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.

66. Chapter 66: Choir

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 66: Choir

Taro:

Oh? Where have you all been? I'm the one whose late you say? Hardly.

Eyes looked up and around forested mountain as Taro turned his attention towards the object of his own desire. A vital piece of the puzzle which would grant him a step towards completing himself. There were fractures of himself throughout time, but none of them were as important as this singular piece. This Trunks… this one was the first to peel himself from him. With the reunion he would obtain a sense of unification and power he'd never imagined. Every piece of himself was important, memories and powers from another world which all fit together into him. With this one however, he knew exactly what he would be obtaining.

The sun hung in the distance, having only risen on this backwater an hour prior. The trees bristled around them gently as a soft wind passed by them. It'd been quiet between them for several minutes almost as the two other warriors circled him cautiously. Their concerns were warranted of course, given that he knew everything about them, across hundreds of worlds. Better yet, he knew Trunks far more deeply than anyone else. He was another wayward fragment, who needed to be brought back into himself. But this one was special. This was the first fragment that broke from his mind and body. It was a unique, and core part of his very being, much more than simply anyone else. It was easy to almost ignore Kakarot as his eyes followed Trunks' every motion.

You can all see the same thing I can, can't you? You can see this lost piece of me, struggling for meaning in his existence. Bouncing from world to world without purpose. Every world I have visited, I have found my purpose. The purpose of completion, of reunion with the core beings of myself. The lost portions of me.

As if he wasn't paying attention, Kakarot blitzed towards him in a wave of motion, blurring from existence seemingly before striking out towards him, hoping to land some kind of blow. It was a laughable effort. His skin was only micro-millimetres from the impact before he simply moved aside. His own motion felt so natural as time stopped for him in that moment. He could see the look on Kakarot's face, frozen in place as he simply walked aside in this slow motion. Moving carefully forward, he halted himself in front of Trunks, staring into the Saiyan's eyes. How long was he going to play this game, before he simply took what he wanted. How long would he let this delusional vessel keep the thoughts, feelings, power, and memories he owned be kept away from him? Those eyes were doors into the world he wanted to have.

Leaning in, Taro closed his eyes as he smiled.

You've evaded me… you're afraid of coming home. Like a wayward child. But do not worry… the pain is only temporary. After that you will be where you belong, won't you?

Closing his eyes Taro just sighed before walking around the lunging forward Kakarot, before allowing his speed to slow enough that time itself resumed. Kakarot's fist swung into clear air before his feet slammed into the ground, turning and looking for him. A split second later, the other Saiyan noticed him standing where he'd just attacked from. There was a brief moment of surprise on his part, but Taro knew it would pass. Instead, he just smirked, choosing to continue to look at Trunks.

"Is this your strongest friend? Kakarot. I've killed Kakarot countless times, he's of no concern to me. In fact, Kakarot won't touch me, in our little skirmish."

Kakarot's fist swept towards him again, and just as before Taro chose to simply walk around it, before appearing behind his less than formidable opponent, this time crossing his arms as well.

"The two of you are clearly toying with me at this point as well. It's exceptionally disrespectful that you've not even transformed to engage me," Taro remarked bluntly. "Though I must say, it seems excessively likely to me that the two of you just aim to buy time, isn't that right? You're hoping beyond hope that your friends will kill Brass, and Junia."

He didn't need to look at Kakarot to see the frustration written on his face, and he could see the nervousness, anxiety, and fear behind his wayward self's eyes. Taking a step forward in real time, Taro closed his eyes again and just continued to smile.

The idea of killing Kakarot in a single blow came to mind, but he decided to let that pass for now. The idea of completing himself was tantalizing, hanging in front of him allowing his excitement to grow with every moment. But there was a trade-off for this. He would be bored if he simply slaughtered them. Boredom was something he strived to avoid, especially after thousands of battles. At the very least he could see what these impressive specimens could bring to the table. It would pass the time as Junia and Brass killed their allies.

I look forward to seeing their despair, as their friends die, you see. Kakarot has a way of looking so crushed when his family and friends die. The outrage and grief my broken shards share as well, is an experience that always fascinates me. Even now I can look in my mind's eye and see a thousand screams of agony. I can sense their rage and grief and its… precious… to me.

I won't deny myself that experience. Nor will I be bored for a half hour.

"I rarely like to be bored, much to your benefits," Taro then announced. "I will allow the two of you to gather whatever meagre power you have, and attack me."

Inside his own thoughts he imagined the world made real around him. His purple haired counterpart across from him finally steeled himself, and Taro knew what that meant. This would be it. He wanted to open the door that lead to him reacquiring the oldest of his fragments, and he could imagine himself doing it. It went beyond just the want for power, it was the want for completing himself… and changing the world that was simply his imagination. He imagined the outcome that was to come. So it was simply going to be.

For a second, he half expected Trunks to draw his sword, but instead the fighting braced himself.

"Goku," he commented. "He's trying to use his power to intimidate us. If we're going to hold on, we need to do this smart."

"He's hiding his real power level," Goku observed. "We already knew he was strong-"

"You two do realize I can hear you?" Taro asked, his eyes opening again, revealing this imagined reality around him to his eyes. "Or do you want me to pretend I can't understand what you're saying?"

Both of them regrouped a split moment later, disappearing, not that he couldn't easily follow their movements, before reappearing together. Perhaps it was getting to be time to push them into action? If they were playing at this conservatively, it would be almost as boring as killing them right away. He wanted to see them throw everything they had at him. It was really to see if he could avoid being harmed by anything they did. It was a game, really.

If they lay a hand on me, I'll be very disappointed with myself. In fact... let's make a game of it, shall we?

"Can you give us a few seconds to plan?" Kakarot's voice cut into his own thoughts. "I mean, if you're really strong then you wouldn't mind-"

I'd forgotten what an insufferable fool Kakarot was.

His smile disappeared into a thin line as Taro slowly unfolded his arms. It was time to start pushing them.

"No, Kakarot, no Trunks. You two will transform and start fighting me now."

"Mmmmmmmm… nope. We'll be back in a second!" Kakarot declared.

"Huh?" Trunks worded, before turning his head to Kakarot.

Time slowed down as Taro decided to move to interrupt this ridiculous arrangement. Even as time slowed to a fragment of a second, he saw a blurring image in front of him. Both his eyes widened as by the time he arrived in front of them, they were gone.

What?

There was a long pause as Taro was left standing there, his arm out preparing to strike. Both Trunks and Kakarot were gone as was there energies. Both his nostrils flared with annoyance immediately before he peered upwards. There was no sign of them anywhere. His mind searched out beyond just the confines of this pitiful world, but stretched into the solar system and beyond. Not a sign of them at all. It wasn't just suppression of power, but an absence of it.

The ground slowly began to chip away. Fragments of rock and dirt pulled into the air around him as a few stray bolts of lightning arced around him. They thought to make a fool of him. He knew full well they weren't anticipating him to turn his power on their friends yet, otherwise they wouldn't have left. Which meant they aimed to return shortly.

Whispers from within echoed through his being as his power flowed. Agonized screams of live's stripped away range in his mind, divulging the truth of what he'd imagined. Closing his eyes, not even attempting to hide his frustration, Taro listened to the chorus from within.

… King… Kai…

When his eyes opened up again, he felt his irritation come into check. This was only a minor setback. And something easily rectified.

You cannot escape me, Trunks. You can't leap across time, dimensions, and universes and hope to evade me, even for a moment. I choose when you may have a respite. Not you.

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

Trunks:

They had disappeared, and just before they had, for a brief splinter of a second, he saw Taro in front of them, his intense stare directed at him. It was unnerving before Goku's transmission had zapped them across time and space. Yellow clouds now filled his vision, along with blue skies beyond. Blinking several times, Trunks turned to Goku before nodding.

"That was close-"

"Go-Goku!? What're you doing here?!" King Kai shouted from the side. "Aren't you supposed to be-"

"Planning King Kai, and he kept listening in. I can tell from just looking at him that he's probably really annoyed right now, but if we only take a few minutes I'm sure he'll stick around," Goku promised.

Why am I not sure about that? We've gotta make this quick.

"He's stronger than he's making out. When I faced him last time he was far more aggressive," Trunks explained. "If we go all out right away, he'll crush us. We need to find a way to drag this out until the others can join us-"

Nodding his head, Goku understood before smiling.

"And with Instant Transmission, as well as Solar Flare, we can buy time," Trunks commented. "But we can't slow him down. We need to see if we can do real damage. He's arrogant enough that he won't transform until he has to."

There was another nod before Goku smiled confidently.

"This is going to be fun. He's so powerful that even with everything at stake, I wanna see what we can really do to push ourselves. If we can unite everyone, then maybe we stand a chance. The Kaios and the others who joined to help fight the others might be just enough."

Something uncomfortable turned in his stomach. Were they really going to be enough? Brass alone seemed confident that they were going to be able to deal with all of them. They were in the fight of their lives, and Goku was excited at the challenge. Trunks himself was tired of being challenged, and he was tired of these threats coming out to destroy everything he ever loved or cared about. Perhaps after he stopped this one he could finally rest for at least a while before he got dragged back into all of this again.

Who am I kidding? These guys have permanently destroyed any cohesion in the timestream. I don't even know how we can start to fix this.

"Goku, you need to get this straight, that monster out there isn't just some challenge," Trunks remarked critically. "It's not like anything you've faced before."

"I know," Goku said putting his hands up defensively. "And of course I'm taking it seriously. But it's going to be really interesting to see how far we can push him, and how far he can push all of us. That's all I'm saying. Oh! I've got the perfect plan!"

"Please share," Taro's voice cut in from behind them.

Both his eyebrows went up immediately before he looked over at a stunned King Kai. Goku's head turned sharply, and then Trunks felt the shockwave roll out over him. The origin had been the side of Goku's head as he watched Taro's knuckles implant themselves on his cheek. A massive fissure opened up along the small planet which King Kai resided on. The small blue God jumped in a frantic shock.

"Hey! Not on the planet! I can't just replace this thing you know!"

Goku's body however, was already sailing away through the air before plunging into the yellow clouds below. Trunks followed the motion but felt himself almost freeze up upon seeing it. The nightmare that had been following his thoughts for a multitude of realities was now floating in front of him over the crack in the planet.

"Well now, that was refreshing," he commented, before crossing his arms again and looking towards him. "It's very irritating when people try to run away from their destiny Trunks."

Staring back at Taro, Trunks felt his own spirit bolstered somehow. If this was going to be it, let them start the end now then. His aura burst around him as Taro smiled.

"That's it Trunks. Embrace me in this ever bloody reunion," Taro commented, before taking a bow. "It'll be the most important moment of your life, before you rejoin me."

Alright. He needed to keep his cool in all of this. Dirt scattered beneath him as the fissure began to rumble. Drawing his sword, Trunks charged forward in a blur of speed, striking out towards his enemy. Only the sound of his blade clipping another sword echoed out around him. Taro had disappeared entirely and he already knew he was behind him, he could sense the change in the air currents and ki around him. Immediately twisting and swing his blade back, he felt something stop it before he saw it. The sparks from his blade striking against a sword of unknown origins left him staring back at Taro who effortlessly held up his blade.

"This isn't even remotely satisfying unless you transform, you realize?"

Good. I'm not doing this for you.

Something sinister appeared in Taro's eyes, as if he heard what he'd just said.

"Oh but you are, Trunks."

