Dragonball Z
Golden Age
Peasant meets Princess
(Several minutes later)
(Satan City)
Gohan could say he'd run into his fair share of opponents over the last several years of his life. Most of them were brutes, whose strength and speed far surpassed the expected norms of all who confronted them. Many of them were flamboyant in their fighting styles and presentation, which made the task of combating them unnerving and even downright unsettling. And some of them were fiercely intelligent, possessing wits and an eye for battle that were completely and utterly terrifying to contest.
In almost every single situation where the demi-Saiyan had found himself facing off against these opponents, he'd always been at a complete disadvantage. It wasn't just in the area of strength where he was lacking, but also his skills, his instincts, and his experience were many times lower than that of his adversaries. Hell, the first time he really had to step up and face off against an opponent in battle Gohan had only been five years old, and that was against Nappa and Vegeta- two enemies who'd sequentially managed to wipe the floor of every single one of his friends.
It wasn't until recently where Gohan had managed to boost his stats and abilities to a degree where not only was he able to match any of these opponents blow for blow, but outright surpass them. His subsequent battle against the android Cell had allowed him to come into his own, allowing him to develop the confidence he needed to take his father's place. But even then the boy felt that he was still lacking in many areas, which made him determined to continue improving himself to fix these weaknesses.
Of course, in counting up all of the past battles that had shaped him today, Gohan could say without a shadow of a doubt that he'd never come up against an opponent quite like this one… and she was giving him one hell of a run around.
Yelping when he avoided yet another series of energy slashes that came flying at him from a kilometer away, the demi-Saiyan darted to the side as fast as he could to avoid being filleted like a fish. Watching as the neighborhood of the shadow dimension version of Satan City behind him was chopped into literal pieces- buildings and trees toppling into one another en masse- Gohan cranked his aura to full blaze and shot across the sky. He circled his opponent, who was tactically choosing to remain perched on a rooftop near the now ruined Satan mansion, speedily quick-drawing her blade, and taking shots at her evasive target.
Seeing her form shimmer as she drew her sword at blitzing speed, sending arcs of energy shooting towards him across the sky, the demi-Saiyan did his best to avoid each shot. Barrel rolling and weaving between her attacks, the blonde with the short sword drew back his hand before launching a quick yet powerful energy blast at the dark elf.
The golden energy bolt streaked across the sky towards Sigrun's position. However, instead of impacting her and detonating in a brilliant ball of flames like it normally would, a flash of silver from the elf intercepted the blast, slicing it in half, and sending the two beams flying off to explode against two random buildings.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Gohan sharply changed directions and shot straight up towards the clouds- simultaneously sheathing his sword in his belt, drawing both hands back, and rapidly charging two golden sphere in his palms.
"Gekiretsu Madan!" (Demon's Violent Bullets) the Saiyan bellowed, before thrusting his hands forward and unleashing dozens of golden energy blasts towards Sigrun's position. His blur of hand movements let loose a rapid fire barrage of attacks that streaked across the sky and arced towards their target from multiple angles, honing in on her with deadly accuracy.
Undeterred by the rain of attacks flying in her direction, Sigrun calmly stood atop the rooftop in a straight stance while keeping her hand on her sword. Almost as soon as the first wave came within reach of her, the blasts then started detonating one after the other, but not against their intended target. Instead, every blast's path was effectively blocked by a series of countless, barely visible sword flashes that began surrounding the dark elf general- effectively dispelling and deflecting every single attack that came at her.
Even the blasts that missed and detonated against the rooftop around Sigrun proved in effective, as the fire from each explosion was cut away by the woman's insanely quick sword strikes. It was almost as if she was being protected by an invisible barrier.
Gohan continued firing at the woman as she cut away his attacks with remarkable ease- looking as though she was standing perfectly still, while in fact her movements were just so quick that they were untraceable. After several seconds of unleashing continuous energy waves, the demi-Saiyan's attack was suddenly interrupted by a much brighter flash from Sigrun's position, which sent a blue stream of energy flying through his salvo and towards the boy.
Immediately spotting the approaching danger cutting through his rain of blasts, Gohan bailed on his attack and dropped from the sky, avoiding the cut of the woman's sword as it streaked across the grey city and sliced the tops off of several skyscrapers in the distance. As the buildings toppled and crashed to the ground in the distance, the young Super Saiyan descended to the mansions below.
The instant his toes touched down on the tiled roof, he kicked off of it and launched himself towards Sigrun. Drawing his sword, the boy howled at the top of his lungs as he blazed a trail of gold towards his target, intent on running right through her defenses.
Seeing the boy fly in low across the rooftops towards her in a blur of movement had Sigrun frown and take a step back. In an instant he was on top of her and lunging forward with his blade, but just when it seemed like he was either going to hit her or her sword, the woman suddenly did something unexpected and vanished. Her form flickered into thin air in an instant, causing the demi-Saiyan to fly right through nothing but air.
Gasping when he realized he'd missed, Gohan's eyes snapped behind him. "She teleported again!" Knowing exactly what she'd done, the boy then sharply hit the brakes midflight and dove to the side, barely avoiding the sudden black portal that instantaneously opened directly beside his path and spat out Sigrun, who came out slashing at him with her sword. The boy barely avoided being quartered when he managed to avoid her attack and countered by lobbing a ball of energy at her.
The dark elf quickly cut his attack in half, sending the two haves arcing around her to once again explode in two separate locations. As soon as she deflected Gohan's attack, she once again took a step back and vanished inside a black portal that speedily opened up behind her and vanished in a flash.
Senses wide open, Gohan skidded to a stop on the rooftop he'd leapt across, tearing through tiles before springing high into the air. Doing so allowed him to avoid the same portal opening up behind him once again and depositing Sigrun on his platform, swinging out at him with her blade. The instant he dodged her surprise assault, the dark elf teleported a third time, this time appearing directly in front of the demi-Saiyan as he attempted to gain altitude and dropping down on him with her sword.
The pair's blades impacted one another when the young Super Saiyan countered her swing- sparks flying as a shock wave rippled out from between the two as they pressed into one another with terrifying strength.
The ground several stories directly below the two literally split down the middle, causing the land itself to separate and an enormous chasm to form across the entire suburban area. Those elven warriors who were watching the battle from the safety of Hercule Satan's property had to firmly hold onto their positions as the landscape was rocked to its core, with Piccolo and Zangya having to hold down Hercule and Videl to stop them from flying off from the tidal waves of force that crashed into them.
