Dragonball Z
Golden Age
Team Effort
"Woo! Yeah! This is so awesome!" Gohan cheered as his pod rocketed down his tunnel, hitting corners and powering down slopes at an incredible speed. Even though the half-Saiyan was more than capable of traveling even faster than this tiny craft, the youngster couldn't help but laugh out loud in delight at the fun he was having. "Hahaha! Faster! Faster!"
The instant the four rocket pods were sent propelling down their respective tunnels towards their selected battle zones constructed on different parts of the island, the contestants riding the fast-moving vehicles were immediately bombarded by the most visually stunning acid trips ever concocted by man. This took the form of dozens of massive hallway simulators and monitors, all of which were working in tandem with one another to project to the unsuspecting competitors all sorts of colorful animations and visuals. At first the tunnels opened up with a three-dimensional digital world taken straight out of Tron; the multiple grids and constructs concealing the paths of the individual pods as they repeatedly intersected and changed directions.
After a computer generated whale knocked Krillin's pod bouncing down his corridor, the four pods separated from their intersecting pathways and blasted towards the four quadrants of the island.
Gohan's pod traveled through the simulation of the Milky Way, putting the teen in momentary awe of his surroundings before he was sent rocketing towards one of the "planets" on one of the arms of the spiral galaxy. Moments later, after plummeting through the digitally rendered world's atmosphere, the Saiyan's pod was spat out over a barren wasteland of rocky tors, boulders, and rivers of lava. The young Saiyan laughed as his pod bounced off of several hills and towering stalagmites, before landing gracefully across an open patch of dirt.
On another part of the island Mirai Trunks was sent on his own trip through fairyland, his pod spiraling through a kaleidoscope of colors and corridors, before eventually being sent gliding over a boiling hot ocean of rock, sand and dust. With an artificial sun glowing brightly overhead, the lavender haired traveler from the future eventually crash landed in the middle of his desert battle zone, the copious amounts of loose sand cushioning his craft's impact.
Android 18's pod sent her on a different course to the others. After spinning through an aura borealis of crystals and stars, her prolonged trip allowing her to appreciate the full splendor of her simulated universe, the blonde's pod was soon sent soaring over an enormous lake sitting beside an immaculate field of trees and flowers. The female cyborg was able to enjoy the breathtaking view for all of a few seconds, before her craft was skimmed across the water and came to a gentle stop on the shore.
Krillin's landing wasn't so kind to him. After spinning seemingly out of control down his tunnel, the poor Z-fighter was then shot into a world of purple clouds. Bursting through the upper stratosphere, the man then crashed headlong into what he could only describe as a castle of children's building blocks. He then gave a scream of terror as he then collided with the belly of a massive teddy bear, before his pod ejected him into a pile of dolls. After knocking over the stack, he ended up plopping down onto a giant balloon.
Bouncing on it a couple of times, the disoriented Krillin blinked and chuckled nervously moments later. "Okay. That could've been a lot worse."
XXX
(With Android 18#)
Popping the hatch of his pod and exiting it, an altogether neutral Android 18 hopped onto dryland and casually wandered over to the nearby river. Pushing her way through the long grass while keeping an eye open for any potential traps or attackers, the beautiful blonde android then peered over the side of the creek to see a couple of fish swim past.
Narrowing her eyes when a tiny dragonfly flew over her shoulder to land on a nearby reed, Eighteen then followed the sweeping field towards the distant horizon. "Okay. So what happens now? Are we supposed to have a picnic or something?" the woman asked, taking note of the massive spire sitting in the distance. Figuring that was where she was supposed to go next, the female cyborg then slowly began making her way in that direction, at the same time expecting to face her opponent for this stage of the tournament.
She then began thinking about who she would end up fighting afterwards when she defeated her intergalactic competitor and made it to the finish line.
Hopefully it would be Gohan. That kid could definitely give her a solid fight and not be too aggressive or vicious about it, not to mention he was nice. But she was also hoping to fight Krillin, just for the heck of it.
"As long as I get to have some fun," the cyborg chirped, a small smile tugging at her lips.
XXX
(With Gohan)
Making his way across the hellish environment of his battle zone, being sure not to tread or land in any of the pools of lava dotting the terrain, Gohan headed in the direction of what he hoped was the finish line. Using the cluster of ki signatures in what he assumed was the stadium above as his guide, the young Saiyan covered as much ground as he could on foot, before eventually arriving at a dusty clearing. Using the open space to get his bearings, Gohan was then about to proceed to another hill, until the appearance of a silhouette in the wall of fumes ahead of him stopped him in his tracks.
Sensing the figure's presence, the adolescent Super Saiyan in the orange and blue gi smiled and straightened up to full height.
"You must be my opponent?" he half-stated, half-asked. Receiving no audible response right away Gohan then began to stroll towards the person with a sense of purpose behind each step. "I gotta say this is one hell of a place to stage a fight for the tournament; a desolate field surrounded by fire and brimstone? Guess the owners wanted to make this part of the competition as flashy and over-the-top as possible, huh?" Trying to make small talk as he ambled closer, the demi-Saiyan saw the wall of smoke begin to dissipate and his adversary emerge. "By the way, my name's Gohan. What's yours?"
"Zangya."
Gohan stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the person answer and looked up in surprise. There, standing on top of the ledge, the kid saw a beautiful, blue-skinned young woman with a curvaceous figure, long, curly orange hair that fanned around her and grew down her back, and a stunning face with sharp blue eyes and a gentle smile, framed by a pair of pointy ears. Her outfit consisted of a white vest, baggy pants with gold buckles, a sharp gold necklace, earrings, a blue, halter-style undershirt, black pull-on sleeves, purple sash, and yellow boots.
While her costume was indeed unusual, giving her a very outlandish and mystical appearance, Gohan couldn't help but notice how striking the young girl actually was, which had his cheeks heat up unexpectedly. Looking at her face, the teen's breath momentarily caught in his throat.
"Wow. She's really pretty." He didn't get to say that a lot about most of the enemies he'd fought, mostly because they'd all been terrifying planet-destroying monsters. But in terms of looks and appearance, this girl was easily on par with Android 18. She was absolutely stunning.
Obviously she knew this too, as the blue-skinned beauty casually reached up and brushed aside a few of her orange locks, at the same time giving a light giggle.
After several seconds of staring at the woman on the ledge and admiring her, a sudden thought shot through Gohan's head that had him snap out of his daze. It took him a moment, but the young warrior was finally able to register to the fact that something was off about her and the hybrid narrowed his eyes on his would-be opponent.
"You're not one of the intergalactic fighters," Gohan said. He remembered seeing the previews of the event just seconds before coming down here and what the four challengers from outer space were supposed to look like. This woman wasn't any of them.
The teen's suspicions were soon confirmed when the stranger identified as Zangya shook her head. "Nope."
"Okay." Reacting instinctively, the demi-Saiyan slid his right foot back into a standing stance and clenched his fists. "Since you're not one of the challengers and you don't seem to be from any part of this planet that I know of, I take it that you're not here for the competition?"
Zangya rested a hand on her hip and leaned to one side, "You catch on pretty quick, handsome."
Gohan shrugged, "Well, I am pretty sharp." He then nodded to the mysterious woman. "So who are you, exactly?"
Smiling mischievously, the alien beauty casually raised her hand and aimed it at the young teenager. "Maybe this will help answer your question." In the blink of an eye, a glowing red sphere of pulsating energy formed in front of Zangya's palm before it was fired at the blonde haired teenager at blinding speed.
On cue, the battle-ready Gohan stepped and leaned to the right, avoiding the energy ball that streaked past his head and rocketed towards the horizon. The attack impacted a distant plateau, where it detonated with the force of a small nuclear warhead and incinerated the entire section of earth in a massive, dome-shaped explosion.
A clearly impressed Zangya promptly lowered her arm, "Nice reflexes."
"Nice power." Not even bothering to look behind him, the initially surprised Super Saiyan then smirked. "Got anymore?"
"Sure." Grinning in response to the teen's question, Zangya then brought her arms above her head and crossed them over her face. The moment she did, a powerful gust of wind emanated from her body and caused her hair to stand upright. Her energy signature skyrocketing as a result, Gohan braced himself against the wind that shot off of his opponent, before he suddenly saw the woman spring off of the plateau and charge at him in a blur.
Everything happened in a flash. Gohan's right arm shot up and blocked a flying spin kick from the airborne Zangya, her leg impacting against his with a loud crack of a shockwave. The moment her attack was blocked the orange haired woman suddenly performed an aerial cartwheel over her opponent, getting behind him and spinning gracefully at him with a side kick. Parrying that blow, the blonde began deflecting and counterattacking a flurry of earth-rattling attacks from his foe, their limbs colliding and shaking the very ground beneath them.
Despite the fact that the foundations at their feet and the mesas standing around them were starting to collapse, neither Gohan nor Zangya's expressions conveyed any sense of effort. While the Saiyan's face appeared neutral and the woman still had a smile on her face, the pair continued to exchange blows until the orange haired fighter swung at Gohan's head with a deliberately wide kick.
Swaying back at the last second to avoid the blow, Gohan then slammed a hand into the dirt behind him and, while putting himself into a handstand, countered with a kick to the side of Zangya's head. Before his leg could land however, the orange haired fighter used the momentum of her missed kick to spin herself around and throw a second one down at her opponent, their attacks connecting at the same time with concussive force.
The shockwave that rang out from their attacks landing simultaneously punched a crater into the floor and sent both fighters hurtling away from one another.
Stopping her flight short with a quick burst of ki, Zangya cocked her hand back and grinned. "Let's dance, cutie." She then pitched a green ball of energy at her target.
Smirking in return, Gohan deflected her curved blast with a parry and fired one right back at her. "After you."
His golden bolt of energy shot right at the woman, who quickly head-slipped it and pitched another red ball his way. Catching the attack and leap-frogging over it, Gohan then thrust both hands forward and fired a second shot at her, watching Zangya cross her arms and perform a fancy, diagonal twirl around it, during which time she lobbed two more spheres at the Saiyan. Kicking one into the sky and slapping away the second simultaneously, Gohan retaliated with a third shot, which split into three separate energy balls midflight.
In a matter of moments countless streaks of gold and red energy attacks filled the sky and began raining down upon the battlefield, which lit up the landscape in a series of fantastic explosions. In the midst of the chaos now unfolding in the arena that was starting to crumble around them, both fighters became locked in an epic aerial shootout, neither one of them missing a beat nor daring to back down.
Unbeknownst to the half-Saiyan hero, who was caught up in his battle with the powerful female, a dark presence had fallen over the island…
XXX
Up in the stadium above ground, the spectators cheered and roared loudly with excitement as they watched the young Super Saiyan Gohan going toe-to-toe with the first intergalactic fighter. Their feedback was well earned, as both the young lad and lady were putting on one hell of a performance.
While the majority of the crowd continued to applaud the fight that was now being broadcasted to them via the multiple roaming cameras in the battle zone, including Videl who was enthralled to see how well her newfound friend was doing, there were several people in the audience who weren't cheering.
Bulma blinked when she saw Gohan block another kick from his opponent on screen, before barely dodging a blast she attempted to hit him with at pointblank range. "Wow. That girl sure packs a wallop."
Watching the fight closely and seeing her son return fire with a punch to the alien girl's face, Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes worriedly. "Wait… something doesn't feel right."
The intergalactic fighters competing in this tournament were supposed to be a bunch of posers in costumes, right? If that was the case, since when was a person from this planet outside of their group capable of exchanging blows with a Super Saiyan?
All of the others seemed to pick up on this too, and not just Chi-Chi and Master Roshi. Down in the food court of Battle Island II, where a majority of the fighters from the previous stages had ended up migrating to, Tien and Yamcha were enjoying a couple of cold beverages while catching up on current affairs.
When their attention turned to the nearby monitor running a feed of all four battle zones and they saw Gohan engage the orange haired female in battle, both fighters immediately knew something was amiss.
Quickly finishing their drinks, the two stood up and made a B-line for the stadium.
XXX
(With Trunks)
Hot.
That was the only thought currently going through Mirai Trunks's head as he continued traversing the uneven, boiling landscape of his desert battle zone. Honestly, as if the multiple moving platforms and circus arrangements of the first stage of the competition wasn't bad enough. Now they were making the contestants fight each other in landscapes that could potentially kill you simply based on their terrain and environment.
Now while he had no idea what all the other battle zones were like, he assumed they were about as harsh and unforgiving as this one. So, doing his best to ignore the elements beating down on him from all around, the young time traveler started marching in the direction of the large spire he could see in the distance. While part of him kept an extra lookout for his competition, the other part of him just wanted to get the hell out of there.
He was so focused on getting across the loose terrain that he vaguely noticed the footprints he was leaving behind disappear into the sand… and the sinkhole that started to form after marching over one of the sandy hills.
It was only when an unusual presence pinged on Trunks's radar that had him stop in his tracks and stare ahead of him in surprise. "Wait. What is that?" He then felt a power increase coming from directly behind him and spun around. "Shit!"
