Sorry for the late chapter, guys! I had writer's block for the first time in months…
Chapter 97: …He Will
To all the people trying to guess what's up with Hirudegarn's durability; this chapter, the answer. To all those trying to guess what's up with the Dragon Fist…sorry, you're gonna have to wait a while longer. But the answer is coming.
OH! Last-minute thing! Seriously, guys, look up Nassif9000 on deviantart.
BTtL Gohan SSJ3 fanart. It. Is. Amazing.
The result of the fusion was…different. He was about the same height as the kids, and his Super Saiyan hair took more after Vegeta's than Goten's, though the large bang hanging over his forehead certainly didn't; however, he was wearing an entirely new outfit to either of them. A dark sleeveless half-jacket, edged with puffy yellow trimmings at the neck and shoulders, accompanied by loose white pants.
When he spoke, just like Gokhan before him, it sounded as if his fusees were speaking in unison. "All right! It actually worked this time!" His face soon relaxed into a cocky smile—then he vanished under Hirudegarn's foot as it descended, smashing the ground beneath.
Careless! Tapion scowled.
Hirudegarn lifted its foot, grunting in mild surprise as it found nothing underneath; the fused warrior had vanished.
"You really have no sense of occasion," came the double-voice from high above. "I just did something flashy like that, and you go and interrupt me again!" Hirudegarn swung its head up, growling up at the fusion, who hung cross-armed in the air above it, frowning.
Goku smiled. "Now that's some speed! I almost couldn't keep up…"
"Grrrkh…" Hirudegarn snarled, a pair of energy bolts darting out from its eyes and striking its new foe head-on, driving him back through the air. "Kkhhh…" he grunted, finally halting his midair skid and throwing his arms out in an explosion of energy, miniature lightning bolts filling the air around him as Hirudegarn's attack was cancelled out. "Like that, huh? Both halves a'me can go Super Saiyan 2 now, so doing it fused was easy!" Hirudegarn merely roared in response. "Yeah, you're angry, 'cause your attacks aren't working. That's because you're still treating me like all the other people you've fought! Trust me—I'm one of a kind!" Momentary seriousness crept in under his grin. "I am Gogeta—the one who will destroy you!"
He raised his hands over his head, forming a brilliantly-shining sphere of energy. Vegeta had Goten's dad teach him all the attacks he saw Vegeta do…combine 'em with Goten's… "BIG BANG…KAMEHAMEHA!"
The blast, spinning in a manner that made its movements appeared ponderous, was in actuality launched down at Hirudegarn with incredible speed, far faster than the monster could react.
However, Gogeta couldn't even begin to celebrate before its terrible head reared up out of the blast, shrieking its defiance. Nothing! He realised, shocked. Leg muscles and tendons the size of office blocks tensed, then loosed themselves as the beast sprung, hurling its bulk up at Gogeta. "Gyaah!" he cried, lashing out instinctively with one foot and catching it on the chin, sending it sprawling to the ground again, face down. "Huh…?" How'd a simple kick do that…when my power focused into a blast like that failed…?
So he really is far stronger than Hirudegarn…Goku realised. Still, there has to be some trick to killing it! Hmm…being cut up worked last time, but Raditz's sword did nothing, even being made of the universe's hardest metal. Maybe… "Tapion!" He shouted, struggling to his feet. "Gimme your sword a sec! Let's see if whatever magic's in that thing is still good!"
"R-Right!" Tapion tossed the sword over, Goku catching it one-handed and holding it aloft. All right then…not really used to fighting with a sword, but how hard can it be?
Only a few metres away, Gogeta was darting back and forth, avoiding a string of frenzied strikes with an air of nonchalance, nevertheless curious to see Hirudegarn's full power.
Goku kicked off the ground, raising Tapion's sword over his head and nearing Hirudegarn's back. He spotted a gap between two armour plates and waited until it reared up to its full height for another few futile swings, then he struck, pouring on a burst of Kaioken energy and driving the enchanted sword into the weak spot. However, it glanced off without even leaving a mark, spinning out of his hands and clattering to the ground.
Damn, this too? Goku retreated before Hirudegarn could lash out at him, but its attention was still focused on Gogeta.
Tapion had been observing all this, however, and something in his mind finally clicked. "Wait…I've got it!"
"Huh?" Goku turned back towards him. "You know how to beat this thing?"
"Yes, I think so…twice it's been almost killed, and twice it's revived itself with a completely different appearance. It was cut in half first—and here on Earth, it couldn't be cut! Then you defeated it with an explosion of energy—and now it's immune to energy attacks!"
"Of course!" Goku replied, nodding. "It evolves to resist whatever got it last time…I guess that's why punching it still works. But how do we kill it without just making it stronger?"