"WHOOAA!" the young girl exclaimed when she felt the fierce winds blasting against her as she hid behind Piccolo while Zangya shielded her father. "This is awesome!"
"It's terrifying!" Hercule cried back, gripping Zangya's shoulders tightly while the orange haired warrior watched the battle taking place in the sky above with a noticeably amazed expression. "This is exactly like it was at the Cell Games!"
In response, Videl smiled across at her father, who- despite his massive frame- was trying to make himself look as small as possible. And it was working. "Oh, dad. Don't be such a wuss."
After grinding his sword against Sigrun's and glaring up at the woman through bared teeth, who only seemed to glare back at him without the slightest bit of effort, Gohan eventually decided to break the grappling match. Failing to force the female back with his arms, the Saiyan brought his foot up and snapped a kick out at the elf, only to feel his foot get blocked when the commander raised her shin to receive the hit. The force from the pair's legs clashing knocked both opponents away from each other, a loud clang echoing out when the duo disengaged.
Dropping down to the massive Hercule estate, which had only gotten bigger due to the fact that the pair had practically clear cut almost every single building in the neighborhood to create what could only be described as a parking lot of scrap and rubble, both Gohan and Sigrun stood glaring at one another across a space of several yards. With the demi-Saiyan retaining his stance and focused disposition, the dark elf remained in a standing stance, with a relaxed glare and her hand draped lazily over her sword.
Meanwhile Piccolo and the other audience members kept their distance, watching from a spot closer to Hercule's ruined mansion while the platoon of elven soldiers from Alfheim remained scattered around them.
Gohan, taking a few deep breaths as sweat trickled down his face, then did a quick spot check of their surroundings. Over the last several minutes both he and Sigrun had pretty much laid waste to most of the entire west end of Orange City. Every single building in the district had been transformed into rubble, the ground had caved in multiple areas, there were smoking craters all over, and a lot of locations in the distance had also suffered extreme damage. Aside from the skyscrapers in the downtown locale, a couple of mountains had also been leveled, courtesy of Sigrun's sword and one of Gohan's deflected Masenko blasts.
Summing up the amount of ruin brought to their area, the demi-Saiyan was glad that their fight had been moved to an isolated dimension. This in turn brought him to his next cause of concern.
"I can't believe how strong Sigrun-san is," Gohan thought, quickly snapping his eyes back to his opponent to see her still holding her ground across the ruined lawn. "Even though I can't sense her energy at all, I can tell that she's even more powerful than I am in Super Saiyan form. It's taking almost everything I've got just to keep up with her."
The demi-Saiyan was not exaggerating in any way, shape or form that fighting Sigrun as he was right now was one of the hardest challenges he'd had in recent memory. For starters, the woman had the stamina and patience of a God damn star, she has damage capabilities to the point that she could kill him anywhere from a handful of strikes to a single devastating move, and on top of that her reflexes were on such a preposterously high level that it almost seemed like she knew what he was going to do before he could even do it. What's more, despite having all of her attacks centered on her katana, she could throw multiple attacks at close range and long range, meaning she could put pressure on her opponent without even moving an inch. And that wasn't even counting her insane speed and teleporting abilities.
Though he'd complimented her on this multiple times during their battle already, there was just no question that the elf was absurdly fast. Sigrun was in fact so sudden in her movements that even when Gohan had all of his attention fixated on her, he barely had enough time to react to most of her strikes. Hell, the woman was so confident and tactical with her speed that instead of running after or away from her opponent, she would literally just walk around the battlefield and casually deflect or throw attacks in his direction. The fact that she could control the pace of the fight so well made it unnerving to confront her directly.
If Gohan got too aggressive she would just faze out from his line of sight and come at him from a blind spot. If he got too passive she would come at him with a relentless combination of strikes until he decided to counter her out of desperation. And if he stayed too close for too long, she would attempt to bisect him with a ranged attack that devastated everything in its path. Even when Gohan managed to find the chance to throw a blast at her, the woman would defend herself using her sword- creating an impenetrable barrier of slashes that prevented even dust particles from touching her.
Pooling all of this together meant Gohan had an opponent that could give him any number of attacks that would come out very quickly and do enough damage that the fight could end in an instant- either with him being maimed or outright killed. Even if it didn't, the demi-Saiyan had to take into consideration the amount of concentration Sigrun had meant that his margin of error was slim to none. Needless to say, this battle had him staying on his toes all throughout.
Of course, the only reason Gohan hadn't transformed to Super Saiyan 2 yet was so that he could preserve his stamina for his battle against the princess. But considering how hard Sigrun was making him work right now, the boy knew that he was going to have to whip it out sooner or later- or otherwise face getting chopped to pieces.
He just needed to find an opening.
After exhaling deeply, the boy cracked a smile. "Damn. You're not making this easy for me at all, are you?"
In return Sigrun threw the boy a warm smile. "Considering the nature of the occasion, no, I am not. However, I must praise you for being able to last as long as you have against me without sustaining any significant damage. By my count, I should've removed your head over three dozen times, yet it still remains attached to your body. As expected of a Saiyan of your caliber, I am deeply impressed." It was then after seeing the youngster grin the dark elf narrowed her eyes and frowned. "That being said, I can't help but notice that you have yet to use your full power against me."
This statement and the look she gave him had Gohan balk a little at the sudden wave of intensity he felt. "You… know that I'm holding back?"
Nodding, the black haired elven warrior then lowered her head towards the youngster, bombarding him with further ill intent. "I assume you're concealing most of your strength for your upcoming confrontation with Hana-sama. Don't get me wrong, your ability to fight so tactfully and economically is admirable. Half-hearted measures from me won't put a dent in that self-control." She then raised her nose a little and smirked. "However that simply won't do."
Sigrun then did something that Gohan and everybody else wasn't expecting. The woman gripped her sword and removed it from its sheath, bringing it into a single-handed grip at her side and letting the blade hang there in midair for all to see. Considering that she'd been keeping it inside of her scabbard for practically the entire fight to attack and defend, seeing it out in the open literally had Gohan's heart still- as the boy took a brisk step back in precaution.