The moment he did, the dune he'd passed just seconds ago suddenly exploded into a cloud of dust as a massive, blue figure sprang out of the mound, lunging at him with a punch. Reacting instinctively, Trunks leapt away and deflected the man's blow with a quick hand-slap, before spinning around with a backwards heel kick, hoping to catch his attacker off guard. However, much to his shock, he saw his large assailant check his kick and retaliate with one of his own.
Ducking under it and dropping altitude, an alarmed Trunks speedily started back flipping across the sandy terrain while his enemy pursued him. Landing on a distant hill, the lavender haired warrior then sprang into the sky when the man lunged at him with a wild punch, his attack impacting the hill and causing a massive shockwave that wiped out the entire dune in a massive cloud.
Able to escape the cloud of dust, Trunks landed safely on another hill and, dropping into a defensive stance, watched the sand settle around the enormous crater, where his attacker quickly revealed himself from the veil. Standing in the ditch, the demi-Saiyan saw a large, muscular man about the same height as Piccolo with blue skin, pointy ears and an orange Mohawk, wearing white pants, a black obi, purple vest, golden gloves and boots, and various triangle-shaped jewelry all over his person. On top of the bling and the pirate-style look the strange fighter was sporting, the lavender haired warrior sensed a very strong power level radiating off of him, which matched the menacing grin he was currently throwing his way.
Frankly it had the time traveler's skin crawl.
"Okay, what's the big idea?! Are you trying to kill me or something?!" Trunks asked, not expecting one of the Intergalactic Fighters to be this strong but deciding to go with it nonetheless.
Smirking, the blue fighter raised his finger and pointed it at the boy, before suddenly firing off a sharp red beam at him.
Recoiling in alarm, Trunks sprang into the air and avoided the attack that struck the dune and disintegrated it in a massive explosion. However, just before he could gain enough altitude, the demi-Saiyan was stopped dead in his tracks when he felt a strong hand grab him by the boot. Looking down in alarm, he saw his attacker had managed to jump after him and catch him at the last second, upon which the alien then ripped him out of the sky and chucked him across the desert.
Spinning as he flew a distance of about a kilometer, Trunks quickly threw himself into an aerial spin and recovered, slamming his feet into the sand and sliding to a stop. He then looked up with a start.
"Whoa, where the hell did that come from?!" The hybrid was unable to get an answer when the large fighter dove at him and thrust a punch towards his face. Trunks was able to catch the man's huge fist with both his hands, the blow causing a loud thunderclap as the Saiyan was pushed several feet back through the sand. After managing to grind himself to a stop, the sweating time traveler looked up in alarm. "You… you're not one of the fighters!"
The huge assailant leered, "Took you long enough."
Eyes narrowing aggressively, the lavender haired boy snarled, "Who are you?!"
"The name's Bido. Nice to meet you!" With a yell, the alien raised his other hand and thrust a punch at his smaller opponent, forcing him to dodge and ending in his fist striking the ground, causing another massive explosion of sand and dust to blast into the air, which swallowed both warriors up…
XXX
(Meanwhile)
(West City – Capsule Corp)
Springing out of his bed with a start, a bead of sweat ran down the side of Vegeta's head when his senses caught something ominous in the distance.
It at first started out with feeling Gohan's energy level climb to clash with another that was seemingly on the same level. Now while at first the prince thought that his rival's son had gotten into a clash with one of the other members of their crew, when he sensed Trunks's energy signature suddenly come into contact with another, more threatening presence, the man couldn't help but sit up when he felt all four power levels jump to a dangerous level.
Reaching out to get a better read of the situation, the nervous Vegeta then gritted his teeth. "Something's wrong." He then looked over his shoulder, his eyes falling upon his son's sword. When he saw the handle of the weapon gleam, the prince quickly took on a more resolute expression and, jumping out of bed, picked up the sheathed blade…
XXX
(Otherworld)
While the crowds down in the stadium of Battle Island II were having a ridiculously fun time watching the two qualifying contestants battle the 'intergalactic warriors', who had somehow gone through some kind of awesome wardrobe change since the preview, up in the land of the dead the people watching the tournament on the magic box were having an entirely different response.
The tournament had gotten off to an exciting and very predictable start, where King Kai, Goku, Bubbles and Gregory were able to observe their friends and family clean house with the rest of the competition. It was a wild and exciting ride and, when the tournament moved into the quarter finals, they even had a good time watching the first couple of matches between the Z-fighters. However, the moment the fights for the second stage began, all excitement of the moment was replaced by a sudden sense of apprehension and fear.
The smiles on King Kai and Goku's faces quickly disappeared as they watched the two intergalactic fighters swap blows with both Gohan and Trunks across their respective terrains. When they saw the largest member of the intergalactic competition launch a barrage of tiny red energy balls at the time traveler and transformed an entire area of desert into Swiss cheese, the adult Saiyan could only blink in confusion.
"Huh? What the heck's going on down there?" Goku asked, before hearing the chair next to him clatter loudly. Looking to his right, the dead Saiyan saw his mentor scamper over to the edge of their mountain peak and, getting on his hands and knees, peer over the side. "King Kai?"
Antenna twitching as he extended his senses down to the planet, the blue guardian of the North Quadrant gasped fearfully.
"The Earth is in danger!"
XXX
(With Android 18#)
Strolling across the rich, pristine field of her battle zone with her hands in her pockets, Android 18 was taking her sweet time in admiring the scenery around her. Appreciating the sights and smells of the artificially created countryside, the blonde young woman heard the sound of chirping and looked down, where she saw a pink squirrel staring back up at her. Smiling at the little mammal's cute features and colors, the android then crouched down and reached forward to pet it.
However, before she could touch the animal, a red flash of light over her shoulder suddenly had Android 18's head snap around, before the woman sprang high into the air to avoid a red ball of energy slamming into the field and detonating in the form of a massive fireball, burning a deep crater into the earth. Landing several yards away from the point of impact, the young woman glared in the direction the attack had come from and spotted a shadowy figure crouched in a distant cherry blossom tree.
Perched comfortably in the branches, the blonde cyborg saw a large, blue-skinned man with pointy ears, orange spiky hair, and wearing a purple-headband, yellow boots, black jacket, and bunches of gold jewelry, with his hand pointed directly at the spot she'd been standing in earlier. He was also armed with a long sword with a strange tri-corner guard sheathed at his side, a sight that had alarms go off in Android 18's head.
Upon hearing the swashbuckling challenger chuckle, the blonde cyborg sneered, "Oh, you think that was funny, huh? Well I dare you to come down here and try that again! Let's see how that works out for you!"
With a cocky scoff the orange-haired assailant sprang out of the tree and darted down towards the field in a blur. Drawing his fist back and giving a loud battle cry, the man lunged at the woman with a punch, only for the cyborg to dodge and get behind him. The moment she was in range Android 18 then countered with a hook towards his face, only to watch the man catch it and lock her arm up. Surprised, the blonde then felt her strangely dressed foe pick her up and toss her across the hills.
The blonde android threw herself into a spin and slammed her feet into the floor, skidding to a stop several yards away. The moment her momentum ended she looked up at the man in alarm. "What the heck? What in the world are you?!" She was unable to finish her exclamation when her attacker came flying at her a second time with a kick, prompting the woman to duck and counter with a spinning heel kick. When he checked it, a shockwave rang out, which quickly led the two into a vicious exchange of blows across the field.
Dancing around each other, the two traded a series of blindingly fast blows, before Android 18 sprang at her opponent with a knee. A loud clang then rang out when her attack slammed into something solid, which turned out to be the edge of the man's sword that he drew halfway out of its sheath to block her attack.
The blue-skinned warrior smirked, "Someone you don't want to mess with, girl." Shoving her off, the attacker drew his weapon completely and swung down at her.
Barely avoiding the flash of his blade, Android 18 retreated through the hills, avoiding the man's swings and keeping just out of reach of his weapon. Taking flight, the woman then shot across the lake at terrific speed, watching her opponent give pursuit with a determined look on his face. Getting annoyed at being chased, the blonde woman spun around and let off a golden blast towards the swordsman, watching him cut the attack in half before lunging right at her.
Kicking his sword out of the way, Android 18 then dove back down to the lake and landed in the shallows. Before the splash had even settled the woman leapt out of the way a second time to avoid her foe crashing down on top of her, his sword slamming into the floor and splitting the ground up the shore and towards the hill. When the land shifted from the force of his valley-splitting blow, both combatants then glared one another down, with the alien wearing that oh-so-irritating smirk on his face.
Gritting her teeth, Android 18 snarled, "Who are you?"
The swordsman grinned, "Gokuha. A pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine!" the blonde responded, before thrusting her hand out and unleashing a golden blast towards the orange-haired alien…
XXX
(With Krillin)
In the children's fairytale land of cotton candy and giant teddy bears, Krillin found himself staring up at a tower of giant alphabet blocks, all stacked precariously on top of each other. Tilting his head at the unusual structure and his surroundings, the short, bald fighter placed his hands on his hips and chuckled when he observed a couple of giant pink bubbles bounce past him.
"Well… there are weirder places I could've landed. Though personally I would've preferred a nice tropical beach on an island somewhere or a backyard in a small country-" He was cut off when he noticed a black shadow fall over him and looked up. "OH CRAP!" He then jumped out of the way when two of the giant alphabet blocks on the tower came crashing down on top of him.
Krillin cried out in terror as he continued leaping from place to place, dodging more giant blocks that came dropping out of the sky one after the other. After successfully yet very clumsily avoiding all of them, the bald warrior quickly found himself backed into the face of a giant clock, where he then glared up and spotted the source of the sudden shower of enormous objects.
Floating down from the pink clouds and suspending himself upside down above the ground, the Z-fighter found himself staring at a short, blue-skinned man about the same height as him, wearing a purple turban, white pants, yellow boots, a red buckle jacket, and golden jewelry all over, giving him the appearance of a shaman. Snickering when he saw the bald martial artist freak out at the sight of him, the strange magician suddenly lifted both his arms and, with a golden glow emanating off of all of his gems, began conjuring an aura of electrical energy from his palms.
Balking in confusion, Krillin's gaze suddenly shot over his shoulder when he heard the sounds of large pieces of metal shaking, a split second before the two giant hands of the clock behind him ripped off and flew through the air. Seeing them arc dangerously close to him, the frightened human fighter leapt away, avoiding the giant blades when they shot past him. Dropping down on top of a giant drum several yards away, Krillin braced himself before giving a loud scream, his white aura blasting around him and incinerating the two giant handles when they attempted to impale him.
After dispersing of the two objects, the now more serious Z-fighter threw his hand out towards the floating mage. "Whoa, whoa! Hold on! Isn't this going a little bit too far?!"
The turban-wearing stranger chuckled, "You tell me." Holding both hands out, orange lightning then began radiating off of his body, which caused the environment around them to shimmer.
Moments later Krillin was able to watch as the funhouse landscape around him melted away and revealed a mountain forest surrounding him. Beads of sweat trickling down the sides of his face, the bald martial artist then turned to glare at the one responsible for the anomaly. If he didn't know any better, this creep was playing tricks on him.
"Okay. This is new," Krillin murmured, quickly coming to the realization that he'd been stuck in an illusion. "Not gonna lie… that was pretty freaking terrifying. So… w-what am I supposed to call you?"
The short alien grinned, "You can call me… Bujin." All of a sudden, without warning, the mysterious warrior vanished in a flicker.
Recoiling in surprise at the speed of the small warrior, Krillin attempted to track where his opponent had gotten to, before he was suddenly punched across the face. The shock of the hit sent the Z-fighter's brain bouncing all about his head, an affect that was stopped dead when Bujin darted around and nailed him in the stomach with a kick, sending the man blasting through a group of large mushrooms growing behind him, before crashing straight into the side of a cliff.
His body driven into the rocky surface of the bluff, the battered and bruised Z-fighter looked up through a half-lidded gaze, before a pained grin formed on his face. "Yep… that hurt like hell." His eyes then rolled into the back of his head and lolled forward, indicating he'd lost consciousness.
XXX
(With Gohan)
Krillin's sudden drop in energy was felt all across the island by both the spectators and the rest of the competition. His defeat was so sudden that it almost had the rest of the competitors in the other three battle zones stop mid-fight, as they had not expected one of their own to be taken out so quickly.
But the worst was yet to come.
Just as Gohan was in the middle of trading blows with his opponent atop a rocky tor, ending in both him and Zangya becoming locked in a tense and rather intimate clinching position, a sudden blip on his radar had the young Super Saiyan look up in alarm.
A powerful and incredibly malicious presence shot through his head like lightning, which had the young warrior glance over his shoulder. "Who's there?!" Tracking the energy signature to a position not too far away, the demi-Saiyan's glare quickly hardened and he looked back at his opponent, whose nose was just centimeters from his as their arms grappled for dominance. "A friend of yours?"
Zangya, frowning as she struggled to hold her ground against the ridiculously powerful boy, then forced a smirk, "More like my boss… and he's knocking on your front door."