That was enough to throw his plans out the window. Immediately his hair arched up and turned gold. Electricity rippled around his fingers before it crackled across his body. The blades locked together more tightly as Trunks hardened his gaze. He knew his eyes flickered to a blue green while his stance strengthened as well. Whatever sword Taro had, the unknown blade rested in his hand as it remained unshaken, holding firm against the Trunks which had 'revealed' himself.

"Ahhhh… there it is..." Taro mused aloud. "I've been waiting to see you for what you really are."

"A Super Saiyan," Trunks said through grit teeth as he tried to take another step forward. "The Son of a proud Saiyan warrior."

"An outburst," Taro's words stabbed into him like a fang. "A loud child throwing his power around, trying to knock me over as if I too were a child. As if he were anywhere near my level. I am as far beyond you, as you are beyond an infant… I just wanted to see it for myself."

Drawing his blade back, Trunks zipped to the side while swinging back with the blade. Coming around full circle, he swept the sword in towards Taro as fast as he could. The blade swing cut through the air, his ki empowering the cut. His aura burned brightly around both him and his blade. When his swing finished, it passed clear through Taro's body, but it was already gone. His eyes opened in amazement, trying to even follow the motion. It just didn't seem possible that he could be this fast. Even the last time they met he wasn't.

"Have you considered I wasn't trying to amuse myself as much last time?" Taro asked from behind him.

Immediately Trunks twisted to face him, raising his sword to guard himself, seeing only the small curve of Taro's smile and his blade hanging out before him. Right now, Trunks was an ascended Saiyan, and not even a weak one. He'd done battle throughout time, helping stop myriad threats to the time stream. He'd even helped defeat enemies who once dwarfed him, like Majin Buu, or Cell. But he couldn't even come close to touching Taro as it was.

"You're not at your full strength, I understand," Taro remarked, lowering his own sword. "I'll give you the chance to power up to your best. I'd be very interested in watching you fail to lay a hand on-"

Goku was suddenly where Taro had been, his elbow diving through Taro's form.

"-Me."

When the word cut in, all Trunks saw was a blur of motion before a thundering boom blasted out around him. King Kai's planet rumbled and trembled. Fragments of its surface scattered into the air and sent. When Goku's body struck the surface it broke clearly through it. The fissure widened before the intensity of the force was too much, splitting the planet in two. The Kai looked around frantically as his home was annihilated in front of him.

"G-Goku!"

Plunging into the yellow clouds again, an irritated Taro gazed down at the clouds with a cold gaze.

"As annoying as always, Kakarot."

Slowly lowering towards the clouds, the enemy seemed to be focusing in on Goku.

"You'll need to excuse me, I need to inform Kakarot that we were having a moment. I don't appreciate the interruption."

Gathering his power, Trunks felt his aura burn around him as the lightning across his frame scattered further and more wildly across his body. The air rumbled around him as the fragments of the bisected planet swirled in the chaos around them.

"You're not getting off that easily," Trunks snapped. "Goku's not the one you're after. You came for me. I'm right here!"

The amusement, to the cold gaze, now turned to boredom as Taro glanced up at him.

"Please. I'm hardly going to kill him yet. Brass and Junia will need to slay their little bands of-"

This time, Trunks wasn't going to give him the time to finish. Surging forward, a trail of golden power chasing after him, Trunks threw himself into Taro at full power. His blade slashed through the air, cleanly cutting through Taro where he 'dodged' a dozen times. Yellow clouds tore into the air as explosive waves of force rolled over them just from Trunks striking at the very air around them. With every strike and every miss, Trunks could feel himself getting angrier.

"-idiots," Taro's voice sounded through the air from above him, his arms crossed as he let his head fall to one side. Long hair that resembled his own mother's, but black as Taro's soul, tilting with his head.

"You know, I didn't think you had it in you to really try to push me. I was right, but you've definitely got spirit. I'll enjoy drinking it."

Drink this.

Power began swirling around him as Trunks glared up at Taro, sheathing his sword as energy flickered around his body. Energy licked off his fingers as his aura intensified, a golden glow emerging past his skin as his aura drained into it.

"You can't lay a hand, or sword, on me Trunks. Do you really expect a ki blast to work?" Taro's amusement returned. "Oh but please, place an incredible amount of ki into the wave. That's the most effective way to fight me, I can assure y- Huh?"

Energy around Trunks swept up as all the power centred on himself. Golden energy surged at his very core as the field of energy around him brightened, before Trunks unleashed it around him. A tremendous wave of power emerged and blasted out around him. Golden clouds violently swirled and washed out in all directions. King Kai's fragmented world violently twisted and turned before it slammed into the back of Snake Way.

Yellow vapour gently drifted past Trunk's eyes as he just breathed in and out, slowly regaining his composure after expelling so much energy in all directions. It was true, throwing one attack at Taro was pointless, but just throwing it in all directions? Well, you had a chance to tag something.

"Very innovative. If I were any slower, that may have actually broken my self imposed little game. Letting someone hit me is very-" The second he'd reappeared, Trunks' had already poised himself to strike back. Throwing himself into the air and striking with a wild blow towards the head only earned him the most potent, piercing knee he'd ever felt. His insides reverberated as he felt everything almost drain out of him. His muscles and bones buckled and nearly collapsed into themselves. A long saliva filled gag was all he could muster instead of finishing his punch.

"Interrupting me is getting very old, by the way," he heard Taro almost whisper to him. "This is after all, my vision, my world, and my fight. I choose how it goes… no rebelling now."

Weakly, Trunks tried to reach up to grasp him, only to feel the back of Taro's hand slap into his back, sending another wave of pain through his body before he plunged into the clouds of the afterlife. When his body broke through the top layer, he descended into a world with an orange sky, gray soil covered ground, and massive spiked balls scattered across what he could only describe as a wasteland. And it was an absolute… barren… wasteland. The wind brushing against him wasn't even wind, it was just the air his body was passing through. The air itself tasted stale. It was impossible to regroup his power, his body felt like it was almost limp as his body veered towards the ground helplessly.

Only at the last second did he feel something catch him, before the two of them landed safely on the ground. Sputtering for a moment, Trunks coughed several times before managing to pull himself up.

"That's… that's crazy," he coughed lightly while speaking. "He was fast enough to avoid everything I threw at him. And he beat me, even like this, in two hits."

It was shameful to admit. It was something Trunks never wanted to say. Not after confronting everything he had while training. Not after escaping this monster's clutches in another world. This was his chance to save everyone. This was his chance to save himself. And now, now that he was being given the chance to really confront this monster, he was realizing just how behind they were. It was like being a pebble in the path of a tsunami.

And he's not even transformed yet.

In the distance, slowly descending through the clouds above, Trunks just watched as the caped monster arrived on the scene from above.

"He's in a class way above us," Goku commented, his expression far more wrought with concern and worry than before. "The only thing we can hope for is a way to get around his power. If we can. He's faster than I could have imagined."

And stronger.

A moment later, Goku's aura shifted from white, to gold. His hair brushed upwards and his eyes changed colour. Lightning crackled around him within a blink of an eye as his own field of strength seemed to multiply rapidly, namely because it had. Even with Goku getting serious, Trunks wasn't blind to their odds, especially now. They'd just both been utterly humiliated by this monster. Even with the help of all the others, just what could you do against this monster. They needed something better than just hold out for time. They needed to stop this monster.

But Trunks' attention was so focused on Taro, he didn't even notice another power nearby.

"Well... if it isn't Son Goku," a very familiar voice remarked from a spiked ball nearby.

Cell.

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

Goku:

Cell?

Turning his attention to his left for the briefest of moments, Goku smiled at the green coloured android as his yellow feet clicked several times onto the surface of a gigantic spiked ball. It'd been years since he'd last seen Cell. Oh, and he'd last seen him when he'd tried to destroy the Earth before Trunks, Piccolo, Vegeta and himself blew him to pieces with a combined attack. Well, he was looking really good for someone who'd been trapped in Hell for what? Almost a decade? Maybe a bit more?

Man. His power hasn't changed at all though. I remember when we fought last time. It's too bad he's not improved.

"Oh, hey Cell. How's the afterlife treating you?"

There was a bleak, cold expression which the android gave him in turn before a dark smile crossed his lips.

"Oh, you know. Torment and unending agony... perhaps I can give you an opportunity to partake in that. You have a lot of nerve showing up here-"

Taro was being gracious enough to walk towards them, rather than charge them. Which was something Goku actually appreciated if only because maybe he could convince Cell to keep out of this. Or it at least bought him and Trunks time to instant transmission if he didn't. Not that Cell was the biggest threat, but he definitely didn't need to add even more fuel to the inferno that was burning down around him.

"Cell, I know that you're upset-"

"Upset? Oh? That's what you call it when you get sent here by a group of monkeys and a slug? You call it upset? Oh well, here I'd thought I was starved for revenge, and driven by murderous intent. But thank you for summarizing it so nicely Goku. You have a way with words."

Slanting his gaze towards the undead warrior, Goku felt his lips press together into a fine line.

"You used to be a lot more polite and straight forward-"

"I'll kill you, Son Goku. Once you're dead, I'll find a way out of this Hell, to drag you into it kicking and screaming for what you've-"

"Get lost," Taro's voice cut in. "You're even weaker than they are. And hardly worth my effort or time. I neither need your help, want your help, or even want to bother destroying you."

Oh. This is interesting... I wonder if...

"Compared to you, I'm sure that Cell isn't very strong-" Goku's words were cut off as he heard a rage filled scream.

Turning and looking towards him, radiating the strange energies of his home world, Garlic Junior leaped out from behind another series of spiked balls. Both of Goku's eyebrows tilted back as he sighed. Hell was a vast place, seemingly a universe in and of itself. They must have landed close enough to these friendly fellows for them to detect them.

"YOU!"

This creature had been the monster who'd obsessed over his son, nearly killed Vegeta's kids, and then murdered Gohan and nearly killed everyone else including him. A maniac who wanted control over the universe. It was still kind of ironic that he wasn't actually dead, and yet was stuck down here. Down here meaning in Hell, somewhere he never thought he could go. Had to be better than being stuck in the Deadzone at least.

"Yo, Garlic," Goku gestured with one hand. "We're actually trying to fight here-"

"I'll rip the flesh from your bones!" Garlic spat, his form's size expanding rapidly as muscles expanded across his frame and his skin darkened. "I'm going to drink every gallon of blood in that body!"

He seems to be really sore about being stuck down here. It's not like he didn't deserve it. Man, some of these guys really don't have any insight... at all.

"I'm thinking we should go somewhere more exclusive," Taro commented. "As amusing as it'd be to retread your greatest fights with these insects, I'm here to be amused, not to fight, or watch these washouts fight you."

Well, that's the kind of language that makes you friends. I wonder how well this guy is gonna fair once he ends up down here.

When Garlic's huge frame slammed into the grey soil however, the titanic form of the giant just grinned.

"I don't think so, whoever you are," his voice boomed. "None of you are going to leave here alive. I'll torture Son Goku until his only recourse for mercy is to return me to the surface of the Earth, and then I will enslave you all."

There was a few moments of contemplation of Taro's part before his eyes shifted to Garlic. Goku could tell he was planning something. Closing his fist, he turned his head slightly towards Trunks.

