Fanfiction and the character Unlimited is property of Josh Kovatch, 2008
Unlimited: Story of a Dreamer
Chapter 9 (Final): A Warrior's Farewell
All throughout the battle between Unlimited and Infinite, neither one could outmatch the other. They were perfectly even. Infinite is evilly aware of this, and now, Unlimited realizes how tough this battle is going to be.
How can I beat something that is exactly as powerful as me? I don't have many options left, Unlimited thought.
At that moment, Infinite took off towards Unlimited again, and the dark teen blocked the punch from his evil counterpart. Again, they dematerialized and the Z-fighters looked around to find him again. They then saw them darting around in the sky at super fast speeds. Each time they contacted, a thunderous shockwave issued, and they would be gone from the place the clash was as soon as they hit. Each time, the two of them were matching the other blow for blow. Neither of them could hold an advantage for even a second, getting a punch in one minute, and then getting punched themselves the next.
Unlimited kicked Infinite towards the ground and then followed, only to be kicked back up into the sky. Then, Unlimited balanced himself and dodged Infinite's next punch, then punched Infinite in the face. The evil being backed up and then returned Unlimited's attack with a kick to the chest. Once again, Unlimited disappeared and came from behind Infinite and kicked him in the back. As Infinite flew forward, he flipped and looked at Unlimited as he was upside-down. Disappearing himself, the evil twin attacked from above and sent Unlimited plummeting towards the Lookout. Unlimited landed hard on the Lookout and then punched the air in front of him. Appearing there just then was Infinite, who had punched Unlimited's attack. The two stood there, their fists locked against each other, and neither one seemed confident. However, Unlimited looked especially worried. He had always been calm and collected, usually smirking. But now, he only looked worried and drained, as if he was losing the will to fight.
The two jumped apart and the Z-fighters continued to watch them. Infinite then asked, "Now do you see the futility of this whole battle? No matter what you do, you can never defeat me without dying. This battle can never end in your victory."
Unlimited stood there, contemplating the words Infinite said, and the Z-fighters hoped he would say something about how he was going to win. But to their shock and horror, Unlimited said, "You're right..."
"WHAT?!" Goku yelled in alarm.
"You can't give up!" Gohan and Goten both yelled.
The others only looked stupefied, staring with shock at the teen they had originally thought was invincible.
"How can you beat Buu but not him?!" Trunks yelled from behind.
Unlimited did not turn but answered, "He and I are the same person. If I continue to fight, the two of us will surely both die. Even though I can resurrect myself, he can too. There's no way I can ever stop him if I fight like this."
"Then let us help you," Goku suggested.
"Thanks, but it won't matter. He would continue to come back. We would never have a moment's peace again. There's only one thing I can do to finish this once and for all."
"What?" Videl asked from behind, as did everyone else in their own minds.
Unlimited stared at Infinite and said, "Infinite, these people are the saviors of this dimension. They are the truest fighters I have ever met, and I will not let you take their home away from them. Even if it means my life, I will destroy you."
"HA! That's good, I'd like to see you do that!" Infinite sneered.
Unlimited stared at him, his face unusual, as if he was about to do something drastic. At that moment, Unlimited disappeared and reappeared behind Infinite. With one swoop, he grabbed Infinite tightly and locked all of his body.
"HEY! What are you doing?!" Infinite shouted.
Unlimited did not answer, and instead, lifted into the air, carrying Infinite with him. The evil counterpart struggled to get free, but Unlimited's strength did not give way. As he reached a large height in the air, the others watched him with apprehension.
"I will not let you harm this planet, and I will not let you ruin their lives. I'm going to make sure you never come back," Unlimited declared.
From below, the Z-fighters became worried, and Videl asked Gohan, "Hey, what's he doing?"
"I don't know," Gohan answered, as lost as Videl was at the moment.
From above, the teen holding his evil side turned to them and said, "There is no way I can live if I fight him normally. Even if I return to Earth again, he will as well, so there's only one thing I can do."
The Z-fighters feared his solution, knowing it would probably kill Unlimited in a way he could never be revived.
"I will rid your planet of him forever by destroying myself to fuse him back with my body," Unlimited told them grimly.
Everyone on the ground gasped as they heard these words, not able to understand if Unlimited could really be defeated. Infinite, as well, growled with profound fear and anxiety.
"The seal on my head protects me from destroying myself by my own energy. If I remove the seal, the power will destroy my body and all of my energy will spill out at once. When this happens, I will explode and take him with me."
"WAIT! Isn't there anything we can do to avoid this?" Gohan yelled from below, not wanting to lose this ally.
"Yeah, there must be something we can do to help!" Trunks agreed.
Unlimited looked at them and smiled, and then said, "I wish there was a way, but even if we defeat him and I live, he will just continue to come back, and there will be no chance to ever stop him for good."
"There are other ways we can stop him from coming back, we could use the Dragonballs!" Goku mentioned.
Many of the fighters below tried to persuade him, but he replied, "I appreciate that but I think this is something I have to do myself."
The Z-fighters looked up in pity at the fighter who was shouldering this whole responsibility on his own.
Unlimited said, "Besides, I got to enjoy my time with you guys, which is something I've wanted ever since I knew about you. I will never forget the time I have spent here."
The Z-fighters thought back. Back to that fateful night almost two months ago.
Videl lie lifeless on the ground, the attack from Frieza mortal.
They remembered the figure who first came to them on that night.
Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared at the doorway, looking at the two teens on the floor, Gohan and Videl.
They recalled when they first witnessed the being's incredible powers.
With simply a snap of his fingers, light came from the figure's hand and surrounded Videl. After a moment, the bloody wound in her stomach was completely healed. Then, the light rushed through her mouth and, with a jolt, the young fighter sat up, miraculously alive.
