Dragon Ball Z Me 2: The War of Steel

by Talos the Saiyan

With the return of Cooler, and a new Saiyan called Shenar, the universe the threatened like it has never been before. Armies of robots march to battle on not on but three worlds. With most of the Z Fighters dead, can anyone turn the tide of destruction?

7. The Rise of Blood

A flash lit up the dark sky. It cast its bright orange and red glow upon the surrounding area. And what a strange place it was. The floor was stone, smooth and polished but with an aura that suggested that no one had walked across it for a good many years. This aura was reinforced by the great pilers jutting out of the ground at seemingly random places. The pilers didn't support any roof, they never had. They were decorated in a variety of ways but most resembled totem poles of some form. Beyond this, there was little else. Only a hole in the ground. It had once been grand with a staircase, and four pilers spaced evenly around it. But it was in ruins. The pilers seemed to have cracked and crumbled over time. They had been magnificent once, and still were to a lesser degree, but they had lost their aura of power. One of the pilers had a great crack running through it, and placed in the exact centre of each one, a jewel of magnificent size and beauty. Each one shone with an unearthly light of it's own, one red, one blue, one green and one brown. The red one was cracked through.

This interested only one of the duo that made it's way across this floor. They were roughly equal in height. One wore a poncho, white. His long brown hair fell to his shoulders. He seemed the calmer of the pair as kept his pace even as they appeared from nowhere. The other wasn't so uninterested. He wore a combat suit of some kind, dark and it looked hand-made. Across his back was hung a sword. His hair, also brown, was cut shorter than the others though besides this, they looked very alike. He was constantly looking around, perhaps searching for danger, perhaps just taking in the grand sight that this place provided. Maybe he was doing both. Of course, there was a third person. Not visible to most beings, Amidamaru the dead samurai hovered beside his master, Yoh Asakura. Was that all, you ask? No, a fourth member of the party followed swiftly. To this being. The place it found itself in was not so strange. The aura was not so threatening. The ruins were not so ancient. They were home. Of a sort. Spirit of Fire followed Hao Asakura. It is difficult at best to describe how a Great Spirit thinks. Astalon is hard enough but Spirit of Fire didn't think in any way we could understand. He did, however, know home when he saw it. And though in his memories, he saw it as it had once been.

Hao Asakura was talking, " Yoh. This is the place where only the last two participants of the Shaman Battle are allowed to see. This is the final testing ground, the birthplace of the Shaman King. In times of war, such as these, this is were Shamans traditionally gather. Of course, not in this room. This room is somewhat sacred. This is where Spirit King waits for the final winner. But seeing as how he is not using it. I don't think he'll mind much if we do."

Yoh looked up, he could see no roof, no sky ether for that matter. Just an all-consuming blackness void of stars or sun.

Hao seemed to know what he was thinking because he said, " It's hard to explain. This room is in a semi-separate dimension. Time moves much faster in here than out there so we could probably spend weeks in here and only have days pass on the outside."

Yoh asked the question that had been bugging him since they appeared in this strange ruin, " Where are we, Hao?"

His brother replied, " We are in the very birthplace of civilisation. This place we stand in. It was built before the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Assyrians. Before any civilisation that is known today. This ruin, is inside a city. The first city ever constructed. We call this place Mu. It is the very first, and only, Shaman civilisation. Ruled by us. No one knows what happened to it, only that for some reason or another it collapsed and this city is the only reminder that we once ruled most of this world. "

Yoh was silent as they made their way quickly to the edge of the ruins.

Once there, Yoh saw that towering above them, a huge stone slab. Easily as tall as Spirit of Fire there were what seemed like millions of images engraved onto it. Yoh could spot nothing connecting them, some were of deadly battles, blood flying through the sky and sword glinting with a murderous light. Others, were of a peaceful setting. Showing men relaxing, playing some kind of sport. Other showed what were Shamans training with Oversoul.

Hao answered his brother's unspoken question. " This is the record of all our history. From the very first Shaman all the way down to us. It shows historic events. I believe that I'm on there somewhere. No one really knows how it records all this. Certainly none of us are doing it. Even I couldn't scratch it. But we haven't come here for sight-seeing."

Yoh nodded, Hao turned back to the slab. In the very centre of the huge stone tablet, there was a picture that glittered. Stealing attention away from the others, it was off a huge bird of some kind. Many times bigger than Yoh it seemed to be watching them.

Hao explained, " The Watcher. They were one of the first spirits created and they still serve Spirit King."

He raised hos voice slightly, talking to the picture on the stone. " You know me. I demand entrance."

The stone bird stated to glow even brighter, it became blinding as pure white light seemed to consume them! Yoh cried out and tried to close his eyes but it didn't work, ether the light was just too bright... Or it was in his mind! Even as he came to this shocking conclusion, the light died out suddenly.

Yoh blinked tears out of his eyes and looked around to find his brother. To his shock, he was no longer before the stone tablet, but rather in a huge chamber that appeared to be made of some kind of smoothed over stone. He was standing in the middle of the room which seemed to be empty of all life. The stone walls were engraved in a similar fashion to the tablet but Yoh had a hunch that these ones were hand-carved whereas the tablet had been something else entirely. To one side, he saw a door. He stepped towards it instinctively. Amidamaru's voice sounded in his head.

" Lord Yoh, do you really trust Hao?"

He stopped in mid-step. Amidamaru had a point, he knew. Hao was.... mixed. Yoh had a hard time calling anyone evil, he knew that it was so easy to simply label anyone who doesn't agree with you evil and then use that as an excuse. It had been done many times in the past and doubtless would be done many times in the future. A few, like Yoh, suspected that no one was ever truly evil. They could be very bad, but there would always be a tiny spark of goodness deep down... Like Ren. Ren's family, the Tao had been feared throughout their home of China, known the world over as first-class Shamans they had installed fear with their forced manipulation of ghosts. If they saw someone they thought would make a useful tool. They didn't just wait for him to die. No they went out and did it themselves. They considered ghosts to be nothing more than a means to an end, without feelings or even a mind of their own. Ren had followed in his family's belief until he met Yoh. Yoh had managed to turn his against the Tao, and ironically, this eventually led to Ran being declared the heir to the Tao clan.

Emotions swamped the young Shaman faster than he could force them back. His friends, dead, dyeing. Fallen to the metal soldiers who had no emotions. All because of him, because of Yoh Asakura, who had decided to stay when he should have run, He had decided to fight a lost battle and his friends had stayed with him. If there had been a price to pay it should have been he, not them that paid it. Yet here Yoh stood. Alive and well while his friends were dead. Disgust, shame, grief. These emotions battled for supremacy within him. He could not, and would not, lose control. If what Hao had said was true, these swords could mean the end of everything. Hao was the strongest Shaman alive, if anyone could stop these swords from gaining their full power it would be him. So, was Yoh doing the right thing by supporting his brother? He didn't know. The world was not as simple, nor as happy, as it once was and Yoh was still trying to catch up. In the end, he really didn't know any more.

Hao appeared in the centre of the room. He looked as calm and in control as ever.

He walked easily across the gap between himself and his sibling before stopping and saying " Yoh, I do not know what kind of reaction the survivors will give us. Possibly they will be so glad to see Shamans of our strength that they will welcome us with open arms. But I doubt it. More likely they will attack us. Even if they don't, they will be very hostile. I doubt from what you've told me, Silva was last in charge but I don't know if he still it. If he is, I have no idea how he will react to my rebirth."

Yoh saw that his brother was speaking the truth, Silva was a direct descendent of one of Hao's earlier incarnations. The Tenth Oracle had always had this hanging over his head, combined with the fact that he looked eerily like the earlier Hao. This meant that he was seldom comfortable in the presence of his tribe. He also a lot of anger buried within him, if he let it control him instead of thinking, if he attacked Hao on sight.. and the rest of the Tenth Oracles took that as a sign to do the same... well Yoh didn't know what would happen.