The young Saiyan huffed, "He's calling me out, huh?" When he saw the woman nod, Gohan then gritted his teeth. "Well then… I guess I should go greet him."
Satisfied enough with her answer, Gohan decided to break off from his battle for the time being and thrust a knee up at his opponent, who blocked it with one of her own. Their attacks collided with a loud shockwave and knocked both fighters away from each other. The moment he was free, the demi-Saiyan pitched an energy ball at his enemy, forcing her to deflect it with a swift chop. Though his attack failed to do any damage, it still gave Gohan enough time to retreat and fly off to find his friend…
And with any luck the source of that malicious power level.
As he flew across the wasteland of his volcanic battleground with Zangya in hot pursuit, the young Super Saiyan couldn't help but clench his fists nervously.
"Hold on, Krillin."
XXX
(Otherworld)
Beads of nervous sweat running down his face, the blue Kai of the North spoke in a grave voice, "This is bad."
"You said the Earth was in danger," Goku responded from behind his mentor, with Bubbles and Gregory hovering close behind him. "But from what?"
"You mean who. Bojack," the trainer replied cryptically, his eyes remaining fixed on the endless yellow horizon in front of him.
Blinking when he heard the name, an equally anxious Goku pressed on for further explanation. "B-Bojack?"
"A dark demon of the worst sort; psychotic, unstable, filled with malice and rage. Long ago he tried to destroy every galaxy within the Dormideous and Kantos Sectors, and even attempted to conquer the core star systems between the four quadrants," King Kai informed, unable to hide the look of fear clearly reflected on his expression. "He and his gang rampaged across the entire universe unchecked, wrecking everything in their path and threatening to throw the entire order out of balance."
"Wow. This guy sounds a lot like King Piccolo," Goku remarked, his mind taking him back to the days he encountered the evil half of Kami and his minions all those years ago.
Agreeing with this comparison, the North Kai nodded, "Yes, but far more powerful… even more powerful than both Frieza and Cell." The man then turned towards his student, looking upon him with an anxious and foreboding expression. "He has an insatiable appetite for genocide... even going so far as to wipe out the entire population of his home planet. The survivors, terrified of his power, joined forces with him. And now, just like the Saiyans, he and his group are some of the last remaining Hera-seijins left in the universe."
It was then Goku spotted a missing plot point in his teacher's story, which had the Saiyan look at him inquisitively. "So what happened to him? Where has he been hiding all this time?" Surely someone that powerful and evil wouldn't have gone amiss by their group. Heck, with his track record, this Bojack guy could've easily given Frieza a run for his money if not supplant his position as evil Galactic Emperor entirely.
King Kai walked past his student with his hands behind his back, taking his worried meditation over to another side of the cliff, "Ten thousand years ago, my fellow Kais and I took it upon ourselves to stop him. All four of us combined our powers and sealed Bojack and his group inside a star at the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy."
This information had Goku recoil in surprise, "He's trapped in a star?"
The blue-skinned trainer shook his head, "Not anymore. You set him free when you destroyed my planet during your battle against Cell. The seal was weakened and allowed Bojack and his group to escape. Now he's returned for vengeance." The North Kai's glasses flashed, this time with fear evident on his face. "And it looks like his first target is planet Earth."
In spite of the terrifying news, Goku's confidence was unshaken, which he expressed through the smile that formed on his lips moments later. "Then he's already defeated. My son will stop him."
XXX
(Back on Earth)
Her furious battle taking her over the sweeping fields of her battle zone and into another more desolate landscape dotted by ancient ruins and rugged hillsides, a frustrated Android 18 was now finding it very difficult to keep her determined and very powerful opponent at bay.
Having tried to ditch Gokuha earlier when she felt Krillin's energy signature drop off the map, her contest of strength quickly transformed into a dangerous game of cat and mouse, where not only was she having to contend with navigating this damn carnival funhouse, but also fend off her competition. Considering the guy was far stronger than most of the other fighters she'd come across in the last few months, it was safe to say Android 18 wanted to put as much distance between herself and him as possible. The fact that he was also packing a sword gave her more inclination to stay away, even though she knew she could probably take a hit from his saber.
Darting through the sky just below the dome's surface and sporting a fresh series of cuts and bruises, the blonde cyborg proceeded with her search while simultaneously trading shots with her foe. Seeing him charging at her at high speed from below, Android 18 gritted her teeth, cocked her hand back, and lobbed a golden sphere of energy at her target. Watching him vault over it, Gokuha then came at her with a yell and a wide swing of his weapon, which the blonde ducked and countered with a swift kick to his ribs.
"Piss off!" she shouted when her blow buried into his stomach with a loud crack, causing the man to spit up as he was sent blasting back across the sky.
Taking a defensive stance as her opponent recovered, Android 18 prepared for a second bout, only to pick up the faint and familiar energy signature of Krillin nearby. Eyes widening, she then looked down towards a nearby ruined church. There, lying in the courtyard beside a damaged water fountain, she spotted the unconscious body of the Z-fighter sprawled out on the floor.
Eyes fixating on him for but a moment, the blonde cyborg gasped, "Krillin." All of a sudden Android 18's attention snapped back to her opponent and, seeing him dashing right at her, sprang up into the sky to avoid his punch. The moment she dodged the blonde prepared to launch a blast at her enemy's back, only to receive a swift kick to her spine by a second enemy appearing directly above her.
The blow sent Android 18 spinning towards the church courtyard, where she crashed beside the unconscious Krillin and sent debris pelting all across the entire quad. Groaning from the sneak attack from her blind spot, the battered cyborg craned her head and glared up towards the balcony ahead of her. There, not only did she see her armed opponent land, but a second, shorter alien in a purple turban and red jacket, both of whom were smirking broadly.
"Th-There's more of them?" Android 18 whispered shakily as her body echoed from the damage she'd taken. "Where the heck are these guys coming from?"
It was then the woman heard a new voice appear on the scene; one that was deep and reverberated menacingly across the quad.
"Company? Good."
The young woman then became aware of the sounds of chains jangling and heavy footsteps approaching, which drew her glare towards the doorway sitting between the two aliens in front of her. As she eyed the darkness carefully, her expression slowly transformed into one of fear and shock when, from out of the shadows of the ruined structure, she saw a third alien emerge.
Dressed in a long blue trench coat with golden buckles, a black top, white pants, red sash and yellow boots, with a bandana holding down a mane of bushy orange hair, the person she assumed was the leader of the group stepped onto the balcony and stood between his two subordinates. Also covered in golden jewelry, the towering newcomer also had a hideous scar running across his face, giving him a very intimidating appearance.
The moment his eyes settled on the android down below, the terrifying looking alien chuckled, "It's been so long... since I last massacred an entire race. Perhaps you can help me get the ball rolling with this one."
Shivering where she lay, the injured Android 18 gritted her teeth nervously, "His power level… it's incredible." She hadn't sensed someone this strong since…
Easily noticing the terror gripping the woman's lithe form, the alien leader grinned and raised his hand. When he did, a green ball of energy appeared in front of his palm, the attack pulsing and steadily growing in size. Once it'd achieved critical mass, the user spoke, "Die." He then fired the attack straight down at the woman with the intent of wiping out her and the unconscious Krillin.
Android 18 gasped in horror and clenched her eyes shut, knowing right then and there that she was finished. But just as the heat of the attack fell over her and the courtyard, something amazing happened.
Just as the blast was about to hit her, a figure suddenly darted into the path of the attack and, with a grunt, smacked the attack away. The ball of green ki shot towards the horizon where, after impacting the wall of the battle zone, exploded in a massive sphere of green, fiery energy. After the blast faded moments later, it revealed a five hundred foot wide hole had been burned into the side of the chamber, with a large cityscape sitting on the other side.
Realizing she wasn't dead, Android 18 looked up, where she saw Gohan standing in front of her, his back straight and hand extended in a deflecting motion. Her blue eyes shimmered in awe when she recognized who it was, "G-Gohan?"
Glancing down at the blonde with his green eyes, the young Super Saiyan smiled softly, "Are you okay?"
Gulping, the blonde cyborg smiled in relief, "I've been better." When he offered a hand to her, she gladly accepted it and was hoisted to her feet. "Thanks."
As soon as the android was back up, Gohan quickly turned his glare back to the person who'd tried to kill her, and saw the three aliens smirking down at him. "I think you and your friends have had enough fun."
The lead alien chuckled darkly and craned his head upwards, "The child… at last."
Gripping the handle of the sword sitting in his scabbard, the alien that'd been fighting Android 18 stepped forward belligerently. "You have some nerve jumping in like that, boy," Gokuha spoke, a frown pulled across his face as he drew his weapon ever so slightly. "On your knees… or I'll cut you down where you stand."
Sensing a confrontation about to unfold, Gohan clenched his fists and braced himself, only to then see his previous opponent float down and land on the railing nearby. Glancing at her momentarily, he saw Zangya sit down on top of the stone and fold her legs, at the same time throwing her hair back elegantly.
"Cool it, Gokuha," the female Hera ordered, drawing the swordsman's gaze towards her. "That one is my opponent."
Grunting at hearing the first lieutenant's order, the swordsman stepped back and looked away. "Tsk. Fine."
As Android 18 knelt down to check on Krillin and make sure he was alright, Gohan kept his eyes fixed on all four aliens. Knowing that they were surrounded and outnumbered, the Super Saiyan had to stay sharp in case one of them decided to try anything funny. Their boss already tried to kill two of them in one go. Who's to say he won't try it again.
Before the situation could develop any further, the sound of jets rushing overhead alerted the opposing parties to the arrival of two more pods to the scene. Crisscrossing the church's airspace, a pair of figures suddenly leapt out of the small craft and dropped into the courtyard, where they skillfully landed on either side of Gohan.
Immediately recognizing the duo as Tien and Yamcha, the half-Saiyan then watched the martial artists glare across at the alien invaders.
"You murderers," Tien snarled, unable to keep the sweat from appearing along his brow when he sensed how powerful the group actually was. "You killed the Intergalactic Fighters."
Snickering, Bujin dropped down to one knee and placed a hand over his chest just like Gokuha, while Zangya merely sat on her ledge with her hand over her breast. "Those 'warriors' were trespassing. Earth belongs to my master now."
Gohan's frown deepened. "You think so, huh?"
"Not while we're still breathing," Yamcha spoke up, at the same time Android 18 stood up and joined the trio in their stand-off.
Even though the odds were now even, the Z-fighters were still at a major disadvantage. Their enemies were strong, as clearly indicated by the nervousness etched on the faces of the two male humans in the formation. Though they were also quite strong in their own humble rights, these invaders were in an entirely different league.
In support of his master, Gokuha, still poised on one knee, raised his hand and gestured it grandly over the landscape, "Master Bojack has no equal. There isn't a single being in this universe capable of standing up to his might."
"He has conquered hundreds of worlds and destroyed countless others… uncontested and undefeated," Zangya informed, twirling a finger through her hair when she saw the Z-fighters' eyes land upon her. "All those who were brave enough to think otherwise have ended up crushed beneath his heel."
"Master is not patient. You would be wise to stand down," Bujin informed. When he saw the group of four glance in his direction, the cretin in the turban leered. "Or better yet… kneel."
"Oh, I would love to, but uhh…" Gohan began before glancing in Zangya's direction and patting his left thigh, "Fighting your subordinate over there has given me a bit of a cramp in my left leg, so I'm afraid... kneeling will be hard." His exhausted sounding comment drew a snicker from the orange haired woman, while Bujin and Gokuha frowned.
The child's audacity caused Bojack to chuckle, "I bet you won't be saying the same thing after I'm done slaughtering all of your friends and loved ones." When he saw the boy's smile vanish, the leader of the group leered. "I'll make you watch as I kill every last person on this island. Right down to the last man, woman and child. You will listen to their screams and feel their pain, so that you remember every last detail of their deaths. And once every single person has been bled dry and your beloved home world has been brought to ruin, only then will I allow you death's sweet release."
Though the demon's declaration sent a cold chill through Tien, Yamcha and Android 18's bodies, all it did was make Gohan's expression harden. Glancing down at Krillin's unconscious form, the demi-Saiyan's head then became filled with even more images of his friends and family lying dead around him, including Bulma, his mother, Videl, and Piccolo. Feeling a rush of anger swell up inside of him at the alien's threats, the young warrior then took a deep breath to calm himself, turned, and spoke in a firm and unwavering tone of voice.
"I promise you… I will never let that happen."
A malicious grin then crossed Bojack's face, "We'll see." The man then lifted his head high to look down at his prey. "It's ironic that your father's death in the realm of the Kais was the key to our escape. I want to thank him personally for his deed, but I think you and your companions are going to have to do it for me." After which he then gave a stiff nod to his subordinates.
Without needing further instruction Bujin and Gokuha leapt from their spots on the balcony and charged at the group in the courtyard below. However, just as they were about to clash headfirst with Gohan and his friends, a flash of orange from their right suddenly caught their attention, forcing the two aliens to cut their attack short. They managed to leap back just in time to avoid a drill-shaped beam shooting past them at the speed of light. As a result the corkscrew blast shot past the ruins and struck the barrier wall on the other side of the battle zone, destroying it in a massive explosion of fire and rubble.
