Dragonball Super Z http://hometown.aol.com/juuhachigouda/dbszfic.html By: Juuhachi-gou and MiraiBulma Dragonball Z Dead Man's Party: Part Three "Don't Be Afraid" Got my best suit and my tie Shiny silver dollar on either eye I hear the chauffeur comin' to the door Says there's room for maybe just one more ~*~ When the Papaya Stadium had been rebuilt, one of the additions was a huge banquet hall, used for post-tournament celebrations as well as other lesser events in the three-year interval between Tenkaichi Budoukai, to encourage the upkeep and maintenance of the facility. The first post-Budoukai celebration was in full swing, and all were in good spirits. Marron noticed a grey-cloaked figure hovering near the doorway, and approached. The gleam of a gloss-white mask confirmed the man's identity. "Why don't you join the party?" she asked, giving him her best smile. The dark eyes behind the mask focused on her. "That woman," he said. "The one who carried you from the ring. That's...Android 18, isn't it?" "Juuhachi-gou, yes," she said. "She's not an android, she's a cyborg, and she's my mother." A slight stiffening of the shoulders. "...mother?" "Yes." Marron jutted out a defiant chin. "She destroyed most of the people on this planet. She's a murderer." "No, she wasn't. She was being controlled by Dr. Gero, who hated all of humanity and especially Son Gokou. Gero programmed her and her twin to kill Gokou-san." She nodded towards a small knot of people near the table. "Does it look like she's trying to kill him now? I tell you, she's not evil, and she's sorry for the terrible things she did." *And if you can't deal with it, you can take it up with me*, she added silently. *Hottie or not.* Kamen turned his back on her, his black gloves fisting at his sides. "I came here," he said in a low voice, "to kill her." Marron gasped. "She murdered my family, she and her...brother. I came to this competition so I would have the chance to avenge them." "But..." She swallowed hard. "You're barred from the Budoukai if you kill your opponent..." "I didn't care about the Budoukai. I only cared about getting vengeance for the people I loved. And now...you say it wasn't her will to do what she did to them." "It wasn't," Marron said at once. "If it were, she'd still be doing it, wouldn't she?" "I don't know." Kamen sighed. "Perhaps I was mistaken." He walked out the door into the late afternoon. "Wait!" Marron ran after him. "Look, I can understand you being angry about your family; my father and mother were murdered before my eyes." Kamen paused, looked back. "I thought she was your mother." "She is! Oh--look, it's tough to explain, okay? The point is, I know what it's like to lose people you love. Just be sure you blame the right people for it." "Where can I find this 'Dr. Gero'?" Marron shook her head, her pigtails swinging. "He died a long time ago." "Then there's nothing left for me here." And he kept walking. "Hey, come on, I--" A flash of dying sunlight off polished metal in the sky drew Marron's gaze upward. As she watched, it drew closer, and she cocked her head uncertainly. When she glanced back at the road, Kamen was gone. She felt a brief twist of disappointment, but quickly brushed it aside and returned her gaze to the approaching newcomer. Slowly she backed towards the door, feeling the flesh on the back of her neck prickling--a sure sign of approaching danger. "Uhm, guys," she called back into the room, "are we expecting anybody else this late...?" If anyone heard her, no one had time to respond. With a resounding crash! the metal-clad figure smashed into the roof of the banquet hall, scattering celebrants right and left. As the dust settled, a massive humanoid shape, taller and broader than even Piccolo, rose to its feet. It appeared to be a male with a reasonably young face, but incredibly old-looking eyes. A shock of fire-red hair bisected an otherwise clean-shaven scalp. "Where is Son Gokou?" the man demanded, in a voice both flat and chilling. "I must find him." "Who?!" Juuhachi-gou stared at him, feeling she should know him, without knowing why--then she saw the double-triangle emblem on his breast, emblazoned with twin white Rs. "Red--Red Ribbon?!" she gasped. "Sugoi!" Trunks breathed. "Juuroku-gou da!" "Gohan," Videl muttered to her husband, "we have to get these people out of here. There's going to be a fight. We can come back and help once everyone else is safe." "Ha-hai," Gohan nodded, hurrying after his wife as she began to herd non-combatants toward the fire exits. "Number...Sixteen?" Juuhachi-gou looked at the hulking male again. "You mean...he's like me?" "Yes and no--he's totally mechanical. I saw him in the Past Time. He has one