The Long Road

by Drakthul

AU: Abducted at the age of three and a half, taken through thirteen years of bloodshed and strife, Gohan finds his way back to Earth... to finish a backlogged contract. On Earth, he will either overcome what he is, or be destroyed by it. Rated M.

29. Chapter 29: Last Call

Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or really any other property. Thank you.

The Long Road

Chapter 29: Last Call

Goku:

Why?

All he did was try. All he could do was try. That's all he ever did, and somehow everything found a way to work itself. Except they didn't. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he wanted things to work, they didn't. He should have been able to save the people he loved and cared about. The heart that never stopped beating, that would always press forward and be hopeful, was left sitting in Goku's chest, unable to make a single pulse. There was a sickening empty void instead.

All that came to mind was that this couldn't be happening. Not on a day where his wife had just been imprisoned in stone. Not on the day where his best friend had gone mad and tried to fight them. It was almost impossible to see it all happening in front of him. It was impossible that his muscles just could... they couldn't respond fast enough, they weren't strong enough. He couldn't save his wife. He couldn't save his son. Looking to Gohan with still shocked eyes, he realized he hadn't even saved his other son. Gohan had survived in space without anyone, including him... he never gave up hope, but what did never giving up do for Gohan?

What had it done for Goten? Or Chi?

What had it even done for them in their lives? How much time had he lost with them? How many times had he really failed them? How many times had he failed to live up to expectations? How much of a better father could he have been? Looking to Gohan one last time, Goku wondered what his son would have been like if he'd been raised here on Earth, if he hadn't failed him as well.

Uncontrollably, Goku's throat tightened as he stared back towards the body of a boy who just thought he could swoop in and save the day. How many stories had he been told of his adventures? How many times had he told him... you can do anything you put your mind to, and just try. Well his son tried, and his son... his son...

Tears welled at the edge of his eyes as he nearly lost the ability to stand. Why wouldn't he just get up and move? Why was he just laying there? Trembles wracked his body as he just looked at his son, somehow expecting him to get up. The left side of his face was mangled, his eye was even crushed... Chi-Chi was going to be so mad. Maybe he could take him to Dende and just make... make it all better.

But Chi-Chi couldn't get mad, because she was a statue.

And his son couldn't just be healed, because he was dead.

Dead.

"Goten," he managed, even the name choking as he said it.

"You bastard," Gohan snarled, his own body trembling. "That was my little brother you just killed! I'll!... I'll!- Get away from him!"

There was a sudden wave of force even Goku felt as he stumbled back unintentionally. It was all still too surreal, but Goku's shock slowly gave way when he realized what was happening. Another wave of force blasted off of Gohan, this time Goku had to raise his arms to block it. He still felt weak, his heart still felt shattered, and there were still tears still in his eyes, but Goku knew exactly what was happening with his son.

It was the same thing he observed since his son had been a boy. It had happened twice before the abduction. It had happened the first time he took him out training. Every time his son was backed into a corner, it happened. Another wave of force washed over him as he felt the ground itself start to crumble around them. Looking over to Broly, Goku felt his grief and self loathing transform into something he rarely felt.

The monster was just there, laughing. He was laughing that he killed his son.

Summoning what energy he had left, Goku just trembled with rage as his own golden aura flickered violently around him. Even if he couldn't stop this monster, he was going to get his son back from him.

"Well, you two look angry. Maybe you won't be as boring and annoying this time-"

It wasn't Goku that attacked, it was another wave of force. The aura around Gohan expanded again. Energy pulsed around almost as if he was generating the same power of the sun. It was painful more then anything though. He wasn't the one who could avenge his son. It was the son who never called him father, who may have had that duty. Because despite the pain of it... he wasn't Gohan's father. The man who took that privilege, his supposed brother Turles, was more Gohan's father then he'd ever be. He stopped being his father when he failed him all those years ago.

Even Broly seemed to pause as yet another wave of power burst forward, and the large Saiyan gritting his teeth at the sight.

"Well, come on then! If you're so power, show me what you've got!" the unnatural Super Saiyan shouted angrily.

It wasn't a blur this time, there was no zipping of blinding speed. Instead, Gohan charged the titan of a man in normal speed, before it amplified in under a second. It seemed to multiply a thousand times before the impact was made. Every fibre of Goku's being felt the thundering clap that echoed through the formerly lush valley. The impact was so hard that the mountains began to rumble.

For the first time since his transformation, Goku saw pain etched across the giant's face, and saw him staggering back. It was so shocking he almost didn't snap out of it. Shaking it off, he immediately rushed towards the battle. The monster was still staggered, himself clearly disbelieving what had just happened. Hovering in front of him, Son Gohan was left breathless as he stood there, his hand still outstretched from the punch he'd landed on the monster.

As soon as he arrived, Goku slammed his foot into the back of Broly's, causing the mountain of a man to slip and fall back, landing back first in the mud. From there it was no time before he reached down, collecting... the body of his son. In a blur of motion he moved back, clutching the mangled body of the 10 year old boy.

They could still use the Dragon Balls to fix this. Flying off the handle now would just jeopardize everything. Even if he had to stand back, even if he had to be the one to pull back and get Goten's... body to safety. He needed to check on Vegeta, and Trunks. That meant he had to-

There was another thundering clap that echoed through the valley. This time, it wasn't Gohan striking Broly.

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Gohan:

It'd been impossible to control himself. There was too much pain, too much anger over it all. It was just like with his mother. He'd stood back helpless, only to watch someone he cared about... even if it was the brat... get killed. He was just a kid. Out of all the kids in the world too, he was his brother. The kid had balls, and was always forward with him. He'd always told him what he didn't want to hear. But most of all, their mother loved that kid. Goten had gotten everything he never had, and he gave their parents meaning. Maybe he'd have ended up like the kid were it not for Raditz. Whether they got along didn't seem to matter as he witnessed his body break at the hands of the psychopath in front of him, what mattered was he was his brother.

And this piece of shit took his life away as if he were nothing.

Pain became the fuel his body and soul ran on, and it burned much more brightly then anything else. Power hidden under layers of mental blocks and hidden reserves exploded in an overflow of emotion. The idea that he could be responsible for the same pain in millions of others was lost on him, as he could only see in the moment.

But there was a sense of a bitter irony in his stomach even then.

When he struck the son of Paragus, Gohan watched as the monster's entire body seemed to list and stagger, trying to keep his footing. When his father kicked out his legs from under him, the entire body collapsed into the burnt dry ground behind him. Turning his eyes to his father, even if only for a second, he saw him retrieve his brother's body. There was a moment of calm as he watched it happened. For some reason he felt relieved that Goten was with their father, even if he didn't know it. It was a strange feeling to have. Somehow it seemed to make him safer.

It was like he was going to be taken care of.

A sad look crossed his features as his rage burned away, leaving nothing but the empty feeling behind. He'd failed him, just like he'd failed their mother. For some reason the pain in his arm felt like nothing compared to the pain in his chest. He always let everyone down. No matter how hard he tried, there was only one thing that would remain true. He would persist, and have to live with watching the people around him be ashamed, or pained by his actions.

He only knew how to hurt people, he didn't know how to help them. The little boy who was taken from this world was the one who knew how to help people. Goku knew how to save people. All he ever could do was kill people, and hurt people. Even the people he cared about.

"You. Scum."

Turning his head to the words, Gohan saw the mountain of a man rising. Quickly he was reminded of just what was in front of him. The piece of shit who though he could just kill his brother and get away with it. With his large tongue, Broly licked the blood from the edge of his lip as he brought himself to his feet again. This was the monster that Paragus had told him about in his nightmares. This was what had been waiting for him at the bottom of the pit. It couldn't be stopped, it couldn't be killed... No matter what anyone tried, it would never stop. There was no killing it.

It was what Paragus always wanted him to be. It was what his beatings and rambling tried to morph him into, the perfect killing machine, the perfect Saiyan.

"I can see some of him in you, Gohan. I can see his power, his anger. You will never be his equal, but you will be my legacy to the Galaxy."

When he looked into the demon's blank eyes in front of him, Gohan just felt his entire body stiffen. Inside those eyes, it confirmed everything he suspected. In its own strange way... they were like mirrors. In their reflection he could see the man he was before he returned to this world. Staring back at him with a man clad in MK. III Saiyan armour, with a deadly smirk across his face and his arms crossed. Vicious, jealous, arrogant, petty, violent, and uncaring. They were all traits he still carried with him, the elements of what made up this monster were still inside of him, and they'd always be with him.

But they were nothing compared to what he could see inside Broly. Everything he once valued about himself, was amplified a thousand fold. It was the perfect him staring back at him. He didn't need to imagine himself standing there in Saiyan armour.

He was the pale image of Broly, not the other way around.

It didn't matter what this thing was anymore. It didn't matter if it was invincible, it didn't matter if Paragus had tormented him, and it didn't matter how strong Broly really was. This son of a bitch just killed his brother.

Rage returned openly to Gohan's features as he sneered viciously. The familiar golden aura burst around him, though not nearly as strong as before. So much of his hate had already been tapped into, there just wasn't the strength left. Fire returned to his left shoulder, as exposed synthetic muscle heated brightly. His left side, and patches of muscle on his back and front, glowed with hot, burning energy. It was too much for the synthetic to handle, all the excess energy burning out of them, leaking like a boat with a hole in it. The air around the muscles sizzled as sweat turned to vapour all around the areas, lightly burning his skin.

The look of pure rage was returned to him as Broly took in several deep, furious breaths.

"No one draws blood from me," he snapped.

"And I'm sure no one gets away with bothering you either, but I'm still standing, Broly."

