The pacification field, Goku had quickly grown to notice, once it had finished infliction its incredible pain on the body, left you feeling strangely numb. The hands on him seemed ghostly as they bound his wrists behind him with their energy whips.

"Glad that's finally over with."

"Don't kid yourself. The comm's still going nuts with whatever's going down with the Grand Warden right now."

"Former."

"Shut up about it already! …Goddamn, what a mess."

They finished the bind and stepped back from the saiyan warrior shyly, leaving him kneeling. One rubbed the back of their head. "What the hell is a green shirt doing on Seven anyways?"

"More like what the hell are we doing here? I was transferred here from Four! I'm not cut out for this class of criminal."

"Well they had to send somebody. Just about everyone who was posted on Seven's taking a nap in the morgue."

"Prisoners on Seven rarely come out of their cells anyhow. And after the breakout, I doubt any of them are going to be seeing another face for quite a while."

"So what is he doing here?"

"Nevrrest," Goku grunted with some effort. He lifted his head, his tongue still feeling like a fish. "Nevrrest…put me here."

The guards gave each other questioning looks.

"Would you all please be quiet?" interjected the authoritative voice of the leader. His back was turned as he fiddled with his fusion wristband. "I'm trying to contact someone to find out where to put him. His chip isn't registered to a cell for some reason."

"Things keep getting weirder."

"What a mess."

"A question, sir?" One stepped up and gestured to his own fusion band, which Goku noticed was glowing and releasing throbs of energy from the man's body. "About the activation…should we put our bands into emergency standby mode?"

The leader grunted softly. "What would be the point? I would hardly consider this a crisis. The prisoner's been pacified – we can handle it without a quarter of our power. No, I'd say if one of the Justiciars have gone quantum, they damn well need it."

"Quantum?" said Goku, his eyes widening, "Oh no, Oom'Bagu…!" He trained his dulled senses as best he could in the direction he had left. It took a moment, but he was able to sense two powerful energies. Oom'Bagu must have found a way to get his collar off. Which meant that Horkion or Laswe – or maybe even Nevrrest – had used one of those neckbands to power up, just like they had on Earth. Which meant not only had he failed to get past the guards, but that Oom'Bagu was likely in trouble as well. Come on, think, Goku, think!

He felt a hand on his shoulder, pushing up his sleeve. Goku recognized him as the cone-headed guard who had first grabbed him.

Another guard rubbed at his head as the other inspected his shoulder. "You think I busted it?"

"That's why I'm checking," the cone-head replied.

"That was some circus act you put on," the other guard said to Goku in an almost friendly way, "You almost had us all convinced you'd somehow broken the system." He laughed a little.

"Broken the system?" Goku wondered aloud. Was that what he'd been trying to do? He hadn't even thought of it that way. His mind was focuses solely on the goal of saving Vegeta and stopping Nevrrest from causing further harm. Sure, he was bent on doing whatever it took to accomplish those goals, but the idea of breaking some system hadn't even crossed his mind. Of course, he knew what system the guard meant – the prison system. It was something that an escaping prisoner would want to overcome. But despite the green uniform, the collar on his neck, and the glowing numbers on his shoulder, Goku didn't think of himself as a prisoner. He was just Goku. That was all he'd ever been to himself.

But suddenly, it occurred to him that maybe that was his problem. Maybe he had to think of himself as a prisoner. Maybe breaking the system was the only way he'd be able to win this fight.

Goku took a breath as the cone-headed guard continued to search him for serious injuries, redirecting his thoughts. Okay. Gotta think of myself as a prisoner. Now what could a prisoner do in this situation? His hands twisted a little against the restraints. No, that's no good. Even if I could get my hands free, trying to start a fight would only set off the pacification field again. He thought hard on the field. It had certainly proven to be his biggest obstacle so far. How could he get around it?

"The computer monitors every single prisoner constantly through their biometrics," Oom'Bagu had explained once, "If it detects any inappropriate prisoner conduct – particularly of the aggressive kind – it will fire."

So as long as I don't get aggressive, it probably won't hit me. Goku's eyes settled seriously on the surrounding guards. But how am I supposed to get past them if I don't fight? I already tried that. All other bets are off. His gaze fell down, thinking harder. The guards and the pacification field – they were both problems that were keeping him from moving forward. But maybe they weren't separate problems at all. Maybe, there was a way to deal with both at the same time. He remembered the times he'd seen the pacification field in action – on himself and on Vegeta. In both incidents, the guards had always moved back just before it fired.