As for the elves well, when the blonde elven navigator beside Piccolo and the others saw Sigrun draw her weapon into the open, the mage's expression changed from serious to one of utter panic. "Oh no." Said elf then spun towards the group of earthlings and spoke to them, "Get back! NOW!"
Piccolo and Zangya, without needing to be told twice, quickly picked up Videl and Hercule, and got the hell out of there. Together, both they and the elves leapt five full blocks back, stopping at a distance where they could only see both Gohan and Sigrun as the only two colored dots standing in the middle of the battlefield. This placed them at a distance of easily over a mile.
Gohan noticed everyone hightail it away from the vicinity, which immediately put the boy on guard. "What's she doing?"
Seeing the Super Saiyan lower his posture had Sigrun chuckle. "Though my range in magic isn't as diverse as most others in my race, I devoted my entire life to the practice of the sword. If you continue to insist on not showing your strength, I'll take your resolve…" Before she could finish, the woman's expression unexpectedly intensified and a wave of killing intent suddenly came rushing out of her body- to the point that an ominous aura started to waft from her very being. "…and break it open with brute force."
The moment she said this, Gohan watched Sigrun slide a foot forward, bring her sword into a two-handed grip, and then draw said weapon back past her shoulders into a Te Ura Gasumi stance. During which she leveled the point of her blade with his body and took aim, allowing her a perfect view of the field in front of her.
Sigrun, focusing her gaze on her target, then uttered under her breath, "Fallin Sverd…" (Hidden Sword)
In that moment, something absolutely terrifying happened.
As he was being blasted by the copious amounts of bloodlust leaving the woman's gaze, Gohan's eyes suddenly widened in horror when- through a moment of pure divination driven by his Saiyan instincts- the boy saw his body get sliced up into countless pieces. Those pieces, cut finely by an insanely fast attack that just came out of fucking nowhere, cascaded to the floor in a shower of blood and gore. Though he had no idea what ungodly force had delivered such a decisive blow, enough to make his body run cold and sweat turn to ice, the youngster knew right away that it was all because of the dangerous woman in front of him- who was now about to unleash her attack!
"MOVE!" the voice in the back of Gohan's head screamed as his own natural compulsion for survival went into over drive. The instant the demi-Saiyan clenched his fists and his golden aura roared into life around him- exploding outwards with such force that it punched a crater into the floor beneath him- everything happened at once.
"Vindblod!" (Wind Blade) Sigrun finished.
All of a sudden, there was a flash of blinding light… or to be more precise there was a flash of over a thousand bright lights taking place all at once, as in the span of less than a second the entire battlefield for a mile in every direction was ripped asunder, by what could only be described as a localized hurricane of death.
Sigrun, who remained locked in her attack stance, suddenly disappeared into thin air as countless streaks of energy beams cut through the air in multiple directions. These flashes of light were accompanied by hundreds of after images of Sigrun rushing back and forth, drawing these lines at such speeds that it caused the space inside the kill zone to distort the buildings, the trees, and the demi-Saiyan who was her target.
The blitz of lightning fast attacks lasted for only a couple of seconds. When it stopped, the streaks of light left behind by Sigrun's blade left the space within the dome of her area of effect attack trembling and refracted. As the air vibrated, the cuts made by the dark elf's blade began to separate, literally showing that the warrior had literally cut through their dimension to the space between dimensions- as indicated by the black void that appeared between the cracks and the psychedelic formations of lights swirling within the vacuum.
As for Gohan, the young Super Saiyan stood frozen in the heart of the attack's range, a shocked look on his face as his body, caught in the net of light flashes, slowly fell to pieces as the dimension literally fractured and fell apart around him.
With her attack done, Sigrun reappeared with her back turned outside of the attack's area of effect, materializing into view and sheathing the blade into her scabbard. When she stopped, the woman glanced behind her and at the three and a half miles of disheveled mess she left hanging in her wake.
Piccolo, Zangya, Videl and Hercule, who saw exactly what'd happened, felt their jaws drop almost simultaneously.
"W-What… in… the actual hell?" the Hera stuttered.
Watching as the refractions of light caused the air space in front of her to start breaking apart like glass, Videl shook her head as she looked across at the others. "What in the world was that?"
In response, the blonde elf navigator standing beside the quartet elaborated for them. "That was Lady Sigrun's ultimate attack- her Vindblod- or in the common tongue Wind Blade. It's a move she'd been perfecting and modifying for hundreds of centuries, and is one of the deadliest techniques in her arsenal. Combining her lightning fast sword strikes with a dimensional refraction effect, Sigrun is able to unleash a devastating area of effect attack that is capable of utterly annihilating everything lying within her radius. Armies, fortresses, meteorites… even entire planets have been reduced to nothing by this attack."
Piccolo blinked as he stared at the space his student had been fighting in, which was still shaking and cracking from the number of attacks that had been let loose in that one space. "What's… happening to the air? It looks like it's falling apart."
"That's a temporary side effect of Sigrun's attack," the blonde elf replied while glancing across at the stunned Namekian, whom she could see was gaping alongside the others. "Because the attack is so fast and sharp, it's capable of distorting space and cutting tears through dimensional walls. What you're seeing is space literally being torn open in multiple places by her blade- an anomaly only ever witnessed during supernovas." She then looked back towards the battlefield as beads of sweat ran down her face. "And since every single sword strike she unleashes occurs in a single breath, anyone caught inside the attack's sphere has no hope of escaping."
This news alarmed Videl, who promptly stepped out from behind Piccolo and towards the edge of the roof that they'd landed on. "Oh no! Gohan!"
Sigrun sighed as she looked back at the attack she'd left behind, the effects of which dissipated five seconds after she'd unleashed it as the cuts she'd made in their space quickly sealed themselves shut, leaving nothing but a shimmering cloud of dust hanging over the area.
"A fighter who shows reservation in battle has no right to call themselves a true warrior- so I held absolutely nothing back in that attack. Though I may have overdid it a little, it was the only way I knew that could force you to unleash your full power against me," Sigrun stated, at the same time narrowing her eyes on the air as it cleared and she saw Gohan's body, which was still standing frozen in place, slowly start to fall apart due to having been cut over a dozen times by her attack. "However… it seems that right up to the very last moment, even after giving you fair warning of what was to come, you refused to allow your true strength to come forth." She then exhaled when she saw Gohan's head fall from its neck as the rest of his body parts- arms, legs, torso included- started to fall to the ground. "It's a shame really. And here I was hoping the princess had managed to find someone worthy of her strength and companionship. But it seems she must have come up sh-huh?"