The blow came so quickly Gohan couldn't follow it. It was so powerful, even as it landed on his chin, he felt his entire body resonate with the impact. Sparks of Super Saiyan power bled from his synthetics as the pain amplified around him. The blow was strong enough to make his body lift off the ground and fall helplessly back. He barely got any distance at all before a force grabbed his foot. Immediately his body straightened out in the air, his arms feeling like they were being pulled off as the entire momentum of the hit was carried through them and his upper body.

Then the real agony came.

Pulled in violently towards Broly, Gohan was immediately impaled on his knee, back first. His entire back blistered in pain, and his legs immediately went numb. Something severed almost immediately from the force of the impact, and only for a split second could he feel that sharp point in his back, just under where the knee had landed. A pained gasp escaped his lips before a massive elbow came crashing down on his ribs and stomach, as if trying to make contact with the knee below. Inside his body, he felt his organs pushed up against one another. Ribs fractured under the pressure as blood pumped into his fat and muscle tissues. Blood hacked up in his throat as well, spitting out in seconds.

It was too hard to breath, too hard to think. One thought broke through the fog of it all... he was going to die. There was no way any of them would stop this monster, and...

The knee fell away, letting Gohan fall helplessly to the ground. Rolling onto his front, the Saiyan could only cough up more blood, trembling as he did.

"What a waste you are," Broly chuckled, raising his huge boot to come striking down on him.

This was it.

"Broly!"

Everything froze in place as Gohan turned his head, if only barely, to look at Goku.

Get out of here, go!

The words wouldn't leave his lips, instead another violent cough came up instead. Blood splattered in front of his face, dripping down his lips.

"Well, Kakarot. Are you trying to save this one?" the Super Saiyan asked. "You're so pathetic."

By the time the words left, Gohan felt the huge boot slam down on his back, on his spine, before grinding his heel into it.

Unable to resist, unable to hold back at all, despite the blood in his throat and lungs, Gohan screamed.

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Goku:

It was happening again.

It was happening again right in front of him. Gohan hadn't bought them time at all, all he'd done was trade places with him. It was his son now who was laying there, dieing, instead of him. The screams pulled on every muscle in his body, demanding action. Images flashed in front of his mind of Goten, the boy laying meters away, maimed and killed by this monster. That alone made his blood pump painfully throughout his body.

No more standing aside.

He'd failed Gohan once before, he'd failed Chi-Chi, and he'd failed Goten. There was no chance he'd let this happen to his eldest son. No matter what, he had to get Broly off of him, and then he had to stop this monster. There was another scream as Broly ground his foot into Gohan's back. For a moment, he could almost look back in time, as Raditz took his son away from him. He wouldn't lose another son, not today.

Golden energy flickered off his body as Goku concentrated. There just wasn't much power left. He'd spent so much fighting this monster so far, that all his reserves of strength were just... empty. Even keeping his aura around him was a massive exertion of energy.

Then there was that cackle again.

"If I'd known how much this angers you, Kakarot, I'd have spent more time killing that other boy of yours," Broly said, his face twisted with that same disgusting grin.

That was it.

"You... won't... get away with this!" Goku shouted finally, feeling renewed strength his muscles, even if it was only a rush of adrenaline.

Bursting into a sprint, Goku charged towards the beast whose foot was still grinding into Gohan's back. When the foot left Gohan's back in the middle of his sprint, didn't stop his charge, knowing doing so invited even more torment for his son to experience. The broken heap on the ground just tried to motion to him, trying to urge him to leave. It only hardened Goku's resolve when he realized what it was. Gohan was trying to urge him to leave him to save himself.

With a roar from the depths of his chest, Goku let his leg crash into Broly's side, before driving a fist into his chest. The two blows landed flawlessly, they landed perfectly, and they did nothing. Immediately a large hand grabbed him by the top of his head, pulling him into the air. Immediately his arms went to grasp the hand, trying to break its hold.

"What was that supposed to be, Kakarot?" Broly asked, his voice twisted with some kind of sick delight. "Trying to play the hero?"

Having completely lost control of the situation, Goku struggled for a moment, clenching his teeth as he tried his best to keep control. Feeling his entire body twisting with the momentum of Broly pulling his arm back, Goku cried out as he struggled, trying to swing his legs in to kick Broly. The impact that followed was immense in its scope when Broly slammed him into the ground, thrusting his body forward towards the ground.

Every bone in Goku's body felt like it was just crushed together, and his muscles felt pulled apart as if they were stringy pasta. The hand had left his head, and while his body was still in immense pain, Goku could look up and see the massive boot above him. It was all he could do to instant transmission to the first place that came to mind. It wasn't far, only a few dozen metres to the side.

As if he hadn't moved at all, two giant boots came stamping down on him. Each boot slammed into him at a force he'd previously been barely able to imagine. Immediately four ribs gave out, not just fracturing, but snapping all together. A struggled gasp escaped the Saiyan as he looked up at the huge figure now standing on him. With a grin curving up his sickening features, Broly started to chuckle again. Every second of pain, Goku knew, was giving this monster some kind of sick pleasure.

Despite all the doubts, despite all the failings... despite not even know why... Goku couldn't give up. Even when it felt hopeless, even if it hadn't worked in the past, it still wasn't in him to give up.

"It looks like..." Broly said, stepping off of him, finally relieving the pressure.

As soon as he did, the real came burst out as his body tried to fill out in almost its own blood.

"It's time to end this... pitiful excuse for a fight. You're beginning to bore me."

Every movement was a struggle for Goku, and it became all the worse when he coughed up blood, just as Gohan had. It was then that Goku noticed that Broly's head had turned towards Gohan. Slowly, in the distance Goku was able to twist his own head as well, looking over to his son, who was struggling to try and rise. It seemed impossible with the extent of his injuries.

"Hold on dad," Gohan's voice said in his head, as he reached out to his mind. "Teleport, do something, I'll get there."

Despite the blood filling his chest, and despite the severity of the situation, Goku looked back at his son with tears in his eyes. It was the word Goku had wanted to hear from his son since the night he found him all those years ago at Satan City. Every time he was afraid of how things would end for Gohan, every time he almost gave up on him, Goku always imagined one day his son actually calling him father, or dad. It had to be today, of all days, that it happened.

Goten was dead. Chi-Chi was gone. He was out of power... there would be no instant transmission. Vegeta's power was fading. Trunks seemed to be out of action.

Slowly bringing himself to his feet a few metres away, despite having a broken back, was his eldest son. Gohan wouldn't give up, even now. With the monster looming over, Goku somehow knew that Broly would be stopped. But it wasn't going to be him that stopped him, it would be Gohan, even if it looked impossible right now.

"Gohan, I'm out of energy. I can't do another instant transmission. Get Trunks, Trunks and Vegeta, and get out of here while you can." Goku sent after a moment. "He'll be... distracted with me, for at least a few more minutes."

When the world started to rumble around them, when a familiar power started to rise again, like a phoenix from the ashes, Goku knew that his words hadn't been received in the way he'd wanted. This was the wrong course, there was no way in his current condition that Gohan could fight Broly, he needed to heal.

"Please, Gohan! Stop! Get out of here now!"

"Well, it looks like this scum wants to continue fighting. I must say Kakarot, you and your sons never do know when to quit, do you?" Broly chuckled.

"I let mom die, and Goten, do you really think I'm just going to stand here and watch you die?! I stood by and just watched when Turles died as well. Now shut up and-"

The words were never completed for Goku to hear. Before they could be completed, Broly had already raised his huge Majin armoured boot.

"Let's see if you're son is any more entertaining then you were."

With those words said at the same time, the boot came crashing down from above. When it hit his neck, immediately his wind pipe was crushed along with every artery, vein, muscle, and bone. Skin was unnaturally torn and pulled in, and there was immediate shock. Son Goku's head pulled in towards the boot, his brain unable to process what was happening. It was only a second more before that ceased as well.

Son Goku joined his son, Goten.

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Gohan:

"-just hold on."

Everything seemed to go quiet for Gohan as he watched the boot almost decapitate his father, crushing his neck into pulp. Blood spurted up into the air from his mouth, and when Broly's foot finally moved, the torn and crushed neck was left there, visible on the body. There was no hope for his father to have survived that.

The father who forgave him for all his shortcomings, and always just tried to help him. Even when he gave him reason to hate him, Goku had always managed to look past it. Even when things were close to the edge of what his father could take, he always found it within himself to forgive him and try again. He never stopped trying to save him. From the moment he'd been taken from this world, from his home, his father had been trying to save him. Even now, even after Goten was killed, his first thought was trying to get him to safety.

And he let him die.

The wounds in his chest and back didn't seem to matter. Even as he stood there, unable to feel his legs, only able to stand on them due to channelling his ki. Something hot came up into his eyes, and they started to burn. An already strained heart tried to hold back as he just stared at the body. They were all gone. His family was just gone. But of all of them, it was most painful to see his father laying there. His mother, and his brother were fragile, even if Goten was a Super Saiyan. His father had been a rock. Even when he fought a hopeless battle, Gohan knew Goku would be able to pull out of it and find a way to do something.

With his body laying there helplessly, his throat crushed in and his chest broken, Gohan felt his muscles twitching uncontrollably, and he felt his heart beating with agonized beats. Time still felt frozen somehow as he struggled to keep anything inside. There was a single choked noise that escaped his grit teeth, and as it came out, he felt the same burning feeling in his eyes spill over onto his cheeks.

They're all gone.

It was never a name he used, Son. It was used at the tournament, but he was the last of the Sons now. He was the last of the same blood from their home world. With Turles and Raditz dead as well, he was all that was left.

The demon which had exterminated two of the last people he cared about was standing there, with the same monstrous grin on his face, just turned and looked at him, as if daring him to do anything. Just looking at him made Gohan tremble as the gravity of it all sunk in. The blood of his little brother was literally on his hands, and his father's blood was on his boots.

