AN: I am estimating that this story should be wrapped up in just another few chapters. I have everything layed out but with the holidays coming up Im not sure when the next chapters will be. I promise I will have them up asap. Thanks alot everyone and let me know what you think :)

Chapter 11

The Price of Knowledge

King Kai let out a loud yell that caught everyone by surprise " Goku! Your son is as crazy as you are!" Goku began to nervously chuckle before questioning his panic stricken master " Why do you say that King Kai? What is going on?" Everyone had been on edge since the battle had begun, especially Piccolo. He and Kami knew better than anyone the pressures that went with being the guardian of earth but to take on a task such as Broly, it had to feel completely overwhelming. Piccolo listened intently on the update from king kai.

" Gohan has locked Trunks and android 18 in the hyperbolic time chamber and has chosen to fight Broly alone." Piccolo shouted out in disbelief while Goku's expression became serious. " Now there was a reason behind Gohan doing this." King Kai informed. " Trunks had been badly injured and he knew that by pushing 18 in their with Trunks it would allow him to fight at his full strength as well as giving Trunks plenty of time to heal..but thats not even the biggest part of the decision. He shoved the dragonballs in their with the both of them as well…."

While all of the others sat shocked Piccolo began to laugh. " Goku you may be the best warrior the earth has ever seen but I think your son is going to be the best guardian that it has ever known." Goku turned and smiled at Piccolo " Why do you say that Piccolo?" The tall Namekian crossed his arms in the way he usually did when he knew he was right about something " Well Goku your son made what appears to be a reckless decision. You know, similar to the ones you normally make but what he has done was not reckless at all. By shoving the dragonballs in the hyperbolic time chamber, Gohan is making a bet that it will speed up their hibernation period. Your son is a genius Goku."

Goku kept the serious look in his eyes but let a slight smile creep onto his face " I know Piccolo..That is why it had to be him that went back"

" Special Beam Cannon!" the bright purple beam hurled towards a smiling Broly, Gohan could feel his own energy beginning to decrease as he fired the beam. Broly easily swatted the attack away and phased in front of the slowing guardian "KAKAROT!" Several hard punches found a home on Gohans face before a powerful kick sent him crashing into the tiles below. An ominous ball of green ki formed in the legendary super saiyans hand and was thrown like a baseball in the direction where Gohan had landed. With a loud bang and a bright flash, a corner section of the lookout had been completely destroyed.

Gohan floated among the rubble of the lookout with his shaking arms crossed in front of his face. " Come on Gohan you can't let this guy stop you..not yet" Before the guardian could react Broly's large fist slammed into his abdomen causing a mixture of spit and blood to fly from his mouth. Broly drew his arm back as far as he could and landed a devastating clothesline like move to Gohan's head. The demi-saiyan skidded across the cracked tiles of the lookout, blood dripping from his face and arms which stained them a light shade of orange. As the hulking warriors stomping attack was about to slam into the downed guardian, Gohan managed to raise his hands to his face " SOLAR FLARE!"

Broly screamed in pain and frustration as he began to stagger backwards and rub his eyes. Gohan painstakingly rose back to his feet, his breaths labored and heavy from the heavy damage his body had received. The guardian of earth looked at his beaten and bloody hands, the thought of helplessness began to fill his mind " What if I am not able to stop him?..What if I fail the people I care about?..." Suddenly an unlikely voice filled Gohans ears. " Gohan you have to stop holding back. You alone have the power to stop Broly. This is why you were chosen to come back son. You are the Earth's last hope. If you don't let go of your fears that you have about your power everyone you love will suffer."

Gokus voice had shocked Gohan to his very core. He couldn't believe that he was hearing his fathers voice again. The visions of Bulma and Trunks laughing and enjoying each others company made their way into Gohans minds eye and he could feel a cold burning swelling up within himself. " Dad...I don't want to be like Broly. I'm afraid if I let my power take over that I will become no better than him." Gokus hollow sounding voice continued to encourage his only son as he wrestled with his convictions " You are nothing like him Gohan. No matter how great your power is you are different than him. He fights for the love of hurting people and has nothing to lose which lets him show no restraint but you, you have everything to lose. You have the fate of your friends, the people of Earth and the planet itself on your shoulders which forces you to fight with a tactical mind. King Yemma knew that just like me, the pressure of this task wouldnt break you , it would fuel you. Some of the wisest beings in the universe believe in you Gohan and you must too to save your friends and your home."

Gohan could feel the strange coolness inside of him taking over his body. He looked back down at the palms of his hands to see them beginning to glow with golden ki. As the demi-saiyan let the words of his father reassure him, the images of Bulma and Trunks began to be pushed aside by the visions of 18 and the time he had spent with her. For the first time since he had arrived, Broly's unsettling smile had disappeared from his face and he charged towards the seemingly distracted guardian.

Broly threw a wild punch but much to his surprise Gohan had managed to dodge it. The powerful saiyan gritted his teeth in frustration and began throwing quick combinations at the warrior only to have them mostly blocked and dodged. Before Broly's last punch could land to Gohans face the demi-saiyan let out a furious yell, his sudden explosion of ki forced Broly to raise his arms to shield his face while the strength of the explosion pushed him several feet backwards. As Broly lowered his arms away from his face an intense gaze from Gohans was there to greet him. Electricity shot from the surprisingly refreshed guardian, the feeling of his power was far more raw than it had been throughout the battle. Broly looked at Gohan with an intensity on his face that he hadn't shown before.