Hao continued, " The Tenth Oracle will be along shortly. I suspect they have a spirit watching this room in case of late arrivals like ourselves. Until then there's nothing to do but relax."

Yoh sighed, he used to have no trouble relaxing but that part of him had died with his friends. Yoh Asakura was slowly starting to lose faith in everything he had one believed in. And he didn't realize it. Still, with no door there didn't seem to be much he could do short of knocking down a wall. He briefly considered doing just that but chose instead to listen to his brother's advice and wait for the Tenth Oracles.

They didn't have to wait long, a mere five minutes after their arrival in this strange stone chamber, Hao stood up and said, " They're here."

Yoh leaped to his feet, looking around the room for some sign of an exit. But there was no change since his last inspection. The walls were as smooth and solid as ever.

He was about to ask Hao is he was sure when he felt it. A sort of shiver going through the air, small, impossible to feel for a human as well as for most Shamans. Luckily, for him, Hao was not most Shamans.

He was already moving several seconds before Yoh even felt it, when Yoh was starting to shout a warning, Hao's Oversoul was already half-formed. But even he was not fast enough. With a cry of rage, a figure appeared before him ,swinging a glaive with bone shattering force! Golden Furiouku surrounded it as it smashed through Hao's partially formed sword and struck down at the ancient Shaman himself!

Yoh paled, " No!"

He leapt forward, momentum gathering as his blue sword formed in his hand, slashing at the figure! But it was too slow. Far too slow. Yoh could see that the glaive would plant itself into Hao's chest mere seconds before Yoh would be in place to defend his downed brother. He tried anyway. Saw as if in slow motion, the glaive descend and saw Hao reach out and grab it with his bare hands! It froze in place much to the shock of the figure welding it. ( Not to mention Yoh.)

The figure let out another wild scream and tore it out of Hao's grip! He went into a fury, slashing and slicing at speeds that would require one to train for years. Hao dodged them, some of them sliced into him but none doing more than a scratch of damage. Yet the enraged warrior was coming ever closer to doing some real harm. Yoh intervened with a kick to the face. The foe staggered back, lowering his glaive for a second as Hao took the time he had been granted to recover. Yoh quickly inspected his adversary for any hidden weapons or nasty surprises. Granted he was not so good at it but he saw nothing other than the glaive. His foe was about Yoh's own height but that was pretty much all Yoh could see, the other was wearing a hooded cloak that shrouded his face in darkness. Then, Yoh saw the first strange thing about him. He held his golden glaive with only one hand. By rights, he should have been unable to hold it with only one, but Yoh knew better than most the amazing uses Furiouku could be put to. His other hand was... nowhere? He had one empty sleeve where his left arm should have been. Apparently having recovered from Yoh's kick, he launched himself back into action, towards Yoh! The young Shaman raised his blue sword, confident in his Double Medium's ability to slice the glaive in half. It didn't. Rather the two weapons collided in mid-air, both warriors struggling to force the enemy back. Much to his shock, Yoh found that the hooded warrior was equal to himself in strength. The two blades locked, nether having the power to break the lock. Then, the other dropped to the ground, rolled under Yoh's sword before it came down and kicked Yoh in the gut! Now it was Yoh's turn to stagger back as he clutched at the pain in his gut. The other leapt into the air, his glaive moving to decapitate the defenceless Shaman.

But Hao defended his brother! Spirit of Fire erupted from nowhere and slammed a massive fist into the unsuspecting Shaman! He smashed into the wall and tumbled to the ground.

But he was on his feet again in an instant, his glaive reformed and he charged Spirit of Fire! The fiery spirit sent out it's fist once more, but the blade sliced clean through it! The hooded warrior continued up Spirit of Fire's arm until he erupted out of it's shoulder! The Great Spirit roared and spat a stream of fire form it's mouth, but the warrior leapt into the air, avoiding the attack and countering with a mighty slash of his glaive! Spirit of Fire's head split and the Great Spirit shattered.

The warrior landed on his feet and charged Hao! The ancient Shaman was in a state of shock, for only Yoh had ever managed to defeat Spirit of Fire in open combat. To have this stranger do it! But Hao was as calm as his brother and he quickly dodged out of the way. The warrior turned to deliver a killing blow but Yoh was in the way! Another weapon lock but this time, Yoh was ready, he leapt from the ground, narrowly avoiding a slice from the glaive, spun in mid air and found himself face to face with his foe! The other had jumped too.

Yoh had no time to think, only to act. His blade was already above his head, he brought it down calling out, " Celestial Slash!"

A thin red slice of energy shot from the blade! Clearly, the hooded warrior hadn't expected this, no one would have blamed him. The Celestial Slash was an attack that Amidamaru had invented back when he was alive. It had become something of Yon's signature during the early rounds of the Shaman Fight but it had no real power behind it. It could shatter wood, but against Furiouku enhanced skin it wasn't effective. But it didn't have to be. The hooded figure was sent tumbling back again, striking the ground pretty hard as his cloak was cut by Yoh's attack. The figure wasn't stunned as Yoh hoped he would be but was on his feet again within seconds. He jumped sideways in time to avoid a blow from Hao, who had reformed his red sword. Hao launched into a series of darting attacks, not risking anything but not gaining anything ether. They were easily blocked or dodged. Yoh realized that Hao was testing this opponent. Judging his skill level. He took this opportunity to launch a surprise attack, striking downwards and catching the foe a blow on the head! He lost his guard and Hao leapt forwards, smirking as his blade struck the side of the hooded-figure, sending him crashing to the wall again. This time he didn't get up as blood pooled below him.

Yoh breathed a sigh of relief, though he felt guilt. Who was this? Did he have a family? He hoped that the warrior was not dead. Hao had no such regrets as he stood up. Examining his blade as if there was something wrong with it. He said, " It looks like somthing's wrong. The Furiouku of this place is far lower than it should be."

Yoh frowned, Furiouku was life energy. If the Furiouku was low it could only mean a massive amount of deaths. He said, " We should go, Hao."

Hao nodded. " Yes."

" You're not going anywhere.."

Both brothers turned to the figure, he was slowly getting up. Doubtless this intensified the pain of his wounds but he showed no sign of it apart from gripping the one on his side. His voice was tinged with pain and hate. " You're not going anywhere... Hao... I wont let you... After all you've done... I wont let you get away with this.."

He held his only hand up, the glaive in it once more, " I WONT LET YOU!"

The glaive vanished. Instead the warrior reached down and withdrew from somwhee inside his cloak a sword. A single yellow jewel was set in it's hilt.

Hao said, " The sword of Thunder!"

Yoh turned to him, " You mean?"

Hao shook his head, " No, this isn't one of those swords. But it is dangerous enough. Legend says that sword was made by a powerful smith who poured his heart and soul into it's construction. Apparently, he created it to save the city of Mu. The legend says the Great Spirits each endowed it with a power. Don't underestimate this one."

The hooded-warrior cried out, " Now, let me show you something you've seldom felt before, Hao. Justice!"

He rushed forward, swinging the blade at Hao wildly! He blocked with his own but it was a close thing. Yoh appeared from behind but the other dodged aside, then darted forward, slamming his knee into Yoh's gut! As Yoh doubled up, Hao blocked the blow that would surely have killed his brother. The sword of Thunder came down upon Hao's red sword. They struggled for control, but Hao was not as strong Yoh. He was stronger. With a grunt his shoved the warrior back!

Hao rushed forward, stabbing his sword at the foe's gut! But he leapt into the air, bringing his own blade down upon Hao's undefended back. Hao rolled out of the way but the other followed slashing wildly. Hao growled, " I've had enough of this."

