Last chapter, Goku and the others teleported to Earth in an attempt to stop Yami, but their attempt quickly turned to disaster with Gohan getting knocked out, Piccolo losing an arm and Vegeta losing control of himself to Yami. They've returned to the Supreme Kai's planet in order to regroup and think up a plan.
Once everyone landed on the Supreme Kai's planet, those that were transformed powered down, Goku revived Gohan and Piccolo regrew his arm.
"What are we doing here hiding like cowards!" Radditz demanded. He growled. "Our prince needs us and we're sitting back twiddling our thumbs because we couldn't take the enemy down right away." Goku sighed and shook his head.
"There's nothing we can do for Vegeta right now, and we can't beat Yami at the level he's at. We need to come up with some kind of plan." Radditz tried to protest but Bardock quieted him.
"Kakarrot is right, it would have been useless to continue that fight. Not only is Yami incredibly powerful on his own but he's now got Vegeta on his side with an enormous power boost." Radditz sighed unhappily, but conceded.
"Alright, but what are we going to do? We don't exactly have some kind of miracle technique that could make us strong enough to win."
"Wait, I have an idea!" Goku said, excited. "Gohan, can you go super saiyajin with your mystic power up?" Gohan thought for a moment.
"I...don't really know. The old Kai said I wouldn't need the transformation anymore so I haven't really tried."
"Yes, Gohan still has that ability," The old Kai spoke up, having been sitting next to a nearby tree. "but it would not be wise as even if all that power doesn't destroy Gohan it could very well take the planet. Only try that if you have no other options left." Radditz took this time to speak up.
"Haven't you been watching what's been going on old man? We're already out of options as it is." Old Kai just glared at him and grumbled about young people.
"Yes, I've been watching and indeed the situation looks grave. However, there are other ways for you to gain power. You could try to siphon your power over to Goku or another fighter and do it that way. The only down side to this is that it requires time and Yami may or may not allow you that time. Plus, Goku has the super kaiyoken technique which he used in the otherworld tournament. Goku could also try a super spirit bomb."
"Super Spirit bomb? That sounds kinda dangerous."
"Yes, Goku, it is very dangerous. If you miss with it you could easily wipe out every planet in this solar system. You have shown great talent with the spirit bomb however and I believe you can pull it off effectively."
"But, just what is a super spirit bomb?"
"It is similar to what you used on the planet Namek, except on an even larger scale. A super spirit bomb would be taking energy from two solar systems or even as much as the entire norther galaxy. Any more energy than that though and it could become unstable and tear a hole in the dimension, and the results of something like that would be catastrophic on a universal scale, so be very wary of how much energy you use if you decide to use it." Goku nodded.
"Alright everyone, I think we should all take some time to relax before we go fight again. We need to be in top condition for this battle." Everyone gave their approval and went off to do their own thing. Piccolo went to meditate by a waterfall, Gohan went off to prepare his mind and body in case he should have to transform, Goten and Trunks chased each other around and played with each other, and Radditz and Bardock decided to learn all about all of Goku's battles. Radditz quickly grew impatient though, as there was one battle he especially wanted to hear about.
"What was it like fighting Frieza?" This was something that he, Vegeta and Nappa often would talk about when they knew they weren't being watched by the dictator.
"That has been the toughest battle I've fought yet. You guys probably already know that was the first time I turned super saiyajin." Both nodded. "I can't really think of the words to describe it. It was both the best and the worst battle for me. I still haven't had a battle as exciting as that one." This time Bardock spoke up.
"What was it like to transform for the first time?" Goku thought on this for a second.
"It was...terrible and awesome at the same time, but also pretty scary. It was bad because it took Frieza killing my best friend Krillin to trigger it, but the feeling of all that power was just awesome. It was pretty scary though because for a while there I thought I was going to lose control and become just like Frieza."
"So it...tested the very essence of who you are?" Bardock asked.
"Kind of. I don't really know if it was the same for Vegeta, Gohan and Trunks but for me it was like there was some kind of darkness within me that just kind of integrated itself into me. I guess that comes from what caused me to transform."
