Chapter 11: Battle for a Universe
A week had passed, and Gohan had stepped up the training some mightily. He had explained about gravity, and gotten the Sailor Senshi to use their magic to increase gravity within their training room. He had told them they couldn't do it for every potential training ground, so it would be wise to keep their eyes open from now on to a technical means. They enjoyed each other's company, went to a movie together, generally hung out. Umino telling Naru - and demonstrating by flying around - what he had been doing, and thus also Usagi finally telling her best friend her secret had been an emotional roller coaster ride that had brought them all closer together. Setsuna, the Sailor Soldier of Pluto and time, was the only exception, she stayed away from the others as good as possible, evidently showing a reverence of Usagi, the future queen of Earth, providing that was still going to happen with the future irrevocably changed.
But all then was going to come to an end soon. Bulma was quickly finishing her brand new fully functional personnel transport interdimensional ship, and a completely different starship entered Earth's solar system. Fifteen minutes later it arrived in Earth's orbit. Ridish looked questioningly at his teacher. The bull smiled and said, "I'm going to let him come to me. Tactical, science, that city there, right smack in the middle, any interdimensional signatures?"
"No, nothing, sir, according to local broadcasts, it's called Moscow," the guy at the sensor control replied.
"Level it," the bull said with a smirk.
"Yes, sir," the guy at tactical answered, and pushed a button. There was a sound of something discharging, and then a ball of energy was fired from the ship's weapons port. It rushed down to the Earth with incredible speed, and then crashed in the middle of Moscow. Instantly there was a bright flash, and then a massive explosion. A mushroom cloud, and the shockwave rapidly shot out from the center. Minutes later there was nothing left of the once great city.
The bull grinned and looked over at the guy at the sensors. "They know, sir, they are all accusing each other across the airwaves. The fools are actually starting their nuclear payloads to destroy themselves."
The bull laughed out loud at that, and then ordered, "Tap into their satellites, I want to broadcast around the entire little planet, also the other side, every frequency, and show them what's left of this Moscow first, so /all/ of them can see."
"Done," the guy answered, "You can talk."
The bull took a few steps menacingly forward, and said, "I am Taurusoon. I am the captain of the vessel in orbit of your pathetic little planet, and /I/ am the one who vaporized your city, the one you called Moscow. There is someone on your planet that is not of this dimension. He will contact me within the next ten of your minutes, or I will destroy another city, and ten minutes after that another, and then another, and another, until there are no more cities left. Ten minutes after that, I will destroy your entire planet and reduce it to an asteroid belt, unless he contacts me. You have my instructions; /ten/ minutes." He made a gesture, and the connection was severed. "Now we wait, I'm estimating five minutes before . . ."
"I'm getting a contact," the sensor guy interrupted.
"My, that's fast," Taurusoon stated, and gestured to the screen. A human face emerged, and he said, "I am the president of the United States of America, if you dare attack our country . . ." Taurusoon made another gesture and the screen went black. He looked over to the guy at the sensors and communications and ordered with an annoyed look, "Filter the ones who are not the boy." He got a nod.
*****
It was Saturday afternoon, and Gohan and the Sailor Soldiers, along with Umino and Naru had decided to watch a movie that was on at Ami's place. The screen went blank and then switched to a view of horrible destruction right in the middle of the movie. They looked with shock as the view changed to a bull's head, except it talked. The reason why quickly became apparent - it was an alien. An alien that just destroyed Moscow, and wanted to talk to Gohan.
"How can someone be that evil?" Naru whispered in shock at the tv.
Gohan got up resolutely, and walked to the exit of the room. The sailor soldiers and their cats looked at the screen for a few more moments, watching their movie go away, and making place for emergency news broadcasts. Then they got up, and followed Gohan.
*****
"Sir, this frequency is very different from the rest - FTL," a guy announced.
Taurusoon stood up with a wide grin on his face, his eyes sparkling with bloodlust. "On screen," he ordered.
The boy's face emerged on the screen from a place that was obviously small and lived in. "I am Son Gohan, you wanted to talk to me," Gohan told him, his eyebrows down with anger.
"What happened to Ninja Z?" the bull alien asked him with amusement.
"You are going to face /me/, and no construct," Gohan told him coolly.
Taurusoon gave a laugh, and then answered, "I don't want to talk to you at all, actually. Do you know what I want?"
"You want to fight me," Gohan stated, and the bull nodded. "Fifteen minutes, on the plains northeast outside of Tokyo, the city your little boy over there fought me in."
"Perfect," the bull growled with an evil grin, "Oh, don't to try to flee, not even to your own dimension. You do, and I'll destroy this planet."
"Don't worry, I don't flee - I win," Gohan returned and severed the connection.
"Yes," Taurusoon breathed out in a rush of anticipation.
"All right then, we'll start . . ." Ridish started.
Taurusoon thundered over him, stopping his statement instantly, "NO!!" He looked around the bridge once, and then added, "/This/ is between him and me, and /no/ one else. You will not interfere, not if I seem to be losing, not if I'm winning. Just /him/ and /me/. I don't care what you do after the fight, but you will not interfere during it. You do, any of you so much as cough into mine or his direction during the fight, and I will tear you all limb from limb, understand?"
