Dragonball Super Z http://hometown.aol.com/juuhachigouda/dbszfic.html By: Juuhachi-gou and MiraiBulma Dragonball Z Dead Man's Party: Part Four "Of What You Can't See" I was struck by lighting Walkin' down the street I was hit by something last night in my sleep It's a dead man's party Who could ask for more Everybody's comin', leave your body at the door Leave your body and soul at the door Don't run away, it's only me Don't be afraid of what you can't see... --Oingo Boingo ~*~ Bulma paced restlessly back and forth. Videl sat cradling a wailing Pan in her arms while Bra watched anxiously out the window. "Why haven't we heard anything?" Bulma demanded. "It's been too long, something should have happened by now." "No news is good news," Videl said cautiously. "Ne, ne, Pan-chan, settle down. Tou-san will be back soon." "Someone's coming!" Bra said, jumping down from the windowsill and running to the door. "Who is it?" Videl was on her feet at once. The door flew open just before Bra reached it, and Juuhachi-gou darted inside. "Bulma!" she said, eyes wide and desperate. "The controller. We need it." "Controller? Oh, hai! I know where it is--" Bulma turned on her heel and pelted down the hall towards her lab. "What controller?" Videl shouted after her. "I helped Bulma built a control device after Juunana-gou's attack," Juuhachi-gou explained. "In case any more androids showed up," Bra said, nodding. Juuhachi-gou started to say something, then obviously changed her mind and nodded. "Yes, Bra-chan. Exactly." Still trying to soothe her restive baby, Videl watched the jinzouningen carefully. *You had her build it in case you turned on us, Juu-chan. Didn't you? Are you still so afraid to trust yourself? I've finally forgiven you for what happened so long ago--you were as much a victim as any of us. Why can't you forgive yourself, after all this time?* Bulma reappeared, slightly disheveled, carrying a small black box in one hand. "Here, I found it." Juuhachi-gou held out her hand. "Give it to me, quickly." Bulma drew back. "Oh no! This thing has to be attuned to a specific frequency. I'm going with you." "Impossible. I can do it once I'm there." A little crease appeared between Bulma's eyebrows. "I'm not going to argue with you, Juu-chan! If this thing goes, I go. Period." Juuhachi-gou rolled her eyes. "Fine!! I have no time to argue. Vegeta can kill me later. Come on!" She scooped Bulma up in her arms and flew out the still-open door with her. "Wait for me!" Bra grabbed her sword from beside the doorway and flew off after them. Videl went to the doorway and watched them until they disappeared into the blue of the sky. Pan, quiet now, had cried herself to sleep in her mother's arms. Videl closed her eyes and thought of her husband, of her friends. *Be safe...* ~*~ Once again, Gokou stood facing the big jinzouningen alone. Goten was jumping from one foot to the other in his anxiety. "Trunks-kuuuuuuun--" "ALL RIGHT!! ALL RIGHT, I'LL DO THE STUPID BLOODY DANCE!!!" Snarling, Trunks flared to Super Saiyajin, his lavender hair flashing gold-white as his power crackled and burned visibly around him. "Yosh'!!" Goten's hair turned a darker gold as he followed suit, grinning fiercely. Piccolo watched with wide, incredulous eyes. "Crap, they're really gonna--match your powers!" he called out warningly. "The Fusion won't work if your levels aren't equal." "Piccolo-san..." Gohan was still watching his father fight. "Tou- san...he needs help--" "I told you to stay out of it, Gohan. Once your--if your dad loses, who do you think will stop that walking tank?" Goten was giving Trunks hasty instructions. "See, you do like this--" "I know I know let's just get it over with!" Desperate to save Gokou, and having resigned himself to the inevitability, Trunks wanted to spare himself as much public embarrassment as possible. Goten had explained the principle of Fusion-Ha to him repeatedly over the past months, and the intricacy of the dance steps were burned indelibly into his reluctant brain. He took the stance with a grimace; as anxious as he was for Juuhachi-gou's return, he prayed in his heart that she wouldn't get back in time to see this. ~*~ Gokou dodged another blast--barely--but he knew his reserves were dangerously low. *Ano, if only had a real chance to stop and catch my breath...Kuririn, you did your best, but it wasn't long enough and this guy won't ever tire out--!