"How did you find out that you could ascend past that?"
"Well, I could just kind of feel it. It's like my own body was telling me it was time to take it up a notch." Goku looked around and noticed that everyone was done with whatever they'd been doing so he decided it was time to go.
"Alright, everyone ready?" Everyone nodded their heads and held hands. Goku put two fingers to his forehead and everyone disappeared from sight. Old Kai sighed worriedly.
"I hope they can beat him. If they fail this then it's the end of everything."
Everyone reappeared on Earth to find that Yami and Vegeta were sparring, of course Vegeta was pretty beat up looking considering how far outmatched he was, but he seemed to have been enjoying himself. Yami, who had his back turned, greeted them.
"Well it's about time. I was beginning to wonder if you'd suddenly become cowards or maybe you'd come to your senses." He whirled to face them with a dark smirk on his face. "Now, are you ready to proceed so that your pitiful plan can fail?" Goku grinned at him.
"Just give us a few more minutes and we'll be ready. Alright guys, you know what to do." Goten and Trunks fused into Gotenks and then he and everyone else present powered up to their respective maxes. Gohan, Gotenks, Piccolo, Supreme Kai, Bardock and Radditz all formed a circle around Goku and thrust their open palms at him. Goku charged up to super saiyajin 3 and took in their power. Bardock and Radditz were the first two to stop, followed by Piccolo, the Supreme Kai, Gotenks, and finally Gohan.
Goku was now an impressive sight to behold. His body hadn't really changed, but his aura had turned a crimson color and there was a constant storm of different colored energy bolts dancing around him.
"Alright, ready when you are." Yami cocked an eyebrow at him. It doesn't matter what you do with all that power, rather you divide it up amongst yourselves or concentrate it all into one person you still won't defeat me, but if you wish to fight then you can fight Vegeta first. He's been itching for a rematch with you." Without wasting a second Vegeta launched himself at Goku and set into a vicious assault. This time, however, Goku was more than a match for Vegeta and was able to handle him with ease. Vegeta aimed a punch at Goku's face, but he easily swiped it aside with his forearm and countered with a quick knee to the gut, knocking the wind out of Vegeta. Vegeta growled and went on the offensive, punching and kicking with a wild frenzy that even he had never shown before. Vegeta attempted to bring an elbow down on Goku's head, but he tilted it to the side, grabbed the elbow, and used it to swing Vegeta down to the ground hard. Vegeta got up on one hand and spun around, attempting to knock Goku off balance but he back flipped out of the way, firing an energy blast as he landed. Vegeta recovered quickly and flew at Goku, who, thinking it best to end it sidestepped and grabbed Vegeta around the neck and squeezed, cutting off the blood supply to his head. Vegeta desperately tried to break his grip, but it was no use as Goku was just too strong. After a few seconds Vegeta passed out and Goku gently set him down on the ground. He looked to Yami.
"Now it's your turn." Yami only laughed.
"You know full well that I'm far more powerful than Vegeta and you put together, so I don't know what you think you're going to do." Goku smirked.
"Then why don't you come at me and find out?"
"Very well then, let's see what you've got." Almost instantly Yami was in Goku's face and they were trading blows with enough force to shake the planet. Even with all of the extra power, Goku still wasn't able to land a blow to Yami, although the hits that Goku received weren't anywhere near as bad as they had been during their last encounter. This, however, did not make Goku feel any better.
"It's still not enough! I guess I don't really have much choice, then." He backed off from the fight and just stood there a moment.
"Had enough already? And here I thought you were gonna beat me. How disappointing."
"Don't count me out just yet, I've still got a trick or two up my sleeve." Goku braced himself. "Super Kaiyoken!" Goku grunted as his power quickly reached heights his body couldn't handle and began to swell to unnatural proportions. He clenched his fists and braced himself as he began the painful struggle to bring his power under control. After his body had swelled and returned to normal size several times, he finally managed to stabilize his power. He panted from the exertion and stress on his body and breathed a sigh of relief. Goku was now an impressive sight to behold. His body had not really changed but his aura had turned blood red and he now had a storm of multi-colored energy bolts going off almost constantly around him. Yami only laughed at him.
