EDIT: Sorry about the late chapter, everybody! It'll be up in a day or two. More details then. Nothing serious, don't worry.
Chapter 96: If I Don't…
Humour me for a minute, little rant: I don't CARE if Beerus is the official English translation. The first official English translation of Kienzan was 'Destructo Disc'. Which is stupid. I'm using Bills, it sounds better and the Japanese word, due to the way the language works, with l's and r's and requiring a vowel sound after every consonant sound (if things like 'ky' are taken as one sound, anyway…), it can be translated as either. And I've already used Bills, it's a bit late now.
…Okay, sorry, done now. Yeah, we can get on with the chapter.
"Kill it? Kill Hirudegarn?" Tapion asked, incredulous. "How can you be sure that's even possible?"
"Look." Raditz's face grew serious, knowing that mere bravado would not convince this man—not everyone shared the saiyans' thrill for combat. "I meant it like I said it—the challenge really does excite me. But…more importantly than that…you've already sacrificed so much, lost so much."
"I haven't given everything yet," Tapion said firmly. "I still have my life, and the chance to stop—"
"Tapion!" Raditz put a hand on the warrior's shoulder. "That's enough. You've done more than anyone has the right to ask…I'll take it from here."
"You…" Hope sprang into Tapion's eyes for the first time.
"Trust me. Please."
"It's a girl!" The doctor exclaimed.
Videl, her body weakened from exertion but her mind in perfect condition, smirked at him. "We've known that for a while, you moron. You did scans and everything."
"I know, but…I just like saying that…"
Gohan, utterly astonished, gazed at the baby in Videl's arms. "Oh, man…aren't I a bit young to be a father?"
"Well, you're about as old as Chi-Chi and I were when we got married, and you were born pretty soon after," Goku reminded him.
Chi-Chi smiled slyly. "And you turned out just fine, despite the best efforts of your little kung-fu club to distract you…"
"Well, have you thought of a name, guys?" Goku asked, hastily changing subject.
Gohan nodded eagerly. "Yeah, we've talked a lot about it. I think it really fits."
Videl cradled the crying child. "Say hello to everyone, Pan."
Hoi jumped back with a strangled shriek as a shaggy-haired man materialised out of thin air in front of him. "Gaaah! Where did you come from?!" The sun was just touching the horizon, and the red evening light was still bright enough to shine down the back alley he was ensconced in.
"Hi," Raditz said, unnaturally cheery. "There aren't many alien energy signatures around, and the rest of them are friends or family. You weren't exactly hard to find." He crouched down to the tiny wizard's head height. "I've been speaking to Tapion, and I think I have an idea you'll like…"
Hoi snapped his fingers. "Oh yes, I remember you…you're the one who released him for me! What's this about an idea?"
Raditz smiled. "Well, Tapion wants to be free of Hirudegarn—even if he won't admit it, it's eating him up inside—and you want to complete it so you can rule the universe, or possibly destroy it, I personally don't care which but it's usually one of those." He swung a thumb up at himself. "I, meanwhile, want a good workout. So how about you and your friend meet up, combine the monster, and see if it can get past me. Whaddya say?"
"Hmm…intriguing." Hoi stroked his chin. "So Tapion's told you everything, I see. I almost can't believe he'd go along with a plan like this—he must have such faith in you. Touching. We'll see how long it lasts."
"It's a deal, then? One condition—away from the city."
Hoi shrugged. "It makes no difference to me. We'll get to it in time. I don't particularly care about this planet in the grand scheme of things, anyway."
"All right, then!" Raditz stood up. "Let me just get one thing, and then I'll take you to the place."
A minute or so later, Raditz and Hoi stood on the flat plains several miles from Orange Star City; Tapion was about a hundred metres away, waiting. Raditz's katchin sword was now hanging from one shoulder, and he waved a signal to Tapion, who began to approach, shooting an impenetrable stare Hoi's way.
The wizard also stamped forwards, the two ancient enemies nearing one another through the tall grass, time stretching out in the deathly silence, seconds passing achingly slowly. A writhing shadow sprung up in the air around Hoi, and a moment later an identical one appeared over Tapion. He had only been exhausted earlier from trying to fight it, and as he was allowing the beast within to awaken, he wasn't physically affected at all this time.
