing Korin's tower, or the stench of the burning vines, nor landing on the tiled floor of the Lookout. But when he saw the demon crouched in the air over the fallen Guardian he gave a sharp cry.
Shadow swung his head around and gave the man a baleful glare. "You show up at the most inappropriate times, Son Goku."
"What did you do to him?" the Saiyan growled.
The demon stretched himself out languidly as he drifted away from Kami. "I did nothing," he said mildly. "He decided it would be for the best if he made his amends with the brat."
Goku frowned and gave the other warrior a once-over. From his own experience, stretching with cracked ribs hurt. Very much so, actually. And the last time he checked, Piccolo had not been that immune to pain. So either he was hiding his weakness from him – doubtful – or he had paid Korin and Yajirobe a visit, which he already knew was true.
Not good, he thought. "What did you do to Korin and Yajirobe?" Keep him talking, Goku. Distract him. Use Piccolo's own tactics against him.
Shadow laughed and tried not to let on that he noticed the man slowly approaching him. "Nothing they did not deserve. Surely when an ally requests healing, it should be given?"
"You're no ally of ours."
"Indeed not. You pathetic Earthlings serve no purpose but to be annihilated."
Goku balled his hands into fists and jutted his chin out. This is it, he told himself. He drew himself up to his full height and allowed his gathered ki to swirl out around him in ever-increasing arcs. "You've caused enough trouble, whoever you are," he growled. "Only one of us is leaving this place alive."
The demon cocked his head to the side and regarded him curiously. "Even at the expense of Piccolo's life?"
The Saiyan's voice dropped from a snarl to a sigh. "I will not allow any friend of mine to live as a prisoner in his own mind. Piccolo is one of the best men I've ever known, and he deserves a better future than this. I'd rather he die free than trapped by the likes of you." His words were emphasized by an increase in volume, and if Shadow hadn't known any better he would have said the other warrior was close to tears. But a true Saiyan warrior does not weep for what is lost, and with the exception of his final battle with Frieza, Goku was as close to being a true Saiyan as he would ever be with his upbringing.
"Touching, Son, touching," the Underworld creature replied, allowing his own aura to spiral around him and whip his cape about. "But you are injured, and there are no more senzu beans to save you. I took the last. Knowing this, you will not submit to a…graceful…defeat?"
Goku managed to keep his shock reined in and considered favoring the other warrior with a rather vulgar hand gesture. He destroyed them! They're…gone! Chi-Chi…Krillin…Gohan…even Vegeta…damn it! There's no way to heal them now! The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. His aura reflected the man's inner turmoil, and it flickered between white and gold.
Good, the demon thought. Grow angry. Lose your temper. Lose your mind. Make this battle your last. Make it one the heavens will whisper with sorrow and the hells chant with glee. Let it be known that Son Goku, so-called Champion of Earth, has fallen to one he called friend.
"Never…" Goku hissed. "I will not…submit…to the likes…of YOU!"
The skies above and around them exploded with light, and the demon was faced with an enraged Super Saiyan once more. Above the dull roar of the Saiyan's tremendous ki, Shadow let out his own thunderous growl and felt his own ki rise and collide with that of the other man. His following words carried across the Lookout, through the violent winds and the storm that was just beginning to arise overhead, and Goku matched his scowl to the green warrior's crooked smirk.
"Then let this be known as the day hope died."
All other words were lost in the ensuing boom.
"Vegeta…what is that?" Gohan gasped.
The older Saiyan scowled at the ki storm, centered around the Lookout. "Apparently, they've started without us," he muttered, loudly enough that the boy beside him could make out his words. "What a light show." Inwardly he was seething. What power! How could Kakarot and the Namek have so much ki between them? Hahhh…how could I have ever thought to face off against either one? This is madness! His mind's voice changed to reflect his typical countenance. But so was fighting Frieza. Better to go down fighting than in bed, I suppose. But if I'm going to die today, I'm taking one of them with me!
Gohan wisely kept his mouth shut when he saw Vegeta's near-maniacal expression. So it was a big deal for him too, then. He returned his attention to the flickering ki light and dull boom of tremendous blows being exchanged. "Hang on, Piccolo, dad," he whispered. "We're almost there."
Their own large ki trails were lost in the temporary brightening of the sky.
* * * * *
No excuse for tardiness this time. But I can defend myself against all potential lynchers. *grins and brandishes the Whack-Bonk stick*
DS, thank you for sympathizing. What makes it so bad is that I'm actually a Chem major. What on Earth was I thinking? I often wonder.
As a heads up, there are only two or three chapters left to this story. Please bear with my temporary insanity for that long. ^^ Thank you for reading. It wouldn't have been possible without you.
~Dreamwraith