As she was staring into the fading embers of her attack, which had clear-cut practically everything lying in front of her, Sigrun unexpectedly saw the cascading body parts of her opponent suddenly turn transparent before slowly fading away. The sight of his initially diced form vanishing into thin air in slow motion not only had the woman's eyes widen, but also had the people watching from the sidelines gape when they saw Gohan just fade away- like he didn't even exist. It was like he was a mirage vanishing with the heat.
"Wait… but… I thought…?" Sigrun thought, at first unable to tell what was going on, until realization slapped her across the cheeks. "A delayed after image! That means he-"
"Don't count on it."
Her sensors being tripped all at once, the dark elf woman immediately wheeled around and reached for her sword, only to be met face to face with a still miraculously alive Super Saiyan 2 Gohan lunging right at her from behind. His aura blazing brightly as lightning danced around him in a storm of fury, the young warrior dove right at the woman with his sword arm drawn back and ready to strike.
Sigrun, shocked at seeing the boy was right on top of her and only a couple feet away, grabbed her sword and drew it with lightning speed. However, unlike the previous times she'd drawn it, the dark elf was caught completely off guard when- just as her blade was halfway out- the lunging Gohan slammed his free hand into the pommel, pushed it from her grip, and shoved her sword back into its scabbard. The moment the hilt clacked against its holster's rim, the demi-Saiyan drove his short sword forward and right into Sigrun's neck.
A violent blast of wind ripped forth from both warriors when Gohan stopped his attack short, the pair ending up frozen in place as the gale of dust washed across the black and white battlefield. When the cloud dispelled moments later, it revealed a stunned Sigrun leaned backwards while her Super Saiyan opponent not only held her sword in its scabbard, but also held the elf at point- the tip of his double-edged blade brushing against her jugular.
Seeing the young Saiyan appear right behind the dark elf from a distance had Piccolo and everybody else's hearts just stop, with even the elves surrounding the area also expressing visible shock at what they saw had transpired. Most of them had to do a double-take because the moment had happened so fast that they swore that they blinked and missed it. However, when the realization that Gohan was alive, coupled with the fact that he was now pressing his sword against his opponent's neck, finally settled in, expressions of delight quickly crossed the faces of Videl, Zangya, and even Hercule.
"Yes!" the Hera shouted while making a fist and shaking it victoriously.
With his aura still zapping around him furiously, the intense-looking Gohan glared silently at Sigrun until the dust settled. Once it did, he then cracked one of his signature, cheeky grins and said in a low voice.
"Got you."
Getting shaken back into reality from his remark, the dark elf commander then smiled back before, slowly, raising her hands in a sign of surrender. "I yield. You win… well done."
Upon hearing this, the demi-Saiyan relinquished his hold of the woman's sword and pulled back, lowering his own weapon and allowing his Super Saiyan 2 aura to fade. Once he reverted back to his first transformation and back to a controlled state, Gohan breathed a sigh of relief before swinging his short sword around and setting the flat side against his shoulder- allowing it to rest there while he watched Sigrun dust herself off.
When the dark elf general placed her hands on her hips, she smiled down at the child. "So that was a sample of your full power? The evolved Super Saiyan form achieved only by a handful of your race in the past several hundred thousand years."
Gohan blinked at this snippet of information. "Yeah. You know of it?"
The dark elf nodded. "I only ever heard of a couple other Saiyans achieving this form in the past, but never actually saw it myself. The only forms I ever bore witness to was the one you are currently displaying and its variants." Sigrun smiled, vaguely taking notice of the fact that the contingent of elven warriors she had on standby, along with Gohan's friends, were flying back over to them. Now that they saw that the battle was over and done with, they could all safely move back into speaking distance of them. "I must say, it truly was a spectacular battle… one that I haven't had the pleasure of fighting in eons. You have proven to me that you are indeed a male worthy of taking on our princess."
Mustering a smile as the woman's subordinates landed around them, at the same time Piccolo and Zangya touched down nearby with Hercule and Videl in tow, the young Super Saiyan then felt his grin vanish when he was struck by a sudden thought. Glancing down momentarily, the child pondered over the issue before quickly looking back up at the dark elf general. "This tradition that you and your people practice on your home world… where you choose a male to sire children with…" Gohan shrugged uncertainly. "Win or lose… do I really have to come to your home planet to participate in the ritual?"
Appearing a bit surprised at the question and taking a moment to analyze the child's face and tone, Sigrun then felt an amused smile tug at her lips as she gave the demi-Saiyan who defeated her a look. "You know, most males would be jumping at the opportunity to bed with an entire race of women- all of whom more than eager to please him. It's a ritual that rarely ever comes around during a mortal's lifetime. But you? You're the first male in a universe's lifecycle we've ever encountered that has asked this question."
Gohan chuckled and shrugged, "I guess I'm just not like most other males in the universe." He then looked around at the elven warriors surrounding him, before then glancing over at Piccolo and his friends. When he saw them looking back at them curiously, with Videl just itching to come over and speak to him, the Saiyan youngster quickly looked back up at Sigrun and smiled. "Heck, after everything I've been through and done over the years- fighting bad people, saving people, making friends- even now I don't think I'm as worthy a man as you may think. I've… made a lot of mistakes and stuff, y'know… and I've done things I'm not at all proud of."
Hearing this had the commanding general of the Wild Hunt beam at the youngster, before then reaching out and gently resting a hand on his shoulder. "The fact that you're able to admit that means that you are, without a doubt, the ideal male that our people are seeking." Still sensing the hesitancy and nervousness swirling around in the boy's subconscious, Sigrun gave him a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. You don't have to decide right away. The ceremony is still some years away from now. Just… meet with the princess, battle her, and get to know her… then after you've been given some time to process, we'll happily hear your decision."
Upon hearing Sigrun say this and gazing into her eternally young, yet wise eyes, Gohan felt a seemingly great weight lift off of his shoulders. A warmth also spreading from his chest to the rest of his body, the now at ease youngster was unable to resist the compulsion to smile. Gracing the woman with his pleased expression, the child then turned to the friends watching from the sidelines in time to see Videl jog over to him. When she stopped beside him to survey his condition to make sure he didn't have any body parts missing, she was then joined by Piccolo.