"I understand you must be upset," Broly then said, stepping towards him. "But don't worry, you'll get to follow him soon."

Rational thought was almost wholly discarded. Gohan didn't try to run, as his father had begged him in his last moments... Gohan only saw red. The images of his lost family flashing in front of his eyes as his expression grew tighter and tighter. The feeling of the tears still welled in his eyes, blurring his vision, made his stomach twist as well.

If he was going to follow his family into death, he wasn't going alone. It was painful to move, it was painful to stand, and it was painful to think. There was no refuge for Gohan from anything, not now. With trembling hands, Gohan pressed his palms together, focusing his energy. With the taste of copper in his mouth, Gohan hissed even from that limited motion, spitting up more blood from flexing his chest muscles. Focusing his energy, focusing himself, he let the energy flow through him. Synthetic muscles, already exposed to the open air, burned with energy as it vented out of him. Flesh sizzled all around the muscles again, blackening further.

The pain wasn't real to him anymore, it was superseded by the pain of being unable to save anyone. His father had died right in front of him... again. It was happening all over again. Unable to stop his focused energy from trembling his already injured arms, Gohan continued to focus. Every step the giant made towards him made the younger Super Saiyan more tense, pulling more on torn and ripped muscles which shouldn't have even worked, but did so under the influence of his ki.

As the orange energy crackled around his hands, Gohan was reminded of years prior. From the first time Turles showed him this attack, to the time he threw it desperately at him, hoping to slow him and save his own life.

Pulling his hands apart, they quickly closed, drawn back in by the raw power beneath his fingers. His mind couldn't form the ring, it was too strained, too exhausted, too angry and sad.

Focus Gohan, you have to do this. If you don't kill him right here, right now, he's going to keep on destroy, and will keep on killing until there is nothing left. Don't let dad or Goten die for nothing. This son of a bitch killed them! Fucking do something about it! Focus!

As his hands separated this time, the crackling ring of deadly orange energy formed. Arched lightning tore through the air and ground around him. His hands trembled, trying to control the energy, holding it in place.

"Go to Hell," Gohan spat, his voice still choked, mixing his grief and anger into one voice.

Pulling his arms back, before thrusting them forward, the Kill Driver was released.

With deadly orange-tinted light following it, the ring shot straight towards Broly. With a grin still plastered on his face, Broly collided with the attack. As soon as the two forces touched, the world turned into light. A thundering roar of an explosion followed, and rock scattered in all directions. The ground itself lifted up and vaporized in the air, turning into a smoke or a fine powder. It was so bright it burned, and Gohan raised his arms to block his face.

It'd been everything he had left. There were no reserves. As if on command as the light faded, Gohan's legs became wet noodles, limply falling to the ground without any feeling.

Looking up, barely able to see as his body slowly started to go into shock, Gohan felt his breathing hitch. Inside the smoke and ash, slowly the shape of a figure came into view. It took several steps forward before finally revealing who it obviously was. Struggling to catch his breath in the slightest, Gohan just winced, trying to pull himself up. There was no power left, there was nothing left to make his legs falsely work.

When Broly cleared the smoke, the grin he'd held had completely disappeared, and Gohan felt himself smirk, even if weakly. Several burn marks marred his skin, some bad enough to have drawn blood. The sneer he now wore was somehow satisfying. He didn't get out of this unscathed. Even with the end in sight with every step Broly made towards him, Gohan felt a small level of redemption for having failed. It wasn't enough to override his shame or guilt of having failed, but it was still there.

This can't be it.

"Die."

It was short and to the point, coming from the son of Paragus. When he pointed his hand out and a green tinted glow.

The end was in sight and all Gohan could do was wish that it'd ended differently. He'd let everyone down again. It was nothing new. This time he was finally going to pay for it with his life, and that at least seemed fitting. Trembling as he tried to rise once again, Gohan felt his lungs heave for more air. His eyes burned again with now familiar tears. Not only could he not save them, he couldn't even avenge them.

When that terrible laugh started, and the green glow grew more intensive, Gohan knew what to come would not be something he would survive. The orb in front of Broly grew from the size of a baseball, to the size of a wrecking ball. Rings of energy seemed to orbit around the ball as it grew and grew in intensity. It was no different then how he killed Paragus... attacking and brutalizing him, before atomizing him with an intense blast of energy.

When the thrumming sound the orb made intensified, Gohan knew the attack was coming.

"So long, son of Kakarot," Broly laughed, before another voice pierced through the void.

"Special Beam Cannon!"

The corkscrew beam drilled down from the sky, not aimed at Broly himself, but at the orb he held in his palm. As soon as it hit, the beam seemed to penetrate into the orb, digging deeper and deeper into it.

"Hah! Another weakling come to get crushed?" Broly laughed.

Even as he did, the orb in front of him immediately began to destabilize. Gohan felt his own stomach twist in a panic. He was too close to that much energy, and that meant when it went off-

"Ha ha ha ha!- huh?"

The maniacal laugh broke off as the beam finished pierce the orb, finally releasing the energy contained within. Even Brolly screamed in pain as his own attack exploded in his hands. When the blinding light in front of Gohan burst out, even he couldn't look away. The intensity of the blast burned his eyes as he felt himself scream, the air coming out of his lungs bursting into flames. The ground beneath him gave way as well, before the shock-wave arrived. Flames licked up his entire body as well, before blood vessels all along his left side, the side most exposed to the blast, burst and burned.

When the world finally faded to black, it was only when the burning sensation engulfed his lungs as well.

It was the end.

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Impossible.

It was impossible to breath, even to choke for air. Somehow enough was captured by damaged lungs, but it was shallow. Every second was an agonized struggle for air as he choked. It was then that the rest of the pain arrived. Everywhere burned. It was impossible to move even without the agony showing itself. Even as the air passed against his exposed and burnt skin, it felt as though someone was setting a blow torch to his skin.

A struggled and weak gasp escaped him, nowhere near as intense as it would have been were he capable of more. Weakness set in seconds later as well. Despite the world already being black, without any kind of visual interaction, he knew he wasn't dead. Somehow he'd not suffered enough in his life so far to be allowed to die. There was too much pain, too much was clouded, for him to understand what was happening. Where was he? Where was he going? Who was carrying him?

"Reserve your energy Gohan," Piccolo said.

It was then Gohan realized he was being carried. Barely the sensation of exposed and burnt muscles on his back could be felt, with two arms under him. It'd been the Namekian's attack which had imploded Broly's orb, causing the explosion. His heart beat weakly in his chest, and Gohan realized his body was bleeding... everywhere. The warm liquid drained from burns, scapes, cuts, and burst bruises. Burnt blood stuck to his body and inside his body. Pain within his body told him he was bleeding internally, and facing organ failure as well. It was not the first time he'd faced it. In space, it would have been an emergency evacuation to a healing chamber. Here?

Here he was going to die. Even as he thought about it, he could feel himself fading more and more. Each intake of air was harder then the last. Each time his heart pumped blood, it pumped less. Even for a Saiyan, the body could only take so much abuse. Throughout his life, this body was wracked through the most terrifying injuries, limbs blown off, skin burned away across whole sections of his body, impaled by foreign objects, bones split open and grafted back together, shattered rib cages, muscles torn from his body as well, and now having his eyes burned out.

Even now, his body grasped at straws to survive, refusing to fall into the darkness of the next life. In his whole life, it'd been the one companion that could never quit on him. Even now as it slowly fell apart around him, even now it struggled to hold on. Unable to stop quivering, Gohan tried to speak, failing as his lungs failed to produce the noise needed. All that came out was a rasped noise.

"Don't try to speak with your lungs, you've not got long," Piccolo advised. "If we're lucky, we can get you and Vegeta to Dende in time, and he can heal you. I'm not going to hide this from you Gohan. The odds are neither of you are going to survive."

It was refreshing to hear the truth about it, rather then being placated that he'd be alright, and that everything was going to be fine. A part of him didn't care anymore. Death would be a release from the pain in much of his life, both in body and soul. But then there was still the fear of his actions in life. Death could be a release, or it could be the beginning to a new level of torment he'd never imagined. It could drag him down into the darkness, where he'd be torn apart as everyone he ever harmed judged him. It could be as his nightmares were.

It was enough to remind him as to why he had to hold on, if not just for himself, then for the family he'd lost. There was still one left, other then himself.

That girl... Pan.

It was still a foreign idea, that somehow he was anyone's father. He didn't understand fully what it would mean on a planet like this, he didn't know what it was to be a father, not in the context of this world. But if there were a reason to pull himself forward, kicking and screaming from the edge of all this, it was her. He still remembered when she grabbed his tail in public, trying to show him how she had one as well. Inside himself, he wished he could have remembered a time where he was so innocent, in the memories he'd lost amongst the fire of dying worlds.

Behind them, he could feel Trunks... both of them. With the two of them was a fading power, it was dwindling quickly as well.

Vegeta.

"What happened?" Gohan finally asked. "Piccolo, did you manage to kill it?"

"No. I only bought enough time to collect you, Vegeta, and Trunks. As soon as I got to you, that thing started to drag itself out of the crater, and it was time to go. So far its destroyed two cities while we've been flying."

So it still wasn't over yet. It wouldn't stop until it died. There was a grim irony to all of this. He'd spent most of his life so far killing people indiscriminately, slaughtering whole worlds... ripping families apart. How many people had begged for their lives in front of him? How many had desperately asked him to spare their families? Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters, they all begged and pleaded for him to just give them more time.

Now his own family suffered and died, and he'd do anything to buy them more time.

