(A Warrior's End)
Over the next few weeks, training between Kai and Gohan intensified, filled with a burning new resolve.
Kai wasted no time in flaring his milky white aura "Alright Gohan, what the hell are you waiting for? If we're gonna do this we have to do it right, so go ahead and just power up already."
"As if you had to ask." Gohan's own milky white aura flared into life, changing to a shade of gold as he flashed into Super Saiyan.
'Looks like someone's got his fighting spirit back, here I thought he was just going through the motions for the past few weeks, ever since I confronted him about avoiding the issue of his mom and grandpa dying. The question is, does he have the grit to push me to my max, and then beat me in a straight up fight? So this is it then, this is what your full power is like right now?"
"More or less, yeah. You were right before, I was avoiding the issue of losing everyone in my family to that heart virus. I sort of let myself lose sight of what it means to use this power for awhile after that, combined with the weight of losing Piccolo and the others. But you reminded me of the vow we made all those years ago, to not settle for being better when we could be the best, and you reminded me of how the world is counting on us to train, to improve, to get strong enough to bring the Androids down. You already figured out your own path and you've been going down it at full speed, and now I'm going to follow you down that path."
"These Androids that we face now are the most powerful beings we've ever faced, we've lost a lot because of them and we may never be able to get most of it back. But we still have each other, and we can push each other to get as strong as possible until we're powerful enough to defeat them, and then keep pushing ourselves to even greater heights. If you want to ensure that our vow stays alive, then let's see if you have the strength and grit you need to prove it!" and so with the green aura of the Namek-Ken flaring into life, Kai charged forward at full speed and ended up meeting Gohan in an explosive collision and slamming his elbow into Gohan's face.
Gohan dodged the next attack and began firing off a furious barrage of punches and kicks at full speed, resulting in the two of them trading even blows until their fists collided with a blinding flash, and once they broke off he quickly fired a Masenko.
Kai wasted no time as he dodged the Masenko and fired off a barrage of Ki blasts at full speed and full power.
Gohan managed to dodge, block and deflect every Ki blast being thrown at him with ease "Is that all you've got Silver Tongue?!"
"Why the fuck don't you come and see for yourself Spike!" Kai blitzed behind Gohan and dealt him a sharp kick to the face, sending him crashing into a nearby plateau on the ground, and then he prepared to follow up with a Nail Gun.
Gohan rebounded just in time to fire an Explosive Demon Wave as he channeled as much Ki as he could into the attack, overpowering Kai's attack as a result.
Kai blitzed out of the way of the blast, blitzed down towards Gohan and dealt him a kick to the chest while he was still preoccupied with the blast, and then he began forcing Gohan to go on the defensive with a furious barrage of punches and kicks.
Growing sick of taking the attacks, Gohan dealt Kai a heavy fist to the chest and followed up with a Masenko to the face, sending him hurtling backwards.
Kai was able to rebound almost instantly as the two of them took to the skies, their auras blending together in the form of a double helix.
Gohan took the chance to deal Kai a furious barrage of attacks, repeatedly kneeling him in the spine as hard as he could "I don't want you holding back on me in this fight!" they then started repeatedly punching each other in the face and torso, ending with them grappling with each other in a power struggle "Don't you dare hold out on me, I told you to take this seriously!" he quickly gripped onto Kai by the arm and threw him high into the air, and then he charged in to finish it, his golden aura flaring even higher at the same time "I know that you're still holding out on me, I told you to come at me with everything you've got!"
"I wanted to see if you could really handle it, and since you've clearly gotten back your fighting spirit, now you're gonna see what real power is like!" with a mighty roar, Kai's Namek-Ken aura ascended to an even greater height.
"I told you to give me everything because that's what I'm giving you!"
"And now everything is what you're going to get!" Kai charged down at Gohan at full speed, which resulted in a blinding cash as he slugged Gohan in the gut.
Gohan slugged Kai in the gut in return and dealt him a fist to the face "Come on Kai, give me every ounce of strength you've got, right here and right now!"
"Fine!" Kai powered up his Namek-Ken to as high as he could take it, his body pulsing and his muscles bulging visibly "Alright bring it on Gohan, let's end this!"
"I plan to!" pushing his Super Saiyan power to the absolute limit, Gohan charged at Kai as high and as fast as he could, resulting in a blinding white light that lit up the sky across the entire wasteland, as well as shaking the surface of the planet as a result. When everything had subsided a few moments later, Gohan's Super Saiyan form had disappeared, the same with Kai's green Namek-ken aura. Gohan whippedaround and aimed one last fist at Kai, but he stopped just before it was able to connect, and instead he finally lost consciousness and began falling towards the ground below.
Kai was quick to catch Gohan before he could finish falling and gently lowered him to the ground "Looks like you definitely got your fighting spirit back, and now we're gonna use it to push each other a hell of a lot further. We'll do it together."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A few hours passed, and the two of them soon recovered from their little bout.
Kai handed a towel to Gohan as they sat down on a rocky coastline "You know if you think my training is fucked up, you should've seen what my mother put herself through."
"Believe me, I've learned to just take your word for it." Gohan breathed a sigh "I know you miss her more than anything, and you've always looked up to her, but what about your dad? I don't think you've ever mentioned him before."
"I don't know where that deadbeat is, and frankly I don't care. I never knew him, and frankly I don't want to know him. As far as I'm concerned, Yamcha is the only dad I ever had."
"I see. I guess I can't blame you. You know you always talk about how great a martial artist your mom was, but you don't talk a lot about her personality, and I didn't get to know her that well when I died on Namek."
"She was a warm and caring woman, powerful and gentle at the same time. In a lot of ways she was like a woman version of your dad, the biggest difference being that she didn't have a small cantaloupe where her brain was supposed to be."
"I should've expected that." Gohan let out a slight chuckle 'Taining is well and good and all, and I'm glad that me and Kai can still talk like there's nothing wrong in the world. But still, I can't shake this feeling that there's something coming. Something really bad.' he had no idea how right he was.k
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next day came, and the Androids would launch another attack, this time on the amusement park known as Super World, and about half of the population there would be killed, with the other half fleeing for their lives while the Androids tried to enjoy themselves on the various rides throughout the amusement park.
Unfortunately for them, and even moreso for everyone else in the world, it didn't take very long for 17 and 18 to get bored with it "You know it's kind of sad, when you can fly across the planet in a matter of hours, these kinds of rides don't seem like that much fun."
"Is that a fact?" this was when Kai and Gohan dropped down onto the scene, both of them raring and ready to fight "Well here's an offer for you, if you're already bored then why don't you try taking a ride on my fist?"
