Remnants

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Dragon Ball Z

A/N: Pretty exciting chapter here! I hope you all like it!

It took a few hours to wake everyone up and gather them at Capsule Corps. It was the best place at the moment because it was large enough to hold everyone and secure enough to withstand attacks – thanks to Bulma's reinforcement to the integrity of her home, after the whole android fiasco. It took another few hour to convince everyone to stay put and let Goku, Gohan and Vegeta handle the invaders. Unfortunately, it was already well into the day after all the arguing and reasoning was done and there was now a small window before the attack began. After things were settled the mixed group of friends and family watched the three men fly off in a hurry.

"This isn't good! Night is approaching pretty fast, if we don't make it there on time..." Gohan trailed off.

"Relax, son, everything will be okay, I promise," Goku tried to reassure his son but Gohan wasn't really listening at this point. "Son, we're a lot stronger than they are, we can-"

"You don't know that, dad! They've been hiding their power- they could be as tough as Freeza or worse for all we know..." Gohan argued.

"True, they could be, but son, if you were able to defeat Cell without much difficulty, even if he wasn't in his "perfect" state as you claim, he was still more powerful than Freeza ever was... they can't be that strong!" Maybe Goku was right... maybe Gohan just needed to relax now and think things through.

"If you ladies are done arguing, I'm going to go ahead!" Vegeta grumbled, flying off a little faster.

"He has the right idea, son, you should sneak in after us, we stirred up more notice than you, it'll be odd if we're not there for whatever they have planned..." Goku nodded to his son. "We'll see you soon!" he said before speeding up to catch up. Gohan watched Vegeta and his father land on the ground after a bit of flying and take off running, maybe he should too, after all, this was still a stealth mission. Running would take longer but they couldn't afford to get caught and for the main fleet to be alerted. The rapidly darkening of the sky encouraged Gohan to speed up but... he feared he would not make it on time.

When Gohan was close he skidded to a stop when he felt very powerful Ki not far from where the camp was. 'Damnit, I'm too late!' Gohan quickly powered up into the first ascension of his Mystic Super Saiyan form – just in case – and headed toward them. When he got close, he could feel his father and Vegeta nearby, probably trying to figure out how to take down fifteen enormous primates without giving themselves away... and of course he could not see said primates marching straight toward a city! 'This is NOT good!' Gohan took a step toward them but something stopped him... something was not right with that night – besides the invading king-kongs trying to decimate the population before a huge army could take over the world, of course.

"Oh no..." Goku's eyes widened when he felt his son suddenly stop approaching altogether.

"What?" Vegeta barked, his eyes still trained on the rampaging apes.

"Look!" Goku pointed to his son. Vegeta sighed in irritation but turned to look at what his bumbling fool of a "friend" was pointing at.

"...Oh no..." Vegeta agreed. Behind Gohan, the largest full moon they had ever seen was rising up over the hill... but something was different that night.

The call of the moon forced Gohan to turn around and look at it. He had never been this drawn to a full moon before. As soon as his eyes locked on it, he could not look away. 'Wow… a full lunar eclipse! That's amazing, its so red! I've nev-" Gohan suddenly stopped. He stood on a soft patch of grass on a hill that overlooked the advancing group of giant ape-like creatures. He jerked his attention to the grass, using all his strength to look away. 'Something's wrong…' he thought growing more and more anxious. Was this what had been bothering him for so long? Something definitely did not feel right. "What…" Gohan frowned in confusion, getting a powerful urge to look up into the night sky, not letting him keep his eyes averted from the moon. He jerked his head to the side, trying to resist the urge, having an idea what would happen if he did and ran a hand through his bright, white hair.

The blood-red moon called to him like nothing else; like a strong addiction, it whispered in his ear and seemed to enter his mind, intoxicating his senses. Gohan couldn't help himself, he had to obey it, now he knew why his parents had always kept him indoors early on in the day, when the moon would be full that night, when he was a boy. Gohan groaned in defeat and turned his head up, looking directly into the glow of the moon as it hovered seemingly innocently over him. A strangled gasp escaped him and his eyes widened. His gold irises vanished and his pupils widened, turning a deep red as he stared into the moon.

Gohan's heartbeat began to accelerate, his breathing quicker and quicker as his tail curled tightly as if responding to how ensnared and paralyzed to his fate he felt. A growl escaped his throat, his brows furrowed and he jerked in pain as his body began to transform unwillingly. Gohan groaned in pain and fell to his knees. "N-No! W-What is hap..errrrrRRRR" Gohan jerked up, arching his back and roared in fury, he roared in fear, and he roared… just because he could. Brown fur began to sprout from his body and soon began to glow gold and then to white as his form took in his Mystic Super Saiyan ascension.