Never voicing it, mentally or aloud, Gohan quietly stewed in his thoughts. It was true that his father, brother, and mother didn't deserve to die, not like that. But was also true... was that he deserved to watch them die. It was painful enough that he felt his lungs contract sharply, as his eyes shut even more tightly. This was the punishment Paragus told him about in his nightmares. What he'd done to so many others, was now being visited on him. Even if it meant the suffering of people who didn't deserve it at all.

He needed to survive. Not to avoid Hell, but to stop Broly. Paragus's perfect monster, the Legend of their people, needed to be stopped. None of the others could hope to stand against him, not even Vegeta. Hell, even he had barely scratched him.

I will not die. I will survive. I will get stronger. I will stop him. If not for my family, if not for myself, then for all the people he'll kill if I don't.

For the first time in his life, Gohan understood how his father felt when confronted by some indomitable evil. Whatever happened to him, he had to stop this monster. It was already too late for him, he would always need to apart of what he'd done, but it wasn't too late for the billions of people of this world. It wasn't too late for the little girl he'd met earlier today.

But even with this in mind, his heart still pumped less blood with every thump in his chest. It grew weaker and weaker.

It was when he felt Piccolo shift upward, that his mind realized where they were. The shift in air current made him shiver in agony, and another strangled, rasped noise escaped his lips. In a way, it was good he couldn't see. If his eyes worked, he could see what sensation told him was the case. Much of his skin was burned or gone, he was bleeding profusely, and his arms were mangled. He didn't even know the condition of his legs, thanks to having no feeling in them. If he were a betting man, and could move to touch it, he would have guessed the left side of his face was a bloody, burnt mess as well.

Shivering uncontrollably a moment later, despite not being cold... it was increasingly clear how close to the edge he was.

Don't give up. It's not done yet.

It was when he felt the speed pick up, Gohan realized where he'd arrived.

"Dende!" Piccolo's voice shouted out. "Dende, we need you now! Get out here!"

"I'm coming!" Dende said in a panic. "Oh no... this... this is terrible."

What great bedside manner you have, green twerp.

There was a moment of hesitation before Dende next spoke, which made even Gohan feel nervous. Of course, he started to feel more then nervous a second later. Before his head had felt light, now he was feeling increasingly woozy, unable to move entirely. The world began to tingle even as he felt himself starting to slip.

It was then that he felt something warm. The warmth seemed to grow, and grow as he felt it spreading throughout his body. Slowly, his legs began to tingle again, feeling all of his toes and even leg hairs come to life. The sensation was enough to make Gohan shiver for a second. Every breath of air he took grew easier. It seemed like with each breath his lungs were filled with less burns and scabbed blood.

"Hurry, Dende," Piccolo urged.

"He's very badly hurt Piccolo, this takes time. I know it's not ideal, but it can't be rushed," Dende pleaded.

There was just a frustrated noise from the Namekian, which told Gohan somehow things were worse then they appeared. But with every few seconds, he felt healthier. Even now he could feel skin knitting itself back together. Patches of skin over synthetic muscle even slowly grew back over the exposed, worn muscles. Blood filled his veins, and he could his dizziness and tingling slip away. His chest and abdomen felt like it was filling with light itself as torn and shredded muscles filled back in. Finally, his face felt as if it tingled for a moment, before filling back out, and his eyes slowly came back to life.

Light.

It was so bright it was hard for Gohan to even look, anywhere. Turning his head away painfully from the light, Gohan tried to look directly at his shadow. It was only then that he realized he was sitting.

"Dad?" a young boy's voice asking pleadingly. "Dad! Dad! Breath dad! Dende! Dende please! Help!"

It was then, for the first time Gohan got a good look at Vegeta. The Saiyan Prince had taken a direct hit, shielding his boy from the monster down there. What he saw wasn't... wasn't good. His left arm was almost entirely gone, and had been hemorrhaging blood through a poorly made piece of torn clothing, perhaps from a shred of Trunks' pants. Burns saturated what was left of his left side. Of course, as he lay there, his eleven year old son hovering over him, trying to desperately think of anything to do, Vegeta's expression was blank, his eyes open and his features completely halted. It was a scene he'd seen a million times before.

Even if he hated Vegeta, and his brat kid it... wasn't pleasant to see. Especially after what had just happened to his own father. At least Trunks had a real chance to save his father. Even when Dende desperately ran over to try to help, Gohan knew it was pointless. The tears the young man now had were swelled in his eyes.

Blinking several times, it was hard even for Gohan to watch.

Just as with Goku, Vegeta had given everything to save his son. To hate Vegeta now seemed... petty. Slowly rising from where he was, Gohan took several steps towards the boy. Even looking up to his older counterpart, Gohan could see the grief in the other man's eyes. The difference was paramount however. The younger boy from this timeline had never experienced this before. The older man was hardened. Even with all of the pain he experienced, he'd seen death before. But still, even with that in mind, his eyes glistened with tears. Every time he breathed out, it shook.

It was another body to add to the pile. Dende placed his hands forward, and they started to glow, but Vegeta didn't start to mend. Instead, his body just... lay there. For all of his blow-hard statements, and for all of the disrespect he was shown, Gohan recognized Vegeta's sacrifice. No one was going to just kill his son. Even if it meant facing death himself, Vegeta had been prepared.

"Dad," Trunks urged again. "Dad please!"

Blinking hard again, Gohan felt his own heart skip a beat as he looked towards Piccolo. The Namekian looked off to the side himself. Closing his fists tightly, Gohan felt his left arm tingle as his synthetic muscles contracted weakly. Finally, Gohan felt himself seize up as the weight of everything came crashing down around him.

"Mom," he choked. "Dad... Goten..."

There was another choke as he let his own head fall to the side. There was no enemy at his doorstep, there was no more thinking on his feet. With another choked noise being restrained, Gohan looked up with his own eyes still burning with tears.

"Trunks," the older Trunks then interjected to the boy clutching his father. "He's... he's gone."

This was going to stop. It wouldn't stop at some distant point in the future, it was going to stop now.

As tightly as his hand could, he gripped Turles's shreds of armour on his body with his one hand as he felt himself starting to cry. Finally, tears fell freely, there was no resistance anymore, there was nothing left to get in the way of his heart ripping open. A pained, choked cry escaped him. The tears he'd failed to hold back slid down his cheeks, mixing with blood and trailing over burns, cuts and scars.

"Why did you make me do it?" Gohan asked the corpse. "We could have- if you'd- why!?"

Angry tears mixed with grieved ones, before Gohan slammed his fist weakly against the body he now hunched over.

"Please, just..." Gohan breathed. "Tell me! Tell me why?!"

The memory was still raw, but he could see it replaying, only this time he could see it replaying for two others.

"NO!" Trunks shouted, his eyes closing with pain. "He can't be gone! He's my father! He can do anything!"

It wasn't some little bastard princeling, what Gohan was looking at was a boy, desperately pleading for his father to stay with him.

"Why... why!?"

The older Trunks finally broke, he sobbed as he just grasped the younger double's shoulder, tightly. There were several hard sobs as he tried to keep himself composed, but failed. It didn't help that the younger one was crying even more uncontrollably.

The last scream was enough to make Gohan's resolve harden. Even with his own tears in his eyes, even with his own painful memories at heart, he knew what he had to do.

Immediately turning towards the lookout, he saw the edge of the garden. Sitting down on the stone barrier around it, Gohan felt himself take several more breaths.

"Why are you smiling?" Gohan finally snapped. "I didn't compliment you, you idiot!"

Quietly, and with a certain level of dignity Gohan couldn't see but could feel, Kakarot continued to smile for several moments.

"Because I know that getting angry, or depressed, won't change anything. So what that means is I just need to try harder," Kakarot explained.

His father had been wrong, at least partially. Gohan's anger was what guided him, it was what made him realize his purpose. It was what had saved him a thousand times. Right now, it told him what he knew to be true. Paragus's beast, his son, needed to be stopped. But that also meant he couldn't give up. He needed to try harder.

Nothing could be left out of reach for him. Any sacrifice which needed to be made, would be made. Every pain he had to experience, he would endure. Right now, he knew what that would mean.

"Mom and dad are always so quiet since you left. They are always sad that you aren't around. You came back just enough to make them sad. Now you're giving them this, but you won't come home. I don't get why they want to see you, I don't get why they want to see you. You're mean, and selfish, and cruel. I wish you never came back."

The words of his younger brother only saturated his guilt even more. Not only had he not saved them, for years he'd neglected them, trying to make them forget about him, something he'd never do. The little brother he fought so hard to save hated him, still. It was a hatred he could understand at least. But the fact he understood it made it all the more sad. Goten shouldn't have had to have felt that kind of contempt for anyone, least of all his own 'brother'. It was born of how he'd treated their parents.

Mom, dad... I'm sorry for all the time I missed. I'm sorry I couldn't save you.

Reaching up towards his left shoulder with his right hand, where the largest nest of synthetic muscle strands were, Gohan pressed his fingers against the region. Anxiety built up in his chest as his breathing began to start sharply. It was hard to bring up the courage to do it, but the core of it was there, urging him forward. Every second he restrained himself inadvertently, the compulsion grew stronger. It was the compulsion to do what he knew he had to.

Alright, what would your father do, Gohan?

That was enough. With a deep intake of air, Gohan pressed his fingers into his shoulder as hard as he could. Deep red blood thickly pulsed up through the finger sized wounds he tore into his shoulder as he dugin with two of his fingers. His thumb pressed against the bottom of his shoulder and the top of his chest, trying to stop the uncontrollable seizing of the muscles at the intrusion of his other two fingers, and trying to anchor his hand for leverage. Immediately his head trembled and arched back as he bit back a howl of agony, all that escaped was a terrible groan, followed by a restrained, strained growl. His hand started to tremble as he hooked it under the first implant. Every second his fingers were in his shoulder, Gohan felt pain. Only the horror of when the Namekian, Slug, tore his arm off, could match what he felt. Instead of begging for it to stop however, Gohan was begging himself to find the will to continue.

