The Bond

Goku watched helplessly as Vegeta and his sister both fell from where they had been gaining power. They both landed on all fours, and he rushed forward, trying to get to them, "Katima! Vegeta!"

"No!" Shin jumped between him and the two, "It's too late, Goku."

Goku stared down at them, as Vegeta slowly got to his feet, a dark laughter beginning to bubble from him. Katima slowly got up as well, a terrible and dark smile on her lips. Both of them had an M stamped on their foreheads.

"Look!" said Gohan, "They have an M on their heads! Like Dabora!"

"The M is Bobbity's mark," Shin said gravely.

"Vegeta… Katima…" Goku looked from one to the other, at a loss.

What was he going to do? He couldn't fight them! One was his friend, the other his sister!

And then, the room changed. Goku staggered a bit and then looked around at their new surroundings. To his complete shock, he saw that they were back at the World Tournament! Just behind Katima and Vegeta were Hercule Satan and the announcer.

The crowd around them went silent, all murmuring to each other.

"We're back!" Gohan gasped, "But… why here?"

"I'm sorry, the tournament has already been concluded," said the announcer, "When you all left, we weren't sure what else to do… how did you all just appear anyway? Oh Goku! I didn't see you there-"

The announcer began to walk by Vegeta and Katima and he saw the sudden look on both of their faces.

"Look out!" he cried.

But too late.

Katima whirled and kicked the announcer clear off the stage. He slammed into the far wall and fell limply.

"Katima!" Goku cried.

His sister's gaze flicked back to him, a smirk on her face.

"We're going to fight, Kakarot," Vegeta hissed, pointing at him, "Right here. Right now."

His hand opened, palm facing Goku.

"Vegeta-" Goku gasped, "No- there's people- Vegeta-!"

Vegeta ignored him, and shot out a massive blast right at Goku. He crossed his arms to block it, but it was incredibly potent. He quickly lost his footing and was flipped out of the way. The blast however, did not stop.

Goku watched in horror as it rocketed right for the audience. Several tried to run, but the radius of the blast was too great. It shattered through the stands, screams of terror and pain piercing Goku's ears. The dust slowly cleared, leaving a massive hold in the bleachers… At least a hundred people must have just died in that blast.

Goku turned to see Vegeta smirking at him. Rage flooded his chest. He landed, glaring at Vegeta, "How dare you…" he hissed, "The Vegeta I know would have never done that!"

"Get him Mister Satan!" the crowd wass calling.

Goku felt his stomach drop at Hercule shakily obliged them after a moment of shivering.

"You maniac! Stop this right now, o-or I'll-"

"You'll what… little human…?" Katima turned to face him smirking.

Hercule yelped, "That scar- you're-"

"Your damsel in distress…?" Katima slowly began to walk toward him.

"Katima!" Goku cried, "Katima no! Stop!"

"You, a pathetic human, soft… weak… got all the credit for Cell's death," she was murmuring, "You and your kind… you are but dirt beneath my feet. Why should any of you get to live when all we do is die to protect you and get nothing back for it?"

"N-no!" Hercule waved his hands fantically, "I- I don't care about the fame- I don't care! Please, just don't kill me!"

"Denied," growled Katima, aiming a blast.

"NO!" Gohan rushed forward and tackled Hercule out of the way.

But Katima did not bother to stop her blast. Like Vegeta's, it blasted toward the audience, and obliterated a huge portion of the stands, the people there along with it.

"KATIMA!" Goku cried.

Vegeta laughed wildly, "Come on, Kakarot," he said, "The girl isn't of any concern to you right now, I am. Fight me."

"'The girl' is your wife, Vegeta!" Goku shouted, "And my sister! I never thought the both of you were weak enough to be controlled!"

Katima's eyes snapped to him, and he saw something flicker there. She gasped and fell to one knee, clutching her head. Gohan, who carefully set down Hercule, rushed to her side, "Katima! Fight it! That's it!"

"I said, fight me, Kakarot!" Vegeta bellowed, making Goku tear his eyes from his son and sister.

"With that stamp on your head, you must be able to hear Bobbity," growled Goku, "Tell me, Vegeta, is he giving you orders? Or is this just the same old story between you and me?"

Vegeta smirked, pointing at him, "Kakarot, you will fight me. Unless you want more bodies on your conscience."

"Vegeta-" Goku took a step forward, "Don't you dare! Is this what you are now? A slave?"

Vegeta grinned darkly and aimed a hand toward the audience, "Tell me, Kakarot. Is it slavery when you get what you want?"

And he fired the blast.

Goku stared on in horror as it ripped into the stands, taking out another massive amount of people- the stench of blood was thick in the air, of burnt flesh. Goku shook as the dust settled. So many innocent lives- all just gone! He couldn't let this happen! He wouldn't!

With a flash, he powered up to Super Saiyan.

"Goku, no!" Shin shouted, "Do you realize what will happen if you fight him? Every injury you inflict on one another will send energy to revive Buu! You can't do this!"