The bridge crew nodded. The bull turned to his yellow compatriot, and added for good measure, "/No/ /one/."
"Yes, sir," Ridish answered, and Taurusoon then stalked off the bridge. He went to the middle ship, and stepped into the airlock without bothering with an environment suit. The lock closed, rapidly pumped the air away, and then opened out the outside. Taurusoon grinned, and blasted off to the planet.
*****
Gohan gave his friends a look. They seemed a little scared. Then he disappeared into his bedroom. A few minutes later he came back out, just finishing putting on his red belt around his waste. He wore his piccolo style outfit: red sweat bands were around his wrists, purple gi, brown cloth shoes, and the spacey white cape.
"You stay out of this, this is far beyond your abilities," Gohan stated matter-of-factly, wanting his friends out of harm's way. From what little he felt from this guy, that was obviously hiding most of his power, he was seriously powerful; as powerful as a Super Saiyan, at least.
"No, we come along," Sailor Moon said without a moment's hesitation, a sliver of command in her voice.
Gohan wanted to argue, but the resolved faces on his friends and their cats made it obvious: debating was not an option. They were coming whether he wanted to or not. He briefly considered knocking them unconscious, but then said, "Fine, just promise me you leave the moment I say things really are too dangerous for you to stay." Sailor Mercury was about to protest, but Gohan looked at her with an equal resolved face, and added, "There's no debate, you promise me you leave when I say so, or I knock you unconscious now."
"We will leave when you say so," the white cat Artemis replied, and reluctantly the heroines nodded their agreement.
"Let's go then," Gohan said. The girls nodded, and got out their transformation pens, said the words and transformed together in a brilliant display of lights.
*****
With Sailor Moon carrying Luna, and Sailor Venus carrying Artemis, the six warriors flew across Tokyo. The girls marveled at their new found skill, flying for the first time in open air. They however were not fast enough to get to the outer plains within the fifteen minutes allotted them, and so halfway there, Gohan enveloped them all in his ki flame and burst forward dragging them all along.
When they arrived - still two minutes left for the deadline - Taurusoon was already there. The bull looked massive, lean, two meters forty centimeters tall - not counting the horns - and wearing a skintight, green tinted outfit: he was even bigger than Jarbal was. Its symbols were quite a bit different from the ones on the uniforms worn by the former attackers, undoubtedly indicating his status as leader. Finally a red cape hung from his shoulders. The alien's green outfit almost made him blend in with the green plains below the Fuji mountain. The volcano itself had a snow-covered top, was green below, and rocky in the middle.
Gohan walked toward the alien, while the girls stayed behind where they landed, afraid the frightening vision of the alien, and Rei shocked at the power it was emanating, even though it still wasn't at the level of the golden Super Saiyan Gohan.
"So, /you/ are a legendary Super Saiyan?" Taurusoon asked intrigued at the small boy.
[Play Gohan SSJ Battle Theme]
Gohan transformed easily, his hair now golden and his aura dancing tranquilly around him. Rei grabbed her head, and took a step back to steady herself, groaning. The training and her increase in power had made her far better able to handle it, but was still far from able to stand next to a Super Saiyan and not be overwhelmed.
"I am," Gohan confirmed.
The bull alien's smile deepened, looking Gohan over, his eyes sparkled with desire for battle. "So . . . any ideas on how to do this, other than to just . . . go?" Taurosoon asked with a big green.
Gohan looked him over, thinking. His power was enough to destroy this little planet easily, but that was all, the Bull still kept his secrets close. He remembered the things the future Usagi had said. From that he figured that she /knew/ this being was coming, and the fact that she could be born suggests he was going to win this. Correction, Taurusoon was going to be stopped, Gohan could die taking the bull along with him. Better not think like that, Gohan figured, don't try to get overconfident, because that and the foreknowledge could alter the outcome and let the bull win. Gohan was determined not to let that happen. "You seem to have evolved from a bovine species," Gohan said with confidence, the bull smirked. "I take it that means you can't breathe in space, thus you can't survive there indefinitely."
"That is a correct observation," Taurusoon answered, his grin perpetually on his face.
Gohan replied coldly, "Then you don't destroy the planet, nor the city, or the nearby villages and I won't do the same to your ship."
Taurusoon laughed hard at that, and said, "You're tough, I like that. You've got a deal."
Gohan nodded once, and stretched his arm out, pointing it at Tokyo. A moment later the city was covered in a dome of golden energy. Taurusoon did the same, strengthening Gohan's shield with a red one of his own, turning the dome golden orange. In a matter of seconds the villages close by were covered in similar domes of energy.
"You /do/ understand that if I win, I'll destroy this retched planet on principle alone, don't you?" Taurusoon asked with an evil grin.
Gohan sneered back, "The same goes for your ship." Gohan took his white cloak and slowly pulled it off, and threw it aside. It landed with a heavy thud, indicating its weight.
