Chapter 26 – The Final Battle

After a beat, Omega Shenron shot downward, away from the circle of fighters that surrounded him. At once, the four of them dove toward him in different, weaving paths. Watching them carefully, noticing their flight patterns, the dragon was able to keep an eye on them.

Vegeta disappeared. Omega Shenron waited. A second later, Vegeta reappeared at his side, and the dragon struck. Hurling his fist at Vegeta's stomach, he left the Saiyan breathless. the dragon jumped up into the air to avoid Goku's flying punch, shooting his foot back down as he passed to kick him in the back. Just then, Gohan and Gotenks closed in to attack him from behind. They didn't notice his shoulder blades glowing white until two massive ki blasts shot out of them, sending them both sprawling to the ground.

Omega Shenron flew up high above them and began to rain ki blasts down onto them. He kept up a constant stream, laughing the whole time. Suddenly, he felt a foot in the back of his head: Goku had teleported behind him. The ki volley stopped while Omega Shenron reached up and grabbed Goku by the tail.

"ARRRRRGH!" screamed Goku as the dragon squeezed. Goku could feel his body growing limp and his power fading.

Vegeta flew up toward them, ready to charge Omega Shenron. At that moment, however, the dragon resumed his ki volley, which was now coming from the spikes on his back. Gritting his teeth with anger, Vegeta was forced to redirect his course. As he did so, however, Omega Shenron swung Goku around, releasing him so that he hit Vegeta like a bullet. They both crashed to the ground. Omega Shenron laughed as his whole arm shot a ki beam at them.

Just before it hit them, however, it was stopped by Gohan and Gotenks. They pushed with all their might, but were being driven back by the force of the beam. Their heels dug into the solid ground of Planet Mutek. The pain was unbearable. With a final cry of pain and effort, they managed to divert the beam three feet to their right. The impact sent the four of them tumbling to the left.

"This is no good!" panted Goku to the others. "We can't vary our attacks like that, he still catches on! We have to hit him with some powerful attacks, to slowly lower his ki!"

"How can we get enough time to do that?" asked Gohan.

"I don't know, but there's got to be a way!" said Goku. "We just have to get away from him and fire the strongest attacks we can!"

Suddenly, Omega Shenron shot back down at them, landing hard with his feet in Vegeta and Gotenks' cupped hands. They were trying to force him back, but with little success.

"Keep trying to hold him off!" yelled Gohan. "I think I have an idea!"

"Go!" yelled Vegeta as Omega Shenron stepped on his hands with more force.

Gohan flew away as fast as he could, leaving Goku to try to get Omega Shenron off of Vegeta and Gotenks. He flew at the dragon, disappearing and reappearing on his other side. Omega Shenron casually slapped him away with one arm. Goku recovered in midair, but was immediately hit by a ki blast from the dragon's hand.

Goku was thrown toward the ground. Landing on his hands, he backflipped back onto his feet and faced Omega Shenron.

"Face it, Son Goku," smiled the dragon. "You're in a hopeless situation."

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Goku. "Have you looked down lately?"

He had no chance to look down. Vegeta's tail was wrapped around his ankle, and with a swift tug, Omega Shenron's foot slipped off of him. Vegeta gave a triumphant bark of laughter, planted his hands firmly on the ground and pushed himself off, kicking the dragon hard under the chin with both feet.

Immediately Gotenks was freed as well. He added a punch to the stomach and sprung away, landing a few feet behind where he had been.

Omega Shenron cursed and recovered himself, facing Goku, Vegeta and Gotenks.

"Now you've done it," he rumbled. "You're all standing right in front of me, completely defenseless. I could blow you away right now." A straight line across his chest began to glow. "In fact, I think I will."

None of them spoke. They all stared stonily past Omega Shenron, and a voice behind him said, "Ka...Me...Ha...Me..."

Omega Shenron wheeled around, though the spikes on his back glowed to keep the other three in check. Gohan stood a few yards away, his hands cupped at his side, with a large shining ball of energy shimmering in them. The dragon looked at the ball, then at Gohan, and chuckled.

"So this was your big plan, was it?" he said. "To have Son Gohan sneak attack me with a Kamehameha. Poor planning on your part." He froze as Goku's voice came from behind him: "Ka...Me...Ha...Me..."

Now Omega Shenron turned so that both his hands were held out, one toward Gohan and the other toward Goku.

"I see. There's a bit more strategy to this than I realized. But it still makes no difference. Go on, fire, both of you. I'll show you how futile your efforts are."