* "It's time to finish this," Juuroku-gou announced, grim-faced. "For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry." "If...you're sorry...don't do it!" Gokou panted in protest. "I can't countermand my programming, Son Gokou. To do so would deny my reason for existence." He raised a hand, fingers splayed. "Good-bye." Gokou prepared to dodge, knowing he would do so a heartbeat too late. ChiChi, Gohan, please forgive-- A terrible blue-white light filled the air; Gokou cringed, but felt nothing more than backwash. As the brightness faded, he heard a massive whump as Juuroku-gou's bulk slammed to the ground. "Hey hey hey!" a blended voice mocked from above. "Turn around and face the fury of--Gotenks!!" "NaNI?!" Gokou looked up and saw a golden-haired stranger hovering in the sky. It looked like a Fusion, felt like a Fusion--in fact, it looked almost like Gogeta. *Gogeta is me and Vegeta Fused. So Gotenks must be--* "Trunks and Goten...?!" he muttered, his eyes flickering to Juuroku-gou, who was rising to his feet and turning to face the newcomer. "Go away," the android boomed. "I am here only to kill Son Gokou." "I'm not gonna let you do that," Gotenks sneered in his doubled voice. "Not after all the trouble I had getting into existence. Renzoku Energy Dan!!" He raised his hands and fired off rapid bursts of ki, driving Juuroku-gou back with every blast. **Ano, Gokou-san**, the same twinned voice echoed in his mind, **gather your strength. I'll keep him busy for you, ne?** *Hai! Sankyuu, Go--Gotenks!* ~*~ His head hurt. A lot. The noise wasn't making it hurt any less either. If whatever fool was outside sparring didn't shut up soon, he was going to come up out of bed and make them eat their own limbs while they were still attached. How typical; one of the few times he wanted some quiet time with his mate, and everything was going crazy just beneath his window-- But the light, the light on his face was too bright for morning-- Jinzouningen! That thought propelled Vegeta right to his feet, the headache already subsiding as adrenaline flooded his bloodstream. Kakarott, and the machine-man, and what was he doing lying around while a battle was going on?! "Hey, take it easy! You almost took my hand off at the shoulder!" Vegeta's eyes flicked to the side, locking on a slender form whose blue eyes glared right back at him. "What," he demanded, voice a low growl, "are you doing here." "Trying to lend a little assistance." Bulma tossed back her hair. "Obviously you're not feeling any pain." "How did you--" Vegeta broke off as another figure came into focus behind his mate. "Never mind. I know perfectly well who brought you here." One fist clenched as he started forward, intent on finishing off Juuhachi-gou once and for all. Bad enough his son had some attachment to the wretched thing; now it was dragging his mate into the very jaws of battle. "You, jinzouningyou, have made your last mistake." "Papa, no!" A slight form thrust itself between him and his target; Bra, arms spread wide, the very echo of his own scowl on her features. "Juu-chan didn't make Mama come here, Mama insisted! She said she had to come or we couldn't have the controller to make the bad man shut off! It's not Juu's fault, so you leave her alone!" One small foot stamped. Vegeta just... stared. No one, NO ONE, spoke to him in that tone of voice. Except, of course, for Bulma, when she was in a fine rage. He could feel the corners of his mouth aching to slide into a proud smile, hearing that spark of spirit in the child. *Oh, you are a Saiyajin princess, you are my child, as true as your brother.