Chapter Eighteen - Ultima Kai landed before the Dark One. Aidius glared back in utter defiance. Lightning split the molten sky of what was once Vascara, the birth place of Buu. The lives lost on the planet wasteland left a dank and tormented atmosphere. Eidolon and Gohan watched as the strongest Kai and the greatest Dark Lord faced off.
"What are the odds Ultima can pull this off?" Krillin asked though he suspected the obvious answer. Eidolon wiped the sweat from his brow and grimaced.
"None. Sense his power. He's isn't even at half strength and Aidius is recharging faster and faster. How that bastard could come to generate such power is beyond me. One being should never be allowed to harness such force…" Gohan seethed. Eidolon spat.
"Well we have to think of something! I mean Ultima will just be killed and to what gain! To buy us more time? He has much faith riding in us. He holds faith that we will find a way to bring this bastard down. I don't care how but we must find a way," Dweia said. Kuja nodded.
"We are all drained. I don't even know what's keeping us awake. We fueled the Gaidins with everything we could wrought with our energy. Blast! There has to be something more! Something we are missing," Vegeta added with a scowl. They suddenly sensed a shallow flow of ki and magic. They turned and there stood Uub, at maximum power.
"Yes! I managed to do it!" the Majestic Majin shouted in glee.
"What did you do exactly?" Yamcha had to ask.
"Stupid! Look! He's achieved maximum power! But how? You were even more wiped than we are now," Pan said, shock in her young eyes.
"Aidius has been putting off vast amounts of magical energy. What he didn't use was just bleeded off. It's like he doesn't care about regulating power. Like he has an infinite supply somewhere. I harnessed that wasted power and restored myself in full. Yes! I was able to regenerate all the way!" Uub explained. He launched a few punches and kicks which split the air with thunderous cracks like a whip.
"Well done. It's just too bad you're too weak to achieve anything with that limited power. Leave it to a Majin to recycle some else's unused energy. But it won't help us much," Kuja spat.
"Wait one moment, my brother. Majin, can you heal? I mean can you regenerate others? If you could restore Gohan and myself…" Eidolon began.
"Yes! Then Starfire and Bahamut will be restored with us automatically through the Awakening! We could launch an entirely new assault! And Aidius is still worn. He might have his energy back but his body is still exhausted. I can sense it even through his feeble attempts to hide it," Gohan agreed. Uub put a hand on each of their shoulders and they closed their eyes as they felt floods of new energy storming through them.
"I have lived for eons, Dark Lord. As I had the right to do. I am a Kai. The one and only ever Ultima Kai. I could live forever if I so choose. But I do not see the point in life everlasting. No My potential is to be passed on along with yours. You and I have been prolonging the inevitable for far too long. Aidius give this up and return to Lunarah with me. There are those of your kind who have exiled you who may welcome you back once more if you give up your foolish dreams of living forever. Immortality is simply an illusion for those who fear to die. Dying is but a natural part to all life. You live, you grow, you learn, then you die. Your potential is passed on to a new generation. And the cycle destined to be repeated so. Give this up," Ultima Kai offered the Dark One. Aidius trembled in laughter.
"I'm a god! Why would I give up my dreams when I am so much closer to realizing them, eh, fool Kai! You are a fool! You could have been so great! You and me together could have achieved my goal eons ago. But you were a fool and stuck to your unrealistic ideals! Bah! To hell with you! I had to do it alone and it took eons longer but alas, I have found a way to reach true immortality! Look at you! Feeble and fading, desperate and dying! I am the true supreme being above all others!" Aidius shouted in defiance and pride.
"No. I will die this day, but so will you. It is written within the stars. You are gone, Dark lord," Ultima promised. And then he attacked. Aidius clashed with the Kai in hand-to-hand combat high above the ground. Thunderous cracks and lightning parted the skies. Ultima blocked the Dark One's low kick and slung the other deep into the dirt. He brought his hands over his head and formed his Kai Hammer. He drove his energy attack into the ground and where Aidius was buried. He formed another and then another and launched them each in succession. The ground split and the Dark Lord rose, a massive barrier storming around him. Ultima landed and scowled.
"No I did not believe you would die so easily," he laughed in vain. Aidius dropped his shield and attacked head on. Ultima blocked the first several swiped and caught his foe's wrist. He kneed the Dark Lord hard in the gut and caused the ancient warrior to heave. He rose a few feet off the ground and spun into a massive kick which struck his foe hard in the face. Aidius was blown clear through miles of solid rock. He rose once more and wore a scowl of his own.