Gohan looked at him. Then, he yelled "HAAAAAAAA!" and threw his hands forward. The Kamehameha burst forth from his hands, and Omega Shenron steadied his hand to block it. He turned to Goku to do the same with his beam.

But Goku was no longer standing there.

With a feeling of icy dread, the dragon heard "HAAAAAAAAA!" again from where Gohan was, and the beam that collided with his hand multiplied in strength. He turned and saw Goku and Gohan firing their attacks together. This was more than he could block with one arm, but he had no time to put up his other arm before the joint Kamehameha overcame him. He was thrown backward onto the ground. Goku and Gohan stopped. There was a slight indentation on the ground of Planter Mutek where the Kamehameha had passed over it.

"OK," said Vegeta. "My turn."

Omega Shenron sprang to his feet. There was a calm fury in his eyes.

"It seems I underestimated you," he said slowly and menacingly. "I've been too relaxed about holding you off. I did what I swore never to do: I became too arrogant with my power. I've been going about this the wrong way." His eyes narrowed and blazed. "Well...not anymore."

With a savage yell he leapt at Goku and Gohan. They had no time even to react. With one strike he had them both on their backs.

"Two down, two to go!" he roared, his hands glowing with energy as he advanced on them. Standing directly above them, he raised his hands above his head and brought them down toward the Saiyans' chests.

An instant later, he gave a yell of pain and flew several feet past them, slamming his fists into the ground, which cracked beneath him. Whipping his head around, he was astonished to see that it was Gotenks who had delivered the blow.

"You...you can't...how did you hurt me that much just by hitting me!"

"Well, it seems like your ki's gone down after that Kamehameha," smirked Gotenks. "Or it could also be this technique I just came up with."

Omega Shenron watched Gotenks aim his palms at the ground and expel two extremely powerful beams of ki. Like a rocket, Gotenks shot up off the ground at a speed far greater than he could have attained on his own. By tilting his hands slightly, he could alter his direction. The dragon spat.

"Enough of this idiocy! I have some unfinished business to take care of," he snarled, turning back to Goku and Gohan. Behind him, Gotenks did a swoop in the air and shot ack down toward Omega Shenron.

The dragon sensed him and prepared to strike. It wasn't until Gotenks was a few yards away, however, that the dragon realized just how fast he was moving. With a surprised yell, he jumped out of the way. Gotenks grazed his leg and caused him to flip upside down. Gotenks seemed able to turn on a dime; whipping back around, he slammed into Omega Shenron's stomach. The dragon tumbled backward, landing, dazed, on his back.

"Ow," said Gotenks, rubbing his head. He was grinning.

Goku and Gohan got back onto their feet. A few moments later, so did Omega Shenron.

"You..." he began. He didn't seem to be able to finish. Deciding to stay with "YOU!" he flew at Gotenks at his full speed. Gotenks, flying backward, barely managed to stay ahead of him using his ki rockets. Opening his mouth, the dragon fired a blast of ki; Gotenks threw his head back and it sailed over him.

Suddenly, Omega Shenron grinned. His feet glowed white, and shot out two of his own beams. Rocketing up to Gotenks' level and flying above him, the dragon slammed his fists onto Gotenks' face. Gotenks hit the ground hard. Omega Shenron landed next to him.

"It's just as well that I kill you now," he said. "May as well pick off the weak ones first." He raised his fist, which was glowing and crackling with energy.

Suddenly, he stopped. What was that energy he was feeling?

Turning around, he saw an enormous blue ball of ki floating in the sky a few yards away from him. Only by moving to the left could the dragon see who was behind the ball. It was Vegeta.

"Hello, chameleon," said Vegeta with a smirk. "I assume you recognize this attack?"

He did. "This is your devastating new technique? A Super Big Bang Attack? I'm disappointed in you, Vegeta."

Vegeta's smirk grew wider. "Just wait," he said.

"No, I'm afraid I won't be doing that," said Omega Shenron. "I've learned from my mistakes."

With a rush of wind, he flew up toward the side of Vegeta that was not protected by the Big Bang. Immediately Vegeta threw out his other hand, and a second giant ball formed in it. Omega Shenron halted in midair, wary of the energy coming off of the ball. Vegeta looked at him.

"Impressive, eh?" he asked with an amused look at the dragon's expression. The two ki balls were larger than his body.

Omega Shenron regained his composure in an instant. "So, I can't easily hit you. What is your plan from here, Vegeta? I can move faster than you can even see. How will you hurt me?"

Vegeta turned to face him, the two globes held out to his sides. Then, with a swift motion, he brought his hands together. The ki balls melded into one even bigger one, which turned a bright orange as it trembled in Vegeta's hands. Small sections of the ground below began to crack and break off.