After sharing looks with the two of them, Gohan then glanced about his surroundings. Noticing the formerly rich suburban side of town lying in complete ruins around them, the youngster cringed a little at the prospect of clean up. "Might take a little while to fix all of this."
"Not a problem," the blonde elf navigator spoke from the side, drawing the group's focus to her as she stepped into the spotlight. "This dimension is but one of an infinite number of fleeting spaces existing across the multiverse- an illusion given tangible, physical form. As soon as we leave this space, it would be like we never even set foot in here, and it will be like it never even existed. We will return to the real world of Universe 7 without any complications. Speaking of which." Raising her staff, the woman then tapped the bottom end of it into the ground.
In a heartbeat, color and life instantaneously returned to the large group of miscellaneous warriors, with Gohan's contingent staggering momentarily when they felt themselves get deposited on a new level of ground. The moment they all looked around, the earthlings saw that they were once again standing in the center of Hercule Satan's backyard and that everything, from the pool, to the walls, to the garden bed and the mansion, were all one-hundred percent intact. It was almost like they'd never even left.
Feeling a cool breeze rush past and the warmth of the sun envelop them had Gohan sigh in relief, whereas Hercule and Videl remained astonished by everything that'd just happened. As soon as the group had found their footing, the two mains Z-fighters quickly directed their gazes back to Sigrun, who they saw was once again waiting patiently for their attention.
"It must be nice being able to use magic," Gohan remarked.
Sigrun chuckled, "It's convenient." She then cocked an eyebrow at the boy. "Since we're still on the subject, I would like to add that if you do happen to decide to come to our home world with the princess, over the course of the New Moon Fertility festival we'll be more than happy to teach you some of our magic as a gift. Aside from being given the chance to select multiple mating partners, you will also be able to walk away with a handful of useful abilities."
While Gohan grinned nervously and Videl pouted in a rather annoyed manner, Zangya- who was listening attentively to every word- smiled slyly, leaned over, and elbowed the demi-Saiyan in the side. "Come on, spiky. Do it. It's a win-win situation either way."
"I'll… heh…" the young hero of earth laughed, "I'll think about it."
His remark had the Hera blow a raspberry and cross her arms. "Boo. You're no fun."
Just as Gohan was opening his mouth to speak again, the demi-Saiyan suddenly sensed something ping on his radar. Eyes snapping upwards and towards the west, the youngster focused his gaze on the horizon where he sensed the disturbance. It was an act that was promptly followed by both Piccolo and Zangya, both of whom also picked up on the large energy signatures blazing in the distance and causing the duo to tear their attention away from the elves and to the source.
When Sigrun and her compatriots noticed the trio's reactions, they too quickly became invested in what was going on.
"Wait a second…" the Hera whispered, before uncrossing her arms and turning about, "is that…?"
"Vegeta, Trunks and Yamcha," Piccolo spoke up, his concern escalating when he attempted to get a read on the situation taking place in the distance. "Their power levels are spiking like crazy."
"They must be in a fight," Zangya chimed in when she felt how strongly their energy signatures were burning.
"Yeah. But with who?" the Namekian asked.
While Hercule looked between the two aliens talking with one another in confusion, Videl, who was also at a loss, turned to Gohan and tugged on his sleeve. "W-What's going on? What are those two talking about?"
"Our friends. We can pick up on their energy levels by reaching out with our senses and searching for their signatures. The higher their power levels, the easier it is for us to detect them," Gohan quickly responded, drawing a nod from the girl while the young Super Saiyan narrowed a glare onto the mountains in the distance. After focusing his attention further and getting a better fix on what was happening, the young hero cursed under his breath and stepped away from Videl. "I have to go."
Before anyone could say anything, the child had already powered up and shot out of the backyard. Upon reaching a suitable altitude, Gohan then gave himself a burst and rocketed over the horizon, generating a sonic boom with the force and speed of his launch.
Upon seeing the boy vanish into the distance, Piccolo clenched his teeth and quickly turned to Sigrun and her comrades. "Can you take us where he's going?"
The dark elf commander nodded. "If you can accurately track those ki signatures, we can help you."
OOO
(A couple minutes earlier)
(West City)
"TOKUDAI SOKIDAN!" (Super Spirit Ball) Yamcha's raspy voice bellowed as he twirled his fingers about before lobbing the massive, solid ball of golden energy he'd created across the enormous, partially ruined yard of the Capsule Corp estate. "HYAAH!"
The ball arced through the air at tremendous speed towards its target. Hana, seeing the attack spiraling in her direction at breakneck speed, calmly swung her own finger around and whipped the ball of energy she was still holding forward. Revealing the sphere of ki to be attached to a length of pink, translucent energy, her temporary weapon collided with the human's, intercepting it at an angle that was deep enough to send the large spirit ball pelting in a completely different direction.
Yamcha, already covered in bruises and cuts from a battle that'd lasted too long for him already, growled as he thrust his hands about in a series of intricate katas and telekinetically guided his attack back towards its intended target. His deflected spirit ball immediately performed an aerial loop and shot back down towards the dark elf princess, who calmly and effortlessly spun her own energy ball around her body, and used it to once again smack the incoming attack away.
What quickly unfolded from there was a deadly, fast-paced ping-pong duel between the two warriors, as the human Z-fighter- with great skill and dexterity- began directing his attack and sending it at Hana from multiple angles and directions. His attack transformed into a veritable blur of motion as it orbited and zipped around the elf at high speed, striking with the intent of taking her out or- at the very least- clipping her in a blind spot.
But every time his attack shot towards his target, the dark elf would either block it with the tiny energy ball she'd stolen from Vegeta or dodge it. One particular line made by the spirit ball actually prompted Hana to jump over it and perform a graceful, yet acrobatic spin, which caused the attack to overshoot her completely.
Quickly growing frustrated at his inability to hit her, Yamcha then set the ball on a skyward run, sending it high up into the air before, with a brisk jab of his fingers, redirected the attack straight down on top of the princess. "TAKE THAT!" he roared, sending his attack at Hana like a missile plunging towards the earth.