Instinctively, Goku and Trunks both reasserted their defensive stances. Not that they could even follow his movements so far. This situation looked very bad. Looking to Cell, then Garlic, and finally Taro again, Goku felt himself breath in carefully. They couldn't afford to fight three of them. They couldn't even afford to fight this Taro. They needed to find a way to win, specifically against him. Maybe he could apologize to Garlic and Cell later by coming down here and defeating them, but he didn't have time right now.

"We're going to get out of here now," he commented, taking the younger Saiyan's shoulder. "Sorry Cell. Not... not really sorry Garlic!"

"Leaving so soon, Kakarot?" Turles' voice cut in as he stood atop a half wrecked cliff face. "It's too bad Gohan's half way across the entirety of Hell right now. I'm sure he'd love to help you fight this helpless battle. I'm not exactly a fan of my two compatriots here... but it'll be a joy to help them kill you."

Narrowing his gaze towards his brother, Goku felt his jaw tighten.

"You," Taro's voice cut through it all. "Fascinating. I don't often place you in many universes. You could be a fun challenge... Well, don't I have an idea."

That was something which concerned Goku immediately. Looking back towards Turles, he saw the other Saiyan staring down at Taro himself, knitting his eyebrows together trying to determine what exactly was being proposed. Hell, even Goku was wondering exactly what Taro meant by that.

"This dream is fascinating," Taro commented. "All of you are clearly the embodiments of my imagination. Turles returns to me once more, to allow me to better understand where I supposedly came from. Cell, an arrogant creature of perfection-"

"I don't know who you are," Cell started. "And I don't care. Son Goku is the... what's happening?"

The world began to shift in almost waves of reality warping energies. Something began to sink in Goku's stomach. This was going to be very bad, wasn't it? It felt like it had when they'd first met Taro, when his counterparts disappeared and so did their friends.

Uh oh...

The waves seemed to intensify for a moment as Turles landed next to Trunks and himself, his hair sparking up into a golden glow.

"Let's see how strong you've become, Kakaro-!"

The world just. Changed.

The grey soil below became rich grass. The spiked balls disappeared to become the rolling peaks near his home. Trees filled his view for as far as his eyes could see. Fresh air replaced the stale air from before as Goku was left standing there. Turles was next to him, and immediately he swallowed hard.

"What?" Cell's voice whispered. "Is this-...?"

"It is," Garlic's voice cut in, something akin to the deepest joys in the very core of his voice. "YES! HAH! You meat-bags haven't the slightest clue how I've yearned for this moment. No more flame-walls of agony! No more starving to death! No more stale air and wretched company. I have returned to the universe that I will rule!"

The warrior who'd seemed prepared to strike him however, looked down at his hands before looking up at his halo.

"He's just transported you here, you're not alive-"

"I am," Garlic chuckled darkly. "I can't say the same for you for very long, Goku."

Great. Apparently Taro really did want him to relive his greatest adventures.

"This is bad," Trunks chimed in, looking out over all their enemies. "And I thought just dealing with Cell was going to be bad. I don't even know how Turles got this strong, and-"

"We're not here to kill Kakarot," Turles remarked bluntly, taking a step to the side before glaring towards the one who brought them all back here. "Or am I wrong?"

"Very perceptive," Taro remarked, his smile curving up. "You see, I estimate I have time to burn. So all of you are going to be my entertainment."

Cracking his neck from side to side, Garlic immediately turned his attention to the one who'd liberated him. This was a big problem, because you couldn't simply kill Garlic. Which meant that even if they beat Taro, getting him somewhere other than here was going to be the main objective.

"Oh? So you were hoping for us to fight you together then? You're certainly an arrogant one. But I don't have any interest in fighting you. My revenge comes first, and after I've-"

Goku couldn't see the movement, but he could see he impact in Garlic's abdomen. Before he could finish he coughed up purplish red blood from his mouth, falling to one knee holding his stomach. A struggling noise emerged from him as his gigantic body trembled.

"I do not enjoy my figments being so independent, demon. Your whole existence is here to do what I want. I want to fight the five of you in unison," Taro remarked. "I'm not looking for you to spoil my game by attacking the other players. That would be very boring."

All of us together are going to really struggle, but at least we may get the chance to spend more of his power. His power level is so high ours are barely showing through. It's like swimming in an ocean and looking for water. This is crazy. The only problem is I know these guys aren't going to play ball-

"You're mad if you think I'm going to fight alongside Son Goku, or Trunks for that matter," Cell chuckled. "I'd sooner be the one to destroy both of them."

"Is that your final answer, Cell?" Taro questioned, his eyes lighting up with some kind of malicious amusement.

The android seemed to realize the gravity of what was being asked however, his features turning even colder as he uncrossed his arms and took a cautious step back, his magenta eyes trying to scan the area prematurely.

"I'm still dead, what exactly do I get out of this?" he questioned bluntly. "And who are you even?"

"The thrill of battle isn't enough for you then?" Taro asked, his tone sounding almost light. "It would appear both you and Garlic aren't prepared to play my little game-"

"Games have rewards for the winners," Turles remarked from the side, taking several steps forward.

There was an amused tick which appeared on Taro's features that Goku caught right away. It was the same look that either he noticed almost any Saiyan seemed to display when they were confident of their outcome.

"Oh very well. If all of you are so self interested. If you defeat me, I will see to it that you are brought back to living in this world," Taro remarked simply, smirking as he did. "Though I must profess. Your chances of defeating me... do not exist."

"Oh, and you may refer to me as Taro, if you are so inclined."

It was Garlic who took the moment to laugh himself.

"Oh well, I'm not too terribly interested. So if you'll excuse me, I have my full life to lead... ruling this universe," he chuckled.

As soon as he turned to leave however, Goku's eyes widened, seeing Taro disappear.

Crap baskets.

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Taro:

I've never understood people's inability to understand what their creator wants. Somehow they think to rebel against the will of a being who transcends the divine. The true individual being, the creator of all time, space, and realities should simply be listened to. But then again the worlds I've constructed in my mind would be so boring if all they did was listen to me. I enjoy the struggle... I enjoy watching them all drown.

Garlic's gagging mouth looked down at him as the blade sat in his abdomen.

"Don't play by the rules?" he asked rhetorically. "Then go back."

"You little wretch. I'll enjoy it once I suck your eyeballs out of your-" Garlic's words fell flat as Taro began the process of dealing with the problem.

Without any effort at all, Taro swung the blade up, flipping it between his fingers as he did. The dense blade sheered through Garlic's body, splitting it up the middle, before swinging back around and cutting through his pelvic region as well. Deep gore splattered on the ground before him, before he concentrated on where he wanted to go. The world seemed to melt away as the pair returned to hell. An agonized, shocked expression split in two slowly as the immortal's eyes looked in both directions. Opening his palm, scorching rays of deep violet energies rolled out of his hand.

As soon as he released the ki wave, the Hell around them turned just as violet as the blast. When the blast appeared between the two halves of Garlic's body, it started to vibrate before expanding outward violently. It was an event which Taro didn't need to be present for, as his body blurred back out of the realm of the dead to exactly where he'd been only seconds earlier.

"So," Taro's voice carried out over the trees as he looked down at the remaining combatants. "That's one player out of my little game."

Two were living, two were dead.

It was a balance, perhaps it spoke to the part of his soul. Finding the path to his ultimate self was a struggle, coping with all the dreams and nightmares of his imagination. His uncle, his father, Trunks, and the creature... Cell... the one of his imagination which had been the ultimate evil created by Doctor Gero. It was a fitting pallet to paint his story with before he finally acquired the Trunks who had started it all. This was the one who broke through time the first time, splitting the timestreams into four. Every time afterwards, and every iteration afterwards, split it further. Even Taro knew of this. It wouldn't make him complete... but it would bring him so close to it he could taste it.

It was fantastic to see his father with the halo above his head. Something which he from on-high had well earned. It was hard to gauge just how strong this iteration of him was, but that didn't quite matter. He could be ten times stronger than Cell, Kakarot, or Trunks, and he might prove to be remotely more challenging.

"Thanks for dealing with the big blue meanie," Turles remarked. "You don't have any idea of how annoying he can be."

Cracking his neck from side to side, Turles just started to glow with a purple tint. It was familiar as Taro raised his head, smiling down as he felt a kind of exhilaration roll over him. There was some essence of power here, a pale comparison to his own world, but this was hardly a power level of a meek Saiyan warrior. When his aura flickered to gold, before lightning rolled over his skin, Taro's amusement only role as dust and dirt picked up into the air. Kakarot's aura flickered a moment later as the two stood in unison, his own power rising to match.

"Well, won't this be fun? A tag-match with Kakarot. And if I win, apparently I come back to life? How grand," Turles chuckled.

"I don't think he's gonna actually follow through with that promise," Kakarot remarked. "I mean, he's strong, but I don't think he's a god."

"You're right on both counts really, but only technically on the latter..." Taro commented from above. "God's are weaker than I am."

There it was. Everyone's attention was on him now with a degree of hostility and caution. Now he was going to get entertained, perhaps even discover something about himself in all this. When he centred his gaze on Trunks, he felt his lip curl upwards as all four of their aura's flashed violently. Cell's voice roared as his own aura appeared, before Trunks' reignited as well.

I can already feel my fingers around your neck, Trunks. Slowly draining the life from you as you gasp for air, struggling against the inevitably. I want to see the life you've lived in my stead. I want to sense every moment, every memory that belongs to me... and I want to taste it all.

The four blurred out of sight all together, though he doubted it was highly coordinated. Especially given he could see them all. No blocks needed. After all, that was going to imply that he was letting them even touch him on their own accord. No, the rules of his own private game were simple. He could not be touched without him being the one instigating it. If he let any of these quaint little 'warriors' touch him, it would just mean that he'd profoundly failed.

When his head shifted to the side, Kakarot's fist swung through it'd once lingered. Sharp eyes twisted towards the other Saiyan before Taro let the serpent like smile appear on his features, before swinging out of the way of a striking series of kicks. When Kakarot came in with another punch, he prepared to strike back, before he sensed energy moving behind him.

Interesting. Father is very fast in this world.

Twisting to the side and throwing himself backwards in a blur of motion, Taro felt his father's fist brush through his cape and little else as he came to Kakarot's aid. The two squared up against him, forming their fighting stance.

"He's fast," Kakarot remarked. "We've got to find a way to pin him down."

"Easy," Turles's voice sounded out as he smirked at him. "We'll see him dodge this."

Pulling his right arm back, Turles's power began to rise dramatically as he gathered his ki. It took only seconds for Taro to decipher what that smile meant however. There was no pending attack coming. Turles was relying on Trunks and Cell to be the one's to slow him down. This was just a ploy to buy time. As ruthless as ever, he suspected his father was preparing for the other two to fail dramatically before striking at him. He doubted Kakarot would be so cynical however.

"You're just waiting for these fools-"

Cell's armoured boot swung in from behind, aiming at his head. Tilting his head just in time, Taro looked up as the boot shifted over his head in seemingly slow motion. Rolling his eyes, he violent swung his body down, while snapping his right leg up and back. The top of his foot cracked into Cell's face, sending the android flying back. While upside down, Taro twisted again, this time dodging a punch veering towards his face once again, this time being from Trunks.

"Don't feel neglected, Trunks... I'll leave time open for you too."

As if on cue, Kakarot and Turles had already launched towards him. When his eyes went to one side, he reached behind him, grasping the hilt of his sword. The look of shock and concern on Trunks' face was priceless.

Two for the price of one. To all of you watching from home, you know you love the bisected Saiyan twins... a pair of doubles, in two pairs themselves.