He rolled again, so that he was facing his attacker, he thrust his hand outwards as a torrent of fire burst into life! The flames rushed up at the warrior, consuming him in seconds, as he fell to his knees with a scream. Hao stood up easily. Looking over, he saw that Yoh was also recovering slowly. He breathed out a sigh of relief. " I didn't know they had a Shaman of such power."

Yoh looked over to his brother, saw Hao look confused for a second, then he paled as a sword burst from his chest in a shower of blood!

Hao looked down at the mortal wound, at the blade protruding from his chest. Behind him, the hooded Shaman hissed, " You do now."

The sword was extracted as Hao tumbled to the ground with no energy to stand.

Hao landed facing his attacker, though he didn't take in much detail. He was too busy trying not to die.

His was starting to lose his sight, not a good sign. Hao, who had died many times, knew the signs. But this time he couldn't die! It might take him days to reincarnate and then he would just be a baby! That would surely doom them all.

Keep calm, he reminded himself. Drawing his dwindling supply of Furiouku around him like a cloak, Hao dove deep inside his own body. Not physically of course. But he could see, or at least sense, that the sword had (luckily or else he'd already be dead) missed his heart, his ribs were chipped it seemed but it was hard to think now, blood loss perhaps? In this heightened state, he was aware of every drop of the fluid. Hao was an expert healer, as a Kami-Class Shaman, he could revive the dead. But the question now seemed to be, with his Furiouku falling by the second, and his blood declining, and his mind weakening, his grip on life slipping, could he save himself?

The hooded-Shaman wasn't about to give him the chance to try. He raised his sword, dripping with Hao's blood and thirsty for more. " End of the line, Hao!"

That had been a very close call for him, but the Sword of Thunder had been endowed with powers from all of the Great Spirits, Spirit of Fire had given it the power to save it's welder from death by burning. He smirked, triumphant.

" Celestial Slash!"

The red energy wave caught him in the face, snapping his head backwards, slicing through his hood, and somehow, amazingly, his skin! Blood leaked from a deep cut on his cheek as the now unmasked figure felt it, " I-impossible.. That attack doesn't have the power!"

Yoh charged with a scream of rage, his grief, his shame, everything mixing together, and turning into one thing: Fury.

The figure raised his sword to defend! The two blades clashed again. But now, Yoh was not so calm now. Rage had freed him from the regrets he had felt in fighting a Shaman who was only defending his home. For the first time in this fight, Yoh was battling someone who he firmly believed to be an enemy. His sword snapped the other's in half with one blow! Before the other warrior could react, Yoh's second hand shot up and delivered a bone-breaking blow to the other's chest! The warrior staggered back, pain erupting from the wound in his side, in shock at the loss of his weapon.

Yoh bent down and examined his brother's fallen form. The wound he took was mortal... But Yoh had seen Hao do any number of impossible things. He felt that the other was trying to heal himself before he lost too much blood. He prayed that he could. Yoh couldn't help, he had never learned healing. So he would do the only thing he could and keep the warrior away from Hao.

Speak of the devil. The warrior was coming back, far more carefully this time. Yoh looked up at him, rage burning in his eyes.. and blinked! No, he eyes weren't paying tricks on him. The warrior who had done so much harm to them, the one who was seemingly immune to Hao's fire. It was none other than Tao Ren!

Without the hood concealing his face, Yoh could see that Ren had been in many battles since they last met. A scar ran from his left ear to his chin. His hair, which had always been spiked up, had been cut short, Yoh suspected by an enemy blow because Ren would never do it himself.

Yoh paled, " Ren!"

Ren ran at Yoh, his glaive formed again, slashing for Yoh's gut! Yoh leapt into the air, somersaulting over the other and striking out, more to drive him back than harm him. Ren countered by turning faster than Yoh had expected and blocking! His glaive forced Yoh to take several steps back. Ren went into a fury and slashed wildly at Yoh! Yoh blocked with his sword, but didn't even try to strike back, seemingly content to block all of Ren's wild attacks.

But it was not easy, Ren may not have been thinking straight, but his attacks were like hammer blows, each one driving Yoh back a bit more. Yoh tried to reach out to his friend.

" Ren! It's me! Yoh! Why are you doing this?!"

Ren bellowed, " Shut up! You're not Yoh! I saw Yoh die! You're just an imposture!"

Yoh grunted as the blows intensified. Still, he refused to strike back.

" Why wouldn't I be the real Yoh! I came back from the dead, Hao's done it more than once, why can't I?"

Ren cried out, " You're not Yoh! He would never help Hao!"

Yoh shot back, " Why would I mimic Yoh? What would I gain?"
" I don't know, but you're going to pay for it with your life!"

The blows go even harder, Yoh could feel his Furiouku start to slip away.

" Lord Yoh! If you don't strike back then Ren will kill you!"

" I wont.."

" Lord Yoh!"

" Too many of my friends have died because of me... I wont let Ren go the same way!"

" So, you'll let him kill you?"

" If that is what it takes!"

" Lord Yoh! If we strike together, and use our power as we never have before, we could stop him without killing him!"

" Too risky, I wont harm Ren!"

" REN!"

" JUST DIE!"

" Lord Yoh! If we die, and if your brother dies, who will stop these Demons? Who will stand against them? If we do not strike, back, you will doom the world!"

" I wont...!"

" You have to!"

" Damn it!

Yoh did it in one move, as Ren was pulling his glaive back in preparation for another bone-shaking blow, Yoh leapt forward! Ren, expecting Yoh to block this one as he had done with the others, was thrown off balance. Yoh screamed, Furiouku surging. He brought his blade down upon Ren's glaive. Hard. The weapon shattered, before Ren could counter, Yoh slashed at him! Catching Ren in the chest and inflecting a long, but superficial, wound going across his chest. It did no real damage, but it was very painful. Ren was distracted as Yoh leapt above him, bringing his sword up for a Celestial Slash, he cried out, " I'm sorry, Ren! And brought his sword down. Tried to at least. But a thin line of some kind of wire quickly shot from behind him and bound his hands together! A harsh yank bought Yoh stumbling to the ground at the feet of his new foe.

He looked up, saw a a flash of green hair, gasped, " Lyserg!"

The pendulum that Lyserg welded as his weapon retracted, as Lyserg prepared to attack again.

Yoh frowned, " Not you too."

He raised his sword to defend himself as Ren got to his feet.

" This is not good.."

" Lord Yoh, do you think we can take them both?"

" I don't think so... This is not good."

Lyserg struck, casting his pendulum out at incredible speeds! Yoh leapt into the air, but the pendulum followed him, guided by Lyserg's spirit.

The sharp crystal struck at him but Yoh deflected it with his blade, Ren leapt into the air behind him with a downward slash. Yoh hit the earth with a grunt and rolled. Managing to avoid Lyserg's attack as it smashed into the earth where he had been.

Ren charged him, slashing, Yoh blocked it but the pendulum smashed into the back of his head! Pain! Blackness exploded behind his eyes as Yoh staggered back, suddenly dizzy. Ren raised his glaive and slashed at Yoh! The Shaman had no chance, the glaive biting into his flesh and sending him tumbling to the ground.

" Lord Yoh!"

" I'm OK.... I just need a few seconds to recover."

" They aren't going to give you a few seconds!"

Ren charged, screaming! Yoh pulled himself together long enough to roll away from a downward blow, leaving a bloody trail behind him. Ren gave a cry of triumph and brought his glaive down to kill Yoh, but the young Shaman rolled again. Ren growled but continued his attempts to end the fight.

" Where's my sword?!"

" You dropped it when Lyserg hit you!"

