Chapter 12
The bubble faded into mist as Goshin growled angrily at the cocky smirk on Sprout's face. Goshin forced himself calm and closed his eyes. He had to stop Sprout, but enough people were already at risk; he couldn't ask his friends to put themselves in anymore danger.
"I'm going alone." said Goshin.
"The hell you are!" said VJ. "We came to this planet together, we're gonna fight together and leave together!"
"I refuse to put you guys in any more danger!" Goshin spat. "I'm going to fight Sprout ALONE!"
"Goshin, you can't possibly hope to come back alive if we let you go alone." said Nail.
"Too many other people's lives are at stake, I won't ask you guys to put yours' on the line!" said Goshin.
"You don't have to ask, we're volunteering!" said Jarelle. "And if you think I'm going to just leave my father behind, you're nuts!"
"I'll make sure the Professor gets out alive, along with everyone else," said Goshin, "But I'm going alone and that's final!!!"
VJ and the others just looked at Goshin, each wondering why he was so dead set on this. They stood there for what seemed like years.
"I won't watch him torture one of you the way Slasher tortured VJ." Goshin said finally. "I'm pushing the ESD state right now…if something goes wrong, I might lose control. I won't be responsible for you're the deaths of people I care about if I can help it. Sprout knows I can't control my power at a certain point, and he wants to push me to that by any means necessary. I don't want to give him anymore ammo than he's already got."
VJ closed his eyes solemnly in acceptance. Nail nodded shortly, as if his neck didn't want to let him nod at all. Jarelle just stared at Goshin, totally unaware of how to handle the situation. They all backed off as Goshin powered up his ki flame. With one last, sad, backward glance, Goshin took off for Central City at breakneck speed.
"Good luck, Goshin…" VJ whispered under his breath.
Nail sat down in a huff while Jarelle fought back tears. They looked up when VJ gave a short chuckle. They saw him with Vegeta's signature smirk on his face and that glint in his eyes like he suddenly understood everything.
"What are you so happy about?" asked Nail.
"We can still help him from here," said VJ, "it's just a matter of time."
Nail and Jarelle looked at VJ like he was crazy, but said nothing. VJ sat down Indian style, crossed his arms, and began to meditate, the grin still stretched across his face. Nail joined him in meditation while Jarelle got up and began shadow sparring with chunks of ruble.
Goshin flew as fast as he could, trying to figure out how he was going to beat Sprout. He shook himself out of it, realizing that there was no room for fear. He couldn't help but feel, however, that he might not be strong enough to beat Sprout on his own.
"What am I gonna do?" he asked himself. "Even VJ, the most powerful I've ever met, broke under these guys. And Zuccil was a pawn under a spell, I'm on my way to fight the leader, the master mind behind all of this…Who's to say I won't do what VJ did? Who's to say I won't betray my friends? My family? My people? Who's to say I can really win?"
'I'll say it, Goshin!' came a voice inside Goshin's head.
"What?!" Goshin yelped.
"Goshin, this is your grandfather, Goku." came Goku's voice. "I'm speaking to you through King Kai. Goshin I know you can beat Sprout, because no matter what, no matter how impossible the odds may ever seem, I'm always going to be hear to even the odds for you, even if your friends can't be."
Goshin didn't answer, he just smiled. It felt good to know that Goku was there to cheer him on. It helped him to realize he could push the ESD state as far as he needed to, to beat Sprout. With renewed confidence, a defiant smirk spread across Goshin's face and he boosted his speed towards Sprout dark, demonic power level.
"I'll do it, Grandpa!" he declared. "I'll beat Sprout! I'll free the Alliance! I'll be the hero!"
Sprout's Lookout Tower seemed to be an exact mimic of the Seattle Space Needle Tower, only painted black. The saucer-like top of the tower had an unusual resemblance to the type of ship Frieza used to command. The whole place had an eerie, demonic aura around it.
Inside, Sprout toyed with Zuccil and the other prisoners as he waited patiently for Goshin. He stopped at Zuccil in particular and bent down to look at him eye to eye. A dark grimaced was smeared across his ugly face, and Zuccil couldn't help but smile.
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Pissed your plan aren't working out?"
Sprout's grimaced turned into a sharp-toothed smile. His pointy ears twitched with glee at the fear he saw enter Zuccil's eyes.
"Zuccil, my old friend, my plans are going perfectly." he said. "Because Goshin will join me, or you will all die. Of course, if he joins me, you will all die anyway, because his first act as my apprentice will be to kill you."
"Goshin will never become one of your pathetic grunts!" Goten snapped from across the room.
"Do you truly believe that, Goten?" asked Sprout. "What do you really know about Goshin? How much time have you spent one on one with him, the way a father should be with his son?"