"...Wow, so are you gonna want a minute to rephrase that dude?"
"I know damn well what I said, and frankly I'd rather take that minute to rip you apart one piece at a time."
"Okay now see, that's better."
"It'll be even better than that once I know you're both rotting in hell. Anyway Gohan, feel free to sit back and spectate while I go crimson fury all over their asses, unless they try to gang up on me, in which case feel free to jump in."
"You know despite all of our training over the years, I can't help but feel like the two of us are woefully unprepared for this." Gohan pointed out dryly.
"And that's exactly what we prepared for."
"No, it's really not."
"They stopped being amusing about three years ago." 18 commented dryly "What do you say we finish these annoying little shits off this time?"
"Works for me." 17 promptly stepped forward and unleashed a Ki blast on the ground, creating a makeshift smokescreen as he burst forward.
"What the hell do you take me for you goddamn Voltron reject?" Kai sidestepped 17's attack with ease and powered up his Namek-Ken aura to level 20 as he started blocking and countering all of 17's punches and kicks, eventually managing to deal 17 a solid kick to the face that sent him crashing through the structure of one of the roller coasters, and then he fired a quick Masenko at him as fast as he could.
17 dodged the Masenko, blitzed behind Kai and dealt him a solid kick to the face before he was able to react, sending him crashing through a nearby funhouse.
"Nail Gun!" Kai fired a Nail Gun at 17 from within the rubble.
17 deflected the Nail Gun and prepared to charge in.
Kai blitzed in front of 17 and the two of them started trading even blows, before Kai dealt him a solid kick to the face, and then he prepared to fire an Explosive Demon Wave.
"Yeah, I'm thinking that's enough of that." 18 blitzed in front of Kai and dealt him a brutal kick to the gut, followed by a fist to the face that sent him flying through several buildings, leaving him wounded from the impact along with the broken glass.
17 pulled himself out of the rubble and wiped the blood from his lip "Dammit, where the hell did all of that come from?"
"Looks to me like he's pissed today, you think it's his time of the month?"
"Ha, it's funny because you're a chick. Alright, let's snuff out that fire in his gut."
"Works for me." and so the two of them charged at Kai at full speed and in perfect sync.
'Shit, shit, shit!' Kai suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a brutal beatdown 'Dammit, it feels like I just walked into the wrong neighborhood on Pokemon Go!'
"So how about it cyclops, are you ready to die yet?"
"He's not dying today, not by your hands!"this was when Gohan finally flashed Super Saiyan and charged at them at full speed.
18 promptly hit Gohan with a quick blast of her Infinity Bullet, sending him flying backwards a short distance and engulfing him in an explosion.
"Masenko!" Gohan took advantage of the smoke to hit 18 dead on with a quick Masenko, which engulfed her in an explosion in return.
18 and Gohan continued their clash until they took it atop a nearby ferris wheel "Okay seriously, who the hell let a bunch of teenagers end up in a battle like this? Not gonna lie, that really is a super irresponsible move." she wasn't wrong.
"I'm not afraid of you monster, I can take care of you by myself!" he however was, but he didn't know that just yet, and so he charged at 18 and unleashed a furious barrage of punches and kicks at full speed.
18 dodged and blocked every attack with ease, and eventually she dealt Gohan a solid fist to the face.
Gohan took the opportunity to hit her with a Masenko at point blank range, burning her but only slightly, and the only real damage it did was piss her off.
"And just like that, I'm done screwing around with you kid." she dealt him a solid blow to the gut and grabbed him by the front of his gi "So now what do you think?"
"I think… you hit like… like a girl…" Gohan spat out some blood.
"...Well, you're not wrong." so 18 promptly hit Gohan full force with an Infinity Bullet at point blank range, sending him spiralling to the ground, leaving him in an unconscious bloody heap lying in the rubble.
"Shit, Gohan!" breaking off from his and 17's one on one, Kai dealt 18 a solid blow to the face that sent her flying away, and he took the opportunity to grab Gohan from within the rubble and come up with a plan "Fuck, we're not gonna win at this rate."
"You got that right!" 17 promptly hit Kai with a Photon Wave to the back, which promptly sent him tumbling backwards a great distance.
Kai pulled himself back to his feet and spat out some blood, keeping his hold on Gohan as he did so 'Shit, at this rate there's no way in hell I'd be able to win if I have to fight off both of them at once, especially if I have to keep them from blasting Gohan to hell at the same time. I guess I'll have to make a tactical retreat, live to fight another day and all that good shit.' so he promptly started running and jumping across what was left of Super World.
"Oh no you don't you little shit!" 17 and 18 wasted no time in firing a massive barrage of Ki blasts across the park, torching it and blowing the remaining buildings and structures of the park to bits in a matter of moments.
As the place went up in a barrage of miniature explosions, Kai held onto Gohan tightly as he hid behind a large piece of rubble 'Thank god for the conveniently placed debris that's big enough to hide both of us, provided that it does. Still though, please tell me you guys don't know how to sense Ki like we do. It's a major gamble to risk my life on, but it's the only thing I've got to go on at this point.'
17 and 18 looked around, but they couldn't find Kai or Gohan amongst the rubble, much to their clear annoyance "Well that's a load of shit, you think they got away on us again?"
"The hell if I know." 18 gave a shrug "Keep in mind that we can't sense life energy, Gero can go fuck himself in hell for that."
"I know! I mean seriously, what the hell was the point of not giving us that ability? It seems like an intentional design flaw if you ask me."
"Well what can do you about that, so anyway do we go scorched Earth?"
"Hell yeah we go scorched Earth." and so they fired a few simultaneous Ki blasts into the air at random.
'Oh crapbaskets.' Kai tightened his hold on Gohan's unconscious form as the blasts came raining down from above, engulfing the area in a blinding light and a fiery explosion.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It only took a few minutes for the lights and the explosion to subside, but considerably longer than that for the smoke to clear and dust to settle, but by that point the Androids were both long gone.
Kai slowly opened his remaining eye, quickly taking note of how he was covered in blood and wounds, but he was still alive 'Fuck! Pain… everything's in pain… At least I'm not dead, so I guess that's good- Oh shit…' his thoughts were cut short and his blood ran cold at what he saw lying a few feet in front of him.
Gohan was lying unconscious a few feet away from him, though his soft breathing proved that he was still alive, though his left leg was lying a short distance away from him, having been blown off by the blast.