Yoh cursed to himself, without the blade he would be unable to form a Double Medium. Not good. Not good at all.

His mind was clearing quickly, but not fast enough! Ren towered above him with his glaive in hand. He sent it down at Yoh's head! Yoh screamed, and then, blackness came for him.

Darkness was split as the lightening raced across the rainy sky. Around him, the robots massed, numerous makes and models mingling in the huge flood of robotic steel. The cave system was complicated to say the least, the Shamans had some kind of city down there. But this being didn't know, nor did he really care. The robots didn't see him, he didn't let them. He was a being apart from this world. He was unique, or at least he had been. Now there was a second like him among the three worlds. And soon, there would be two more. The thing walked past the robots undetected, he moved far to the right, going down a passage that the 'bots had decided not worth their time, it was a tight pass and the Shamans held a good defensive point within it. Naturally, the being made his way through unchallenged by human or machine. Once past the Shaman outpost, he simply walked through what was perhaps the greatest maze ever built, its many twist and turns enough to stagger the mind, the human mind. Fortunately, he was not human. Though he looked it. He muscular, towering above the average person. He wore skins, most of them looked like animal though a few looked eerily human, his features were sharp, his eyes set a little too close together. On his back, there was strapped two swords. One wickedly curved, it glinted in what little light there was, tinged red. The second was broken.. snapped in half by some massive blow. He carried only the useless hilt with him. He walked for what seemed like hours, maybe longer. He didn't mind. His body may have looked human but it was nothing of the sort. It was custom made by himself to handle any threats this world could throw at him. He was known throughout the world and others, though his name was not. Mostly in old legends, he was simply labelled The Immortal.

He eventually came to his target, a nice upward sloping path that would take him out of the maze. Getting out of the city, or even out from around the city, of Mu was not an easy task. The entire city and its surrounding cave system was buried deeply under water. Fresh air was created on site but ancient Shaman magic. There was only one way out of the city without resorting to magic and The Immortal was taking it. Upon his emergence from the underground cave, the sun shone down brightly upon him. Unlike many others of his kind, this caused him no harm. He inspected the landscape around him out of habit. The rough and rocky terrain was to be expected, what he wasn't expecting was that there as no sign of the ocean anywhere near him. Strange.

Fresh air blew past him in a refreshing breeze, The Immortal stole a few seconds to wonder at the sensation, his usual realm of existence contained no wind. Or at least, no no natural wind. There were of course, storms that howled throughout the realm, products of Chaos' unique unpredictability. He could sense them closing in on him, his targets... but they would not be here fast enough. He had a time-limit that he would have to beat if the Masters' plan was to succeed. He had a long way to travel and a short time to do it in, this body, while useful for blending in, was not the kind that would allow him to get to his destination within the time he had. No matter, he had another. With a roar, his muscles bulged, he transformed. Now back in his real body, The Immortal leapt into the sky with glee, red bat-like wings easily supporting his immense weight. Against all logic, he flew.

Like Death Himself, The Immortal rocketed off into the distance. His curved blade in hand.

" So," Vegeta summarized roughly two hours of arguing, bickering and general complaining, " we're lost."

" something along those lines," Arkh admitted. " We know we're not in our world, or the world we left, therefore we're on the Shamans' world."

Will said, " But with no idea where we are, we may as well be back in the last world. We have no way to find Yoh or anyone else, assuming they're still alive."

It was true. Upon arriving in this world, the Z Fighters had expected it to be a simple matter of tracking down the nearest city, once there they would learn what they could of the situation in this world. They would need to knock out one of Cooler's bases and capture the Portal in order to transport to their own world. Once there, they could aid Goten in his war against Cooler. However, things had not gone to plan. Selea noticed it first, perhaps because she had spent much more time in this world than anyone else, the cities were ruined. Wiped out by Cooler in a bloodbath that left even Vegeta speechless, there was probably no town left ether. From all appearances the army had been crushed only days after Cooler first invaded, and the human race had been wiped out shortly after. There were probably survivors, hidden in the wreckage or scattered over the land. Probably, a few small cities had escaped the carnage, perhaps a military base or two but nothing that could even begin to form an organised resistance to Cooler. To all intents and purposes, this world was conquered. Except, it wasn't. For some reason Cooler was still pouring troops into this place, as if there was a great struggle being waged for control of this land. From this, Arkh deduced that the Shamans at least were still alive and fighting back.

" I agree," Vegeta said, " But we have no idea where they are. Its a waste of time trying to find them. We should just take one of Cooler's bases, transport home and save our own world."

David growled, he was much better now, Arkh's healing, while not as potent as Dende's, had gotten rid of most of his injuries, he was still low on Ki but he could at least walk under his own power once more.

" I don't like the idea of leaving this world to it's fate..."

Vegeta shot back, " Too bad, as things stand now, we can ether stay and fight in this world or we can go and fight to save our own. I don't care how friendly the natives are to us, I'd rather save my home than theirs."

Arkh said nothing, he was in a somewhat unique position. He alone of everyone in the group, was a Shaman who possessed a Great Spirit. In a manner of speaking, he was responsible for two worlds. He really had no idea what to do. It was tearing him apart.

" What would you suggest, Astalon?"

" I have no idea... The very aura of this world is changed, the balance has been disrupted... my power is not what it once was... I really don't know."

" What do you mean? Your power has been disrupted? The aura is changed?"

" Its hard to explain to a mortal... Spirit King is gone... I don't know how or why... No one could posses the power to banish him, not Hao, certainly not Cooler, the only reason I can think of is that he decided to leave."
" What? Why would he do that? Spirit King is the one who maintains this planet! Without him... what will happen? Will the Great Spirits lose their power?"

" Luckily, no. We will not become powerless. Allow me to explain. Most people assume that Spirit King came first, technically he did though not in the way most people imagine."

" You mean that....?"
" Spirit King is not like other spirits, he never really had a reason to exist other than people had to go somewhere when they find peace."

" So, Spirit King is-"

" Yes, he's a collective. The joined souls of every person that has ever died and found peace. They add their strength to him, their power combines, that is why he is the greatest spirit of all. Because he is them all."

" So, what happens? How do they think? Do they even think?"

" No one really knows, suffice it to say, Spirit King supports the balance and does whatever it takes. If he decides that in order for the balance to be maintained, this world must die, he would have no trouble at all leaving it to it's fate."

" Is that what's happened? This world has to be destroyed?"

" I really don't know...."

Arkh sighed, this was becoming increasingly complicated. Maybe they should just camp here for the night? He suggested it.

Vegeta replied, " Fine, we need to find out where Cooler's base is anyway. What food have we got?"
Arkh sighed, " None... Before you arrived we normally camped near cities, we could ransack them for food. Not so here. We'll have to hunt."

Vegeta snorted, " Think that will be able to feed us?"
Arkh considered it, Vegeta could eat a lot. Strike and David didn't normally eat as much as the other Saiyans however considering their recently healed wounds, they would need to eat a lot to acquire more Ki. Three hungry Saiyans, not counting Yamcha, Jordan, William or Selea. Vegeta was right, hunting would maybe, be able to feed Vegeta himself for a few days... but three Saiyans? No way... Not in a million years. OK, Vegeta was hungry but he didn't absolutely need food, Strike did. His Ki was at an all time low, about the same as Jordan's. And it was still dropping. He needed food to fuel his body or else he would just pass out. David needed some too but Strike needed the most. So, if they caught enough to get Strike back to full strength, they would be able to move out...

Arkh sighed again, we should have left Strike and David back with Goku. But they couldn't have done that. Together, Strike, David and Vegeta represented more then three quarters of their overall power. Arkh was no fool, he was incredibly power by his own species' standards but compared to the Saiyans he was helpless.

