Fusion Reborn

The Otherworld... Here, the most elite warriors of the afterlife have gathered to fight in the "Otherworld Tournament", each hoping to defend their native galaxy's honor. With the finals mere moments away, Goku of the North Galaxy found himself staring down Paikuhan, the West Galaxy champion.

Attaboy, Goku! We've practically won this thing! Now take him down!

Oh, it's FAR too early to celebrate. Paikuhan will wipe the tiles with your little man!

I should be sayin' that, Paikuhan!

Heh. Right back at ya. I am seriously pumped!

Tensions continued to rocket as the Otherworld Tournament neared its lofty climax. Meanwhile, King Yemma, the Otherworld's overseer, had a major crisis on his hands...

There had been an explosion in the tank of the Soul Cleansing Machine, an apparatus used to purify the souls of the evil. A miasma of sinister energy enveloped the machine's operator... mutating him.

A massive smog of spiritual waste has been released into the Otherworld!

What a disaster... This could destroy us all!

Janemba! Janemba!

The entire check-in station's been encased in a barrier of sorts.

I gather this is the creature responsible? The noxious energy he was exposed to has completely corrupted him!

My powers to govern the Otherworld will fade if this chaos continues.

Should that happen, there will be no barriers between dimensions. The dead will walk among the living and the living among the dead!

With King Yemma's check-in station out of commission, the Otherworld was at the mercy of a new monstrous nemesis. Would our heroes be able to solve this crisis?

Corrupted by evil energy, an unsuspecting worker mutated into a rampaging monster, trapping King Yemma behind an impenetrable barrier. At the behest of the Grand Kai, who sensed the brewing crisis, Goku and Paikuhan put their match on hold, rushing to King Yemma's domain.

Man...

...This place looks nothing like I remember.

Goku? Thank goodness you're here!

My domain has been sealed behind this barrier!

Don't worry. We'll get you outta there before you can say "Snake Way"!

Ready to rock, Paikuhan?

When you are.

Goku, Paikuhan! The monster that did this is on the roof!

Get up there and give that thing a good walloping!

The roof?

Damn, he's strong! Somehow, this guy can read me like a book.

I'm trying, but I can't land anything!

Grr... So it's come to this, eh? Your luck's run out now!

Haaah!

I rarely resort to this little trick. After Majin Buu, you're the second one to push me this far.

In contrast to his innocent, pudgy exterior, Janemba commanded powers of awe-inspiring magnitude. But with Goku having upped the ante to Super Saiyan 3, perhaps the tables were about to turn...

Janemba, a monster born from the dregs of an evil energy leak, sealed King Yemma behind a barrier, thus robbing the overseer of his power to govern the Otherworld. The wall between dimensions now ripped asunder, the dead rose from their slumber to walk among the living. Chaos began to reign!

Shall we put your confidence to the test, boy?

With their adversaries from beyond the grave handily dispatched, Gohan and friends rounded up the Dragon Balls. Surely Shenron, they figured, would be able to restore order...

State your wish.

I see...

Unfortunately, it is not within my power to grant such a wish.

The fates of the dead are governed by King Yemma.

This matter extends beyond the scope of my power.

Um... No wishes? Anyone?

It seemed not even the Dragon Balls could clean up this colossal catastrophe... The solution was in Goku's hands. Janemba, the problem's very root, had to be defeated!

Upsetting the sacred balance between dimensions, Janemba's power was a force to be reckoned with indeed. Goku was left with no choice but to turn into Super Saiyan 3. At last, the monster would face the full extent of Goku's might!

I rarely resort to this little trick. After Majin Buu, you're the second one to push me this far.

And with that... the real fight starts now!

Time to get rowdy! Haaaaagh!

Nrgh!

Look at yourself, Kakarot. Pathetic!

Have you forgotten that defeating you is a feat to be savored by me alone?

Vegeta!

Janemba's new, more malevolent form sent the monster's power soaring to baffling heights. All hope seemed lost... Until the prince of Saiyans arrived on the scene!

