The chapter you've all been waiting for has arrived! Chapter 23 has now made it to bookstores everywhere! Just kidding, but you get the point, don't you? Without further ado, here's the third to last chapter!

Before the chapter begins, I have to tell you that I will be switching writing styles from first person, to third person, back to first person, and I'll finish off the story in omniscient third. The lines separate the styles so you don't get confused. Enjoy!

Mystic Saiyan-Ch23-Kane's Arrival and Goku's Sacrifice

It was late morning; I'd say somewhere around ten o'clock. Everyone had something to do and therefore, the backyard of Capsule Corp. had turned into an example of pandemonium and chaos.

At the moment, I had Goku trying to break through a time-stop barrier, Bulma and Chi-Chi were working overtime in the kitchen, making sure that there was plenty enough food for lunch. Eighteen was helping, as much as she resented it. Piccolo had found some quiet place amidst the chaos and started his meditation. The humans were preparing as best as they could, considering they could do nothing. Gohan was looking for Piccolo, and Alexis was currently sparring with Vegeta, making sure he had everything down that he needed.

As Goku broke through my barrier, he rushed me and I dodged his attack, hoping also to dodge the pit in my stomach that was now at an ultimate crescendo. Alexis was no doubt feeling the same thing and it was reflecting in how he fought to relieve it.

"Is this what you were talking about?" Goku had asked the night before, holding his stomach in a sort of anxious pain.

"So, you finally sense him. This means that Kane is close; not a good sign at all. Tomorrow is the day…" I had responded, looking into the sky toward the moon.

"Are you serious?" He asked.

"Very." Was my only reply.

Goku had gathered everyone to Capsule Corp. that morning, suggesting that we train as much as possible before he arrived. Alexis and I had countered with a plea of fatigue, even if it wouldn't come for another five hours after we kept training.

After intense convincing, Goku had asked me to put him through the same training I had given Vegeta. I drew the line in certain areas, but he was satisfied with the modified course I had put him through. He wouldn't get far before lunch, but he was grateful for what he could get. I had to admit that any edge would be useful.

By this time, Goku—as well as a 'late' Vegeta—had reached the ascended Saiyan form that Gohan had showed at the far away Cell Games. This alone helped Goku through half of the things I put him through.

I hesitated in our spar, but only to create the gravity barrier that Goku and I would fight in. I started at 500 G's, but I steadily increased as he became used to the gravity level I had placed. Vegeta's training was rushed, but Goku's was all piled on to him at once. I forced him to chase me around and fight me under the intense gravity, only and all because he requested it—the challenge I would give him. I just hope the greater challenge of Kane wouldn't kill him…

Alexis had insisted on a final spar with Vegeta that morning, just to make sure his abilities were up to par. Even though I believe it had the deeper idea of Alexis wanting to test his strength against him because Alexis and Vegeta had never sparred before.

At the moment, Alexis had created a barrier that surrounded both him and Vegeta, more than likely some kind of gravity barrier that he would move to Vegeta's usual level as they fought relentlessly. As I thought this, I had to duck and flip over a combo that Goku tried to pull off. I retaliated and prepared for some kind of counterattack…

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As the smoke cleared, a solitary boot escaped the smoky haze that no one could see through. That boot straightened to show a leg, and eventually, a body that looked almost human. If it was human, it would've been beautiful—no, handsome? It was hard to distinguish what it would've been described as. The point was, it wasn't human…

This…thing had red hair that came down to—let's call it a 'he'—his ears. This wasn't any usual type of red either. It was literally, blood-red. It was cropped straight, but he had strands of hair that stuck out everywhere, like a ruffled appearance.

When the smoke had completely dissipated, color could be seen in more detail. His skin was a lavender that wasn't earlier able to be distinguished. This shade could only be compared to the hair of a certain son of a Capsule Corp. heir. He was wearing armor that could be easily found—and bought at a reasonable price—had you searched any weapons market on the planet Takara.

When he opened his eyes, one could be met with the intense sight of a deep royal blue color; the only other color was that of the pupils—a silverish tinge in the center of the eye. His mouth twisted into a sadistic smile, realizing that he has finally found what he has been looking for.

That, however, is where the Human similarities end. As soon as he stepped completely out of the smoky haze, one could see the six—yes, six—wings on his back that resembled a small birds' and allowed him to fly at intense speeds. These wings were a maroon color. Protruding from those six wings were two differently shaped wings that could be closest resembled to a dragon's wings. They were a navy blue in color and shot out of his back with what looked like a very small range of motion.