It was then he had an idea. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but at this point anything was worth a shot. He looked at the cone-headed guard who was finishing checking his shoulder. "Hey."

"Hm?" the guard answered curiously.

"I want you to know I'm really sorry about this."

The guard was about to ask what he meant when Goku's teeth firmly sank into his arm. The guard's eyes slowly grew wide, stunned and flabbergasted to have been attacked so completely without malice. The other guards stared at the two of them, not sure what had just happened. Then the pain and realization that there was a man latched onto him kicked in and the guard started to scream.

"Holy hell—he's sank in deep!" he cried, an entire year's worth of training and experience suddenly flying out the window.

To the guard's chagrin, half his coworkers started laughing. "What the blazes is the matter with you?!" his superior snarled, face red and flustered, "Why did you let your guard down?!"

"He was calm!" he protested helplessly. Looking at Goku's face, the prisoner still looked calm. And scary determined!

"Well you're on your own," his superior huffed, "Anyone who makes that kind of rookie mistake deserves to get bit."

"Wah…?" he sweated, looking between the Saiyan on his arm and his superior. With his strength, he could easily rip Goku off, but if he did, with how badly he was sunk in, the prisoner would certainly take a piece of him with him! His mind rattled with what to do in this situation when suddenly Goku got an even more determined look and started slamming him in the stomach with his knees. "Hey!" he cried, getting a little angry now, "That's enough!" He raised a hand and slapped Goku upside the head. Goku weathered the blow with a wince of pain and then in return kneed the guard in the groin. "Oh come on…" the guard groaned as his face crumpled.

"You poor sucker," laughed one of the big guys among the guards, stepping up, "For crying out loud, I'll give you a hand." He casually came up behind Goku, one hand grabbing a fistful of Goku's ample hair and the other the underside of his jaw. "Now let go, you. You don't want to end up in solitary, do you?" In a flash, Goku's legs were wrapped and locked around the big guard's waist.

The other guards roared with laughter as the three of them went down in a tangled pile. "Four-Seven-Four-Seven's either a comedian, a magician, or both!" one declared.

"There's no way this trickster took down Frieza!"

"Unless he made him laugh to death!"

"Would you all be quiet?!" their superior roared, "One more misconduct and I swear I'll recommend you all for guarding the incinerators!"

Goku felt the air around him growing hot. This is it! he thought and braced.

A stunned silence fell over the guards as the pacification field fired, the energy striking not only Goku, but the two guards he was entangled with him as well. It evenly distributed over the three of them, leaving them in a disheveled heap. Goku spat the guard's blood from his mouth, feeling a lot more drained than he had expected. "Well, that went about as well as I could have hoped," he helplessly and sorely laughed.

Of course, that trick wouldn't likely work twice, so he'd have to think of something else. However, when he looked at the other guards, he noticed something that made him pause. They didn't look just confused, frightened, or scared – they looked angry. He blinked at them, trying to think of what to say, feeling he should. "Hey, it's not—"

He was cut off as an electric whip suddenly lashed around his neck and hurled him, grunting loudly as his back hit the wall. The leader of the group marched forward, whip still in hand. "So, you think it's fun to try to abuse the pacification field, do you?" he stated hotly.

"It's not that I want to hurt you!" Goku earnestly protested as the guards leered over him, "It's just—"

"I don't care who you are or what justifications you think you have," the leader barked, his muscular shoulders heaving, "We don't tolerate prisoner misconduct in the Justice – especially when it's against one of our fellow guardians." He tapped at his wristband. "But since you seem to think the field in your friend, I'll let you get a little better acquainted with it." He eyed Goku harshly. "Computer, target Prisoner 4747. Set pacification field on loop for two minutes. Lock."

Goku's eyes snapped open wide and he screamed as the energy ripped across his body again, stronger now than before. But this time it didn't pass after a few seconds. It kept going, tormenting his entire body at once, muscles pulsating with pain and skin like it was on fire. He lost control of all his senses – there was only suffering and the occasional glimpse of the guards grimly watching him.

What can I do?! he desperately thought as he convulsed, I've run out of options! There's…there's nothing I can do!

His mind filled with darkness. Yet, through that darkness, the image of another Saiyan appeared. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Vegeta's visage demanded, "Come on! You've got more than this!" His eyes blazed with disapproval and feral rage. "Ten years, Kakarot! Ten years with nothing but children to guard the Earth!"