"Okay, so Ultima is holding for now. He holds the advantage in hand-to-hand battles. Aidius must realize this now," Kuja noticed.
"Yes, I agree. How are they coming along?" Piccolo said, turning his attention to Uub.
"They've fallen deep into a trance. It's common with this level of regeneration. But what worries me is that I am forcing the healing. I am forcing their cells to renew themselves. Forcing their wounds to fade and forcing their energy to return. This is risky and they could very well never wake again," Uub stated his doubts.
"Don't even think it, fool! I have seen what these young warriors can do. Especially Gohan. And Eidolon matches up with Gohan in nearly every way so I am confident they will be fine. How much longer is this to take?" Vegeta demanded.
"A lot of talk coming from someone who looks like they're about to fall asleep," Uub replied.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" the Saiyan Prince roared. Uub shut up in a hurry. Goku and the rest couldn't help but laugh.
"There! They are fully restored!" Uub huffed. Eidolon and Gohan opened their eyes and looked themselves over in shock.
"Haaaaaahhh!" they cried suddenly. Silver white aura of fire surged around them as their power blazed upward to an entirely new level.
"Now this I could get used to!" Gohan exalted.
"Tell me about it. What a boost! I'm way more powerful than before! But how? Even with the boost we usually get after healing from injuries, we're still far stronger than we should be…" Eidolon gasped.
"I can only guess. The magic responded oddly. I had to dig deep into your very DNA to force some of the repairs. I had to get the information on how to restore your body from somewhere so I used your DNA where all the body's genetic information is encoded. It seems I accidently unlocked some hidden potential," Uub said.
"Who cares really. This just might be what we needed!" Yamcha cheered.
"Get real. They are much stronger, yes, but they are still no where near Aidius' bitch ass. No we need more," Goten said. He coughed and spat in contempt.
"I have an idea. It didn't work with Goten and I exactly but two are a massive new level. Try Fusion. Hell what do we have to lose?" Trunks suggested.
"What do you think?" Gohan asked Eidolon.
"Agh! I'd rather not! Sharing a body with another… No thanks…" Eidolon said proudly and turned away stubbornly.
BLAM! Came the sound of knuckles connecting hard with a skull. Videl pulled her fist back and crossed her arms while Eidolon clutched his aching head.
"Stop being an arrogant little ass, you jerk! This could be our last chance! So stop acting like Vegeta and just DO IT!" Videl yelled. Eidolon could only nod.
Ultima Kai blocked yet another blow and ducked a kick as well. He shot upward with all his speed and dodged in and out of the Dark Lord's energy bolts.
"Yaaaaaaaaaa-AAAAAAHHHHH!" Ultima roared. He thrust one hand forward and sent a massive Kai Flash erupting forth. All the opposing ki bolts faded away and Ultima landed with all his glory.
"Not bad. No can fight at my level even when you have practically no power left. I wonder how you do it. No matter I sense you fading away. There can be nothing you can gain from opposing me. Either way you die and I win," the Dark Lord laughed. Ultima launched another Kai Flash and Aidius shattered it with a mere flick of his hand. He fired a bolt of his own and sent Ultima crashing back into the far wall. He hammered the Kai repeatedly and watched as the once glorious warrior cried out in agony.
"FUUUUSION! HHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" echoed the saving cry. Aidius sensed the uprising magic and a power level unlike anything he ever faced before. A massive wind and a signaling flare of light erupted and a warrior stood where two had once been. He had long silver and black streaked hair that hung down to his waste with blue eyes that sparkled with the Crystallite shine. He stood between Eidolon's and Gohan's height and retained their solid built.
"Incredible…" Piccolo whispered.
"Sense his power? Man… And I thought Bahamut was strong…" Krillin said shakily
"Whp the hell is that!" Aidius demanded. The Fused warrior laughed arrogantly.
"I am the one who is going to end your pitiful life, Dark Lord. Heh! We once believed to to be a threat. But you are nothing at this level. And neither is the fallen Kai you seek to destroy. Face me, evader of death. And know you can evade death no longer," the new warrior laughed again.
"I said 'who are you?'!" Aidius roared.
"The name is Eidohan of the Fusion Flash. A nice new name, no? Here, catch!" the new warrior laughed. He fired a single blast from a single finger. Aidius was struck hard in the chest and sent sprawling backwards. He skidded hard to a halt a few dozen feet away. Eidohan rose slowly into the air. Aidius launched four succeeding Riptor Strikes. Eidohan slapped them each aside with his left hand. The ricocheted into the background and the resulting explosion was enormous. What remained of Vascara quaked hard. Eidohan smirked.