"That's the kind of talk I expected from a Saiyan," the bull replied, and did the same thing with his cape and went into a battle stance. The two carefully appraised each other for a few moments, and then - as if someone had fired a starting shot - the two blasted at each other and started a furious exchange of blows and kicks. As they did, they slowly rose in the air, their bodies visible to the team of heroic girls, but not the arms and legs, they were nothing but a continuing blur.
Suddenly Gohan flashed backward, and charged an energy beam, yelling, "KAMEHAMEHA!" The massive beam of energy flashed forward going straight at Taurusoon. The bull grinned, reached into the beam, let all the energy gather around him, and then sent the beam right back. Gohan raised his power some, and squatted the beam up into space. "Very impressive," Gohan told him. "Hardly anyone I know can do that, the few who can live in a very energy rich dimension, or are taught by them."
Taurusoon chuckled, and said, "In ten thousand years you tend to pick up stuff."
Gohan's mouth quirked into a Saiyan battle smirk, and powering up some more he said, "Good, then it's time to start putting some effort into it, don't you agree?"
"Oh, most certainly," Taurusoon grinned. The two flew at each other again, and started trading blows.
Gohan caught his hand and threw him over his shoulder. Taurusoon in turn gripped Gohan's arm tightly and continued the motion, firing an energy blast after him. But Gohan held onto Taurusoon's arm and twisted sideways. The energy blast rocketed past him, crashed into ground, where it exploded with such massive force, the shockwave knocked the Sailor Soldiers off their feet. Gohan was now perpendicular to the bull and kicked out. The kick connected to the Bull's stomach and he groaned in pain. Gohan followed up with a devastating uppercut that sent the bull upward. Taurusoon rapidly regained control and punched into the stomach of the advancing Gohan, following up with a left and a right cross connecting with Gohan's face. Suddenly Gohan fired an energy blast, that exploded on Taurusoon's torso. The might of the explosion sent him careening to the ground. He crashed, and with another mighty explosion a giant crater was formed.
The bull shook his head to clear it, and looked astonished as Gohan came hurtling down. Gohan's food crashed into the tenderized stomach of Taurusoon, who doubled over slightly, still lying there. "That's it," he growled, and whipped himself straight as he powered up, launching Gohan into the air like he was a trampoline. Then he blasted upward after the Super Saiyan.
The Sailor Soldiers looked on with astonishment at the battle, and the raw power and speed both warriors were exuding, and both of them seeming to enjoy every moment of it.
Within Tokyo, it was obvious the press had gotten wind of it. The camera teams of different news networks could not get beyond the shield. So that is where they gathered. One reporter was saying, as she tapped the shield once, "It seems the alien or even alien/s/ have captured the whole of Tokyo within this dome of energy." Just then a stray energy ball crashed just beyond the camera teams into the dome and exploded with blinding power. "Or perhaps it's for our protection," she said blinking her eyes to get rid of the glare. "The two beings are battling each other just beyond Tokyo on the plains between the city and the volcano Mount Fuji. Let's just take a look." The camera turned to the battle, just as both fighters slowed down enough not to be just blurs and Gohan threw a destructo disc at the alien. He narrowly avoided the super sharp disc and it cut through the top of a smaller mountain that was part of the Fuji mountainous region. The top lost its foundation, and crumbled down the rest of the mountain. "My god," the woman said in some shock as the once mountain was reduced to rumble, and right after the two fighters once again became blurs as they arced through the sky, battling each other.
Taurusoon had enough of this, and powered up rapidly suddenly, caught two of Gohan's arms, who looked up at the bull in frustration as he tried in vain to free his arms. The bull smashed his head forward, headbutting the half-Saiyan - the angle making it impossible to use his horns. He threw Gohan's arms wide, and with a massive double kick Gohan was launched down to the ground. He came across Mount Fuji however, and smashed into it, rock exploding outward. A moment later a small part of the massive volcano crumbled and buried Gohan under rock.
[Stop Gohan SSJ Battle theme]
The bull landed down upon the plains, folding his arms across his chest and chuckled.
"GOHAN, NO!!" Sailor Moon screamed out, amid similar screams of fear and horror from her team mates.
Taurusoon looked over to the girls, moving just his head, and sneered, "If you think a little mountain falling on top of a being of his caliber can hurt him - you're even more pathetic than I thought."
The girls looked at him, but he had turned his head back to the mountain already. So did the girls. A golden glow slowly formed around the rubble, and then suddenly the rubble was pulverized and small pieces of debris were launched away, revealing Gohan - powered up even more, and his arms and hands diagonally stretched out above his head. Suddenly he blinked out and reappeared only a few meters away from the bull alien, on the opposite side of the girls. Gohan looked pissed.
"Legendary Super Saiyan, huh? I'm disappointed," Taurusoon growled out.
Gohan smirked suddenly, and as he folded his arms across his chest, he answered, "I must admit, Super Saiyan isn't /that/ powerful." Taurusoon snorted, obviously annoyed as hell. Gohan's smirk deepened, and said, "Whether I'm the first ever who did it or not, I don't know, but I have ascended /beyond/ the legendary Super Saiyan."
