Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these verses.
The buzzing grew louder. Starting from an annoying fickle thing on the edge of his senses, it had slowly become a whirlwind cutting into his brain. Abruptly he awoke, feeling strangely out of place.
"Wha-" Quicker than humanly possible he stood up from his half-awake state and spun around, his wide eyes circling the yellow barrier of energy surrounding the entire area, thousands of feet in each direction.
Amber aura curled and coiled within a thin plane on each side forming an enormous prism. He watched the riveting swirls of energy for a few seconds before looking around, his wide eyes not giving at observing he was in a large gym, the wooden floor freshly waxed and marked with persistent glares. But the ominous yellow energy had even coated the ground in a thin membrane.
Beyond the transparent prism walls he could clearly make out what seemed to be a dark, metallic sphere. Bright green foreign symbols spun into place on the surface of it, before it continued to generate new ones.
"...How did I get here? Just what is this place?" His muttered questions went unanswered. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep early for an exam. He had already told himself not to be distracted by his little brother's training. And now here he was in the middle of some random gym and energy prism.
He looked down at his clothes.
Just great. Someone also swapped his pyjamas with what he normally wore for classes. A sinking feeling churned in his stomach.
"Excuse me...?" Gohan cursed, not realizing there were other people here. How did he not notice earlier? He turned slowly, finding the source of the girl's voice easily.
She was different, to put it lightly. He shouldn't be perturbed, really, with Trunks having purple hair. But the girl, who seemed to be in high school from the green school uniform, had long silver hair. The glinting strands swaying as she walked towards him.
Her complexion was pale, the skin almost translucent in a way that attracted his eyes. Her eyes were crimson, a color he couldn't recall seeing on any human before. She stood with her arms crossed, the posture speaking of confidence and strength, peering directly at him.
Coughing once into his hand, he stumbled with his words, "...H-hello."
The girl frowned at his greeting. She stepped closer to him, standing only a few feet away.
"What is this place? The last thing I remember is going to sleep in my dorm room."
She paused and looked around for a bit, staring at several others that were suddenly in the gym. Gohan flinched a few times at seeing the appearances, their forms had coalesced into being from thin air; like they were scanned into reality from a printer. It explained why he didn't notice anyone earlier. The people were of all shapes and colors, some very average looking and others quite ...interesting.
"...Just what is going on? It's like we're all being teleported here," the silver haired girl's words repeated in his head, causing even more of that uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.
He stiffened and glanced at the girl who was staring at him again. He guessed she expected some kind of answer or comment.
"I'm as lost as you. The last thing I remember is going to sleep in my bed at home," he didn't expect the growl from her mouth nor her spinning around, her hair flying out and almost swiping at his face if not for him leaning back.
"Useless," the suddenly cold attitude and words looked more comfortable on her face and he could only watch silently as the girl turned away, her head swiveling to look for something.
"Moka!" A smile erupted on the silver haired girl's face, greatly contrasting with the colder appearance. A boy with brown hair and the same school uniform sprinted towards them. He was followed by a gaggle of others in the same uniforms and some who clearly didn't go to the same school.
"Tsukune-kun!" She dashed over, meeting him in a hug as the group of girls chattered at high speeds.
A girl with blue hair akin to Bulma groaned, "Just when I thought I had some time for Tsukune to myself."
A taller black haired boy in the back sighed heavily, "Get over it already Kurumu, he doesn't like you like that."
The words caused the now named Kurumu to turn her glare on him.
"Shut up Gin," she ran a hand over her body.
"Tsukune-kun would be a fool to give all this up!" The rest of the group ignored them as they whispered amongst themselves, clearly talking about the situation they were in. And now that he focused, a chattering across the entire room grew. Some louder than others, and some more harrowing than others. But there were a few who looked accustomed to such situations, their faces lit up with a sort of strength.
Gohan smiled, feeling the strength of the bonds in front of him. It reminded him of the Z Fighters and his father's friends.
Tsukune, the popular boy in the middle of the group of girls, turned to look at him. He peered at Moka for a bit before meeting his eyes again.
"Hello there. Thanks for keeping Moka company, we were so worried about her! Do you have any idea what's going on at all? It feels almost like a kidnapping..." Gohan frowned at the words, contemplating them. Yes, this was a kidnapping as far as definitions go.
But as the people started to fill the gym, some groups clearly knowing each other and talking loudly; others alone at the walls of the prism, deeply analyzing it. And as he observed around him, recognizing that most of these people were fighters, warriors. He had the feeling there was more to this 'kidnapping.'
He frowned as his thoughts turned darker.
Moka had a group, and so many others did as well, but he was alone. Vegeta, Piccolo, the Z Fighters... they weren't brought along on this sudden trip as far as he could tell.
Gohan nodded after a few seconds. Tsukune had fidgeted in the silence and Moka and the rest looked almost angry at what they thought was an attempt to ignore their friend, the frown on the half Saiyan's face not helping matters.
"You're right, this is definitely a form of kidnapping. Tsukune is it? It's nice to meet you. I'm Gohan," he shook the boy's hand, alleviating the tension between him and the group. When did he become so serious?
A small girl, younger than the rest, bounded over. She had a witch's hat on and a wand in her hand. She looked up at him before nodding.
"Gohan, huh? What, are you a college student or something? You don't look much older than us." He nodded casually as an answer. But he was already looking elsewhere. The sphere that had begun to attract more and more attention had slightly shifted from its normal pattern of symbols to something else; his keen eyes picking out the change even during the conversation and rising noise.
The sphere blinked with a symbol that looked similar to a computer cursor, and finally words started displaying; words that he could understand. And at the same time, a chime erupted from it. A robotic voice began to output in sync with the appearing words. Silence befell the entire audience. Several characters in the audience had tried to make noise but were silenced by their own teammates.
"Nami! Ow, that hurt!"
"Shut up Luffy!"
"Asta! Be quiet!"
"Issei, please... we need to pay attention now."
"Eren, calm down. We're as lost as everyone here."
Gohan ignored them all, intensely focused at the prospect of more information.
HELLO. I AM GANTZ. I AM SURE YOU ARE ALL WONDERING WHERE YOU ARE AND WHY YOU ARE HERE. THIS, IN SIMPLE TERMS, IS A COMPETITION. OR RATHER, A VERY IMPORTANT TEST. LOOK AROUND YOU.
