Izotz and Gogeta finally ended their cat-and-mouse game in one of the larger chambers, coming to abrupt stops only a few feet from each other.
Izotz knew running wouldn't work even if he knew he couldn't fight Gogeta head on. This fusion warrior had a power level that he had never felt before; not even that sleeping power inside the young Apple Bloom was this big...though it wasn't far off.
He would have to deal with this overpowered Super Saiyan strategically rather than directly if he wanted to get out of this alive.
Gogeta crossed his arms across his chest and wore that goofy grin he'd had the entire chase.
"What's the matter, blue man?" Gogeta laughed. "Couldn't find the rest of your band?"
"Very funny." Izotz replied dryly, vapor flowing from his mouth.
The temperature drop was declining further every second with Izotz's presence in the chamber. The removal of his hood must have released something somehow. Gogeta wondered quietly how the removal of a piece of clothing could increase power like that; it wasn't just the fact that he was an epicenter of cold weather. His power level had raised about half of what it used to be at least, which was a a tad bit impressive. A tad bit.
"Well, c'mon then." Gogeta challenged, extending his hand in the same gesture. "If you're done running, let's get it on!"
Izotz wondered why Gogeta was so eager to fight; surely with his power level he could end Izotz life in an instant. Perhaps it was his saiyan blood getting pumped up. They always were brutes from what he'd heard of them.
Izotz hatched a quick idea; he wasn't positive it would work, but it was worth a shot if it meant he might get through this.
"Here, catch."
The deformed fighter tossed the Dragon Ball over to the mighty Super Saiyan. Gogeta was a little shocked, and caught the Dragon Ball quickly, nearly dropping it in his confusion of the situation. Immediately he got a fist in his face; the power was impressive for someone who had such a frail physique; impressive, but not strong enough to hurt Gogeta.
Izotz was absolutely stunned. This fusion warrior had only moved his head when struck, and it didn't look like he'd even been bruised slightly. Was he invincible?
"Hm. Thanks for the Dragon Ball. But I still have to beat you up." Gogeta told him, a cocky smile on his face.
Izotz scoffed in distress, and jumped back making a gesture with his arms, crossing them in a T formation in front of himself.
A large pillar of solid ice came crashing straight down on the fusion Super Saiyan with a loud smash; the sound of the impact ricocheting off the walls giving it a sense of finality.
Izotz smiled to himself; there was no way he could survive being smashed like a pancake. As he walked forward to retrieve the Dragon Ball from the corpse, the ice began to crack.
"What?!" Izotz exclaimed.
The ice shattered; shards flying out in all directions. A few of them cut through their creator's flesh leaving gashes in his skinny arms and disfigured face. He looked at Gogeta; the Super Saiyan was completely unharmed. But how?
"How did you..?"
"The ice broke in a mold around me as soon as it touched me. Kinda like memory foam on a mattress if you were sandwiched between them, but made of ice." Gogeta answered.
He brushed a few loose shards of the frozen liquid off his shoulder, still grinning all the while. He bounced the two star ball in his hand nonchalantly; Izotz was absolutely dumbfounded.
"Anyway, I don't have much time left, so I'm going to end this little game." Gogeta chuckled.
Before Izotz could say anything, Gogeta was behind him, and before he could gasp in surprise, Gogeta's fist had already mashed itself against the back of his skull, sending him flying, spiraling head-over-heels into what looked like a time machine; the old artifact crumbling inward as Izotz's body struck it hard.
* * *
Apple Bloom opened her eyes slowly, and cringed at the pain coursing through her entire body; the gash on her head throbbing horribly. As she sat up with the assistance of Gohan, she looked around searching for Izotz. When she didn't find the ice-man, she turned to Gohan.
"What...what's happening...?" She asked him weakly.
"Well, for one thing, it looks like we lost the senzu beans...so you're gonna be in pain for awhile..." He told her.
She groaned, putting a hoof to the long cut over her eye; the sensation stung horribly, but at least the bleeding had stopped.
"Another thing, Izotz has the Dragon Ball, and now Gogeta is fighting him somewhere else in the museum."
"Who's...Gogeta..?"
Gohan remembered she still hadn't seen a successful fusion attempt yet. He tried to think of a way to explain it in depth, but came up short and just went with the easy way.
"Gogeta is the warrior who comes out when Goku and Vegeta do the fusion dance. He's what they are as one person." He explained.
Apple Bloom's brain was throbbing too much to really process it, but she figured she could understand what he meant. She found herself thinking how funny these names for the fusions were. Gotenks? Gogeta? It literally was the two fusee's names put together. She then randomly wondered what her and Applejack might have been had fusion been a thing back home. Probably just on of their names, but a new body...or Apple Apple...ugh.
She shook her head slightly, dispelling these random thoughts. She tried to stand on her hooves, and after what seemed like herculean effort to her, she did so. Gohan hovered in the air so that he didn't have to walk on his broken ankle; the packs on his back and arms.
"So..where's the fightin' happenin'?" She asked him.
Gohan shook his head. "I don't know, and if I did, I don't think I'd tell you. You lied to me and jumped into battle with Izotz rather than look for Trunks, who is still M.I.A. at the moment. You could've been killed, Apple Bloom..."
"You sound just like Big Mac..." She smiled sadly at him.
"Big Mac..?"