Frown appearing on his face, Bojack and his crew turned to where the attack had come from and instantly spotted a tall, green figure with a white cape floating in the sky above them, his arms crossed and a serious look on his face. The sight of the mysterious figure had the invading aliens tense up, whereas the Z-fighters gathered down below breathed collective sighs of relief.
Gohan was especially happy, shooting a grin up at his old mentor. "I was wondering when you were gonna show up."
"I sensed a disturbance. So I came back to check things out," Piccolo replied, his eyes then panning across to the group of invaders standing nearby. After counting the number of enemies there were and the source of the ominous power level he'd sensed earlier, the Namekian grunted and reached up to grab his turban. "And I'm glad that I did, because it looks like you've finally found yourselves a decent fight." Tossing away his headwear and his wide-shoulder cape, the man then brought his knuckles up and cracked them one at a time.
Sneering irritably, the leader of the aliens then watched the newcomer fly down to join the rabble, where he then stood alongside the rest of his comrades defensively. Noticing that the Z-fighters' numbers had increased once again, Bojack knew that things had become a lot more troublesome for him and began tapping his finger against his arm impatiently.
Zangya meanwhile, still sitting comfortably on her perch, couldn't help but giggle, "It looks like things have gotten a lot more interesting."
As Gohan, Yamcha, Android 18, Piccolo and Tien stood in a row, sizing up their opponents and their strengths, the latter of the group then spoke. "What can you make of these guys so far?"
"All of them are seriously strong and all of them are really good fighters," Gohan replied, his eyes narrowing as he glanced from Zangya to Gokuha. "If I had to guess, they're probably even stronger than those clones Cell created to attack you guys during his tournament."
This news had Yamcha's eye twitch and jaw clench, as he remembered the outcome of that battle all too well, "That… doesn't bode well for us, does it?"
"No. It doesn't," Tien answered while clenching his fists. "But I'll be damned if I'm going down without a fight."
His attention settling back on their boss, Gohan inhaled deeply, "They're also really well organized. The way that they move and fight is like how a group of highly trained soldiers would operate. If we try to go after their boss, they will just attack us from behind and pick us off one by one." He then clenched his fists and started raising his power level at a steady rate. "I'm not taking any chances. I'll go Super Saiyan 2 and take them all out in one shot-"
"Wait," Piccolo suddenly spoke, causing the youngster to look across at him in surprise. Expression unchanged, the ever serious Namekian then continued calmly, "Remember what your father and I taught you. Pace yourself. Don't go all out until you've figured out what your opponent is fully capable of. As far as we know we've only seen a fraction of the enemy's strengths and abilities. And there are four of them. If you try going at them at full power, they might have a nasty surprise waiting up their sleeves." Looking at the aliens faces, they could clearly see the composed yet smug expressions all of them were currently wearing.
That didn't exactly fill the group with much confidence.
At this, Gohan then nodded in understanding, "Alright."
"Your Ascended Saiyan form is your trump card. Feel them out in your base form then, once you've forced their hand, go for it," Piccolo instructed, before a smirk appeared on his lips and he glanced down at the boy, which prompted his former student to look up at him. "And don't forget we're fighting too. There's no need for you to carry the weight of the entire planet all by yourself, kid. This is our home as much as it is yours."
After staring up at his master in awe for a moment, Gohan then smiled and nodded in understanding, before looking around at the others. When he saw the smiles on Tien, Yamcha and Android 18's faces, he knew that they were in this too. So, with the stage set and the prizes weighed, the half-Saiyan turned his focus back to his opponent. He saw Zangya still perched on her railing, twirling a finger through her long orange hair casually, which prompted him to smirk.
"It would be pretty rude of me to cut our duel short," Gohan replied, his Saiyan blood starting to boil as he clenched his fists excitedly.
This earned a grin from the bewitching blue alien as she uncrossed her legs and swayed them back and forth in front of her like a teenage girl would. "Orders, boss?"
When Bojack leered down at the group and saw all of them assume fighting stances, the leader then cocked his head to the side and nodded to them. "Take them."
Without another word, both Bujin and Gokuha raised their hands and fired two red blasts at the group. In return the Z-fighters, namely Gohan and Tien, retaliated with two golden blasts of their own, their attacks colliding with their enemy's and detonating with the force of a nuke. As flames engulfed the entire area and turned the artificial estate into a half mile crater, through the smoke and the debris Gohan landed a safe distance away with Krillin in his arms. Upon setting his friend safely behind a boulder, he then sprang out of the cloud's radius and into the sky where, upon looking down at the smoldering fissure below, watched Zangya burst of the smoke and come chasing after him.
Parting the dust with her speed, the grinning Hera-seijin then gave a loud battle cry as she struck at Gohan with a flying right overhand, which collided with the boy's cross-arm guard, sent him through the dome's barrier and into the next battle zone. Upon which the pair once again engaged one another in a furious exchange of blows, shockwaves ringing throughout the sky like invisible fireworks as the pair streaked across the artificial sky of the battle zone in a blurred, aerial fistfight.
As the wall between the two battle fields turned to rubble and cascaded to the ground, shaking the region with its collapse, the other Z-fighters also retreated into the next zone, a massive, gothic cityscape stretching from one horizon to the next, while at the same time being pursued by Bojack's henchmen.
Springing high up onto the roof of an old apartment building, Piccolo took a wide stance and watched with bared teeth as Gokuha came flying down at him with his sword. With a battle cry the blue warrior slashed down at the Namekian with his sword. The Z-fighter reacted fast, stepping in, reaching up and catching the man's sword arm by the wrist, using his momentum to twist it into an uncomfortable position. Upon which the Namekian swung his leg across and struck the man in the chest with a backwards heel kick. The blow sent the swordsman crashing into the building next door, punching him through the lower flowers and collapsing the entire structure on top of him.
Following up, Piccolo lobbed an energy ball into the cascading ruins. But instead of seeing it explode there was a sudden flash of light, followed by the dust, debris, and the Namekian's attack being split in two and effectively dispelled. As the two halves of the Z-fighter's attack shot off over the city, Gokuha, standing in the ruins of the neighboring building with his sword pointed to the floor and feet set into a wide stance, glared back up at his foe. Upon which he then leapt from the ground and rocketed up at the Namekian.
As for the rest of the gang, they were having problems of their own.
Being chased across the city rooftops, a fully powered up Yamcha cupped his hands forward and fired off a powerful blast at the little alien in the turban chasing him. When his attack hit nothing as his target sped right over it and charged at him, the scar-faced martial artist let out a yell and rushed at him instead.
"Get back you little-" He took a swing when he was in range, but his attack was too slow and the Z-fighter instead received a prompt and vicious elbow to the face. "GAH!"
With a scream Yamcha was sent spinning into a steeple in the middle of town, which his body crashed into and ended up embedded, upside-down, unconscious, blood trickling from his nose and mouth, and sprawled out against the brickwork.
Giggling at his quick victory, the tiny Bujin raised his hand and charged a red energy ball, only to suddenly receive a kick to the back of the head when Android 18 dropped down from the sky and sent the little man smashing through a house. Watching the building's roof collapse the cyborg prepared for the alien's retaliation, which came moments later when, floating up from the other side of the damaged structure, she saw the small alien float into view, levitating over two dozen massive slabs of rubble and steel girders.
Smirking when she saw the blonde woman standing on the roof squarely in his sights, the little alien with his arms crossed prepared to hurl his telekinetically controlled debris at her. But when a blast from above destroyed one of the car-sized boulders orbiting him, Bujin's eyes snapped upwards to see Tien hovering directly above him. Without an ounce of hesitation the turban-wearing Hera thrust his hand up and sent a stream of debris pelting towards the man.
Reacting fast, the bald-fighter flew off to the side, avoiding the girders and boulders that slammed into and impaled the dome wall of the battle zone behind him.
Dodging the debris that flew after him, Tien began returning fire, as did Android 18, both fighters beginning to fly circles around the telekinetic alien from a distance. However, as they quickly discovered, getting the alien with a direct shot wasn't going to be easy, as every blast they fired was effectively stopped by the field of debris circling him, which only began increasing in size as he started adding more to it from his surroundings.
Explosions ripped throughout the little city as the Z-fighters engaged their opponents. With the roving cameras struggling to capture all of the excitement going on and the landscape starting to crumble under the pressure, landing on a distant building out of reach of the warring groups, the pirate leader Bojack chuckled in amusement, watching as the fireworks erupted all about him.
"This is going to be a lot of fun," the large Hera-seijin exclaimed under his breath.
OOO
(Meanwhile)
Up in the stadium sitting high above the battle zones, the people lining the seats and stands were all still cheering and applauding eagerly as they watched the intergalactic 'visitors' go head to head with the Z-fighters on the enormous monitors. Though the invaders were certainly terrifying in appearance and all of them were flying about the battle zone like a group of demons, the spectators thought that this was all part of the competition and simply enjoyed the drama that was being played out. Complete with heroic take downs and explosions.
All they needed now was 'The Champ' Hercule Satan to fly in and save the day.
Unfortunately the man was nowhere to be seen, as the great martial arts champion had barricaded himself inside the bathroom. He kept the Cash family's lawyer and producer out by claiming to have a potentially life-threatening stomach problem, which did well in keeping the man at bay for a little while.
The Cash family themselves were rather enjoying the presentation of the intergalactic fighters their manager had supposedly hired to fight for them today, and were sitting in their skybox with big grins on their faces and eyes filled with stars.
"This is brilliant," the portly billionaire X.S Cash chortled, his transparent shades flashing with excitement as he saw the tiny alien competitor levitating rubble and debris around him, and hurling them at both Android 18 and Tien. "The special effects are truly spectacular. We should host this competition again, only bigger and better!"
"The fans will certainly love it," the man's wife chirped while her son bounced about in his seat giddily.
"Wow! Look at them go!" Monty cheered while pointing up at the screen, where he could see Gohan exchanging blows with the frightening yet beautiful Zangya. When he saw the half-Saiyan catch her blow and toss her towards the city, the child looked up at his mum and tugged on her dress, "I bet Gohan is going to win this one, mother!"
Lotta Cash giggled and patted her son on the head, "I'm sure he will, sweetie. I'm sure he will."
Amidst the clamor of the spectators, the members of the Z-fighters sitting in the audience were watching the battles unfold with anxiousness and fear. Chi-Chi had her hands pressed together as she watched with baited breath as her son battled against the woman on screen, while Bulma cradled her infant son close, at the same time the child waved his hands towards the monitor excitedly.
Master Roshi, Oolong, Chiaotzu and Puar were also following the battles with uncertainty and dread, as they'd not only just watched Krillin get taken out but Yamcha as well. Needless to say, it wasn't looking very good for them.
Videl, hands gripping the railing in front of her tightly, gritted her teeth as she saw Gohan receive a kick to the body and then a punch across the face that sent him spinning through the sky. Upon seeing him recover and charge right back into battle, the girl's uneasiness grew.
"Come on, Gohan. Beat them… you can do it."
OOO
(With Trunks)
A couple of minutes after the fights in the central battle zone between the Z-fighters and Bojack's crew began, blasting through the dividing wall standing between the desert battlefield and this one, the blond haired form of a Super Saiyan Mirai Trunks could be seen chasing after the large form of Bido, whom he'd sent barreling into the dome's barrier.
Slamming several punches across the bulky alien's face when he caught up to him, the furious Saiyan managed to draw a couple spurts of blood from the demon, until Bido retaliated with a swift back fist that struck Trunks's guard and sent him spiraling across the fake town.
Managing to stop himself with a quick burst of ki, the noticeably bruised and battered young Saiyan huffed and once again dashed at his equally damaged foe. When Bido fired off a cluster of red energy beams from his fingers towards his approaching enemy, Trunks avoided them with a swift aerial barrel roll. Corkscrewing under the hail of blasts, he then flew up at his foe and cracked him across the face with a hook. When he tried for a second one, the obviously pissed off Bido then parried the kid's blow with his forearm, before then catching the young man's leg when Trunks followed up his attack with a kick. With a mighty heave and a yell the Hera tossed the time traveling fighter towards the city streets below, the hybrid plummeting to the ground with a yell.
Crashing through the roof of an apartment block and out the other side, Trunks slammed back first into the street, bouncing twice before springing to his feet into a quick recovery. The second he glared back into the sky above where he knew his opponent was flying about, the building next to him was suddenly demolished and an equally battered Piccolo came bursting onto the scene in a cloud of dust. The Namekian skidded to a stop through the debris and ended up back-to-back with the Saiyan hybrid.
Spinning around to see what was going on, Trunks then saw the green guardian's opponent appear in the sky several stories above them; sword drawn and a big smirk on his face.
Analyzing the man's weapon briefly, the Super Saiyan hybrid frowned, "How are you doing?"