Finally, unable to hold back his scream, Gohan hooked his fingers around his synthetic muscle strands, and pulled back as hard as he could. Every second was agony, there were no other words to describe it other then that. Every point the implants had latched on to screamed in his mind, begging for him to stop. His heart raced and his hand flinched several times from it all. It was unbearable. Only sheer willpower kept his hand moving, and kept what he'd started in motion. The strands flexed and waned as far as they could, before they started to snap off his existing muscle structure. Finally, with one great pull, the first patch of grey 'cables' came free. The ends of on both sides were stained red, and had small snapped fibres of his real body still dangling from them.

Everything went fuzzy as he felt a combination of unbearable pain, and relief. His head and body almost fell back as he just breathed out in sheer relief, now that the cybernetic muscle was pulled free. The gaping hole left in his musculature left him in a seizure of pain. He couldn't move beyond the trembles his body went through.

"Gohan? Gohan what the Hell are you doing?" Piccolo shouted from across the Lookout, just as the others turned towards him.

It was a grizzly crimson mess all over his left shoulder and chest. His right hand was smeared with fresh blood as well. Ignoring the Namek, Gohan reached up again, digging into the gaping wound he'd pulled open with his fingers. Immediately his arm trembled as he tried to conceal his pain. His teeth grit together as he hissed, trying to hold himself together. The haze in his eyes only got worse, this time digging into his shoulder as he pulled back on strands of the implanted materials.

Don't give up now! Come on!

"RRR...RRRRRAA... RAAAAA!"

It was sickly, as he pulled back again, his shoulder seemed to deflate as the muscles were pulled out from under it. There was a hitch where his arm froze, the synthetic muscles not willing to budge further, having caught on his bone. With another tug, they gave way more, he could hear the tension in his shoulder as chips of bone slowly gave way. Strands tore from their homes, attached to staples and other real live muscle. Every second of this was agony. Every moment he'd pulled back on his own insides was unbearable. The only thing that made it bearable was the objective.

He had to win.

"Gohan!" Dende shouted, his eyes widened in terror. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Ahhhh!... AH!" Gohan breathed out as he tried to contain himself.

His stained fingers twitched as the pain shot through his body. With his arm still trembling, he reached up again. Every instinct tried to get him to stop, but he couldn't.

"Gohan that's enough!" Dende shouted. "Stop right now, I'll heal you-"

"Not yet," Gohan said quickly, his voice almost uncontrolled. Even from his own eyes, he was delirious from spasms his body was now going through, desperately trying to find pieces of it that weren't there anymore.

Reaching up, he almost stopped this time, trying to get a hold of himself. His left arm lay dead at his side, utterly useless. There was no control from it, only a dull, horrific pain, and it twitched uncontrollably as his brain sent erratic nerve signals to the arm itself. To fight Broly, he needed to be whole again. He needed to be whole for the first time in over twelve years. Reluctant in the last few seconds, Gohan steeled himself, shoving his hand back into the wound.

Sickly black-red fluid bubbled out of the wound, before oozing down his shoulder. A snarling face twisted over his face, before his eyes closed in a pain he couldn't describe. His fingers dug in past bone and muscle, finding the last strands in his arm. Hooking his fingers under them, Gohan began to pull. This time it was too anchored, not pulling along with him.

Another sharp breath came from his chest as he tried to concentrate on the job, not on the pain.

He tried to concentrate on everyone Broly had killed, or was killing.

He tried to focus on not disappointing everyone for once.

With one last snarl, the synthetic muscle tore free from his body, taking a chunk of muscle and sinew with it. It was impossible to scream in pain it was so overwhelming as the chunk came loose. The fire his shoulder was in before was nothing compared to the blinding, hot pain he felt now. Hanging dead at his side, save for the uncontrollable spasms, Gohan just let himself breath with the relief of not having to stick his hand back inside that hole. The hole which now shot lances of nerve wracking agony into his system. But the relief was still there, a relief that he'd not have to continue to grind into a hole he'd made in his own body. Looking down at the blood soaked fingers, and blood stained nails, Gohan just tried to remind himself it wasn't over yet. Now wasn't the time to give up.

Now was the time to try harder.

Reaching down his right side with his still good arm, this time looking directly at the Namekians in front of him, Gohan dug his fingers into the flesh there as well. There was a super structure on his right side. He knew he may not even have the strength to get this piece free.

"Gohan, stop this now," Piccolo ordered, just as the blood began to ooze from his right side, as he dug his fingers up against his ribs, hooking more muscle. "What are you doing? This won't-"

"It... It hurts," Gohan gasped.

"Well you don't say!" Dende said, looking in horror at all the blood, and especially at the hemorrhaging wound on his left shoulder. "Let me heal you! Are you trying to kill yourself in the stupidest way-"

Gohan's entire body convulsed as he started to pull the mass of muscle out from his right side. It was an impossible level of pain. With each pull, his right arm weakened. Even as he poured his strength into it, his limb weakened and weakened. Finally, he pulled the muscle half out before struggling to keep his arm up. It trembled for almost ten seconds, the entire time holding his breath, his face turning red. A green hand reached out, grasping the muscle.

Making eye contact with Piccolo, he nodded quickly, feverishly, hoping to do anything to get relief. With one great pull, the fabricated muscles came loose. His body felt empty as the void in his chest, abdomen, and shoulder was allowed to be opened up for the first time in years. Blood pumped from his open wounds before he looked towards Dende, his body making shaky breaths.

Piccolo now understood what he was doing, that much he could tell. He'd seen his muscles burn his body, and he'd probably felt energy venting from them. They were no longer able to keep up with his power, they had to be removed if he was going to fight Broly.

He couldn't even speak anymore, the pain was too much. All he could do was nod, and hope the Namekian understood him enough.

When the small framed Namekian stepped forward, his healing hands moving together with a familiar glow, Gohan immediately felt the same warmth from before. While the flesh was slowly restored... muscles gone for over a decade slowly began to mend into place. These muscles which hadn't even existed in years started to regrow. It was beyond relief when he felt odd the odd sensation of their return.

For the first time in as long as he could remember, Gohan was whole again.

"I need clothes."

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Babidi:

Ingrate.

This Broly creature was an ingrate. Every command he sent was ignored. Whatever power had overtaken him as well, was so great that even his M was stripped from his forehead. It was unbridled, uncontrolled, and maddened in its nature. As it was said, you didn't know what you had until it was gone. That Saiyan creature, now in the process of annihilating another human colony, was the greatest monster he could have possessed, save Majin Buu himself. Now that monster was outside of his control, and it was infuriating.

The Supreme Kai and his lackeys were no match for a monster like that. Dabura would have been a speed bump for him at best. Now here he was, keeping his distance, trying to find a way to influence and recapture something which he possessed for decades. Now he'd not only lost Majin Buu, but this Broly beast as well! Truly the universe itself was playing a cruel joke upon him! HIM! The great Babidi, son of Bibidi! The greatest wizard alive. Someone needed to pay for this.

Another explosion burst into view in the distance as Babidi felt his fists clench furiously.

Well now what?! His ship was absolutely destroyed, and they were stuck on this wretched planet with a killing machine that would surely try to seek them out to destroy them as well. Kais only knew where that idiot Piccolo went, or if he was alive or dead. Not that he'd be able to help much with a monster like this.

"Master Babidi," Dabura said from his side. The two of them stood atop a hill outside of this now laid to waste city. There was a picture of a stupid looking man who appeared on posters everywhere as well, before Broly vaporized them in his fit of irrational violence.

More screams echoed out from below as another green blast was set off in the distance.

"What?" Babidi snapped, his fists closed angrily, still mad about the irreparable damage to his ship.

"If we cannot control Broly, would it not make sense to form a temporary alliance with the Earthlings and their warriors in order to attempt to stop him? If Broly continues like this, he will kill us as well."

What an oaf Dabura was. He didn't see the full picture. It was still very possible to control Broly. It was all about just... giving the right incentive to the beast. Once its guard was down, he could take possession of its mind once again. If anything, these Earthlings and Saiyans could be useful in distracting Broly.

"Of course Master Babidi, but-"

"Stop your whining Dabura, what could possibly go wrong? You seem to be forgetting that I am the most skilled and powerful wizard in all the universe," Babidi said, his grin appearing from ear to ear.

It was possible to already envision his future. A future with a slave like Broly. It would be incredible to be able to bully and destroy whole civilizations. Even Cooler's pitiful Planet Trade Organization would be at best a minor annoyance to him. All he needed was a distraction of the right scale and scope. It could come in almost any form, and then he could latch back onto Broly's mind. All that power would be his to possess.

But it was when he looked back towards Dabura, expecting a response, that Babidi understood something else was happning. The snake-eyed demon lord was just looking into the distance, his eyes widened with whatever it was he was sensing. It hardly impressed Babidi.

"What is it, you red oaf?"

Only when Dabura remained silent, did the tiny wizard begin to realize how important this was.

"A new power," Dabura said finally. "Whatever it is... it's immense."

Slowly, Babidi began to smile again.

Well, that was very interesting.

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Future Trunks:

It'd been too much to see his father like this. Helpless and at the mercy of fate. When he'd finally... passed... he heard the pain he'd felt his whole life in his own time, personified in his younger self. A younger self who had never known the strife he had. This Trunks had lived a comfortable life, filled with delusions of safety, or of the heroes always overcoming the bad guys. Now their father was dead, and the kid's best friend was too. It was hard for him, but he couldn't imagine how hard it was for his other self.