"He has the Dark Lord beat cold," Goku dared to hope.
"Haaaaaaaa-AAAAAHH!" roared the Dark One. He achieved his masximum power and lunged. Eidohan blocked several strikes in a row before being hammered in the jaw. He skidded backward, blood flowing from his lip.
"So you can raise your level to exceed mine. Don't be a fool! I can achieve much higher levels. Behold! RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Eidohan roared. His silver aura stormed to life and crashed upward around him with fury anew. Aidius watched in fear for the first time in his life. He watched as the Darkness Flame and Trance Flame formed the Outrage Flame. He watched as both the Dark-God power and the Mystic magic merged and unleashed an entirely new force. The Divine-Fire Flame. They achieved Legendary level and still grew stronger. The Darkest Hour appeared and with it the Omega Force. The two Legendary Weapons clashed and merged into a new Blade all together.
"The Ultima Weapon!" Dweia gasped. They all looked on in awe.
"Yes. What Ultima Kai forsook so long ago! THIS IS THE MEANING OF TRUE POWER! COWER YOU LITTLE BASTARD! NOW YOU SEE WHAT TRUE POWER IS! YOU SEE MY MIGHT. ARE YOU AFRAID, DARK LORD! DOES IT HURT! TO KNOW ALL THAT AWAITS YOU IS DEATH ITSELF!" the Darkest Eidohan roared. He landed with the gleaming Blade of Life's Light. Aidius backed away in shock as the new fighter walked closer.
"Get away from me you abomination!" the Dark Lord yelled.
"You call me the abomination? You are the very meaning of the term! No! I won't kill you like this. Too easy. I want you to suffer, you bastard!" Eidohan shouted.
"No! You must kill him now! Don't be so reckless! One slash with that blade at your level will slaughter him tenfold! You can end this war NOW!" Ultima pleaded.
"Silence, Kai! In my eyes you are no better. You are guilty of the same shit he is! But he did one thing more. And I will end his life," was the last thing the warrior said. With a flash, the Fusion split and Eidolon was reborn. Gohan fell to his knees in exhaustion but Eidolon refused to give in. He lifted the Ultima Weapon and glared at the foe he had longed to kill for millennia.
"You killed my mother and now you will know true torment, you bastard!" Eidolon cried. He flared into maximum Legendary Dark-God of Dragons might and lifted his new sword. Even without the Fusion, his power stormed high. Aidius stood and smirked.
"You had your chance at that level but now you lack the power it takes to strike me down," the Dark Lord laughed. Eidolon blocked his kick and spun into one of his own. Aidius ducked and rammed the young fighter back. Eidolon landed hard beside Gohan. The Blade of Life's Light landed, stuck halfway into the stony ground. Gohan and Eidolon rose again.
"That new warrior the two of you formed had enough power to finish me a few times over. But you ended that little opportunity. You see, Kai? Fate itself will not allow me to die. You all are going to know exactly how cold the grave is after I am through with you!" Aidius laughed. He raised his left hand and pointed a single finger. There was but a flare of light and nothing more for warning.
"GAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!" Yamcha sputtered, clutching his throat as he was magically hoisted high into the air.
"Yamcha!" Tein and Krillin yelled.
"DIE!" Aidius roared. Another flash of light was all the warning they got before Yamcha exploded. The smoke cleared and nothing remained.
"Not another one…" Pan whispered, eyes tearing.
"None of you even saw that attack, did you? Fools! None but Ultima Kai here who was too weak to prevent it," Aidius laughed. Eidolon glared at the old man, teeth showing, fists clenched.
"HHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" someone yelled. Goku flashed into sight and landed a hard blow straight to the Dark Lord's head. Aidius was driven back as Goku landed.
"I don't care how strong you are, you bastard. You had no right! NO RIGHT TO HARM ANY OF THEM! You take what you have for granted and push your will on others! It has to end and it will end today!" Goku seethed. With a flash, Vegeta landed beside the other pure-blooded Saiyan. They were fooly charged Shadow Saiyans in a second flat. Where they drew the power, no one knew. Krillin was there as well.
"KAMEHAMEHAAAA!" the small human yelled and fired a blast fueled on heart alone. Aidius helded it back with a single hand. Goku hurled his own power behind the strike and Vegeta did the same. Aidius was forced back a few feet but never really wavered.
"YYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" the Dark One roared and shoved his might forth. Goku and Vegeta were slung back, taking the blunt force of the assault. Krillin kept up the stream, flooding it with everything his had left. Aidius pushed again and forced Krillin back a few feet but still the warrior refused to give. Super 17, 16, and 18 all threw their eternal power supply behind the strike. Piccolo and Kuja followed with what little they had left. Aidius laughed.
"Is this all you really have left?" Aidius wondered. "And I thought you were the best. Come now show me what you have!"
"HHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" came the collective cries of the entire Z-gang together. Their powers flooded forth and Aidius was hammered head first. He was sent flying like a blade of grass in a whirlwind. Krillin and most of the others fell to their knees in fatigue. Aidius shot upward into the air and gathered his darkest powers.
"I must end this now! Come to me… The Deepest Darkness!" Aidius roared as a jet ebony aura of dark power streamed upward around him. His very atoms radiated pure power. All that was left of Vascara trembled now as lightning split her skies.
"The power of everyone he's killed. Deepest Darkness is a final technique those truly evil use to enhance their might. It's a power that is as powerful as the devastation he's wrought over his lifetime! If he charges that up… Nothing will ever be able to stop him…" Shin breathed.
"Here I am, the Darkest Aidius. Sense it? I'm already several times as powerful as I was before this little war began. Even your Eidohan is nothing now. This was how it was meant to end. The Kai's meddle with the Mortal Cosmos, claiming to uphold its peace. They commit the very crimes they have sworn to fight. The break the very laws they have sworn to uphold. Bah! Eidolon, Gohan, Kuja, and Dweia. Come to me. You could live forever and rule this plain and all others. Think of how your powers could grow," the Dark One said softly.
"Maybe we should consider," Kuja offered in a whisper.
"What! You coward!" Dweia accused. "I would rather die!"
"Don't be so stupid, sister! This war is lost! Everything we had was not enough. If we join him for but a time, we could grow powerful enough face him on even footing another day. We could end this another time when the all the cards are in our favor…" Kuja suggested. He was obvious desperate.
"No. He'd grow in power too. Do you think he is that stupid? We've trained under him for some time, brother. He knows exactly how much of a threat we could become over time. He'd we ready for it. One of the prices for joining him would be to swear away our souls. He'd have a say over how powerful we could become. We must find a way to end this now. There must be… Something…" Dweia sighed.
"Well? How will it be?" the Dark Lord demanded.
"Fuck you! We'd rather die! This is our stand and we are going to end this war one way or another! No victory ever came so easy We will bring you down!" Eidolon yelled. Aidius laughed. He raised his hand and pointed another finger.
"Noooo!" Gohan cried. He and Eidolon were the only two who saw the strike even coming. The ground erupted into a massive cloud of fire and smoke where Tein once stood. Aidius aimed again. Piccolo felt the flame surge through him before all went black.
"No…" Dweia shuttered.
"PICCOLO!" Gohan cried. One by one they all began to fall. Tundra, 17, 16, Krillin, then Majuub.
"Already but a hand full of your original force remains. Look about you! They are nothing to you!" Aidius yelled.
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT, YOU BASTARD!" Eidolon and Gohan roared. Aidius aimed again.
"GGGAAAAGGGHH!" someone spluttered. Gohan's eyes went wide in shock and fear as Videl was lifted high. Aidius stared cold and hard at the young Mystic Ultimate/
"Well, Gohan? What will it be? Will she be the one to die? Or your future daughter?" the Dark Lord asked softly. Pan was lifted as well, jerking and gagging for air that would not come.
"DADDY, HELP MEEEE!" Pan cried, sounding the child she never had the chance to be. Gohan's fists shook and his body trembled. Aidius lifted another into the air. Android 18 growled and struggled as she was lifted high.
"Shia…" Eidolon whispered.
"YYAAAAAAAAAHHH!" the Dark Lord exulted. Pan and Videl slammed into each other at a speed nothing should have ever been able to go. Gohan watched as their bodies exploded and what was left was blown away with a single energy spike. Android 18 cried out as she was torn limb from limb and whatever was left of her was burned to cinders. Gohan fell to his knees. Eidolon jerked. Another flash and both Vegeta and Goku dropped. Another blast caused Trunks, Ultima, and Goten to truly die. Eventually, only Gohan, Eidolon, Kuja, and Dweia remained.
"You… Bastard…" Gohan trembled. Tears flooded down the young hero's cheeks and he didn't care. Piccolo was gone. That meant Dende was gone as well. The Dragonballs were truly gone… Which meant they were never coming back. Eidolon sensed something happening within his closest friend. A mad war erupting beneath the surface. What Eidolon read in his friend with his reading sense scarred even him pissless.