Several people wildly looked around and others took in their surroundings silently, peering at everyone in what looked to be suspicion.
THESE PEOPLE, THEY ARE NOT OF THE SAME WORLD AS YOU. NOT EVEN THE SAME DIMENSION. SOME OF YOU ARE AWARE OF DIMENSIONS, BUT FOR THOSE THAT ARE NOT: A DIMENSION IS A DIFFERENT PIECE OF SPACE AND TIME, SOME EVEN EXISTING IN DIFFERENT UNIVERSES. SOME DIMENSIONS ARE VERY SIMILAR, BUT OTHERS CAN HAVE WIDELY DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS. YOU ALL HAVE DIFFERENT CULTURES, LANGUAGES, ABILITIES, HISTORIES, AND EVEN DIFFERENT PHYSICAL LAWS GOVERNING YOUR WORLDS. I BROUGHT YOU HERE, AGAINST YOUR WILL, TO PARTICIPATE WITH ONE ANOTHER AGAINST MY CHALLENGES.
It went silent. Even the noise from the earlier kids disappeared into the suddenly chilling air.
Gohan's eyes widened. It was not out of the realm of sanity to hear that dimensions could contain other people. He knew of several after all in the afterlife and it was the common theory behind Future Trunks' time machine. But he was under the assumption these were part of the same Universe. For there to be other Universes...
Others around had started to mutter, then yell, and then finally panic reared its head. Some stayed calm, but he could see the stiffening of their bodies and the swirl of their life force, indicating a preparation for combat.
"What the hell? Is such a thing even possible?" A green haired man with... three sword sheaths growled, his eyes narrowed and currently glaring at the black sphere.
A man in a suit lit up a cigarette and turned to look at the green haired man with one eye exposed beneath his yellow hair.
"Marimo, calm down. We're surrounded by things we don't know," the deadly serious tone of the smoking man seemed to calm the swordsman down.
Others around them had interactions of their own.
"Superman, this doesn't look to be the work of anyone we know. My database connections have been disconnected, but the offline partitions don't contain anything about this GANTZ," A man in an armored batsuit of all things spoke calmly to another strangely dressed man. Blue and red made up the... 'hero's suit', a shining symbol on the chest.
Interestingly enough, he wore a cape like his old Saiyaman outfit, the strange red cloth hanging over his shoulders. He was tall and muscled, appearing to possess great strength.
The entire group looked to be built for combat.
A woman with gleaming golden armor and a blue, white, red design across the torso. Her legs were exposed until red boots, giving off a natural grace in her posture. A form built for movement and fast reactions. She had bands on her wrists and a golden... lasso was hooked to her belt. A sword hung on her back, the silver shining with a gleam of runic scripts.
A dark skinned man suited in green and black peered around, his eyes glowing green as they trailed the air, seemingly looking for a weakness in the barriers surrounding them.
Another man with a red suit and mask seemed to 'move' from one edge to the other, before returning to the group. Occasionally repeating it, to see if he could find an opening.
'That speed...' Gohan tensed slightly, surprised at how fast the man was without the use of Ki. The man had moved so fast that nearly no one else noticed him leaving his initial position.
Several others stood behind these five, all dressed in what he always imagined real comic book heroes to wear.
'Superman' nodded to a question that Gohan missed.
"I have never heard of GANTZ. Kryptonian database or otherwise. Though this, if this... machine is capable of summoning others from across different universes, we need to be prepared for something as dangerous Darkseid." Batman nodded stiffly, his eyes glowing unnaturally with a white backlight. His stance was hidden beneath a black cloak, giving him a menacing appearance. The man's jaw was the only overt hint of humanity beneath.
Gohan's observations went interrupted as Moka muttered under her breath.
"What did we get ourselves into now?" Tsukune smiled shakily at her, but Gohan could tell that the boy was as fearful as one could be in such a situation.
The rest of the little group huddled slightly closer to one another, their eyes frantically going back and forth between the strangers around them. He couldn't blame them.
'They were just told we're all from different Universes. For all they know, the humans in Universe B eat other humans,' he watched saddened as they looked at him with a strange expression.
Another nearby group surrounding a teenage boy with a blue arrow going down his hairless head, started to mutter amongst themselves as well. One from the group kept pointing at the sphere and making multiple gestures. A girl in the group, her eyes pale and blind, grunted and growled at him, "Sokka shut up! We get it, we're screwed. But you're not helping! It's bad enough that I can barely see with this yellow energy in the way."
The monk-like boy smiled at 'Sokka' and put a hand on his shoulder, urging him to calm down.
The scene was wildly broken when a young man flew with great speed at the barrier right in front of the black sphere. The stranger's hand pushed forward a spiraling blue ball of energy, smashing it against the amber energy with ground shaking force.
Several people screamed and tumbled from the shockwaves splashing across the ground.
Gohan flinched as the sound of grinding echoed out in the entire gym. Swirls of air flew away from the impact zone which nearly pushed the yellow haired man back but, stubbornly, he forced the attack into the shield.
The dwindling cyclones of wind signaled the end and ultimately the yellow haired man was flung back by the backlash, his attack not making a dent in the wall and only collapsing into blue wisps. The man who wore orange pants and a black uniform jacket flipped backwards before landing in a graceful crouch. His hair was cut short but spiked up and encircled by a black forehead band, a shining metal plate with a strange symbol etched on it.
"Huh, that was a lot tougher than I thought it would be," the young man muttered. Gohan noticed that faint lines went down each cheek on his face, giving him a more exotic appearance.
Mutters and screams exploded around the entire gym.
"Wah! That looked so cool! You! Join my crew!" A black haired young man with a straw hat looked excited rather than daunted by the show of power from another universe's denizens.
"Luffy! Notice the situation and read the mood a little!" The long nosed young man shook slightly as several eyes lasered onto him and his, what he presumed, captain.
"I gotta fight this guy!" A pink haired young man shouted, barely being held back by his friends.
"Natsu! That guy's a man's man! You'll be destroyed!"
"That wasn't anything like alchemy. This GANTZ wasn't kidding. For all intents and purposes, these guys might as well be gods to us," a short young man with a red trench coat and black pants frowned.