Glancing up momentarily to see the energy ball dropping from the sky, Hana then casually hopped to the side, allowed the attack to drop past her, before swiftly kicking it back at its owner as if it were a soccer ball. A loud bang rang out as she sent it hurtling towards the human male, who briefly freaked out when he saw his own move flying right at him and leapt to the side to avoid it.
The moment he did and saw his attack arc off into the distance, Yamcha then growled and sprang forward, charging across the battlefield towards the adolescent elf. The moment she lightly touched down following her stylish kick, the Z-fighter was already right on her and lunging in with a punch. "Hiyaah!" Yamcha yelled out as he dove in swinging.
Still holding Vegeta's energy ball in her right hand, which in turn was also surrounded by its watery pink glow, Hana calmly avoided the brave man's opening combo. Slipping between his blows while standing mostly straight up, she then back up when he advanced on her. It was only when he snapped a high up out at her the princess stepped around him, grabbed the man by the back of his T-shirt's collar, and kicked his standing foot out.
"Hey, wha-AAAAAAH!" Yamcha suddenly cried out as he felt his body become momentarily weightless, a split second before he dropped and slammed into the ground. A loud 'oof' left his lips the moment his back hit the grass, his forming a small indent in the earth as he was then left sprawled out and staring up at the clouds in a daze.
As the human male groaned, Hana, upon looking down at him, then wordlessly held out her left hand. Doing so caused the axe, which she had buried in the floor several yards away, telepathically rip itself out of the ground and fly straight to her. Catching the heavy two-handed weapon with barely any effort, the young elf then knelt down and gently rested the flat of the axe against Yamcha's chest.
"Hold this for me," Hana said with a smile, standing up and leaving her axe lying on top of the Z-fighter.
Looking down at the gold encrusted instrument pressing down on his body, the winded man reached up with both hands, grabbed the handle, and attempted to lift it off of him. However, after a few seconds of groaning and attempting to heave the weapon off of him with all his might, Yamcha found himself looking across at the dark elf in hysterics.
"H-Hey! What gives?! Why the hell can't I lift this thing?!" the scar-faced warrior shouted, unable to believe what was happening.
Hana beamed down at the trapped and confused warrior. "My Blue Leviathan is engraved with a series of enchanted elvish runes, which will only allow a person of great worth to wield her. Those who aren't of pure spirit or noble bearing will find themselves unable to even pick her up off the ground." She then turned around and began casually walking away from the downed Z-fighter. "Stay right there and look after her for me, please."
"Huh? W-Wait! Ngh!" Yamcha suddenly cried out, adjusting his grip a couple of times along the axe and desperately attempting to push it off of him again, but to no avail. "Hey! Wait a sec! You can't leave me like this! HEY!"
As Yamcha continued to call out for help, Hana hilariously left the man lying where he was, all the while casually twirling the golden energy ball she was still holding on her finger like a basketball, and looking around at the area she was fighting in.
So far since punting Vegeta through the main building of Capsule Corp with his own attack, the backyard of the Briefs outdoor garden had suffered some slight damage. Not only did the lawn have a couple of craters and several skid tracks torn into the ground, but the backside of the main facility had a gaping hole through one of its walls, one of the auxiliary buildings had a caved in roof, and a couple of the palm trees had been snapped in half. This wasn't even counting the office building across the street, which had a couple shattered windows and smoke billowing from one of the top floors, indicating it'd received a blast there recently.
After taking stock of the chaos surrounding her and cringing a little at the amount of it caused by her scuffle so far, Hana then became aware of the low sounds of rumbling and groaning nearby. Turning towards one of the smaller dome buildings, she saw massive chunks of rubble get pushed away, and the distinct form of a battered, casually dressed Trunks- wearing a tattered, long-sleeved grey shirt and jeans- rise from the pile of tile and plaster.
Wiping the blood from his cheek, the Super Saiyan from the future snarled as he looked across at the dark elf princess, who appeared somewhat surprised to see he was still conscious.
Catching the yellow energy ball in her hand and letting it sit there, Hana then mustered a nervous smile. "Oh. Sorry about that. I… I didn't mean to hit you that hard. Really. Are you okay?"
Shaking some of the stones out of his spiky blonde hair, Trunks then huffed impatiently. "I'm fine!" Giving a loud roar as his aura sprang up around him once more, the time-traveling fighter then blasted out of the pile of rubble he was standing in and shot across the backyard, flying at the girl with a punch. "HRAAGH!"
Telegraphing his attack easily, Hana briskly stepped to the side and avoided him, allowing him to lunge past and miss. When he landed on the other side and spun around, he then thrust his hand towards her and prepared to fire a blast.
The instant he charged it up and fired however, the dark elf princess whipped the ball of energy around from her hand and smacked his arm in the side, knocking his hand off course and causing him to fire randomly into the garden and miss. The moment she parried his blast, Hana swung the ball around again on its pink energy line and dropped it down on him from above, prompting Trunks to dive out of the way to avoid the attack slamming into him.
When he dodged he lunged out at Hana again, striking out at her with multiple punches and kicks in an attempt to lay her out. But despite his incredible speed and persistence, the young adult warrior was unable to land a single one, as the agile female simply stepped and skipped around him.
Continuing to hold her energy sphere and not do anything with it, Hana simply dodged the boy as he lashed out at her with great determination and burning fury. His aura blazed around him as he used it to increase the speed and power of his every move, creating a very imposing sight for anyone who had to go toe to toe with him. However, the young elf princess wasn't at all intimidated or effected by his display, and continued to calmly avoid him until she decided to end their little exchange.
After avoiding a spinning kick that came at her from a wide angle and landing a distance away from it, she then saw Trunks charge at her again with a flying jab. Bringing the energy ball she was holding around, she then held it straight out to the side, as if preparing to throw it. The future Z-fighter quickly became distracted by her move and watched the ball carefully as he approached, expecting her to use it.
However, much to his shock, just as he was lunging in with his punch, because his attention was elsewhere, he failed to notice a massive slab of wall come flying at him from the side. Drawn in by a length of pink energy attached to the dark elf's left hand like it were elastic, the mass of concrete ended up getting pulled out of the pile and sent flying towards Trunks, where it ended up smashing him across the face a millisecond later.