"It is time," Hoi said slowly. The shadows rose above them and mingled in the air, growing rapidly.
Tapion stopped a few paces away, putting one hand on his sword's hilt, shadow-form completely separated from his body now. "Come, sorcerer. You have polluted the air with your foul breath for far too long."
"Heh heh…" Hoi merely glanced up at Hirudegarn's coalescing form. The two shadows had merged, and solid shapes were becoming visible through the obscuring darkness. The two chitin-scaled legs stretched down, sinking slightly into the earth. The tail snaked out as before, and above, a bulbous torso topped with a fanged skull-like head loomed, an enormous arm splaying out on either side of its body.
Tapion paused. It looks…different to when I fought it on Konats…more armoured. But why? What's changed…?
Raditz drew his own sword, powering up to Super Saiyan 3 and pointing the blade straight up at Hirudegarn. "So I'm guessing you're one of these lives-to-destroy, can't-be-reasoned-with types. Pleased to meet you."
In answer, the beast took a crashing step forwards, swiping at him with a clawed hand. He jumped, avoiding the strike by a hair. It's fast! Especially for such a large creature…
Otherworld…
"Watching these battles never ceases to amaze me," King Kai muttered to himself, pacing his tiny planet. "Super Saiyan 3 was honestly not really suited to the living world, but they've accepted that difficulty and taken every step to make it routine enough to be useful in battle…good thing, too." He chuckled. "Earth seems to be a hotspot for this sort of trouble." Ah, I'm sure they can handle it. I mean, it's not like it's Bills or anything.
Raditz continued to dodge Hirudegarn's increasingly frustrated attacks. Tapion, meanwhile, advanced on Hoi below.
Damn…Hoi thought nervously. I'd hoped Hirudegarn would take care of him before he could get any ideas, but that friend of his is pretty fast…
Tapion raised his sword two-handed, sliding one foot backwards and fixing Hoi with a glare. "I'm going to destroy you now, Hoi. Your end is long overdue."
"Hah! Like you can defeat me with a pointy bit of metal." Hoi snapped his fingers, and a bubble of dark energy sprung up around him. "I've done plenty of research into defensive wards while you've been asleep, and I won't be destroyed the way the rest of the Kashvars were."
"We shall see!" Tapion leapt, slashing diagonally down. There followed an explosion of power and a shriek of metal, and he came to a halt several metres behind Hoi, arms shaking.
"Heh." Hoi grinned, barrier crackling. "Without the powers your long-haired friend possesses, I'm afraid you've no chance of penetrating—"
"This is the enchanted sword that once bisected your monster," Tapion said quietly, beginning to sheathe it. The guard clicked against the scabbard, and in that instant the wizard's shield shattered, a diagonal line of red opening up down his front, vital fluids fountaining out. "Goodbye, Hoi."
"I-Impossible…" Hoi gasped, eyes rolling back. "I've…come so far…it-it cannot…end like…" with a final twitch, he slumped down onto the ground.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Tapion called up to Raditz, "This sword cut Hirudegarn before! Do you want—"
"Don't worry about it." Raditz drew up his black blade next to his head. "This thing's made of the hardest metal in the universe—it's bound to be just as good." All right, Hirudegarn's fast, but clumsy. In the instant after it attacks— He darted right, avoiding a tail strike that ploughed a deep furrow into the ground, then jumped back at the curling tail, swinging his sword down. However, it glanced off Hirudegarn's natural armour, sending sparks flying and causing pains to shoot up his arms. "Owww!" His confusion left him momentarily undefended, and Hirudegarn caught him with a backhanded swipe, hurling him off into the sky.
"W-What?!" Tapion looked on, dumbfounded. "But he's so strong—how come it didn't even leave a mark on Hirudegarn?"
"YAAAAH!" Raditz came rocketing back, slamming bodily into the centre of Hirudegarn's chest like an irate meteor and staggering the creature back a step. "So! You're not invincible!" he proclaimed, but it immediately opened its mouth and blasted him away again with a wide energy beam, flattening the land in its path—at least until Raditz pockmarked it with craters as he bounced away, punctuating each impact with a strangled obscenity.