"Way to go Naruto... you scared the lot of them," a member of Naruto's group, one with a dog at his side and a gruff appearance groaned.
A man with orange hair and scowl on his face grunted, "He's fast. Didn't realize a human without Reiryoku could do something like that. Reminds me of those Fullbringers."
"Hahaha, you're excited too Kurosaki! This guy's pretty powerful. I barely caught that with my eye," A massive man with spiked hair and an eyepatch covering one of his eyes laughed loudly as he swung a jagged sword over his shoulder. The group that he was apart of looked to be the same organization. All wore black hakamas, but some members, and by his count 13, wore white hiaoris over them. Most of them had sheathed swords, widely different in shapes and colors.
'Some kind of military group, specializing with swords. Though I get a strange feeling from their energy,' Gohan pondered.
The oldest of their members hit his cane on the ground once, silencing the black clothed group and some others near them. When he spoke, his eyes barely opened and his mouth hardly moved; his long white beard swayed in the air and silence.
"Quiet. If you have time to talk, then think of a way out of this prism. I have already tried the Senkaimon but the gateway refuses to open," the grizzled man was ancient, scarred, and stood hunched over his cane. Yet he exudes a presence of power and intelligence that gained the attention of several people in other groups.
"Naruto! You idiot! We told you to wait until the right time!" Another pink haired girl screeched, her fist closing and shaking with barely suppressed anger.
'Naruto' smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry Sakura-chan, it's just that this guy pissed me off. Least he could do if he's threatening us is to show his face instead of hiding behind some weird sphere."
The girl just exhaled and looked down, ignoring the young man as he casually walked back to his group. A sign that she experienced this type of obstinance multiple times in the past.
Gohan chuckled a bit, causing Moka and the rest to look at him. He ignored them. He wondered if he looked odd reacting to such little things.
"Buchou, I'm scared! That guy looks super strong. If this is a competition we're royally screwed!" A brown haired boy looked left right and desperately reached for a girl with bright red hair. He was rebuffed as she peered around. The entire group was a high school group, wearing uniforms somewhat like Moka and Tsukune. The red haired girl's eyes were blue-green, narrowed in thought while she ignored the wailing boy. She turned slightly and nodded to another red haired person, a man older than Gohan himself.
'A brother, maybe?'
The brother stepped forward and spoke aloud following the failed attempt to escape by Naruto.
"We somehow made it past the dimensional gap, that much I can sense. Beyond that, it's a mystery. It seems like this GANTZ isn't telling lies, it has the ability to bring others from different dimensions." The words were commanding and powerful, like a military general speaking to his troops.
A man in a mask with a blue suit and shield stepped forward as well, meeting the eyes of the red haired man.
'Another group of heroes...?' His eyes trailed the group the masked man left behind, a group of colorful characters with combat-oriented suits and weapons.
"This type of experience isn't unknown to us. It's important for us to stay calm-" And here he turned his head towards Naruto, meeting the azure eyes of the now more serious young man, somehow picking the yellow haired man out as a leader.
"GANTZ is giving us the chance to converse it seems so we should take this time to communicate any solutions." Gohan nodded quickly, along with many others, agreeing with the man.
A man covered entirely in red and gold iron stepped forward, his voice coming out with a slight static, indicating technology beneath the suit, "Cap's right. Clearly this is another dimension. My suit's getting a reading of radiation levels frequently paired with black hole generation around this entire area. We've been brought here through some kind of warp in space. Reference points put us as orthogonal to traditional 3D space, so we're not just somewhere else in the Universe."
Gohan blinked with many others. That was... impressive.
A short old man spoke next, his small frame hiding him until his voice erupted across the entire crowd, "I do not know what that means exactly, but I agree that this is truly a different dimension. We have experience with these things, and the magical signatures are very similar."
The half saiyan wondered briefly what a magical signature was but he was interrupted as a group of kids behind the old man ran forward.
"Gramps, let me fight that strong guy. I felt his energy from all the way over here!"
"Natsu!" The pink haired man was smashed into the ground, startling a few of the crowds, by a girl with hair as red as the 'Rias' from earlier.
Naruto laughed suddenly, "Sure kid, give me a place and time and we can fight it out."
The voice of an older man spoke out, "Sir, if I may."
A bearded man that could pass off for Merlin walked forward, his long white beard swaying in time with his pointed hat.
"You mentioned a 'magical signature'. Do you, perhaps, possess magic?" The question was directed to the old man from before. The shorter of the two stood still for a second before slowly nodding up the tall wizard.
"Of course I do. The name's Markov by the way." The wizard smiled, his eyes gleaming with happiness.
"Stupendous! To think other Universes could possess what we once thought contained to only a few! Ah, forgive my manners. My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Markov smiled and then gestured behind Dumbledore.
"Are those yours then? I had been wondering why there were so many children wearing the same clothes. By far you are the largest group," Markov frowned slightly, his eyes meeting the hundreds of youth behind Dumbledore and several older wizards and witches.
"I only hope that you all return safe and sound." The tall and short wizard met each other's eyes for a few seconds before nodding.
Gohan could hear some of the students muttering to one another.
"We'll be fine, won't we Harry?" A girl with bushy hair asked nervously to a black haired boy with green eyes, her teeth gnawing at her lips.
Harry hesitantly nodded, "There are other wizards here... and you saw that guy who bloody flew and attacked the barrier right? I really think everyone around us is from another dimension. Someone here has to be strong enough to get us back home, and if not, Dumbledore will."
The boys words had an effect on the students around, a lot of the fear and tension evaporating as they nodded alongside him.
A boy with orange hair spoke up seriously, "At least it's not You-Know-Who again." Other similar looking children echoed agreements, most likely siblings.
A green robed girl with blonde hair and cold blue eyes stepped forward, her arms crossed as she peered at the group of three, "You-Know-Who? We would be more fortunate against him than to survive our sixth year against something that could kidnap us from Hogwarts and across dimensions!"
The girl practically growled out the words near the end, shocking a few of the students around her, but also getting nods from others.
A boy with dark skin and wearing green robes spoke up calmly, "Greengrass is right, Potter. That guy from earlier was so quick and powerful. There was no way he was human. And if he was kidnapped, what chance do we have?" More started to agree, and the boy, 'Harry' frowned as he looked down.