"Really?" the bull alien asked intrigued.
Gohan gave a nod, and then his smirk disappeared. He looked behind him, and told his friends, "Get out of here, now. I'm going to have to take it up a notch. This is /far/ beyond your abilities. You didn't belong here before, you certainly do not now."
"But . . ." Makoto started.
"No BUTS! You /promised/!" Gohan called to them. Taurusoon looked at the proceedings with amusement.
The Soldiers nodded and then grasped hands. Each called upon the power of their planet, then gave a final united yell, "Sailor Teleport!" The girls and the two cats disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared on a tall building in the outskirts of Tokyo, so they could watch the rest of the battle.
"Well then, show me what you've got," Taurusoon said with an anticipating smirk.
[Start Gohan SSJ2 theme]
Gohan's power skyrocketed, and then yelled out. One shockwave cracked the ground below his feet, a starlike pattern emerging, the grass shredded instantly. As his power rose and rose, the ground and even the continental plate on which he was standing started to shake and rumble. His hair went straight up on his head, except one strand that fell in front of his face. The golden ki flame pulsed with greater intensity, even as bolts of electricity started to form in it. His muscles tensed, his hands balled into fists at the height of his waist, and then with a shockwave of energy, which sent debris flying everywhere his transformation to the second level of the Super Saiyan - which in all took less then two seconds - was complete.
On the building where the girls had teleported to, Rei grabbed her head and groaned out in pain the moment Gohan's power rose. She staggered back and then dropped to her knees. Screaming out for a moment. Minako and Usagi were at her side in an instant, and all of them looked in the direction of the battle. They looked in shock as a powerful dome of golden energy rapidly expanded from what had to be Gohan. Large pieces of ground and rock were pulled along like they weighed nothing, and they fully grasped why Gohan wanted them gone. The dome crashed into Mount Fuji and it cracked on the power, a large tear ripping through the side of the mountain facing the shockwave. "Incredible!" Rei whispered in shock. She knew the shield that the two were generating around Tokyo kept most of their power away from her, and yet still, Gohan's power brought her to her knees.
"Indeed," Makoto muttered shocked as the rumbling gently grew in volume.
"It's been almost three hundred years since it erupted," Ami said in shock as the snowy top visibly started to melt. Then with another explosion Mount Fuji blew its top. The upper part of the mountain was simply destroyed in the explosion, then a thick black plume of smoke rapidly rose above the mountain, quickly visible throughout the island of Japan. Lava started to flow downward, rock and debris was flung into the atmosphere. One such rock reached Tokyo, but harmlessly disintegrated on the powerful shield that protected the city.
Back at the battle ground, Taurusoon smirked, seeing his newly transformed enemy, and said, "Better, much better. So is the scenery. Much more appropriate, don't you think?" Then the bull's power rose, rapidly, the ground beneath his feet vibrated for a short while, and then Gohan knew he was at about the same power as he himself was. Gohan wasn't so stupid to assume that this was all the guy had, he'd been hiding a lot since the moment he got here. After a quick test with his senses, it was confirmed; the bull was still nowhere close to his real power, but what exactly his real power was Gohan still couldn't ascertain.
Under the vision of the erupting volcano the two combatants resumed their fight. Kicks and punches were thrown faster than human eyes could see. Taurusoon managed to land a punch into Gohan's stomach, causing him to rocket down to the Earth. He ignored the pain, and twisted around. He landed on his feet, and immediately launched himself back into the air, leaving a crater in the ground. The battle continued, the two blocking each other's punches and kicks continuously, and they moved closer to and finally into the mountain range. With every punch the super fast moving fighters threw, pieces of the mountains were launched into the air. Cracks formed, and finally some of the mountains simply broke up completely, being utterly destroyed. Gohan fired an energy ball suddenly, and Taurusoon squatted it up into space. He fired several of his own, Gohan squatted all but one into space. The last one he launched out to the ocean, where far away from Japan it finally landed and exploded. Instantly the air lit up, and the people in Tokyo could even see it. Not much later a giant mushroom cloud rose over the ocean.
Unbeknownst to the two super warriors, the ocean water at the beach slowly started receding. Gohan and Taurusoon were both in their elements; both were fighting like they'd hardly ever done before. Gohan blocked a kick and a punch, and then threw his own, which Taurusoon in his turn blocked and avoided. Gohan threw a left, which Taurusoon locked in a grip, and smashed his own left into Gohan's ribs. Then he did it again, and again, with each punch Gohan cried out in pain. Finally Gohan had had enough, with a roar he powered up further, and threw a massive uppercut with his right, that connected with the Bull's chin, thus forcing his left arm painfully out of the lock. Behind them a massive tsunami came from the pacific ocean, heading straight for the still protected Tokyo, but it was big enough to destroy practically the rest of Japan. Gohan was above the dazed Taurusoon and saw a potential opening, he charged an energy attack. "MASENKO-HA!!" he yelled and from his hands above his head he fired a massive ball of energy led by a powerful yellow beam. Taurusoon felt the beam coming, and blinked out of the way just in time. Thus the Masenko continued onward, smashing directly into Mount Fuji.