'Okay, so I'm in a metric fuckton of pain and Gohan is missing one of his legs, and if Goku were here then chances are he would just try to eat the thing. Too bad neither of us are Namekians, that would probably come in really handy right about now. Well on the plus side, it's a good thing we've got the next best thing in the form of my secret stash of Senzu Beans!' he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brown bag, revealing only one Senzu Bean inside 'Correction, a Senzu Bean, as in singular. Okay, that's more than a little bit disappointing. Exactly what we prepared for I said, me and my big fucking mouth. Yamcha, if you can hear this then just know I blame you for that. Well on one hand, I don't have Saiyan biology and I won't get a Zenkai for all of this. On the other hand, I still have both of my legs and both arms. Yeah, everything does hurt like a mother fucker, but hey, what are you going to do?' so using what little strength he had left, he slowly crawled his way over to Gohan "Hey… don't beat yourself up over this… when you wake up, okay…? You kicked ass out there… But I need you to swallow this… If either one of us has to live… let it be you… After all… you're our last hope…" using the last of his strength, he managed to stuff the Senzu Bean right into Gohan's mouth just before his strength finally gave out, and he lost consciousness.
It was only about a moment after this that Gohan regained consciousness, in which his eyes snapped open and he bolted upright "The Androids, are they gone? And why do I not even feel anything in my-" he cut himself short when he noticed his leg was missing 'Oh god… Why can't I be a Namekian, that would be really handy right about- Oh crapbaskets, Kai!' he quickly looked over to see Kai lying unconscious next to him in a small pool of blood "Kai, Kai come on wake up! Kai! I can still sense his Ki, he's alive but just barely. I have to get him back to Bulma, and fast.' and so he gently slumped Kai onto his back and promptly blasted off into the skies in the direction of West City 'This is bad… The Androids were too strong, even together we couldn't do anything to them… Am I only getting in Kai's way?'
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nightfall came.
Bulma was hard at work on her computer on some very important business "Let's see here, I'm looking for a male in mid to late 30's, with a head of black spiky hair, not to tall and loves to work out a lot."
"Hey Bulma?"
"I'm not doing an online dating profile!" Bulma quickly switched her computer to a file with some high tech schematics on it and whipped around "Gohan what did I tell you about- Oh my god, what the hell happened to the two of you?!"
As it turns out, Gohan was slowly floating his way into the room due to missing one of his legs, and carrying the grievously wounded form of Kai on his back "To put it bluntly, we got beat up a lot worse than high school would ever be able to do to us."
"Understatement of the fucking decade, one of you is half dead and the other is missing a leg for crying out loud! Get over to the beds, and hurry!"
"Right, I know." and this would lead to several painful hours of Bulma treating Kai's injuries and dealing with the stump that used to be Gohan's left leg.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hours passed, and the sun was beginning to rise over the ruins that used to be West City.
Bulma examined the bandaged stump where Gohan's left leg once resided "I have been working on a few ideas in case something like this happened, I mean granted it was because I thought that something was going to happen to Kai, but… Anyway just give me some time, I can get it done for you in a few weeks."
"I think I understand, and thank you Bulma, really…" Gohan let out a sigh "Truth be told, I didn't really feel much pain from losing it, and I doubt me being conscious would've made much of a difference in that regard."
"Maybe, maybe not. So tell me something kid, have you leaned anything today?"
"That the only good Android is a dead Android?"
"...You've been spending way too much time around Kai over the years."
"What can I say, he's my best friend." their conversation was cut short by several loud groans of agony, and they looked over at Kai to see him struggling to move "He's awake already?"
"The doctors said that he would be out for at least a weak."
"Where… Where are they..?" Kai gritted his teeth as he forced himself to sit up "Where the hell… are those damn Androids?"
Gohan could only let out a sigh as he watched him struggle 'The Androids are monsters that take pleasure in killing people and destroying everything around them, we've been lucky up until now, but our luck isn't going to last forever. We have to step up our training big time, or else we're going to be done for, and if we die then so does everyone else on the planet. If Super Saiyan isn't enough to get the job done, then I'll just have to find a way to go beyond that. If I can.'
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A few weeks went by, and things seemed to calm down, though there was a tension in the air at the same time.
"This is kind of a rare sight…" Bulma glanced over to see Kai sitting at a desk and looking over a set of schematics "I never thought I'd see a day where you go a day without training."
"There's more to me than just having muscles and being the most powerful warrior on Earth, and having a set of abs you could grind meat on." Kai told her dryly without looking up from the schematics.
"You're hilarious, now what's really going on? I know you're upset about something, you have been for days." she was met with silence "This is about Gohan losing his leg in that fight with the Androids, you feel guilty don't you?" she was met with more silence "It wasn't your fault that it happened, I know that and Gohan knows that just as much as I do. Just go and talk to him about it, take a day or two off and just hang out together as teenagers, as friends. I think you'll feel a lot better if you do."
"...I'll be back later." Kai abruptly stood up and made his way out of the lab without another word.
'Just make sure to be careful and take care of yourself, okay kid?'
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Gray clouds covered the skies above West City and the surrounding area.
Gohan was in the middle of doing katas in his Super Saiyan form, when he glanced over and took notice of Kai droping down onto the scene "Oh hey, I'm glad you're here. Hey listen, I've been working on a theory for awhile now, I mean we both know that Super Saiyan alone isn't enough, so I've been wondering. What if there was a level beyond Super Saiyan that goes even beyond the origina, like if-" he cut himself short when he noticed Kai looking rather sullen and morose "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine, it's just… one of those days I guess." Kai breathed a sigh as he hit the ground and studied Gohan for a moment "So, how's that new cybernetic leg working out?"
"It feels… different. Bulma did say it would take some getting used to, and that it would take a little bit of time for it to learn how to communicate with my brain, but otherwise, it's actually not that bad. I just can't use it to kick in a fight or it might end up… exploding I guess, under the sheer pressure of the Ki I'm putting out."
"So… you're okay then?"
"Yeah, about as okay as I can be. Is that why you look so upset?" he was met with silence 'Right, he doesn't like to talk about his feelings. Even with me it's only on rare occasions. Don't worry about it, there's no use dwelling on it now. Besides, I'm just grateful it was only a leg. Still though, maybe we should take a little bit of time off from training."
"I'm thinking of it as just taking some time to refocus. Do you have something in mind?"
"I did have at least one idea. What do you say we go ahead and catch some fish, does that sound okay to you?"
"That… actually sounds kind of nice. I know of a good spot Yamcha used to take me too, down on that island near the city with the lighthouse on it."
"Yeah sure, that works for me." so the two of them blasted off and flew down towards the island, which was actually very close to where they were before "It's been a long time since I've been fishing, I think the last time was… before all of this actually."