Seemingly satisfied with this, Hirudegarn turned and blasted another mouth wave straight at Orange Star City. Tapion could only watch in horror. It's as I feared! And it seems to be even more dangerous than before…I feel so useless!
Orange Star City, Southern Hospital…
"So we figure—uh?" Gohan looked up, feeling a powerful approaching ki. What's…?
"Gohan!" Videl shouted. "Incoming, six o'clock!"
Resisting the chance to make a terrible joke about how it was already past six, Gohan nodded, Shifting through the wall and spotting the onrushing beam. At full power, he might've been able to fully deflect it, but he didn't have time to get quite that far, and when it struck him he was launched right back into the hospital, crashing into the room and sprawling next to his family. "Ggggh…aaagh…"
"Gohan!" His parents rushed over to him in unison, but Chi-Chi pushed her husband away. "I'll look after him. As for you?" She poked Goku in the chest. "Something out there hurt my baby. Kill it."
"Uh, yes ma'am!" Goku scrambled up, taking off and exiting using the hole Gohan had made.
Raditz was back on the offensive, but Hirudegarn just took whatever damage he could dish out completely unflinchingly. He'd managed to avoid taking any more hits, but even his own attacks, it seemed, were taking more out of him than his opponent, and he was losing energy fast. Not to mention he'd had to stop using his sword; it was completely ineffective, even more so than his fists. "Damn it, this'd be easier if Break was here!"
"Will I do?" Raditz didn't even wait to look after hearing the voice, immediately using Instant Transmission to move next to Goku's familiar ki signal, avoiding another of Hirudegarn's swipes in the process.
"Beggars can't be choosers, I suppose," he quipped.
"So what we got today?" Goku asked. "It's already taken Gohan down."
Raditz scratched his head, trying to summarise. "Uh…ancient monster thing. Wizards. That guy down there's on our side. Can't cut the damn thing for some reason. Read the book sometime."
"Like sometime we're not fighting it?"
"Right. Speaking of, it's seen us—MOVE!" They split up, flying off in opposite directions to avoid another mouth blast.
Goku prepared himself, bringing his considerable power to the surface. "All right, I've beaten half of this thing; the rest shouldn't be too much harder. KAIOKEN TIMES THREE!" Wreathed in fiery red, he sped down at Hirudegarn. His first punch knocked it flat on its back; the second threw it back across the plain, feet carving river-sized troughs through the rock; a third launching it high into the air. "TENFOLD…KAME…HAME…"
"Hhhhraaaaaghhh!" Hirudegarn, furious, bellowed out another energy beam from its screaming maw.
"…HYAAAAH!" Goku brought his hands up, letting his powerful technique loose and watching it smash through Hirudegarn's, detonating on the beast in a flash of red light.
When vision returned, Goku saw that, surprisingly, Hirudegarn was still standing—however, one arm was raised to shield its face, and had been disintegrated from the elbow down. Goku lowered his hands, breathing hard from the intense attack. That was twice as strong as the attack that completely destroyed it before, and it only went through one arm…not to mention it was fast enough to get an arm up to block…looks like combining made it a lot stronger!
Tapion was awestruck. He damaged Hirudegarn so much—with his own strength! What kind of people are they?!
Goku had thought Hirudegarn, injured like this, might've given him a moment's respite—but its tail lashed up at him, and he couldn't quite dodge in time, the attack catching him on the shoulder and knocking him to the ground. He stuck a hand down into the earth, bringing his skid to a halt and standing unsteadily. This…isn't gonna work…I'll run out of energy to do the Kaioken before it runs out of limbs…all right then.
Grinning suddenly, he drew an arm back, waiting for Hirudegarn to pounce. As soon as it did, he ran forwards, throwing his arm out in a wide arc, an exaggerated show-punch at the air—and an instant later, golden energy filled the space around him, coiling into a solid shape. "RYU-KEN!" He yelled, launching the shining dragon straight up at Hirudegarn. Mid-jump, the monster couldn't avoid it, and the dragon's jaws closed about its head, the solid energy defocusing and exploding a second later. Hirudegarn swayed, headless—but oddly enough, not bleeding—and collapsed onto its back, the impact shaking the ground.