Sweeping in with his blade drawn, he cut towards the two, his speed moving faster than the two could imagine. Much to his surprise he felt something in the air brush past him. Just as his blade came in towards Kakarot's midsection, it collided with Trunks' sword, deflecting him back. Blinking, he then felt Trunks grasp his sword, just before the surprised Kakarot and Turles turned in towards him. Fists swung and kicks jetted out, each one of them trying to land a hand on him. Or blade, in Trunks' case.

He knew where I would be. That's very... impressive, if not irritating. I thought I was going to be the only one reading any of them, and yet... well, of course, I'd know myself so well, wouldn't I?

Behind him, he sensed a gathering storm of energy even as he twisted and turned to avoid every blow his father, Kakarot, and Trunks tried to land on him. There was Cell again, putting his fingers to his forehead as he gathered his strength.

Ah, the Beam Cannon. This could be fun.

"Let's hope that aim of yours is as perfect as your kicks are, hm?" Taro mocked before raising his fist up at the perfect moment, forming his hand into a fist.

Turles's face slammed into his knuckles, before he swung it back around, countering a kick Kakarot had been about to make, catching the other Saiyan in a backwards lariat, before he cast the same hand aside with a fraction of his ki, twisting the very air around them to send Trunks careening back towards the ground.

Three gestures were simply enough to cast these playthings aside. He'd have been disappointed, but really he already knew what to expect.

And so do all of you.

Even as the energy across from him gathered, Cell gave a small smile of his own.

"Well, you certainly are a bothersome one, aren't you? Tell you what. If you really are as strong as you claim, would you be able to stop this attack all on your own? I am very interested to find out."

You all know I could deflect this without any effort at this point. But I do wonder, how can I make this interesting? I can hear the chorus in the background, I can hear their clamouring for something excited, and their anguished cries to be freed from their rightful home. Well, for the audience abroad, I think that this version of Cell is far too weak to hold my interest for much longer...

"I hardly see challenging this beam as being something that will hold my attention, Cell. In fact, you're far behind Kakarot, Turles, and even Trunks. So I'm really beginning to question why I'm keeping you around. And really, it's hardly tactical genius to try and convince me to challenge one of Piccolo's attacks, especially one that's designed to kill stronger opponents. It is as impotent to me as a bee sting is to you."

The words flowed from his lips as he looked at the warping energies around Cell's index and middle fingers. The android's fury was growing with every passing second as he gathered yet more energy into the attack. He remembered the first time he fought Cell, when it was a challenge, back in a life steeped in the ignorance of how the universe worked. Back before he truly listened to and understood the fabric of reality. Those were the days when he imagined Cell to be a threat to him. Of course, now this doll was of little amusement for him.

The disgust on Cell's face however was something he could read quite easily.

"Well, we'll see, won't we?" Cell mused aloud. "I look forward to seeing you in Hell soon, Saiyan."

"False confidence, how boring."

Eyes widened in shock and outrage, before Cell narrowed them, focusing clearly on his anger at the overt disrespect. Throwing his arm towards him, the two fingers pointed towards him like a damning accusation. If only that accusation meant anything to him.

"Special Beam Cannon!"

Light flashed over him, almost blinding even him. The sound of the drilled energy ripping through the air sent sizzles along his skin almost as toxic lightning rippled around the rays coming towards him. As it encroached on his position, Taro just closed his eyes, concentrating on the very air around him. The fabric of this false world around him twisted at turned to his will as the very energy before him began to curve and twist around him. Reaching his hand out, the very beam itself turned up as he envisioned it twisting upwards. It looped up, deflecting away from him before he created a guided path for it. The very pressure around him stiffened as the Beam Cannon turned violently in the air once more, directing itself directly down towards Cell himself.

When he opened his eyes, the android had already pulled his hand back, ceasing the beam as he jetted backwards, dodging his own attack as it tore through the air where he'd once floated. It descended into the forest below them before a humongous explosion ripped through the air around them.

"Bastard, how did you-?" Cell's words were cut short as Taro closed the gap between them, pointing his hand out towards the shocked Android.

"I'll leave that little paradox for you to ponder, Cell. Next time, I'll make sure you're less boring than this world."

A wave of blue light escaped his hand as the android was caught up in it immediately. A simple gesture, a simple expulsion of energy, expunged the Android from the fabric of reality. Every cell of the spirit was shore from the face of existence as his warped cries echoed out over the valleys and mountains around them.

Holding himself still in the air, Taro sensed the three remaining contestants in his little game regrouping from his very muted attacks towards them. It felt like an eternity as he held himself in place, his mind reaching out across the surface of the Earth, sensing the natures of the battles which had been taking place outside of his little distraction, trying to gauge how long he needed to stay amused by all this.

You know, I should have given Brass and Junia easier challenges than usual. This world is too... hmmm... how strange... I... didn't... I think I didn't involve those participants in Brass's fight.

Something seemed off. It wasn't going to his screenplay. Perhaps Brass would have been done by now if it weren't for a few interfering little bugs. Perhaps he'd need to take on a more direct role soon enough and-

Oh this is very interesting.

Golden energy burst to his side as Taro turned his gaze towards two of the three figures.

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Goku:

He just killed Cell like he was nothing.

Every time he was struck by this thing it felt like his entire body was being crushed. Even the one punch he'd just received, which felt padded, had slammed him into the surface of the Earth and almost left him paralysed for a minute. When he got up, it was only to the sounds of Piccolo's Beam Cannon. It took only moments after that for Taro to dispatch of what had been Cell. He really wasn't threatened when he'd brought the three warriors out of Hell for just amusement. Every second of this battle have proved that, and so far he'd not even taken them seriously.

"Damn," Turles growled, sitting up as he rubbed the side of his face. "I get dragged into the worst shit."

"Hey, trust us, we didn't go looking for these guys," Goku confirmed back to him. "But we're going to win. Look, I know this is just something you got dropped into, but if you, Trunks, and me work together-"

"We'll still die at the rate we're going," Trunks interjected. "We don't have enough power."

Maybe we do. I've not used what that other me taught us yet.

"I may have a way for us to win, but I'm just hoping that I can hold my body together for it. Maybe if I transform into a new state... maybe I'll have enough power to at least hold him off."

"Transform?" Turles questioned in turn, before smirking devilishly. "Well, won't this be interesting then. You can do that too."

Too? Oh wow. He can transform into another level of Super Saiyan too? That's too crazy!

"So, we're going to work together then?"

"Remind me of that again, and I'll join Cell and Garlic back in Hell," Turles almost snapped. "Don't think I've forgotten how you contributed to my sentence."

Well, looks like he holds grudges. Well... that's not unexpected. I mean. He ended up in Hell after all.

Maybe if they could both transform, they'd have a chance to fight this guy. Nodding together unexpected, Goku just smiled at his long lost 'brother'. The one who'd raised his son in the stars to turn him into... well... what he was, when he first came back home. In some ways perhaps he should be grateful to him, it was likely Gohan only survived because of Turles. But the cost? Well... Goku knew the cost all too well. If Gohan had died among the stars much sooner, then they'd have just used the dragon to bring him back, like they'd tried so many times.

Now's not the time for this.

Lifting into the air, Goku let his power begin to emerge. Taro's still form turned finally towards him, as Turles came up beside him, his own aura flickering violently as the two of them began to concentrate the necessary energies needed. Even in sensing how Turles's energies were changing, Goku knew it was the same form they'd both achieved. Lightning tore past the two of them as their condensed power began to react inside their bodies. The skies above them seemed to be pulled along faster, as if the surface of the Earth was spinning ever faster.

Lightning crackled around them as Goku felt his own features slowly starting to shift, starting to change. His hair pulled back, edging behind him inch by inch as his eyebrows disappeared into his reinforced forehead. Muscles tightened as ki flowed through his new form. His aura exploded around him in a wave of overwhelming power. It peaked above his head by several metres even as the intensity of the new form created almost a deafening hum in the first few moments before it started to thrum like the Super Saiyan aura's of old, only louder.. To his right, Turles's body had undergone the same transformation. His glowing, elongated hair and intense look returned to him. Turning his attention ahead, Goku narrowed his gaze on Taro, who was staring back at the two of them, as if assessing what kind of threat he was dealing with.

"Kid gloves are off," Turles commented, cracking his knuckles as he leered in a predatory manner to their counterpart.

Something was unnerving to Goku however, even as he braced himself. Taro had taken several moments to assess them and looked at them as if they were uninteresting. It was hard to read, it was even hard to read his power level because it was still surrounding them. But that was also it. Their own ki had increased, but his senses were almost still being blinded by the power surrounding them. Worse yet, he noticed the lack of concern or intimidation on the other Saiyan's features.

"Well, these new gloves your wearing don't seem to be all that intimidating either," Taro remarked. "I knew I wasn't going to get exactly the most remarkable challenge on this world. But even now, with the two of you showing your hands, I don't feel... threatened. I'll be shocked if you can lay a hand on me, honestly."

It was after he said the words that Goku finally sensed the core of the power surrounding them. His own breath inhaled sharply as the physical world ceased mattering. Closing his eyes temporarily, Goku sensed the black hole of power around them, and sensed the power at the centre. In the back of his mind, he could hear cries of agony whispering out from the centre of this power. It was like staring into a void... a void made up of anguish. This was all a front on the outside for what this creature really was. Goku had fought some bleak, horrific terrors across the universe. He'd battled Frieza, Cell, Bojack, Turles, Garlic Junior, Broly, and multiple others. But this one was something else.

The idea of just letting this be a test, a challenge, albeit a difficult one, slipped from his mind immediately as he felt his own breathing increase. They needed to stop this thing. Now.

"Does that mean you'll not be shocked when I-" Turles was cut off, not by words, or even Taro.

Instead, Goku blasted off, flying straight ahead, aiming himself directly at Taro. The world slowed down for him as he placed almost all his power into his speed. Preparing to strike, Goku focused all his attention on this thing as he gathered in strength for his attack. Only as he closed ranks with the confident, calm figure did he see the small shift in Taro's face. It was like he saw him coming a mile away. There was only an outline of him that Goku could see this time that seemed to move out of his way. Super Saiyan III eyes widened in shock as his fist passed through where Taro had just been.

"Well, haven't you gotten fast?" Taro observed. "Not fast enough-"

Before he could finish the sentence, he'd shifted his head back and tilting his body in the air as Turles dove past him next. The two hovered in the air only a second before Goku's aura exploded around him again, taking off at full speed before rocketing back towards Taro, whom he saw moving away again. The outline of his actual frame was almost impossible to track, but he guessed the direction he'd gone. In that split fraction of time, Goku had already changed course in the air, sensing Turles following him. The form shifted direction several times, it was like trying to follow a fly moving at the speed of light. But finally, Goku narrowed it down as he twisted in the air following it at every turn. With his strength gathered, Goku centred his key in his fist before swinging down towards the ground, tracking Taro perfectly.

Just before he crashed into the ground, he saw Taro's form reappear and look up at him, his eyes coloured by surprise as he looked up at him. Swinging his fist into the ground itself where Taro stood, Goku's punch exploded against the ground, releasing ki like a volcanic explosion. The blast of force sent soil and dirt flying all around them in a tremendous wave of matter and light. The sounds of the Earth buckling rumbled out over the horizon as the Earth itself almost shook at the impact. The air filled with dirt and dust as it rolled out in all directions around them, before starting to get swept up in the wind. Jagged peaks of rock broke out of the ground as well, displaced by the immense force and its newly formed crater.