When Gohan finished transforming he was no longer Gohan… he was, Oozaru. "Dear God…" Goku muttered from where he and Vegeta where watching the invading Oozaru Saiyan group. The fifteen other Oozarus – who were as deadly and powerful as an army of thousands of men armed to the teeth - suddenly stopped and looked on with something closely resembling fear as the white Oozaru glared them down from the distance. Before any of them could react Gohan flew at them with nearly incomprehensible speed – the bulk he had acquired not slowing him down by the least bit - smashing jaws, faces, snouts, and chests, anything he could reach.

"Well I'll be damned..." Vegeta muttered.

"Is that what you meant all those years ago, Vegeta? The Saiyan's greatest ability? The weapon? The form used to "purge" planets?" Goku narrowed his eyes at his friend who crossed his arms and smirked in response.

"The same," he answered. 'Now, that's a true Saiyan,' he thought as he watched Gohan grab tails, swing them around and smash them against other enemy Oozarus. Gohan roared and stomped his feet after the group of invading Saiyans had been eliminated.

Videl frowned worriedly. Like everyone, she had sensed something go terribly wrong with Gohan's Ki signature, she knew it was him but it still scared the living hell out of her. She had to know what was going on! She had to know if he was okay! That in mind, Videl lowered her power-level as Gohan taught her to do so many years ago and snuck out of the house undetected. She suspected Piccolo knew, since he seemed to have an uncanny ability to detect even the slightest sounds and such, but he didn't stop her.

Videl didn't care if people were alerted to her as she took off flying now, nothing could stop her now! She flew as hard and fast as she could, desperately trying to make it there before something happened... she didn't know what but something, she just had to get there. When she made it there, she saw them... and now she knew what her husband's species were capable of. She was glad Gohan had taught her to sense the energy of other beings now that she thought of it.

"Oh no! Its Videl!" Goku gasped.

"What? What is that crazy woman doing?" Vegeta spat. Goku and Vegeta watched in horror as Videl flew up to his face, trying to catch his attention. By this time, Gohan had stopped moving, he had already defeated the scout group of invaders and just stood still... as if he were fighting to take control of himself. This was not a good time for Videl to be there, but Goku and Vegeta didn't want to risk enraging the beast... after all, they were male and if might seem like they were trying to over power Gohan's animalistic dominance.

Videl tried speaking, she tried stopping his violent movements but it seemed as if he didn't know who she was, didn't know who his father or Vegeta were either as they watched on in shock and dread. "GOHAN!" Videl screamed, the big beast suddenly stopped and turned to look at her, growling and snuffing as she floated up to his face. Gohan roared and went to smack her away but she flew back. "Gohan please!" She called, he stopped once more and let her approach him this time.

"Gohan! Gohan, its me, Videl! Do you remember me?" She said, hesitating to get any closer to him, lest he figure she'd make a good snack. Gohan lifted his furred hand and was about to strike the pestering flying thing with the familiar voice but she spoke again, placing her warm hands on his snout. "Gohan… my husband, my mate… look at me, don't you recognize me? Your wife, your partner… your friend…" Videl stroked his face, much like she had when they first met. The great big beast's eyes softened suddenly, remembering the touch like it happened yesterday.

Gohan stood there, staring into the achingly familiar face until his eyes widened and a soft whimper escaped him. "Gohan… you can't forget me, your family, everyone who loves you… I won't let you…" Videl said, tears slipping down her face. The beast eyed her a moment and with his finger, gently caressed her cheeks, drying her of her tears. "Gohan?" she questioned hopefully. "D-Do you remember?" Gohan seemed to make a huff noise and looked down at himself, noticing for the first time where he was and what he was, blinking as awareness returned to him.

Videl gasped and backpedaled - watching in shock as Gohan suddenly began to growl and clench his fists tightly. Lightning began to swarm around him, wind whipped around them and his animalistic growls began to turn… Saiyan, human, whatever it was, it did not sound like a beast anymore. Videl landed by her father-in-law and watched in shock as the huge animal transformed, diminishing in size. They watched as the white fur turned blood-red, hair grew and turned black, and the face that had been of an ape changed to Gohan again, though it was a lot sharper… he had silenced the beast, beaten the call of the moon… ascended once more.