Goku took a step back, panting. "Whoo…huff…huff…hey, it worked, cool! Say, why didn't you do that, Raditz?"
Raditz, powering down to normal, landed next to his brother, pulling an irritated face. "Because, genius, by the time I realised I might have to, I was too low on energy to 'trigger' it—I kept having to use all my power on oh, I don't know, not dying."
"Th-That's it?!" Tapion came running up to them. "You two are…amazing! You defeated Hirudegarn, just like that! I didn't think such people could exist…!"
"Actually…hold the phone." Raditz's face darkened. "Feel that ki, Goku?"
"Oh yeah." Goku turned back to the now-twitching corpse. "It's still alive…somehow."
The shadowy mass that had formed Hirudegarn enveloped it, shrouding its body in darkness once more.
"Blowing its head off didn't kill it…" Raditz growled. "What's it take, huh?"
Hirudegarn stood, shaking off the enshrouding mists like a wet dog. It had changed drastically—dull brown and black replaced by golden chitin with red armour plates, spines running down its back and tail, and atop sat an even more vicious-looking fanged maw. A pair of insectoid wings flicked out behind it, and if they weren't mistaken, it had grown larger as well.
It changed again, Tapion noted. What's the meaning of it? Does it just come back stronger every time you try and kill it?!
"All right…" Goku flared up his aura again, his brother ascending to Super Saiyan 3 beside him. "Let's do it. I'll rush it and you get around—" He got no further before Hirudegarn flung its mouth wide open, a curtain of flame emerging and scorching the landscape, blasting the saiyans back.
"Damn it…!" Raditz skidded to a halt, clearing his mind. One Instant Transmission jump took him to just above and behind Hirudegarn, and a two-handed swing bowed its head forwards. However, when he followed up with a quick energy beam, it seemed to have no effect at all. "But…makes no sense…just punching it did some damage just now—"
"Hghkkkkrrr…!" Letting out an unearthly shriek, Hirudegarn snatched Raditz out of the air with surprising speed, throwing him to the floor and raising one foot to stamp down on him. However—
"TIMES TEN!" Goku's voice cried out, and a crimson energy lance speared into Hirudegarn's descending leg—but to no avail, other than to make the monster pause and turn its attention to Goku instead.
"N…No…" he hissed, falling to his knees. "Gave it everything…it can't be…that strong…!" His strength failed, and he slumped forwards.
He's down! Raditz noticed, jumping back to face off with Hirudegarn. Not good…just me between it and the city…no, the planet! Maybe another Dragon Fist could put it down again, but…I don't have the energy…I've barely got enough to stay transformed!
Hirudegarn raised a balled fist to crush him, but abruptly stopped moving before it could strike. It began to dissolve back into smoke form, coiling into a stream of dense fog before spiralling down towards Tapion, who seemed to be playing some form of instrument. A gentle blue glow surrounded him, and the smoke struck it, vanishing into Tapion. He sighed as it finished, and lowered the ocarina. "This is the same enchanted tool we used before," he explained. "However, I cannot contain the entire creature for long—even half was almost more than I could bear."
"Wait, you're not going to—!"
Tapion raised his sword, blade facing downwards. "You fought a valiant battle, but in the end it wasn't quite enough. There is only one way to end this." He smiled weakly. "I am sorry I brought this nightmare down on your planet…and I am glad to have known you, even if only for a short time." Fully intent on ending his own life there and then, and not knowing the true depth of his new friend's stubbornness, he certainly didn't expect Raditz to snatch the sword away and shove him back.
"I told you, I won't allow that!" The saiyan snarled, then stood up straighter. "Look, I promise you—we'll take care of it. Just have a little faith!"
"I…I want to, but…you're no match for it, I've seen that."
"Don't worry about me! How many times do I have to tell you?!"