purpose..." Trunks swallowed hard. "Kill Son Gokou." "Where is Son Gokou?" Juuroku-gou repeated in his frighteningly hollow baritone. "I'm Gokou." The fighter in question stepped forward, with an easy smile. "What can I do for you?" Juuroku-gou looked at him, nodded once and raised one hand. "Die." "Matte yo!" Juuhachi-gou vanished from Trunks' side and reappeared in front of the massive android, her arms outstretched. She looked pitifully small in comparison. She looked up at him with wide, earnest eyes as pale as his. "Juuro--Juuroku-gou, I'm Juuhachi-gou. You don't need to do this. Gero is dead, and his vendetta died with him. Gero was the one who hated Gokou, who's done nothing to harm us. Juuroku-gou, you have to listen to me!" Apparently Juuroku-gou believed he had to do no such thing. Wordlessly he reached out, an almost regretful expression in his gaze, and grabbed hold of one of Juuhachi-gou's arms, flinging her carelessly aside. She smashed through the wall and outside before she could stop herself, making an imprint in the bricks on the other side of the arena twice again as deep as the impression Gohan had left earlier in the day. As she fell, the wall collapsed on top of her. "Juu-chan!!" Trunks shouted, flying after her. "Okay, you big bruiser," Piccolo snarled, "let's see if the bigger really do fall harder." He touched two clawed fingers to his brow. "Makanko Sappou!" he shouted, and the blast corkscrewed out from between his eyes, striking the android square in his massive back. It flashed off his golden armor and dissipated without leaving a mark. Juuroku-gou didn't even turn around. "Gokou!" ChiChi shouted, trying to shield the wailing Pan. "Do something, quick!" Gokou nodded once--and took off, smashing yet another hole in the roof. Without hesitation, Juuroku-gou followed. ~*~ "Juu-chan!" Trunks called, tossing brickwork left and right in a struggle to reach her. "Answer me!!" The rubble shifted, and Juuhachi-gou stood up, dusting herself off. "Well, that wasn't fun. He's one strong hunk of circuitry, I'll give him that." "Juuroku-gou is stronger than either you or Juunana-gou," Trunks told her. "Maybe stronger than the both of you put together." "Now you tell me." She shook red-brick dust out of her silken hair and looked up. "Uh-oh, looks like Gokou's taking this sideshow on the road." "Nn?" Trunks followed her gaze and saw two figures flying off towards the west. "Gokou-san's leading Juuroku-gou away from the island. We've got to help him--he doesn't stand a chance alone against that monster." "He's not alone, if you'll notice the little party following after him; but your point is taken." Juuhachi-gou launched herself into the air with an idle kick. "And watch who you're calling a 'monster'. Fully mechanized or not, he's essentially the same as I am." Trunks took off after her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean--" She glanced back over her shoulder at him with a gentle smile. "I know you didn't. Come on." ~*~ The wind rushed past Gokou hard enough to bring tears to his eyes, but he didn't dare slow his flight. He could sense the hulking form following him, matching his pace with flawless precision. He couldn't feel any ki from Juuroku-gou, but he could detect a sense of thereness just the same--the hole where a living creature wasn't, but should be. *I gotta get him far away as I can. If he's as powerful as I think he is, he could destroy the whole Earth trying to get to me! I can't let that happen. No matter what.* Farther back he could sense others following: Gohan, of course, and Goten; then Piccolo, and close behind them, Rinriku and his friend Chamuya-- *Kuririn. And our friend, Yamcha. Ano...this is going to get confusing! Too much thinking makes my head hurt...no time to think about it now. Got to concentrate on stopping Juuroku-gou before he destroys the Earth...before he destroys me. I'm not ready go back to Tengoku yet.* ~*~ "What IS going on?!" Vegeta landed, Bulma held fast in his arms, and looked around at the rubble-strewn remains that had been the banquet hall. Beside him, Bra also looked around, eyes shocked. "Oh, no..."Bulma surveyed the wreckage with wide, dismayed eyes. "What could have happened?" "Bulma-san? Is that you?" A shadow across the floor. "Marron-chan! Thank Kami. What in the world--" Marron stepped in, face pale. "A..Another jinzouningen. He just... just showed up and burst in. He said he was here to kill Gokou- san. When Kaa-san tried to stop him, he threw her into the wall, like she was no stronger than a kitten. Gokou-san took off to lure him away. He didn't really seem interested in anyone but Gokou-san..." Marron broke off, yelping a bit as Vegeta exploded into