Both of them had their father's blood covering their clothes, from when they'd tried desperately to stem the bleeding, back down on the Earth below. There was so much blood, the elder Trunks knew deep down his father had lost too much of it. Even a Saiyan body had its limits. But like a child himself, he believed somehow his father's willpower would just push him through it. No matter how bad things got, he could always look towards his dad to be the rock, the one who would always do what was necessary, and would always find a way to just... make it.

But nothing went on forever.

It'd been impossible not to cry. After all the time he'd spent with his father, after how honourable of a man he'd found him to be, it was impossible not to feel his death in the core of his soul. It was like watching Tien die all over again, and he'd been helpless to do anything about it. Just as he was helpless to stop Goku's death. But his tears were nowhere near as plentiful as the boy who lost the father who'd been there his whole life.

Even now his child-self lay over his father's body, quietly sobbing. There was nothing more he could do but be there. But even then, things were going to so quickly, he'd have to move on quickly. This wasn't over. That monster was now down there destroying Satan City, and he could move into West City next. Right now all Trunks was thankful for was that his mother and little sister were at the Tournament still, and not back at Capsule Corporation.

Not that it would matter if they couldn't stop him this monster. All of them together had barely done anything to halt it. Even now he didn't know exactly what they could do, but they had to do something. Right now they were just trying to get what was left of themselves together. What else could they do? It was going to be another charge as soon as they were ready.

Grabbing a capsule out from his pocket, Trunks hit the top of the cap, before tossing it to the side. In a poof, his sword appeared, still in its sheath. He knew he'd be needing this regardless. Right now he doubted it would even cut the skin of that titan down there. Right now the only thing Trunks knew was something had to stop that monster, before it did to someone else, what had just happened to him and his family.

Already, millions were suffering and dying on the Earth.

I hate being so helpless! I just... I need to find my strength.

Turning his head, Trunks heard a terrible scream.

His younger self looked up from their father's... corpse, sniffling several times. When the sound returned as several grunts, Trunks felt his eyes widened at what he was looking at. Gohan was ripping his insides out?

What the Hell kind of psychopath did that? It was harder to see what exactly was going on, but it was hardly psychologically sound. When Piccolo and Dende moved to intervene, Trunks just shook his head. That was who he was going to have to rely on in a battle against Broly? Not only a monster, but a deranged, self mutilating one at that? All that was left was the crazed monster, Piccolo, and himself. How were they going to stop that thing down there? Maybe he could use his time machine, to travel into the past and... find... anything.

There didn't seem to be an over abundance of options for them. Even if they gathered the Dragon Balls, then what?

The Androids, he at least could understand their power. Even if their sick minds were tuned only towards killing, he could also understand their motives. He'd lived in a world decimated by monsters, but nothing like this. Broly seemed intent on slaughtering everyone, just like Cell. He never understood Cell either, or Bojack for that matter. It was like trying to understand Gohan's motivation... his timeline's Gohan. Why would you kill everyone? What did you get out of it? They were all just monsters with only one purpose.

And one of them had... finally overtaken, and killed his father.

It was painful to admit, it left even a pain in his chest, but it was the truth of it. But he needed to steel himself.

Looking towards his younger self, Trunks almost winced painfully. If he failed, he would be all that was left. He would have to find his mother and sister and... escape. Escape to the future.

"Gohan, slow down!" Dende's voice called out, drawing Trunks' attention towards a familiar Super Saiyan glow.

As soon as he caught sight of it, he felt something deep disrupt the world around him. It took him only a moment to realize it, as his eyes widened.

It was Gohan.

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Videl:

It was hard to just lay there, in some ward, waiting for the doctors to finish providing her with what her full diagnosis was. So far she could already guess she was going to need a neck brace, and that she may need a rod put into her left leg. Things didn't look good for her ribs either, they'd probably need to be bandaged for months. It meant no training in all that time, which meant she would only decline in her already... inferior, skills. So far she'd watched the television in her room for hours, watching repeats of the World Martial Arts Tournament. Every view through she watched was a repeat of her fight against Spopovich, trying to determine what had happened. Where had she gone wrong?

She'd hammered into him so many times, and so badly. She'd even thought she'd killed him at two points, and none of it seemed to matter. There was nothing she could have done, she'd just been weak. Worst of all, it'd been that monster who stepped into the ring and... saved her. The thought of it made her skin crawl, especially when she saw him enter the ring on the videos. Not only had he defeated Spopovich, he'd utterly destroyed him with several simple moves. The difference in power he possessed compared to her must have been... insurmountable in her life time. It made her tremble at the thought, utterly despondent at the idea.

She'd sacrificed so much to get stronger. She'd put her body through so much abuse. She'd spent so much time away from her friends, her father, and her daughter to try and just make it. Then she it came to proving herself, she couldn't even defeat the monster who'd humiliated her. She was so stupid for ever thinking she had a chance. She probably deserved what had happened to her. What made her think she'd ever make a difference? With things like 'Gohan' and the one who beat him in the following round, she was utterly pathetic.

Everyone as weak as her were pathetic, as all of them would always be at the mercy of these things. Strength was everything, and she didn't have any. It was painful enough after her fourth viewing of her defeat, that Videl felt hot tears stinging against the edges of her eyes.

I'm... I'm worthless.

There was a choking noise that tried to escape her chest, but she managed to repel it. The only reason she found enough strength to stop herself from sobbing openly, was because her daughter was laying there, sleeping half on her bed, and half in a chair pulled up to the side. Pan was her little girl, and no one else's. Sometimes she felt strong enough to do anything when she was around Pan, but that'd all been shattered back in the tournament. Her daughter was screaming at her from the stands, begging for her life on her behalf. One shot of the footage even showed her it, the look of sheer torment and dread on the little girl's face when she was watching things unfold. Worse was when he entered the ring.

She couldn't even protect her daughter from that thing. Then he'd just involved himself in her life, as if he belonged there. She'd barely caught a glimpse of her two mentors, and knew she'd likely never see them again. He'd never killed her father in front of her, and the whole time her daughter just looked on, as her 'friend' acted as a dictator. Quietly she moved her good arm out to gently hold her daughter's head. If Pan didn't need her, she'd have already gone through with something more drastic. All of the weak people around her were so... oblivious, none of them understood or even cared to.

Her father was even weaker then her, and he played himself as a macho man, a world leader as a fighter. Her eyes continued to sting, and this time she closed them hard as several tears shed. It was easy to say for years, that she was somehow better then her father. Now it was obvious she was just like him. Someone who thought too highly of themselves, and was really just... a disposable person, whose only value was what? To be entertainment for monsters?

It was all too clear now that her father hadn't defeated Cell, and when he'd been discarded from the ring, he'd been truly defeated without any effort.

On the TV in front of her, without even realizing it, the coverage had completely changed. Now it was looking at what was once Central City. It was gone. Every major building had been flattened, random patches of fire consumed most of the city. Dead bodies and pieces of bodies littered every shot from the streets or the helicopters. It was horrible, it was just like all the pictures she'd seen from when the Saiyans had destroyed East City, or when Cell terrorized the world. There was a monster that was doing all this.

"So far, we are confirming it is one creature causing all the havoc and carnage. Moving from city to city it seems. For now we recommend if you are inside a settlement, try to disperse. Please, take care of your loved ones and pray to God that something saves us from this horror."

Quietly, she stroked Pan's head harder, not even realizing it. Slowly stirring, Pan looked up towards her with her big, blue eyes.

"Mommy?" she whispered, her eyes staring up at her, trying to make eye contact.

"Go back to sleep," Videl whispered, before turning her gaze back towards the television.

It was for the best if her daughter didn't see this.

What was worse though, is there was nothing she could do about it. Not only was she trapped in this damn bed, she was utterly helpless, even without her injuries. The only thing she could imagine in that moment were all the people screaming, running for their lives, and trying to protect their loved ones. Then, she could imagine them all dying in a simple gesture, as if they weren't there.

Just like when her mom died in East City.

There was a choked noise she made when she saw Satan City burning as well. Most of the city was already levelled to rubble. But it wasn't the city alone which made her choke. Standing there, outside of the city, in front of a TV camera, was her father.

Dad, no, please. For once just hold yourself back, please.

Soon, she was going to be truly alone. It would just be her daughter and nothing more. Erasa and Sharpener lived in Satan City, and her father was charging back into it like a delusional fool. Looking down at Pan, tears still held in her eyes, she tried to smile.

"It's okay honey," she choked. "Please go back to sleep. Everything is going to be fine."

Pan looked at the screen however, before looking back at her mother, she was as innocent as ever. With a hint of a smile, the little girl grabbed her mother's hand and just stared back at her.

"Don't worry mommy, Mister Gohan will stop the bad man."

She really believed that. That somehow Gohan was just going to show up and help save the world? Why would he? He was another one of the alien monsters himself. If anything, he was going to help this beast.

"G-Go back to sleep, honey," Videl responded, trying to smile back, as her cheeks shifted though, only more tears brimmed.

She could only hope these things spared her daughter.

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Piccolo:

"I need clothes."

It was clear what was happening. Piccolo looked at the discarded implants before looking back at Gohan, his body finally healed to its full self. At first he and Dende hadn't understood, perhaps Dende still didn't understand. Gohan's implants consumed too much of his power, and literally caused his body pain and burns. It'd been something Piccolo had seen first hand. The pain must not have been a deterrent for him, and Piccolo could guess why.

The pain of losing Goku and Goten struck Piccolo as well. Vegeta's death only added to the tragedy. Even if he wanted to prove himself against Goku, even if he'd betrayed them... Gohan had been right, he was his friend. No matter what differences they had, Goku had been his best friend. He'd helped train his son even, and Goten was a good, smart kid. Maybe if he'd not been so selfish, Goku and Goten would have still been alive. It would be something that would be with him for a long time if they managed to get through all of this alive. They'd faced impossible odds together, against Raditz, then against Frieza, then Cell, then Bojack even.