"Do you really think that a power enhancing technique like that is really going to make any difference? Apparently you have yet to realize the true depths of my power. Well then, let me show you!" Goku wasted not a moment to respond and shot forward, smashing his fist right into Yami's face and sending him rocketing backwards through the air. He took flight and quickly caught up with Yami, smashing him hard into the ground with doubled up fists. He then put both open palms out in front of him, aiming directly down into the crater Yami had created and fired a large burst of energy. Goku stepped back to catch his breath a bit, and Yami flew up out of the crater and landed in front of Goku.
"Most impressive. This may be a bit more difficult than I thought." He smirked and fired a quick energy blast at Goku, which he merely twisted to the side to avoid and phased out of sight. Yami quickly turned around and brought an elbow up to block a kick that had been aimed at his head and attempted to grab the foot, but Goku was already gone. Yami narrowed his eyes. "Very well, two can play at this game." Yami also phased out of sight and very quickly he and Goku were exchanging blows. The fight was now no longer one sided as Goku managed to get in a few hits here and there, however the advantage was still clearly with Yami. Goku wearily got up out of a crated he'd just made after Yami had grabbed him and flew at high speed towards the ground before letting go. There was nothing left of the top part of his gi, and his upper body was covered with cuts and burns.
"I can't believe how tough he is." Goku thought to himself. "Guess I'll just have to try harder!" He disappeared from sight once again, but this time appeared high up in the air, cupping his hands in front of him as soon as he appeared. He brought his arms to his side and began charging energy into the space between them. "Kaaaa...Meeee...Haaaa...Meeeee...Haaaaaaaa!" He thrust his hands forward, launching the blue energy wave at Yami. Yami chuckled and thrust both open palms out, launching a black energy wave of his own. He was more than a bit surprised when the beams collided and Goku's began to slowly overtake his. Yami twitched an eye and pushed more energy into it, stopping the blast in its tracks but not moving it back the other way. He growled and put more energy into it, causing it to inch back towards Goku. With a shout Goku doubled the amount of energy he was pushing into the beam and sent it flying back towards Yami, causing him to gasp in surprise. Rather than putting even more energy into the blast, Yami phased out of sight and reappeared a safe distance away, watching the resulting explosion in awe. The explosion was huge, blasting massive amounts of dust and debris so far into the air that some of it rocketed away into space, creating a mushroom cloud so enormous that it could be seen half way around the planet. He teleported in front of Goku, frowning at him.
"I'm impressed, in all the millenia of existence, never have I seen a fighter of your caliber. However, there is more to you than just super saiyajin transformations and power enhancing techniques. We did not create you mortals to have such...destructive potential. Tell me, what is the key to your power? How have you become such an anomaly?"
"It's the determination to protect my home, my friends and my family. Making sure that they'll live to see another day and have another chance to smile gives me strength. It's the burden of knowing that if I fail, everything and everyone I know will perish. That's what makes me strong." Yami let out a derisive snort.
"Cut the semantic nonsense. How could these others hold so much significance to you? Most of them aside from your son couldn't even begin to fathom the power we have and the destiny that awaits the victor." Goku chuckled.
"Someone else once said something very much the same to me years ago. I'll tell you the same thing I told him. Just because I'm stronger than them doesn't make my life any more important than theirs. That kind of attitude is exactly what causes the very things that you want to get rid of. Don't you see? You've become so obsessed with changing everything that you've become the very thing you wanted to get rid of so badly." Yami growled angrily.
"Don't lecture me saiyajin! What would someone like you know! All you can see is what's right in front of you. I, on the other hand, can see the bigger picture. The utopia that I'm trying to create will be unlike your wildest dreams."
"How many evil dictators in the past have used those same words? What good is all that if you can't even make your own choice? Some things are better if you have to struggle to get them, it makes you appreciate them more." Yami thought about it, but couldn't really come up with an answer. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but hesitated.