Super Saiyajin. "Vegeta--" Bulma began, then fell silent as Vegeta's gaze turned her way. For just the measure of a heartbeat he stood there, looking at her. Then he shifted that flat stare to Marron. "Watch her," he said simply. Lifting two fingers to his forehead, much as they'd seen Gokou do, he closed his eyes, brows knitting in concentration. The next second he simply blinked out of existence. "Shoot," Bulma swore. "Where did he learn that? And how dare he leave me behind?!?!" Miles away, as he reappeared, Vegeta could've answered her, if he'd wanted to. Whatever tenuous bond had grown between him and the low-born warrior in their years on Earth and in Heaven had only gotten deeper since their Fusion and that... incident... in the Past Time. There was a door, now, where no door had ever been, and at a moment's notice he could swing it wide and walk down the halls of the other Saiyajin's mind as he pleased. No secrets kept, no knowledge hidden; he'd picked the Shuken Idou out of Kakarott's memories as easily as taking a peach from its branch during their fight with Aisuzu. Of course, the door swung both ways, and he didn't like that at all. But Kakarott showed very little interest in opening it. --Well, that wasn't quite true. At night he often felt Kakarott's thoughts turn to him before sleep, like a hand in the dark making sure he was still there. Most times he responded with the equivalent of a cuff to the head; once in a great while they would sit and talk in the spaces between. Mostly about Vegetasei and what it was to be a Saiyajin. Kakarott's memories of what he had been would never return, that much Vegeta knew. That blow to the head so many years ago had completely obliterated what knowledge of Vegetasei the other Saiyajin's mind had held. Even now, with his brain fully restored, Kakarott's Saiyajin traits came from the call of his blood, not from any teachings of his infancy. But he had, now, thanks to Vegeta, some glimmering of the way things had been, and it was a strange satisfaction to give him his heritage back. To show Kakarott his true place in the cosmos, and simultaneously make sure he didn't go poking about where Vegeta didn't want him to go. Not that he ever had, the more fool he. Any reasonable man would've pressed home this unexpected advantage, or at least struggled to keep his own thoughts from becoming an open book. But Kakarott didn't... and he had no need to, did he. Vegeta's lip curled in irritation. *Man, does Kakarott have to be right about everything?!* he thought, frustrated. *At least where it comes to me? Who told him I wanted this kind of (Trust. Loyalty.) weak sentimentality around?* Still, it was useful. A new technique learned with little effort, and it was convenient to always be able to lay hand to Kakarott, so to speak. To know where the other Saiyajin was and what he was doing as if it was Vegeta's own body, his own eyes, that moved and saw. Like now, for example. On the horizon he could see two forms rocketing his way, and he folded his arms, a smirk flitting over his features. This time no one would stop him from reducing the jinzouningen to so many pieces of scrap metal. ~*~ Gokou glanced back and snarled a bit under his breath as he saw how close the jinzouningen was. The big man certainly wasn't slow, despite his size. And if he was anything like Gero's other creations, he had one distinct advantage over his target; even something as basic as flying took energy, and Gokou would eventually grow tired, begin to slow down. The cyborgs never wore down, never wore out. Their artificial energies didn't depend on heart and breath and muscle. They had no need of rest or food. I better stop and fight now, Gokou decided, looking at the deserted area beneath them. I'll need everything I got for this one, could be. No use in going any further. He arced over and landed lightly, dropping into a fighting stance as his pursuer also landed. "Why you want me dead anyway?" he asked, half from curiosity and half to buy himself a few moments to rest. "What'd I ever do to you? Who are you anyway?" "It is my program," the jinzouningen said simply. "I am Juuroku- gou, Artificial Human Number Sixteen. I am a completely cybernetic construct assembled by Gero-hakase. You are simply the one I was made to destroy. " "And after I'm gone?" Unwavering china-blue eyes stared back. "Then, I imagine, I will shut down, or self-destruct." The great head turned slightly, surveying the area. "This planet ... has beauty. I would not destroy that." Gokou blinked. Several times. "You... like the way it looks out here?" A silence as the artificial human considered. "Yes," he finally answered simply. "As I liked the cities and forests