Before Harry could respond, GANTZ shifted again, gathering everyone's attention instantly. Gohan sighed. So much for gathering solutions.
YOU WILL NOTICE THAT YOU CAN SPEAK TO ONE ANOTHER. THIS IS A RESULT OF A UNIVERSAL TRANSLATOR THAT I HAVE PLACED WITHIN THIS SPACE, ALLOWING UNIVERSES TO EASILY INTERACT. I HAVE GIVEN YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE IN YOUR SITUATION. AND NOW, YOU MUST COMPLETE YOUR FIRST CHALLENGE. SURVIVE.
At that ominous turn, the entire ground shook and before their very eyes, the yellow walls and ceiling that had from the very beginning stood unflinchingly, began to slide inwards.
'My God! If these continue to move in, we'll be crushed!' Gohan stood with his mouth and eyes wide open.
The hundreds from Hogwarts began to scream, huddling next to each other and the half-saiyan truly realized the horror of the situation. Dumbledore had a ferocious expression, his arms sweeping around and a wand raised. His eyes focused intensely, a plan forming on the aged wizard's mind.
"Moka! Hurry! We have to do something!" Tsukune immediately understood, then.
She jerkily nodded and the entire group dashed to the closest yellow wall. In a shock of power, they all transformed. Dark power exploded from them, changing their shapes and appearances. Moka had become even paler, her silver hair shining in the light. Fangs escaped from her mouth and her red eyes solidified into the coldest glass.
Tsukune's hair faded, seeping into white, and his eyes became similar to the ... vampire-esque Moka. The rest of the group was a mottley of a werewolf, succubus, and even an ice woman.
They immediately unleashed their attacks on the enclosing walls. Shooting blasts of energy and high impact kicks and punches. Several bounced off back at the group, causing a few transformations to burn into ashes and reveal normal human forms.
Moka cried out as her legs steamed from the energy, jumping back as she was surrounded by her friends.
Son Gohan squeezed his fist, his mind barely keeping up with events.
He immediately looked to the right, seeing the Straw Hat crew from before attempting the same as Moka's group. The boy in the Straw Hat had seemingly transformed as well, his appearance just as monstrous as Moka's group all on his own. Several of the crew were launching wild attacks against the barriers, doing nothing to stop the gradual movement.
Luffy's entire body had comically expanded like rubber, the torso disproportionate to his lower body, muscles expanding dramatically in every direction. Gigantic arms coated in some black sheen stretched out in a strange design. It almost looked like he would pop, but was somehow holding himself together with sheer force of will. From here he could feel the immense tensile strength required to hold in such a shape. The boy's eyes were now darkened and his hair had swept back from the steam escaping his mouth- also causing everyone near him to cover their eyes.
"Gear 4th, Boundman! You bastard! This won't hold us!" And before everyone's eyes, he disappeared with sheer speed, reappearing in front of the yellow wall.
"Kong GUN!" A shattering force exploded from Luffy, the point of impact crackled as a black covered arm with steam swirling around it shot out with such speed and power that it shattered the gym floor beneath..
Yet... 'Not enough.' Gohan looked away when Luffy screamed and bounced back like a rubber ball, his form quickly returning to normal from the backlash. His crew members caught him. The green haired swordsman put his third sword in his mouth, his eyes lasering onto the amber energy.
The yellow haired smoker walked forward, his leg suddenly catching fire, turning almost magma-like in appearance.
Both dashed forward, the green-haired one unleashing slashes of air with each sword and the smoker kicking out with great power, but they both bounced back; the attacks dissipating or in the yellow haired man's case, throwing him to the side as the hardness of the barrier made itself known.
"GETSUGA TENSOU!" The 'Ichigo' from earlier was dressed differently, from the school uniform he was wearing - it was now a uniform black with white cloth interspersed with the tatters of his lower body. Two swords had unleashed a wave of blue energy at another of the yellow walls, only to grind and become nothing but particles against the supernaturally tough barriers. A huge shockwave careened away from the impact only for Ichigo to flash in front of it, crushing it in his hand.
"Tch. This thing isn't slowing down at all," Ichigo jumped back, his eyes looking around for some weakness.
The walls had moved a few feet already and Gohan could see the growing panic it was causing amongst the Hogwarts children and a group of people with brown coats, harnesses, and strange-looking swords.
"Minerva! I have already tried apparition multiple times and my portkeys seem to fail as well. GANTZ is blocking the path somehow. Shield the children please."
Dumbledore stepped forward, his plan apparently formed. With a wave of his wand over his head he lashed out with a huge conjuration of water, the coiling and curling mass almost covering the entire crowd. With a yell of power he slowly turned his wand around his body and the water coated the walls of the prism, floating atop the slowly approaching amber energy. In another grand gesture with his wand the entirety of the water froze, the churning water cracking as it turned pure white and frosting over the edges of the gym.
'That's... magic,' the half saiyan shared the shock and amazement of several people as the wizard formed the ice barrier around them. There were even some cheers. Moka's group stopped in exhaustion and backed away.
"Well, we at least helped!" Kurumu pouted at the lack of attention their group got.
"... powerful." The ice woman stared at the white bearded wizard, unable to shake her attention from him. Moka, Tsukune, and the rest of the group nodded without thinking, also staring at the man.
"Oi Luffy, did you see that!?" The long nosed boy was shaking Luffy haphazardly, pointing at the heavily breathing Dumbledore.
"Impressive. Your ability might even touch Captain Hitsugaya's," the older man with the cane peered keenly at Dumbledore.
The students of Hogwarts clapped and cheered for their headmaster. But before it could go on for very long a heartstopping crack captured their ears. Then multiple cracks echoed out over the gym.
"Even then..." Dumbledore looked ready to cast another spell but Gohan could see his shaking hands.
The red suited and masked speedster suddenly spoke out, nearly yelling at Superman.
"I've scoured every single inch. This thing is solid at the atomic level. I can't even phase through, it would get me radiated to all hell."
Superman nodded sharply. He then rose from the ground and defied gravity, startling a few people. Without looking at Dumbledore he spoke, "Can you remove the ice? It won't hold for much longer."
The aged wizard swallowed once, but slowly nodded. With a flick of his wand, the ice had begun to disappear, fading until the horror of the amber energy reappeared. Dozens cursed at the sight.