* Outwardly he folded his arms, glared down at Bra (who failed to budge one step), then up at Juuhachi-gou with all the malice he could muster before snorting and turning away dismissively. "Another time then." He scowled. "Who is that fighting with the machine-man?" He concentrated, feeling out the stranger's ki, then snarled. "Fusion da--?!?!" "Calm down before you pop another vein, Vegeta, the ones I can see already are ugly enough." Piccolo nodded at the fighters. "It's Goten and Trunks. Gotenks, I think he called himself. And he's doing plenty good." Vegeta clapped a hand to his face, struggling to master himself. "Trunks.... and.... Goten." "Yep." "Whose idea was that insanity?!?!" "Theirs, actually, but you know what they say. Monkey see, monkey do." "...Namekseijin, have I had a chance to remind you lately how much I hate you?" "Nope." White fangs flashed in a snarl/smile. "But I'm sure you will after all this is over." "Can you two pipe down?!" Bulma hissed, crouching over the controller as she frantically made adjustments. "I'm busy, genius at work, a little respect here-! Rewiring delicate electronics with a pocket multi-tool on the fly is not easy!" "Need some help, Bulma?" Juuhachi-gou asked, also crouching. "No no no--" a quick shake of the head. "I just need a few minutes, just a few minutes more..." Juu didn't answer; she looked at the struggle between Gotenks and Juuroku-gou instead. *He is holding his own*, she thought. *But how much longer will the Fusion itself hold out?* At that moment, the battered Juuroku-gou pulled himself from the rockface Gotenks had slammed him into, head shaking a bit. There were great dents and rips in his torso from which half a dozen sparks and tiny explosions were flickering at any given time, yet still he moved. "Must.. complete... prrrrogramming," he said, voice low and slurring. He raised his arms, the hands swiveling down at the wrists to open up into long barrels from which a reddish glow emanated. "H...He......HELLLLLL's FLAAAAASH-!" From both arms an enormous blast erupted, joining into one beam fully the size of Gokou's strongest Kamehameha, and searing the air before it as it slammed into Gotenks, throwing the young Fusion back irresistibly. As the afterimage of the beam faded, Juuroku-gou turned and flew at Gokou, wrapping his arms around the older Saiyajin in a bearhug. Arms trapped at his side, Gokou struggled as they both shot skywards, then paused, looking into Juuroku-gou's face-- Into his eyes, which were now glowing all red. On the ground, below, Juuhachi-gou gasped. "He's... he's going critical..." "Oh swell, I was just about to-- going critical?!" Bulma jumped to her feet, face white. "No! We've got to stop him!" "I'm guessing this 'critical' is not good." Piccolo half rose into the air, as did Vegeta, only to have one ankle apiece grabbed by Gohan, who shook his head frantically. "Iie, don't!" he begged. "Juu- san means the other jinzouningen's triggered his self-destruct. He's going to explode!" "Chikusho!" Vegeta angrily shook his leg, trying to dislodge Gohan. "Bakayarou! Kakarott's arms are pinned, didn't you see that?! He can't teleport free!" Gohan looked around desperately. Rinriku and Chamuya were still out; so, too, was Gotenks-- or, rather, Trunks and Goten; sometime in the last few moments, perhaps as a result of Juuroku-gou's parting shot, the Fusion had broken apart. There was no one left standing but the six of them, and Juuhachi-gou was already carrying Bulma skywards--"NANDA KUSOOOOO?!?! Bulma-san! Juu-san! DAME DA!" Piccolo whirled, seeing the rapidly ascending pair, and hung there, jaw dropping. "What the flaming--" "Bulmaaaaa!" Savagely Vegeta tore himself loose from Gohan's grip and rocketed up after them. Damn her, damned jinzouningyou, she was too fast, he'd never catch them in time, they were too close to Kakarott already-- "EAT APPLIED SCIENCE, YOU RED-HAIRED RUSTPILE!" Bulma shrilled as she and Juuhachi-gou came up beside the struggling Gokou, inwardly praying, Dende, please say I got this right or I'm sub-atomic particles-- * CLICK * The crimson light in Juuroku-gou's eyes faded. For just a moment he looked stunned, as if this was the last possibility he'd ever expected; then he stiffened, face draining of what little emotion it had held as he and Gokou abruptly stopped flying up... and began dropping down. Fast. It took the startled Gokou several seconds to think of slowing their descent, with the result that they