"Could he...be right? Is it really better this way? Is it possible that gathering all this darkness for so many years has clouded my judgement? No, I'm one of the creators, I only want what's best. But then...why did the others fear me so? Could I have...been wrong?" Yami's self-doubt all but eliminated his mental barriers on Trunks, who siezed his opportunity and tried to regain control. His body shouted to the heavens. A twisted cry it was, sounding like it didn't belong in Trunks' body, or even in this plane of existence.
In the infinite blackness within Trunks' mind, two warriors, seemingly mirror images of each other, faced off. Trunks growled at Yami.
"This ends now! I won't let you hurt anyone else with my body!"
"Haven't you figured it out yet boy? This isn't your body anymore, it's mine now and I'll do with it as I please. But if you think you can stop me go ahead and try." With a yell Trunks ascended to super saiyajin and blasted towards Yami, forcing his energy as high as it would go. He launched an all out assault that Yami was surprised to find he was hard pressed to keep up with. Yami scowled to himself
"What's going on here? I shouldn't be this weak. I was just wiping the floor with Goku less than a minute ago and here I can barely keep up with someone this much weaker. I've got to stop doubting myself, I haven't planned this out for so long just to have one mortal talk me out of it." Yami tried to convince himself of this, but try as he might, he couldn't get Goku's words out of his head. Yami avoided a punch from Trunks but swung a leg out at his head, which was blocked. He then threw a punch at Trunks' head, but he ducked under it and buried a fist in his gut. Yami's eyes widened in surprise and pain as he doubled over the fist and had a fist swung around like a club to smash into the side of his head, sending him flying. Yami exerted his energy and managed to stop his momentum, but Trunks had already caught up with him and brought his doubled up fists down on Yami's back, causing him to plummet further down into the endless black. Trunks caught up again, but this time Yami was ready for it and just as Trunks' fist would've hit him he disappeared and reappeared behind him, extending one leg and smashing into Trunks with a flying kick. Trunks quickly stopped his momentum and twirled around to fire an energy blast at Yami as he did so. Yami ducked under the blast but was not prepared for the falling kick that would connect with the top of his head. Yami fell, and surprisingly landed on a ground of some kind, though it looked just as black as everything else around them. Trunks landed in front of him and smirked as he stood up.
"Not so tough now are you? You're going to pay for what you've done to the Earth, I don't care who you think you are." Yami ground his teeth together and snarled in rage.
"Don't you get it brat! This is my body now! You no longer have any say over what it does or does not do." He calmed himself down a bit before continuing. "I'm tired of your insolence. I'll just have to finish you off now so I don't have to deal with you again later."
"I'd like to see you try. I'm not gonna go down so easily this time." With that Trunks jumped into the air and attempted to bring his heel down onto Yami's head, but he stepped to the side, so Trunks followed through with a spin kick that was blocked by a forearm. He jumped back a bit and once again came at Yami with an uppercut to his jaw, which he managed to connect, forcing Yami to take a couple steps back to keep his balance. Seeing an opening, Trunks grabbed onto Yami's head and brought it down at the same time he was bringing a knee up, but Yami grabbed Trunks' arms and used them as a support to flip over Trunks' head, then pinning his arms painfully to his back.
"Who's got the upper hand now kid?" Yami jumped and planted his feet firmly on Trunks' back and began pushing away while still holding his arms. However, Trunks didn't bother to maintain his balance and just fell over on top of Yami, driving a now free elbow down onto his ribcage, eliciting a cry of pain. Both fighters quickly got back to their feet and once again were facing each other. Without a word both fighters punched at each other, their fists colliding and sending out a shockwave from the impact. They pulled back and began their assault anew, punching and kicking, blocking and dodging at unimaginable speeds. Trunks landed hard on his back, having been bashed over the head by Yami's doubled fists. He immediately rolled to the side and avoided the next punch which left a small crater in the ground where he'd just been laying. He quickly got to his feet and charged a small amount of energy into his right index and forefingers, crossing his arm over his left shoulder. He made a diagonal swipe from shoulder level down to hip level, acting as though he were using his fingers as a blade to cut through the air. A thin stream of energy the length of the swipe rushed towards Yami. He didn't have time to dodge it, but he didn't think it was strong enough to hurt him so he didn't bother trying to block it. He regretted his cockiness when the blade struck him and not only blew him backwards but also left a nice deep diagonal slash across his chest. Yami looked down at the damage and his eyes widened. He gaped at Trunks who only smirked and mirrored it with his left arm. Yami didn't have time to react and was once again blown back. He now had a large X shaped slash on his chest that was bleeding quite a bit. Not only that but his shirt had been obliterated by the blasts and the remains had fallen off. Yami began to lose his composure.