Superman nodded thankfully. He flew steadily to the side of the prism, where the yellow wall inchingly came closer. Gohan watched him put his arms to the barrier, and for the first time since GANTZ announced the challenge, the walls stopped moving entirely. Superman's arms stretched out and his muscles bulged, causing tears in his suit. Gohan shivered. Call it intuition, but he felt that the amount of pressure between Superman's hands and the yellow barrier was immense.
Yet there was no opposite motion, the wall stood unmoving. Everyone held their breath as Superman's actions finally put a stop to the murderous walls. But the silence was broken by the man in a bat suit.
Batman glared, "Impossible, even with all that strength it won't move back."
The man of iron flew directly at the barrier, side by side with Superman. And put his hands on the yellow energy, the metal over his body sizzled in close proximity to the heat escaping from the pressure between Superman and the wall.
"Thor, Hulk get your asses here and help!" Thor he presumed was the golden haired man, massive in stature with long hair and gleaming metal armor, he cut a figure from myths. Hulk, as the name implied, was a hulking mass of muscling green, one of the largest people in the gym.
Gohan thought back and remembered the man from before, with glasses and a tiny frame.
'Was that him? One hell of a transformation.'
Both smashed into the barrier, the Hulk putting his shoulder onto the ground under Iron Man, Superman, and now Thor, who was using a hammer to force the barrier back. But almost mockingly, right after Superman screamed in effort, the wall shifted inwards, like a sputtering engine, it haphazardly shrunk inwards and inwards, sliding with a groan.
The groups behind Iron Man and Superman flew or ran to the barrier, pushing with all their might.
"Wonder Woman, help Superman! This is the most strength I've seen him exert!" Batman roared at the woman in armor. She nodded and launched herself next to Superman, and with an almighty shriek she took the bulk of the pressure. Superman floated off and steam burned from his red hands. The flesh nearly dripping off of his bones.
Several people vomited. The Hogwarts children looked away, some beginning to sob.
Moka and her group backed away in horror. The Straw Hats looked grim, Luffy's eyes shadowed by his hat. Ichigo and the black hakama group stilled, several of those in white actually sweating.
Dumbledore's grave expression grew graver. He nodded at a nurse near him. She hurriedly ran towards the slowly falling Superman, who had his eyes closed.
Rias' brother, the red haired man spoke out, "Devils after me!" The girl, apparently a devil, and her group alongside dozens of others flew with wings like bats at the wall. Attacks rained against the wall, magical and physical. The onslaught was horrific, powers as black as space and bright as the sun struck against the barrier. Yet the wall did not stop. Could not stop.
"Even my power of destruction is useless. Tsk! Rias, move back!"
"Brother!"
The old man who had been impressed by Dumbledore stepped forward, his sword unsheathing.
"This may kill the others here, but it seems we have no choice." The grizzled demeanor of the man became darker and he lifted the top of his hakama off, revealing a scarred and muscular torso. With a roar of power he launched a beam of red energy at the wall, it careened off, bouncing and exploding off the ground nearby. The explosion was contained but Gohan glared all the same.
'How crazy is he!? Does he not realize the danger of launching such an attack in close quarters!'
Others did the same, and a man larger than life pointed a finger at him.
"How could you? What is the point in saving yourself if you cannot do it without victims!? Follow my lead, heroes! Plus Ultra!" The blond man suited in blue and red and white had eyes shadowed in darkness, only the gleaming eyes of determination appearing in his anger.
With a roar he launched himself at the barrier with both hands, a shockwave erupted from his hands, but he pushed forward anyways, his mouth scowling in exertion.
Ichigo and the rest of the black hakama group flew at the barrier with their swords, grinding the edges against the yellow energy.
"That old bastard, ignore him everyone! We need to do this the right way! Bankai!" Ichigo roared, his form became encompassed with a black and red energy, waves of it clashing against the ground and rising in a pillar. In seconds the effect cleared, leaving Ichigo in a slim black hakama with white streams flowing down its form. His sword has transformed, seemingly merging from the two smaller ones earlier, into one weapon.
A roar of epic proportions eclipsed the transformation as a titan steamed its way into existence. Eren, the boy from earlier, had radically changed. Red skin, exposed muscles and bones made for a horrific sight but it seemed the boy had control over his new monstrous form, the giant throwing its weight against the barrier with a human clarity.
"...Eren," The girl that had been near him earlier whispered, but the titan ignored her as it put its hands side by side with the rest of the warriors.
Asta, the silver haired boy spun with his sword against the barrier. Those behind him began to launch attacks, magical in nature and variety.
The oldest of that group was a tall man with a cigarette in his mouth. Glaring eyes and a muscular stature cut an intimidating figure. He began to generate a darkness from his sword, putting his back into it as he slashed the amber wall. One hand strained on the back of the blade as he roared.
Markov and his group of wizards were in the midst of attacking the wall, their magical attacks doing little to help. Natsu and the red haired woman with armor from earlier attacked with bursts of flames and a whirlwind of blades.
Healers from every group had begun to support the warriors attacking the barrier.
Superman, healed, took the weight again from Wonder Woman as she went to heal her own charred hands, slowing the closing in walls. But not completely. Cries of pain escaped from their mouths but they still continued.
The entire group Naruto headed was putting their back into it. Naruto apparently had the ability to clone himself and each was covered in yellow energy cloaks, black lines forming around the cyclones of his aura. The clones held a ball of rapidly rotating energy, grinding the attacks against the same wall. Behind them, a gigantic fox made of energy appeared. Its human-esque arms flew up to push against the amber wall.
The Hogwarts students backed up into the center, the inexperienced students shocked into compliance as they watched the insanity of what was going on, and Moka's group joined them. The devils backed up, their arms steaming and bodies exhausted as they fell near the students. Some students took the initiative to use healing magic to help. Others tripped backwards, avoiding the injured strangers as much as possible.
A man with red and ringed purple eyes formed an enormous purple avatar. The swirling purple energy condensed into a warrior with an enormous sword, its creator inside the center of it. With a surge of power it launched its purple sword to attack the wall, explosions of wind escaping from the slash. He was helped by a Gear 4th Luffy and a heavily breathing pirate crew.
A man with a red coat and black pants sprinted atop the Hulk, leaping with a set of praying hands until he reached the amber, smacking his palms against it.