The attack from the blind spot caught the Saiyan completely off guard and knocked him out of his charge- the concrete smashing into pieces against his face and sending him spinning to the floor. Despite being severely dazed by the hit, after tumbling across the grass Trunks managed to spring to his feet and skid to a stop.
He then remained crouched in place, gritting his teeth and clutching his now swollen cheek as he glared across at Hana. When he saw the princess was standing there and looking at him with an untroubled gaze, the time-traveler was unable to react when she wordlessly lifted the finger of her free hand and flicked something at him. He didn't see it until a split second later when a pink length of energy materialized out of thin air, leading from his cheek all the way back to his foe's extended digit.
"Huh? What the-GWHOOOAAAAAA!" Trunks let out a yelp of surprise when he was unexpectedly yanked from his spot and pulled towards Hana when the dark elf drew her arm back. The force he was pulled with was so great it was almost like he was being drawn in by a strong, otherworldly force, when in fact it was his adolescent foe who was pulling him in via the pink stream of unknown energy leading from her finger.
Immediately after yanking the time-traveling Saiyan towards her and seeing him come into range, Hana stepped forward and elbowed him across the face. Her blow landed with a loud CRACK and sent the boy slamming straight back into the floor several feet away. However, the moment he landed, the dark elf pulled him back in, struck him again with a punch, which sent him flying back a little bit further.
In a painful display of strength and precision, Hana repeated this attack seven times- yanking her hapless foe in by the energy chord, smashing him with a close-range blow, and sending him flying back. The result was Trunks being smacked around like a ball tied to a paddle, where he would constantly fly back and forth while being hit by ridiculous sharp blows to the face and body.
Eventually after being hit around so much the demi-Saiyan decided to take action and attempted to get away- powering up and leaping back. However, due to the string of pink elastic energy attached to his cheek, the boy was only able to make it a few yards before suddenly being pulled back. Like a yoyo he flew into his opponent's range and was kicked across the face by her heel, which sent him bouncing across the ground.
Rolling onto all fours and sliding to a stop, Trunks spat out blood before looking up at his enemy in disbelief. He then reached up and grabbed the length of energy with his hand, which he then attempted to remove from his face, but to no avail. "W-What in the world is this?"
Hana smiled as she playfully wiggled the finger the line was attached to, causing the energy rope to undulate slightly. "Magical Plasma. Using a bit of transmutation magic, I'm able to convert my mana into a malleable substance, which I can then use for attack, defense, and other supplementary abilities. In this case, I was able to alter my mana's chemical properties and turn it into an elastic mass- similar to gum and rubber." She then grinned across at the stumped-looking time-traveler. "I call it Teygjanlegt Efni… or Bungie Plasma in your language."
Trunks clenched his teeth when he heard this. "Magic? Is that why I can't sense her energy at all?" When thinking it over and analyzing all of the weird abilities she'd displayed so far, it kind of made sense. Everything this girl did completely defied all expectations, as well as what was possible with ki. The realization quickly had the time-traveler clench his fists nervously. "This one… she's a really troublesome opponent. Not only is she incredibly strong, but she's also insanely fast and has a bunch of strange abilities in her arsenal that I've never seen before. Even working together, I don't think we'll be able to beat her."
After allowing her foe to kneel and marinate in place for a short while, the princess of the dark elves felt her smile fade before speaking in a firm voice. "You are incredibly strong for a member of your race… perhaps the strongest mortal I've encountered so far. However, despite your terrific instincts and talent, you won't be able to defeat me. As princess of the dark elves, I was trained by the very best soldiers and mages on my home planet, including members of the Wild Hunt and the legendary Valkyrie Corp of Asgard- the greatest warriors in the cosmos." She then drew back her finger and tightened the string attached to Trunks's cheek, which caused the young Saiyan to tense up anxiously. "Though I have nothing against you or your friends, your father insisted on hindering my quest and insulting my honor. That's why I would like to end this squabble as quickly as possible."
Deciding that he'd rather go down fighting instead of on his knees, Trunks took his chance. With a quickly power up the boy raised his hand and fired a golden blast towards the stationary Hana, sending the energy attack shooting towards her. However, just when it seemed like it would hit, the princess calmly smacked it away using the golden energy ball she was holding, before promptly wrenching Trunks towards her.
Once again being yanked off his feet, the hybrid Saiyan was barely able to lift his hands up in time when Hana stepped in and clotheslined him across the collar with her free arm. She wound up smashing Trunks with such force that not only did a loud gunshot ring out, but because of his momentum the boy was sent spinning past the adolescent, before slamming into the floor behind her. The moment he was dropped to the ground, the dazed Super Saiyan gave a low groan of pain as he was left lying incapacitated on his stomach.
With her second foe down for the count, yet still somehow conscious, Hana promptly detached the magical plasma linking her and the demi-Saiyan, dispelled the golden energy ball in her other hand, and moved away from her defeated adversary. She then calmly strolled across the property, ignoring the sight of a concerned Panchy taking cover behind a nearby bush, and the yells and grunts from Yamcha still stuck underneath her axe nearby. Now that all three of her attackers were out of commission, the princess figured it was as good a time as any to continue her search.
Bulma, her father, and Puar- along with several other people working in the facility- had all come out onto the balcony of the main building to see what all the commotion was about.
When she saw Yamcha and Trunks had been taken down, the blue-haired president of the facility placed a hand over her mouth fearfully. "This… doesn't look good." Just who was that girl?
However, just when it seemed like it was all over, an explosion from the ground nearby suddenly drew Hana's attention across the lawn once again. Looking in the direction of the facility's outdoor pool area, the woman saw her first adversary reappear from the crater he'd been buried in. His training gear torn in places and his body covered in dirt, the still fighting-fit Vegeta- assumed in his Super Saiyan form- rose into the air and powered up. His aura blasted around him with such force that it caused a powerful wind to tear across the Capsule Corp estate and generated a few bolts of golden lightning from his person, showing just how enraged he actually was.
Ignoring the blood trickling down from his hairline, the Saiyan Prince growled, "You little bitch! I'll teach you not to mess with me!" Thrusting his hands and legs out, the man assumed the stance necessary for his next attack as his energy began to skyrocket. A bellow of rage ripped from his mouth as his aura blasted and pulsed outwards, sending miniature shockwaves out in all directions, and causing the ground to tremble under the massive amounts of power he was beginning to gather. "You got me once! But you won't do it again! Don't underestimate the power of the Prince of all Saiyans!"