"I don't get it! How did you become so strong? You were nothing to me before!" Trunks smiled.
"I...had some help." Yami blinked in confusion and suddenly there were three blurry figures standing behind Trunks. The three figures came into focus, revealing themselves to be Vegeta, Goku, and Gohan, though to Yami something seemed...different about them than the people he'd just been fighting.
"How can this be! There's no way you could've gotten into his mind, it's just not possible for mortals!" Goku answered him.
"That may be true for living mortals, but we're not exactly alive. He gestured to Gohan. "Just look at him and you'll see what I mean." Gohan was clearly different than what he'd just seen on the outside world. He looked to be at least twenty years old, and had a scar crossing over his left eye and his left arm ended at his where his elbow should've been.
"What! But...you're from that other timeline! How can you be here?" Vegeta chuckled menacingly.
"Have you forgotten who I am? Did you think there was anything in existence that could keep the prince of all saiyajins from doing what he wanted? The boy may be a weakling half-breed but he is still my son and he was...is the last of the saiyajin race and I will not allow you to bring our race to extinction!"
"Besides," Gohan spoke up. "with as much time traveling as there has been, there's big gaping holes in the timestream between our timelines. Of course, they're repairing themselves, but there's plenty of time for us to help Trunks with this fight and get back." Yami grit his teeth and clenched his fists so hard they bled. With a howl of rage he launched himself at Gohan, but suddenly gagged as Trunks' fist was buried in his gut. Trunks leaned forward and whispered in his ear.
"I don't think so, your fight is with me." He then brought a hard right hook to Yami's face, knocking him over. Yami brought a hand up to rub his injured cheek as he stood up. With a burst of power he launched a vicious assault that Trunks was having trouble keeping up with.
"I will not be denied this! Not after so many centuries of waiting!" Yami shouted as he slammed Trunks into the ground. He smirked over at Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta. "What's wrong? Aren't you going to help him?" Vegeta growled at him, but Gohan was the one to respond.
"We can't directly interfere with this fight, all we can do is lend our power to Trunks." Yami smirked confidently at hearing this.
"Well, that's good to hear. I guess I'll just get on with it and then I can get back to more important issues." This time it was Goku's turn to smirk.
"Who said we've been giving him everything we've got?" Yami's smirk quickly disappeared and he pointed an open palm at Trunks and hurriedly began charging energy into it. Goku and the others transformed into super saiyajins and began transferring their power to Trunks. Once Yami thought he'd gathered enough energy to form a killing blast he unleashed it on Trunks and laughed triumphantly at the massive explosion that followed. When the dust cleared however, Yami couldn't help but gape in horror as Trunks stood there completely unharmed. In fact, he was dusting himself off like he'd just had some dirt thrown on him. Trunks looked up at him and smiled.
"Now," he said, "it begins."
Well, there's really no excuse as to why I haven't updated for so long. I just haven't had the motivation to write. However, I must say that even with that this took much longer than expected cause this is something totally different than what I'd had written up before. I'd been half way through the chapter when my sister decided to get mad at me and deleted my windows account, along with most of my files. I managed to salvage all of my older chapters, but the chapter I'd been working on for this story was completely gone. It doesn't really matter though, cause I think this is better than what I'd already had anyways. I'll try not to take so long to update this time, but I can't make any promises.