He stretched his limbs a bit and it would be then that one realizes that his arms and fingers are longer than a normal Human's. He stretched his wings and looked around, analyzing the area he had landed in. This was it. This was the time he had been waiting for. Why hadn't he seen it before?

This was the only planet in this system that could actually harbor any life and it was also the most likely area for her to land. He took an object out of a pocket in his armor, pushing a button and watching as it emitted a sequence of beeps and showed a holographic screen. This device looked like a small computer and it was—in a sense. It was a power reader, made specifically by Halorian technology to aid any of their species to find someone of a certain power level; not unlike the Saiyan scanner that was usually placed on the ear and over the eye.

He looked to the east once the reader had finished the beeping emission. That is where those with the highest levels resided. He looked around him once more, making sure no one could find this area easily and took off, not even noticing the two trees that had fallen due to the force of his liftoff…

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"God!" I exclaimed, doubling over in my chair. I didn't have to look to see that Alexis had done the same thing.

"Damn it!" Alexis said, collapsing as he stood for seconds. The ladies, Krillin, Gohan and Goku had all gotten up, wondering what had happen to their guests.

"What's wrong?" Goku asked, worried.

"He's…Here!" I gritted out through the initial pain.

"Yeah…" Alexis agreed. I felt the jolt for a few more seconds before I was finally able to stand and help Alexis to his feet.

"What's wrong with you two?" Vegeta asked.

"Don't you feel it?" Alexis asked through gritted teeth, holding his stomach as if he could be sick any moment.

"What are you talking about?" Gohan asked.

"Yeouch…" Goku muttered, cradling his stomach as well. "He's here, isn't he?" He asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes, and he's drawing closer. We need to leave, now!" I yelled.

"Let's go!" Alexis said.

"What?" Vegeta replied.

"He may not have something like Instant Transmission on his side, but he's nearly as fast; and he's really close. We need to draw him from here unless you want a broken home…" I said, running out the back door and taking off as soon as I cleared the porch.

I looked to the west, knowing that it was the direction he would be coming from. He was far off, but he will be here any time now. I looked to see Alexis, Vegeta, Goku and Gohan next to me. Trunks and the others were following close behind.

"To the mountains!" I yelled to the others. "Use Chaos Transport if you can!" I disappeared as soon as I finished that statement. As soon as I materialized in the mountains, I noticed everyone else a beat behind. I looked far ahead to see Kane switching directions as soon as he sensed us again. I felt a hand on my shoulder a second later.

"Sakidra." Alexis said. It was quiet, but stern; and I knew what he needed. I looked back to him.

"I know." I replied. "Goku! Get ready! Vegeta, come here!" I called and landed on the ground. Alexis followed close after, on my left. Vegeta finally appeared at my right. I looked up, seeing Kane at a distance, before getting back to business. I looked to my right.

"Clear your emotions, sense our energy and stay level with us. Keep our stance and breathing pattern. It'll take a while, but only because of the complexities involved. You'll know when to start the fusion—I know it." I looked forward to see Goku standing in front of us, ready to keep Kane away from us for as long as we need. I reached up, taking off the sword I wore on my back. I handed the sheath to Vegeta.

"Take this and put it on. You'll need it. After that, we'll begin." I said, getting ready. Vegeta took the strap and positioned the sword on his back, the opposite way Alexis had his own sword.

"At least there's no damn dance involved." He growled, mimicking our stance.

"I almost wish there was only a dance involved for this." Said Alexis regretfully. This was a fusion he hasn't had to do for a long time. "Let's begin already." He said and bowed his head, clearing his head and trying to focus his energy.

"Yes." Was my reply. I followed suit and cleared my head of the anxiousness that followed whenever Kane was around. After a grunt from Vegeta, he did the same thing. The preparation for the Trinity Blood Fusion was underway…

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Goku looked back once more to see that Alexis, Sakidra, and Vegeta had already started their preparations. He looked to the front again to see the object of their anxious feelings and his empty feeling.

This…thing looked like nothing he had ever seen before. It looked almost Human if it weren't for the wings protruding out of his back. The hair color was a shade of red that was unattainable for humans, even using dye. Goku remembered something Sakidra told him once.

"The hair color of a Halorian changes according to the color of the blood of the enemies he has killed. Most Halorians don't have to deal with the changing color because they don't usually kill relentlessly. A Halorian's hair color begins as a clear shade; the color of fiber-optic threads…"

Kane landed in front of him, noticing that Goku had posed a threat to his goal of killing the princess in order to attain the knowledge of the Chaos.

