The Last Warrior

Chapter 19: Round Two

By: Daniel Graffio

April 27, 2005

Slade stared Kane down with a look of utter contempt and malice. His green eyes seemed to flash with visions of putting Kane through the kind of pain he was experiencing. Kane stared back at him furiously. His right hand man was now dead, and by the thing he had dreaded most, a Super Saiyan. He glanced again at the crater Slade had made in killing Zenyu. He looked back at the boy.

"You...will...pay...for that." he grunted through clenched teeth. Slade brought his hand up, and motioned with one finger, as if to say, "Bring it on." Kane rushed straight at Slade and let loose a hurricane of punches, all of which were dodged effortlessly. Slade then grabbed Kane's arm, locked it into the crook of his own, and smashed his elbow repeatedly into Kane's face. Kane staggered a bit when Slade let him go, clutching his face. He looked at saw Slade still standing with that defiant look on his face.

"Why you..." he said. He pointed his finger and fired another red beam. Slade knocked it away without effort. Kane yelled and began firing the beams in rapid succession again. Slade swatted them all way like flies. Kane then attacked Slade like a wild animal, throwing punch after kick after punch. Slade dodged and blocked everyone. He then began to attack himself, moving much to fast for Kane to dodge or block. Slade felt a grim satisfaction in beating the hell out of the man who had killed his family. Slade smashed his kneed into Kane's stomach and punched him hard in the face when he was doubled over. He then backed off to give his opponent some room. Kane stared angrily up at him. He straightened up and looked right into Slade's green eyes.

"Fool." he spat, "I'm a lot stronger then I've been letting on."

"Really?" said Slade dryly.

"You'll see soon boy. I'll use my full power, and I'll have the pleasure of destroying the last Super Saiyan, something even Lord Freeza could never accomplish." Kane put his fists to his sides again, and began to raise his ki even more. His ki flared a dark purple, his body began to bulge and his armor started to crack and break.

"Did you feel that?" said Aiden as they flew towards the city.

"Yeah, it's Kane." said Alex, his face looking worried.

"What a terrible power." said Nax. "I never knew he was this strong. I hope Slade can handle this."

"He will." said Aiden, "He's not fighting at his full strength yet either. I can tell somehow."

"Slade..." they heard Eve moan, shaking them back to their senses.

"We better hurry with her." said Nax. "If we don't, Slade's gonna come after us when he's done with Kane."

Kane's ki grew with his body, until it finally exploded in a bright flash. Slade didn't budge an inch from the explosion. When the dust cleared, Kane stood, twice as big, and twice as strong. He looked as Slade with a deeply satisfied smile.

"Well boy," he said, "What do you think of this?" he laughed slightly.

"If that's all," Slade said blankly, "You've just wasted my time." Kane's smile dropped, and he gritted his teeth.

"Not impressed are you?" he said, rushing at Slade and smashing his fist into the side of his face. Slade's head moved from the impact, but his feet stayed firmly planted in place.

"No." he said, still staring down Kane with his cold eyes, "I'm not." He threw is own fist into Kane's chest, burying it deep. Kane doubled over a bit, then grabbed Slade around the torso. He lifted the Super Saiyan off the ground and hurled him away. Slade rightened himself easy, and zanzokened out of the way of the ki blast Kane sent at him. Slade rushed back to Kane, swiping out at him with his fist. Kane zanzokened out of the way, moving extremely fast for someone as big as he was. He reappeared behind Slade and grabbed at him again. Slade fell to his back, then lifted himself back up on his hands, slamming his feet into Kane's jaw. Kane flew back a little, then rushed back at Slade, attacking him fiercely. Slade managed to block many of the blows, but some where getting through and causing damage. Slade fought back with his own supersonic attacks, many of them connecting but Kane was keeping as a much as he was. The fought across the landscape, moving so fast that while the time seemed long to them, it was only seconds in reality. Both fighters locked hands in a violent struggle, each trying to force the other down. The ground cracked and broke beneath the force of both of them. Both of their ki's flared up and competed with each other for dominance. Slade then jumped up a little, and ran on Kane's chest, kicking him right in the chin. Slade then flipped back and used the momentum of his kick to throw Kane to the ground behind him. Slade jumped up again and slammed both his knees into Kane's stomach. The tyrant coughed up some blood, then backhanded Slade off of him. Slade bounced off the ground deftly and flew straight back for Kane. Kane tried to punch at Slade, but the young warrior ducked and landed his own punch to Kane's stomach. Doubled over in pain, Kane stared at Slade with utter hatred in his eyes. Slade returned the look, and landed spin kick directly to Kane's jaw. Kane flew with the kick, landing on his back. Slade leapt into the air and moved to plant both his feet into Kane's body. Kane zanzokened into the air and started down at Slade, so frustrated and furious that he was now completely devoid of rational thought.

"DAMN YOU!" He screamed, "IF I CAN'T KILL YOU DIRECTLY, THEN I'LL DESTROY THIS WHOLE PLANET WITH YOU ON IT!"

Kane then formed a massive ball if ki above his head. Slade knew this was no bluff, Kane would destroy the Earth without batting an eye. He took action and gathered all his power to counterattack.