" What if we hunt enough food to get Strike back on his feet, then see if we can find some kind of city?"

Selea snorted, " Do you even know anywhere here we could hunt?"
Arkh retorted, " It wont be hard to find one... a field or if we're really lucky, a forest."

" Think Cooler would have left a forest standing?"

" A field will be good enough for our purpose."

Selea sighed, " So what do we do now? Fly around randomly until we find a field that might hold enough animals to help Strike?"
" Basically."

Arkh continued, " If we spread out, we can find a food source pretty quickly. We're each strong enough to handle any group of 'bots that comes out way. Except Yamcha and Jordan of course, you two can stay back and guard Strike and David. The rest of us can spread out, keep your Ki signal at around ten percent, that way if it goes higher than that, the the others will know you need help. If we get it done soon, we could have camp set up in an hour."

Vegeta snorted, and for a minute, Arkh thought he would refuse, but apparently the thought of food was too much even for the Prince of all Saiyans.

" Fine."

Arkh said, " Meet back here in an hour. We'll see who's found what and head to the best possibility."

Vegeta took off without another word. Selea followed suit. Arkh sighed at Vegeta's departure, " Saiyans.."
He leapt into the sky to begin his own search.

__

For Selea, the search was quite simple. She could sense both Ki and Furiouku, a talent she wasn't sure that most Shaman possessed, Ki was hard to sense in small creature but Furiouku shone like a beckon. As she flew, she pondered on what a strange power Furiouku actually was. It was so much like Ki.. yet different. What you did reflected on it, your thoughts and feelings... Somebody like Goku practically shone with innocence and good intentions... Until a battle started... The transformation of Furiouku that Goku went through was just unreal...

" Shouldn't you be searching for this field?" Kaori asked.

" I'll sense it easily enough." she replied.

" Looking back on the past?"

" Why ask when you already know?"

" A force of habit."

Selea grinned to herself. It is inconceivably hard to explain the powerful bond between a Shaman and spirit. A bond which at it's strongest, can transcend death, calling one to the other across everything. The power such a bond granted was just as unbelievable, Selea remembered that Yoh had a theory that only good people could become Shamans. Hao had ruled that out though. She wondered what did make a Shaman? Furiouku played a key role, but so did determination. Was it just luck? That one person was born with the power while their brother was not? Was it fate? Choice? She didn't know. Blood could be it. It was true that a lot of Shaman families had this power. But then again, a lot of normal human families had a Shaman or two. The Tenth Oracles said it was Spirit King's will but they said that about everything.

She flew on, she could sense nothing, no life, not even plants. It was depressing. Could Cooler have drained the life energy out of this planet somehow? It was a disturbing thought. There! A small spark of Furiouku ahead, glittering in the darkness like a candle in the night.

She steered towards it. This place, this world. Vegeta had been wrong when he'd said it was not home. This place was her home. Selea had never really had one before, first she had worked for Frieza, that had been a job, she had been well paid and well feed but it had not been home. Then, on Namek. That had been a conquest, bloodshed and death. It had not been home. Earth could have been,she supposed, but it was not likely. She had never tried to fit in and with her appearance it probably wouldn't have worked even if she tried. It had not been home. Then, she had been stranded here, on another world in another universe. By all rights, she should have been an alien trapped here, unable to find peace at all. That had not happened. She had found friends, allies, Yoh Asakura, Tao Ren and others. She had found a home with the Tenth Oracles. She had found that she had the power within her to be a real Shaman... She had found teachers, family and friends, this place had been home. Now it was threatened. She was worried for her friends, not the Z Fighters, but the Shamans, the people who had accepted her and trained her.

The Furiouku was close now. With a sigh, she decided it was too small. It would ether be a single animal or something else. No where near enough. Then, she saw what she had been flying over for the past five minutes. With eyes turned to the past, she had not seen it at first. But now she did. It had once been a city. Very modern by the look of it. But now it was smashed and ruined like the wrath of the gods had descended upon it. The streets had been torn out of the ground, the buildings had been shattered as if they were glass. Though the worst thing was, there were no bodies. Broken robots, yes. A lot of them. But no humans. Selea turned to leave this monument to the dead, but then she remembered. The Furiouku spark! It had been from somewhere in this city! Could there be a survivor? It had to be! Now that she was closer, she could tell that no animal was giving off the signal. But it was too weak for a human, or at least a healthy human. A wounded survivor. She would have to find him at once.

Like a great bat, she swooped down lower, observing the wrecked streets, ruined cars, burned out houses. This place looked like a war-zone, it was a war-zone. Then, in the centre of the city. A park of sorts. There had once been fresh green grass, healthy trees, a lake... it had been beautiful. The operative words here: had been. What was left was in no way beautiful. The grass was dead, laser burns had scorched the Earth. Leaving massive scars that showed what a pitched battle had been fought here.

The trees were dead, some had been set on fire. There was bodies here, unlike the rest of the city. She could see them from here. Humans, guns laying where they had fallen, and more. Shamans. Their bodies were strewn about the park like so much garbage, but it was possible to tell that they had out up a real fight, the robot ruins outnumbered the human bodies ten to one. Tears came to her eyes, Shamans. They had fought and died together with humans ironically enough. She landed on the ground next to a mound of fallen bodies that marked the final stand of the survivors. One had caught her eye. He was a young Tenth Oracle called Bronz, only his second year as a Tenth Oracle. He had been cut down while fighting it seemed, trying to cover the retreat of the others. He had failed... the retreating humans had been cut down like so much vermin, their bodies lay not ten feet from Bronz. He had given his life for nothing.

Selea fell to her knees, tears coming to her eyes, " Bronz..."

Now she knew what to look for, she could see other Tenth Oracle scattered amongst the fallen, why they'd been here she had no idea.. But they had died pointless and violent deaths.. She hated it...

She cried, cried for her friends, cried for everyone who had died in this stupid war... cried for Bronz. Every negative emotion she had pushed aside since first travelling to the human world was unleashed all at once, while she had been away, here, her friends had fought and died. Had gone into that bleak abyss without her to defend them... The army had been crushed, she had no doubt, the civilians, the innocent people had been put to death.. She screamed! Her emotions running wild, her power flowing! Her aura flared into existence. The ground around her shook, as if the Earth itself feared her power. She cried out loud, unafraid of what others might think of her, tears rolled down her cheek and to the ground, where they splashed upon Bronz's lifeless corpse. " All these people.... Shamans, humans.... dead, died in agony.... I wasn't here...."

The ground continued to shake, cracks forming under here as her power forced the earth apart. A second aura burst into existence alongside her first, this one of Furiouku. It joined with the first as Selea continued to cry. She plunged her fist into the ground, forming a crater, " I wasn't here...."

She withdrew the hand, and it was coated in darkness. Black as pitch. The dark aura spread, moving up her arm.

" ...I wont..."

The darkness covered her face, spreading to her feet and wings.

"..Let.."

She flexed her arms, the dark power filled her very soul. Her Furiouku spluttered, her Ki glowed brighter than ever.

"..Him.."

Then, she exploded, her powers joining, the dark energy, all she had left of Hao's gift of power, the Ki she had gained while training, the Furiouku she had learned off here, at home.

" GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

The very planet seemed to shake, and perhaps it truly did.

" well, well, you truly are powerful."

She spun around, her black aura moving with her. There! A man stood behind her, he must have gotten there while she was busy... No matter. If he was an enemy he would die. Her grief was rapidly being replaced with rage.

The man was taller than her by far, wearing animal skins, his close set eyes observed her, his mouth half open, exposing his dagger-like teeth.

He said, " Your soul will make me powerful."

The meaning of his words took a second to penetrate, " My soul?"

He smirked, " Yes, souls with strong will can be the source of great power."