"Daddy…" Goten's visage whimpered, bleeding on the ground, "Help me…"

Nevrrest's shadow fell over him, an empty-eyed Gohan left in her wake. "Stay out of my way, brat." Goten cried out as her tail knocked him aside. Goten landed at Krillin and Piccolo's feet, where a motionless Trunks also lay. Piccolo and Krillin both screamed with power and rage, charging at Nevrrest. She watched them coldly as she raised her hands, her energy beams turning them to dust. As she moved toward the pregnant Bulma, Chi-Chi jumped in her way in a spread-eagle pose.

"Stay away from her, you monster!" his wife cried.

Nevrrest slapped her aside, sending her flying. Bulma fell back, shaking and tears running from her eyes as Nevrrest's taloned hand reached out for her. "Goku…!"

The guards stood stiffly at the ready, waiting for the disciplinary action taken against the prisoner to finish. But they all froze as suddenly, in the midst of the torment, Goku's eyes snapped open, seeming entirely white. They gasped, cried out, and shuddered as – still wrapped in the pacification field's net – he lifted up and got to his feet.

"What?" whispered their superior, taking a step back, "How can he even move?!"

They stood completely still, as if caught in a trance, as Goku walked straight towards the wall of guards. They could see his body twitching as he moved, his flesh still agonizing but undaunted. His eyes empty and feral, he walked directly up to their leader, who leaned back, confused and terrified. Goku grunted with strain, choking back a scream of pain, and reared, cracking his skull against the lead guard's forehead.

Their superior's eyes rolled back in his skull. That's impossible… he thought as he fell and hit the floor.

(**Scene Break**)

"I'm gonna put so many holes in you we're gonna have to cart you away! NYAAA!" Laswe screamed as his energy ripped shards of metal from the walls and sent them hurling at Oom'Bagu.

Oom'Bagu's eyes widened as he lowered his bloodied arms, this barrage even larger than the last one. There was no choice. Heaving a deep breath, he slammed a palm against the floor at his feet. "Apathy Shell!" A harden sphere of energy formed around him, the missiles bouncing off it as Oom'Bagu grunted with strain. But as soon as the metal hailstorm passed, in came Quantum Laswe with a scream, two right fists shattering the barrier and sending Oom'Bagu flying. Before he could land, Laswe appeared with him, grabbing his leg and spinning him before hurling him into the floor.

Horkion winced. It was a good thing Seven's interior was already severely damaged, or they would be in so much troubled with Maintenance for this fight. Maybe he should be more worried for Oom'Bagu, but he still had faith in the old bear. He didn't know why. Maybe because this wasn't just a physical conflict. He knew in his cold innards that Laswe wasn't a lost cause. A single bad decision didn't make you a bad person. Maybe in the gods' eyes it did. But certainly not in Horkion's. He didn't want to forgive Laswe. But inside, he already had. And he hoped deeply more than anything that Oom'Bagu would stop him before any more bad choices were made.

Laswe landed on the edge of the hole as Oom'Bagu's hand deftly grasped it. Laswe's midsection pulsated with energy as he grunted at the former Grand Warden's efforts. "I'll admit, your techniques are damn tricky to fight against, Oom'Bagu," he remarked, "Some might even mistake you as invincible." He snatched the front of Oom'Bagu's vest and hauled him the rest of the way up. "But come on. You know you can't win this. A Quantum State is unbeatable. That was the whole point of the thing."

"Perhaps," Oom'Bagu rumbled, a chip in one of his horns, "My concept of victory is very different from yours at the present time."

"You know," Laswe snarked, summoning more shards of metal to float around them, "I never did care for your philosophical talk. Now surrender or I'm gonna have keep beating you down till you can't move."

Oom'Bagu hummed and then chuckled, suddenly smiling at Laswe in a way that terrified him. "I assure you I am accustom to pain." He held out a hand like a spear-point and plunged it straight into his own ribcage.

Laswe frothed with horror as blood began to soak into Oom'Bagu's vest. "Oom'Bagu! Oh my God, what the hell are you—"

Oom'Bagu grunted and shifted, digging in a little further. "Agony Semblance."

Laswe's vision flashed grey and white as suddenly his lower torso burst open, various other gashes, cuts, and wounds appearing all over his body simultaneously and releasing his white blood. "GAAAAAH!" he cried out in pain, staggering but still holding onto Oom'Bagu, "Impossible! There's no way you could generate enough energy to breach my defenses!"