"Not too well, if I'm honest," Piccolo responded, ignoring the bloody gashes across his chest, torso and shoulder left by his opponent's steel. Honestly, considering how strong this guy was, it was a bit of an unfair advantage.
"Well… I think we're all in the same boat here," the Saiyan responded, widening his stance when he saw Gokuha raise his sword and point it towards them.
The orange haired mercenary chuckled, "You want to dance too, boy?"
Growling at the cocky way the man was speaking to him, Trunks crouched low and shot up at the sword-wielding pirate. Seeing the brash half-Saiyan take off had Piccolo's eyes widen and the man extend his hand in warning, but it was too late.
"Trunks! Wait!"
As the Super Saiyan was charging towards Gokuha, who was slowly drawing his sword back into a two-handed grip, a sudden flash of purple lights streaking through the air in front of him had Trunks balk in surprise. A split second later the teen felt his arms snap to his sides and his body freeze in midair, when something akin to a dozen steel wires coiled around his frame and stopped him in his tracks.
Gasping in shock, the ensnared Saiyan looked over his shoulder. He quickly spotted his opponent standing on a nearby roof with his hands outstretched and a big shit-eating grin on his face. When he looked down at himself to see what had snagged him, Trunks immediately noticed the telltale signs of light reflecting off of a series of translucent, multi-colored wires, which had apparently been thrown by Bido and used to snare him.
Trying to fight against the wires only led to the energy strings digging into his skin. In a matter of moments- and much to Trunks's shock- the young Saiyan felt his energy start to leave him, as it was slowly sapped away by the wires and fed towards his captor.
"W-What?" the hybrid growled, pulling back against the bonds in another attempt to free himself. But as hard as he writhed, he just could not break out.
Piccolo, spotting the transparent cables glimmering in the sky above, narrowed his eyes seriously. "So… that's what you've been hiding." In a matter of moments he saw Trunks's Super Saiyan form vanish, his blond hair fading back to lavender and his muscle mass vanishing.
While this was going on, the gang's leader Bojack, who'd been watching the battles from afar, lazily floated down from the sky and landed on a nearby roof. From here he could watch as his men made short work of the half-Saiyan from the future.
Still struggling to free himself as the wires kept him in place, Trunks's attention then snapped back to the man he'd tried to attack. It was at that very moment the half-Saiyan's eyes widened when he saw Gokuha, sword held high, diving down at him in a blur of motion. In a matter of moments the Hera was directly in front of the hybrid and swinging down at him with his saber, a mighty battle cry leaving his lips.
Spotting the alien charging at the time traveler from above, Piccolo, reacting in alarm, threw his hand up and prepared to fire a blast, an orange ball of ki flashing into life in front of his palm.
"DIE, BOY!" Gokuha roared, while Trunks braced himself for the inevitable.
The instant the alien struck down at the trapped Saiyan, a sudden silver flash from the side knocked Gokuha's strike away, as a familiar broad sword thrown from an unknown user came flying out of nowhere, spinning like a propeller blade. The airborne weapon effectively intercepted the alien's swing and knocked his saber back with a loud 'clang'. Sparks flying as his momentum was effectively cut off, the startled Gokuha then sprang away to avoid the blast fired by Piccolo from below.
Bido, recoiling at seeing Gokuha's attack fail, then let out a yelp of shock when the building he was standing on went up in a fiery blue explosion, causing him to dispel his wires prematurely.
The energy bonds wrapped around his body vanishing, Trunks jerked forward with a start and, glancing downwards, caught the airborne sword when it boomeranged back to him, along with the scabbard that dropped down from the sky. Sheathing his blade and buckling the sheath around him, the lavender haired Saiyan grinned in delight. Looking across at the now destroyed building behind him, the boy saw an all too familiar silhouette rise up from the plume of smoke.
"Father!"
Moments later, a golden flash followed by a blast of wind cut away the tower of dust, revealing the cross-armed, armor-clad form of Vegeta assumed in his Super Saiyan form. The instant he transformed, the prince smirked.
"Leave them to me." The warrior then floated up into the sky, his eyes set squarely on who he believed was the leader, poised on the apartment roof on the other side of the road.
When Vegeta reached the same altitude that Bojack was standing the two men then stared each other down, with the prince holding his signature serious glare while the orange haired bandit smirked broadly, his trench coat billowing on the wind. As the other battles raged on in the background and Piccolo and Trunks looked on from close by, the stage was set for another battle to break out.
Brow creasing irritably, the Super Saiyan Prince huffed and, drawing his hands back, threw them forward and unleashed a powerful golden blast with a yell. His attack streaked towards Bojack who, bringing his own hands up, fired off a green blast of his own to meet his opponent's. Their attacks collided in midair, going up in a golden explosion that rattled the neighborhood and choked the air with smoke.
What immediately followed from there was an epic aerial dogfight, as both Vegeta and Bojack engaged one another in a shootout above the fake city. Golden and green flashes of light started ripping over the battle zone in the most spectacular lightshow ever conceived, as the two hardcore warriors attempted to knock one another out of the sky. Their battle quickly descended to the downtown suburbs where, using the multiple apartment buildings as cover, the pair began trading shots through and between the towering blocks.
Watching the explosive trail being left behind by Vegeta and Bojack as the pair ventured further and further into the distance, a baffled Trunks couldn't help but shake his head.
"I don't understand you father. You withdraw into the shadows ever since Goku's been gone and now suddenly here you are defending us? Why?"
Before anyone could answer his question, Trunks suddenly wheeled around when he sensed someone approaching and saw Bido charging at him from behind. Taking a stance, the time traveler prepared to engage the large Hera once again, only to suddenly see the man receive a kick to the back of the head from Piccolo appearing directly behind him, knocking the blue man into the building below. The second he hit the structure the entire thing collapsed in a shower of rubble and dust.
Watching the administration building implode on itself, Piccolo then glanced across at the surprised Trunks with a smirk. "What do you say we switch dance partners?" he then darted down into the rubble, where he saw Bido picking himself up. Before the Hera could fully recover from his fall he was tackled in the gut by the Namekian and sent barreling into another building, where the pair vanished through the debris.
Smiling at seeing Piccolo take the big guy off his hands, Trunks's focus quickly switched across the sky, where he saw Gokuha floating nearby with his sword sheathed and a deep frown on his face. The moment the teen spotted him his own smile vanished, whereupon he then clenched his fists and, with a grunt, went straight into his Super Saiyan form. His muscles bulked and blond hair spiked upwards as his golden aura surrounded him.
Noticing the kid transform caused Gokuha's expression to tighten up. When he did, every single piece of jewelry on him lit a hot gold before, with a rush of wind and a rippling shockwave, the swordsman let out a roar and his body was swallowed up by a fiery green aura. In an instant the man's black top was shredded as his mass expanded, his skin turned a sickly green, and his hair flashed a bloody red. The moment he finished powering up, he leered across at his foe, who couldn't help but grit his teeth irritably.
"Your move," Gokuha informed confidently.
Narrowing his eyes, Trunks then reached up and gripped his sword. His golden aura flaring up with a blast of wind, he then shot straight towards his foe with a loud battle cry, while the now larger Hera charged back in kind. Both men drawing their swords at the exact same time, they then collided in midair, their swords impacting one another with a deafening clang that echoed outwards in the form of a shockwave.
As two of the buildings around them collapsed from the force of their exchange and the ground beneath them split from the direction of their strikes, the two sword-wielding warriors growled as they grappled fiercely with one another. Sparks and bolts of electricity danced between them as the pair then brought their legs up and kicked each other away. Upon which they then engaged in a vicious duel of steel above the city, their golden and green forms streaking through the sky and clashing in a series of sparks and clangs, their weapons flashing through the air around them in a series of silver streaks.
And so the battle raged on.
OOO
(Android 18 and Tien vs Bujin)
Dodging another string of red energy bolts and rubble sent flying her way, the bruised and exhausted Android 18 growled in annoyance when she saw another part of the battle zone collapse behind her. Flying up higher, she kept her eyes fixed on the cyclone of debris surrounding their diminutive foe, who she could hear was giggling in amusement as he watched his two opponents dance feebly around him.
At this point his confidence was starting to annoy both Android 18 and Tien, who had were battered, bruised, and running on fumes.
Seeing his targets glaring at him, the snickering Bujin brought his hands up and wagged his fingers, causing the wall of debris in front of him to form into a row. "What's the matter, insects? Tired already?" He then rotated his hands, causing all the sharpest points of the floating rubble to abruptly turn and aim at Eighteen and Tien. "Too bad, because I've only just started to show you what I can do." With a snap of his fingers, he then sent the pieces of building he was suspending shooting towards the pair at once.
Seeing the fast-moving projectiles approaching, the two then darted away, once again avoiding another wave of debris that impacted the battle zone's far wall and destroyed it. After dodging the assault and possible impalement by scaffolding, both the cyborg and the triclops converged in the sky over Bujin's position, who once again summoned more ammo from his surroundings.
"This guy is starting to get on my nerves," Tien remarked, earning a nod of agreement from the blond android.
"Yeah," Eighteen replied with a frown. "We have to do something about that debris field and get him to come at us in hand-to-hand. But how?"
Thinking on it for a moment, the bruised and battered martial artist then turned to the woman with a serious look. "I have an idea. It's risky, but it should work." He then leant over and whispered what he had thought up, causing Eighteen's eyes to widen and then look at the man with a start.
"Really?" When Tien nodded, the blonde cyborg frowned and shot him a glare. "Whatever you do don't hit me."
"Got it," the Z-fighter replied. "When I say so, close your eyes."
Face creasing in annoyance, Bujin then cocked his head and shouted, "Hey! This is no time for chit-chat! I'm still here!" The little imp in the turban then thrust his hands forward and sent another telekinetic hail of rubble at the pair.
Scattering, Tien and Eighteen once again dodged the man's projectiles, with the human going high while the woman went low. Darting across the apartment rooftops, the cyborg raised her hand and fired off a cluster of blasts towards Bujin's position, who used a quick hand swipe to bring two large slabs of building in front of him to block the attacks. The Hera then raised his other hand and prepared to launch another salvo of pillars at her, only to look up when he heard a shout.
It was then he spotted his three-eyed target hovering in the air high above the battle zone.
"NOW!" Tien shouted, signaling Eighteen to stop and cover her face with her arms, while his hands splayed out on both sides of his head. His expression scrunching up, the warrior shouted. "TAIYOKEN!" (Solar Flare) A blinding flash of light then shot down from above and hit Bujin square in the face, the entire neighborhood becoming engulfed by the strobe and filling everyone's vision with a painful white haze.
Unable to cover his eyes in time, Bujin let out a howl of pain and hunched forward, his telekinetic control over the debris field dispelling and dropping all the rubble to the ground. "GAH! My eyes!" Rubbing his face with both knuckles, the tiny alien attempted to shake off the stunning attack as quickly as he could.
Spotting the opening, Tien then thrust his hand down, pointed his finger and yelled. "Dodonpa!" (Boom Wave) A golden beam then shot from the tip of his digit and towards Bujin's position, intent on taking him out with one hit.
The Hera though sensed the incoming danger and flew straight up as fast as he could, avoiding the beam. What Bujin didn't count on however was being blindsided from above by Android 18 dropping down on him with a hammer blow, which slammed into his head and sent him straight into the ruined city below. The instant he impacted the road, the blonde woman aimed both her hands down and, with a yell, unleashed a hail of lightning fast energy bolts. Her attack bombarded the area the alien had crashed in, decimating the neighborhood with a series of multiple golden explosions that were capable of laying waste to an entire countryside.
As Eighteen continued to bomb the area relentlessly and a thick cloud of smoke started to spew into the air and block out her vision, she suddenly spotted a shadow approaching her from below. Rocketing out of the plume, a singed, burnt and enraged Bujin shot up at her with a scream of rage, where he then thrust a punch up at the woman. Catching both wrists when he attempted to pummel her, the blonde cyborg gritted her teeth and attempted to hold the man in place.
But as she was slowly pushed back through the sky, Eighteen quickly realized she wouldn't be able to hold him for long.
Smoke trailing off of his burnt and battered form, Bujin barked, "You thought that pathetic attack would kill me?! HUH?!"
Jaw clenched as she grappled with the small alien, the cyborg then grinned, "I wasn't trying to kill you. I was trying to stall you."
Bujin then blinked in confusion, "Stall me? For what?"
"KIKO-HOOOOOOOO!" A loud yell from the side echoed before the entire area was lit up by an orange flash of light.
When the baffled Bujin's gaze snapped to his left, he saw a massive, diamond-shaped blast rocketing towards him at an incredible speed. Realizing that it was his other opponent that had fired it, his eyes then widened in horror as the attack expanded at an absurd rate before, with a scream of terror, he was hit head-on by the blast. The geometrically perfect technique swallowed up the man as it streaked towards the horizon of the battle zone, where it struck the distant wall, shot off the island and blasted across the curvature of the planet.
The attack faded moments later, revealing Android 18 floating there with her eyes tightly shut and a square-shaped, smoking trench carved across the entire battle zone a few stories beneath her.