"The last time I went was with Yamcha, right before the Androids showed up actually. I think it was his way of trying to take our minds off things. He probably had the right idea."
"Yeah… Hey while we're here, do you want to try and make it into a competition? The one that catches the most fish wins."
"What do we bet with?"
"...Bragging rights for the day?"
"Works for me, now split up."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
About a half hour passed, and the competition was underway, more or less at least.
Kai glanced down at his line in the water, and then glanced over to where Gohan sat next to him, and he let out a sigh "You know in hindsight, doing this while we're sitting right next to each other might not have been our best strategic move."
"But at least it's peaceful around here." Gohna paused as he glanced over to where West City sat a short distance away, still in ruins "Well… relatively speaking anyway."
"As much as it can be right now at least."
"Yeah… Hey you know something? I'm actually pretty happy right now."
"Really? Even with your…" his gaze trailed down to Gohan's leg."
"Well it's because we're finally fishing together, it's been a long time coming too."
"And now you've completely lost me, when the hell did we agree to go fishing together?"
"Don't you remember? It was way back when we first fought Vegeta and Nappa, after that year of training with Piccolo. Dad and Yamcha promised to take us fishing."
"Oh yeah, that. Then they and the Triclops fought Vegeta, your dad became a brooding mess for a few days during what I'm pretty sure was his equivalent of a midlife crisis, and then we fought that crazy scientist in the robot body. I never thought were gonna deal with any crazy shit like that again, stick to aliens and magic and all that. Shows how much I know."
"Yeah and we've done all sorts of training and stuff together since then, hanging out and stuff, but we never actually got around to the fishing together until just now."
"You pissed about that?"
"No far from it, I'm just glad it's happening at all. I just wish that my dad and Yamcha were here to do it with us."
"Yeah well, there isn't much chance of that happening now." Kai let out a sigh as he laid back on the ground "Yeah, fishing right next to each other was a bad idea for a competition."
"Speak for yourself, check out what I just caught!" Gohan suddenly bolted to his feet and yanked a large fish out of the water, leaving it to crash to the ground behind them "I guess that's one for me now."
"Not for long you cocky son of a bitch!"
"I'm cocky? Have you ever looked in a mirror?" he was met with a certain finger gesture 'Yeah, that's how you know he's back to normal. Hey what do you say we add some stakes to this little wager of ours? The winner gets bragging rights, but the loser has to cook them."
"Get ready to roast these then you little shit."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nightfall came, and a cookout over a campfire was underway between the two of them, as the stars shone in the skies above.
"Wow…" Gohan let out a loud belch as he glanced at the pile of bones sitting off to the side "I don't know about you, but I think I ate way too much. I never knew that you could cook as well as that."
"Neither did I." Kai gave a shrug as he stoked the fire "I guess I've got talents that even I didn't know about. I guess there is a benefit to losing, you get to learn from your mistakes. Either that or I'm just that good."
"Yeah, I'm sure." Gohan let out a chuckle as he glanced over at Kai "I'm glad to see you're back to being you again."
"Someone has to be. I don't know about you, but a full day without exerting any Ki, whether it be by training or meditating or anything, just feels kind of off to me."
"It's not that big of a deal, we just have to think of this as part of our training."
"Taking time to recharge our bodies and minds?"
"That's part of it. It's part of the Turtle School teachings my dad told me about, the ones that he and the others learned about from Master Roshi."
"Oh yeah, Yamcha told me about those a few times. According to the old perv, you should be moving, learning, playing, eating and resting every day. He'd always say that enjoying life is part of one's training too. He told me that around the same time he told me he was gonna pop the question to Bulma."
"Oh yeah, you told me about that. You know, us having the chance to hang out actually makes me feel pretty nostalgic."
"Be careful about that, a lot of the stupid people out there don't realize just because something is nostalgic doesn't automatically make it good. Take a look at the Spider Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire, or the Star Wars prequels."
"No I totally understand that, but I'm talking about how it reminds me of the days when we were training with Piccolo, back when we were still little kids."
"It was how we became friends too."
"Yeah… Back then though, I thought we were training with a monster, and he was so ruthless and aggressive it felt like we were going through a year of pure torture."
"People used to think he was the reincarnation of some kind of demon king from hell, so you really you weren't that far off."
"Oh yeah, dad mentioned that to me. If I remember correctly, the reason we were training was so that we could help save the Earth from the Saiyans Vegeta and Nappa, and that turned out to be pretty messy. It was really scary too, but you did give me some comfort."
"How so?"
"Well you were my age too, and it was kind of comforting knowing that I wasn't the only kid that had to go through with it. It's kind of weird to think that two little kids had to save the planet though, and what's really crazy is that Piccolo and my dad once fought each other as some kind of mortal enemies. It's weird how fate works isn't it?"
"What's even more fucked up is that your dad started training Vegeta's little brother after he came back to Earth and killed Frieza and his dad. Fate is fucked up on a whole other level, don't even try to fight me on that."
"Believe me, I won't. I just wish they were here with us."
"...Fuck, I'm gonna have to be the sentimental one now aren't I?"
"What's that?"
"Look, I know I'm not good at talking about my feelings and all that, but people like Piccolo and your dad and all the rest of them… They're living on in you now. There's a lot of reasons why you need to stay alive, and I'm gonna make sure it stays that way. There's no chance in hell that you're gonna die on me again, you got that?"
"But you need to stay alive too."
"I can tell you now that there isn't a chance in hell I'm gonna let the Androids kill me. When I go out, I'm gonna do it on my terms. Let's face it though, if there's anyone who's supposed to be the peacekeeper of the world and give them hope and all that superhero crap, it's you. The fact is that you're their last hope."
"Kai… I won't let you down."
"I know you won't, you never have. Don't think I'm gonna make it east for you though, I have no intention of letting you surpass me."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Good, because that's the only way you're getting it." Kai gave his typical smirk as he laid back on the ground, gazing up at the skies above 'Back when we were on Namek, towards the end of the fight with Frieza, you sacrificed yourself in order to protect me, and that was what ended up pushing Goku to become a Super Saiyan. I didn't really understand it back then, but looking back at that moment, now I think I know what he was feeling back then. We'll beat the Androids one way or another, but it's not that simple. The people of this world, the ones that are still alive at least, they need someone to look up to, someone to believe in, someone that gives them a sense of hope. That person is you Gohan, you're their last hope. They're gonna look to you as the one to protect them when the time comes, but I know that you're not gonna let them down. You've got what it takes, I know that for a fact.'
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
By this point, a full year had passed since the battle at Super World, with the destruction around the world continuing, and as it did training had intensified considerably.