Energy waves from above then scoured the area. Goku felt his heart stop a second later as he immediately used instant transmission to appear behind Turles. Round after round of ki was blasted into the site below. The erected rocks crumbled and shattered, their ruin falling onto the already damaged impact site. The Catastrophe Gun turned the entire region of the forest into a landscape of a barren world. Breathing in and out, Goku looked down at the site below. The energy was still all around them, and increasingly Goku could hear the cries which mixed into the energy becoming more fervent.

"Fast," Turles commented before continuing his boast. "But clearly not fast enough. Did you enjoy that you little shit!"

Looking around the air around them, Goku tried to locate the centre of that scream which was increasingly ringing through his ears.

"It's not time to celebrate," Goku warned bluntly. "Can't you sense what he is? Focus your senses."

"I sense ki, so what?" Turles scoffed. "Nothing compared to the might of the truly ascended, Kakarot. If I knew you got frightened by a little ki, I should have just gone to my own full power when we first met..."

Turles paused, his eyes peering ahead briefly before he grit his teeth, slowly turning. Goku did the same, turning to look behind them as he heard a small chuckle vibrate through the air. When Goku looked back through the clouds of dust and dirt now beginning to fade, he viewed something which he'd hoped he wouldn't have. Floating there, his cape and black hair blowing in the wind, Taro floated with his arms crossed. There wasn't a scratch on him. Not from the explosion, or from the attacks Turles had thrown into the area. He was completely fine.

The sinister look on his face however was almost haunting. Blue eyes stared back at them, they were almost human in appearance but Goku could swear they were the eyes of a snake.

"I'm definitely concerned now that those kids gloves have been removed," Taro remarked. "I'd have been more concerned of course, if you'd managed to hit me."

"So, you think that was all I can do, huh?" Turles snapped angrily. "Well I'll tell you what. Let's see how well you-"

"You're holding back. A lot," Goku observed, stopping Turles from getting angry over something they couldn't do much about. "You're way stronger than either of us, even like this. What do you even get out of all this?"

The snake like smile edged higher on one side as the devil looked over the two of them again, before closing his eyes and shrugging his shoulders.

"I am going to complete myself. You see, Son Goku... all of this is just a creation of my mind. None of you are real. Every moment of your life has been of my design. As has every moment of yours-" he pointed to Turles a moment later, his eyes still closed. "You're all pawns. Nothing but lost memories and distant dreams. You're all simply... caught. Caught until I can finally reacquire all my dreaming selves. Their chorus sing me the songs which resonate through this very world. A world I have dreamed of. I can't wait for the day that I can finally awaken."

When he opened his eyes again, his smile remained at its zenith, before he tilted his head slightly, staring down the two of them.

This guy's completely crazy. Is the chorus all those screams?

"You're crazy," Goku announced, blinking several times as he analyzed everything that this rambling monster had just said. "You're completely crazy."

"Yea, even Kakarot's right on this. You're as crazy as a Zarkozen. Probably crazier."

"Zarkozen?" Goku then asked.

"Aliens. Their language is gibberish. Completely nuts. Even if you get a good translator they can't make sense of it."

"Well, I think this might be crazier than that."

"You've obviously never spoken with a-"

A loud noise came from in front of them as Goku and Turles looked ahead again, seeing Taro raise his hand up to his mouth while clearing his throat, clearly to capture their attention. There was almost a scattering noise which seemed to whisper all around them as Taro opened his hand, moving it away from his mouth.

"My companions are going to finish with your friends soon," he commented simply. "In truth, I'd hoped that you'd all provide me with a bit more game than I'm getting. So I think it's time to... ah, how adorable."

He shifted to his side, throwing his hand back and cracking his fist across Trunks' face. Trunks sword plunged into where Taro had just been, but was promptly dropped, before he was a moment afterwards by a spinning kick.

"You know, I'm going to truly enjoy drinking all those experiences back into myself. I almost can't wait. In fact... I think that I'm feeling a bit peckish even now. So the two of you are on notice, I think," Taro remarked. "Yes. I think it's time to end our little game. I think I won, but was that ever in doubt?"

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Turles:

Crazy and powerful. I'm going straight back to Hell.

The idea wasn't all that bad, except one thing. Turles was playing the long game. Meaning of course he could see more than just this battle. If this pile of crazy won the battle, he'd slaughtered Kakarot, and anyone important on this planet, which meant that the Dragon Balls would be done away with. He'd be a fool if he thought that he'd get anywhere close to a true escape from his internal torment, without the help of those several dragon balls. Which meant that he actually had to beat this thing. What the Hell did he stumble into here?

Garlic and Cell were pushovers, but he was hardly that low on the totem pole. In fact, he'd been hoping that his new form would have given him the chance to be the strongest in the universe once he got back. But Kakarot had mastered it as well, and even with the two of them together they'd not touched this one yet. It meant that they weren't trying hard enough, clearly. Just where the Hell did these things even come from?

"So I'm apart of some dream, hm?" Turles remarked. "Well, let me ruin your little game for you. I'm not a dream of yours, I'm a nightmare."

Striking together was their only chance to achieve anything at all. Sensing several powers across the surface of the Earth, Turles realized something. Gohan was here. Well, it would appear he wasn't the only one on vacation. The best chance they had was to set this guy up for a fall. Arrogance was a powerful hindrance, and he should know. This guy thought himself a god? Fine. They'd see how God like he was in a second. Kakarot would have known this as well.

"When you're ready, together," Goku commented quietly from the side, showing he understood their mutual intent at least.

"Nightmare?" Taro responded to him however. "... Please, father, I know how unimaginative I made you. You are as much a nightmare as a child's fairy tail. Conqueror of the universe? New master of the Saiyan race? You're no more anyone's master, than you are alive."

Something hateful bubbled up from his stomach as Turles sneered once more. Father he called him, which went to explain the Saiyan blood. If he was this thing's father, it was absolutely bizarre. Obviously not from this world.

"Talk is cheap," Turles shot back quickly. "If I was your father, I would have taught you that."

Something uneasy happened a second later.

"You did."

There was a frame, blurring through the air at him, he could barely follow it it was so fast. Without any time to react, Turles failed to raise his guard before he felt something explode in his side. His ribs seemed to scream out inside his body as he felt himself launch to one side. His organs even felt like they were shuffling. The world froze in that moment when he realized he could see Taro's body, frozen in free frame before he launched off to the side. Before he even knew what was happening an elbow struck his back, sending him into the ground. Flipping his body at the last moment, the undead Saiyan landed feet first, bracing himself as he did.

The frame moved in the air in front of him again, his advanced eyes seeing it, this time he struck out at the last second. His fist went straight past Taro's face as he reappeared, blinking as he did.

"Close. I congratulate-" he didn't finish the sentence as Turles lashed out.

Punches and kicks swung and shot towards the other Saiyan, whose body moved like fluid water to avoid him. There were no blocks even. Every blow found nothing but air, even as they closely arrived at their target. Frustration was impossible to avoid as Turles sent ki into his blows, speeding up his attacks and destroying every tree and even bit of ground beneath his strikes.

As if on call, Kakarot appeared, striking out against the target. It was coordination that won the day as they both struck towards the target. But even so, in the flurry of motion, of kicks and punches that shot towards him, Taro didn't even block a single one of their strikes. They didn't lay a hand or foot on him as they danced about him, trying to acquire anything that even closely resembled a successful blow. Finally, a strike almost landed, as Turles nearly hit Kakarot in the face with his fist, and as Kakarot's kick stopped just short of Turles's side.

He's making fools of us.

"Goodbye," the word came from above, Turles looked up sharply as Kakarot did as well, and all he could see was an opened hand.

A second later there was a flash. Not unlike the one that sent him screaming into the afterlife. The intensity of the energy was overwhelming, it was like being thrown into the sun. The energy itself cooked the air around them as he raised his arms to guard himself in futility. A second later, he found himself in the air, hovering again. Blinking he looked around, looking for any sign of the afterlife.

"Turles, Turles!" Kakarot's voice cut in. "Look, he's down there, we only have a second. Get your attack ready, he's going to come at us quickly to finish this."

Looking down, Turles saw a humungous explosion below. Energy crackled around the dead orb which was burning on the surface of the Earth, and he could see this thing flying back up towards them. His aura burned around him as he gathered his strength.

If I'm going back to Hell without you, you'll at least know I was here you bastard.

His hands crackled with purple energies as Turles almost spat down at the would be killer. To his left, Kakarot was moving his hands together to channel his ki, focusing his energy as well. The hum of their two gathering energies dispersed the energy which had lingered around them from the moment they'd made contact with this thing. It was then that he heard the chorus which Taro had referred to. He could hear the energy outside of his barrier almost like a scream resounding around and almost through him. It was more than one scream as well, it was like a thousand voices crying out all at once. It reminded him almost of the noises people would make before he slaughtered a whole city in a single shot. A familiar, good sound almost.

Background music, I'll enjoy hearing his scream getting added to the choir.

Finally, his energy reached its peak, just as Kakarot's did. It was infuriating that he could sense how Kakarot was at the very least his equal. Which meant that as soon as he was reborn, he'd be behind this simpering fool. Killing him after this wouldn't even serve his purposes, as Kakarot would be the one wished back, not Turles.

His distracted thought ended when he heard Kakarot starting with a familiar line.

"Ka... Meeeee... Ha... ME... HA!"

Pulling all his energy back, Turles then threw his hands forward, letting loose the wave that would form into the Cataclysm Cannon. A wave of blue energy burst into the air around them. Clouds which had been hanging in the sky dispersed. The purple wave that followed almost seemed to wrap around the blue wave diving down towards their mutual enemy. The supposed "son" he'd made, this would-be god of all creation. Crackling energy surged around the wave as the planet itself seemed to vibrate with the intensity of the energy. Their hair was mutually blown back and fluttering wildly in the intensity of the force of the waves themselves as it cleared every bit of the stink of this monster's ki from its path even. The screams around them almost seemed to die in the clarity of the two waves made one.

The small figure below, who'd been flying directly towards the beam, didn't even move to dodge. Instead, it stopped in mid flight. At first Turles expected to see the outline of the figure blitz out, almost faster than his eyes could follow, but instead nothing came out. The beams surged forward without any resistance, until Turles' felt it.

A bright red aura appeared on the other side of the blast, before an explosion of red light. The two merged waves stopped, their power flowing into the beams still as another energy wave blasted back towards them. It took only seconds for the wave to crash, scattering away from the opposing power. Turles barely had time to widen his eyes before the wave was upon them.

No way. How can he just-

Before he could finish the thought, the world became hot. Before him a great wave of red surged up like a tidal force in front of them, washing away the blue and purple waves. It was like gazing into the shore of eternity, or into the great pillars of flame which scorched the barren landscape of Hell. He could feel the heat and pressure from the wave as his own power waned. In the last moment, he felt the fire rise up around him before the small wave of purple which had defended his hands was brushed aside. His hands offered no resistance as the wave immediately overtook him. His scream joined the chorus of shrieks which he heard as soon as he entered the wave of annihilation which had come over him. Every fibre of his being burned, even as he desperately relocated ki to shield himself, it all burned away in seconds. The world was nothing but bright white and red energies, before it was darkness.

