Spirit - Another Dragon Ball Fanfiction

Chapter 106: Pride And Purpose

Vegeta and Marorizu both attacked at the same time, and while their teamwork was seriously impressive, Jiren kept pummeling them with hit after hit after hit. Nevertheless, they kept trying, even though it wasn't effective because Jiren kept avoiding their attacks and retaliating with his own. Vegeta was taking the brunt of Jiren's blows, getting hit with punches galore. But every time Jiren knocked Vegeta or Marorizu down, they just got back up. Eventually Vegeta wobbled to his feet and faced Jiren again. "Not yet." he said, "It can't end yet." Jiren punched him in the face and sent him flying, and Vegeta almost fell off the stage... but the heel of one of his boots caught on the edge of a floating rock. He wasn't disqualified yet, but unfortunately he wasn't moving. Marorizu, on the other hand, was faring a lot better, but it didn't matter because Jiren's power was so overwhelming that no matter how angry she got and no matter how much she powered up she simply couldn't fight Jiren. It didn't stop her from trying, though. She punched, kicked, chopped, kneed, threw clawing strikes, palming strikes, energy blasts, and basically tried everything. But her assault was stopped abruptly when Jiren punched her in the gut so hard she coughed, then kicked her away through several boulders until finally she made a crater in one and stayed still.

Marorizu's eyes twitched. She wasn't moving a muscle. Suddenly, in her mind, she saw Yamcha shouting to her. "Marorizu! Marorizu, come on! Please get up!" Marorizu balled one fist. "Dammit..." she muttered, "I'm getting up, stop nagging me." Marorizu struggled to her feet, thinking of her husband and her daughter, both of whom were counting on her. She jumped over to Vegeta and they both looked up at Jiren, who stared down at them. "This fight is already over!" he declared, "What is it that drives you this far?!" Vegeta and Marorizu both smirked. "Who knows?" Vegeta asked. "Even if we told you, an emotionless bastard like you would never understand..." Marorizu said, transforming into her Super Saiyan Rage form, except this time her pupils were present, "...What it means to fight to protect something!" she finished, holding up a fist. 

She and Vegeta both attacked Jiren at the same time, but he knocked them both back with ease. However, Marorizu and Vegeta stopped themselves and both charged up a Final Flash. They fired at the same time, side-by-side, and the combined energy wave hit Jiren. However, when the smoke cleared, there he was, unfazed. "D-dammit!" Vegeta exclaimed. He and his sister both threw a punch, but Jiren caught both their fists. "I'll at least acknowledge your great pride." he told them, "It's over!" He punched Vegeta over the edge, and as the Saiyan Prince fell, he began thinking to himself while a few tears flew from his eyes. I... I couldn't keep my promise. Vegeta thought. I'm such a damn fool. I'm sorry... Bulma... Marorizu... Cabba... Vegeta held out his hand and gave his final bit of energy to Goku. Kakarot... I leave the rest to you. "Vegeta!" Marorizu shouted, reaching out for him in vain. She turned around and faced Jiren again, wiping some spit from the side of her mouth. "Damn you... I'm not giving up, even if I'm fighting all by myself!" Marorizu attacked Jiren once again. 

She held her own for about five seconds. Then Jiren began beating her up so badly that every hit made everyone watching flinch. Vegeta squeezed his eyes shut, unable to watch his sister take such an assault. Marorizu saw this, and then Jiren knocked her away. "Give up. You will never win." Marorizu stood up and faced Jiren again, panting but smiling tiredly. "No... I see that I can't beat you now. But I can lose again... and again... and again... and again, and every time you knock me down I'll just get back up. I don't care if I'm hanging on to life by a thread, I'll keep fighting until my last breath, because I've got something to fight for. Something that's worth fighting for!" Marorizu took a fighting stance and charged once more, but every attack she threw was blocked or dodged, and she took three attacks for every one she attempted. Finally, Jiren crossed Marorizu in the face, and she spun, sliding roughly across the ground. But the Saiyan Princess opened her eyes, stood up, turned around, and got ready to fight once more. She began charging energy in a manner similar to the Final Flash technique. "Here goes..." Marorizu shot the energy in the form of an energy wave with mind-boggling power, with her hands inverted while firing it. "GAMMA BURST FLASH!" Jiren's eyes flashed red as the blast approached him, and then it clashed against Jiren's invisible energy shield. Marorizu gave one final push of effort, and then the blast dissipated. She reverted to her base form due to having used such a massive amount of energy, and then Jiren shot a Power Impact at her. It hit Marorizu in the stomach and exploded, sending her tumbling over the edge. Yamcha... Pine... Vegeta... I failed you all. Marorizu fell into the spectator stands and Krillin immediately fed her a Senzu Bean, like he had with Vegeta. Marorizu sat up and faced her brother. "I'm sorry, Vegeta. I failed." Vegeta placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "I did, too. But we need to put that behind us and have faith in Kakarot." 

Meanwhile, Goku finally stood up, having received and absorbed Vegeta's energy. He faced Jiren. "Vegeta... I hear you loud and clear!" Goku exclaimed, going Super Saiyan Blue. "I still can't understand it. Why would they put all their faith in you?" Jiren asked, "Trust begets nothing." "You really think so?" Goku replied. Jiren actually looked a little shaken. Goku took a fighting stance and then charged... and two blows from Jiren knocked him out of Super Saiyan Blue and back into his base form. Jiren began to pummel Goku over and over, until Goku was wobbling on his feet, his vision was blurry and he was staring down at the ground. Supreme Kai grabbed the sides of his head with his hands. "It's all over! We've lost!" Jiren reeled back his fist, which began glowing red. "It's over." he declared. As Jiren's fist approached Goku, Vegeta shouted "KAKAROT!" 

Goku thought of all his teammates, and all the people trusting him in general. Was this it? Would he let them all down? Gohan, his own son. Vegeta, the best rival anyone could ask for. Krillin, his best friend. Marorizu, Vegeta's sister and a good ally to have. Tien, someone who defined what it meant to have fighting spirit. Goku's teacher, Master Roshi. Piccolo, an enemy who had become a good friend. Android 18, Krillin's wife. Android 17, who had only just met Goku a day ago but had sacrificed his life for Goku. Heck, Frieza, who had agreed to join Universe 7's team and had donated energy to Goku after his first battle with Jiren. And Yamcha, a loyal friend who had stood by Goku no matter what. Was this how it would all end? How their stories would end? Was this how Goku's story would close out, after everything that had happened? What had Jiren said? "Trust begets nothing." That wasn't true. Goku knew it wasn't true. He had to prove Jiren wrong. He had to win- for his friends, his family, his planet, his universe... his home and everyone he knew and loved. As Jiren's fist got within an inch of Goku's face, Goku suddenly vanished, appearing a few feet behind Jiren with his back turned. Goku slowly turned around, his eyes still closed, and he was facing Jiren now. Goku's body was surrounded by a glowing blue aura, different from the one Super Saiyan Blue had. His hair stood up but remained black. Goku opened his eyes, and they glowed with a silver gleam.