Oom'Bagu hummed, grinning again in that way that frightened Laswe. "True. In this form, you have me beat in every category – strength, speed, defense; power. But there is one area where no warrior will ever be able to compete with me." He pointed a finger down and fired small beam through his own leg. Laswe gasped as the wound replicated in three of his own left legs. "Pain," Oom'Bagu rumbled, the mauve glow of his eyes turning even more intense, dark, and terrible, "I am a master of pain. I feel others pain every moment of every waking day. And when I fight, I feel it all the stronger. There is something I never told anyone…" He laughed. "Pain! I love it! I learned to love it! How else could I survive?"

Laswe's pupils turned to dots. "No way…"

"I thank you for being so harsh with me, Laswe," Oom'Bagu smiled, "It takes a lot of suffering for Agony Semblance to work. And for being so up close and personal! It also takes direct contact with my target." He snorted. "Unbeatable? You are far too easy to fight."

Laswe dropped him. Oom'Bagu flipped and landed on his feet, looking up at Laswe as the Ponachi touched a hand to the torso wound and looking at the blood it left on his palm. "So…that's it. That's 'the demon' you've always talked about." The hand clenched into a fist. "I don't know how I managed to forget…"

His eyes closed for a moment, picturing a battlefield littered with bodies. Nevrrest sliced through PTO soldiers like tissue paper – her every step an earthquake. And he could see Oom'Bagu too. The Gregorik pressed his fingers to his temples and PTOs started to scream. They thrashed, gripping their brows till there was an explosion, a small spray of blood, and a bunch of headless bodies lying on the ground.

Oom'Bagu looked at him with a mixture of anger and sadness. "Why would you forget something like that?"

"I remembered you were a lot more ruthless back then," said Laswe, lowering his fist. His eyes narrowed. "But I guess I suppressed just how bad it was when it was just us three…Oom'Bagu the Destroyer."

Oom'Bagu's expression hardened. "Yes. That is what they used to call me."

"It was appropriate." He cut his arm through the air. "I was a fool to ever trust either of you. You're monsters."

Oom'Bagu's gaze lit. "How dare you?" he rumbled. His hand opened like a vengeful flower, energy somehow wafting out of his wounds like a dark liquid and gathering in his palm. "How dare you dilute yourself into thinking you are merely a fool who trusted monsters? That is not how this fleet was formed." Oom'Bagu grasped the energy right out of the air and formed a fist around it. "If it's the last thing I do, I will have you realize the truth!"

"Eh?" Laswe eyed him suspiciously as the energy wafted darkly from the Gregorik's wounds, "What are you about now?"

He cursed himself as suddenly Oom'Bagu was right in front of him, fist ready. "You're going to remember what we really are!" Laswe choked as Oom'Bagu shoved the fist right into the wound in his torso. "Devastation force!"

Laswe's jelly like body rippled as he screamed, the energy exploding just under his rubbery skin, enlarging the wound. He shuddered back through the air, holding his four hands against the rapid bleeding. "That does it!" he seethed, "I was trying to play nice!" Energy exploded wildly around him, putting a giant pit in the ceiling. "But now I'm MAD!"

Oom'Bagu tried to shield himself as Laswe came down on him like a hammer. But the Quantum being was just too fast. He couldn't even concentrate enough to use Empathic Reflect as Laswe pounded at him relentlessly with four charged fists. His body buckled under the blows over and over again. The pain was exquisite and he could feel himself breaking under the force.

There was nothing he could do.

A spray of blood leapt from his jaws as he embedded in the wall, the shielding crackling and sparking wildly around him. There was a bright light, Quantum Laswe screaming as he prepared to launch an energy attack. A yellow energy orb whistled through the air and explode against the side of Laswe's head. Laswe winced slightly, dropping the attack and jerking his attention to the perimeter of guardians.

Horkion's tiny pebble eyes glared up at him, his single arm still upheld and fingers spread. "That's enough, Laswe!"

A spark of blue flashed across his pumped translucent body. "He's not finished yet."

"No." Horkion's round feet left the deck as he easily floated up into the air. "But you are."

"The hell you are am I—I mean what was that?!" Laswe sputtered, his eyes snapping back to Horkion.

Horkion's thick, stony lips smirked coldly. "I don't normally say this, but you really are slow, aren't you?"

"Da…" said Laswe, flabbergasted.