"Move aside. I only want the girl." Kane said in his smooth voice. The voice of a Halorian was another reason they could resolve so many conflicts. The voice was literally hypnotizing.

"I can't let you do that. I don't want to hurt you, but you have to leave and never come back." Goku replied with the confidence he has used against more than one opponent in his lifetime. Kane thought over this for a minute before responding.

"Your confidence hides your own fear. Don't worry. I will not hurt you as long as you just move aside. I only want the girl. Unless, of course, you want to actually protect the girl for some reason." He said. Goku started before realizing that this was a being who was said to see the innermost emotions of a person. Goku was not fearful, and knew that Kane was only trying to get into his own head.

"Any negative thoughts, feelings, or emotions, and he'll catch on to them. You have to wipe your mind completely of the emotions of Fear, Anger, Sadness, and Revenge."

'Think happy thoughts, then. That's simple.' Goku thought, getting into a stance.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. Sakidra is a friend and I can't let you hurt her." Goku said, getting ready for a fight.

"Very well. It's your loss…" He said before getting into a stance of his own.

Kane was the first to attack. Goku dodged his blitz and countered with a combo of his own. He had to be careful not to let any of Kane's hands near his head. Sakidra's warning rung through his head, even as he fought on instinct.

"If Kane gets the chance, he'll use your own memories. Surely, you have at least one memory that makes you feel fear, sadness or even anger. He'll use that against you, bringing that memory to the forefront of your mind and using your vulnerable moment against you. He'll manipulate that emotion and twist it to kill you. Be careful, Goku."

Goku ducked under a jab meant for the side of his head. In the middle of the drop, Goku attempted a sweep kick that was jumped over. He recovered quickly and started fighting Kane on even ground.

Punch after punch; kick after kick was exchanged and neither fighter seemed to be breaking a sweat. Trunks and Gohan watched in anxiety, hoping that Goku could keep him off. They had no delusions, not even Goku could defeat this opponent, but they both hoped that nothing serious would happen. Every time Goku was knocked back, they jumped, ready to come in at a moment's notice; even if they couldn't do much.

Piccolo's gaze was held at the three warriors standing perfectly still on the outskirts of the match. The wind couldn't move them. They never flinched, never moved; it looked like they weren't even breathing. At a sense, they had exactly the same level of power exerted. Their hair whipped in the intense wind, yet they were still unmoving as the fight went on in front of them.

Goku suddenly doubled over, having been hit with an unexpected punch to the gut. With his free hand, Kane finally got a hold of Goku's head. Concentrating and leaving him immobile.

"Goku!" Trunks and Piccolo shouted.

"Dad!" Gohan followed.

Goku was in bandages from head to toe. The walls that surrounded him were that shade of white that could only be described as "Hospital White". He was sitting in his own bed after collapsing from some feat that he barely survived.

The doctor came in. "How are you today, Mr. Son?" She asked with a caring tone.

"Oh, I'm feeling great!" He replied. "When am I going to be able to get out of here?"

"Oh. You'll be out in no time, but I just have to give you this shot." She said, holding out a syringe.

"Shot! Needle! No! Get it away from me!" He exclaimed, wanting to get away from the needle.

"Come on, Goku. Stop being a baby…" Chi-Chi said in a fading voice.

The memory went on, but that was all Kane needed to do his own attack. He pulled back his arm, releasing Goku from his grasp. Goku stumbled back a few paces, unable to stand upright for the few seconds after released from the grip of the memory.

Kane's pulled-back right hand yielded a dark blue energy that swirled around his fist. Taking advantage of Goku's vulnerability, he guided the energy into his gut.

"Death of the Fearful!" He shouted, bringing Goku back to awareness, but soon making him fly back with the force behind the attack. He crashed into a rock wall and fell to the ground.

Goku stood up, realizing that he was finally aware of his surroundings. As soon as he was standing upright, he clutched his chest and collapsed to his knees. He was wracked with fear that was uncharacteristic of him. His defense was down and Kane took full advantage of this.

Kane rushed in and started an all-out attack against a defenseless Goku. Punches and Kicks were thrown all over his body before he finally collapsed onto the ground and Kane backed off.

"If he does manage to get you within the confines of one of his attacks, you have to work extra hard to clear your mind of all emotion. The only problem you might have is that his attacks are often subtle. If you find yourself feeling an uncontrollable rage with no provocation beforehand, you have to calm yourself down. You'll be blind to your surroundings otherwise. If you find yourself feeling an emotion that's uncharacteristic of you, calm down. You'll need to."