Everyone paused as the wall slowed to a near stop, its entire form radically twisting and turning before immediately returning to normal, its enclosing speed unaffected.
"Ed!" Another young man with blond hair roared as 'Ed' was launched back into the air, a backlash of energy nearly hitting him.
Gohan instantly appeared in front of it, smacking the coil of energy up. The lethal backlash of energy twirled and dissipated in the air above. He floated with a narrowed gaze, one hand dropping a still Edward to his brother and the other hand squeezing into in a shaking fist.
Rage filled him unlike anything before. The sight of hundreds doing their best to stop their demise, the prism becoming so tight that groups had to back up and huddle in the center amongst the students. Moka peered up at him, Tsukune and the rest watching open-mouthed at the floating Gohan.
"Batman! It's impossible! This wall of energy's strength is beyond anything I've felt!" Superman panted hard, his hands red as blood and his eyes shadowed by his twisted hair.
Iron Man had since fallen back, his suit's energy entirely depleted. The man within could only lay down, unable to do anything. 'Cap' crouched near him, a shield raised towards the incoming wall.
As more and more retreated from exhaustion or pain, the crowd in the center gradually grew. The prism walls were only a hundred feet away from the bulk of the people.
Gohan floated up, his eyes catching the resigned and enraged expressions. He turned towards the barrier that so many put their all against. With a roar he transformed, his hair standing up but not turning gold.
A natural transformation, one that made full use of the potential embedded in base form. A white aura appeared around him and the once stern expression on his face faded into apathy as a peace within him flourished.
When he spoke, words filled with a supernatural confidence, everyone listened, "GANTZ, you will pay for causing all this suffering."
With speeds unseeable he appeared in front of the amber energy, the prism unchanged in appearance.
'Not even a crack.'
He placed one hand on the barrier and closed his eyes. He felt it, this energy. It was beyond dimensions, separating them not just from freedom but also space and time.
'We don't even exist in the same place as GANTZ. We were meant to die here.'
"...But I can rip these bindings apart by destroying this dimensional prison."
His Ki swirled around him, energizing his spirit to its maximum power. People behind covered their eyes as the air shook in the gym, waves of heat distorting it. The crowd watched with anticipation.
An enormous crack appeared across the front of the barrier, letting out a groan of tremendous volume. The vibrations worked their way into Gohan's bones.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" A roar erupted again as electricity bounced around Gohan's form. Power eclipsing galaxies, universes, dimensions cracked into the wall, the backlash contained behind Gohan's palm.
More cracks appeared across the entire wall, the energy wisping away and splitting like ice.
"... Amazing. He's doing it alone," Batman stared wide-eyed, Superman following his lead.
"Gohan..." Tsukune and Moka watched, never realizing they were holding their breaths.
The entire Hogwarts school peered through shaky eyes, seeing the effects the strange flying boy had on the wall.
Harry whispered furiously, "He's doing it!" Hermione nodded absently and Ron gulped.
"D-don't jinx the bloke!"
Dumbledore's eyes couldn't leave Gohan's back along with everyone else's.
"Naruto... we're weak," Sasuke's voice came out in a rasp. Naruto didn't say anything but he clenched both fists in frustration.
For once, Natsu didn't say anything, only watching Gohan break the wall like glass. Makarov's eyes glowed, his body shaking as hope finally revealed itself.
"Rias-buchou, you'd like that guy as part of the peerage huh?" Akeno's question went unanswered by the red haired Gremory, the girl too occupied by the show of power in front of her.
Yamamoto's eyes were wide, as were most of the Captains'.
"To think this type of power could exist. A single man can do such a thing..." Byakuya's words were out of character and several gazed at him.
Eren, now human, watched, entranced, alongside his squadmates.
"If this guy can come to our world, the titans would be history!" Nobody answered that impossible comment, too afraid of the burgeoning hope within.
Iron Man overheard and spoke with a much more human voice this time, "Good luck getting that guy to do anything." The mask fell off with an exhale of gas and slowly the man stood up.
Luffy and his crew watched calmly.
The captain spoke in a serious tone, "We need to get stronger guys." They didn't even hesitate as they voiced out loud their agreement.
Aang had been attempting to bend icy water earlier to cool down Superman, but now he could only stare blankly at Gohan. Katara, Zuko, Sokka, and Toph doing much the same.
Gohan roared again and this time the wall dissolved with a huge burst of energy, the amber walls breaking into miniscule shards. The energy careened out and away from the crowd behind. With that, the entire prism turned into yellow particles, rising into the air and disappearing.
The silence left in the wake of Gohan's feat was only a few seconds, but when it was broken the entire gym shook.
Hogwarts cheered the loudest, the children letting loose all their fears and hopes into bubbling laughter and joy.
Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends cheered alongside them, shouts of "Yes!" echoing out into the gym.
Natsu, Erza, and Makarov led the group of mages that ran around a grounded Gohan, all of them giving the detransformed boy a pat on the back. Gohan looked down and rubbed the back of his head, a persistent shyness not disappearing.
"Hey you! Are you single?" A blush appeared on his face at the brown haired girl's personal question.
"Cana! Stop that nonsense. I'm sure a powerful and honorable man like our savior already has a lover," the red haired girl from earlier, Erza stated matter of factly.
Luffy pushed the mages out of the way, his eyes making direct contact with Gohan and he put forward a hand.
"What's your name?"
Before Gohan could answer, several others interrupted as they landed with a crash in front of the young man. All of them varied in shape and color; the black cloaked Swordsmen, the powerful superheroes like Superman and Thor, and a sharp crack of wood indicated the appearance of Sasuke and Naruto.
With a swing into place, a red and blue suited, masked man appeared a few feet from Gohan.
"Name's Spider-Man, don't forget the hyphen. I've gotta say man, you're one cool hombre. But rather than calling you that, would you mind telling us your name?" Silence blanketed the cheers following the question.
Gohan eyed the strange arachnid-themed hero and with a slow nod, his words reverberated into the silence.
"Son Gohan," the half Saiyan shook Luffy's hand and was immediately forced to shake hands with the powerful Superman, the man's hand somewhat hot from the aftereffects of the attempt to escape the prism.
"Superman. It's nice to finally know the name of the guy who saved us."
From then, it was a stream of handshakes and some hugs even. Gohan was overwhelmed.