The next instant all was white, and the Sailor Soldiers and many others covered their eyes against the glare. Makoto was the first to open her eyes, and realizing she couldn't see a thing in the direction that was the fight, she turned to look at the giant tsunami hitting the beach of Tokyo. The giant wave crashed on the energy dome, and washed along it. Just as it reached the other side of the city, the shockwave from Gohan's Masenko arrived and collided with the wave. The wave crashed instantly, dropping away to the ground, most of it was blasted back to where it came from.
Once the shockwave and water had passed the girls looked back, and were shocked. "That was the end of Mount Fuji," Ami muttered in awe at the devastation. The entire mountain was gone, although the volcano was still active. Now the lava and smoke and debris was coming right out of the ground, undoubtedly starting to grow a new mountain. Gohan and the bull were still at it though, as if nothing had happened, both were just streaks of light to the girls, light that pushed aside the volcano smoke almost continuously.
"You were serious when you said Gohan could blow up the planet, weren't you?" Minako asked the knelt-down Rei who was still clutching her head.
"How long can they keep this up?" Usagi muttered in disbelief. "They've got to start tiring around now."
Rei shook her head weakly, which Usagi noticed and looked back down. "No," Rei groaned out, calling everyone's attention to her. "Their power is still growing. They're powering up continuously. They're nowhere near their max. They're not even breathing hard."
"You're kidding right?" Makoto asked with concern. Rei didn't answer. "Of course not."
Rei certainly wasn't kidding. With a yell Gohan connected a massive punch that sent the bull alien straight into the remains of Mount Fuji, making a big splash of lava. Taurusoon had enough of these games. He powered up by a large amount and burst forth from the lava pit. An instant later his elbow had Gohan doubled over. He followed up with a quick, but powerful uppercut, then several crosses, a knee, and then with an elbow he sent Gohan shooting down toward the plains. Gohan landed smoothly, and looked at Taurusoon.
[Stop Gohan SSJ2 theme]
The bull looked annoyed. He slowly lowered himself to the ground, his arms folded across his chest. He landed a few meters away from Gohan, and said with disappointment, "Is this all you've got? I'm not impressed."
Gohan took a deep breath, and said, "Remember how I told you I had ascended beyond the Super Saiyan? Well, I neglected to mention, that I have ascended beyond even that, and reached a whole new third level."
"Really?" Taurusoon asked, his voice a mixture of anticipation, dread and curiosity.
[Start Gohan's theme]
"Really," Gohan answered and bent gently through his knees, and crunched his torso. He placed his arms in an almost ninety degree angle, and suddenly his power boosted upward at an incredible rate. The ground cracked at his feet, and they didn't stay at tiny small cracks, the ground just tore open, and the cracks kept elongating and also deepening, proven by the lava suddenly come bubbling and spurting up from them. The whole plain was rapidly cracking open with more and more cracks, creating small islands of rock and sand and grass from between which lava spurt up. Then Gohan started screaming, and his power burst out like a super nova.
*****
"Holy shit," Ridish muttered in disbelief, looking at the screen in front of him. The entire planet shook and vibrated. Obliterating planets was one thing, but making a planet shake in its orbit, while just powering up was another thing all together. "Not seen his max is right."
"It's not our master," the man at the sensors announced, making everyone whip their heads toward him. "It's the boy, the Super Saiyan."
"Fuck," Ridish commented fearfully.
*****
Rei screamed, tossing and turning, and holding her head. Minako and Usagi held her tightly, afraid she was going to hurt herself. The others looked at the scene with dropped jaws. Pitch black clouds formed over Tokyo, lightning flashing down repeatedly onto the plains with Gohan. The city started rumbling, buildings started cracking, just replaced windows shattered with ease. Even the shield couldn't protect the city if the entire planet itself was shaking.
*****
Gohan's power grew, his hair slowly elongated, the electric bolts growing in intensity and frequency. Taurusoon looked on with a dropped jaw, taking a few involuntary steps back. Gohan's continuing scream was primal, his being was tranquil, balanced, everything inside of him poised to make this powerful transformation. The ground was being blasted away from him.
*****
"I cannot believe this!" the reporter called out overpowering the rumbling with some difficulty, on millions of tv screens.
At that moment the screen went black, and they switched back to the studio. "We have temporarily lost image with Tokyo," the anchor said, his face obviously worried, as the studio around vibrated. "There are reports of Earthquakes all over the planet, more like the whole planet is shaking one expert has reported. Volcanoes are erupting in many places, even new volcanoes are being created in some places. Several tidal waves have been detected that are headed toward many coastal areas . . ." A lamp crashed from the sealing and smacked to the floor next to the anchor, a ladder fell over, and the anchor had difficulty keeping his wheeled chair in place. Behind him the screen once again showed Tokyo, and with a gesture it was brought to the main screen.