She growled, not caring. Her anger demanded that she do something. Cooler was far away but she would get around to him eventually. In the meantime, this guy was as good a target as any.

He withdrew a curved sword.

Selea growled, " If you want my soul, come and take it!"

He smirked, " That's what I intend to do. I'd say this wont hurt. But that would be a lie."

He surprised her by making the first move, leaping forward at an incredible speed! Incredible for a human, Selea was far past human level. She dodged to the right as his sword slashed cleanly past her, before the foe could recover, she slammed her fist into his face! The force of the impact actually lifted him into the air! Selea kicked him into the distance!

As his limp body flew away from her, she phased behind him. His eyes widened as he saw what she was planning, tried to control his flight but she smirked, " Too late."

pressing her hands into his back, she let off a Ki beam! He was pierced through the gut and catapulted higher into the air. She screamed and let loose with a Ki barrage! Millions of tiny blasts hurtled into him and exploded on impact! The sky was filled with explosions as she took her anger out on her attacker. After several minutes, he ceased her deadly attack. His body fell towards her, now looking ragged and burnt. As it approached, she held out a hand, " Kaori, Oversoul."

Her sword formed in her hand, she slashed at the descending warrior, cleaving him clean in half!

His upper portion hurtled past her, Selea turned, her sword glowed purple as she raised it into the air, " Nightmare Blade!"

The purple energy wave sliced into the enemy, causing a massive explosion to rival Goku's Kamahamaha! smoke bellowed outwards, Selea didn't smirk, didn't show any sign of triumph. She turned, " Cooler, I'm coming for you!"

" Finish with me first!"

She turned, the enemy came barrelling out of the smoke towards her! Still too slow, though. Selea easily dodged out of the way. The warrior floated before her, his wounds healed. He said, " That is the first time a mortal has managed to harm me... I congratulate you. Allow me to tell you my name, so that you will know who ended your life! I am The Immortal!"

Selea snapped " I've met immortals before!"

She shot forward, blade going for his throat! But, while his speed was not up to hers, his strength was. His own curved sword met hers half-way! The weapons locked and Selea growled in annoyance. The Immortal pressed his advantage, forcing her to back up, he pulled his weapon out of the lock with speed which surprised her, swinging low he tried to gut her, but Selea phased away, appearing behind him and impaling him with her sword!

He growled, but she smirked, " Nightmare Blade!"

The sword exploded in purple fire! The dark attack ate away at The Immortal until he screamed. Selea turned and launched him back to the ground. Examining her sword, she snorted in disgust as his blood dripped to the ground. She stood watching, knowing that he would be back. Minutes past, nothing moved. Had she done it?

Then, he phased behind her! She spun around, not fast enough! His sword bit into her neck. He didn't kill her, rather he kicked her in the gut! Selea staggered back as pain erupted. The Immortal leapt forward, sword going for her neck again, this time she was ready, her blade locking with his once more.

They struggled for long minutes, but while Selea was growing tired, The Immortal seemed unaffected, his strength undiminished. Slowly, he drove her back, his sword blows like a hammer against her defence. He lunged forward, but she danced aside and her sword bit into his back! The purple energy exploded outwards again, sending his smoking corpse to the ground. Where he promptly got back up. She was starting to see why they called him The Immortal.

Selea sighed, getting tired.

" Listen to me, Selea, he's copying your attacks!"

" What?"

" Don't you see? At first he was only as fast as a human, but then you moved faster, now he matches your speed! Every time he revives, he gets stronger!"

" Not good, any ideas how to handle him?"

" Blow him into so many pieces he can't regenerate!"

" With pleasure!"

He charged at her again, but Selea brought her sword into the air, " You've seen some of my power, now see the whole thing! To quote Vegeta, I'm going to grind you into ashes and throw you into the wind!"

He was still approaching her, she brought her sword down, the purple wave of Ki infused with dark energy and Furiouku was enough to stagger even the mightiest Saiyan.

" Nightmare World!"

The attack struck, blowing the flesh from his bones, breaking those same bones into shards and hurling them back to the ground below.

Where, he regenerated. This was nothing like Cell's ability, or even Majin Buu's. This was on a different scale entirely. He simply faded back into existence wherever he had fallen.

The Immortal raised his blade, ready yet again for combat.

He smirked gleefully, " Is that all you can do? I had hoped for a more even match. Maybe I should just practice my aim on these dummies here."

To Selea's horror, he shot a beam of purple energy from his eyes, striking at the nearest body! The corpse, a young human, burned up in seconds becoming nothing more than ashes in the wind.

She was trembling, her own attack... he had used her own attack...

The creature smirked, and burnt another body, this time a Shaman. She was really shaking now, from anger...

He smiled even wider and directed his new attack against another body, Bronz. Selea screamed, rushing towards the target. Dead or alive, her brain knew that Bronz was a friend, Selea valued friends highly, it was more of an instinctive reaction than a planned out one but she made it. She leapt in front of the attack, protecting the body but also harming herself. Agony! Her back felt as if her spine had been ripped out. Selea crumpled to the ground.

The Immortal walked over to his fallen foe. " You fought better than I expected, but in the end you were only mortal. Now, for your soul."

He reached out, gripping her by the hair he hoisted Selea up so that she was face to face with him. His right hand reached out, stopping just a little away from her face, Selea suddenly felt incredibly tired, so tired. She closed her eyes. She heard the Immortal say

" And now, your soul is mine."

" In your dreams!"

There was a flash and the tiredness vanished! Selea's eyes snapped open. The Immortal had lost his right hand at the arm. As it faded back into existence. He turned to his attacker.

He was truly a strange sight, black baggy trousers, bandages covering his bare chest, and a wooden mask in the likeness of some bird, he was muscular and well trained though, because he easily side-stepped The Immortal's charging counter-attack.

He roared, " Who told you to interfere?"

The masked man easily avoided the creatures slashes, " Told me? No one told me. I interfered in order to save one of my own."

Selea gasped, " M-Miki!"

He nodded, The Immortal brought his sword down, through the Shaman! But all he caught was a fading image.

No, he hadn't phased, but he had used a technique that he had taken years to develop.

The Immortal growled, " Miki?"

Miki shot back, " To you, monster, It's Mikisha Asakura."

he leapt away from the Immortal's attack, gesturing in mid air, then his spirits appeared!

Not human, they were Mountain Gods. Spirits that had evolved for thousands of years until they were in tune perfectly with nature. The first one, a wolf leapt at the foe snarling! Double the size of the normal canine, it was a fierce sight, but when the giant red fox joined in the battle, Selea could see The Immortal become overwhelmed. The claws tore into his flesh, The teeth sinking into his neck. With a roar he shrugged them off and charged Mikisha, he ploughed through a fading image once more, then, the spirits were back! The Immortal roared and turned with a powerful slash, cleaving the wolf in half. The fox was grabbed around the neck, he smashed it's face into the ground, it shattered. Mikisha, stunned by the loss of his Oversoul, didn't fade this time. The Immortal's fist ploughed into his face sending him backwards! The Immortal smirked, phased behind Mikisha, slashed and missed! Rather than one, there were ten of the Shaman! They ganged up on The Immortal, most of the blows did no damage, they were not real, but a few did. And with The Immortal unable to tell which was the real Shaman, those blows were adding up. The Immortal roared, and kicked Mikisha! Unluckily, he chose right and the real Shaman took the bone-shattering blow. The clones vanished as The Immortal pursued his quarry, his sword slashed out, Miki dodged! Somehow, he'd launched himself into the sky! Now, he used his downward momentum to kick The Immortal in the face. Hard. The Immortal staggered back, the two spirits reformed behind him and resumed their save attack. Except it didn't last long this time, he reversed his sword into the fox, shattering it at once. Miki was stunned again as The Immortal leapt at him, his sword struck flesh and sent Mikisha Asakura flying once more. The creature howled in triumph and sent the purple beams from his eyes!