we flew over. I have no desire to see them ruined. My only concern is your destruction. No one else will need to... fear me." He also stanced. "Son Gokou, prepare to die." "Yamero!" Dropping out of the sky, Vegeta leveled a hand at Juuroku-gou. "Enough, machine. Your game ends here." "Vegeta!" Gokou gasped. "How-- I know you're a fast flyer, de mo... how'd you get here?!" Vegeta smirked and tapped his forehead with two fingers. "You're not the only one that knows that trick anymore, remember, Kakarott? You yourself showed me how it was done. I have several surprises in store for our next fight. But first, I'm here to clean up the trash." "I am not interested in fighting you, Prince Vegeta," Juuroku-gou answered. "My only target is Son Gokou. Step aside or I'll be forced to move you." "Nani?" Vegeta laughed. "Meirei shinaide, kikai no omocha. Don't even begin to tell me what to do." "I don't want to fight you," the jinzouningen repeated. "Move aside. I'm here to kill Son Gokou." "Don't want to fight me?" Vegeta's mouth twisted in a fierce grin. "Too bad. You'll be even less amusing if you don't fight, but I'll manage to enjoy myself anyway." In a flare of energy he took off straight at Juuroku-gou, fists seeming to become twin streaks of light as he hammered in punch after punch at the android. Juuroku-gou took all the blows without flinching, then brought his fists down hard atop Vegeta's shoulders as the Saiyajin stepped back.. Vegeta's face contorted in pain, but he didn't slow down in the least. Flying up, he came down feet first, like a piledriver, forcing Juuroku-gou to his knees with the impact; then he began to snap punches at the face, left- right-left-right in a chain of strikes too fast to follow, and finished by clasping his hands together and cracking them against Juuroku-gou's chin hard enough to send the android flying several hundred yards to one side. Whirling, Vegeta flattened both palms as Juuroku-gou stood up. "Renzoku Energy Dan!" Burst after burst of ki pummeled the artificial human, shrouding him in dust and smoke. With a final shout, Vegeta flung one enormous blast that rang like a thousand cannons in the afternoon air, then lowered his hands and smirked. "So much for your pathetic ideas of challenging me," he said, and turned. "Taking notes, Kakarott?" Gokou glanced at Vegeta, then turned his gaze to the slowly dissipating cloud. "I dunno, Veg--look out!" he shouted as something lanced through the haze to slam into Vegeta's back, flinging him forward to skid along on his face straight into an outcropping of rocks. As he impacted, Juuroku-gou flew out of the dust, picking up his left hand and snapping it back into place on its arm before continuing onward to seize Vegeta by the back of his head and begin trying to push him bodily through the remainder of the rockface. Taking a running start, Gokou snagged the Nyoibo off his back and slammed one end to the ground. "Nyoibo, nobasu!" he shouted, letting his own momentum and the staff's extension combine into a flying vault kick that sent Juuroku- gou spinning away. "*kkkk* Chigau yo!" Vegeta shouted, pulling himself free. "Get away from there, Kakarott! This piece of cybernetic junk is mine, do you hear? I don't need your help!" "De mo, Vegeta, he's really stro--ack!" Gokou broke off as Juuroku-gou, with an unexpected burst of speed, kipped up and grabbed him by the throat, driving him into the ground, fingers tightening as he leaned his entire weight on the Saiyajin. As Vegeta charged, the android leveled his other hand, the wrist pivoting down to reveal the entire arm was a gun barrel, and fired a blast, driving Vegeta back into the boulders again and sending them down atop him, burying him. He then snapped his free hand back up and locked it on Gokou's throat also. Choking, Gokou doubled up his legs and kicked hard, once, twice, three times into Juuroku-gou's stomach, trying to drive him back or loosen his grip. The jinzouningen never wavered, continuing to push Gokou into the ground, shattering it with the Saiyajin's body as his handhold tightened. The world began to gray out as the chokehold shut off not just Gokou's air but the flow of blood to his brain. With one last effort, he lifted a wavering hand to Juuroku-gou's face and fired a blast straight into the android's eyes. Stunned for a second, Juuroku-gou's hands loosened, and Gokou desperately tried to get his own fingers in under his opponent's to break the hold. Behind them, the pile of boulders exploded as Vegeta shot out, flying at the giant for a shoulder slam that drove him off-balance. With a mighty gasp, Gokou tore loose the hands that'd been strangling the life out of him and flew up also, dragging Juuroku-gou along. Flipping, he flung Juuroku-gou at the ground as hard as he could, firing a Kamehameha after him for good measure. He could taste blood in the back of his mouth as he struggled to catch his breath, throat raw and aching. *Can't let him get his hands on me again, that was too close.