"Of all the gods, people," the reporter continued in a shocked voice and face. Behind her the sky was now truly black, and some of the cracks reached the ocean. The water rushed in, and once it hit the red-hot lava it was turned to vapor instantly. Jest of vapor and superheated water shot upward, occasionally pushing rocks along.
*****
Gohan's hair reached his to below his behind, halfway to his knees. One hair still hung in front of his face. Gohan's hair moved of its own accord under the influence of all that energy. His eyebrows retracted into his skin. His brows slowly protruded a little, and his pupils became visible again, turning to a slighter darker shade of green than the rest of his eyes. Then Gohan stood up, finishing the transformation with his arms stretched behind him. A colossal shockwave of energy left him once he was finished. The golden wave rapidly spread itself around a large part of the planet's surface, frightening and calming people where it went, and it leveled a large part of the remains of the nearby mountain range.
[Stop Gohan's theme]
Gohan returned to a more normal stance, and looked at Taurosoon staring at him in disbelief and some fear. The electric discharges came almost continuously now, charging through the intense flame of energy. On occasion a powerful crack of lightning arced in the flame and blasted out of it. "Super Saiyan 3," Gohan told him, his voice unnaturally low and almost in a perpetual growl. "What do you think now? Impressed yet?"
"Incredible," Taurusoon answered, his mouth quirked upward just a bit, "such power. It's been so long, I'd forgotten what it's like on the outside." Then he laughed, hard and out loud, no evil, pure enjoyment. He stopped his laughter, and he screamed out, "FINALLY A CHALLEEENNGGEEE!!" His power rose to proportions equal to that of Super Saiyan 3 instantly, a massive red / purple ki flame bursting around him as he roared with release. The storm above them was snuffed out by his energy, the clouds pushed aside revealing blue sky. With his power up as well, the ground cracked open like an overripe egg, one tear going all the way to the shield surrounding Tokyo where it stopped abruptly.
*****
The girls looked at the display of power, and the devastation in awe. "Kami," Makoto whispered in shock, slowly realizing that there probably hadn't ever been one that could rival the two in power. Another powerful lightning flash and thunder came from Super Saiyan 3 Gohan.
"AAAH!!" Rei screamed out one last time, and then calmed down, but still clutched her head in pain. "Oh, kami, oh, gods almighty," she muttered, tears streaming from her eyes with the pain. "How . . . how can they be this powerful? They could tear apart . . . space and time."
Minako and Usagi, still carefully holding Rei gave each other a shocked look, and looked over at Gohan squaring off with the bull alien.
*****
[Play Gohan SSJ3 Battle theme]
The two super warriors stood across from each other, sizing each other up. Taurusoon's face was contorted in a contented grin. Gohan's face was more serious, contemplating the continuation of the battle, but he wore the Saiyan battle smirk unconsciously. *Finally he stopped hiding,* Gohan thought. *This is all he's got. He's still got a little reserve left, but so do I, and I'll have to finish this quickly. I don't have much time in this form. A problem he undoubtedly doesn't share.*
Taurusoon's smile deepened, and then shot forward directly at Gohan. Gohan burst forth himself, the two titanic powers colliding with punches that both blocked. At this level and power, no matter how much control, the physical and energetic shockwaves were simply so great they produced audible shockwaves. The two of them continued onward, speeding so fast they were reduced to see-through streaks if they were visible at all. After two exchanged blows the storm once again started up, the pitch black clouds - partially from the ashes of the volcano - and the lightning strikes among which the warriors fought among gave a fearsome effect.
The two flew with enormous speeds across the plains. Gohan threw a right punch, with Taurusoon blocked. His follow up kick to Gohan's chin connected, and Gohan allowed the his body snapping back by the impact to pull him into a backward somersault, and kicked out with both his feet catching Taurusoon directly in his own chin. The impact was powerful enough to send him up into the air. Gohan sped after him, appearing right above him, and twisting his body for another devastating kick that connected with the bull's stomach. Taurusoon was sent hurtling down to the ground, where the mountain range once stood. He crashed with great speed, the impact created a giant crater easily a kilometer across and half deep. Gohan sped after him, straight down, and crashed with his right foot onto the bull's stomach. The alien groaned in pain, then he smiled, and roared out. The energy sent Gohan upward off of him, and he flew after the boy. A punch connected and dazed Gohan for a moment, allowing Taurusoon to ram a knee into the boy's stomach. Gohan doubled over, and was given a head butt, then another punch across his face. Gohan used an opening, he grabbed Taurusoon's left arm as he punched, and twisted him through the air.