"I…" Tapion slumped, defeated. "…hope you know what you're doing. Hrrr…you may…return…Hirudegarn!" For the last time…I pray…
The smoke burst forth again, darkening the sky and reforming the great beast, golden hide crackling as it became solid once more. It roared its freedom to the sky, looming larger than any building in the city it was barely held away from.
Raditz took a deep breath. You've been through so much, Tapion…I won't let you down now! My best shot is probably a Dragon Fist…But he didn't have the energy. Screw 'have'! I NEED it! "RRRRRRGGGHH…HAAAAA…" He blazed like a sun, power welling up from deep within. More…need…more!
"W-Woah…" Goku looked on in disbelief, struggling to lift his head. "I thought Raditz was just about done, but…his power's increasing!"
"GYAAAAAH!" Raditz stuck one arm out towards Hirudegarn, bracing it with the other. "DRAGON…FIST!" The noise was like a cannonade of the gods; the recoil sent him sliding back through the dirt, struggling to maintain his transformed state.
The explosion of energy before him was enormous—but after a brief moment of triumph, Hirudegarn strode through the flames, unharmed.
Why?! Raditz cried out internally, as Hirudegarn's blows began to rain down on him. Why aren't my attacks working? While unhurt, it was furious at the hindrace the saiyans had caused, and this was evident in the rising savagery of its blows. The Dragon Fist is an attack for killing enemies who're stronger than I am…and as for Goku's tenfold Kamehameha…I can feel Hirudegarn's ki, it's not that much stronger than us! He lost his Super Saiyan form under the onslaught. So why…why?!
At last, he fell and didn't get up, lying twitching on the edge of consciousness. I…don't have anything left…
Tapion watched, horrified. "And after such a powerful attack! He can't win, after all…" He glanced at his sword, lying only a short distance away. "Should I, again…?"
"Hold it right there, you overblown Godzilla rip-off!" A child's voice called.
"Hey, you promised I could say it, no fair!" A second wailed.
"Shh, Goten, we're trying to make a cool entrance, remember?"
"Oh, right!" Twin points of light burst into life as Vegeta Jr. and Goten powered up to Super Saiyan. They pointed, in unison, up at Hirudegarn—evidently whatever they were about to say was rehearsed.
"Prepare your—gyaah!" Vegeta jumped back to avoid an energy wave from the irked Hirudegarn's mouth. "Hey, no fair, we haven't attacked you yet! How do you even know we're your enemy?!"
"Well, we are," Goten pointed out.
"That's not the point!" The more serious half-breed fumed. "You know what, if that's how it is, then we'll skip the intro!"
"Okay, but you gotta remember to do three steps this time!"
"Yeah, well you just make sure you keep your fingers extended!"
"Are you mad?!" Tapion called out to them. "Whatever you're about to do, do it! Don't just argue all day!"
"Uh, right!" Goten agreed, not having time to pause and ask who this swordsman was, or what he had to do with the monster that had beaten Goten's father so easily.
Hirudegarn's tail flicked out towards them. Have to stall it! Tapion decided, quickly raising the magical ocarina to his lips and directing its power towards Hirudegarn, stunning it. I should be able to briefly hold it without actually having to seal it inside of me…hurry, you two!
"All right, let's do it!" Vegeta ordered. Goten nodded, and they stood a couple of paces away. "FUUUUU…" they chanted, shuffling exactly three steps towards each other and bringing their arms overhead in a one hundred and eighty degree arc, pointing towards each other in unison.
Tapion blinked a couple of times. No, I'm not dreaming. What are they doing?
"…SION!" As they said this, they sharply lifted one knee, quickly pointing it and both arms away from each other.
I hope it's not as mad as it—what?! Tapion's eyes widened as the ocarina began to tremble, then vibrate—then finally, it shattered. Oh…no…Hirudegarn's grown too strong! I can't contain it any more! Then the only hope, is…
The boys reversed their previous movement, planting their feet almost touching next to each other and swinging their hands back around, all four index fingers extending and just touching. A wave of white light enveloped the two, completely obscuring them from view. "HAAAAAAAAA!"