"Crapbaskets!" Gohan threw a few pebbles off a cliffside in frustration as he sat on the edge, now missing his robotic leg "I can't believe myself, how much of a joke can I be? First I can't even figure out how to go beyond Super Saiyan, and now I end up blowing off my new leg. I feel like such an idiot."
"Hey dial it back a few notches, it's a pipe dream anyway." Kai just leaned back and downed a soda he held in his hand "I mean finding a level beyond Super Saiyan is only a theory to begin with, it's just something you came up with on a whim."
"I just don't get what it is I'm doing wrong about this. You're my best friend Kai, the two of us are supposed to be blunt and tell each other these things without any regard for how we feel about it, so why can't I do it?"
"Just think about it, Goku went Super Saiyan against Frieza because you got blown up, and you went Super Saiyan against Slug because you were pissed off about the thought of letting all of them down. Maybe the same principle applies, you just need to fid the fight motivation to go past the limit. Besides remember what I always say, limitations are merely a state of mind for any true warrior. It's what I always tell myself every time you get a Zenkai, because that always fucking kills me inside in the most irritating way possible. Anyway, you just need to find something that can push you over that edge."
"Well in those cases it was mostly the pain of loss or the fear of failure, but I lost my dad, uncle and Piccolo, and almost all of my friends in the span of a few months, then my mom and grandpa few years later, and all of that wasn't enough to push me over the metaphorical edge."
"Keep in mind that, at least for Saiyans, power mostly comes from rage and anger and that was more grief than anything else. For me I just think about howI couldn't do anything to help my mom when she died, even though I was really little, or whatever the case was with my dad for bailing on her, and then I let all of that residual anger build up inside of me until it either blows its fucking top, or I channel it into my training."
"So just let it build up inside until it finally explodes?"
"Pretty much yeah." and then an explosion lit up the sky from within the city sitting a short distance away "Like that, but from more of a metaphorical standpoint."
"Oh crapbaskets, it's the Androids again!" the two of them bolted to their feet "They're attacking Gingertown! Dammit, the people down there never even had a chance."
"They never do with these fucking Terminator rejects." Kai promptly flashed into the first level of his Namek-Ken, his green aura surging wildly around his body "Take my advice and hang back this time Gohan, we both know you're in no condition to fight."
"Kai you can't be serious, if you fight those two on your own you're going to get yourself killed for sure!"
"I'm a lot more vulnerable when I have to look out for you."
"It doesn't matter if I'm missing a leg, I'm a lot stronger than I was last time! There's no chance I'm gonna let you go alone into a fight like this when I know I can help you!"
'...There's a pretty fair chance he's going to hate me for this.' Kai breathed a deep sigh, and his expression softened "Alright Gohan fair point, let's go down there and wreck some shit in the way that only we can."
"Great, just let me power up to Super Saiyan and-" Gohan was promptly cut off by a silent chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out cold and sending him crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
Kai glanced down at Gohan's unconscious form and breathed another sigh "I'm sorry about this, really I am, but after what happened to you last time, there isn't a chance in hell I'm gonna take the risk of letting you get involved in this, at least when I know I can stop it. Let's face the reality of this situation, whether we want to admit it or not, we both know that this was going to be my battle until either they or I died, and you're not quite ready for that just yet. The fact is that at the rate we're going, they're gonna keep chipping away at us until nothing is left. It's like I told you before, you're the last hope for this world, so at least you have to survive. As your best friend, the very least I can do for you is lighten your load a little bit, and if I don't come back… well then that means I'll finally get to see my mom again. You make sure to take care of yourself from here on out, okay Gohan? This is goodbye… my friend." and with that, Kai blasted off at full speed in the direction of Gingertown.
In the following battle, only one of the three would come out alive…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The scene in the city was about what people had come to expect from the likes of the Androids at this point.
17 and 18 were now just blasting random shot and causing Man of Steel levels of property damage and civilian casualties, until 17 decided to drop a sudden bombshell "You know what, I'm actually bored of all this."
"Well we could always find another city to destroy." 18 pointed out.
"No no that, I mean I'm sick of this whole Great Destroyer shtick. Destroying stuff, killing people, probably making people hate Man of Steel even more…" he fired a stray Ki blast to kill some random dude "It just loses its luster after awhile."
"Yeah I know what you mean, after you wipe an entire genre of music off the face of the Earth, and let's face it the Earth is better off without it, what else is left?" she fired a random Ki blast that killed a dude climbing out of the rubble.
"You know what I always wanted to do, even before all of this? I've always wanted to be a park ranger."
"You want to range a park?"
"Hell yeah I do. Living outdoors, communicating with nature, shooting poachers, yeah I think I'm gonna do that-"
"DODGE!" that was when Kai dropped onto the scene and kicked 17 square in the face in an instant before he could react, sending him flying and crashing through a building.
"What the hell, you goddamn cheap son of a bitch!" 17 crashed through the destroyed building and pulled himself out of the rubble, his clothes now considerably torn.
18 burst out laughing at the sight "He just slapped your shit!"
"Okay you know what, that's it. Now I'm killing every human, every last one. And then I'm gonna range the shit out of that park."
"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that." Kai rolled his eyes, his tone oozing sarcasm "And I'll be fighting a bunch of Sailor Moon cosplayers, an army of robots and a team of Power Rangers rejects in a tournament to save the entire universe."
"Quite the imagination you've got."
"That could go for either of you if you think you're gonna leave this place alive." Kai's gaze hardened as he dropped into a combat stance "It doesn't matter if you do kill me, even if I die in this fight I swear I'll drag both of you straight down to hell with me. Even if my story ends here, you've got a hole other book to get through."
"I think we'll see about that!" 17 and 18 both charged at Kai from opposite directions, and the battle began at last.
"Down Burst!" Kai slammed a Ki blast into the ground and created a smokescreen as he burst upwards into the air at full speed.
17 and 18 soared upwards right alongside him and fired a combined barrage of Full Power Energy Balls at Kai.
"Double Masenko!" Kai fired two Masenko blasts, one from each hand, cancelling out the Full Power Energy Balls, and through the light he blocked a punch from both 17 and 18, then quickly proceeded to deal 17 a sharp kick to the head, sending him crashing to the ground.
"You little shit!" 18 dealt Kai a brutal kick to the head while he was preoccupied with 17, which sent him crashing to the ground.
Kai burst out from beneath the rubble and retreated just in time to avoid a combined barrage of attacks from both of them "Nail Gun!" he fired a quick full power Nail Gun at the Androids as fast as he was able to.