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Taro:

Looking up into the air, Taro just closed his eyes, watching as his wave disappeared, carrying off the two rodents with it. Their lives had been enough to amuse him for several moments and little else. They'd not even managed to lay a hand on him. Of course, that'd been the objective. Brushing his armour off slightly from some of the dust and dirt he'd accumulated from the air, Taro felt his false smile disappear as he gazed out across the battle damaged landscape of the mountains around him. Descending from the air, Taro observed it passively, no longer feeling the need to play any longer. It was time to reclaim the piece which he'd been missing for so long.

For so. Long.

It was impossibly not to lick his teeth from under his lips as his feet made contact with the stirred up soil beneath him. Walking briskly forward, he saw Trunks pulling himself up, using the hilt of his sword as a means of bringing himself up from the ground. Blood trickled out of his nose and several scratched adorned him, and his damaged jacket. This was going to be his time, his time to consume the piece of him with such importance assigned to it. It wasn't about strength, or fighting potential, or being the strongest in the universe, none of that held his attention. He already could just make himself those things, this was his world after all. No, it was about self discovery, about relearning who and what he was in these universe's of his mind's eye. It was about having himself back... about taking in more of him. It was about the taste. And it was so much more.

"Well, it looks like you're the last player left," Taro commented bluntly. "Kakarot, Turles, Cell, and Garlic have all been eliminated."

Energy picked up in the air around them, lifting dust up into the air once more as Trunks stood up, his aura flickering.

"It's really not so bad. Once you're back where you belong, it'll be enlightening I can assure you. To join what you were before."

Pulling the blade out of the surface of the ground, Trunks spat in front of him before holding the blade up aggressively.

"You're nothing but a monster, Taro. You're a mistake which should have never happened. Your whole timeline is nothing but an error," Trunks fired back at him. But it was so easily revoked, really.

Lifting his arms up, shirking off the remark, Taro just smiled.

"Look at you. All universes are a mistake. All of this is. Every universe in existence is a flawed interpretation of my dreams. Even the tiniest fibre of existence is but a fragment of what it should be. Once we're back together Trunks, then we can fix these flawed dreams of mine."

Taking an uneasy step back, Trunks seemed to eye him cautiously. They always resisted the inevitable, of course. It was in their, and his natures to do so.

Planning out his vector of attack took him only a fragment of a moment. This would be over shortly.

"You have no idea what you've done, do you?" Trunks asked openly. "Do you have any clue as to what you've done to the time stream? You can never get every one of me now. You're making more of me every time you breach through the time barrier. You're creating more of yourself as well. Don't you understand?"

Hah. His ignorance is astounding. You see, he assumes that I don't know this, my lovely viewers. I fully understand the repercussions of my actions on the time stream. I am indeed making as many dreams as I can. Because when I have acquired enough memories, enough lives, and enough dreams, I will simply go to Toki-Toki city itself, and use its power to draw every one of my fragments back into myself, even the other fragments which are drawing in these other subdued versions of myself. Then I will destroy the timestream itself... and all of time can simply start over again.

This time. This time I'll get it perfect.

"I think you'll be the one understanding soon enough, Trunks."

Something was then off in the space between them. Power, another power was entering the area. But which one was it? Oh! It was substantial, which meant-

Kakarot.

A trail of golden energy burst towards him as Taro sneered this time.

I truly hate this one. I wish I'd never invented him. I wish I'd never made him such a central role in all of this. He never gives up. Even when I kill him he can obnoxiously find a way to survive.

He was moving very fast however. Surviving his own attack was likely linked to his cursed instant transmission. Sidestepping at the last second, the force of Kakarot's movement blasted past him even as he slipped out of the way of his attack. He was very serious right now, which as adorable as it was, wasn't something he was interested in dealing with right now. Reaching to the hilt of his sword, Taro just licked his teeth again before landing on the ground, looking up at where Kakarot had attacked him from.

"You never know when to leave well enough alone, do you Kakarot?"

"What can I say? It's in my nature to help my friends," Kakarot shot back, turning about to face him. "I can sense just how powerful you are, Taro."

Well, it was impressive, even with a surface level understanding of his power he was still defiant. He didn't deceive himself with false hope at least.

"And I'm still going to beat you."

There was something in his words that made Taro almost snarl at his obstinate nature. Even with the most rudimentary understanding of his power, he had the audacity to claim that he was going to beat him. The difference in their power was absurd. It was the rambling of a madman on the eve of his destruction, clearly. But even then, hurling the same fruitless phrases he always did wouldn't make a difference.

"You have no idea how many times you've said that to me, and you have no idea how tiring it is to hear you say that in every world," Taro shot back coldly. "Do tell me how you intend to do it this time, Kakarot? Are you going to use the Kamehameha? Oh, we already tired that? Instant transmission with the Kamehameha? Throwing a punch at me again. Please, go into detail!"

Sticking his sword's tip into the ground, Taro spun the ancient blade by the hilt several times while staring at Kakarot. He dared him to make a move. Honestly, as soon as he moved in towards him, he would just finish this with a few clean strikes of the blade.

Something akin to confidence appeared on Kakarot's face before his power began to surge above him. The Super Saiyan III aura burned around him as static shot through the air and rolled over Kakarot's body. Another pointless display of power.

When he took off towards him, charging at full speed, Taro could sense the power forming in his fist. Another attempt to strike him with his ki using his fist. It was hardly going to even happen. In a blurred motion, Taro took several leaps forward, before drawing his sword back and cutting into Kakarot's form. Only his blade passed through clean air. Landing on both his feet as the ground beneath him was shredded with the momentum on his landing, Taro blinked.

What? Where did he?

Sensing disturbances in the air, Taro cut upwards, his blade passing through Kakarot's form. Only at the last moment, the Saiyan disappeared again.

Instant transmission? This quickly? How is he doing this?

Throwing his blade towards the next disturbance, the metallic shape cut through the air itself as it moved through where once the orange clad fighter had been. Sweeping his leg out into a long kick, Taro struck out faster than the ability for even a Saiyan to see, only to pass through Kakarot's body again.

"Delaying the inevitable won't help you," Taro sneered, before sensing Kakarot's presence around him a dozen times. His head shifted to each one, trying to determine the attack venue.

All of them struck out at once. Sweeping his leg out again, he cleared all the ones before him. Looking up, he saw the last possible attack as Goku blurred through time and space at a rapid motion.

"That won't wor-"

"DRAGON FIST!"

Golden light emerged in front of him as Taro's face morphed in surprise and outrage as the energy shot directly at him from above, seeing the Dragon form in the light as its winding body descended from above at lightning like speeds.

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Trunks:

The destructive blast in front of him was immense. Trunks was immediately blasted back, his own cry of surprise echoed with the blast itself as debris fired in all directions, making anything as small as a pebble a lethal projectile around him. His already torn jacket barely shielded him from a few more small cuts as these rocks cut against his body, even through his aura. When the full shockwave hit him, it was like he'd been hit by a small moon, before his body scattered to the forces around him, bouncing him off the ground several times before he slammed into the side of a stable hill formation. The trees around him bent, and then broke with the full force of the blast. The trees were either uprooted, or just tore apart in the wave of golden light.

His head fell back as Trunks barely managed to maintain his Ascended form. Looking to his right, he saw his sword plunged into the side of the hill as well. Rising with a painful wince, Trunks pulled the blade from the hill before looking ahead, breathing in and out carefully.

Goku. That's amazing. But did you do it? Did you really stop him? I don't think I've ever seen-

Something rocketed out of the light at blinding speed, heading straight for him. Leaping to the side, Trunks rolled out of the way as a single body slammed into the hillside, ripping into it as the entire mound exploded outwards, sending what was left of the foliage, debris, and dirt flying in all directions. It'd been too fast for him to follow. As soon as he managed to pull himself up, Trunks quickly ran over, looking to the body which had plunged into the dirt, only to freeze.

Goku was laying there, blood dripping down his hairline as he just groaned, his golden aura disappearing, before his hair turned black once more. This was insane. That's all this could be described as. This was completely mad!

Turning, holding his sword up as he did, Trunks saw only the light fading in the distance from the Dragon Fist, as a single figure walked out of the light, his pace deliberate and slow. The long flowing cape blowing with his black hair as the winds seemed to settle. When the light faded, Trunks swallowed hard seeing what he feared most.

Not one scratch. Not one bruise. Goku didn't even land the Dragon Fist.

What the Hell were they going to do now?

Stopping almost 5 metres in front of them, Taro sheathed his sword before clapping his hands together several times.

"Very impressive. But, I suspect that we've played out the last of this scenario," Taro commented. "I'll give4 Kakarot this, he certainly knew how to scare me. He came very close to hitting me. The very idea of it is almost terrifying."

But something past Taro's aura flickered, violently. It was enough to make Trunks' mind even wander. And there was a stunning silence on another part of the Earth which had been a wild storm elsewhere. Taro himself seemed to notice as well, his head turning, before his eyes wandered to the other side, his head following.

Nothing but silence populated the air between them as Trunks swallowed. He knew what had just happened. Beyond all hope, they'd beaten the others. Taro was the last one left. The violent storm of energy they just felt was the sensation of Brass being killed. Junia's power had completely disappeared, but his father's was faint, and still there.

Taro's eyes continued to scan for a moment, before something dark overtook his features.

"Something's not right. I didn't envision this to happen, not now," he commented. "Their role in my story wasn't completed yet."

Even if it might have been too late for them, Trunks felt some of his confidence return as he defiantly glared back at Taro.

"Didn't expect your partners to get themselves killed, huh? Even if we can't stop you, there will be at least two less monsters in the world for you to unleash on people-"

Something sharp pierced his shoulder, before his back slammed against the hill. A cry escaped his lips as he looked to his shoulder, seeing the sword which Taro carried through it, impaling his arm into the ground. Blood began to seep down his arm and clothes as he breathed in and out, trying to control the pain and keep his mind clear. It wasn't working very well, however.

My arm!

"Those monsters took me years to mould. They had their own branch in my story. They had their roles in my grand design, and they were not fulfilled yet!" Taro shouted, before grabbing his face.

Reaching up and grabbing his wrist, Trunks desperately tried to push back, but it was utterly futile. Fingers dug into his skin as the Saiyan sneered violently down at him.

"None of this was in my vision of this world. It wasn't in the dream. This is your fault, isn't it?" Taro snapped, venom seeping into every word. "I should have never allowed you to get away."

Struggling to breath, Trunks almost felt like his skull was going to be crushed. Then, he felt something almost being sucked out of him. It was like a force, pulling something inside of him out. It was like before, when he sensed this monster trying to devour him.

But then it stopped. It stopped dead in its tracks. In fact, he entirely stopped. The resistance behind the hand disappeared as well, before he pulled back all together, but his hand didn't move.

"Got him!" a cheerful voice shouted from above.

Looking up, Trunks felt relief wash over him as he saw a familiar, pink Kai. The Supreme Kai of Time.

"Cutting it a little close there, don't you think?" Trunks managed, before grabbing the hilt of the blade. It was like a mountain was stuck in his arm. He couldn't even budge it.

Pushing his own body back, deeper into the hill, the blade slid out not from him pulling or pushing on it, but from him moving his body. As soon as the dirt, and his body were clear, it hit the ground with a thud. It was almost like a 200 ton brick had slapped into the mud.

Looking up at Taro, Trunks slowly approached the frozen body, holding his weeping arm as he did.

"Stop! If you get any closer, you'll get caught in my time flux. He's going to be trapped in that moment for an eternity. But anyone who touches him down, many end up joining in the prison. If I let one go, I've got to let everyone go."