They went through the fading image as Miki kicked The Immortal in the gut! He doubled over, the wolf leapt into his back and bite hard into his neck. The Immortal raged, " ENOUGH GAMES!"

A wall of force shattered the wolf, and knocked Miki off his feet! It was a horrible sight, it seemed that The Immortal's very flesh was bowling, bubbling away to revel his yellow bones. For a minute it seemed that this would happen, pale skin changed, becoming red, like blood and flesh. His muscles bulged, doubling, no tripling their size! He screamed, in pain and triumph as his face changed too, his hair vanishing, two long horns curling around his suddenly animal-like ears. From his back, there spurted two huge bat-like wings. Red of course. His sword grew as well, now it seemed to drip blood constantly. Lastly, he doubled his size, now he truly did tower over Selea and Miki.

He roared, it was not the roar of a man, or even a human. This was an ancient call of rage and triumph from before the age of man. His new speed took Miki by surprise, in seconds he was before the Shaman, his huge blade coming down to tear him in half! But, Selea was there. She blocked the blow despite the agony is caused in her back. The Immortal growled, and swatted her away with a single hand!

She tumbled across the ground and came to rest, not moving.

Miki was ready, he swept forward, raining blows down upon the Demon-spawn. It did nothing, The Immortal didn't even feel a tickle. He grew bored and floored Miki with a single fist!

He roared, " Now, where was I? Ah yes, your soul!"

But, a comet of light struck him and exploded! The shock wave knocked Miki back, The Immoral screamed in rage. " What now?!"

Then, from the heavens, descended Vegeta. Truly looking like royalty, his golden hair moving in the breeze, his aura of the same colour surrounding him.

" I've seen your power, monster. And I know you can't match me! Give up now."

The Immortal leapt at Vegeta, the prince snorted, " Very well, we'll do this your way. Galagun!"

The purple energy wave slammed into The Immortal, roasting his flesh and bones. But he still kept going, somehow continuing his relentless charge at Vegeta.

The prince smirked, " Tough one, are you? No matter."

Holding the purple beam with one hand, he withdrew the other and thrust it forward screaming " Big Bang!"

The attack exploded and knocked the Immortal back, but Vegeta wasn't done yet, " Big Bang! Big Bang! BIG BANG!"

The Ki storm slammed down upon The Immortal without mercy.

Miki carried Selea to safety, to him it was like the gods had come down from the heavens in order to fight this menace.

The Immortal leapt out of the line of fire, and launched his own Ki beams upwards at Vegeta! The prince let them hit him, but took no damage. " So, you want to play rough?"

He phased away, reappearing behind the Immortal! The Demon-Spawn tried to turn, just as Vegeta planned. His fist shot into the other's chest! Digging through flesh it smashed the rib-cage and gripped the heart. With a grunt, Vegeta ripped The Immortal's still-beating heart from his chest and showed it to him. The Immortal crumpled to the ground.

His body faded away along with his heart. Vegeta smirked, " Now, where's that pest and Selea?"

He couldn't see them, he frowned. They were gone.

__

Miki put Selea down gently on the mattress, this place had once been an office of some kind, but Miki had been living out of it the past few days, ever since Patch Village, the home the Tenth Oracle and the place where Shamans all over the world had gathered, had vanished. At first, he had been depressed, believing that the entire village had been wiped out by the robots, and his son, Yoh, along with them. Later, he had encountered a group of Tenth Oracle leading what appeared to be a band of refugees from the village, they told him how Goldva had attacked the robots in order to allow them to escape. The leader, a youngster named Bronz had planned to form a resistance by gathering all the surviving Shaman in the world. It might have worked, if Bronz hadn't been ambushed in the park. By then, the city was already ruined and though he fought bravely, Bronz and his plan were ultimately doomed. No survivors, only Miki had escaped. Since then, he had been here, with no real point in his life. True, he had a family, a wife, but he knew that by now, most of the Asakura family would have gone into hiding or died in the initial attack. He was lost, with no purpose other than to survive, and Mikisha Asakura was an expert at surviving. He had climbed Mount Everest with none of that special suit nonsense, only his normal clothes had protected him from the snow, true Furiouku had helped a great deal but Miki knew more than anyone that will-power was the greatest power a Shaman could have.

He sighed, Selea was badly hurt, he wasn't very good at healing other people, but he should at least try. His Furiouku began to drain as Selea used it to heal herself.

What was that thing that attacked her? Some kind of Oni? He didn't think so, Miki was an expert on them. It was not a spirit, that was for sure. He really didn't know, maybe Selea could tell him when she woke up.

He sighed to himself. Selea brought back memories of a better time, before this whole invasion had started, she had been one of his best students. They had bonded, unlike most of the other pupils he had taught, she had the patience to learn his complex attacks. He had found her spirit, Kaori to be very interesting, figuring that perhaps he could become a Mountain God if given enough time and training. She was waking up.

He turned to her, and gasped! The blade that had pierced his back retracted and The Immortal threw him to the floor!

Selea's eyes widened, " M-Miki!"

In a flash, the black energy surrounded her again, " MIKI!"

The Immortal slashed at her but she dodged faster than she thought she could, the pain was gone! Like her wound had vanished! But she didn't pay heed to it, The Immortal was back in his human form, he looked pale ad shaken, not like the last time. Vegeta's attack seemed to have harmed him. Well, if Vegeta could hurt him, she could finish him! Selea slammed into him, her dark sword biting flesh!
The Immortal roared and fell back, his sword slashed at her but she blocked it! Paying no attention to his terrible power, she only knew one thing: Miki was hurt, badly, in order to help him she had to kill this creature. She went into a frenzy of attacks! Blood fell like rain as The Immortal staggered back, he shot out the purple beams but Selea countered with a Ki beam of her own. The Immortal tried to force hers back but to his horror, the attack was too strong! Selea's beam caught him in the upper chest and tore through skin and bone, he screamed, Selea leapt close so that she could finish the battle, with a cry, she let loose with twin beams! Striking The Immortal, he smashed through the wall of the building and hurtled into the distance, knocking over houses like dominoes, he smashed into the ground with a sickening thud. But he could recover in seconds, and unless Selea pursued him now he would be standing again.

Selea didn't chase him or at least, not at once. She turned to Miki's downed form, picking him up gently and putting him on the bed. To her shock, he was still awake! The pain must have been intense and yet Miki was still awake!

" Miki?"
He coughed, blood pooled beneath him, " I'm fine.."

" Fine? No you're not! That's a mortal wound!"

" Yeah, I noticed... don't worry, and don't try to heal me, that would only drain your Furiouku and you're not strong enough to repair this much damage."

" Then what would you have me do? Let you die?"

" I wont die... not today at least... I'm not exactly on my own here."

His two spirits appeared behind the bed, " I can heal myself... Not wholly but I don't think it will be fatal. You have other things to worry about, that creature is still out there somewhere.

" Yeah, but I can't exactly leave you alone, what if it comes back?"

" My spirits can defend me... he seems to be weakened so I doubt he'll waste time going after me. If you don't finish him soon, he could regain his power and come back.."

Selea nodded, " I guess you're right.... I'll destroy this thing once and for all!"

She blasted out of the building! Her black aura stronger than ever as she scanned the city for any trace of Ki... There was Vegeta.. He seemed to be standing in the centre doing nothing, doubtless he was watching her but he would probably ignore her until the fighting started. Now, where was that creature? It didn't seem to have any Furiouku or Ki.... But it did have something... a dark hollow feeling which she could trace... There! She phased.