Opening her eyes and looking in front of her, the blond cyborg saw that she was still holding Bujin's fists, only… they weren't really attached to anything.
Apparently Tien had fired his blast close enough and accurately enough that he was able to engulf his target entirely, while leaving Android 18 completely out of harm's way. The result of the move spoke for itself, as the full-powered attack had completely incinerated their opponent, leaving only the parts the blond cyborg was holding onto intact.
Tien, his four hands still locked together in a diamond shape, then deactivated his Four Witches Techniqueand allowed his two remaining arms to drop to his sides tiredly. "Man… glad that's finally over."
"Yeah," Eighteen murmured, starting at the hands she was still holding before narrowing her eyes and dropping them. "Gross." Wiping her hands on her ruined top, the woman then glanced towards the city when she heard a series of explosions ring out. When she spotted a tower in the distance collapse from a blast being fired through it and saw a Super Saiyan Vegeta fending off the undamaged form of Bojack, the blond frowned. "I suppose we have to go take care of big, tall and ugly now, don't we?"
Also seeing the problem for himself, Tien nodded in agreement. "Seems like it." Clenching his fists and powering up, he then leant forward and took off. "Come on. We have to help."
Android 18 swiftly followed suit. Though they were successful in bringing down one of the invading aliens and had won their battle, both she and Tien knew that the war was far from done…
OOO
(Piccolo vs Bido)
Over on the other side of the city, amidst a mountain of flaming rubble and gaping craters, the former guardian of Earth was still locked in an epic power struggle with his incredibly large and physically strong foe. After several minutes of trading blows in the air above the deserted city, their aerial kick boxing match quickly degenerated into a slugfest in the town below, where the duo ended up punching, kicking and throwing one another through the various buildings. They even launched blasts at one another at pointblank range, challenging each other to take their best shots.
This is how their part of the city ended up in such ruin, with only a few structures in their rundown neighborhood left standing.
Panting heavily as he watched Bido pick himself up out of the crater he'd landed in, Piccolo put his fingers to his forehead, powered up and jabbed them forward. "Makankōsappō!" He then launched his signature orange spiral beam straight at the alien, intent on impaling him and killing him with a single shot.
Seeing the fast-moving attack streaking towards him at light speed, a wide-eyed and bleeding Bido sprang to the side, barely avoiding the attack when it shot past him. After the beam struck a distant hill and detonated in the form of a massive dome-shaped blast, the bulky Hera cocked back his hand and lobbed a red energy ball straight towards Piccolo.
Bringing his own hand over his shoulder, the Namekian backhanded the attack and sent it arcing into the sky, upon which he then rushed in to take Bido head on, who did the exact same thing. Screaming, the two warriors collided in the middle of the field with a deafening thunderclap, where they wound up grabbing each other by the hands and locking one another in a pushing match.
The two warriors growled as they forced every ounce of their strength upon their opponent- the ground cracking and disintegrating beneath them. As their feet started to sink into the floor, Piccolo, giving a mighty roar, reared his head back and slammed it into Bido's face. His cranium landed with the sickening sound of bones crunching as the alien's nose was crushed, the blue alien stumbling away with a cry of pain. Upon which Piccolo then pulled his fist back and slammed it into his cheek, sending the large Hera bouncing across the landscape to then crash into a distant boulder.
The rock pulverizing underneath the man's back, a stunned and exhausted Bido huffed and looked up, where he saw an equally tired Piccolo sprinting towards him. Gritting his teeth, the alien then threw his hands forward and unleashed a barrage of energy wires, which coiled through the air and snared the Namekian. The green warrior stopped just a few yards away with a gasp, his body jerking into a frozen position as he felt all of his momentum vanish.
Giving a boisterous laugh of victory, the bloodied and bruised Bido then barked at the frozen earthling. "You're finished, green man!" Watching Piccolo struggle and writhe under the transparent wires uselessly for a few seconds, the Hera then proceeded to tighten his hold. "As soon as all of your energy is drained, I will cut you to-"
Just before he could finish his sentence, Piccolo's eyes widened and flashed, before two beams shot out and struck Bido squarely in the chest. The attack went straight through the alien and out the back, splattering blood across the floor and causing the Hera's wires to dispel instantly. Lurching forward with his eyes wide in shock, blood then gurgled out of the invader's mouth as he clutched the two pupil-sized holes in his pectorals.
Feeling the bonds vanish from around him, the Namekian breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the stricken Bido, who'd collapsed to his knees from the pain. "Now, you see, the thing about using those energy wires is that you can't move around too well after you've cast them. You need to keep both hands out and all of your attention focused on keeping them active, leaving your body stationary. That makes you a big target." Stopping directly in front of the kneeling, gasping Bido, the battered Namekian, his gi ripped, body bruised, and lip bleeding, spat to the side. "Remember that the next time you use it." He then raised his hand and pointed it squarely at the alien's face.
Before the Hera could say anything to get Piccolo to stop or even so much as scream, a flash of light and an orange blast shot out of the Namekian's palm and engulfed his head, disintegrating it and the rest of his body in an instant…
OOO
(Trunks vs Gokuha)
More clangs rang out across the sky as the two sword wielding warriors continued clashing, their forms darting through the air in multiple directions, trailing sparks and fire wherever they went. After several more engagements that saw a dozen more silver flashes resonate across the battle zone's space, a loud shockwave then echoed out as Gokuha was unexpectedly kicked out of the air by his opponent appearing directly overhead and getting the drop on him. It seemed like a successful attack.
But as the Super Hera fell out of the air, the bandit threw his hand out and lassoed a cluster of wires around Trunks's leg, snaring him and yanking him down with him.
The half-Saiyan gave a surprised yelp as he was pulled out of the sky and slammed into the valley several yards from where Gokuha crashed. When the dust settled and the two pushed themselves back to their feet seconds later, the sword users then looked up and glared daggers at each other.
By this time both of them were covered in burns, cuts and bruises, showing just how hard both warriors had been trying to kill each other.
Taking his saber into two hands, the shaking and wounded Gokuha huffed as he watched his opponent widen his stance, "Let's finish this."
Brandishing his weapon so that his blade flashed at his enemy, the equally wounded Trunks lowered his head and braced himself. "By your lead."
Without even so much as a second thought, the green-skinned Hera bent his knees and shot forward with a sonic boom, charging across the open ground towards his foe like a samurai. Trunks mimicked his actions, a cloud of dust trailing behind him as he sprinted at his opponent with his jaw clenched and aura blazing around him.
Both men tore a path across the open field at such speed they were both nothing more than a couple of indiscernible gold and green blurs heading towards one another. When the two finally collided in the center of the barren wasteland outside of the city, there was a blinding flash of light and a loud, metallic echo as both their blades connected with full force.
The moment the blinding flash faded, both men had switched places; standing on opposite sides of each other with their backs turned and weapons extended, indicating a finished strike. At first the two transformed fighters remained where they were, glaring ahead of each other as their minds slowly processed what'd happened.
Then it hit them.
Gasping painfully, Trunks suddenly dropped to his knee and spat up blood, at the same time his Super Saiyan form dissipated with a dull shimmer. Looking at his form, one could clearly see his opponent's sword had carved right across his side, leaving a noticeable gash in his abdomen that the time traveler was now clutching with his bare hand. What's more, the shining broadsword he was holding in his right hand had snapped in half, with the top half of the weapon missing.
While Trunks had collapsed to the floor following their exchange, a still transformed Gokuha stood upright, chuckling as he slowly turned to face his fallen foe. Sword still in one piece, the snickering Hera saw the hybrid Saiyan glare painfully over his shoulder, trembling from head to toe and unable to move from the injury he'd sustained.
It seemed like Gokuha had won their little Iai contest.
But several seconds after the man had turned around, the redheaded Gokuha's laughter suddenly slowed and slurred, before a trickle of blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. Still smiling and chuckling in a strange manner, the man then swayed on the spot, dropped his sword, and fell to his knees with a loud thud.
As it turns out, when Trunks's sword snapped against the Hera's thicker, more robust saber, the top end of the Saiyan's sword had embedded right in the center of his chest where his heart was, and was now sticking out of both ends of his body. It took a moment for the damage to finally register to the alien and once it did, all feeling and sense of consciousness left Gokuha completely.
The moment he dropped to his knees, the Hera then keeled forward and slammed face first into the dirt, his lifeless form reverting back to his base as blood slowly started to pool on the ground around him.
Panting and gasping for air after finally seeing his opponent drop, Trunks then gulped exhaustedly and picked himself off the floor. Still holding his broken sword, the young adult then spun it about all-cool-style and sheathed the remaining half into the scabbard on his back. Upon which his eyes turned towards the city.
Sensing the fierce battle between his father and the aliens' boss still raging on, the half-Saiyan from the future clenched his fists and, with a quick power up and jump to Super Saiyan, took off into the sky to join the others in battle.
From what he could sense, it was not going well…
OOO
(Vegeta vs Bojack)
As valiant and epic as his entrance to the party had been, the Prince of all Saiyans quickly found himself on the losing end of his fight with the leather-clad Hera-seijin leader.
After a sporadic shootout across the city, which saw to the destruction of multiple buildings, hills and sections of the battle zone dome around them, the duo then moved in to duke it out with one another head to head. Vegeta managed to land a few good hits on his foe, using his superior speed and technique to assist him. But as he quickly found out, his opponent was a lot tougher than he'd anticipated and, from the arrogant smirk that remained on the scar-faced Bojack's face, the guy was only humoring him.
Over the next several minutes the alien leader then proceeded to kick Vegeta around the empty city, sending him flying through buildings and random structures across the suburbs. More explosions and shockwaves echoed throughout the skyline, sending rubble and smoke hurtling into the air.
When the Saiyan rushed at his opponent, bruised and bleeding from his face, he attempted to nail the demon leader with a hook, only to receive a heavy hammer blow from above. The attack slammed into his body with a deafening crack and effectively punted Vegeta out of the sky and down into the streets below. Crashing into the floor, the prince smashed a twenty foot wide crater into the rock and concrete.
Bojack chuckled loudly from where he floated. "Struggle all you want. Your attempts to stop me are worthless."
Spitting up blood and attempting to sit up, Vegeta growled when he saw the airborne Bojack aim both hands at him and launch a green blast at his position. The attack rocketed towards him at a terrifying speed, growing in both size and strength. But just as the blast was about to consume the prince in his entirety, a golden bolt from the right suddenly slammed into the side of the green sphere and sent it shooting off into the distance. Seconds later Android 18 and Tien came charging into battle.
"Oh, no you don't!" the three-eyed male shouted as he powered right up to Bojack's position with a punch, only to miss when the blue leader speedily and rather acrobatically flipped over Tien faster than he could track. The moment he did, Bojack then dropped a kick down onto an unsuspecting Eighteen approaching from behind, striking her in the stomach and causing her to choke up spit as she was effectively kicked out of the sky and into an apartment block.
Once he'd fended off the cyborg, the pirate then swung out and punched Tien across the face when the stunned martial artist looked over his shoulder to try and follow him.
The bone-crunching blow sent the human bouncing off of the roof of a house, where he then ended up tumbling to a painful heap across the tiles. But just as Bojack was preparing to finish off the bald warrior, the giant of an alien received a swift knee across the face from Piccolo flying at him from a blind spot. The swift, dull crack of his jumping attack sent the demon leader spinning through the air, who then stopped moments later and looked back with a growl to see the Namekian rushing at him a second time.
With a roar, the green fighter from earth struck out at the alien, attempting to nail him between the eyes, only to watch Bojack move forward in a blur, avoid his punch and knee him in the solar plexus. Coughing up blood, Piccolo was then kicked across the face and sent spinning through the air, but stopped himself with a quick burst of ki.
When Bojack saw Piccolo spin around to face him again, his eyes then glanced over his shoulder to see Trunks stop behind him, dropped in a fighting stance and assumed in his Super Saiyan form. His arrogant smile fading from his bloody lip, the barely damaged alien then looked to his left, where he saw the battered forms of an exhausted Android 18 and Tien float up to face him. Then, looking to his left, he saw Vegeta join their formation, fists clenched at his sides and a fierce glare set upon him.
"It's over for you, monster," Android 18 spoke, ignoring her messy hair, ruined outfit and the blood leaking from the corner of her mouth.
"No matter what, we will not let you take this planet," Trunks stated, his own glare mirroring that of his father's. "Because we are going to take you down, right here, right now."
After a moment of glancing around at the multiple opponents floating around him, Bojack closed his eyes and smirked. Seconds later a series of low chuckles reverberated from his throat, followed by a long and sinister laugh that had the five warriors surrounding him assume defensive stances. After which the scar-faced demon opened his eyes.
"Fools," Bojack said in a deep, intimidating tone of voice. "Soon you will know the full and terrifying wrath that is Bojack; the scourge of the universe and the conqueror of worlds!" The alien leader then clenched his fists and, after concentrating for a moment, slowly crossed his arms over his face. What followed was a series of miniature sonic booms that shredded his leather jacket and bandana as a green aura erupted from his body, which caused his muscles to bulk up, his hair to turn blood red, and his skin green. The moment his form went up the demon then gave a howl of rage, his arms thrusting outwards and sending a gust of wind ripping across the city.