17 and 18 unleashed a combination Full Power Energy Wave to counter the Nail Gun, which resulted in a beam struggle, but their blast was quickly overpowered and they were sent flying backwards as a result.
Kai didn't waste a moment as he blitzed in front of the two of them and dealt them both a quick Ki blast, sending both of them crashing to the ground, but he didn't let up as he held both hands above his head 'Yamcha, Piccolo, all of you, this one is for you guys… If this doesn't work, then I guess I'll be joining you soon enough. I'm ending this here and now, burn in hell you fucking Terminator rejects! MASENKO!" with his green Namek-Ken aura surging as high as he could push it, he let out a primal roar as he fired an enormous golden-colored Masenko down towards the two of them, engulfing them in the massive explosion that followed. With a calm settling over the battlefield, Kai was left panting heavily as his Namek-Ken aura subsided and he slowly returned to the ground "Well… that went well…"
"Nope, you might as well have missed." as the smoke cleared, 17 and 18 pulled themselves back to their feet as they dusted themselves off, only mildly scratched by the blast.
"...Yeah, me and my big fucking mouth." Kai let out an audible groan as his Namek-Ken flared back into life, albeit very lowly.
"You know I feel awful for having to disappoint you like this, but the truth is that the two of us have only been fighting at about half our full power. I hate to break it to you kid, but you're not gonna be going anywhere."
"Why would I… go anywhere? I said it before… if I go down… I take you with me… and I can still fight… so we're not done yet… I used up almost all of my Ki in that Masenko, and I can barely keep my Namek-Ken up… But even so, whatever happens, I'd rather get ripped apart then give up to the likes of them…' Kai let out a snarl as he lunged forward with what little strength he had, and he started hitting the two of them with a weak barrage of punches that didn't even make them flinch.
"Okay it's official, this is hilarious."
"Yeah, although now it's kind of annoying." 18 commented dryly "Now it's kind of sad, and now it's back to being annoying. You wanna-"
"Dibs! Photon Flash!" 17 quickly struck Kai with a Photon Flash at nearly point blank range, hitting him square in the face and sending him flying backwards and into the air as a storm began raging overhead, rain pouring down over the battlefield.
'I can't stay in the air…' Kai was left to crash to the ground, blood pouring from his wounds and the life slowly beginning to fade from his eyes 'Not good… my vision is getting blurry… I can barley hear anymore…'
"I've gotta admit, you did pretty good to last this long against us, but now you've stopped being amusing, so now you can just go ahead and die." 18 blitzed in front of Kai and dealt him a sharp kick to the torso, causing him to cough up a large amount of blood as he was sent crashing into the wreckage of a nearby building.
Kai could only lay there as his consciousness began slowly fading 'Fading… is this how it ends for me…? Am I going to die like all the others…? Just another one of their victims… like all of the others…? Am I…?' as the light slowly faded from his eyes, certain images, memories began to flash through his mind:
First memory:
"Word of warning, I am probably a god awful cook."
"Hey you know Kai I've really gotta thank you, something like this is something that really scares me but knowing that there's another kid out here with me that knows how to do this is actually pretty comforting."
"Save the thanks runt, your training is only getting started."
"What?"
"We've got 6 months until Piccolo comes back for us and I know for a fact that what you tapped into during training today isn't even scratching the surface of the surface of the power that you've got locked away in there. You pushed through one wall and now we're gonna push through the next. You can't tell me you're not curious, that you don't wanna know how strong you truly are. Don't settle for being pretty good when you could be the best there is. Like I've said we've got 6 months out here, let's put that time to good use. Now do you wanna get stronger than Goku like I wanna get stronger than my uncle right?"
"...Stronger than my daddy? Yeah I think so, now let's do this."
"Great minds think alike I guess."
Second Memory:
"Hey Kai, since it doesn't look like we're gonna be able to make it out of this one there's something that I should say…"
"If you're about to say I love you then I swear to Piccolo's other half…"
"Actually I was going to say that you're the most mentally and emotionally disturbed son of a bitch I've ever met."
"Oh. Okay then."
"But you're also my best friend."
"...So are you Gohan, so are you."
"And I'm hoping you'll understand why I have to do this."
"What the hell are you doing you idiot?!"
"I couldn't let my best friend sacrifice himself against someone like Frieza, and I couldn't let any of the others get killed by him either. Dad and Yamcha have already been brought back by the Earth's Dragon Balls before, Piccolo can't die or else Kami would die too, and Tien is stronger than me now so he'd be way more helpful against the likes of Frieza than me."
"Gohan! Don't do it Frieza, don't you dare do it!"
"You can beat him dad, I know you can!"
Third Memory:
"Hey mom, it's been awhile hasn't it? Where to begin, well I should start with the main thing. I tangled with the most powerful being in the universe and came out of it alive, and now we've got a race of green slug men living on Earth with us, so… yeah now that's a thing… You've been missing a lot of great stuff mom."
"Kai you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just wanna go train that's all, you wanna come?
"Kai do you wanna talk?"
"No why would I wanna talk? Your mom needs you, just go man."
"Kai it's okay if you're hurting."
"I'm not hurting, why would I be hurting? I just want to go train that's all."
"You know I figured this had been hard on you, but with everything that was happening on Namek I never even got a chance to stop and think about it."
"What do I have to do to get through to you? I don't want to have this conversation okay, so just leave me alone."
"Okay fine, I'll just go home and leave you to your business. But just remember, if you want to talk just track me down. And in 3… 2… 1…'
"...When is it gonna stop hurting?"
"And there it is."
"I keep thinking that the pain is gonna go away but it doesn't, all I can is distract myself from it by saving the universe and all that crap, which is actually pretty awesome, but that doesn't get rid of the pain. Whenever I see her face or her picture I just… I get this empty feeling and all of that pain just comes flooding back up to the surface…"
"And that's why you keep insulting everybody?"
"No that's just me, I get off on that stuff."
"Figures. Anyway I kind of get the feeling Kai, and I'm not really sure that it ever really goes away, like with my Dad. First during the year we were with Piccolo, then when we went to Namek, and now that he's gone again. Sometimes it's easier, but there are times when it becomes too much for us to bear. But you don't have to go through this alone."
"...I miss her Gohan, I really do, it's just really hard for me to talk about. I'm not really one for showing emotion."
"Well talking things through, that's what helps me. Talking about all of the great times, that's what keeps her in your heart."
"You think so?"
"Yeah I do."
"...You know I think the best memory that I have of her was the last birthday that I had with her before she died, when I turned five she taught me how to use Ki."
"Sounds like fun."
"Yeah, they were good times."
"You know I'm glad I have you as a friend Kai."
"Me too… Gohan."