The Immortal never knew what hit him, Selea had appeared behind the Demon-spawn and launched a powerful fist into his back! He tumbled across the floor as Selea, her sword formed out of nowhere, charged him! He was on his feet in an instant, the swords locked! They struggled for long seconds, then, Selea cried out, " Nightmare Blade!"

The empowered sword sliced through The Immortal's curved one and bit deeply into his upper chest! He staggered back, but Selea was giving him no time to recover, " Nightmare Blade!"

Twin waves of purple energy slashed deeply into The Immortal, Selea cried out and from her free hand, there exploded a fiery whip! The new weapon wrapped around The Immortal's upper arm and with a jerk, she brought him flying towards her, her sword rose and with a single motion, speared him through the heart.

The Immortal gasped, and went limp, then, with a roar, he was back! Selea, unprepared for the counter-attack, was thrown to the ground. The Immortal transformed again with a scream and fired off four of his beams! Selea dodged but that put her into The Immortal's line of fire, his fists, now clawed, swiped at her, and she vanished!

The Immortal looked around. Then, from behind him there came a sound, he spun around. Selea was there! But she was still shaken from the near escape, her rescuer had been. Vegeta.

The prince smirked, " Not had enough yet, monster? No matter. This time I will be sure to finish you off!"

The Immortal looked around, perhaps for an escape. He found none, he growled. So was this it? It looked like it. The winged one had been a worthy foe but the golden-haired one was far stronger than him in his current form. He could try and transform again but that would be nearly impossible in this realm. He had fought the winged one to a stand-still, now it was time for the ultimate test. The Immortal drew another weapon to replace his broken sword, this was the hilt with no blade. He growled to it, " Go, find your master!"

And threw it! It was like slow motion, as the hilt arched gracefully into the air, past Vegeta, towards Selea! Who, perhaps in instinct or perhaps due to the weapon's own influence, reached up and caught it!

The Immortal grinned, Vegeta turned to her looking confused. She looked shocked.

" what did I just do?"

" Selea, put the weapon down! Its evil!"

" What do you mean? I feel stronger than ever!"

" Trust me, Selea, out it down now! I'm weakening! Its draining my power! Trus-"

He went silent, Selea felt a stab of icy fear, then she heard from him again, but it didn't help her, it was a scream of pain and anguish.

" Kaori!"

" He is gone, mortal. And now, you serve me!"

Selea screamed, the earth shook again, her aura grew even bigger, her muscles bulged, her Ki surged!

Vegeta actually took a step back, her power was rapidly approaching his own! Then, she exploded! Vegeta was thrown back, and when he could see again, she had changed. Her hair was free flowing and longer than he remembered, her face was different too, colder, like when she worked for Frieza. Her numerous wounds had vanished. In her hand, the broken sword, except it was broken no longer. It was a long and cruel looking blade with a tinge of red.

The Immortal laughed, and roared in triumph " Behold! The Champion of Blood!"

__

Elsewhere. This place is not easily described, much like the Demon's own realm, this place takes the shape it's master commands it to be, currently it is a throne room. A long one, each wall was covered by tapestries, it one a different part of the whole, each one telling the tale of a near-dead race. The throne was elevated above, reachable by a small set of gold steps. The throne itself was a grand spectacle, the basic shape seemed to be made out of gold and silver, with rare gems set into the armrests, the headrest was made up to look like a great ape, caught in an eternal roar. The throne, however, was nothing when compared to the being who sat upon it.

His muscles were well formed, his face sharp and fearsome, his hair was spiked upwards in a way that seemed trademarked to Saiyans. His eyes were closed as if in concentration, or anger? His fists were clenched tightly, after a few minutes, he stood up. Surprisingly, he wasn't tall, at about Vegeta's height. ( Minus the hair)

" I can't take.." he growled, " I've stood by for too long. I should have stepped in as soon as this whole war started."

with a wave of his hand, the room around him shimmered, twisting in such a way as to make the eye water. When it reformed, it was different. Gone was the grand throne room, though the throne itself remained. The room was now cold and damp, a smooth stone floor and walls, a stone roof so that it was now more a cave than a room. In the centre of the area, a huge stone arch, between it's pilers, a green/blue energy shimmered waiting.

The warrior stalked towards it, as he approached the energy cleared, showing an image! It was off the city, as Vegeta looked on in shock and horror as Selea got used to her new form. He moved as if to enter the arch, but a voice behind him made the Saiyan turn.

" Interfering again?"

The warrior looked to see what was speaking to him, it was a formless shapeless blob of energy, floating in the air before him. Nevertheless, the Saiyan seemed angry to see it.

" Death.."

" Pysagon, how long has it been since last we met?"

" Not long enough."

" Ah such hostility, reminds me of the old day."

The Saiyan, now known as Psyagon frowned. Despite his youthful appearance, he was very old. Once he had been powerful, oh he was still powerful, but once he had been more. Once, planets had moved at his whim, he could rearrange the universe at his slightest thought. He had been a god. Then, a portal to another place had opened, and that thing before him had first arrived in this peaceful galaxy.

Even now, Psyagon wasn't sure exactly what Death was. Certainly, it was not the process itself, for that had been going on millions of years before the creature arrived. Probably, it was just a name taken by the creature when it first arrived. It had at once began to destroy planets, using incredible power that Psyagon had thought only he possessed, Death had seemed to be bent on destroying the universe. Until, he, Psyagon had interfered. There had been a great battle, but the two powers were too great, nether could destroy the other. In the end....

NO! Psyagon forced his mind away from that chain of thought, that road led to gloom, to wondering what if. He would not go down there, he would not give Death the satisfaction. Because, by the end of that epic battle. Psyagon had changed forever, his powers had been weakened dramatically, but he counted it worth it, Death had been sealed away back where it came from. But, the drawback was that Death still had some power, it could still form a shape in this world, though it no longer had the ability to interfere directly with this world, it had minions that could, such as those playing out the struggle that Psyagon had been observing. Psyagon spat, " what do you want?"

" Please don't pretend you don't know, Psyagon. Even you must feel this, even with your low power, you can sense it in the air! Feel it in the flow of the universe! For years it has been coming and now... now it is here at last!"

Psyagon snorted, " Is this another of your stupid plans to escape, Demon? They have failed before and they will do so again."

" Hardly, they failed before because you stood in the way. My power is much lower than yours now, I could not stop you from foiling my plans."

" So? What's changed in the last few years that you think you can win this time?"

" Everything has changed. Your once great power has been reduced to only a fraction of your true strength. Too many times have we fought, each time you grew a little weaker... Now you have no chance."

Psyagon nodded, " You have a point, indeed. I can no longer access most of my power. However. This place you find yourself in is not the outside world. This is my world, which I made when I was at my fullest. Here my power is far higher than yours, Demon!"

" Or so you think. Now is the time to put that to the test."

Psyagon smirked, " Gladly. Now, Begone!"

He gestured with his hand. There was a slight pop as the universe rearranged itself and Death was no more. The shifting, swirling mass had vanished without a trace.

But then, the cold, commanding and otherworldly voice came from behind him, " If you think that harmed me, big mistake. I have become more than you ever were! My full power is returning! The seal which has banished my kind for so many years, it is weakening! Soon it will break and our real power will be freed!"

Psyagon turned, " What? That seal is unbreakable! I made sure of it."

" True, it is unbreakable. Nether myself nor any of my kin can free us."

" Then, how will you escape?"

" Psyagon, my old enemy, if I told you that. It wouldn't be a secret."

The Demon laughed, a crackling, chilling sound which seemed to shake the roof and to freeze your spine.

Psyagon launched himself forward, this time he had no intention of holding anything back!

Death vanished, but his laughter echoed creepily for several minutes.