* Seizing his chance, Vegeta moved in on the other side, hands raised. "Finalllll...Flash!!" Energy exploded from his hands and struck Juuroku-gou, tearing a hole in his side through which they could see the spark and flash of wiring. Juuroku-gou simply looked down, expressionless, to study the damage, then nodded and looked up again. "Your strength has increased from the initial parameters I was given," he said. "However, my total power output still exceeds yours." Grinding his teeth, Vegeta raised a hand. "Exceed this, you stainless steel sasori," he growled, and fired. Juuroku-gou's palm raised and a matching beam shot out, locking with Vegeta's and swelling into a globe of ki that wavered back and forth as both combatants raised the power expended in turn. For several minutes they struggled; then Juuroku-gou shook his head, almost ruefully, and raised the other hand. Energy roared from it, joining his previous effort and swallowing up Vegeta as it blew through the Saiyajin's beam. As the smoke cleared it revealed a trench nearly half a mile long, at the end of which Vegeta lay unmoving. "Now, Son Gokou..." With a rush, Juuroku-gou was on top of Gokou, fists arcing in to batter at his ribs. The Saiyajin stood his ground, blocking the punches--but even blocking them rattled his teeth. *He's too much! I gotta raise the stakes a little, see if can I even this out.* Flying back a few yards, Gokou concentrated, flaring into Super Saiyajin. As he did he saw shapes drop from the skies, angling over to land near the fallen Prince. *Good, they can see to Vegeta. I got other things to worry about right now.* "Oiiii, he's out cold," Goten said, prodding Vegeta's chest. "That must be some kind of strong guy, ne, Trunks? You wanna Fuse now? I bet we could beat him if we Fused!" "Goten, now is not the time to be bringing that up with me." Trunks felt his father's pulse, letting out a half-held breath as he found it strong and steady. "He'll be all right, but he's not going to be happy when he comes around." "Gokou's not having the best time of it either," Piccolo observed, which brought everyone's attention to the fight. Rinriku took a half-step forward, then clenched his fists, scowling. *Nope, nope, I gotta stay cool, never mind how much every nerve in my body is screaming 'go DO something, that's your best friend out there, you had to watch him die once already, let's not make it twice'.* He glanced up at Chamuya, who was also watching intently. *He feels it too. He doesn't know why, but this fight's real important to him. Cham, I wish I could tell ya why it matters so much. But you've gotta remember on your own, if you remember at all; that's part of the whole reincarnation deal. I got off lucky...or maybe not so lucky. I've gotta pretend this is just a scrap I wanna get a piece of. Man, this really bites the cosmic hot dog.* **Haven't changed a bit, have you, shorty.** *Nope, I sure ha-- puh-puh-PICCOLO?!?* Rinriku turned amazed eyes on the Namekseijin. **Who did you think it was, Santa Claus?** One side of Piccolo's mouth lifted in what might've been a shadow of a smile. **Did you really think once I got a good look at you I couldn't tell what was going on? I used to be Kami in these parts, Kuririn.** *Um... * heh heh * yeah, that you were, Piccolo. So how's it hanging?* **It doesn't, and you ought to remember that.** A snort. **So Yamucha doesn't remember who he was. What about Tienshinhan and Chao Tsu?** *Dunno. I haven't heard from either of them. I know they got reincarnated, same as me and Yamcha, but where they are right now is anyone's guess. --Hey, you think Gokou's gonna be all right out there? That metal guy doesn't show any signs of getting any slower.* **If he isn't going to be all right, you'll be right along with the rest of us in finding it out.** *....Same old Piccolo, no help at all.* **Deal with it, cueball head.** *HEY! I'm not shaving my head any more! --Well, okay, maybe along the sides.* **You're a lot stronger too.** Piccolo turned, now, and regarded Rinriku/Kuririn. **A lot stronger. You'd be almost a match for a Super Saiyajin if you cut loose.** *You.. you think so?!* **Hello, Chikyu to Kuririn, are you receiving. --Idiot. When have you ever known me to make an observation like that without being right?