"KAAAAAMEEEEE-"

Kane's attack grew larger

"HAAAAAAMEEEEE-"

Kane stared down at Slade.

"THIS IS IT BOY! DIE!" He flung the ball downwards towards Slade and the Earth.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Slade's beam met the ball and began pushing it back. Seeing this, Kane gathered his remaining power and let loose his own beam, reinforcing the ball. Both fighters were pushing their limits, the desire to kill the other the only thought on their minds.

The blue of the Kamehameha and the dark purple of Kane's attack pushed on each other with a force that seemed to cause the air around them to shake, neither attack gaining any dominance. Slade pushed himself higher, the Kamehameha increasing in size. Kane did the same for his attack, pushing back against Slade's. The center of the two attacks pressing against each other seemed to create a vacuum, as the debris was being sucked into it. Slade pushed himself even more, Kane responding in kind.

"This won't end." Slade thought.

"It won't if that's all the power you have boy!" said a voice in his head.

"Vegeta?" thought Slade.

"That's right." said the Saiyan prince, "And I know this can't be all your strength."

"You need to use it all Slade." said Goku's voice, "Remember what Kane's done to this planet, done to you. Use all that anger as your power!"

"I don't think I have any left." said Slade desperately.

"That's crap and you know it bro." said Aaron's voice. "I know you better than anyone bro, and I know you have the power to kill this monster for good."

"Aaron, are you sure?"

"Of course he's sure, you doubt your brother?" said Vegeta, "You have the power to take him out, SO DO IT!"

Slade pushed himself even higher, his beam beginning to overtake Kane's, Kane responded in kind once again. Slade still had a slight advantage, but the fight was still to close.

"It's...not...working." thought Slade, trying to keep his focus.

"Remember us son." said the voice of his father.

"Yes Slade, remember your dad and me, remember you're brother." came his mother's voice, "Remember Eve."

"Eve." said Slade. He could feel that burning rage inside him again. His power rose so high that Kane's beam was completely disintegrated by Slade's power. The self-proclaimed ruler of Earth was barely able to avoid being caught in the blast himself. The force from the attack exploding above him knocked Kane back to the ground with a thud. He looked up from the ground, and saw Slade standing above him, panting, but looking no less worse for wear. Kane quickly got up and tried to run away, tripping on a rock. Slade just continued to walk silently toward him. Kane's eyes filled with fear as he took to the air, trying to escape. Slade grabbed his nearby sword and unsheathed it.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said as he threw the sword like a javelin straight for his fleeing enemy. The sword pierced straight through Kane's back and through his chest. He fell straight back to the ground, landing with a dull crash. Slade flew quickly over to him and plucked his sword out of his body. The Super Saiyan then kicked Kane over to his back, and raised his sword high. Kane looked up at him with utter terror etched on his face. Slade brought the sword down hard, Kane shut his eyes, then opened them. He wasn't dead. He looked to his right and saw the sword mere millimeters from his head. Slade picked it out from the ground and looked down on his defeated enemy.

"You know," he said, "There hasn't been a day since you killed my family that I haven't dreamed of this moment. You lying at my feet, practically wetting yourself at the sight of me. Beaten bloody, and totally defeated. This would be the part of my dream where I cut off your lousy head. But now that I can," he sheathed his sword, "I find no longer want too. You're beaten Kane, I don't care what you do now, whether or not you decide to run from this planet is up too you. I'll let you live with the fear that one day I'll find you and finish the job I started. We'll see how you like living that way."

Slade turned to leave.

"Good-bye Kane." he began to walk away. Kane's fist clenched at this embarrassment. A Saiyan, showing him mercy? The thought was infuriating.

"You...stupid...SAIYAN!" he screamed, lifting his hand to blast Slade apart. Before he could even charge his ki, Slade turned around, and with one attack, blasted Kane out of existence forever. Slade lowered his hand, his ki flaring up again.

"Bastard."

Kane's men watched as their master died in a fiery explosion. They were completely dumbfounded, their mouths and eyes open as wide as could be. When the shock of it wore off, all that was left was anger. They all rushed from the palace towards Slade. He saw them coming and floated up into the air, his sword slung on his back. He could sense their feelings, there anger, their confusion, their hopelessness. There was only one thing he could do for them. He raised his hands to the sky and his ki flared around him once again. It formed a bright golden ball around him, which began to slowly contract around him. Slade put his hands out in front of him, letting the energy gather there. Kane's men were almost all out of the palace now. Slade felt one tear fall down his face at the thought of what he had to do.

"Forgive me." he whispered, then shouted,

"FINAL FLASH!"

The blast tore through the approaching soldiers, destroying them instantly until finally in hit its target, Kane's palace. The explosion was larger than any other that racked the Earth that day, leaving the largest crater on the field. Slade knew though, that the Earth would forgive him for it. Kane was now gone from the face of the earth. Even thinking that, Slade took no pleasure in what he had just done. He had felt the pain of Kane's soldiers many times, he knew it all too well. His hair turned back to normal again, along with his eyes. He immersed himself in his own blue ki and flew back towards the city.