Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Chosen One ❯ Chapter Forty-Three ( Chapter 43 )

Vegeta charged forward. Just as he was about to strike Rekhas, however, he vanished. Rekhas looked around for the Saiyan, but could not find him. Then, Rekhas was hit straight up into the ceiling.Vegeta flew upwards and pounded the Roxian emperor into the ceiling. He then grabbed Rekhas by the tail and threw him straight down. Vegeta charged after him, stopped just above him, and pounded the wind out of Rekhas with a series of constant punches. Vegeta jumped back and fired an energy blast, but Rekhas pulled a hip-up and jumped over it.

Rekhas stood in place, breathing heavily. A tiny stream of black blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth. "Not bad, Saiyan," he breathed. "But I bet you can't keep that up." He wiped the blood from his chin using the back of his hand. "Yes, you'll tire out after a few minutes."

"In a few minutes, you'll be dead!" Vegeta shouted. "And you'll spend the rest of eternity in Hell!"

"You'll have to spend the rest of your life in a personal Hell," Rekhas responded, " with the pain of surviving while your wife and the future form of your son did not."

"As if!" was Vegeta's response. "In this universe, there are things called Dragon Balls. When all seven are gathered together, a dragon is summoned and will grant wishes. All we need to do is travel back to Earth or to Namek and everything will be fine!"

Gohan's eyes widened. He knew the severity of the situation. "Vegeta! You shouldn't have told him that!"

Rekhas laughed. "The kid's right, Vegeta. You've just upped the ante. You see, when I'm through with you two, I'll use these Dragon Balls to make myself a god!"

Vegeta's eyes widened for a moment. Then, he returned to his scowl. "I don't have to worry! You see, I'll kill you here so you'll never get to use the Dragon Balls!" With that, he charged forward again. Vegeta began to move so fast that he was creating after-images, and made it appear as if he were flying straight at Rekhas. The Roxian emperor swung a fist, and found it to only be an after-image. Then Vegeta himself brought his hands down on the back of Rekhas's head. Rekhas was knocked into the floor while Vegeta hovered upward. He then shot his right hand out and yelled, "Fire Pillar!" A small spark came from Vegeta's hand and hit the ground next to Rekhas. When it hit, a giant column of flame erupted straight up. Rekhas managed to get out, but Vegeta could see a couple of burns. This gave him an idea. Instead of using his magic to create fire, he would try something else. He opened his palms and let heat flow from his hands. He clenched his fists and could still feel the heat coming from them. With his burns, Rekhas will be weak to heat! So, I'll just turn it up a little - literally!

Rekhas glared at Vegeta. "You will pay for that. The pain that these burns cause me will be dealt to you tenfold!"

Vegeta just stared back at Rekhas. That's it. Keep stalling, Rekhas. Every minute wasted will sway the fight in my favor.

Rekhas stayed in his spot, daring Vegeta to attack. What a fool. He has no idea what I'm doing. Well, I'm not going to initiate an attack.

"What are you waiting for?" Rekhas shouted. Vegeta showed no sign of recognition and continued to bleed heat into the air. "Come on!" Rekhas shouted, but once again Vegeta did not respond. "You're testing my patience, Saiyan!"

"Do you really think I'd attack when you tell me to?" Vegeta asked. "I'm not as stupid as you look."

"Arrgh! That's it! Now I'm mad!" Rekhas shouted and charged forward.

Vegeta grinned. That's what I was hoping for. Vegeta moved quickly out of the way of the attack, and reappeared behind Rekhas. The Roxian emperor swung his fist at the Saiyan king, but Vegeta dodged it with ease. Rekhas then turned himself around fully, and let loose with all four fists. Vegeta was too quick, however, and dodged every punch thrown at him. Dropping down, Vegeta planted his left foot into Rekhas's armored stomach. While not breaking the armor, it had enough force to send the emperor flying into the wall of the dome. Rekhas pulled himself away from the dome and charged once again at Vegeta. This time, however, he stopped short and fired a volley of energy blasts. The blasts headed toward a seemingly still Vegeta, but they went right through him. Vegeta had been moving faster than the eye could see. -43-

Gohan watched the battle intently. He had no knowledge of what the Saiyan king was doing, so to him, it looked like Vegeta was merely toying with Rekhas. Gohan knew that to be a dangerous move, since Rekhas was only fighting at half power. If Vegeta didn't finish off the Roxian emperor soon, he could reach full strength and overwhelm the Saiyan king. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm. Gohan turned around and saw Sephra.

"You're still here?" Gohan asked. "You should have left."