Omega Shenron was in shock. The energy from this attack was staggering. The dragon retreated to the ground.

"You won't hit me with that, Vegeta!" he yelled. "I won't let you!"

"That's all right," said Vegeta. "It's not finished yet."

"What?" exclaimed the dragon. Indeed, the ki was growing larger, surpassing Goku and Gohan's father-son Kamehameha.

"Well, you've come up with a wonderful new technique," said Omega Shenron, a savage smile on his face. "But soon you're going to have to fire it, and you'll miss. And then I'll have you."

Gotenks, Gohan and Goku were all staring at Vegeta as well, mesmerized by his attack.

"While I'm waiting, maybe I'll kill the others, like I was originally planning to," the dragon went on. "Gotenks...I believe I had you at my mercy..."

"It's finished!" yelled Vegeta. "Kakarot, now!"

"Right!" yelled Goku, disappearing from view.

"What!" yelled Omega Shenron. Goku appeared in front of him, put a hand on his shoulder, and teleported again. The next thing the dragon saw was the giant orange ball of ki directly in front of him. He wheeled around to see Goku, but Goku was already standing on the ground, next to Gohan.

"BIG BANG FINAL FLASH ATTACK!" roared Vegeta. The ball burst forth in a blaze of heat and energy. It became a huge beam that instantly overpowered the dragon, sending him crashing headfirst into the ground. Goku, Gohan and Gotenks leapt backward as a huge explosion occured, sending bits of Planet Mutek flying in all directions.

When the smoke cleared, Omega Shenron lay in a huge crater, scratched all over and bleeding in several places. There was a large burn on his back, but he was intact. He got to his feet, shaking.

"I...I am alive," he said, trembling. "M-more resilient...than even I thought I was." He raised his head to the sky and saw the four Saiyans looking down at him. Something snapped in his head.

The ground began to rumble as Omega Shenron raised his power as high as it would go. "You all...will DIE! RIGHT NOW!" And, madness in his eyes, he jumped out of the crater and blasted them all.

Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Gotenks were all thrown off their feet. Omega Shenron roared with fury and came after Vegeta, elbowing him hard in the chest. Goku flew at him from above, but the dragon thrust his head upward, hitting Goku's head. Gohan and Gotenks tried to catch him off guard, but the dragon would no longer be deterred. He shot ki blasts at them from every part of his body that they approached.

Throwing Vegeta to the ground, Omega Shenron flew at him for the final blow. Vegeta threw out his arm and shot a ki blast that hit the dragon directly in the chest. He plowed through it as though it were nothing, though it slowed him down slightly. Because of this, the blow was not lethal, but sent Vegeta tumbling away, out of breath.

"I will not be defeated by a bunch of weaklings!" screamed the dragon, punching Goku and Gotenks while kicking Gohan. They were winded, unable to move fast enough to stop the dragon before he reached Vegeta again...now Omega Shenron was upon him, his fist glowing.

Knowing that he wouldn't make it in time, Goku teleported to Vegeta.

"RAAAAAAH!" screamed Omega Shenron as he brought his fist down on nothing. Goku and Vegeta were behind him now.

"Don't think that will work!" roared the dragon as he shot his elbows backward, knocking them both away again. They flew past Gohan and Gotenks, landing on the ground.

"Ka...Kakarot," coughed Vegeta. "We can't...stop him now...he won't let anyone get away...our only hope is..."

Omega Shenron's ki shot up as he let out a blood-curdling roar and raced at Goku and Vegeta. Gohan and Gotenks got up to stop him, but he slammed his fists into their heads as he passed. They flew in opposite directions, bleeding heavily.

"Kakarot, we have to fuse!" yelled Vegeta as Omega Shenron flew at them.

"What!" exclaimed Goku. In the nick of time he used Instant Transmission to put them behind the dragon again. They flew away as fast as they could. "You can do the Fusion Dance!"

"I watched from hell when Goten and Trunks learned it, years ago!" Vegeta yelled. Behind them, Omega Shenron was gaining quickly, and his hands were outstretched and glowing.

"And you can do it just from that?" asked Goku. They broke off in different directions as the beams sailed past them.

"I was an elite warrior, a Saiyan prince, for over thirty years of my life, Kakarot," said Vegeta. "I'm a fast learner."

"All right!" yelled Goku. "Let's fuse!"

"Fuse!" cried Omega Shenron. "Not as long as I'm around to stop you!" Pulling up in front of them, he kicked them both in the chest. They sailed back to the ground.