"My late older brother back home..."
There was an awkward silence now; the ice doing no better to help it ease away as the cold kept their muscles taught.
The mare started to trot into the halls, attempting to find Gogeta and Izotz. Gohan floated behind her, ready to stop her at a moments notice should she try something foolish again.
* * *
Izotz hit the ground again, his armor shattered to pieces by Gogeta's last punch. The Super Saiyan casually walked towards his prone form; all the while he juggled the Dragon Ball in his hands.
Izotz was frightened for the first time; true fear was apparent on his face now. Never had he faced an opponent like this. How did one even hurt him? He truly was invincible.
He started to crawl away, backwards, muttering gibberish about letting him live. Gogeta laughed loudly seeing the sad display.
"Man, how fast bravado leaves you when you're on your deathbed, eh?" He gave another laugh, holding his gut. "Hah...ok. I wis I could say it's been fun, but you were no challenge at all. I's time to get this over with; I only have a minute or two left anyway."
Why did this indestructible saiyan keep talking about how much time he had left? What sense was there in that?
Gogeta raised his free hand into the air, palm facing straight up. A swirling vortex of energy began to materialize in it; it's rainbow colored spectrum a deadly beauty.
"At least you'll get to look at something pretty before you die, eh?" The Super Saiyan laughed. "Stardust Breaker!"
He tossed the rainbow colored energy ball straight at the shivering Izotz, who shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the end. Except the end didn't come.
He hazarded a glance, and saw none other than--
"Trunks!" Gogeta yelled out. "What are you doing?"
Trunks stood there, the Stardust Breaker held calmly in his hand like a baseball. He seemed to be admiring it as if he were going to buy I like a jewel from a store.
"So this is the weapon that killed Janemba." He said. "Interesting."
Gogeta stepped forward, once again yelling at the purple haired half-saiyan. "Trunks! Why di you stop my Stardust Breaker?"
Trunks looked up at the fused warrior. He waited one moment, and Gogeta separated back into Goku and Vegeta; Goku had returned to his normal state as well.
"Boy!" Vegeta shouted at his son. "You had best have a good explanation for this!"
Goku took a knee, and he too looked at Trunks with a strange look.
The half-saiyan stared back, unblinking. He clasped his fist around the Stardust Breaker, and extinguished it with a hiss. Vegeta and Goku looked on with shocked expressions; Trunks had just snuffed out one of the most powerful attacks known to them, and with little more than a grunt. But the question still remained. Why?
Trunks turned to the prone Izotz; and without changing his blank expression declared: "Run."
Izotz did not need to be told twice, and got up quickly; he ran as fast as his skinny legs would allow on the slick surfaces he had created.
Goku smiled a bit while Vegeta merely scowled. "Maybe...maybe Trunks is showing him mercy...I guess that's alright...maybe..."
"He killed your son Kakarot..." Vegeta reminded him.
"Yeah.." Goku admitted. "But thinking about it...killing him would make us no better than him."
"At least we looked him in the eyes when we were about to finish him.." Vegeta retorted.
Trunks suddenly chuckled a bit; a dark sound not even Vegeta had ever heard him make. They saw his gaze still focused on Izotz's fleeing form as an evil looking grin spread across his features.
"Trunks..." Goku urged, sensing the rise in ki.
Trunks ignored him, raising his arm above his head and then behind like he was ready to pitch a baseball; a sphere of energy materializing in his hand.
"Son!" Vegeta shouted, moving forward to stop him.
Too late. Trunks threw the energy attack straight at Izotz's back. It moved at speeds even Goku couldn't fully track. The attack smacked into Izotz's body and exploded, causing a massive shockwave and fiery discharge. Trunks was laughing like a madman.
"Useless scum!" He cackled loudly.
Vegeta punched his his son right in the face, ceasing the laughter, then grabbed him by the coat, shaking him violently.
"Wht the hell was that?!" He shouted, spit flying onto Trunks' face. "You look a man in the eyes when you kill him! I taught you better than this! Where is your honor, Trunks Briefs?!"
Trunks just laughed again. "Didn't you used to shoot people in the back a long time ago..."dad"..."
Vegeta scowled. "That was long before you were born, boy! I'm a better man than that!"
"More like a softer man." Trunks smirked. "Face it, Vegeta, you just don't have what it takes to be ruthless anymore."
Vegeta threw his son to the ground, motioning to backhand him, but with a touch from Goku to his shoulder, he refrained.
Vegeta looked over to where Goku was looking, and saw Apple Bloom hiding behind Gohan's legs as he leaned against the wall.
"You saw what my son did, yes?" Vegeta questioned.
They both nodded, and Apple Bloom could not take her eyes off the now absolutely terrifying Trunks. Her bad feelings were right all along...Trunks was a monster...
"C'mon," Trunks said. "We got the Dragon Ball, be happy about that at least. Let's go find the other five while we're still young."
He walked past all of them, not looking a single one in the eye; but everyone's eyes were focused on him.
"This can't be my boy..." Vegeta mused.
Gohan reached down to place a calming hand on the shivering Apple Bloom. It did little to actually help her. The power she had felt when Trunks attacked had been so dark it made Tirek look like an angel...she never wanted to feel a darkness like that ever again...and with Goten gone, who's to say Trunks won't do it again...?