Relief washed over him as Trunks looked into the lifeless eyes of his would be killer.

It was finally over, wasn't it?

"Thank you. We've finally stopped him. And with the others dead, this nightmare is finally over," Trunks breathed, hobbling towards Goku. "At least we got the originals."

"Yea," The Supreme Kai of Time sighed. "My job is still a complete mess, and will only get worse, but at least we've got some justice for all those timelines being created and ruined by these monsters."

When Trunks looked at Goku, he saw him starting to show signs of coming to, but he was still almost completely out. His head moved a bit as he groaned, one eye opening before closing again.

"Chi, I don't wanna get up, you take care of it," he murmured. "... my head hurts."

Somehow, I think Goku's going to be fine.

When he turned back however, he saw something which made his heart stop. Taro's eyes had moved. He looked at his face right away, as if on instinct. He was expecting them to be looking down, as if into his own as he'd been grabbing his face. But his eyes had turned to the side, as if looking for who was responsible for his current state, and his hand had gone from a web of tense fingers, to a fist.

"No way," he whispered. "Supreme Kai! He's moving!"

Several blinks and a dumbfounded look crossed her face as Trunks felt his heart start racing when he saw Taro's arm start to move.

What the Hell do I do? He's moving! But how?!

"But there's no way! He can't be doing that!" she shouted back at him, the panic slipping into her own voice. "Trunks, I need you to-"

Time itself was bending in front of him, and almost like a brittle piece of glass put in a mechanical press, it was about to crumble and shatter, even Trunks could see that. Grabbing his own sword again, pulling it up from the ground, Trunks ran forward with it, jumping at the time delayed Saiyan with his blade aimed to pierce the heart. As he closed with him, he even felt the slow down to the point of non movement, before everything just went still, even his thoughts.

When everything flashed back to the world around him, he felt his blade pass through the air, before it was snatched out of his hands before an elbow slammed into his face, sending him skidding back several metres. Blood dripped out of his nose as Trunks reeled from the force of the hit.

In the air, he saw the Supreme Kai of Time. He saw her dying. It was surreal, it was unbelievable. How? How could it have gotten to this?

His mouth slowly fell agape as his own sword was plunged into her abdomen. The goddess whose purpose was to manage the timestream, now looked ahead in shock as her hands grasped the blade that had run her through. He saw only the look of shock and horror on her face as she looked up into the eyes of her murderer.

"Do you think me a prisoner of time?" Taro questioned in a harsh tone. "I made time."

Pulling the blade out of her, Trunks only saw his friend fall from the sky helplessly before falling into a heap on the face of the Earth. Every instinct in him told him to run towards her, and he couldn't ignore it this time. Blurring in several motions, he immediately came to her side, pulling her up and looking down, looking for any signs of life.

"I screwed up, huh?" she coughed, trying to choke back the blood.

He didn't know Kai physiology, but he knew what a mortal injury was.

No, no no no this can't be happening.

"Trunks," she choked desperately, looking into his eyes with a pleading look. "Trunks. You... you..."

Breathing became more erratic as her hand clutched his tightly, she swallowed again, trying to finish what she'd been trying to tell him.

"You... need... to... stop... stop h... him," she managed. "It... can't end... like..."

Her voice caught as her breathing did. She was staring at him as he saw the flicker of life expire in her eyes. Her grip on his hand loosened, before it slipped away. This just didn't seem real. It didn't seem possible. The Supreme Kai of time was just gone. She was gone? How could this happen? How could time itself even operate?

When Taro's boots landed on the dirt behind him, Trunks felt something new growing in him. Something he'd felt before, but felt in a new way now. He felt hatred for the monster who was doing this. And more than anything, he felt a new resolve. It didn't matter if this guy was stronger than him, even if he was the god he purported to be, he was dead.

"To be fair, that may have worked on me a few years ago," he mused aloud. "Strange the techniques you pick up over time as you discover the very mechanics of existence."

Turning his head, vengeance in his heart and anger flowing through his veins, Trunks felt his aura burst around him.

"You just killed one of the most important beings in the universe, who kept people's lives in check! Who helped whole realities keep their coherency! Who stopped monsters and demons from destroying realities! And you killed my friend!" Trunks shouted, grabbing his own sword, the one doused in the blood of the very Kai he referred to. "I'm going to be the one to kill you for this."

Electricity rolled over his arms and hands as they trembled. Any of the battle damage he'd felt so far seemed to be almost able to be ignored, even the hole in his arm.

A lazy smile emerged in response. That stupid damn smile.

"You're free to..." turning his head slowly, Taro's smile disappeared as it did. "Oh, the ones responsible for ruining my dream have arrived."

"I expected the big bad to be a little more beat up by now, honestly," Gohan's voice echoed out from over them. "But that's fine. I don't mind getting my hands dirty."

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Gohan:

Shit. This guy's power level is through the roof. Why do I always draw attention to myself? Why can't I just leave these things alone sometimes? Alright, all we've gotta do is beat him. Just like we all talked about. Except the fact that no one seemed to have a reasonable idea as to how we beat him.

Turning his eyes towards Vegeta, he moved his head, implying the other Saiyan should get ready as well. Vegeta had arrived with Senzu beans thank the gods, because this fight was going to need them. And right now both Kakarot and Trunks were in dire need. Alright, so that was going to get solved. That still left them with the problem of the ugly nightmare below.

"Son Gohan," the malicious looking figure from below started, turning his face up to stare directly at him, and the others. "You're supposed to be dead in this world. Oh..."

Well, aren't you the king of the obvious?

"Hey, you can look on the bright side. We're going to have an eternity to get to know each other better now, am I right?" Gohan called back, before descending from the air to the ground below.

There was something turning in Taro's mind as he took several steps to face towards him, and Gohan knew it.

"You're not like the other Gohan's I've killed. I can already see it," reaching out with one of his hands while he spoke, Taro seemed to close his eyes. Briefly, Gohan could hear that he heard a whisper of a scream float through the air.

A long, callous smirk emerged on the figure's face as his eyes slowly opened, staring up at him.

"Oh you're a beautiful irony. We might as well be brothers, you and I," he remarked.

"Yea, that whole brother's thing didn't pan out well for Brass," Gohan commented, cracking his neck from side to side as Piccolo landed to his left, and Goten landed to his right.

"You're going to pay for hurting my dad," Goten snapped.

"Easy," Gohan advised immediately, turning his head towards Goten as he spoke, but keeping his eyes peeled on this new thing. "Running in head long isn't going to help us necessarily. Remember, teamwork."

Because right now I'm swimming in this guy's power. I can't even make sense of its source yet. This is nuts.

"That teamwork worked very well for your father, Kakarot. It's also done wonders for young mister Trunks. Oh, I also defeated three of your prior nemesis, Gohan. Including our real father, Turles. I plucked them out of Hell because I was bored. It didn't help much, mind you..."

Plucked them out of Hell because he was bored? Well this is just fucking wonderful isn't it. I thought Brass was bad. This is really, really, really bad.

"Trunks, take it easy," Gohan called out towards him. "We're going to take care of this, you back off."

The look Trunks gave him was the same one you'd expect him to give a madman. So, apparently Trunks didn't like the idea, great. Another Trunks he didn't get along with at first. Did he kill a bunch of people he liked in his life too? Damn it, this was going to be weird. This whole thing was weird. But he was out of Hell, and he was healed up enough to fight. There was too much riding on this right now. Hell, even killing that monster from another world was weighing on him. That thing could have been him, or Goten, quite easily, and it was very easy to see how close they all were to being there.

I was there.

"We need to get Kakarot a senzu bean," Vegeta quietly said from behind as his own feet touched the damaged surface of the Earth. "And then we need to get Trunks one. That's our best chance. You-"

Vegeta pulled out two of the beans, before directly handing it to the Supreme Kai.

"You're going to do it. The rest of us will fight this thing until Kakarot has recovered. Don't even try large attacks, he's far too fast for anything to hit him without his wanting it."

"Oh, well, now that your in charge Vegeta, I'm sure we're just going to win this one out of nowhere. You know-" Gohan was cut off as Piccolo made a gruff noise beside him.

So Vegeta's the one in charge now? That was the first thing to come to Gohan's mind as he almost glared behind him. Vegeta, the one who screwed them over while they were fighting Garlic. Vegeta, the one who got killed by Broly. Vegeta, the one he beat after Turles beat him too. Prince Vegeta was the one in charge. He didn't carry a chip on his shoulder about Vegeta thinking himself the strongest or best, he was just irritated that it was going to be Vegeta trying to take command of the situation.

Vegeta couldn't take command of a daycare, given his track record.

"He's right, Vegeta's plan makes the most sense and that's the one we're going with. No debating it now."

Great, now they dog pile. Shit this is going to be a mess.

Energy wrapped around his body as the familiar hum of the Super Saiyan aura filled his senses. Goten's aura flickered to life a second later, and Piccolo's field of energy emerged as Vegeta's burst to life behind him. Teamwork was going to be the main thing that kept them, as in people other than him, alive.

"You know, I've been giving all of you a great deal of time to chatter and plan, as if I don't know what they are," Taro yawned. "If you want to heal Son Goku and Trunks, feel free."

Stepping back, Taro seemed to eye them all before lifting into the air.

"This might be entertaining again. You killed my siblings, something I never dreamed of this pitiful excuse for a reality doing. I've been genuinely surprised by all of you. The last time anything surprised me... I can't even remember," he breathed, looking up towards the clear blue skies above them. Nitrogen certainly made a pretty atmosphere. "It was before I could even hear the chorus."

"Before you lost your mind then?" Piccolo was quick to shout. "If you can't even see what you are, you're hopeless."

Making eye contact with the monster again, Gohan felt his fists tighten as he squared his own jaw, thinking of vectors of attack. This thing in front of him was playing coy, but it was obvious that he was way stronger. Vegeta says no big ki attacks? Fine, no big ki attacks, but that meant they had very few options, especially if he's this fast.

"Oh my... Diaokaio, is that... is that-?"

"The Supreme Kai of Time," Daiokaio said, his words caught on a whisper as the two supposed gods behind them seemed to freeze in place. "What has he done? All of time is in danger now! What have you done?!"

All of time in danger? Are these guys being serious? So now even if I get out of Hell, time might fall apart or something? Really? REALLY?

Gohan's aura flickered around him as his anger spiked mildly, before he turned his head back to Goten.

"Keep back as much as you can during this-"

"I'm giving you sixty seconds to provide Kakarot and Trunks with the much vaunted Senzu beans. You may conform, however I'm getting bored again. Oh, and you'll all need to forgive me... my patience for a lack of compliance is increasingly falling."

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Taro:

Remarkable. Don't you all think so? These little rodents are the one's left over from fighting Brass, and a victorious Vegeta, finally defeating my darling of a sister and killing her. A multi-verse fusion of Piccolo with this world's Namekian, clearly far more powerful than normal, but not nearly relevant enough. A subpar Vegeta, unable to obtain any form past Super Saiyan II, I should probably refer to him as kindling, as that's all he's going to end up being. A teenager.

Yes, a child basically.

Goten. Oh! Better yet! Goten with a chip on his shoulder.

The younger Trunks isn't here either. I wonder where Vegeta hid him away? Clearly somewhere good... Ah... yes... could he be in the hyperbolic time chamber. That would make the most sense, now wouldn't it dear old dad?