Taurusoon flew down again, and Gohan fired an energy blast him, after which the boy flew straight at him. The alien squatted aside the blast, and blocked Gohan's follow up punch. Gohan's left kick connected with the alien's thigh though and he roared in pain. It left Gohan's middle unprotected, and with rapid uppercut Gohan was sent flying upward. Taurusoon flashed behind Gohan and kicked him down with enormous power, and immediately started firing energy blasts down after Gohan. Each one was the same red, blue and white core balls of destruction that Jarbal had used to try and destroy Tokyo weeks before. Although they were fired with one hand and were smaller, each was far more powerful than the one Jarbal had used. Gohan avoided the first, waved quickly to the left and avoided the second and so on. When the balls hit the Earth, they exploded massively, a shockwave of energy shooting across the land, tearing everything away that it came across. The bull made sure most of the explosive force was sent straight up in the atmosphere; he had no intention to suffocate to death, and had the blasts been without control each one would have surely destroyed the planet. The two warriors were far enough away from Tokyo at this point they couldn't be seen from there. Gohan continuously avoided the massive blasts of energy that destroyed everything in their wake. Even so far away from Tokyo, the explosions were big enough to be seen in Tokyo. Mushroom cloud after mushroom cloud blossomed behind the remainder of the mountains, shockwaves rolling along the debris filled air. The last ball of destruction that impacted before Gohan stepped in, was close to the coast several hundred kilometers away from Tokyo, and reduced a once piece of Japan to a large crater that rapidly filled with ocean water.
The next ball Gohan took in his hands, charged the kamehameha wave and blasted it with the ball of energy back at Taurusoon. Immediately after he sent two destructo discs. The bull was taken by surprise by the sudden reversal, and raised a ki shield around himself, hands in front of his chest. He took the explosion head on, and depleted a lot of energy on his shield, but he was still going strong. He then twisted aside, barely avoiding the discs of death that had come his way. Gohan had underestimated the bull's agility a little - by no means did he expect the discs to hit, but he expected Taurusoon to be at least occupied enough he could land a solid punch. Instead the bull twisted in the air, and kicked out mightily, straight into Gohan's stomach, then followed up with a double handed hammer that sent Gohan straight down to the ground.
Gohan twisted around, slowed down his descent and landed back in the lava fields right outside of Tokyo. Taurusoon landed there a moment later, grinning enthusiastically. He reached down, and Gohan reached up, both their hands clasping in each other and both started squeezing their power going up. The continental plate shook and rumbled under their power. Their ki flames mingling, fighting each other. Both roared out, and their energy lashed outward, tearing away some more rock and sand. Pillars, pieces of Earth's crust rose around them, lighting flashed and rumbled. The plains were suddenly turned into a labyrinth, then both warriors rose as the ground they stood upon themselves rose up.
Taurusoon looked into the cool gaze of the super saiyan in front and somewhat below him, as the planet rumbled under the power both put out. The protruding eyebrows gave Gohan a primitive look. Taurusoon felt a rush of fear, a shiver run through him, he might very well die fighting this boy. He welcomed the sensation, he hadn't felt something like this in ages. For the first time in almost two millennia he felt alive again, as well as a strange kinship with this golden-haired hero. "You know, Gohan," he said with a giant grin. "I was once like you. I was a hero to my people; I was the strongest, nobody could beat me. Any enemy I'd beat. I saved people's lives. It was grand, until I looked around me one day, and saw only insects; weak pathetic fools I could crush whenever I want to. I still guarded my species of course, but it came more and more annoying to have to listen to the weaklings cries of need and pitifulness. So I left my planet, branched out, saw the galaxy, the universe, annoyed at the others. I found the universe teeming with more insects, more weaklings, and I realized they were designed to bow before me and to lay their eyes upon my magnificence - of course soon that bored me to death as well. I returned to my home planet, hoping for some peace, but got nothing but yammering, so I blew up the whole planet myself. And you know what, boy? Sooner or later you'll see the same thing. You are just too powerful for your friends, and family, and the others. They are weak, they are nothing, and you can't help but notice that. Sooner or later you'll understand that, and you'll be like me."
"I will /never/ be like you," Gohan hissed out, his long hair carefully flowing of their own accord.
The bull's grin deepened, and said, "I knew you were going to say that, you see, I told the same thing to an alien that wanted to destroy /my/ world who told the same truth right before I destroyed him."
Gohan gnawed his teeth together in fury at the bull's story. Frustrated he roared out, and immediately his power rose. Suddenly Gohan flashed forward and rammed his knee into Taurusoon's stomach who doubled over in pain, and Gohan hissed, "/I/ will /never/ be like /you/!"
Gohan followed up with an uppercut that connected smoothly sending the bull upward. Then, quickly, he performed a technique that was very unexpected. Gohan bent over, groaned, and then suddenly two more Super Saiyan 3 Gohans pulled themselves free from his back, and hovered next to him. Taurusoon stopped his ascent and looked down. His eyes widened in shock, then grinned as he raised his power, and said, "Impressive, most impressive. But each one of you has only a third of the power."
*****
"Uh, how?" Makoto muttered in disbelief and shock as she saw Gohan split in three. She had thought she'd be done being surprised, but once again Gohan had pulled off a feat that shouldn't be possible, but apparently was. Next to her, Ami seemed equally befuddled at the turn of events. The display of skill and power - the storm had begun raging with an even greater intensity, the ocean seemed like a wild uncontrolled animal with enormous waves, and the remains of Mount Fuji - and volcanoes around the rest of the world - were still raging.