Hana frowned as she watched the Saiyan warrior begin gathering energy at an alarming rate. Though the winds from his body whipped at her hair and face, the adolescent didn't at all appear concerned about the danger that was now building several yards away from her. "The position of royalty is an honor and a privilege bestowed upon only a select few people in the universe." The dark elf narrowed her eyes on the man when she saw him cup his hands in front of him and bolts of golden lightning shoot from his palms. "You may be a prince by birthright, but don't think for a second that you are worthy of carrying that title. I've seen lesser men prove themselves to be far more worthy than you."
A sneer left Vegeta's teeth as a golden ball of energy crackled into view between his extended palms. "So you're insulting me now? Fine then. Let's see you if you can run that mouth of yours after you're turned into ash, tramp!" With the ball of throbbing energy in his palms reaching critical mass and sparking light crazy, the Saiyan Prince clenched his teeth before, with a mighty howl, he unleashed his attack straight towards the unimpressed Hana. "FINAL FLAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!"
In that moment, a blinding flash of golden light along with a deafening howl echoed across West City as an enormous blast of gargantuan size gushed out of Vegeta's hands and ripped across the backyard toward the elf princess. The attack was so large it looked like a wall of pure gold was flying towards Hana, who appeared momentarily surprised before her expression deepened into one of fury.
When it looked like the attack was about to hit her head on- with Trunks and Yamcha watching from their positions on the ground in abject horror at how close the attack was- Hana then decided to take action. Crouching forward, the blonde beauty narrowed her glare on the approaching torrent of energy, coated her body in a pink aura of energy, and jumped right towards it. In the blink of an eye the girl slammed straight through the spearhead of the attack, causing a sonic boom to ring out as she began flying right through it, her body tearing a literal tunnel through the inferno as she made a B-line straight for its user.
Vegeta barely had enough time to appear shocked when, leaping out of the hilt of his beam, the angry-looking, unscathed Hana drove her hand into his face, grabbed him, and ripped the arrogant ass out of the sky- effectively interrupting his attack. The instant the prince's beam dissipated into nothing but air from having all of its power and momentum shut down, the dark elf princess dropped altitude with the prince in tow, pulled him back, and slammed him cheek-first into the ground.
She then proceeded to violently drag the man through the earth at breakneck speed, remaining airborne as she carved a human-sized trench through the ground as a scream of agony left Vegeta's lips. After several yards of using the Super Saiyan's face to practically plough Capsule Corp's tiled footpath and lawn surrounding the swimming pool, Hana then effectively ended her attack by lifting the man up, dumping him into the floor, and then jumping back for safety- leaving the Saiyan Prince lying in a daze on the floor, along with a series of new cuts all over his mug and body.
Coughing as his vision slowly cleared, the stunned Vegeta gave a moan of pain as he slowly but shakily sat up. Struggling to do so due to taking such a violent hit from the girl, the shaken Vegeta then peered up through his bloodied face to see Hana glaring back at him from her spot several feet away.
"That was an idiotic thing to do," the dark elf princess said, confusing the man momentarily before gesturing behind her with a nod. "Not only did you fire that attack at a downward angle, but you didn't even consider the kingdom of innocent civilians surrounding you. Not even your two compatriots lying nearby. What in the world were you thinking?"
The act of being looked down on drew an enraged growl from the Saiyan, who then slowly forced himself onto one knee and leaned against it. "What… gives you the right… to question my methods… girl?" Vegeta growled, at the same time turning to glare up at the girl. "You think I give a damn about them? About those fools? A true Saiyan- especially a prince-… doesn't care for the weak… or the lower class. If they're in the way… then they're nothing more than a mere hindrance." He then hardened his glare on Hana and spat out the blood from his mouth in a show of disgust. "A lying, lousy trickster and vagrant… wouldn't know a damn thing… about me."
Feeling somewhat taken aback at this warrior's attitude and uncaring nature, yet attributing most of his anger towards his frustration at being unable to defeat her, Hana then breathed a sigh of defeat and slowly raised her right hand. "You're right. I don't." She then held her palm upwards and opened her hand, where she then rapidly began gathering energy. A pulsing, pink and black nucleus of mana quickly formed above her hand, shortly before being surrounded by a large pink ball of plasma, which rapidly began to grow as she added more and more energy to it. "Nevertheless, I can't have you go around putting other innocent lives at risk for the sake of your pride. That is why I'm putting you out of commission right now."
Vegeta's eyes widened when he saw the attack the girl was charging reach an enormous size- about as big as a boulder. Once it'd reached the approximate size of a truck, the girl then held it high over her head and took aim down at the prince, clearly intending to use this attack to either kill him or temporarily knock him out.
Considering the degree of attacks she'd used up till this point, it could very well be one or the other.
With the wounded Trunks and Yamcha reacting in alarm, and the other people present at Capsule Corp also freaking out at the sight of the miniature pink sun forming over Hana's head, it was clear the battle was about to reach a very unpleasant outcome.
Hana inhaled deeply as she prepared to drop the attack on top of the Saiyan Prince and take him out. "You're done."
"Umm… could you please not drop that thing on top of Vegeta's head? It doesn't look very safe."
Jumping slightly when she heard the new voice speak up behind her, the standing Hana slowly turned her head around and looked over her shoulder. When her gaze settled on the person that'd addressed her, the young princess of Alfheim suddenly felt her heart stop and eyes widen, as she found herself looking upon the very one person she'd been seeking.
Having touched down just a few seconds ago to see and overhear the closing stages of the bout between the girl and her three opponents, Gohan- with his sword sheathed in his belt- smiled warmly at who he guessed was the royal everyone was making such a fuss about. Seeing the long-eared, dark-skinned elf girl turn around with her massive magical attack hovering over her head and everybody else, the demi-Saiyan assumed right away that he had the right person.
Once he was certain he'd gotten her attention, the newly arrived and slightly nervous Gohan put on a pleasant smile, before raising his hand and waving at the stunned elf princess in his typical, Son Gohan manner.
"Yo. You must be Hana."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: Oh yeah. I'm enjoying writing this arc. All of my God of War and Hunter X Hunter inspiration finally getting realized.
Got a lot more updates to come, so be sure to stay tuned.