landed a bit more roughly than he'd really wanted to. The impact crushed the air from Gokou's lungs; his head buzzed warningly, but he fought against blackout in case the mechanical man should come to life again. He heaved against Juuroku-gou's arms, trying to dislodge them with little success. Juuhachi-gou landed, set Bulma lightly down and went at once to help Gokou. With a mighty pull she tugged one massive arm free. "Chotto, Gokou, I'll get you loose--" "Kuso kono ama!!!!!!" Vegeta roared, launching himself at the blonde jinzouningen. Before she could dodge, he swung his clasped fists at her, knocking her into a nearby cliffside. He hovered for a moment, torn between pursuing her and freeing Gokou; then he decided the female cyborg's destruction could wait. He yanked Juuroku-gou's other arm free, grabbed Gokou by the back of his shogi, and hauled him off, tossing him aside. "Now," Vegeta said, smirking, "to finish this once and for all." He raised a glowing hand, directing his palm at Juuroku- gou's motionless bulk. "Vegeta don't you dare!!!" Still breathless from her unexpected flight, Bulma rushed forward and grabbed at Vegeta's outstretched arm, tugging at it without noticeable result. "He can't hurt anyone now, you leave him alone!" "Idiot," Vegeta snarled. "What do you want to do? Repair him so he can come back and destroy us all? I let the jinzouningyou live and look what happened. She almost got you killed!" "Juu-chan did nothing of the sort. As for Juuroku-gou, he was only following his programming. We can change that! After all we've been through, we can use all the allies we can get. Vegeta, I am warning you, don't you dare destroy him!" The look Vegeta turned her way made Bulma want to be somewhere else, preferably several million parsecs in any direction's distance from her mate. Instead of giving in and backing down, she raised her chin, refusing to look away. *I will not, I will not give in, there are a lot of things you can talk me into and out of but not this one, not this time, Vegeta--* Maybe he heard her; maybe he only sensed the intent behind the words. His expression never wavered, but all the same the Saiyajin's stare shifted in some indefinable way, yielding the argument to her. The glow faded, and his arm dropped to his side. Bulma blinked, more than a little amazed, and as Vegeta snarled something under his breath and stalked away she was overcome with a feeling... no, a certainty... that not only was he secretly proud of her, but that she had passed some crucial test. Of what, and why it'd needed to be, she had no idea. Somehow she didn't think she'd be getting any answers out of Vegeta any time soon, either. "Gohan," she said instead. "I need you to bring him back to the lab for me." She glanced around. "Juu-chan, are you all right?" The blonde came up beside Bulma, still dusting herself off with a frown set on her too-perfect features. "I'm fine." "Good. Help me revive the boys, so we can get everyone back to Capsule Corporation. I've still got a lot of work to do." ~*~ An hour later, Juuroku-gou was laid out on an examination table in Bulma's cybernetic lab. Wires led from the shattered portions of his cranium to a computer terminal standing in one corner. Juuhachi-gou checked the last connection. "He's all hooked up, Bulma. Ready for transfer." "Thank you, Juu-chan. Vegeta, would you please go sulk against the wall or something? You're in my way." Bulma shot a cross look at her mate--her husband, now, thanks to his impulsiveness--who insisted on staying within arm's reach of her. Vegeta didn't move, forcing Bulma to walk around him to reach the keyboard. "This is a fine way to spend a honeymoon," she grumbled, her fingers flitting nimbly over the keys. "Initiating data dump now." "Ano, Trunks-kun," Goten whispered, watching from the doorway. "What's she doing?" "She's downloading Juuroku-gou's data into a slave terminal," Trunks whispered back. "His what?" "His programming. His brain, sort of." "What for?" "How should I know? Maybe she wants to find out what makes him work, or something." "For once, I almost agree with Vegeta," Piccolo muttered behind them. "Better safe