Sephra shook her head. "I can't leave, remember? Besides, I wouldn't leave you guys if I had a choice. I care about each and every one of you too much to abandon you."

Gohan frowned. "But the fighting here is dangerous. I know that there is a dome surrounding Rekhas and Vegeta right now, but if Vegeta were to be defeated, Rekhas would probably eliminate the dome since I'd be the only fighter left."

Sephra nodded. "I know," she said. "But when the dome goes down, I can heal you if you get injured."

"But Rekhas would see you and kill you," Gohan responded. "I gave your father my word that I would protect you."

Sephra bit her lip. "Right."

Gohan looked at Sephra with a sudden expression of concern. "Hey. You scared?"

Sephra nodded. "I'm sure I look weak to a battle veteran like yourself."

"Not at all," replied the young half-Saiyan. "Every time I walk onto the battlefield, I'm scared. Don't get bravery and fearlessness confused. Everyone experiences fear. It's the brave ones who face their fears. To tell you the truth, I'm afraid right now. After seeing what that tyrant did to my friends, I'm plenty afraid. I'm even afraid for Vegeta right now. And if he falls, I know I'm all on my own. But I know what I need to do if that happens. I've faced my fears on many occasions - such as fighting Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, and Cell - and I've come out alive. I just focus on what I need to do, and I'll be fine."

Sephra continued to watch the battle overhead. Then she suddenly turned to Gohan. "Um, Gohan, may I ask you a favor?"

Gohan looked back at Sephra. "What's up?"

"Can you . . . Will you hold my hand?" Sephra asked, turning red.

Gohan's own cheeks flushed, but nonetheless, he smiled. "Sure," he responded as he intertwined his fingers with those of the Gabrian princess. -43-

Rekhas threw punch after punch, but Vegeta continued to dodge them with minimal effort. Rekhas was getting angrier and angrier. "RRRAAAAAAAGGGHH! WHY DO MY PUNCHES ALWAYS MISS YOU?!"

Vegeta responded to the Roxian emperor by diving down and sinking his fist into his stomach. "Because I'm just that good," he casually remarked. Jumping up, he caught Rekhas with a kick to the side of the head. The tyrant was sent flying into the dome.

Using his glove, Vegeta wiped his brow, which had become moist with sweat. Why am I sweating? It's not like I'm trying. Wait! Of course! The room is finally heating up!

Rekhas slowly climbed to his feet. From the way the lights were shining on him, Vegeta could tell that he was sweating as well. It also appeared that the villain was in pain.

Rekhas stared at the burn on his arms. "Urgh . . . why is it . . . so hot . . . in here?"

"I'll show you why!" Vegeta shouted as he charged. He pulled his fist back and it became engulfed in flames. He then drove the fist into the burn on Rekhas's arm, causing him to scream out in intense pain. He then kicked Rekhas in the stomach, sending him flying into the throne. Vegeta then backed up into the air and spread out his arms and legs. The Saiyan king's power level continued to rise, and a sphere of energy formed in each hand. He then brought his arms forward.

"FINAL FLASH!!"

A massive beam of energy erupted forth from Vegeta's hands and shot straight at Rekhas. The blast hit the throne and exploded, engulfing the entire area in bright light and dust. Vegeta let his arms down and waited for the dust to clear. When it did, clear, however, Vegeta was greeted with an unusual, yet unsettling, sight. Rekhas was still standing. Now, however, he was wearing what appeared to be a scuba kit.

"You are a fool, Vegeta," Rekhas said through the breathing mask. "You hit me just where I needed to go! This breathing apparatus contains oxygen refined from the fission process of the krypton! Now watch this!"

Rekhas began taking several deep breaths. As he did so, the burns on his body healed completely. He then removed the apparatus. "You see, radiation gives us unbelievable abilities! Now, to deal with this heat." He snapped his fingers and a large vent opened overhead. The temperature dropped quickly, and was soon back at room temperature level.

"All right, I'm done humoring you," Rekhas remarked. "Not even you are strong enough to justify me using my full strength against you. You may be able to handle me now, but you will not be able to defeat me when I am using three-quarters of my full strength!" An aura of green energy surrounded the emperor as he began to power up.

Vegeta crossed his arms and watched. He would wait until Rekhas was done powering up and then finish the fight. Then, he heard Gohan's voice:

"Vegeta! Attack him while he's powering up!"

Vegeta spun around to face Gohan. "No! I'm going to let him power up as he sees fit! That way, when I beat him, he will know who the better fighter truly is!"