What? Tapion shielded his eyes. What did they do? Even Hirudegarn hesitated momentarily. The light gradually vanished, and they became visible.
No, not they—him. One person.
Goku stared open-mouthed. What's this…power?!
You know, with all the hype I've been doing for Even Further Beyond, it's probably now impossible for it to live up to some people's expectations. But with all the awesome stuff I've got planned…I'm gonna try, damn it.
Quick note: 'Pan' is an extremely well-chosen name.
-It is the word for bread in many languages, linking to food-based names like 'Gohan' (a homophone for the word for 'cooked rice'), and the other saiyans' vegetable-based names.
-Pan was a Greek mythological figure, who in the medieval period, due to his horned and hooved appearance, became associated with the Christian devil. This links to her mother's family (Hercule Satan; 'Videl' is an anagram for 'devil').
-Pan pipes are an instrument; in honour of Piccolo, perhaps? Though obviously this would be less applicable in this timeline.
-Could even be a reference to pants, in honour of Bulma's family…her Japanese name more literally translates to Buruma, or 'bloomers'…then you have Dr. Briefs, and Trunks.
Q: Not a real review, sorry, but you got me SO excited with the Hero of ages bit! The mistborn series is one of my favorites, and brandon sanderson is easily in my top 3 authors
A: Aww yeah, somebody gets it! (High five)
Q: I am surprised that the Dragon Fist destroyed the music box, but I'm guessing that's because it's some sort of mystical technique, right?
A: Yup. With Raditz's normal ki, even his strongest attack wouldn't have worked. Goku's Ryu-Ken could've done the same—the techniques are exactly the same power, regardless of the user's strength (strange, huh? /FORESHADOWING)
Q: Didn't Videl and Gohan just have their first cheek kiss at the tournament? How long has it been anyways?
A: A year since then. But it had been building steadily for a long time.
Q: Finally, how old were Gohan and Videl (before the 9-month timeskip)?
A: Uh, late teens, early twenties?
Q: Sigh... I'll miss Kuriza being relevant.
A: Not for too long, you won't—I SAID NOTHING
Q: Just a little commentary...Bills and Beerus,are the same name,one is simply the oriental form of reading that add us or os to the (doragon,isucurim,etc...) and to them l and r are like the same thing,they have only one kanji that is a hibrid of l and r...and other mistakes...you probably know,or not...just thought its interesting to keep this things in mind when dealing with japanese translations things...
A: Pretty much this.
Q: I love how you made pan be born earlier than usual, i guess Raditz's presence made Gohan more..."naughty" if you will xD
A: Not really. They just met earlier.
Q: Liking where this is going, and that dragon... I feel you named him after the Greek god of the forge for a reason. A reason that will likely cause great pain for our hero's. Love Gohan's reaction to finding out Videl is pregnant but, would personally have liked to see more interactions between everyone and a pregnant/hormonally-imbalanced-Videl.
A: I could've…I'm just not sure if I could have managed that without being overly stereotypical and possibly even offensive. I haven't known many pregnant women.
Q: Um i am confused. i never understood the bit about limits. i thought it was possible to go on forever getting stronger in kia so what do you mean?
A: Sort of. Eventually your rate of improvement slows down to the point where it's no longer practical, unless you're in Otherworld and have thousands of years to train. Which is why Vegeta needed to ascend to fight Cell, and why he stopped getting stronger after a while before he became a Super Saiyan the first time.
Q: What happened to Freeza after they fixed the hell escapee thing?
A: Sent/sucked back to Hell like the others.
Q: I was under the impression that the andriods could still get stronger.
A: Yeah, but only to the extent a normal human could, and it'd take a long time since they have zero 'natural' ki training to start with. It'd be like one of Gohan and Videl's schoolfriends trying to train their ki. They could do it, but it'd take a while to get any significant strength. And even then, it still would be a pretty small boost compared to their existing android power (so, for instance, after twenty years or so, Eighteen might get a boost similar to…saiyan saga Krillin's power. Woohoo. And that's assuming she gets the level of training he did, with Kami and so forth. Compare that to SSJ2+ levels…it's not that significant a boost to be too concerned with.).