Kane rushed in again, but was forced back by a rapidly rising energy. Goku was struggling to stand, but was soon on his feet, his hair straight up in the blonde do characteristic of his transformation into the Super Saiyan form. After charging his energy a bit, he rushed in to try and weaken Kane himself.

Goku had a better chance as a Super Saiyan, but he was still outmatched. After a few confrontations, Trunks and Piccolo were well aware of that. Goku was dodging and throwing his own fair share of damage, but Kane seemed to still have the upper hand. After Kane's second punch to the head, Goku realized that he still wasn't strong enough to even up with Kane.

Kane brought up his hand again, grabbing his opponent's head through his hair and sifted through his deep memories again, looking for one to suit his purpose. Finally he found the perfect memory to kill this pesky idiot before him.

Goku was trapped for the second time that fight; trapped within his own head. He watched helplessly as Kane sifted through his own memories, looking for one that would suit his own purpose. He saw the one he had chosen and wanted to stop it, but had no say in the matter. It was the worst memory he had within his head…

He stood there, with Krillin and Gohan, ready to protect them if needed. Frieza simply held out his hand. Goku stood confused for a moment, before he heard a stuttering sound from behind him.

He looked behind him to see Krillin floating slightly in the air, holding his chest. He looked back to Frieza and knew that he was the one causing this.

"No! Frieza, not him!" He had said. Krillin had continued to rise into the air, unable to be stopped from Frieza's wrath.

"G-G-Goku!" He heard Krillin's voice behind him. Goku looked into the sky where Krillin was rising fast.

"Krillin! Frieza, don't! Not him!" He pleaded with no avail. Krillin started shaking uncontrollably. Goku looked up in horror as Krillin continued his spasms.

There was no way he nor Gohan could watch as Krillin was blown up no thanks to Frieza's antics.

"Frieza!" Goku shouted in pure anger.

"Anger's Curse." Was all Kane had said before releasing him, forcing Goku from his memories. No blows, no energy, nothing. All that happened was the red haze that settled over Goku's vision, blinding him to the happenings of everything around him. Nothing was evident except for the anger and rage that had forced itself to the forefront of his mind.

Trunks knew something was wrong when Goku just stood there after Kane backed off. His drastically rising energy was an immediate tip-off. Before either he or Piccolo could realize, Goku had gone into his Super Saiyan 2 form and started to go after Kane with no thinking whatsoever. This was shown in the amount of blows he could actually land compared to Kane's focused ability.

"I've never seen Goku this unfocused in his life. He would never, intentionally or instinctively, be this bad off." Piccolo said.

"I agree. What happened?" Trunks asked.

"I don't know, but I sense a lot of anger and something connected to Frieza, don't ask me why." Piccolo responded.

Goku could see a silhouette of someone through the red that clouded his vision, but he couldn't reach it. Even after ascending to his most powerful form, he couldn't reach it. What was wrong with him?

"There's a saying that warriors often use in their everyday lives. It goes like this: 'All emotions, especially rage, can be converted into a tool to use at our own discretion. This tool can be used to further our own ability if pushed far enough.' This isn't true in this case. You have to rely on your own ability without using this metaphorical tool. Any emotion can be used against you in this fight."

Goku felt blows connect all over his body, but couldn't distinguish their origin or counterattack at all. He stopped all attacks, just now realizing that he was caught in the confines of one of Kane's attacks. He calmed enough to see the red haze dissipate, but he was too weak to maintain his ascended forms, and reverted to his natural form again, the black hair falling to their original locks. He was barely able to acknowledge, let alone block the blow that came to his chest, forcing him to fly back, swimming in darkness.

Before he closed his eyes completely, he noticed a strong light surrounding three people that he had just flown past. He closed his eyes completely, a peaceful expression gracing his face before drifting into unconsciousness.

…Your turn…guys…

:.EoC.:

So, how'd I do with that? I liked the end result, but you all might have a different opinion. If you could grace me with some feedback, I would be honored. I wrote this listening to Good Charlotte, don't ask me why…hm…

As for next chapter, you don't need a preview. You all basically know what's lined up to happen. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Oh, I could still use feedback as to which story you would like me to start after Mystic Saiyan is complete. If you could give me an idea based on the summaries you read on my profile, I would also appreciate that. Thank you. Well, Till Next time!