than sorry." "Bulma-san knows what she's doing, I think," Gohan offered. The Namekseijin snorted. "She's too used to taking in strays." "But if Juuroku-gou was only following his programming, maybe Bulma-san can fix it." Gohan looked back over his shoulder. "Ne, Tou- san?" Gokou smiled and nodded. "Hai, Gohan." For long minutes there was no sound in the lab itself but the whir of spinning drives and the hum of the transfer mechanisms. At last the slave computer beeped. "Transfer complete," Juuhachi-gou announced. Bulma nodded and touched another key. "Hello? Juuroku-gou, can you hear me?" All eyes from the doorway turned to the still form on the table, but the answer came from the computer slave terminal. "I hear you." "Good. Do you know where you are?" "No." "Well, you're in my lab at Capsule Corporation. My name is Bulma." "I know who you are." "Oh, well, good." Bulma sat on the edge of the desk, crossed her legs, and fluffed her hair. "Now, then, Juuroku-gou, why don't you tell the audience a little bit about yourself?" "I was created by Dr. Gero to destroy Son Gokou." "Yes, I think we got that. Did you know why?" "It was not my purpose to determine Dr. Gero's reasons for my programming." Juuhachi-gou stepped forward. "Why did Dr. Gero deactivate you?" "At the time I was activated, Son Gokou was not on Earth. When I refused to fulfill Dr. Gero's subsequent orders, he chose to switch me off." "But why would you refuse to obey your creator?" Bulma asked. "He ordered me to take the lives of others. My purpose was to kill Son Gokou, not to take action against any other living being. Since I am not, strictly speaking, alive, I'm unwilling to destroy life. Life is precious." "You were willing enough to destroy Kakarott," Vegeta huffed. "Who is Kakarott?" "That's another name for Gokou," Bulma explained. "Noted. To kill Son Gokou is the reason I exist. Without that, I have no purpose." "But--" Juuhachi-gou began, but Bulma stopped her with a quick shushing motion. "Sounds like a one track mind to me." Vegeta cast a look at the still-motionless body on the table. "Now can I kill it?" "Be quiet." Bulma sat forward, looking intently at the blank screen as though trying to make contact with the artificial consciousness within. "What if I told you that Son Gokou had already died?" A pause. Then: "Son Gokou is alive." "The Son Gokou you fought isn't the original. Son Gokou died twenty years ago as the result of heart disease. This person is a clone of the original." "Ah-ha," Piccolo grinned, "the old 'don't kill me, I'm a clone' trick. Hey, it worked once already." The terminal was silent for almost a minute. Then the deep voice spoke again. "It doesn't matter. I was created to kill Son Gokou, and I have to fulfill my programming." "For a dead madman?!" Juuhachi-gou demanded. "Dr. Gero was my creator. Without him, I wouldn't exist. Without his programming, I have no purpose." "Wait a minute." Bulma sat down at the terminal. "What if you had a different purpose? One to replace what Dr. Gero gave you when he created you?" "That would be acceptable." Bulma grinned. "Juuroku-gou, display the source code for Gero's original programming on the terminal screen." The terminal instantly lit up with row after row of numerals. Juuhachi-gou leaned in and gave a low whistle. "Calm down, it's only ones and zeros," she murmured, studying the display. She pointed a slim finger. "There, isn't that it?" "I've got it." Bulma moved the cursor to the beginning of a block of code and highlighted a long sequence before hitting the DELETE key. "Now to give him a new reason for being--" She tapped the keys in quick succession, filling the empty space Juuroku-gou's preprogrammed urge to murder had once occupied. "Juuroku-gou, save changes to your core program." The drive hummed. "Confirmed. Changes saved." "Yippee!!" Bulma spun in her chair and high-fived Juuhachi-gou. "Never underestimate the power of a genius, especially a pretty one!" Vegeta's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Now can I destroy it?" "No way!" Merrily Bulma turned to the terminal. "Juuroku-gou, tell us, what is your purpose?" The response came at