Once his greatest enemy, once someone he was literally born to kill, Goku had managed to show him what it was to have a real friend. In his jealousy and frustration, he'd turned on that. He could never repay the debt he'd just formed to Goku. Worse, he knew if Goku came back, he'd forgive him. It was something he both wanted, and hated. He wanted to be forgiven because Goku was his friend. He didn't want to be forgiven at the same time though, because he didn't deserve it.

What Gohan had said was also true before as well, he was supposed to have been his friend as well.

It was something he'd never sought out, if anything he'd only ever wanted to make sure Gohan was kept in line. At every turn Gohan surprised him. When they first met, he was a crude planet killer, with little or no regard for any of them, least of all him. But then they started to train, and even without words Piccolo began to understand him. In the Time Chamber, he understood where Gohan's pride came from, and where his pain had come from in many ways.

Then Turles happened.

Despite almost worshipping the man Piccolo knew Gohan saw as a father, despite betraying Goku to unite with him, Gohan had done the right thing, perhaps for the first time in his life. He waged a battle he couldn't win, and won despite the odds... and won despite his relationship with his opponent. It was a victory Piccolo could have never seen coming.

He didn't know when he started to think of Gohan as a friend, whether it was as the young man slowly opened up before Turles arrived, or after they started to train when he refused to see Goku, but Piccolo knew they did become friends. What was worse, was that perhaps he was the only one Gohan trusted, beyond his mother Chi-Chi. A trust that was shattered when he stood aside, helping that idiot Kai's plan.

When he faced Gohan, he thought he was strong enough. Better yet, he had all his moves. But he didn't have the passion for the battle, not like Gohan had. When Gohan tore his arms off, not only was the battle decided, but it showed him something about Gohan which had been ignited inside him in the last day. He cared about Goku. In an odd way, as his head was being beaten into the stone ring, Piccolo was proud to know that Gohan had finally moved on in his life. Of course, his happiness was subdued with a life threatening series of attacks.

Left in the ring, left to fate, Piccolo was left to reflect. In that reflection, he didn't see what he'd wanted. Everyone had their role, including him.

Raising his hand, Piccolo knew exactly what kind of garb Gohan needed. In a flash of white, the Saiyan stood up wearing an orange-clad fighting gi, blue boots, and a blue belt fastened around his waist, along with a blue under shirt. Though he assumed Gohan wouldn't want the wrist bands.

He half expected an annoyed look to come back at him for the young Saiyan, given his attitude until so recently. As soon as Gohan looked down though, he just froze in place, staring down at the clothes for a long series of moments. Looking back towards Piccolo a moment later, the young man had a mixture of gratitude, and sadness written across his face. Both were of a surprise to Piccolo, but they really shouldn't have been.

"I... thanks," Gohan finally managed.

The air around them grew almost static a second later. Energy swirled around them, and a swirl of golden energy burst up from the ground. The cracks between the stone tiles which composed the Lookout began to glow brightly. Finally, Gohan's hair turned gold, and force blasted in all directions. It was hard to remain stationary. Waves of force came rolling out from the middle. Swirls of dust and energy cascaded off Gohan. It'd been unexpected, and Dende was sent flying back, crashing into Mister Popo, who'd been trying to clear out the Garden of its recent, uninvited, cybernetic guests.

Focusing in on his face, Piccolo only saw impassive seriousness. It took him only a split second to realize what it was.

Before he could find his voice, electricity brimmed around Gohan, and his power skyrocketed. His hair arched upward, and his muscles seemed to bulge, before tightening against his frame. Another wave of force exploded from Gohan. Clouds surrounding the lookout were set off, sparking electrical storms as the static in the clouds reacted to the power rippling around them.

Suddenly, it dawned on Piccolo. Gohan's near death, and his body finally being restored, had improved him as a fighter as Piccolo never could have imagined. Even when Dende started healing Gohan, Piccolo had thought he'd already died. He was as strong as he felt him when he unleashed his full force against Broly, twice. The only one to have harmed the giant, at all, was Gohan when he exploded forward with hidden fits of power like this. This wasn't hidden, or reserve power now however.

Stepping forward, walking towards the edge of the lookout, Gohan didn't say a word to anyone.

Wait... he's going? But wh- Oh no.

"Gohan! Stop!"

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Broly:

Another explosion resounded around the city as Broly cackled, watching as the local high school burst into flames, before exploding in all directions. Anyone hiding inside the building met its fate. Even in the debris cloud, Broly could see bodies and body parts scattered among the piping, walls, and frames. More pitiful targets, more easy prey. It wasn't nearly as entertaining as hunting real prey.

Kakarot had been as satisfying of a kill as he'd always hoped. He only wished he'd cried as he did as an infant before he smothered him with his boot. Tormenting him before he died had also been an incredible sensation. Especially when he killed his loathsome brat, and maimed the other one. It was Kakarot who awakened his power, just seeing him brought so much hate, so much resentment, that he couldn't be contained. Breaking free from that pitiful creature Babidi's spell was an incredible feeling. Finally being unchained, he could kill whatever he wanted, and he could enjoy it.

He wished the little yellow alien was his next victim, he would slaughter every animal on this world until he found the miserable little wrtech, and killed him himself. A personalized death was the only means of enjoying that kind of kill.

In truth, he could have destroyed this miserable wasteland of a planet by now. It would be easy, and he already knew he would survive. The death of a planet, did not mean an end to his power. Even when he was a child, he could still recall what his father told him. He was a legend, a god by their own people's standards, and it was proven time, and time again. There were no threats to him in all of creation, nor was there anything that could ever rise to threaten him. To be a legend, was to be more then mortal.

Even when Cooler had destroyed a whole world with him on it, in the core of the Super Nova attack, Broly was still protected by what he was. The orb of pure energy saved him, and sent him hurtling across the cosmos to regain his strength.

With a grin across his face, Broly raised his hand again, forming another orb of energy. He wanted to hear the screams of the little useless creatures below. They were so weak they disgusted him.

In the back of his mind, he remembered he still had to kill Vegeta's son. Pulling him apart piece by piece would be a satisfying moment. Perhaps after he was done, he would kill a dozen of the locals in celebration. It was unbearable in a way, knowing that he couldn't just kill everyone he wanted so quickly. The very idea anyone could evade him, for no matter how little a piece of time, made him furious.

To cool his fury, he tossed his energy wave into the streets below. Just as he'd wanted, he heard the screams of the Earthlings below. They cried out no matter how futile, as if hoping it would change their fate. It was delicious to hear. As they screamed, Broly laughed. Their terror could almost be absorbed through the air, and the feeling it gave him was indescribably pleasurable. It was sating after so many years of being Babidi's pet and servant.

With his grin returning, Broly raised his hand in the air, forming another attack.

"Which ones... to kill next..." he pondered, looking down at the locals with hungry eyes. There were so many to still pick from. He wanted them to suffer for just being. Every instinct he'd been denied so long, bloodlust especially, was crying out to be satisfied.

With another laugh, he prepared his assault, until he felt it. Something in the distance, where he couldn't pinpoint... but he felt it.

The rise of a new power.

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Gohan:

As soon as the clothes appeared on his body, Gohan looked down at himself in near silence. The Namekian was... thoughtful, if not cruel. It wasn't long ago that he would have spat at having to wear a gi like this again. Goku, Kakarot, was a simpleton who wasn't worthy of his respect. He was worth fearing due to his great power, but never worth his respect. He'd been a weakling in mind, the most important place of all. A soft man who always thought of others before himself.

Now, as he looked down at the gi, Gohan felt pride at having the opportunity to wear it. He'd heard of the climatic battles he'd fought. He'd defeated Vegeta on this world. He'd defeated Frieza on Planet Namek. Then there were battles against artificial organisms, which he too triumphed against. Then battles against a beast of legend, the mighty pirate Bojack. But what he had done beyond all that, he'd been a father to his son, Goten, and a husband to his wife, Chi-Chi. And if Gohan hadn't been so... so... reluctant,he could have had a chance to be a true father to Gohan. The Gods know he tried. Just as he always said, he never gave up.

Even at the end, he'd never given up.

Even when all the odds were against him, he fought on.

Flexing his newly restore shoulder as he stood, Gohan felt sensations he'd not experienced since he was a child. Real muscles responded with a great fluidity, it made him feel almost as if he was young again, but more importantly it made him feel like he could do anything. There were no obstacles anymore, the only obstacles there were, were ones invented in his own mind.

Breathing in, he felt a rush of energy lift up through his body, all around him the lookout seemed to respond. Light burst from between the cracks of the tiles around him as dust, light, and force burst from his very centre. When his hair turned to gold, and his eyes shifted to blue-green, Gohan felt revitalized as he'd never been before. His muscles responded to the power naturally, there was no pain, no stiffness. Despite it all, his battle-scarred body, his greatest companion, knew what they were about to embark upon, and fed him all the strength and power he needed.

It felt good.

Looking towards Piccolo, a man he'd nearly killed only hours earlier, he felt... appreciation. The words were still hard to form for him, thanking anyone was never his strongest suit. At first he wanted to almost drawl on, but he knew Piccolo. There was no need for anything long winded.

"I... thanks."

Without anymore hesitation or restraint, Gohan pushed things to the next level. Bolts of lightning strung around his body, and he felt tremendous amounts of energy flowing through his body, utterly uninterrupted. The ground around him glowed even more brightly. Waves of sheer power cascaded off his form, blasting the Little Green into the little assistant on the Lookout. The plants in the garden, and the trees, blew wildly with the power now streaming off Gohan. The very clouds in the sky around the lookout began to circle around them, shooting lightning inside itself as it responded to his energy.