Though the celebrations were interrupted when Batman shot a laser at GANTZ, the sound sharply cutting into the cheers. The red light bounced off, ricocheting off into the wall of the gym.
Gohan floated up and landed down in front of GANTZ. He peered at Batman, who's shining white eyes made it difficult to gauge the man's thoughts.
"That laser made contact with a scanner, which should have deposited malware into GANTZ's system. My readings, however, seem to indicate that its security defenses were too complex."
The hybrid Saiyan paused at the words and then finally nodded, somewhat understanding Batman.
"We need it to take us back, of course."
Right as Batman began to answer, the black sphere lit up with words again. The robotic voice echoed into the crowd.
IMPRESSIVE SON GOHAN. I DIDN'T THINK THIS CHALLENGE WOULD BE WITHOUT CASUALTIES, BUT YOU'VE CHANGED HISTORY AGAIN. TAKE YOU BACK? I'M AFRAID NOT. WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED.
A glow emanated on the gym floor. Everyone muttered, looking around frantically at the what other horror GANTZ had in store.
Gohan didn't even hesitate, his hand blinked blue and a blast of Ki swept into the black sphere. The struggle of power was only a moment but it was enough. The black haired half Saiyan found himself looking at the bark of an enormous tree. GANTZ was gone.
"Damn..."
Everyone began to suddenly form in the middle of what appeared to be an expansive forest. Trees very similar to the one in front of him, larger than he had ever seen, surrounded them; the trunks rising into the air to almost block out the sunlight.
Around him everyone else gathered their bearings, still not used to the almost seamless transition in the GANTZ's form of teleportation.
'Where are we?' He walked steadily forward on the moss covered ground, nodding in reassurance to a few others as they appeared.
Several looked at him and followed as he walked closer to the center of the growing crowd.
Superman landed next to him.
"...Gohan, we thought it destroyed you when you disappeared but it looks like we're in for another challenge."
Gohan waved his hand around him, gesturing towards the forest, "I'm kinda worried about what could be worse than that first one." Absently, he touched the bark of the tree. It felt different from what he was used to at home; a strange absence of life.
"This isn't a tree I'm familiar with. GANTZ sent us somewhere else."
The old man with the cane flashed over to Gohan's right.
"Impressive job, young one. I do not know how you amassed such power, but it is good fortune that you have. It's unfortunate, however, that this machine has sent us somewhere other than our own worlds," Gohan glared at the man for a few seconds, remembering the collateral damage he had caused earlier. But he nodded in response when the silence had become awkward.
Yamamoto opened his eyes.
"Our techniques to bypass the dimensional realms still fail to work," the Shinigami Captain Commander gazed away from Gohan and looked at the crowd of others talking and muttering amongst themselves.
"And I believe we should expect the same issue with the rest and their unique powers to cross dimensions."
Dumbledore strolled into the growing circle, his appearance not startling any of the three men. Naruto and Sasuke flickered from the shadows. Makarov ambled his way over, followed by Aang from the group of benders. Sirzechs instantly appeared next to the slowly growing group, a gust of wind following his wake as what appeared to be bat wings withdrew back into where they came from. The red haired man leaned against the trunk of the enormous tree.
Captain America and Iron Man both strode forward, the latter's suit regaining power in the few seconds it was exposed to the dim sunlight. A short man with black eyes stiffly walked over, a stern expression on his face, ignoring the calls of "Levy" from his squadmates. A bald man in a wheelchair rolled into place alongside the other heroes; behind him stood a man with a visor and dark skinned woman with hair as white as snow.
Luffy walked up, his eyes serious and his straw hat shadowing his eyes. Edward limped with the help of his brother nearby. Akasha, the pink haired vampire, briefly touched the alchemist's shoulder and before his eyes, he was healed. She smiled briefly and then joined the circle of leaders.
All Might walked over and the circle opened up to accommodate his presence. Yami blew his smoke out nonchalantly before following suit, sighing in exasperation.
"Here we go," he muttered under his breath.
Moka watched, open-mouthed, as her mother appeared in the leaders' circle.
"W-when did she get here?" Tsukune stuttered, his finger pointing shakily to the powerful vampire.
"I saw her earlier in the fight against the barrier, she seems really powerful," Sokka interjected, his eyes nervously going back and forth between different people.
A student from Hogwarts in blue robes whispered in a small, but clear voice, "She appeared amongst the Slytherins- er, the students with the green robes."
Moka narrowed her eyes, "I guess she has some experience as a leader so it makes sense for her to join that circle of people. But even mother's strength... pales to that Gohan."
Several others nodded.
A man in white with a cross chain hanging on his wrist adjusted his glasses.
"His speed and power are otherworldly. I had thought that with 'Superman' our strength was already far outpaced, but for something like him to appear..."
Erza glared at the Quincy, "Have some confidence in your abilities. His skillset was suited for that shield but we surely weakened it beforehand."
Asta chipped in with an excited roar, "She's right! You think all our effort was pointless!?"
The Quincy glared at the loud child, his eyes glowing blue.
"Be quiet." Asta ran up to him, his head smashing against the Quincy's, the growls of both young men attracting the attention of a few.
"Way to go Uryu, you've been brought down to a kid's level," Ichigo leaned back, his swords hanging over his shoulder.
"Some kid. Never seen a guy as little as him wield a blade that large. It has to weigh a few hundred pounds," the Green Lantern muttered, his green eyes eyeing Asta warily.
"A lot of these children are more powerful than they ought to be," Shusui replied, his hand scratching the back of his head as he looked at the group of ninja that showed powers he thought only possible with ancient beings.
"Hello! Everyone!" Gohan interrupted the discussions taking place. Now that most people took a few seconds to analyze the half-saiyan's appearance, they were surprised that he was only slightly above average height-wise, the imposing form from earlier only an illusion. The young man's demeanor was kinder than before as well. His black spiky hair was cut short, the right side styled downwards in one spiky curl.
He stepped forward, the circle of leaders turning to face them all. It was an intimidating sight.
Gohan scratched the back of his head before hesitantly continuing, "Er, it looks like we're on one of the worlds a group has been summoned from."
Some looked shocked at the change in personalities, a few Hogwarts students whispered to each other.
"Weird guy, doesn't sound anything like he did earlier."