** Aloud Piccolo said, "Juuhachi-gou. What can you tell us about the other jinzouningen?" "I wasn't aware I was suddenly an expert on the machinations of Gero's twisted little mind." Juuhachi-gou swept her hair back behind her ears and thought. "I didn't know there were any of Gero's cyborgs left besides myself. I don't think he is a cyborg, in any event. I don't detect any organic components in him at all--he seems to be a completely robotic construct, a true android. But why would Gero go back to a human base if he'd been so successful with a totally mechanical--" Rinriku's thin thread of patience snapped. "Listen, babe, couldja save the technobabble for after we beat this guy?! Gokou's gonna get trashed out there!" "All right, all right! I'm thinking." Juuhachi-gou's high, pale forehead creased a bit as she concentrated. "He is phenomenally powerful. More so than I am. If he's got a built-in weakness, I can't detect it." Trunks' blue eyes narrowed, his right hand clenching and unclenching as though he wanting to reach for the sword sheathed on his back. "What about an off-switch? If he's just an android, couldn't we just switch him off?" "Switch him--yatta!" With a joyful laugh, Juuhachi-gou took Trunks' face in her hands and kissed him hard on the mouth. "Have I told you lately that I love you? You're a genius, Murasakige!--Listen, I've got to go--I'll be back as quick as I can--until then, just...just try to survive," she finished, casting a pale-eyed look of entreaty around the group. "All of you." With that, she spun on her heel, kicked off into the air and sped out of sight. "D-aah..." Chamuya scuffed at his forelock. "What was that all about?" Trunks was watching the dwindling speck that was Juuhachi-gou. "Juu-chan asked Kaa-san to make a controller," he said quietly. "In case she...in case she turned on us some day. In case she ever became the killer that she was before. So that we could stop her before she hurt anyone. Juuhachi-gou...she's always been terrified of that." "Ano..." Goten breathed. He gave Trunks a curious look. "So you think it'll work on Juuroku-gou too?" Trunks shook his head. "I don't know. But it might be our only hope." "Trunks-kun..." Goten bit his lip hard. "Tou-san may not hold out long enough for her to get back." Trunks growled in the back of his throat. "What other choice do we have, Goten?" "......anooooo..." Blue eyes narrowed to slits. "No. Not that." "De mo..." Goten cast anxious eyes at the open plain where Gokou struggled to hold his own. Rinriku howled his frustration. "Aw, man, I can't stand it anymore! Gokou!!" With a burst of ki-energy he shot up into the air and barreled headlong towards the fight. "Rin! Wait up!" Chamuya took off after his best friend. "Idiots..." Piccolo muttered. "Like they have a hope of making a difference, even with their power jacked." "Piccolo-san?" Gohan appeared at his sensei's side, his eyes riveted on the battle. "We can't just stand by and let Tou-san..." The Namekseijin huffed an exasperated sigh. "The jinzouningen won't fight any of us, Gohan. All he'll do is knock us aside if we get in his way." Abruptly he took off, erupting in a rustling billow of white cape into the air to catch a battered Chamuya before he hit a jagged cliff-face. "Case in point," he added as he touched down and let the unconscious youth drop to the barren ground. "At least Rinriku's managing to keep out of reach--for the moment," Gohan said with desperate hope. "And he's distracting Juuroku- gou. Maybe Tou-san will get a chance to catch his second wind." Piccolo looked askance at his pupil. "Kid, do you really think it's gonna make a difference in the long run?" ~*~ "I don't want to hurt you," the big jinzouningen boomed as he batted at the diminutive fighter who blocked his path. "Please get out of my way before I'm forced to remove you." "Ah, your mother was a vacuum cleaner." Rinriku made a rude face and dodged another swipe. "You know how I know? 'Cause you SUCK!" Juuroku-gou paused, blinking with incomprehension. "That made no sense." "Ha-hah! Gotcha!!" Rinriku fired a ki-blast and hit Juuroku-gou dead in the face, actually knocking him back a step. "Don't try to think, big guy, you're not equipped for it." He risked a look back over his shoulder; Gokou was on his feet, breathing hard, obviously trying to muster his flagging resources. "Take off, pal," Rinriku hissed. "We'll hold the big goofus here while you get away." Gokou shook his head. "Ne, how far do you think I can run? Where do you think I can hide--Kuririn, abunai!" "Huh?" Rinriku turned around just in time to take the swing of a massive fist directly in the face. With that one blow he was knocked aside, hurtling through the air towards a very hard landing some distance away. His last conscious thought was distinctly unprintable. End Chapter Twenty-Three