"H-How? You're… You're a new form! Y-You reached a new ascension! Incredible!" Vegeta said in a shocked, strangled voice. Gohan ran his hands through his now much longer hair and looked down at himself, he had once again grown in mass and blood-red fur had sprouted over his body, even his tail fur had changed in color but his hair had turned black again. He turned his red-rimmed eyes toward his friends and family, concern for their safety etched within them now that his mind was clear. He relaxed somewhat when he saw they were okay.

"G-Gohan?" Videl said softly. Gohan turned to her, his eyes now softer almost... peaceful. He offered her a weak smile and nodded his head in thanks, resisting the urge to run over and smother her with kisses, not knowing if something would change, if he would change again… or if she would still find him attractive if he was covered in fur and almost seven feet tall.

"You look just like a human version of those monsters!" Goku exclaimed.

"Oozarus!" Vegeta corrected again.

"I feel… different…" Gohan said in a different voice, much more gruff and gravelly than before, and looked around at the stunned faces. Gohan briefly wondered why he hadn't automatically merged his powers like he had before. Perhaps though, because it was a completely new form – like the first time he went Mystic Super Saiyan – he needed to combine them manually.

"…But Gohan, what about your "mystic" powers?" Goku asked as if able to read Gohan's thoughts.

"I guess, before I merge my two powers, I can only use one or the other. This power feels overwhelming but somehow… not as strong as when I fought Buu seven years ago," he answered with a shrug.

"Well… you mixed your powers then, remember?" Videl chimed in. "Maybe that mix is more powerful than this… form, but you weren't this when you mixed them… maybe you'll be even stronger if you tried that?" She suggested. Gohan clenched his fists and flexed his arms, enjoying the feeling anyway, even if it was weaker in comparison.

"I suppose, but I have no need to test that out though. Hmm, though I might have to, since when I power up I don't just go Super Saiyan anymore," he said and with a sigh forced his body to relax, returning it to its normal state.

"Wow, that looked weird," Videl raised an eyebrow, referring to his rapid shortening of the hair, disappearance of the fur, and slightly diminishing mass.

"Man, if only I still had my tail!" Vegeta growled to himself in annoyance.

"Yeah…" Goku agreed, smirking proudly at his son. 'First Gohan turns into a "Mystic-Super-Saiyan"… now this! A fourth ascension! WOW! Whoa, if his first transformation to his mystic form almost destroyed the planet, I wonder what his new ascensions would do to it if combined…' he thought with a mix of intrigue and horror.

"Gohan?" Said Saiyan looked down at his wife who wrapped her arms around him and smiled softly. "Do you remember what I told you not long ago?" she began. Gohan smiled affectionately and nodded, he did remember their conversations.

"Yes, you told me that when trouble did show its horns that I'd take them and rip them off…" he answered softly.

"That's right… and you did! See? I told you there was nothing to worry about," Videl kissed his lips feather lightly.

"Its not over yet…" Gohan said with a frown, looking up into the night sky. "King Kai warned us of an Army… not a small group… the others must be waiting in space…" He said and clenched his jaw.

"Well then, go get 'em, hero," Videl answered. Gohan looked down and saw the fiery determination in her eyes, the same strong, dominating look he had fallen in love with so many years ago, the same look that could be severe in one moment and soft and gentle the next.

"You're absolutely right."

"I know I am," Videl grinned. Gohan kissed her back and turned to the other men.

"Alright… Dad, Vegeta, you guys coming with me?" He asked, though he knew the answer.

"You know we will, son," Goku answered as well. Vegeta said nothing, just snorted and crossed his arms – that was definitely a yes from him. Gohan had to convince Videl to stay behind, to go back to the group while he, his dad, and Vegeta delt with the army. Gohan assured Videl that she was very strong and could help them, but he just didn't want to expose her to so much danger so soon, not when they had a daughter to take care of. Videl finally relented and after a good luck kiss, flew off, back to her friends and family.

End A/N: Woo! Exciting chapter here! Although, it could have been better I think... Alright! Its about time Gohan ascended again, eh? :D

Shout-Outs:

RKF22: Thanks, I'll try :D

Swoofie: Wow, thanks a lot! Your review really made my day :D and I know, right? So many bad stories have reviews in the hundreds... but then again, sometimes they're constructive criticisms, other times they're flames and such... it also depends on what category you write for, some have more fans than others. I'm so glad you liked my stories :D. Wow, a couple hours to read all three of my fics? I'm impressed lol I consider myself a fast reader but it takes me a day to read 3 fics like mine (short ones) so yeah, wow, kudos!

Xj9: I'm glad you approve of my mediocre "fights" lol, I'm pretty bad at writing action like that... I never really know what to say. I'm glad you liked it though!

Shiva the Sarcastic: Thank you, I'm glad you're still holding on lol.