"Well…according to the wizard who defeated it on Konats, the Kashvars animated its original statue form using a magic 'core'. We thought that doing enough normal damage to Hirudegarn would overload its core, but evidently one has to destroy it directly—it was too well-shielded for us to break, anyway." But for someone as strong as that boy… He cupped both hands around his mouth. "Gogeta! Only physical attacks will work on it now! But don't kill it, or it'll come back stronger!"
Gogeta spun a nimble loop around Hirudegarn's flailing arm, smiling lopsidedly. "Then what am I supposed to do? Ask it nicely to leave?"
"It has an enchanted core in the centre of the top half of its body! You have to destroy that to put it down for good!"
"Right, makes sense." Gogeta grinned. "Attack its weak point for massive damage." He somersaulted down towards Hirudegarn, landing gently on its wrist. "Can't have too much longer than twenty minutes of fusion left, so I'd better wrap this up. Right then!" He began to run, laughing as he easily kept his balance despite the monster's best attempts to shake him off. Reaching its elbow, he leapt, throwing a sharp uppercut packed with enough explosive force to throw Hirudegarn into a full backflip as it tumbled away through the air.
Gogeta painted a golden arc in the air as he flew back for a run-up, then sped back around towards Hirudegarn, both fists held out in front of his head, using his entire body as a missile. Sure, this'll work. It's too dumb to fail.
When he impacted, he punched through Hirudegarn's armour plating like a laser-guided dart through tissue paper. A spurt of something halfway between blood and smoke, and he vanished from sight.
Hirudegarn howled, thrashing around and stamping the ground, shaking the entire continent in its pain and fury. It flung its head back, roaring up to the sky. Finally, it shuddered, took a single step backwards, and…froze. Its shriek dwindled out, its movements subsided from swings to twitches to total stillness. Goku and Tapion cautiously approached, hope and fear rising in equal measure in their hearts.
"Is that…" Goku began, curious. "Yeah, it…huh."
Tapion put a cautious hand to Hirudegarn's now cold, grey leg. "It's…stone. It turned back into stone…which means…"
A strangely distant, echoing rumble came from above. A section of Hirudegarn's chest began to vibrate, then crack, then finally it exploded outwards in a burst of energy. Gogeta hopped down from the breach, holding the shattered remains of a black metallic orb in his hands. "So I guess this is it." It was enveloped in a dark glow which slowly faded as they watched, and was carved with jagged, eerily pulsing runes.
"Yes…that must be Hirudegarn's core!" Tapion's face lit up. "You…You really did it! You've killed Hirudegarn!"
"Was there ever any doubt?" Gogeta asked smugly. He rapped his knuckles against Hirudegarn's petrified ankle. "This thing was never a challenge—" He froze as the impact caused cracks to spider all the way up Hirudegarn's leg. They deepened, until the whole leg split apart, unbalancing the monstrous statue and toppling it to the ground, shattering it with an unearthly shriek of scraping stone. "Uh…oops."
"Damn," came Raditz's voice, the injured fighter on his feet and staggering towards them. "That would've made one hell of a trophy."
"Good riddance," Tapion said, smiling warmly. "I can't thank you all enough. Finally this shadow has been lifted…I can truly experience life again." Relief, even serenity passed over his features.
"Yeah, but can we experience some food first?" Goku asked, suddenly clutching at his stomach.
"Wasn't it lunchtime less than an hour ago?" Raditz asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Aw c'mon Raditz, you know us saiyans are big eaters," Goku said, grinning. "Let's go, I'm starving!"
Raditz sighed, shaking his head. "Even for a saiyan, you're not natural…"
There followed much eating, some assorted healing and defusing, and numerous other things that need not be detailed here, such as explaining to partners (in one case, explaining what took you so long while my poor baby was in this kind of condition; in the other case, explaining why you hogged all the fun I haven't had a decent fight in weeks do you know how bored I get, huh?!).
Tapion wanted to return home to Konats to see what state it was in after all these years, so it was decided that Raditz would teleport him there, with guidance from Zarbon, who'd memorised many space charts over the years using his Deep Sight.
The next morning, the three of them stood atop a tall dome-shaped building in West City; it was easier to go to Zarbon than to attempt to overcome his interminable laziness (which conveniently seemed to vanish whenever it came to staying perfectly in shape, much to the infuriation and appreciation, respectively, of most human males and females in his vicinity).
"Are you sure you want to go back?" He asked Tapion, jacket gently flapping in the mid-morning breeze. "After all this time, it could be completely alien to you—and seeing your home like that might be something of a shock."
Tapion nodded. "I thank you for your concern. But right now, everywhere is alien to me…at least I have somewhere to start. If I choose to move on from Konats, I'm sure I'll be able to procure a ship somehow." He turned to Raditz, unslinging his sheathed sword and holding it out. "Before I go…take this, please. I sincerely hope I will have no more use for it, and I wish I had a better way of thanking you."