"Bloody fantastic, he has multiple personalities..."
Minerva's icy glare shut them up.
Gohan gestured to the side at a stern Levy, the captain's eyes glaring over the crowd in front of him.
"Captain Levy here is actually from this world and has given us a bit of an overview of what we should expect."
Levy stepped forward, his posture straightened as he spoke, "My world is a world of death. Humans are nearly extinct and everyday we fight for our survival." Several in the crowd looked around warily, disbelieving of what they were hearing.
"It's true. The Titans, they've been killing us since before I was born. They're giant human-shaped creatures that kill without thought," the boy that spoke couldn't have been older than 17, a strange expression like rage coming alive on his face.
"Surely these Titans have a weakness you could have exploited," Uryu questioned out loud, his voice resonating in the air.
Misaka pressed a hand to Erin's shoulder and answered, "Titans can be killed by attacking the napes of their necks, yet the vast majority of our population, and maybe our fighting forces, do not have the skill or perhaps the will to use this tactic."
"It's too much to expect for normal people to face these things. I've already scouted out a few and they're deadly to humans," agreed Superman.
The girl, who looked remarkably like someone of Japanese descent, nodded at Superman's words despite her confusion at how exactly he scouted anything in the small amount of time he was here.
"Ahem," Coughed Rias, her red hair swaying in the wind tunneling through the enormous trees.
As one, everyone looked her way, but the Crimson Princess calmly stared ahead.
"It is a tragic situation, but how exactly are we relevant to this discussion? This is not our world and we were only brought here for some madman's challenge," her cool words were met with a wave of anger and some agreement.
"We, as heroes, have an obligation to help those in need," Captain America's voice struck the crowd, silencing those who sought to agree with Rias.
Nami laughed, "Well it's a good thing we aren't heroes then. You guys can take care of things here while we work on getting back home."
Others muttered in agreement.
"Typical Muggles, always seeking someone else to solve all their problems. Headmaster, I don't believe that this should be a priority. We're a school. With children I should emphasize," Snape hissed, his words coiling into the crowd. Dumbledore with an almost imperceptible movement, nodded.
"Perhaps we should not forget that it was with everyone's strength that we escaped that harrowing situation earlier. We may very well be faced with the same here," Xavier, the older man in the wheelchair, stated.
Wonder Woman flung a hand out to the side, "We will not sit like cowards as a world is in danger. These people, they do not deserve to live in perpetual suffering!"
"You would call us cowards? We are merely neutral in this conflict," a single bushy eyebrow rose to challenge the Amazon, Shingeki Yamamoto easily ignoring her resulting glare.
"A coward you are and forever will be in my eyes for what you did earlier," muttered Makarov, the short wizard's face red with anger at interacting with the ancient Yamamoto.
Several soldiers in black hakama placed their hands on their swords, bringing out a tension across the entire field.
Gohan looked back and forth across the crowds, seeing the fracturing amongst the people begin.
'This isn't good. I need to calm things down or we'll just play into GANTZ's plans.'
"Enough!" Gohan's shout echoed across the woods, startling everyone enough that they stood silent.
"We don't have time to bicker and argue with one another. We were lucky in the challenge before this. We had a clear obstacle and directions. Now we're without both and in a situation where anything could happen." Several nodded at his words. Emboldened, he continued, making sure to look at Yamamoto and Makrov.
"We have differing goals, that's to be expected. But I think we can all agree that as long as we're playing to GANTZ's tune, we're worse off. We need to forget the details and focus on what's important. Making sure we all get out of here alive and safe." With that, the mutterings stopped and the rising crescendo of tension evened off.
Superman nodded at Gohan and Naruto smiled at the act of leadership the normally humble teen showcased. Makarov turned his glare from Yamamoto and grumpily shook his head. Dumbledore and the rest of the Hogwarts staff stood by silently, but thoughts of maturity hung in their minds.
'How can a boy so young command such an audience? It speaks of a berth of experience,' Minerva's thoughts shifted into a deep empathy for the boy who had clearly grown up too quickly.
"We've been brought here for a reason. This world's suffering may very well play into it and I wouldn't be surprised if GANTZ set this entire dilemma up to split us. I don't want it to win, and I'm sure you all feel the same," Gohan continued, making sure to look at the leaders around him.
"Hear, hear," Thor stepped forward and lifted his hammer into the skies, a crack of thunder and lightning erupting across the skyline in response. Several in the audience shrieked but his show of support was repeated across the entire crowd.
Grins, smirks, and an array of faces showed themselves. Natsu erupted with flames, his excitement bordering on frenzied. His friend Grey chilled the air around him, flurries of ice floating off his bare skin.
Zoro lifted his sword across his shoulder, a demonic grin forming as he felt everyone else respond.
Exhaling heavily, Yami grunted, "We got a leader here boys and girls, listen up."
"A bit of an odd bloke but not exactly off-course," Fred elbowed his brother.
"Right indeed brother. We'll be following this one closely."
Harry smacked his forehead, embarrassed at the quidditch like commentary the twins were giving.
Akasha smiled, an almost heavenly beauty about her attracting several closeby. She spoke softly, but most heard her, "We agree Gohan-san."
Next to her, her daughters and their friends nodded.
Ichigo briefly glanced at the stunningly beautiful woman before grunting in agreement, "We have better things to do than listen to a bunch of geezers argue."
Captain America raised his shield in agreement. Aang smiled widely and bowed, his hands together in a traditional air bender sign of respect.
All Might smiled, a sense of strain escaping from him, but a shout reverberated out regardless, "It puts my heart at ease that the younger generations understand the world so well."
Gohan smiled at the kind words, but narrowed his eyes as he collected his thoughts. He looked out into towering forest, wondering what challenge they would have to face.
AN:
I know, I know, I should be working on Ghost in the Shinobi, but this has been collecting dust in my google docs. I occasionally come back to it to fix it but this would be updated slower than my priority Ghost in the Shinobi. Anyways, I thought people would at least like the first chapter.
Current verses (may have forgotten 1 or 2):
Rosario Vampire
Fairy Tail
Naruto
Bleach
One Piece
Black Clover
Harry Potter
DBZ
Marvel
DC
My Hero Academia
Avatar the Last Airbender
Attack on Titan
Gantz
Full Metal Alchemist