"I have to!" Goku shouted, glancing at Katima, who was still writhing on the ground, Gohan holding on to her shoulders.

"No!" Shin cried, "This is the entire universe we're talking about! This isn't time for your petty squabbles!"

"PETTY?"

Vegeta screamed the word in rage, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, "Why don't you try living your entire life under someone's boot! Watching your entire race dwindle down to a handful! I have the blood of a Saiyan Prince in me! And still I have spent years watching this joke pass me in strength! He's even saved my life as if I were a helpless child! He has stolen my honor! And his debts must be PAID!"

Goku glared at Vegeta. After all these years, he still couldn't get over with. His pride was that strong. Somehow… he knew that it would have come down to this eventually, this fight between him and Vegeta.

"So be it."

Shin stepped forward, and stopped infront of Vegeta, spreading his arms wide. Goku blinked in surprise.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I can't let you do this, Goku," Shin said, his face set like stone, "If you want to do this, to doom the entire universe, you will have to go through me."

*scene change*

Katima howled in agony. The pain, the unbearable pain worming its way though her mind. She shook her head wildly. The itch, the need, to kill, to destroy the humans that were all around her, the reason for her suffereing!

NO!

Katima fought with herself valiantly, that wasn't the reason. Some of your closest friends are human! What about Bulma? Krillin? Chichi?

Memories of her best friend, Bulma, flooded her mind, the smile she had, the blue hair, how she was always there for her, always supportive. The way they would talk about their husbands and kids, about how to better occupy the boys to keep them from destroying more of her father's inventions.

Bulma was not bad in any way, she didn't deserve death just because she was a human…

"Won't you just stop resisting?" Bobbity's voice echoed in her scalding mind.

Fuck off, she thought. She turned, shaking, to see Shin was between her brother and her husband. What was he playing at? He was going to get himself killed! But Vegeta… Vegeta why…?

She pushed passed the pain and prodded him through the bond. She felt a solid wall there, as if he were purposely blocking her out.

"V-Vegeta!" she tried to crawl toward him.

"Katima, no!" Gohan grabbed her, "Just focus on fighting off Bobbity! Let my dad handle Vegeta!"

Katima closed her eyes, riding in the pain. How could she fight when the darkness in her wasn't all hers? Vegeta's was seeping to her like a river would to the sea. It couldn't be stopped or reversed, the force was just too powerful!

"Gohan- just kill me now," she begged, "Before I do something else, kill someone else- please!"

"No!" Gohan snapped, "I won't do that Katima, you're pure and good! You can fight him!"

"G-Gohan I just killed all those people-" Katima choked, clutching her stomach.

"That was Bobbity, not you!" Gohan said, shaking her, "I know you can fight it, Katima! You're stronger than this! Please!"

She saw a flash of light, and it distracted her from the pain. She looked over and saw Goku aiming a blast right at the Supreme Kai. Gohan noticed as well.

"Dad- wait, no, Dad, you can't!"

"I have no choice," said Goku, his eyes narrowed.

They stood there for a long moment, Katima blessedly distracted by the pain. And then, Shin lowered his arms. He slowly stepped away, "Do what you will, I can not stop you."

"I am sorry, Supreme Kai," said Goku sadly.

"Yes. So am I," said Shin as he came to Katima's side.

There was a flash, and they were suddenly no longer at the world tournament, but out in a remote wasteland. There were still on Earth, however, Katima could sense it, but she was swifly distracted by pain again.

Gohan and Shin both placed hands on her.

"Katima, you must resist, focus on your purity, you are not evil, you know you aren't!" Shin pressed.

Katima focused as hard as she could. Her will power flexed, she gritted her teeth, "Get out of my head…" she whispered, "Get out… GET OUT!"

She jumped to her feet, powering up as harshly as she could, screaming up at the sky. She felt something prick at her from Vegeta's end of the bond- shock. Shock at her power as she pressed and pressed. She wasn't like that anymore- never was! She didn't have that darkness in her heart, it wasn't hers!

Bobbity had no claim over her!

And then, something slammed into her.

Katima coughed up a mouthful of blood as she buckled from the punch in her gut. As she fell to the ground, she saw that it had been Vegeta who had made the blow. He stood over her, glaring down at her with distain.

Katima clutched her gut. He must have broken a rib at least, that punch wasn't holding anything back. She stared at him, "V-Vegeta…" she whispered.

"You've always held me back," he spat, "Held me from reaching true power, from settling my business with your brother. I won't let you get in the way this time, Katima. I need to finish this!"

Katima felt pain, not just from her head or the punch anymore, but deep in her heart. Her Vegeta… why was this happening?

And darkness consumed her.

*scene change*

"We gettah see the monster- we gettah see the wizard!"

The three boys were chanting excitedly, spiraling around one another as they flew, two golden streaks mixing with the single blue one. Makoto spun as he flew, excitement thrilling him. It would be just like all the stories Master Roshi told! About Frieza and Cell! This was going to be the best ever! He lashed hs tail in wild excitement.