Horkion's face hardened again. "What I'm trying to say is…" His arm reared and pointed a finger. "I was content to let you think I was on your side as long as it kept you busy. But Oom'Bagu's right – you've lost control! So this is as far as I'll let it go."

"Keep me busy?" Laswe squawked, spreading his arms, "Keep me busy from what exactly?!" Horkion didn't answer and Laswe's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait." He turned, training his senses across the ship. "Goku. Three of my men are down! How—dammit!" Energy flashed around him and he flew forward.

Horkion appeared in front of him. "Sorry, Laswe. But your business is with me."

"What kind of trick are you pulling, Horkion?!" Laswe demanded.

Horkion gently smirked. "It's no trick. It's Goku."

"What the living hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"I'm surprised you never noticed, after all the time you spent with him." Horkion placed his hand over his heart. "Goku isn't just a man. He's a being with a purpose. And when it comes to him, what will be will be. You can't stop it. Maybe I understand that where you don't because I was also burdened with purpose."

Laswe made a face at him. "What are you babbling about? Just get out of my way!"

"No. I won't."

His expression wrinkled further in amusement. "Oh come on, Horkion. I thought we already established this. I'm way stronger than you. And right now, I could probably beat you with a finger flick. You already lost an arm and I don't want you to get hurt any further. So come on, use what little brains you have and back off!"

Horkion glared flatly at him. "You know…I'm not as smart as you. And that's never bothered me. But right now, I'm thinking a hell of a lot clearer than you. Because if Nevrrest wasn't fogging up your mind right now, you'd realize it only takes one arm to do this." He reached up and twisted his fusion band.

Laswe's expression hit the floor. "Oh…well shit."

Horkion's body swelled before him, his rocky mass enlarging in size with each pulse, till he was a behemoth before Laswe, giant glowing crystals emerging from his back. Horkion twisted and stretched, adjusting himself to his new proportions. He then held up his fist, looking down calmly and sternly at Laswe. "Your base strength and speed are twice mine, Laswe. But the effects of Quantum Fusion is based entirely on the idea of how much a warrior's body can handle. You're a Ponachi. I'm a Minarite." Horkion pulled a fist. "There's no way your Quantum form could ever compete."

Laswe's eyes turned to dots. The air shook and the walls trembled as Quantum Horkion's fist struck him dead in the chest. A second and a third impacted, Quantum Laswe buckling with each blow. Horkion grasped energy in his hand like a bolt of lightning and struck Laswe across the face with it, sending him straight into the deck, ripping through metal and wires.

"Oooooh—you gotta be kidding me!" Laswe voice rang up in pain from the hole. Horkion stretched out his palm, releasing several energy balls each with a pip! The balls swirled and descended down into the hole. "Okay, Horkion. If this is how you—wait a minute…what's—" Roaring light erupted from the hole, tearing an even bigger one as the energy bullets exploded, Laswe screaming, "OH HEEEEEELLLLL!"

The guardians winced back as there was an eruption of smoke. Horkion turned, looking back at them as the dust cleared. "Don't get involved. Consider that an order from whichever side you're on." The guardians recoiled nervously. Horkion looked at Oom'Bagu, who was at last prying himself out of the wall, falling and landing in a crouch. "Oom'Bagu. Gather your strength." He turned back, his eyes narrowed. "I'll take a turn knocking some sense into Laswe for now."

Oom'Bagu nodded, letting his shoulders relax. "Thank you, Horkion."

"Ooooooh I'm in a really bad mood now," Laswe seethed, limply climbing out of the hole, looking a little blackened. His clear wings gave a weak flap before buzzing again, lifting him up and his tail tightening into a ball. He struck an attack position. "You, sir, are gonna pay for that."

Horkion's tiny, black eyes narrowed. "Oom'Bagu was right, you know."

"About which part? He said a lot."

"Calling the Justiciars a bunch of monsters. And acting like you're better than the rest of us."

"What?" Laswe widened an eyeball at him, "You think I'm a monster too? That what you saying, rock boy?"

"No. But what we are put us in this mess. And I'm counting on it to get us back out of it."

"Yeah, well, when the Justice burns, your apology ain't gonna fix it." Laswe tensed his body and screamed, pumping even more energy into his center. It shone brightly and his body swelled slightly. He then zoomed full force at Horkion. "So I'm giving this all I got!"

Horkion moved like water. "No matter what, we're not losing you too, Laswe."

The two warriors collided, the air turning into a din of titanic blows.