They remembered when they saw his face for the first time.
The figure turned to walk away when Videl asked quickly, "Wait, who are you?" The being simply turned and, illuminated by a flash of lightning, they saw his taut, rigid face, mouth turned in a smile, and the deep blue eyes which seemed to hold more power than ever thought possible.
They thought back to the invitations they received.
The black envelopes held an eerie presence to them. Inside, a letter inviting the Z-fighters to a special fight, written by the figure they had seen only the day before.
Then they remembered when they learned his name for the first time.
"Who am I?" The teen asked. With a smirk, he said, "My name is Unlimited."
They remembered the incredible fights they had against him, thinking they had to save the Earth from him.
Videl, Gotenks, Gohan, Vegeta, and Goku all launched at the fighter Unlimited, whose black aura surrounded him with an ominous, powerful presence. The five fighters fought viciously, Unlimited seemingly unscathed for a moment. His powers exceeded anything they had ever fought, but they persevered.
They remembered when they launched the very last attack against him to defeat him for good, only to learn that he wasn't evil.
Even with Unlimited's Death Matter Blast, the teen could not last against the five blasts pushing it back. With a smirk, he told them, "Since I cannot win, I must tell you. Your Earth never hung in the balance of these fights."
They remembered when he made the decision to leave for a short time.
"I will return soon, but until then," He drops his hands, and with one last smirk, finishes, "Farewell."
And they remember his return.
The dark being stood before the two heroes of Satan City, his visage once again catching everyone's eye.
"I wanted to stay with you here, but I had not planned on Infinite being so powerful," Unlimited explained.
Infinite continued to struggle in Unlimited's grip, but could not break it. Below, the Z-fighters looked up in sadness, but honored his decision.
"After this attack, I will be unable to return to this realm for a long time. I'm sorry that I couldn't stay with you longer than this. Maybe in the future, we will cross paths again."
Goku said, "It would be great to see you again."
"Yeah, come back as soon as you can," Goten chirped.
Now the Z-fighters seemed happy with the situation, knowing it was for the best.
Unlimited, just then, thought back to before he attained his power, and thought about what he had wanted more than anything.
All I had wanted was to see this kind of world for myself. Now I finally did, and I'm glad that I met them all.
"It was great to meet people who could understand my power, and I really enjoyed being with you guys," Unlimited told them.
"Likewise," Videl called up.
Unlimited looked at them, then looked around at the world beneath him. All he had ever wanted, all he had ever wished for, and everything he dreamed of, he now floated right above it, and he loved it.
He turned back to the Z-fighters and said, "It's time, thank you for the time I've spent with all of you. I will miss you."
"You'll come back, I know it," Gohan affirmed.
Unlimited looked down and hoped that to be true. He wished with everything that he could help one more time. That he could see them one last time before his life would be over.
His deep blue eyes, so full of power and shining with wisdom and intelligence, glistened with happiness. As his energy built up and they felt him preparing to leave, Unlimited's eyes let go one solitary tear. It fell from his face and dropped to the ground beneath him. When it hit the ground, Unlimited suddenly took off towards the sky, and Infinite began to yell as they climbed. The Z-fighters watched with sadness as he reached higher and higher into the atmosphere.
Way up in the sky, separated from everyone that he had known in this world and away from everything else, Unlimited looked to the final problem, which he had pinned in his arms.
"Infinite, for them, and for all the people of this reality, I will never let you escape again."
Infinite only stared wide eyed at Unlimited, whose powers continued to grow.
"It all ends HERE!" Unlimited yelled as his energy hit a pinnacle.
The Z-fighters watched as the light from Unlimited grew brighter as the noble hero glowed white, and then, the seal on his forehead disappeared. They felt his life force beginning to fade as the massive energy began to tear away at his body.
With his last breath, Unlimited closed his eyes, and on the wind, the Z-fighters heard, "Farewell..."
At that moment, Unlimited became unbearably bright to look at, and they heard Infinite yell, "I WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED, UNLIMITED!"
And then, the explosion. It filled the sky with a dense blue ball of light. They felt the shockwave echo over the very fabric of space, and continue around it several times. In the sky, the sound of Unlimited's departure rang out incredibly, the explosion that could be heard all over the Earth.
The Z-fighters felt sad for the hero, who had to sacrifice himself selflessly for the good of a dimension he wasn't even a part of. They saw his last energy begin to fade away in the sky. The light dimmed, the shaking ceased, and his powers disappeared.
As the last light disappated, Goku said, "There goes one of the bravest people I know. It's a shame he had to leave."
"You never know," Videl said, "With the things that guy did, I'm sure he'll be back."
"He will," Gohan agreed, putting an arm around Videl, who looked at him and smiled warmly.
"Do you think we'll be able to protect the Earth from something like that invasion again?" Trunks asked.
"Even though he can't help us again, his power and spirit lives on in all our hearts. He'll be helping us every battle we fight, and he'll always stay with us," Goku said solemnly.
And they all looked back into the sky one last time, and they remembered him. The tall teen, with the deep blue eyes, dark appearance, and power and determination of an entire planet.
They remembered Unlimited, and they would never forget him.
Meanwhile, in another area of reality, a familiar face says, "Thanks for listening to my story, the story... of a dreamer."
In one final explosion of light, the demon Infinite is defeated and Unlimited is gone. The teen returns to his dimension with the story he had wanted to have for so long. The Z-fighters would miss him, and he would forever be remembered.
This is the end of my dual-fanfic saga of Unlimited. I'm very happy to have told this story, and also sad to have ended it. In many ways, I wish that I couldn't end this story.