"No, Vegeta!" Gohan shouted. "You're making the same mistake I did with Cell! If you wait, you'll be playing into his hand!"

"Look, Gohan, I know what I'm doing!" Vegeta shouted. He looked Gohan directly in the eyes.

Gohan gasped. He knew what Vegeta was going to do. "No, Vegeta! You don't have to go through with this!"

Remaining silent, Vegeta turned away from the young man. Unbelievable. I just can't believe I'm doing this. I, the king of all Saiyans, am sacrificing myself to aid a young adult. But times change, and people change with time.

The green light died down. "I am now at seventy-five percent of my full power," Rekhas said. "Prepare to die!"

Rekhas cut right to it and fired a large energy blast from his hands. Vegeta braced for impact and took the blast head-on. He began to struggle with it, as he was pushed closer and closer to the wall of the dome. Rekhas added more power, accelerating the rate at which Vegeta was reaching the wall. Then, Vegeta launched the blast up at an angle, away from him. The blast went through the dome and broke through the ceiling, causing rubble to fall.

"YEEEK!"

Gohan, Vegeta, and Rekhas all turned toward the sound. Sephra had been hit by some of the rubble and was lying on the ground. Gohan rushed over.

"Sephra!" Gohan shouted. "Oh, no, Sephra! Please be all right!" Gohan shook her gently, but she did not stir. Gohan then placed his index and middle fingers on the Gabrian princess's neck and found a pulse. "Okay, good. She's still alive. She's just unconscious."

Rekhas looked at Vegeta, who seemed terribly worn out by the last attack. "Well, Vegeta, looks like I won't be able to blast you into oblivion. Consider yourself lucky." He then lifted a finger and shot a beam right through Vegeta's chest. "Or not! Bwahahahaha!"

"VEGETA!" Gohan yelled as Vegeta fell to the ground. The force carried the king back several feet, and the dome deactivated. Vegeta hit the ground and Gohan ran up to him.

Gohan looked at the wound. "OK. It's not that bad. We'll get Sephra to heal you up right away."

"No . . ." Vegeta said. "It won't help . . . I'm done for . . . again . . . This is the same way . . . that Frieza killed me . . ."

Gohan hesitated. Vegeta was right. "Gah. I couldn't help. I'm not strong enough."

Vegeta looked at Gohan, puzzlement in his eyes. "Not strong enough? Don't be foolish. Gohan, you're stronger than all of us put together. Besides, you have the ability to beat Rekhas. Remember, the prophecy . . ."

"Yes, but the prophecy only said that I was the only one who could beat him. It never said that I would."

"Gohan . . .You are Saoshyant," Vegeta said before breaking into a coughing fit. A small bit of blood dribbled from his mouth. "You are the reincarnated savior. You can, and you will, do this."

"I don't understand, though," Gohan said. "When you died on Namek, you were mourning for yourself. Now, you're trying to help me."

"That's because I was dying with regrets," the king answered. "Now, my only regret is that I have but one life to give to help protect the universe."

Gohan looked down. "I don't know if I can do it," he murmured.

"Yes you can," Vegeta breathed. "If you ever feel helpless, you must remember. You are a Saiyan. Even though your human blood prevents you from having a battle lust, you still have the aptitude for fighting that comes with all Saiyans."

"Yes," Gohan said. "You're right. I am a Saiyan. I may not like to fight, but at least I can."

Vegeta reached down with his right hand for something. "Gilgamesh . . . I need Gilgamesh . . ."

Gohan grabbed the hilt of Vegeta's sword and pulled it out of its scabbard. He then placed it in Vegeta's hand. Feebly, the Saiyan king lifted it up and placed it on Gohan's shoulder. "I now proclaim you Sir Gohan, captain of the Saiyan Royal Knights."

Gohan was surprised. He didn't know what else to say. "So, I have been knighted. I am honored. Thank you."

"Don't thank me . . ." Vegeta responded. "You've done more than enough to help me. Just do one more thing. Win. You . . . must . . . win . . ." Vegeta's eyelids then drooped and his neck muscles relaxed.

Gohan stood up, tears silently rolling down his cheeks. He picked up Vegeta's lifeless body and brought it over to the edge of the room. "Vegeta . . . You truly did become a good person. Your sacrifice will not be in vain. This I swear."

Rubbing his glove against his cheeks, Gohan looked up. Slowly, he turned around to face Rekhas. One step at a time, he made his way to his archenemy. No sound was made except for the tapping sound that Gohan's boots made as he walked. The tension in the air was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.

The battle to decide the fate of the universe was about to begin.