The others looked on with equal astonishment, to say nothing of the people around the world watching their tv sets, through every channel, they all showed the same event.
"This is insane," Usagi summed up quite nicely watching the incredible battle through which the fate of her entire universe was decided.
*****
The three Gohans were attacking Taurusoon with great intensity and perfect teamwork. They pummeled the bull over and over, with kicks and punched. But that only lasted so long. Taurusoon started seeing through Gohans' patterns and triple fighting skills, and started landing his own punches. The Gohans got frustrated and raised their energies more and more, while they got more and more punches, kicks, and energy blasts against them. It was then that Taurusoon started wondering why the boy with such exceptional skill didn't change his obviously flawed tactics, it was then that Gohan made his move, and the alien realized he had been duped into too locked a pattern to have an answer to Gohan's sudden shift in gears.
The three Gohan's suddenly pulled back from Taurusoon, flying next to each other. They had their arms stretched out, energy crackling at their finger tips. "FINAL . . .!!" sounded from three voices at the same time, just as the two outer Gohans rapidly went to the middle and merged back with him. " . . . FLASH!!!" Gohan finished and blasted the massive beam of energy directly at Taurusoon.
The bull alien tried to defend himself, but he was completely unable to against the sudden reappearance of Gohan's full might in one blast. "NOOOO!!!" he screamed out defiantly one last time, as the energy tore into his body and shredded it. Pieces of him were flung in all directions as the powerful beam of energy continued onward into space where after a while it harmlessly dissipated. The orange shields surrounding Tokyo and the nearby villages snapped to gold the moment Taurusoon died.
[Stop Gohan SSJ3 Battle theme]
Gohan hung there for a few moments, a satisfied look on his features, Super Saiyan 3 transformation still in full effect. Then Gohan slowly turned his head, straight toward where he sensed Taurusoon's mothership. Gohan stretched out a hand, and fired a ball of energy.
*****
"Shields up!" Ridish commanded fearfully.
"They are up . . ." someone managed before the ship, despite its shields, was torn apart and exploded.
*****
Gohan was satisfied: the battle was over, he had won and was still alive. He looked down at the devastation the battle had done to the country that had been his home for the past couple of months. He sighed with sadness, seeing multiple volcanoes erupting all over the island - and he knew this was true for the entire world, and cities there would not be protected by the shields he was still carefully keeping around the places here.
"It's no wonder every army and madman is coming here," Gohan thought out loud. "After this, no space faring race with even a little sensor capability won't detect what happened once the signal arrives with them. And none can afford not to at least investigate such power."
Time to do something. He went downward, dove into the ocean and then went into the crust, digging through it, straight to the volcano that had been Mount Fuji. Quickly Gohan made several shafts that lead most of the lava away and safely into the ocean. The shafts would fill up with hardened lava again, only the volcanic shaft would be kept free by gravity, and so eventually a new mountain would grow on top of the volcano. Done with that, Gohan blasted back out of the water, transforming down to the second level as his energy was too depleted to keep the third level going. As the lava hit the water, it boiled and foam and appeared at the surface where this happened. Satisfied that the cities would be safe from the volcano, Gohan dropped the shields, then he proceeded to do the same with the other volcanoes. Once done protecting Japan, he stretched out his senses, and flew off toward the largest concentration of ki signatures that were in danger.
*****
As Gohan put distance between them, Rei's head cleared, most of the pain gone and slowly sat up, looking into the four faces of her friends, and two cats.
"Are you alright?" Minako answered softly. Rei nodded.
*****
Two weeks later Gohan and his newfound friends were standing next to a brand new prototype interdimensional ship that had just arrived. The ship had arrived on the cracked, shattered, but slowly mending plains of Tokyo. The last two weeks Gohan had made extra effort to train the group in front of him - except for Naru - to the fullest of their and his abilities.
One by one, Gohan said his goodbyes to his friends, giving each a few last pieces of advice. Finally Gohan got into the ship, giving them a last greet, "Goodbye guys, you've been awesome!" Once the hatch was closed, Gohan waved goodbye, and the interdimensional engines started up, generating a powerful circling energy field. Then, with a flash, the ship disappeared.
*****
A few moments later the craft reappeared into Bulma's lab back in Gohan's home dimension. The hatch opened, and Gohan came out, looking at the excited Bulma waiting for him. He understood what she was going to ask, and he said, "Not a problem Bulma. No need for any improvements, I barely felt a bump as the ship jumped into hyperspace."
Bulma's eyes lit up with accomplishment. Chi-chi chose that moment to fling herself at Gohan, and hug her son closely. "Hi, mom," Gohan said with a smile, hugging back.
They separated after a few moments, and then Krillin came up to greet him. "Hey, Gohan, great to have you back man, you actually missed a visit from Littica."
"It's good to be back, and what was he here for?" Gohan answered and then asked.
"Ah, let me tell you . . ." Krillin started.
For a moment Gohan looked up, and thought, *Usagi, wherever or whenever you are, I hope you made it into a better world."