As buildings beneath him caved in and the ground split from the force of his transformation, the group of five Z-fighters hovering in the air looked on in horror when they sensed Bojack's power level go through the roof. Once the alien had finished expelling energy, his strength had grown to such a preposterous height that all of them felt like they were reliving an all too recent nightmare.
"H-Holy crap," Tien shivered as sweat started trickling down his face. "His… power level…"
"It's exactly the same as Cell's," Piccolo stammered, unable to believe what he was sensing either.
Chuckling as he allowed his body to relax from its tensed up state, the fully transformed Super Hera then set his sights on the collection of warriors around him. Noticing the looks of shock and terror slapped across their faces, Bojack leered threateningly.
"Now… you die."
OOO
(Gohan vs Zangya)
Way outside of the city making up the majority of the central battle zone, in the fields of rolling hills close to the edge of the perimeter wall, the two young fighters were still clashing with one another in a chaotic yet awesome display of strength and skill. Darting across the landscape, the pair chased each other in the form of two imperceptible blurs, every so often tagging the other player whenever they crossed paths and locking in a brief exchange of blows, before separating and repeating the motion again.
Using whatever strategies they could both come up with to try and outflank their opponent and catch them off guard, both Gohan and Zangya traded several more attacks, until one of them finally made a move.
Twirling on the spot, a noticeably bruised and beaten up Zangya, with blood trickling from the top of her head, let out a yell as she opened up her hand and pelted a red ball of energy straight towards her opponent. "BEAUTY TRIGGER!" The red bolt of ki curved towards Gohan's head and was on a clear path to hitting him.
However, spotting the attack coming in slow motion, the less damaged half-Saiyan ducked it and rushed straight at his opponent, catching the woman by surprise at his speed.
Zangya reacted instinctively, retaliating with a few sharp blows towards Gohan's head. When the boy parried and countered with a hook across her face, Zangya thrust a kick at him in response, only for the demi-Saiyan to catch her limb, dive forward and throw both of them into a spin. Their forms blurring together as they fell, the fast-flipping Gohan let out a yell and released his opponent, sending her shooting towards the planet at speed.
A loud clap of a meteor making landfall echoed throughout the air as Zangya went splat into the ground, sending a large puff of dust and debris into the air from where she landed, and splitting a hill right down the middle. Before the cloud could settle, Gohan slapped his hands over his forehead and, concentrating hard, let out a yell.
"Masenko…" He then threw his body and hands forward, a sonic boom ringing out as a golden blast erupted from his palms, "-HAAAAAAAAA!" Gohan's attack filled the air with a golden glow as it rocketed down to Zangya's position, intent on engulfing her and taking her out of the fight in an instant.
Managing to stand up from the crater she'd formed, the battered woman gasped at the sight of the incoming blast. Thinking fast, she then swiped her hands in front of her, unleashing a dozen translucent wires that coiled through the air like a net. "Chōnōryoku!" (Psycho Threads) The threads expanded in a flurry of lightning fast streaks, which intercepted the oncoming attack and diced it to pieces.
The blast, cut into a dozen blocks, then scattered across the battlefield and peppered their surroundings. Upon which Zangya whipped her wires through the sky and hurled them at her adolescent target, intent on snaring him next and robbing him of his energy.
Spotting the stream of barely visible webbing flying at him, Gohan, using his training, snapped his hand out and caught the wires. As they coiled around his fingers, he clenched it into a fist, spun around and, with a mighty yell and a heave, yanked Zangya off the ground. The female Hera let out a cry of surprise when she felt her body get pulled into the sky, where the young Super Saiyan spun her through the air like a lasso, before throwing her back towards the ground, which she slammed into with a violent crash.
Her wires dispelling, Zangya groaned in agony and slowly pushed herself out of the crater she'd formed. Once she was on all fours, she looked up to see Gohan touch down on the ground a few yards in front of her, a serious look reflected in his eyes as he stared at the wounded girl.
"It's over. You're done," Gohan said in a firm and commanding voice.
Huffing angrily, Zangya shook her head. "No! I'm not finished yet!" the young woman shouted as she pushed herself to her feet, only to stumble and fall onto her backside. Yelping in pain, the Hera then glared through one eye back at the Saiyan child. "I have to beat you… I must… otherwise he'll kill me."
At this statement Gohan blinked in surprise, "Who? Your boss?"
Rolling forward onto her knee allowed Zangya a better position to move, as she used that moment to catch her breath and to stop her head from spinning. "If I don't follow his orders… he won't just punish me. He'll break me, torture me… make an example of me in front of the rest of the group. Then, once he's satisfied with my suffering… he'll kill me… just like he did everyone else." She then glared back up at the boy through a slightly half-lidded gaze. "All of us do what Master Bojack tells us to do. If he even so much as detects a hint of insubordination, he will end our lives without so much as a blink."
Appearing stunned, the demi-Saiyan then frowned and stepped forward. "But there are four of you. Why can't you guys just stand up to that monster? Tell him you won't do as he says anymore?"
Zangya shook her head, "They won't. Gokuha, Bido, Bujin… all three of them are either too scared or were turned around years ago The rest of us died in battle or were killed by Bojack. With no home to return to, they just followed him around wherever he went… and I was forced to tag along as his trusted lieutenant." When she looked down at the earth, memories of years long past soon began flickering through her head, causing her jaw to clench and her face to tighten. "You don't know what Bojack is capable of… what he's done. He wiped out all of my people and forced me to watch as he murdered my mother, my father, and my little brother right in front of me." Tears starting to brim in her eyes, the woman gave a sob and clenched her hands through the dirt, before then slamming it into the floor. "I can still hear their screams and see their faces in my nightmares."
Expression saddening when he heard this, Gohan's eyes then craned downwards for a moment of careful thought. All things considered, this was actually the first time he'd run into an opponent who wasn't just some mindless monster or a person driven by evil intent and desire. This girl in front of him, Zangya, she'd been forced into her master's servitude and forced to kill for him, all in order to protect herself and survive. What's more, she'd lost her entire family and her race to his hands, and had nowhere to go except stick with Bojack's group of hoodlums.
Sensing that she wasn't as bad as he thought she was before, the young Saiyan then resolved to do something about it. He wanted to help her.
Taking a page out of his father's book, Gohan clenched his fists and stepped forward.
"It doesn't have to be like that," the young Saiyan stated while moving towards the young woman cautiously. "You don't have to be afraid of him anymore. You can fight him-"
"No! No. You don't understand!" Zangya screamed, stopping the teen in his tracks at her outburst while her head snapped upwards. Brow furrowed and eyes burning blue, the young woman continued. "I can't fight him! I don't have a choice! Bojack… he's too powerful. Everyone who has tried to stand up to him has been destroyed by his hand or suffered an even worse fate. He killed my entire family, my friends, and everyone I've ever cared about. And if I try to face him… he'll just kill me too!" Standing up with a cry of fear and anger, a green aura blasted around the Hera's entire body, causing the jewellery she was wearing to glow a bright gold, her long hair to turn red and her skin to turn green. Her energy skyrocketing and sending a powerful gust blowing in all directions, pushing Gohan back along the ground, the woman then leant forward and yelled, "I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"
Recoiling in alarm, the demi-Saiyan swung his arms up to protect himself. However, moving too fast for him to follow, the now red haired Zangya bolted forward in a blur and slammed a fist across his face. The attack landed with a deafening thunderclap, knocking Gohan off his feet and sending him spinning into a distant plateau, which exploded and collapsed on top of him.
Another bellow of effort left Zangya's lips as she threw her hands forward and unleashed a massive red blast surrounded by red bolts of lightning, which engulfed the landscape in front of her and swallowed up the area where Gohan had crashed. After her attack burned through the island and shot out the other side, incinerating almost everything in sight before shooting across the ocean, the woman then lowered her hands and panted heavily. The effort she'd put forth had managed to burn an enormous glass trench across the valley, leaving almost nothing standing.
From this observation alone it seemed like her battle was finally over, but then, as she watched the enormous cloud of smoke and dust fade, she heard the distinct sound of energy fluctuating in the distance. Squinting, she then saw a golden glow emerge from the wall of smoke, which blew away the veil of debris and revealed Gohan standing there in one piece.
Despite the amount of energy she'd put behind her attack, Zangya was astonished to see that there was barely a scratch on her opponent. Barring only a couple of bruised cheeks, a bleeding lip and a few tears in his orange and blue gi, the young Saiyan looked like her attack hadn't done anything to him. However, after getting a better look at the warrior before her, the Hera then noticed that his appearance had changed slightly.
Not only was his golden aura whipping around him more violently, but it was accompanied by a field of blue electricity, which sparked and shot off of his body like a storm. What's more, not only had his body achieved more definition and his face had become sterner, his once soft green eyes had taken on a darker shade of turquoise, and his golden hair had grown, spiked up, and was standing almost completely on end, leaving only a single bang hanging over his forehead.
Needless to say, the boy looked both cool and intimidating, a sight that had Zangya take a worried step back.
"N-No way," the girl whispered, only to then gasp in fright when she suddenly saw Gohan standing directly in front of her, causing her to trip and fall backwards.
The teen had been standing half a kilometre away from her. Somehow, while she was staring right at him, the Saiyan had managed to teleport to only a few feet away from her. And she didn't even blink!
How fast was he?
Staring wide-eyed up at the Super Saiyan 2 now standing over her, Zangya watched in silence as the teen, baring the menace and composure of a killer, held his arm out and extended his hand towards her. Knowing that a blast was sure to come, the trembling Super Hera shut her eyes and braced herself, prepared to face her maker in whatever form he took.
But then, after a few seconds of waiting for the inevitable burning sensation that was her death, the Hera suddenly felt a gentle poke on her forehead, which then prompted her to look up. When she did, she saw Gohan leaning towards her with his signature warm smile on his face. Thanks to his Ascended Saiyan state, it made him appear even more regal than he already was.
"We all have a choice." When he saw the girl blink, Gohan pressed on. "Right now, you have the chance to make things right, not just for yourself, but for your family and your entire race. If you want to make a difference in the world and redeem yourself for all the bad things you've done, use your powers to help others and protect those who can't fight for themselves. Stand up to the monster who's threatening you, look him dead in the eye, and tell him to go take a hike." Pausing for a moment as his eyes searched Zangya's, he then shrugged. "And if that doesn't work, just punch him really, really hard in the face. Trust me. I do it all the time." He then raised his hand and offered it to her. "So… what do you want to do?"
Staring into the teen's grinning face and feeling her anxiety settle and become replaced by a sense of warmth, the Hera then glanced down at the Saiyan's hand and, for the next few seconds, considered it…
OOO
The battle with Bojack had taken a rather big turn for the worst.
The moment the demon assumed his Super Hera form, the fight quickly transformed into a one-sided ass kicking contest. The first to get dropped was Tien, who was downed by a single blow to the face and sent spinning into a building. After which the alien leader then targeted Trunks, who he clobbered and kicked through several buildings until he managed to knock the teen unconscious and into a clearing on the outskirts of town.
Vegeta, Piccolo and Android 18 tried to stop Bojack by attacking him from behind, but when they tried to get the drop on him, the demon viciously tossed and knocked them around the sky until he was satisfied. After a few minutes of endless pummelling, almost all three of the still active Z-fighters could be seen lying around the battlefield, barely conscious, clothes ruined, and covered in all sorts of bruises and wounds. The only one who managed to get back to his feet after the merciless beat down was Vegeta who, with his right arm hanging uselessly at his side, was now attempting to face off against Bojack in his base form.
Blood covering his right eye and his body armour cracked, the Saiyan Prince growled when he saw the red haired alien hulk, who barely had a scratch on him, smirk in his direction. "What the hell are you grinning at… you ugly, scar-faced freak? You think you're better than me?"
Bojack chuckled, "Of course."
"Well… you're not!" Vegeta barked back, as he then brought his fist up and thumped it against his chest. "I'm Vegeta; Prince of all Saiyans! The leader of the most powerful race in the universe! And I refuse to be beaten by some no-name, juiced up freak from another planet!" With a bellow of rage, the man's golden aura blasted around him. As soon as he transformed to Super Saiyan, the prince leapt off the ground and flew right at Bojack at full speed.
Attempting to clock the bandit across the face with a hook, Vegeta saw Bojack block it with his forearm. However, just when it seemed like his attack had failed, the Saiyan opened up his hand and unleashed a golden blast from his palm, hitting the demon right in the face at point-blank range. The attack erupted outwards, engulfing the invader's entire head and causing the warrior to lurch violently to the side. Immediately upon firing off his blast the Saiyan Prince leapt away and landed at a safe distance.
When the smoke cleared, it revealed a slightly surprised Bojack with his head cocked to the right and one side of his face burnt and simmering like a roast.