once. "To be kind to all life-forms, especially small animals." "Are you capable of taking a life?" "Only when those I protect are threatened." "And who are you designated to protect?" "Whoever you tell me to, Bulma." Bulma looked coyly over her shoulder at the group in the doorway and tipped them a wink and a thumbs-up. ~*~ "So the big guy's on our side now?" Chamuya was kicked back on Bulma's sofa, wincing a little as Bra tended to a cut on his head. "Yeah, basically." Rinriku sat back carefully; Marron knelt at his feet, carefully taping his twisted ankle. "Man, I'm beat. It's been one heck of a day, hasn't it?" "Sure has..." Gokou grinned from one to the other, his eyes shining quietly with a secret joy. "Where's Bulma?" asked Videl, handing her baby over to Gohan. "She's repairing Juuroku-gou," Gohan said, chuckling as his infant daughter laughed and waved her hands at him. "She just finished reinstalling his data and now she's working on his hardware systems. Ne, Pan-chan, you see? Your kaa-san told you everything'd be okay." "And Vegeta's hovering over her every second," Juuhachi-gou added. "It feels strange for Vegeta to trust someone else even less than he does me." "Are you sure he's safe now, Juu-chan?" Videl asked. "Quite sure. Bulma's as brilliant as her reputation says--if not more so. She wiped out every trace of the programming that made Juuroku-gou want to kill. He'll be as loyal to her now as he ever was to Gero's original directives...and since she was smart enough to include a couple of crucial subroutines, she'll be able to give him direct orders that he'll follow on the spot." "...didn't I tell you, Trunks-kun?" Goten said as he followed a stormy-faced Trunks into the living room. "We're powerful as Gotenks, ne? Deshou?" "As who?" Juuhachi-gou asked, looking towards them. "Oh, you mean that hot-looking guy who was fighting Juuroku-gou?" Trunks stopped dead in his tracks, spun on his heel and grabbed Goten by the shirtfront. Shaking him with each syllable, he snarled, "I am never...going...to Fuse...with you...again!!" Dropping Goten, Trunks continued on his way out the front door. Sitting back on her heels, Marron looked from the retreating Trunks to a stupefied Goten. "Now this story," she said, folding her arms, "I can't wait to hear." Goten put a hand to the back of his head and laughed feebly. With a small smile, Juuhachi-gou went out the door after Trunks. Gokou stood up and followed as far as the open doorway. He saw Trunks perched on the boundary wall that bordered the front of the property, sharpening his sword with a vengeance. Juuhachi-gou sat down on the low wall just behind Trunks and leaned against his back; after a moment, he sheathed the sword, set it aside, and turned around to gather her in his arms. Gokou shifted his gaze to the western horizon. The sun had slipped below the distant line of trees, and stars were just beginning to appear overhead. He looked eastward, towards the barren plain and the mountains beyond, and remembered another forest, another time, long ago. His sharp ears could pick up the sound of Bulma's voice from far back in the house, back in the lab, rising to shrill heights as she berated Vegeta. He chuckled softly. Bulma was his first and oldest and dearest friend, someone he'd live and die for, someone to whom he owed his very existence, in more than one sense of the word. It went beyond her heroic efforts to revive him and the other warriors. It was Bulma who had found him, decades ago, when he was still a child, living in the forest as little more than a wild creature. It was she who'd convinced him to leave his home and go out into the world. It was she who'd shaped his life and his destiny in more ways than anyone else he had ever known. A lot had happened since their first meeting. So many years, so many places, so many adventures...and so many more still to come. "Not a bad end to a day, eh, Gokou?" said a voice at his elbow. He looked down, smiled and laid a hand on Rinriku's shoulder. "Not bad at all," he murmured to his best friend reborn, "but not an ending either, you know? Feels more like a new beginning to me." End Chapter Twenty-Four