18 laid back on the bed of the hyperbolic time chamber and let out a long frustrated sigh. It had felt like she had been inside of the chamber for ever. She could hardly remember what it had felt like since she had last fought Broly. As she stared at the ceiling and let her mind wonder she began to notice a light, flashing orange glow. The beauty quickly sat up and peered across the room before letting her gaze settle on the small round table where she had left the brown satchel that contained the dragonballs. 18 jumped to her feet and made her way across the small living area of the chamber and opened the brown sack. Inside the once dull stones had become beautiful glass like orange orbs. She could hardly believe her eyes as she stared into the deep beauty of the balls. After inspecting the orbs for several minutes the woman ran to the edge of the platform and looked for Trunks.

Trunks had walked off into the depths of the room after the training session he and 18 had had. 18 looked around the area but Trunks was nowhere to be found " Great..just great. What a perfect time to disappear. I swear that brat is nothing more than a pain in my ass." 18 walked a ways away from the entrance to the room and shouted for the demi-saiyan " TRUNKS! YOU HAVE TO COME BACK! WHERE ARE YOU!?" She waited for some sort of sound or answer but neither ever came. " Damn it Trunks! I don't know how to use those stupid things….As much as I hate to say it I need your help you little dork."

Gohan ducked a huge blow from Broly and phased behind the hulking saiyan, delivering a quick kick that landed in the center of his spine. Broly stumbled forward but quickly turned around and landed a headbutt to Gohans face. Gohan slid backwards several feet but his eyes never left that of his target. " KAMEHAMEEE….HHAAA" The sudden blue wave bolted towards Broly taking him by surprise and driving him through the length of the now ruined palace. Gohan shot after Broly, allowing his new power to race through him. As Broly sat up he was welcomed by a stiff kick from the demi-saiyan that caused blood to shoot from his mouth.

Broly reached out and grabbed Gohan by the leg and slammed him face first into the rubble of the palace, forcing a loud grunt to leave the guardians lungs. The devil like saiyan began to whip Gohan's body from side to side against the hard ruined ground, opening several new cuts on his face and body. The legendary super saiyan finally released his hold by throwing the guardian through a nearby tower. In a flash Gohans aura erupted and turned the rubble that surrounded him into ash.

Gohan looked across the lookout at an infuriated Broly and smiled " You are going to have to do better than that Broly. If not this wont last much longer." Gohans face showed confidence but his mind was beginning to have doubt " This guy never seems to get tired, in fact he never seems to weaken at all. He is still as strong as he was when this battle started. I have the edge at the moment but I'm not sure for how much longer.

Trunks's muscles expanded to their limits as he ki raged wildly around him. The young demi-saiyan knew that his body was at its limit but refused to settle " Why can't I ascend! What makes Gohan's power so much different than my own!" Trunks shot into the air and let his power explode. His hair slowly began to change back to its native lavender color and his eyes back to their deep shade of blue.

" Hey! while you have been off playing around, the dragonballs are ready. Lets go so we can help Gohan" 18 looked up at Trunks with an impatient look in her eyes. Trunks watched her with intense eyes. His ego still hadn't completely recovered from the last time he had spoken with the blonde that stood below him. Trunks slowly descended back down to the ground and looked her right in the eyes. " I don't think the balls are going anywhere 18. I think I am going to have to pass for now on your request. Besides Gohan will be fine for another hour outside and that will give me plenty of time to try and match his power. With both of us being that powerful there is no way that Broly will stand a chance, then we can use the dragonballs to bring back everyone YOU killed!"

A hard smack slapped against Trunks's cheek and 18's eyes pierced into his very soul " Who the hell do you think you are! This is not about what you want or what I want, This is about saving this stupid planet and the man that you call your brother!. Trunks, he has risked everything for you more times than I can count and when you finally get the chance to return the favor and save him for once...you decide that your own selfish ambitions are more important. That is what separates the two of you and that is why you will end up just like your father, No matter how hard you train, no matter how hard you push yourself you will always be a step behind him because you don't have what it takes to lay everything on the line for someone else.."

The visions of Trunks's battle with Cell and the sacrifices he had made to help his father and the others began to rush into his head " I am not like that….I am not going to end up being like my father and become bitter to the one man that truly understands me. Gohan has always been there for me.." Trunks raised his eyes again and met 18's icy glare " You are right 18..but I want you to answer me one thing. Why do you care what happens to Gohan? This is the perfect chance for you to get him out of the way."

The beauty looked down at the floor and an awkward silence fell over the two of them for several moments. Trunks was about to walk away before the womans voice began to softly emerge " I..I don't know really. Its hard to explain for me but there is just something about him that is different. He has changed the way I look at everything and everyone, because of him I truly feel…."

18's words took Trunks by surprise, he had noticed that she seemed different but he had no idea that it was to this great of an extent. Trunks fumbled over the thoughts until he decided to just be frank with her " Do you...Love..Gohan!?" 18's face turned a light shade of pink and she looked back down towards the ground " I have never really know love so I am not sure...but if what I feel for Gohan is love then yes...I love him Trunks"

Trunks could feel his body begin to shake, then he erupted in anger " This explains everything! Gohans awkwardness around you, all the times you have refrained from trying to kill us, Gohans reaction to your injuries from Broly….You two are freaking in love with each other!" The demi-saiyan began to pace back and forth, cursing and occasionally shouting with rage. " How can they love each other!? They basically have spent their entire lives trying to kill one another….This isnt right and I can't let it happen" Just as quickly as Trunks had decided to try and change the two warriors emotions for one another he began to question his own motives.

" This is what everyone probably thought about my mother and father too..My father spent most of his life killing people and even tried to take over this planet…." Trunks looked back over to 18 and forced a slight smile " Obviously I am not too happy about this but it is not my place to judge who you two love...After all my mother and father loved each other and they too were an unlikely couple...Lets get over to those dragonballs and help my brother.." 18 smiled back at Trunks and the two of them set off in the direction of the chambers platform.