"Hey you called me by my name!"
"Don't get used to it Ponytail."
"And he's back."
And now back to reality…
'Gohan…' these sets of memories were enough to make Kai's eyes snap open as he slowly rolled over and began picking himself up 'Yeah, that's right… You would never give up, even against odds like these… You'd stand back up, keep smiling like an idiot like Goku did… So that means… that as your friend… I can't afford to give up!" his Namek-Ken aura roared into life once more as he dropped into his typical combat stance.
"Seriously, you still wanna fight?" 17 glanced at Kai and rolled his eyes "You know it's actually pretty fitting, this kind of storm will make the perfect backdrop for when you die."
"Like I said before… if I go down… I'm taking both of you with me…" Kai blitzed into the air and started fending off a barrage of simultaneous attacks from both of them, taking a fair amount of hits from each of them but still being able to fend them off to an extent, but eventually he broke away from them and started flying away through the ruins of the city 'I guess they weren't kidding about using only half their power… and even with my second wind, my Namek-Ken isn't going to hold out for much longer… At this rate I only have the one option…'
"You're not getting away!" 17 and 18 both slammed him into the ruins of another building and prepared to unleash their ultimate attack: their Accel Dance, in which they slammed Kai down towards the ground and unleashed a rapid barrage of Ki blasts "You're about to die like a filthy dog, so you might as well just go ahead and give up!"
"...Are you serious? You really expect me… to give up…?" Kai fired a quick Masenko at point blank range in an attempt to cancel out as many of the oncoming Ki blasts as he could, which worked to an extent, but he was still engulfed in the explosion that followed. When the smoke clearead a few moments later, Kai was still alive, but his body was badly burnt in addition to the numerous wounds he already had, and his Namek-Ken aura had completely vanished "You can give up… on me… ever giving up… So much for the second wind… I guess I don't really have a choice now… Note to self, thank the tiny Pokemon for teaching me this… when I see him on the other side…'
"Looks like someone is a little survivor." with her overconfidence quickly getting the better of her, 18 dropped to the ground in front of Kai and kicked him to the ground, then prepared to fly away, but stopped when she noticed Kai grab her by the ankle, followed by him suddenly pulling her into a full nelson "What the hell do you think doing?!"
"Like I said before… I go down… I take you with me… Sorry Gohan, I guess this is gonna be it for me. I'm doing what I have to do right now, but the world is still gonna have you around once the dust settles. I guess you're gonna have to survive on your own from here on out. It's like I said before, you're their last hope…' Kai gave a small smile as his body started glowing with his own energy.
"What the hell are you doing, let go of her!" 17 burst towards Kai and started pounding away at him, punching and kicking him repeatedly, with 18 also struggling to get out of his grip at the same time.
Kai gritted his teeth from the pain, but otherwise he kept his grip as tight as he could 'Come on, keep going, just a little bit further…'
"Get the hell off me you arrogant little shit!" 18 slammed Kai's face into the ground, only for his body to start glowing even brighter.
'Yep, this is it for me… Whatever happens, I'm glad I got to have you by my side for all these years… You made my life worth living… Goodbye Gohan, my friend…' and with that one final thought ringing through his mind, Kai's body promptly detonated like a star, a massive explosion covering the entire city, or what was left of it anyway, in an instant.
When the smoke cleared, 17 pulled himself out of the rubble and spat out some blood and debris, but when he regained his awareness he foud, to his horror, only a few strands of hair and a statue where Kai had once stood "18… No, no no no no no! This can't be happening, come on this isn't fucking funy! 18!" he searched frantically but had little luck aside from a few pieces of charred hair and clothing. Upon taking a few more minutes to let his rage boil inside of him, 17 then charged off in search of another city, only one thought on his mind 'They will die slowly, every last one of them.'
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, outside of the city…
Gohan slowly opened his eyes and shook off the grogginess as his senses came back to him "Oh god, my head… Kai, what the heck was that for?" he pulled himself to his feet and looked down towards the smoking ruins where the city used to be, and he was almost instantly filled with a mix of dread and horror 'I can't sense him, I can't sense his Ki anywhere! Dammit Kai, why the hell did you go alone?! This happened because I was weak, because I was such a fool… He was trying to protect me! Please Kai, please be alive! I can't lose you too!'
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The rain once again began pouring down over what was left of the city.
Gohan was slowly and cautiously flying over head in search of any sign of Kai, and eventually he was able to catch sign of Kai's body sitting in the same crater where it once stood "Kai, oh thank god, you really had me worried there for-" he paused when the realization finally set in, and he felt his blood run cold "No, no no no… Come on man, I know you like screwing with people but this isn't funny…" but try as he might he couldn't deny it, and so he slowly dropped to the ground and started cautiously walking forward, one step at a time "Kai… Why did you have to go alone? Why didn't you just let me come with you? It's just not fair… You could've let me come with you, and you'd still be… Oh god no…" he fell to his knees in front of Kai's stone body "What the hell did they do to you Kai? What the hell did you do to yourself?" tears started streaming down his face "You were my best friend… You were like a brother to me… You were all I had left… This just isn't fair… I already lost all my friends… my whole family… and my mentor… so without you here… I'm all alone…" he fell to his knees and began letting his tears flow more freely as they mixed with the rainwater, and then he curled up and let out a series of blood-curdling screams of grief, rage and sorrow, which then turned into a series of sobs filled with his grief and pain.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The months continued to pass, and even with only one Android left, the rampage of destruction only grew even more chaotic.
Gohan sat on the bed in the underground lab at Capsule Corp, staring up at the ceiling with a blank and emotionless expression on his face, until he heard the sound of a door opening "Do you need something Bulma?"
Sure enough, Bulma slowly made her way into the room, her expression solemn "I wasn't sure if you were interested, but I was gonna make dinner if you wanted any."
"That's okay, I'm not hungry."
"I didn't think you would be." she sat down on the edge of the bed and let out a sigh "For what it's worth, I know how feel. I know he and I didn't always see eye to eye, but I miss him just as much as you do. I miss all of them."
"...Everywhere I go I still see his face, all of their faces, it's as if my own mind is just outright mocking me. I can feel the whole world asking who's gonna stop the other Android, and it's like they're asking who's gonna be the next Goku. But that's just not me Bulma, I'm not like my dad or Kai or Piccolo, or any of them…" his voice broke into strangled sobs as he was pulled into a comforting hug by Bulma.