"Gohan… What's happening to you?" Kuja asked softly.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Gohan erupted. Everything he struggled to contained all the way back to his childhood came crashing to the surface. Gohan's elusive hidden power stormed and would not calm. Even Aidius backed away. The land beneath them quaked and tremored out of control.
"GOHAN STOP THIS!" Dweia cried.
"HHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Gohan raged. The Mystic Wave Orb was changing fast, Eidolon sensed. Gohan's white Mystic hair blazed into a pure platinum and then stormed into a sheer golden hue altogether. Gohan had achieved Mystic Ultimate, Crystal Human state, and was a Super Saiyan all at once. And Still his power crashed higher and higher.
"Scarred, Dark Lord? That's what Gohan has been holding back his whole life! Three very different and conflicting powers all struggling for control, for dominance. Now he's brought them all out at once. This is what a Saiyan can truly do," Goku said, standing. Vegeta, not letting Goku show him up, forced himself to stand as well. Gohan erupted into Super Saiyan 2 and still it flamed higher.
"I know what Ultima meant… Use the pain of loss … The power responds to a need, not a desire… The very same concept that triggers the Super Saiyan change in a Saiyan for the very first time. Gohan is reaching the pentacle of Mortal power. But he is Mortal no longer. Are you ready, Aidius? You flaunt that little trick of yours but it's nothing. Nothing… Gohan is the hero here. My potential runs just as deep but we fight for different reasons. Gohan is to preserve all that is good here… I was destined to be the evil here. As only I can sustain that pain… So much pain…. This is something no one has ever achieved before. The darkest power… I can use it. An Entire Universe of Pain… Watch, my Dark Lord, this is the truest and Deepest Darkness…" Eidolon whispered. There was but a flash and everything lit up. Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo who all were barely managing to hold on to consciousness watched as Eidolon's power stormed.
"What is this?" Piccolo coughed.
"The same thing Aidius did… The Deepest Darkness… Eidolon has killed many in his time… He's using the evil side of everything that he is to achieve the power Ultima himself failed to master so long before. It's called An Entire Universe of Pain…." Shin breathed, struggling to his feet. Grand Kai was up as well.
"That would mean that this Eidolon's potential ran even deeper that our only Ultima Kai's ever did…" Grand Kai whispered.
"Gohan and Eidolon have the potential to achieve power levels that make both Ultima and Aidius look like a joke. Just look at that, fools! They do so easily what we could never hope to do. Even Aidius is worried," Vegeta whispered with a grunt.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Gohan raged onward. His hair spiked backward and grew to his waste. Pain that ran even deeper than that he felt when Summoning his Gaidin flooded through him. There was a flare of light too intense to look at the Gohan achieved Super Saiyan 3. But still his power came crashing to the surface. They watched as he ascended to the Oozaru state and then back down to a Super Saiyan 4. And still he kept growing in power.
"HHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Eidolon cried out. His agony went a thousand fold deeper than Gohan's ever could. The one thing the Darkest Eidolon truly exceeded Gohan in was the ability to endure such torment. So much pain. Eidolon jerked and cried out for all the universe to hear. He slammed his head into a rocky cliffside, bringing it all down. Anything to make to torment lessen. But it would not. It only grew deeper, deeper, and ever deeper still. The Darkness Flame crashed around the young High Prince of Terra, the most powerful Crystallite to have ever have lived. Lightning crackled and crashed around them both. Gohan achieved Shadow Saiyan power and his power leveled off. His breathing was harsh. His fists were clenched so tightly, blood ran dripping to the ground where his fingernails dug deeply into flesh. Eidolon's power leveled as well but the torment did not lesson. But he refused to let it sweep him away. He refused to let that flood, that torrent take him!
"This has to end… Nothing can be allowed to… It just has to end…" Gohan breathed. Every breath came as a struggle now. He burned more energy just sitting there than Aidius did at maximum power even when fully charged by his "version" of the Deepest Darkness.
"It is… Over for you, Aidius… I cannot let you live… I cannot let your potential be passed on… That would only allow another to achieve the same bull shit you but us through these pass millennia. IT ENDS NOW FOOL!" Eidolon roared. He and Gohan charged their aura's into a massive barrier as Aidius lunged in his final rage. The battle for the universe was to begin it's final stretch… And none of the Z-fighters awake could really say which they would rather see win this final battle. What Eidolon had become made Aidius look tame… The challenge continues…