Though it appeared Goku had secured victory, up rose Janemba, who had transformed into a form more suited to combat. Faced with a staggering power beyond even that of Super Saiyan 3, Goku was pushed into a corner. But then, just in the nick of time, help arrived...

Vegeta? But how?

You don't say? This might have something to do with King Yemma being trapped.

Vegeta!

...!

Haaaaaaaah!

Uraaaaaaagh!

He's strong. One of a kind. I'm shaking with excitement.

Hmph. You won't be for long, once we're both defeated.

...Wait. There is a way we can win.

What?!

Fusion!

Fusion? Elaborate!

We merge. You. Me. One body.

Fuse? With you? Are you daft, Kakarot?

C'mon, Vegeta! It's the only way!

You know as well as I do he's too darn strong to defeat otherwise!

Nrgh!

I'd rather die than share a body with the likes of you!

But Vegeta... You ARE dead.

Grrr...

Not even the Saiyan prince could prove Janemba's match. The monster's power defied all reason. In order to defeat their strongest foe yet, Goku and Vegeta would have to do the impossible... work together.

Neither Goku nor Vegeta could hold a candle to Janemba's strength... separately, that is. Our heroes were left with but one final hope for victory... fusion. Would this technique be enough to contend with this unstoppable adversary?

Even in death, I am inferior to him! Damn it. Damn it all!

Don't be hard on yourself, Vegeta. I've been training over at the Grand Kai's Planet this whole time, and with my body, to boot.

It's only natural you'd fall behind, given you were just a spirit and all.

Don't belittle me with your...pity!

I guess fusion's off the table then...

What with your pride and all.

Really?

Yes. The torment of fusing with you beats being pitied by you any day.

Thanks? ...I think?

Casting his pride aside, Vegeta resolved to fuse with his long-time rival. Would this fusion birth the super warrior the Otherworld so direly needed?

Fu...sion! HA!

Have you seen yourself?! That Gogeta's defective!

You blew it, you two!

The other guy's hand was closed for the final move of the sequence.

A Gogeta, that is not. No, looks more like a..."Veku". Yep.

The unthinkable had happened. The technique had failed! Would the Saiyan duo be able to survive the fusion's thirty-minute time limit with the deadly Janemba hot on their heels?

The fused pair made use of unique and unpredictable movements to evade Janemba's onslaught and survive. Soon, thirty minutes had elapsed, releasing the two from their undignified state.

Kakarot, you imbecile! That technique is utter trash!

We were weaker than an infant! You fooled me!

Something must've gone wrong...

If that's all it took to beat him, we wouldn't be fleeing for our lives!

Goku, Vegeta's hand positioning wasn't right!

Ah, so it wasn't the technique. It was the execution!

Don't be foolish! I followed your blasted instructions to a tee!

Vegeta, you gotta point with your index finger at the end.

...Curses! You mean to say we must repeat that humiliating dance?

It's either that or get compacted into flesh cubes. C'mon!

You ready?

Tch!

Dammit...!

We owe you one, buddy!

Vegeta, you ready?

One final fusion would decide the collective fates of the universe and all its inhabitants... in this life and the next. Would our heroes be able to succeed where they previously failed...?

In a risky bid to buy time for his allies, Paikuhan engaged the savage Janemba. Unfortunately for the West Galaxy hero, the staggering difference in power left him in tatters... And then...it happened.

I'm the one who will crush you!

Gogeta's immense power far eclipsed that of his evil adversary, resulting in Janemba's defeat. The evil energy was purged from its host, and the worker freed at last. A semblance of normality returned...

Glad THAT'S all over. Now, let's clean up this colossal mess.

Before long, dimensional order was reinstated, and the dead began their pilgrimage to whence they came. The time had come for Goku and Vegeta to bid their farewells, too.

Thanks, Vegeta.

That fusion was a one-off, Kakarot. Never will I subject myself to that again!

Heh heh. See ya around, old friend.

And with that, Vegeta's soul was transported to its former resting place in Hell. No more would the masses of the departed walk the streets of the living. Only one thing remained out of place...

Um, someone? ...Anyone?

...