Raditz pushed it back towards him. "It wasn't me who killed Hirudegarn. You don't owe me anything." He chuckled slightly. "And don't worry about the kids—if you gave it to them, they'd spend more time arguing over it than actually using it."
"You're all…too kind…I'm a total stranger, and yet…"
"Don't worry about it." Raditz put a hand on Tapion's shoulder, raising the other to his head to perform Instant Transmission, simultaneously scanning Zarbon's mind for directions. "I've received far more kindness than I deserved in my time…I know a guy, see, who always helps anyone he can, no matter what the situation. I used to think he was pretty dumb…and I guess he is. But, y'know…I realise now that he's the right kind of dumb. So…I've been trying to follow his example is all. Shall we go?"
"All right—wait, no!" Tapion held up a hand. "Last night, over dinner, I heard mention of 'Dragon Balls'. Am I correct in thinking that they can grant any single wish?"
Raditz lowered his arms. "Well…not any, but most, yeah."
"Would it…be possible to restore the life of my brother, Minotia? Hoi killed him on some distant planet…he died alone. It wasn't what he deserved."
"I suppose," Zarbon answered, "but he was most likely killed more than a year ago, correct? Earth's Dragon Balls can only restore someone who died within the past year."
"That's a problem, then…" Raditz agreed. "I suppose you could try Namek's, but…"
"But what?"
"Well, the Namekians aren't always too happy about people using them for personal issues. They tend to make it difficult, so only the worthy can use them." He shrugged. "Though we did kind of save their species from total annihilation a couple of times, not to brag of course, so we generally get special exceptions—we could ask them to bring back your brother for us."
"There's no need. Are they a just people?"
Zarbon nodded. "Infuriatingly so."
"Then there's no problem. Minotia's death was a complete injustice. You said the Namekians only grant worthy wishes—then I'll prove the worth of mine." He tightened his grip on his sword. "It's time I took responsibility for something. I'll bring my brother back myself."
"Well said!" Raditz grinned fiercely. "To Namek, then?"
Tapion nodded, fire in his eyes. "To Namek."
Later that day…
Launch and Raditz lay under the shade of a copse a few miles from their house; Break was at home, trying in vain to beat her mother's high scores on one game after another.
"You know…" Raditz said idly. "Something about a life-or-death fight like yesterday brings things into my mind. Important stuff I'd forgotten somehow."
Launch reached over, ruffling his hair. "Maybe all those blows to the head knock your ideas loose."
"Heh. But seriously. It made me recall. You had two personalities at one point, right? I mean…you said it might've been because of some stressful event activating a genetic thing. Do you not remember what happened? Did you repress it?"
"I…don't remember."
"So there's a blank in your memory? Wow, I can't believe I haven't asked this when we've been living together over a year."
She smiled. "Don't worry, I haven't brought it up either. But it's…sort of a blank, I guess?" She frowned. "See, I don't remember the first eighteen years of my life."
"…what? Really?"
"Really."
"You're sure I haven't asked you this?"
"I'm sure." She paused. "The earliest memory I have…I was hiking along a desert road. I flagged down a bus after, I don't know how long. The journey went on for hours—it was dark by the time we reached civilization. I remember looking in my backpack, finding a gun and some stolen food—couldn't remember the specifics of how I'd got it."
"Huh."
"I guess that must've been right after I first became the 'bad' me. The fact that it was so surprising, for one thing…I guess maybe it means the 'good' me is the original one."
"Who knows?" Raditz reasoned. "Maybe you were like you are now."
"I don't know, maybe." She sat up, facing him. "I just always got a more natural feeling in that 'form'. I think it was me. The 'bad' one was probably a broken mind's reaction to…whatever the hell happened to me. Could have something to do with the obsession with thievery and guns, I guess…I mean, it always used to be more specific than simple aggression…"
They fell silent for a minute, watching the shadows flow over the ground as the clouds blew by overhead. Eventually, Raditz spoke up. "To be honest…I don't care which version of you came first, or is 'real'. They're all real, they're all thinking people. More importantly, they're all you."
She laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like you, all right."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
No cliffhanger to end this one on, folks. Well, sort of. There is this kinda announcement thing:
Battle of the Gods is next.
Oh yes.
Going to have to skim the Q&A this time, a lot of reviews to cover and already running late…
Q: Also has the event that caused all the future seeing and timey wimey stuff happened yet? I cant remember.
A: That'd be Buu's tantrum, so yes.
Q: Oh my god. You've practically got me fangirling. I'm in tears because of how awesome and funny this story is. YOU. ARE. AWESOME!
A: High praise indeed.
Q: Now I SO want an Anime(-ated) version of this!
A: Me too!
Huh. I somehow expected that to take longer.
Next chapter will hopefully be on time, but if it isn't there'll be a note tacked onto this chapter by Sunday saying when it'll be.