"Hey guys," said Goten as they calmed their spinning anc chanting, flying straight now.

"What is it Goten?" asked Trunks.

"What's a wizard?"

Both Trunks and Makoto fell right out of the air in their shock, falling into the water they were skimming. Makoto burst out and shook himself wildly like a dog.

"Goten!" he shouted, "What's wrong with you?"

"What?" Goten asked innocently.

"You got all excited about this wizard and you don't even know what it is," said Trunks.

"Well, yeah," said Goten, "But you guys know what it is, right?"

"A wizard is someone who can shoot magic stuff," said Makoto, nodding wisely, "I heard that Kabito guy say that he can control anyone with evil inside them! So he can shoot spells like fire and lightning and stuff!"

"Isn't that basically energy?" asked Trunks, frowning.

"Well, that Kabito said that the Bobbity guy is really small and weak, but since he can use magic, it's really hard to get to him and he can hurt you that way," said Makoto, "And no one really weak can use energy, right?"

"I think so…" Trunks rubbed the back of his neck.

"Wait," Makoto smirked, "Did you not know what a wizard was either, Trunks?"

Trunks turned red, "Of course I did! I was just testing you is all!"

Makoto flicked his tail across Trunks' face as he turned to start flying again, "Uh huh, surrrre…"

*scene change*

Goku stared in horror as his sister's head fell back and her energy faded, her hair returning to black. His son yelped and knelt down, cradling her head.

"Katima!"

"Vegeta, how could you?" Goku yelled, making the Saiyan Prince turn to face him.

Vegeta smirked, "Nothing is going to get in the way of this, Kakarot, especially your sister, who is so blind to the truth!"

"She's alive," Shin assured, looking at Goku.

Goku glared at Vegeta, anger burning in him. So this was what had been boiling under Vegeta's brow for all these years. The darkness in him had never left after all, even after how hard Katima tried.

"Dad, you can't do this!" Gohan cried, still holding Katima's head in his lap, "You're going to feed Majin Buu!"

"I don't have a choice!" Goku snapped at his son, "You see what he's capable of!" he nodded to Katima's limp form, "I have to stop him."

"It's okay, Gohan," said Shin, looking at him, "We just have to rethink our strategy. You and I will go into the ship after Dabora and Bobbity and stop Buu at the source before the energy from Goku and Vegeta's fight can revive him. I'm going to blast the door open, it may be a risk, but it is worth releasing Buu now before he is at full power than doing nothing."

"What about Katima?" Gohan asked, looking down at her.

"Put her somewhere safe," instructed Goku, keeping his eyes on Vegeta, "But in the open. I don't want her in a cave that could collapse or near a spire that could fall on her."

"Right," Gohan scooped up his aunt in his arms and flew about a hundred yards away, placing Katima down gently in the center of a valley.

As he went, Shin aimed a hand at the small circle in the ground, the passage to the bottom of the ship that was transported with them every time Bobbity moved them somewhere.

Before he could make a move, however, Vegeta started howling.

Goku blinked in surprise as Vegeta screamed and clutched his head, shaking it wildly, as if trying to shake it of water. His muscled bulged, and his power level rocketed. After a moment, he slowly calmed, gasping for breath and his eyes going up to look at Shin. Goku's heart skipped a beat.

He must have just been ordered to kill the Supreme Kai!

But then, Vegeta snapped, "I refuse!"

Both Goku and Shin blinked in surprise. It seemed that Vegeta was having an argument with Bobbity. His body shook as he spoke, as if still trying to resist.

"My goal is Kakarot, the Kai means nothing!" he was yelling, "I will NOT be distracted anymore from this! You may have entered my body and mind, but one thing you will never take- is- MY PRIDE!"

He bellowed the last words, and his gold aura blasted out around him, his power level bursting out wildly. At last, he calmed, and he smirked at Goku, "Now that that is done, shall we?"

Gohan returned, looking worried, "Be careful, Dad. She's just over there, don't fight too close to her."

The door to the ship opened. Shin looked down at it with wide eyes.

"They must not want to risk releasing Buu before he's at max power," he reasoned, "Come on, Gohan, we haven't much time."

"Good luck," Goku said, "Be careful, Gohan."

"I'll be fine, Dad," said Gohan. He cast one final look back at where Katima was lying before hopping into the ship after Shin.

The door closed after them.

Goku returned his gaze to the smirking Vegeta, "Every bit of energy we pound out of each other will be absorbed by Majin Buu," he reminded him, "So if you don't mind, let's skip the warm up."

"Gladly," Vegeta grinned darkly.

"And let's keep away from where Katima is," Goku growled, "I will not have her injured any more than she already is."

Vegeta's eyes flicked toward where his wife was laying, "Doable," he agreed briskly, and readied his stance, "Now then, it's time Kakarot. This destined battle between the two of us and us alone!"

And he launched forward.