Despite all the power, he didn't feel tense, it felt as if he were somehow lighter then air.

For the first time in his life, Gohan knew he was fighting for someone other then himself, and his own selfish wants. This was about more then him. It even superseded his family. His father didn't just die for him, or for Goten. His father died for everyone on this planet. For all their flaws, for all their simple views of the universe, Gohan had lived among them now for years. He'd seen them for what they were, for all their good, their evil, and apathy. But he did know one thing, and it was something he knew his father saw as well.

These people deserved a chance at their lives. The same as all the people he'd killed in his life deserved a chance at theirs. No one deserved to have everything stripped away by someone with more power. His time at the Planet Trade showed him enough of that. It showed him enough misery, pain, suffering, death, and slavery. But most of all, he knew that he'd been responsible for billions of instances of it.

Not this time. This time it was going to be different.

Walking towards the edge of the Lookout, Gohan just felt his heart racing.

He'd stop this monster for the living, and the dead. For Broly's victims, and his own.

This was his fight. If things had been different, he would have ended up exactly like this... thing now attacking the Earth. It would have been him, mindlessly destroying worlds for Paragus. The monster truly embodied everything his father would have wanted. He would stop him, just as he stopped his father.

"Gohan! Stop!"

It was only after he heard Piccolo shout, that he turned his attention at all. With a sharp turn of his glance, he saw the Namekian approach, his concern clear.

"You can't go down there alone, we need a plan," Piccolo said quickly. "We're going to use the Dragon Balls on Namek-"

It didn't matter. The longer they spent, the worse the Earth would get. The more likely he would spread his chaos and destruction to even more parts of the Earth. Even if he wanted to save everyone, the idea of his daughter dying to that brutewas completely unacceptable.

"Piccolo is right," the elder Trunks cut in. "You can't go down there without us, he'll kill you, even with all that power."

It was almost laughable that the purple haired man wanted him to hold back. Looking to the young man, then back to Piccolo, Gohan just shook his head.

"This is the way it has to be," he said finally. "I know what that monster is down there. I... my first mentor, was his father. I know how he fights, and I know how he thinks. I know what he wants."

Looking towards the cloud filled sky beyond, Gohan felt his heart pick up the pace, just as his aura flared.

"You'll die if you go down there, Gohan."

Piccolo's words were heavy on his mind, he almost flinched, but stopped himself. No, he wouldn't die if he went down there. There was no glory in this, but he certainly wouldn't die. For a moment, he almost wanted to tell Piccolo that he couldn't die, but refrained from doing so, if only because they'd think he went mad.

"I'm not going down there to die, Piccolo," Gohan said after a moment, turning his head slightly to the left and back. "I'm going down there to live."

With that, Gohan cast himself from the side of the lookout, falling down the tower at high velocity. For a moment he free fell, totally without the influence with his power. Reaching out across the Earth, he felt Broly's power and honed in. In a flash of Super Saiyan energy, Gohan's body became a golden beacon in the sky. Seconds later, it blasted off at full force. As if they understood the nature of his path, the clouds parted around him, making way for him to rocket through the heavens of the Earth.

Gohan knew he and the son of Paragus had their fates intertwined. Only one of them could survive, if either of them did at all.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Author's Notes:

What a chapter! This was a real joy to write at points, and a real terror to write at others.

I love the imagery of Gohan pulling out his implants, as if it is discarding the last remnants of his old life. A painful end, and a painful beginning.

Got to write Videl, which was fun. Piccolo's perspective was a great write as well. All around I enjoyed everything I did this chapter, and next chapter expect something truly great, I hope. Chapter 30, to me, is the most important chapter to come. It is the climax of the second "Saga". A huge event on a massive scale.

Also, on a fun note, the last part of this chapter, from Gohan's perspective, was written to "Hero of the Day" by Metallica. And if anyone is worried he may reform too fast. Don't worry, Gohan's still a mess, pending chapters will prove this, lol

The Battle of Satan City begins, and ends next Chapter. I still don't have a title for the chapter, lol.

What this does mean though, is I don't know how long it will take to write. It is taking a priority for me, as I want to finish this arc before going back over to The Catalyst for a few chapters. I just can't make promises for its release of Chapter 30. It could take one week, it could take four. It needs to encompass everything I want to bring to the fore. It has big roles for Broly, Gohan, Babidi, Dabura, Trunks, Future Trunks, and Piccolo.

I sincerely hope everyone who can review, does. I appreciate it immensely, and it inspires me when writing. One reason I was able to finish this chapter was because of the support you've all given me. I never expected you guys to push me up to 601 from 553, I really, really didn't. It's remarkable, and utterly humbling. Chapter 28 was my most reviewed chapter ever, from any genre or story. It is always an honour for me to answer every review, because you took the time to review me, so I take the time to respond.

Thank you all.

Reviewers:

Commedia: I dunno if we need to go that extreme for this. Sit back and enjoy though, Chapter 30 is going to be balls to the wall.

Hinta-Hime-Starz: As promised, I'm not leaving you guys hanging for Chapter 29. Here it is.

Siverhawk88: I was hoping for that reaction :)

Vic the Super Saiyan: Well, as you saw, they gave it their all, but it just wasn't enough. But that was round one... Round II is coming up, and we'll see if Broly is up to the task.

Guest1: It doesn't matter, this is just a fanfic, and I use my own numbers for power levels. It really doesn't matter. There is no need to tear into the poor guy for having an opinion. But I do thank you for contributing to the story.

DarkKnightShiva: That chapter was pretty big!... lol

Young IV: No fusion dancing here! Wait and see. The fight has some pretty awesome twists and turns. I've got it all planned out. :)

KaosMoshpit: Well, Goku has died again, but I don't think he has time to learn the fusion dance. Broly was only ever really Gohan's destiny to face, especially after his two years under Paragus.

Pyromania101: I'm sure we'll see Mohawk again, but I don't know when... and I'm glad you enjoyed the fight.

Guest2: Trunks is heart broken for lots of reasons. His role in Chapter 30 is pretty substantial, changes the whole dynamic of what is to come. His father and his friend are dead.

Jordino: Meh. I think without Goku its a lot tougher.

Euroteres: Buu plays a role in the story, which I actually thought was really fun when I came up with it. Keep your eye out for things involving Buu. Also, Where is totally Gohan's themesong. Especially for the coming battle.

The Ghost That Walks: I think I answered this by PM, but all the same. Yes, Broly has more depths, because he has to. He's terrible in everything outside of Movie 8, and even then he's only passable (as a character), lol

lil dynamic: You'll love how the fight goes down in Chapter 30. Trust me, it'll be amazing. (Begins super hyping fight! Lol)

Maesde: Gohan has a new lease on life, and a big bonus coming out of that last fight alive.

Brelic: I couldn't wait to write it. Thank you Brelic.

Calewit: I am sincerely glad you enjoy the story and my work so much.

Guest3: Another chapter has arrived! :O

Guest4: Thank you. :)

Guest5: I'm glad you think so.

ShadowLDrago: I really wanted to get the description of Broly's power down correctly. It was important to me that he seemed like Broly. I'm glad you seem to think I pulled it off :)

MaxPain32: There are tons of fights I'd love to see. But each story has its own story to tell. I promise, you'll love the fight coming up.

MetallicManiac: Wait no longer, friend! There are slow parts of The Long Road to fully explore the characters within. Chapters 31-36 are probably going to be slower, but they need to be. The fights aren't the story, the characters are. The fights just give them their struggle. Even in the middle of battle, I try to advance my characters. :)

Perfect Carnage: Next chapter, you'll see three showdowns, one of which will be intensely epic.

Asweetlilpixie: Expect to see the great and mighty Lord Cooler!... Eventually! I don't intend to leave any loose ends in the story. It's plotted out from start to finish. I promise, no loose ends to tie. I also quit my life, and typed a whole bunch for you people! Lol

Johnny Spectre: SO DICEY!

Eveline: Sometimes, no matter how badly you want to change something, you can't. Gohan failed once... will he fail again?

Chemistry-Deaf: Shin didn't tell them anything regarding that. Gohan thinks she's flat out dead. At this point it doesn't matter. He wants to avenge himself, avenge his brother and father, and stop Broly from harming anyone else. Not one death will go unaccounted for!- lol

xdevil-childx: Thank you very much. I did all I could to really harness these characters and their personalities.

Maricam25: I know. It was really hard writing Goten's deathscene for me, because it was important that I got it right. I think I did.

Roxashadow: I'm a terrible, terrible proof reader.

Guest5: The real epic fight comes in Chapter 30. It's going to be absolutely brutal.

xxxpossessedforlifexxx: Wrong! Goku died in the Saiyan Saga!... and about an hour ago! Lol

ShMikeX: Right now? That's tough. I'd say Broly is stronger then Fat Buu, but probably weaker then Super Buu, probably. It's hard to gage Buu's power because he's not very durable beyond his regenerative properties. As for the others? Goku and Vegeta were around as strong as their SSJ 2 counterparts. Gohan right now is also hard to place, his power fluctuates a lot depending on his mood.

Gda: Thank you! Nothing else to add. :)

ParagradeN7: Don't worry Shephard, Gohan is on it. ;) (I assume your name is a Mass Effect reference, lol)

dbzfan the first: I'm trying man! I'm trying real hard!

Reven228: So golden!... must try... to continue... goldenness! Don't worry. I hope this chapter was a mixture of darkness, angst, and light! :D

Tomorrow4eva: Yea, Pan's parental situation, as demonstrated by this chapter, is bad.

Ki Ai Sky: Many thanks Ki! Buu isn't dead, just the Kais now have his Egg. Gohan and Videl haven't said their last words to one another, but I wouldn't expect anything normal.

The Forgotten Phoenix: It got really ugly. :(