"Yeah that's true, you're not Goku or Piccolo, or Kai or Yamcha, or any of the others, and you're never going to be them. Nobody can live up to those guys, not even them. Kai was probably the furthest you could possibly even dream of being. Let's face it, when Kai wasn't training until his bones cracked he was a mess. He was all over the place, he never knew how to relax, he was never good at admitting how he felt, and he always made it look like he didn't give a shit. But there was one thing he never joked about or just blew off or anything like that, and that was how much he cared about his friendship with you."
"Bulma…"
"I honestly don't believe Kai would've done what he did if he didn't know that you were going to be here after he was gone. Now you listen to me, Gohan. The world is still in a hell of a lot of trouble, you're all on your own, you're still not strong enough to beat the last Android. So tell me, what are you going to do?"
"...Don't settle for being better when you could be the best."
"What's that?"
"That's what Kai always said to me, it's what we built our friendship on." Gohan wiped away his tears and tried to force a smile "Kai, Piccolo and my dad, none of them would want me to just sit around moping for the rest of my life. They would want me to keep going forward with a smile on my face and a fire in my heart, they'd want me to grow stronger and stop the last Android, and they would want me to follow my own path and do what makes me happy. Yeah it hurts a lot right now, and this is really hard and frustrating, but I can't and won't just sit around crying like some little kid. After all, if I don't rise up to take on the Androids, then who will?"
"And there it is." Bulma let out a chuckle "Yeah, that's that's the kind of smile that Goku always had, and I know he would be proud of you for moving past this. So tell me something, what are you going to do?"
"I'll train harder than ever before, whether I can go beyond Super Saiyan or not, and I'm going to find that Android and defeat him once and for all."
"I meant right now, there's the whole thing about your leg to consider. It's gonna take me awhile to find one that can withstand all the power you put out."
"...Oh yeah, so-"
"I know I know, like I said I need some materials for it, so it might take a little while. Give or take a few weeks."
"I'll take it. And Bulma? Thanks."
"Sure thing kid. Now come with me, right now I have a little secret project Kai had been helping me with for awhile, but now that consulting him isn't an option anymore, I could really use your help on it."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, with the other hero…
'So this is what it's like…' Kai opened his eyes "Let's se… Giant office building, gold clouds that go about as far as the eye can see, and I have a halo over my head… Yep, it looks like Yu Yu Hakusho pretty much nailed it when they did the afterlife. I wonder what else I can expect."
"Well you can expect me for starters." a new voice told him, which caused him to stiffen slightly, but only for a moment.
'That voice…' Kai turned around and his expression turned rather wistful "I had a feeling I was gonna find you up here, I just didn't expect it to be this soon… Hi mom."
Sure enough, Scarlet stood before him, her expression just as wistful as the one her son carried, and she gave him a small sad smile before embracing him "Hi honey. I knew that we would see each other again someday, I just didn't think it would be so soon."
"Yeah, I'd like to say that I lived a good long life, but it got kind of cut short."
"You mean because of the Androids? Yeah, I've more or less been keeping tabs on what's going on down there."
"Yep." the two of them sat down on a bench outside of the Check In Station "I guess the story of the great Crimson Dragon ended before it even really got started I've gotta be honest with you mom, when I look back at it I feel like my life was one fuckup after another, and full of holes for that matter."
"What do you mean?"
"I thought you said you were keeping tabs." he breathed a sigh "Losing you when I was little, I never even knew who my father was, most of the time my actions were pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things, despite training for as long and as hard as I did."
"Don't be like that sweetie, I know that you've saved the lives of the others on a few occasions, so don't sell yourself short."
"Not enough to make the kind of impact I would've liked. Not directly at least." he gave a small smile "But it's not like I didn't have any impact at all I guess. I know that I can at least somewhat rest easily, knowing that he's still alive."
"Sounds like you have quite the story to tell. I can't wait to hear about it, as soon as you get all the way through the checkin line and meet up with the others."
"Right." so Kai pulled himself to his feet and made his way back into the building, with his mother following by his side 'Yeah, as long as you're still there doing what's gotta be done and living your life, I guess I can find a little bit of comfort in that, right Gohan? Being able to walk with you, laugh with you, be with you and all that good stuff. That's what gave me the strength I needed to keep going for as long and as hard as I did. Looking back on it, you really did turn out to be what truly made my life worth living. My final chapter, the story of a warrior who's forced to fight against impossible odds, and does it alone to protect the one person he cares about above all else, and in the end he goes out on his own terms. It barely makes the mark, but it makes that mark nonetheless. But now my story has come to an end. Sorry about this Gohan, but from here on out it looks like you're gonna have to go it on your own. Don't worry though, you're gonna do great. I know you will.'
A/N:
This chapter covers the second half of the History of Gohan story, which features him losing his leg to the Androids, Kai sacrificing himself to kill one of them, which leaves Gohan to grieve over the lost of his closest friend for a time, but he soon comes to realize that someone has to protect the Earth, and as the last surviving warrior, that responsibility falls to him. As for Kai, he reunites with the rest of the Z Fighters in Other World, in addition to his mother Scarlet, and he begins to adapt to the next stage of his existence.
There are few changes that are worth noting in this chapter, at least compared to the History of Gohan chapter, the first of which is the addition of some more bonding moments between Gohan and Kai, as shown in Kakarot. They've been friends for more than 10 years, and as such they really understand one another. I'll be honest, as much as I enjoy the fight scenes in these stories, the friendship between the two of them is what I enjoy most about them, and here it's no acception.
The second significant change is the death of Kai. As I'm sure you've noticed, I more or less overhauled it by having Kai struggle against the combined might of both Androids, but just when he was finished, images of Gohan and the time they spent together spurred him to keep on fighting, which soon leads to him making the ultimate sacrifice, as he self-destructed and took 18 with him, which leaves only 17 left. This act costs him his life, but in Other World he reunites with the other Z fighters, and his mother after many years.
As for Gohan, he's left to grieve over the loss of his Kai, with Bulma comforting him and giving him some words of wisdom, assuring him that Kai only sacrificed himself because he knew Gohan would still be there to finish what they started. Now with the death of his best friend, Gohan is the only warrior left to defend the world, and he has to become a beacon of hope for the people of Earth, and end the threat of the Androids once and for all.
Power levels:
Future Gohan: 3.2 million
Future Gohan (post 1 year training): 3.6 million
Super Saiyan Future Gohan: 160 million
Super Saiyan Future Gohan (post 1 year training): 180 million
Future Kai: 8.5 million
Future Kai (post 1 year training): 9 million
Future Kai (Namek-Ken 20x): 170 million
Future Kai (post 1 year training Namek-Ken 20x): 180 million
Future Kai (self destruct attack): 450 million
Future Android 17: 380 million
Future Android 18: 370 million