Vegeta laughed at the man's look. "Surprise, wretch."
Registering to the fact that he'd been hit, the Hera's expression suddenly twisted into one of fury and, spinning towards the Saiyan, he vanished in a blur. The next thing the prince knew was having his stomach caved in from a punch, which had the royal spit up blood, before the demon grabbed both sides of his head and began to squeeze.
A pained scream left Vegeta's mouth as he literally felt his skull begin to compress at an agonizing rate, his Super Saiyan form dissipating in an instant. Attempting to pull the demon's arms away with his arm, the Z-fighter dropped to his knees helplessly and Bojack slowly applied more pressure.
The Hera grinned broadly as he heard Vegeta's cries of pain fill his ears, encouraging him to keep going. "Surprise, whelp," Bojack cackled as he added more power to his move. With Vegeta continuing to flail and claw at his limbs uselessly, the demon pushed him further towards the floor, delighting in the noises he was getting out of him. "Heh-heh. I'm not going to stop until your eyes pop out and your brain explodes out the back of your skull!"
Alerted to the plight of their comrade, a stricken Piccolo and Android 18 attempted to get back up and into the fight. But as the former tried to push his chest off the floor and the latter off of her back from the pile of rubble she was lying in, the pair quickly realized that they no longer had the strength to do anything. Unable to budge or muster the energy for an attack, they knew that they were probably going to watch Vegeta die.
His consciousness starting to fade, the gaping prince's arms dropped to is sides as Bojack applied even more pressure. Laughing maniacally, the demon then prepared to crush the Saiyan's head once and for all, only to suddenly see stars when a fist came out of nowhere and slammed across his face. Blood flying out of his mouth as his grip around Vegeta's head was relinquished, Piccolo and Android 18 could only look on in disbelief as the alien leader's henchwoman, Zangya, landed the mother of all haymakers across his cheek.
Stumbling away in shock, a stunned Bojack then attempted to face his new attacker, only to receive three more pulverizing punches to the face, followed by a kick to the ribs that sent him skidding across the battlefield in a cloud of dust.
Spitting out the blood from his mouth as well as a tooth, the surprised alien leader growled, "Lieutenant! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Making a choice!" Zangya barked before leaping from the ground and darting right at the demon a second time.
Growling, the gang leader attempted to backhand the woman, only to see her speedily jump over his blow and drive a knee into his face instead. When Bojack's head was knocked back, Zangya then tried for a punch, but suddenly had her body grabbed out of the air and crushed against the man's chest in a single-armed bear hug. A cry of pain was the one thing the female Hera was able to do before the back of her head was grabbed and yanked towards her leader's face, who then grinned at her murderously.
"So… it's finally come to this, huh?" Bojack snarled as he felt the woman squirm against him. "I figured that after I massacred your family you would've learned your place, Zangya. But it seems I'm going to have to show you again what it means to fear me. Do you think you're strong enough to stand up to your dear old boss?"
At this, Zangya sprouted a grin, "Yeah. I do." Without warning she then kneed him in the crotch, causing Bojack to lurch forward with a gasp of pain before he was elbowed across the face. The sight had both Piccolo and Eighteen cringe.
When the hulking demon staggered away, the female Super Hera rushed at him again to carry on her assault. But just before she could nail her boss with a kick, the man caught her leg with his massive hand, whipped her through the air, and then slammed her into the floor. The second her body formed a human-sized divot in the rocky ground, Bojack lifted his foot and slammed it into her stomach, causing the woman to spit up blood when he ground his heel into her ribs.
Bojack cackled madly, "You've got guts, woman, I'll give you that… but they're guts that I'm going to enjoy squeezing out of you!"
After managing to muster the strength to take a breath, the stunned Zangya then cracked a smirk. "No… you won't…" She then nodded to her right. "He won't let you."
Bojack's pummelled face turning confused for a moment, the man's eyes then widened in fright when he suddenly felt a wicked tremor hit him from behind, which rattled the surrounding landscapes and sky. Shortly thereafter, as the ground started to shake even more violently, the Hera heard the sound of a massive explosion, its shockwave rumbling outwards in the form of a huge cloud of dust that fell every other building in the city behind him. By the time his eyes snapped over his shoulder to see what the cause of the strange anomalies was, Bojack saw a golden bolt crash into the field directly nearby, punching a crater into the ground and sending a shower of debris in all directions.
When the dust finally settled around the hole, an incredibly pissed off Gohan slowly emerged, surrounded by his golden aura and field of electricity. The smoke around his landing spot settling a few seconds later, Bojack clearly saw the path of destruction the boy had left in his wake when he legged it through the city to catch up to Zangya, who he'd allowed to get ahead. The result of simply flying over the town had collapsed every single building in his path, leaving a huge gap where the town centre used to be.
Upon seeing Gohan arrive, Piccolo, Android 18, Zangya, and a still miraculously conscious Vegeta smiled in relief and victory respectively.
After watching Bojack step away from his lieutenant, who he'd been stepping on moments earlier, Gohan's eye twitched menacingly as he had his full attention set on the demon.
"You came here looking for me, right, Bojack?" Gohan asked before his glare narrowed even more, "Well… here I am."
At first appearing taken aback at the boy's intimidating appearance and the amount of energy fluctuating off of him, Bojack then gave a wide, menacing grin before, holding out both his hands, unleashed a powerful stream of green energy at the teen. The blast shot out at great speed and expanded to a gargantuan size, swallowing up the impassive Gohan in an instant before engulfing a majority of the battlefield and city behind him. His attack, which filled up a majority of the arena's airspace, ended up slamming into the battle zone's barrier, destroying it and causing the entire island to shake violently.
The stadium above meanwhile shook from the tremors rushing up from below, drawing loud cheers of excitement and terror from the crowd as the cameras captured the entire thing. There were a few people present who expressed fear and worry that the competition might be going a little too far, with those key participants being Chi-Chi, Bulma, Videl, Master Roshi, and all the other Z-fighters watching the battles take place on screen. But as for the rest of the spectators, everyone else was having a blast from the performance.
The sight of the devastation he'd caused drew chuckles of amusement from Bojack, who watched with morbid satisfaction as the dust and smoke settled around the massive trench he'd torn across the land. But when the smoke faded over the spot where Gohan had been, the alien's grin vanished and a shocked look appeared on his face when he saw the demi-Saiyan standing perfectly still, in the exact same spot with barely a change in his expression.
The blast he'd fired had also left the ground directly behind the boy untouched, meaning he'd hit him head on but it'd done no damage to him whatsoever.
Zangya, gaze half-lidded, grinned at the sight of the boy and whispered. "Now you're going to get it, you demented psychopath."
Veins throbbing on his forehead and his jaw clenching angrily at seeing Gohan's unflinching gaze resting solely upon him, the clearly infuriated Bojack powered up and gave a mighty roar, "I WILL KILL YOOOUUU!" He then threw his hands forward and unleashed a shower of translucent energy wires from his fingers, which filled the air and shot towards the demi-Saiyan in a glowing purple net of death. "Chōnōryoku!"
Spotting the fast-moving wires flying at him, Gohan took a step back when they dropped around him. Eyes sharp and senses wide open, the teen quickly swiped his hands through the air and caught the energy net, the threads tightening around his fingers and cutting into his skin, drawing blood. The half-Saiyan held firm and, after digging his feet into the ground, glared fiercely across at Bojack as bolts of lightning shot off of him.
Stunned at seeing the boy catch his wires, the planet conquering Hera growled and barked in rage, "Don't underestimate me, you-" Before he could finish his threat, Gohan suddenly yanked his arms around and, performing an incredibly acrobatic spin, pulled a surprised Bojack off his feet and flying towards him at speed. With a yell of shock, the Hera's hold over the wires instantly dispelled when Gohan drove a kick right across his face and sent his body rag-dolling over the battlefield, his big green mass bouncing and digging a trench through the ground for several hundred feet. Moments later, when the dust from his flight finally settled, the demon could be seen lying face first in the dirt, groaning in pain and feeling absolutely humiliated.
Ignoring the cuts in his hands, Gohan kept his eyes locked on the spot Bojack had landed, watching the man shakily get back to his feet. Moving around to stand defensively in front of Zangya and his friends, all of whom were lying scattered across the battlefield behind him, the boy saw his opponent spit out the blood that was dribbling freely from his mouth and head, and snarl in his direction.
That one blow had done quite a bit of damage to the Hera. Not only was the demon swaying on the spot after he'd finally straightened up to full height, but he also had a massive indent in the side of his face from where his skull had been kicked, he had a swollen eye, a bent nose, and several missing teeth along his upper and lower jaw. And yet, despite all of that, he was still conscious.
"I know your kind. You think you can just waltz in and take our planet," Gohan spoke, sparks of electricity shooting from his body and striking the ground. When Bojack took a step back in fear, the teen pressed on. "But this world is not yours to take… nor is any other planet. That's why I'm going to make sure you never harm another living soul ever again."
His green aura blasting around him like a raging fire, Bojack bolted forward with a roar of fury. "You think you can beat me, boy?! I dare you to try!" He sprinted at the child, vaguely aware of the kid's sudden increase in ki and killing intent, which began flooding out of him in waves.
As Bojack rushed at him like a charging rhino, Gohan's eyes suddenly widened and his crackling, golden aura intensified. The teen then focused his energy entirely on his opponent and sent it blasting across the field in the form of a shockwave, which hit his target head on and swallowed up the demon instantly. As the tunnel of wind ripped across the battlefield, the ground around the two warriors began to splinter and crumble.
From a normal person's perspective it all happened in an instant. But from the Z-fighters' point of view, it all happened in slow motion.
As the powerful kiai continued to erupt from the Saiyan in an unending gale of heat waves, the enraged Bojack pushed forward. His legs slowing as he forced himself through the hurricane one agonizing step at a time, the lead demon gave a snarl of effort and glared up at his target, who he could see through the raging torrent was now standing only a few yards away.
Determined to reach the child, Bojack took another clumsy step forward, only to stop when a searing pain suddenly gripped his entire body. Lurching forward and screaming in agony, the green warrior looked down at his trembling limbs, where he quickly saw random patches of skin start to burn, turn black and crumble into ash. Eyes widening in terror, the man looked up through the gale of wind and saw Gohan still glaring at him and feeding energy into his invisible blast.
In a matter of moments, chunks of Bojack's torso, back, legs and shoulders started to crumble and turn to dust, all the while the man attempted to get closer and closer to his target. But when the blast from the Saiyan unexpectedly intensified and another surge of energy rocketed down the tunnel of wind, the ground around them caught fire and started to melt, while even more portions of Bojack disintegrated into clouds of ash.
By this point it was a miracle the man was still alive… let alone standing.
Eyes wide and throbbing with rage and pain, Bojack screamed one last time at the demi-Saiyan, now only standing five feet in front of him, "YOU INSOLENT WORM! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL ME?! ME?!" The man's cries ripped through the air, only to be silenced when another tidal wave of heat blasted off of the perfectly standing Gohan's body and struck him, causing his arms and legs to fall apart and burst into clouds of ash, while the remainder of his chest, torso and head slowly powdered to nothing. "NO ONE CAN KILL ME! I AM BOJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" With one last attempt to reach forward, the demon's disembodied head and torso turned into a thin cloud of dust.
At the same time the unflinching Gohan frowned, "And no one will ever remember your name." Inhaling deeply, the child finished off his opponent with gusto, letting out a roar of effort and one last shockwave that scattered the man's ashes to the wind. "Shōkyaku Kiaihō!" (Incineration Kiai Cannon) His attack rippled across the battle zone, causing the ground to distort and collapse everything in front of the Saiyan.
The blast wave was catastrophic, rocking the island on its foundations and disintegrating every single plateau, hill and boulder lying in the path of the kiai. It took several seconds for the tremors to finally subside, and once the rumbling and destruction in the wake of the invisible tsunami finally died down, all that remained of the event was a heavy cloud of dust hanging in the air and a completely flat real estate opportunity.
Golden aura still waving around him as he was watched by a stunned Zangya, Vegeta, Piccolo, Android 18 and an entire stadium of attentive viewers, the young Ascended Saiyan slowly reverted back to his first Super Saiyan form. His hair dropping to its blond Goku-esque spikiness, the young teenager stared ahead of him for about a minute. After which Gohan then turned around and beamed victoriously at his friends.
"That worked out better than I thought it would."
OOO
(Meanwhile)
Goku chuckled after watching his son and friends come out ahead in their battle against Bojack's gang through King Kai's telepathy. When he saw his boy stretch and go around making sure everyone was alright, the father took a deep breath and looked out over the infinite stretch of yellow clouds lying ahead of him.
"Yep… that's my boy," the Saiyan remarked proudly.
With Gregory and Bubbles dancing triumphantly in the background, having witnessed the entire thing on the television next to them, the now at ease North Kai smiled broadly. "You called it. Looks like everything worked out just fine after all."
"Uh-huh," Goku said as he looked back down at his son from above. "And I think things are going to be alright from here on out."
TO BE CONTINUED…