Goten looked away in shame, closing his eyes in anger with himself. Sprout's pointy ears gave another delighted twitch.
"That's what I thought." he said. "The Professor here has spent more time with your son then you have. How strange that you don't even train with you son the way I'm sure Goku did with you."
"This is all just a game to you, isn't it, you monster!?" spat the Professor.
"I like think of it as a hunt," said Sprout, "and you gentlemen are the bait!"
At that instant, an explosion rocked the tower, and filled the entire lookout chamber with smoke and dust. Large metal doors closed over the windows as the room repressurized to normal level. As the dust cleared, the silhouette of a small boy could just be made out.
"Here I am, Sprout!" came Goshin's voice. "Now let my father and my friends go!"
"Well, well, quite a lovely entrance, Goshin." said Sprout. "I suppose you're here to destroy me and shut off the effects of the Rem Sh'Dal."
"Well at least I know I'm not challenging an idiot!" said Goshin.
"But you're an idiot to challenge me!" said Sprout.
"And what makes you say that?" asked Goshin.
"Because, I will destroy all of your little friends and your father if you so much as come near me!" said Sprout.
"Then do you want, Sprout?" asked Goshin.
"I want you as an apprentice, Goshin." said Sprout. "A young man as strong as you would be a powerful asset to me. And there will, of course, be great opportunities for you, as well."
"And what if I refuse?" asked Goshin.
Sprout pressed a button on the wall behind him as an evil smile spread across his grotesque face. The room began to quake around them and it felt to Goshin as I they were rising into the air. He turned to look and saw that the entire top of the tower was in fact rising into the air. Before they realized it, they had left the planet's atmosphere.
"Each of them is linked to an ejection port leading out of the ship," said Sprout, "refuse me and they die in cold depths of space!"
"Goshin! Don't do it!" said Goten. "It's all a trick!!"
"He's going to have us killed anyway, Goshin!" said Zuccil. "Don't do it!!"
"What's it going to be, Goshin?" asked Sprout.
Goshin could not answer. If he refused, his father and friends would be killed. If he accepted, Sprout would surely use a Rem Sh'Dar to force him to destroy them. How could he get around this!?
'Grandpa! What do I do?!' he thought in a panic.
'Calm down, Goshin.' came a much deeper voice then Goku's. 'This is Piccolo. Just accept Sprout's offer, and I'll take care of the rest, ok?'
'Are…are you sure?' thought Goshin.
'Positive, kid, just trust me.' said Piccolo.
'Right!' thought Goshin as a smirk appeared on his face. "Alright, Sprout, you win…I accept your offer."
"A wise choice, my boy," said Sprout as he snapped his fingers. A Rem Sh'Dar appeared around Goshin's neck, "But not one that is going to save you friends!"
"Goshin! NO!!" Zuccil howled. But it was too late; Goshin's mind was clearly under the effects of the Rem Sh'Dal. His eyes glinted blood red, and an evil smirked replaced the one of confidence that was once there.
"Now, Goshin," said Sprout, "Destroy Goten!"
"With pleasure, My Lord." said Goshin. Only it wasn't Goshin's voice, it was Piccolo's. When Sprout did not seem to have caught the change in vocals, Goshin turned and aimed a ki attack at his father.
'Alright, Goshin, now just blast right through his chest.' said Piccolo. 'With my new technique it'll go through him and destroy the binders instead.'
Goshin charged up the attack and with a deep, raspy roar, fired at Goten full force. Goten couldn't even look away as the blast hit him directly in the stomach. Zuccil and the Professor looked in horror as the young Saiyan destroyed his own father in cold blood. A bright flash of light blinded everyone but Goshin for a second, and when it dissipated, Goten's body was keeled over and Goshin stood there smiling.
He turned and aimed at the Professor and Zuccil. The dark glint seemed to have left his eyes, but he was still smiling. Neither man could say anything as Goshin charged a second attack. Just as he fired, Zuccil saw Goten getting up out of the corner of his eye, but before anyone could be sure, the room was filled again with a blinding light. When it again dissipated, all three man lay keeled over their knees, totally motionless.
"Excellent, Goshin." said Sprout, his ears twitching happily. "Now dispose of them!"
Goshin reached up and grabbed the Rem Sh'Dar around his neck. He smirked defiantly and tilted his head down.
"No, Sprout," he said softly, "it's you I'm going to dispose of!"
"What?!" Sprout yelped.
Goten, Zuccil, and the Professor each stood slowly, free from the ejection ports, they all stepped into the middle of the room as Sprout stood there looking dumbfounded. Goshin ripped the Rem Sh'Dar from around his neck and turned to Sprout, showing that the Eight Star mark was glowing on his forehead. He dropped the evil artifact on the ground and crushed the gem under his foot.
"NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!" said Sprout. "GOKU COULDN'T HAVE HELPED YOU DO THAT!!"
"He didn't, Sprout, Piccolo did." said Goshin. "You forgot, there we're three creators of the Eight Star Dragonball, and all three of them died that day. They all put their spirits into the Eight Star Ball, but Zuccil only saw Goku do it. They told me to keep this fact a secret until the time was right, but not only do I have Goku's powers, but I also have Piccolo's and Krillin's as well!"
Before Sprout could respond, Goshin threw a punch from the other end of the room. His arm extended like rubber and connected hard with Sprout's jaw, sending him flying into the wall. Sprout opened his eyes after he hit to see Goshin's arm snapping back into place. He snarled and attacked the young Saiyan.
Goshin burst into Super Saiyan as Sprout flew at him and the two warriors met hard, fists flying like bullets. The fought hard as Goten and the others tried to get out of the way when they slammed each other against walls. Sprout caught a break and kneed Goshin in the gut. He grabbed Goshin's throat and threw him to the floor, then aimed a ki blast at the wall of the room.
"Can either of those three help you survive in space, Goshin!?" he asked maniacally. "Cause your going to need it!"
"NO!" Goshin yelled as Sprout launched the attack.
The wall exploded and the air began being sucked out. Goshin sucked some in himself as he quickly grabbed the others and pulled them out of the ship.
'You've only got ten second to get to the surface, Goshin!' came Krillin's voice.
'That's all I need!' thought Goshin.
He flew like a rocket towards the planet's surface, letting his own energy work with gravity to more than quadruple gravity's pull on his body. Adjusting as quickly as he could to the pressure, he front flipped as he closed in on the surface. He began charging energy into his feet.
"KAMEE!! HAAMEEE!!! HAAAAAA!!!" he screamed, the attack firing out of his feet and slowing him down enough to not destroy them by hitting the surface.
He quickly pumped energy into the three men and they began to breathe almost immediately. At that moment, VJ and the others flew up to see what had happened.
"Goshin! Is everyone ok?!" asked VJ.
"They're fine! But I need you guys to get them out of here!" Goshin called up. VJ and the others landed softly. "Find a working ship and get them and yourselves off this planet!"
"What about you?" asked Jarelle.
"We're not leaving without you, Goshin!" said VJ.
"Yes you are!" said Goshin. "I need you guys to get them to safety. Sprout's using desperate moves to try to beat me. He's realized he can't beat me in battle, so he's trying to kill me the laws of physics."
"Then come with us!" said Jarelle. "There's no one left on this planet, we can leave it for Sprout."
"He'll just follow me to Earth!" said Goshin. "I'm too much of a threat for him to leave me alive, and he'll destroy anyone who gets between me and him. Just go!"
"Goshin…!" VJ started to say.
"I'M NOT MAKING THIS NEGOTIABLE, VJ!!!" Goshin screamed. "TAKE THEM AND GO!! GET AS FAR AWAY FROM THIS PLANET AS YOU CAN!!!!"
VJ did not argue further, but just picked up Goten's unconscious body and flew away. Jarelle picked up her father, and Nail got Zuccil, and they followed VJ sadly. As they flew out of sight, Sprout floated down behind Goshin.
"You know once I kill you I'll go after them anyway." said Sprout.
"But you have to kill me first," said Goshin, "and I WON'T let that happen!"
Goshin turned to face Sprout and looked him in his dark, heartless eyes. Sprout's pointy, elf-like ears twitched nervously as he took a fighting stance. Goshin took his grandfather's favorite stance, unsure of how he knew what it was, and waited for Sprout to make the first move. The two warriors stared each other down as lightening flashed around them and it began to rain.
"How fitting that it should rain at the moment of your imminent demise!" said Sprout.
"You're the only one thinks you're going to win, Sprout!" said Goshin.
"Then everyone else isn't thinking clearly." said Sprout.
"No, Sprout, you're not thinking clearly," said Goshin, "you're in denial. You and I both know you can't win!"
"Here's a challenge your grandfather will be familiar with, Goshin." said Sprout. "When he battled Frieza, Frieza attempted to destroy Planet Namek in order to take away the very air Goku breathed. Goku was given five minutes to defeat Frieza before the planet blew up…LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN KILL ME IN TWO!!!"
Before Goshin could react, Sprout launched a large ki blast into the core of the planet. The ground began to quake immediately and geysers of molten lava sprang out of the ground. Goshin couldn't believe his eyes, Sprout was trying to destroy the planet before VJ and the others could even get off of it!