A washed up Supreme Kai named Shin. Oh, better yet, his reclusive and dark minded master. I recognize Abaddon at first glance really. Another failed Kai, this one so obscure he disappeared from his job only years after taking it. He never even met the Supreme Kai in most worlds. Most worlds are fortunate enough to have him dead by now, his obsession with the monsters he created destroying him.

And of course, we have the main character left over. Son Gohan. This one is fairly unique. His cowardly nature was never overcome in his vicious surroundings, and his fears were only stoked under my loving father figure. Only now he's become the anti-hero, always being forced to fight battles he never wishes to truly wage. Oh, and he was killed by Garlic Junior. Hah.

It all comes together to this. A showdown on the ruins of the mountains where Son Goku was raised and lives. It rings to hollow to me, honestly. I don't feel the excitement, I don't see the bother to it. Without Brass and Junia, my own schemes become so much more pedestrian. All I need now are the Trunks, and whatever keeps me amused. Perhaps only a hundred more worlds are needed before I walk through the unguarded, or at the very least thinly guarded gates of Toki-Toki city, and bring about my vision of all reality. A utopia, far greater than anything I've yet imagined, to be sculpted by my hand.

But, I think I've rambled on far enough. I think most of you secretly want me to win, the viewers, that is. You would love to see someone step past all these silly coloured Saiyan forms of these flawed universes. Yellow, Rose? Really? Rose? Blue. Gods of Destruction whom are weak minded playthings with an obsession with food. Angels who would hoist up their own universes to the slaughter to an uncaring child of a creator god. All of these things are flaws in my world... and this time, I'll correct it all.

Because none of them are real. There is no them... there is only... me.

Looking ahead, Taro's eyes centred on Son Gohan, sensing the darker nature of his ki. It was the only refreshing thing to him in this utterly ridiculous universe. He had the same determination as Kakarot, or his other world counterparts. But really, despite being intriguing, he was far weaker than he normally was by this point. It was disappointing, but honestly what about this world wasn't?

Kakarot was up again, as was Trunks. Really he had very little interest in this fight all together, at this point. He'd procure what amusement was left, destroy this miserable rock for being so drab, and then move on. Move on alone. Alone as he always truly was. Perhaps he would create new companions for myself in his dreams only to make them real once again.

In a blur of motion, Gohan, Kakarot, and Vegeta were the first wave to blitz towards him, all coming from beneath him. All of them wearing their golden Ascended Super Saiyan forms. Even Kakarot knew he had to conserve energy to drag this out. Of course he did notice a noticeable, but insignificant gain in power for Kakarot since their last exchange of blows. The Dragon Fist had been a surprise, something which had come so close to hitting him. He remembered how angry he was that he'd almost failed the contest he'd arranged for himself. It most certainly got the blood pumping, however. This time he wasn't even going to provide any of them with the delusion of victory. The only thing that could entertain him now would be their abject fear and misery. He wanted to taste that, before he finished with his alternate self.

Moving far faster than any of them could dream of moving, Taro cut in front of Gohan, jabbing him in the abdomen with a short jab, before launching a kick to his side, catching Vegeta in the shoulder. Reaching out and grasping Kakarot by the leg, even as he turned and tried to follow what was happening, he swept the other Saiyan through the air at full speed, slamming him into the Vegeta and Gohan before casting all three into the ground below.

Even as he did this, his body slid to the side a moment later as the boy with the chip on his shoulder struck at him from behind. As if on cue, Taro simply chopped him in the back. It was hard enough that the entire golden aura around the body's body vaporized as his hair turned black. The velocity his body was moving was however, not nearly as destructive as he hoped, as Trunks intercepted the boy in the air, catching him and diving away.

Playing the hero, Trunks? Keeping the boy out of the fight just means he dies seconds later, instead of now.

A green hand reached for his throat, projected from a green body. Pulling his head back, clawed fingers fell short only by centimetres. It was good to know the Namekian was going for lethal damage with every attack. However, punishment for such behaviour was required after all. A field of red energy emerged around his hand, before he cut the elongated limb away at the hand. Piccolo shouted out in pain. With a half laugh, Taro kicked the falling limb towards the Namekian on the ground at full force. It shot towards him like an arrow, only breaking the sound barrier several times before the Namek knocked it away, his arm drawing back in. Following the retracting limb, only faster, Taro appeared in front of his time-travelling companion, before smirking.

"You should have warned them about me, Piccolo," he advised.

"I did," Piccolo shot back, a green field covering his body before he struck out, much faster than usual. It didn't matter, it was like watching slow motion as he simply ducked beneath it and buried his fist in the Namek's stomach.

Red energy then appeared to his side as Shin pointed his hands together in fright, forming his attack and unleashing it. Moving several feet back, the bolt whizzed past Piccolo and himself as Taro turned his head to the side, sneering at the 'god' that had attacked him.

"It's always much better when you know your role," Taro pointed out snidely, before simply waving his own hand, casting a wave of energy towards the Kai. "Two gods in one day. That's not a new record... but it's still very uncommon."

Piccolo jumped back, rushing towards the wave as Abaddon did as well. The three collided with his very simple blast, and all of them struggled desperately to prevent it from killing the surprised and out of his element Kaio. He doubted it could overwhelm all three. But perhaps if he fed it just a bit more power, it could.

With malicious intent, he raised his hand, feeling energy flowing to it.

"Goodby-"

Not again.

Reaching his hand out, he mentally grasped his sword with his mind, projecting it back into his hand. The Z sword came into his grasp before he swung it around, deflecting away Trunks attempt to strike him down. Only this time he slid it towards the ground, before he prepared to strike back up, intent on lacerating Trunks chest. Only this time his blade froze, unable to slide only the other blade as easily as Trunks pulled his own sword down at the deflection, before bringing it back up and sweeping it into him again. This time Taro raised his own blade to block. His eyes looked towards Trunks trembling sword as he felt irritation.

Of course, Trunks had yet to touch him, but these blocks were uncomfortable to him. The determination in his other self's eyes was familiar and filled with the fire of life.

"You really have served your entertainment purpose, Trunks."

Throwing his hand forward he palm struck Trunks in the chest, he could feel the air suck out of his lungs a moment later even as his body slid back into the air. Blurring in front of him, Taro lashed out with his sword, this time aiming for wounds which would not be recovered from. Cutting for ligaments and non-vital organs. It would all be to shut him down. Only Taro felt his eyes widen as Trunks' blade intercepted his own, deflecting the slash.

What?

Making a jabbing slice again as the blades deflected off one another once more, Trunks cut it away once more. Another slash and it was deflected once again. Swinging it around with both hands, he finally knocked Trunks' blade up, revealing his abdomen. Taking this moment as an advantage, he firmly planted his boot in Trunks' abdomen, sending the copy of himself sprawling through the air with a surprised cry. When his back impacted the forest below, a long trail of destruction rolled out as trees and earth were cast out of his path.

Lowering himself back to the ground, Taro landed at the base of where Trunks destruction had begun.

"He blocked my attacks. That shouldn't have been possible," he murmured to himself.

Descending into his own mind, he heard the agony of the choir within it, pleas for liberation and soft cries of simply pain. Inside this conference of his minds he couldn't hear anything which explained anything to him. When his eyes opened, he felt power rising in front of him. It was impossible not to allow his brow to tighten downward into a glare as he looked down the path. Golden energy emerged, mixed with blue.

I see now.

Walking down the path his body had made, Trunks walked towards him, blue ethereal energies mixing with his golden ones. A field of blue covered his body as well as he sensed more than one power flowing through Trunks. The most prominent power being the Supreme Kai of Times. She'd passed on her power as she was dying, how adorable. But it didn't explain the low levels of life energies he sensed running through his body.

"You killed my friend. You've killed billions of others, all for your own greed. I'm stopping you."

For the first time, Taro's aura appeared around him. The blackened field shrieked around him as the two stared one another down. Something dark flowed into Taro's mind as he looked at this mortal insect standing up to him. Did he really think he was going to be some beacon of hope, the light in the darkness? The chorus shrieked as he let their power loose around him, preparing the blade in his hands as Trunks shifted his stance, preparing his own.

"This time, you won't escape me Trunks," Taro commented only in response.

A wave of blue and golden light took off towards him, as Taro's feet pounded on the ground, rushing straight towards his attacker. Blades crossed in three lightning quick motions. Each time the swords slashed against one another, it sent waves of ki out in cutting motions beyond the two, cutting through trees all around them, or slicing into the surface of the Earth as the rest of the blades of energy were sent cutting off into the air, slashing through the very clouds in the distance, or mountain peaks set too low and in the path of these mammoth energies.

After the fifth strike of their blades, Taro cut Trunks' blade to the ground again, before kicking towards his chest once more, only his eyes widened in shock as Trunks stepped back, avoiding the boot all together.

He can't-

Pulling his own blade back up with incredible motion, his counterpart slashed towards him. His own guard had been lowered, barely with enough time to spare, Taro shifted his shoulder to one side, and then the other as piercing thrusts, aiming to kill, cut towards his heart and throat. Finally regaining his blade's initiative, Taro cut Trunks' blade away, before striking towards him. This time Trunks' guard caught the blade with his sword, deflecting the first attack. A shriek of energy washed over Taro finally as he let loose an angry snarl, before striking once more. This time, the blow sent Trunks flipping back, even as he blocked. When he landed on his feet, he slid back down the path, earth growing into a mound behind him.

The mound was washed away in a wave of blue energy as Trunks disappeared in a burst of speed, blasting off towards him, his sword above his head. Taro's eyes widened once again in surprise as he felt his own heartbeat accelerate. A thousand avenues of defence flowed through his mind before he put all his ki into his speed and shifted to the side, drawing his blade to his side and striking upwards on the trajectory he was looking for.

In a flash of black and blue energies, the two passed one another.

Standing quietly, Taro just breathed, sensing the ki around him fading.

Several strands of black hair drifted in front of his face as even he closed his eyes and breathed out with relief.

What the Hell was that?

Slowly turning about his facing, he saw Trunks still standing in place, his body frozen, before it trembled several times. The blue and golden aura around him evaporated into the air as his hair turned purple. Falling to his knees, Taro saw the blood begin flowing onto the ground before him.

I'll know soon enough. Won't I?

Walking briskly towards his victim, his eyes peeled for the others as he grasped Trunks' scalp, Taro dug his fingers into the flesh of his victim.

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Abaddon:

So this was it? This was the disaster unfolding in front of him. A complete mess. Even now his fingers still burned from the ki wave he'd helped deflect to save his god-counterpart from. This universe and so many timelines were all going to become unlivable disasters, and there was only a brief window to salvage it. There was only a few moments to salvage it all.

And it's all my fault.

Even now as he looked out across the others, he saw people who'd barely fought this monster, and already looked drained and defeated. Piccolo looked probably to be in the best shape. Even the three 'main' Saiyans who rose up from the crater their three bodies had made looked haggard from their short experience with this thing. That thing was the thing he'd come to fear most. A Saiyan whose power and lust for power had driven him to destabilize all of creation. His murder of the Supreme Kai of Time had even gone as far as to destabilize not just this universe, but others. It was a complete disaster, an unmitigated one. The Angels themselves wouldn't be able to deal with it at this rate. His folly in creating these Saiyans eons ago now had come full circle.

They not only killed the gods of my generation, and countless mortals, they're going to destroy time and space.

Looking towards Kakarot, Gohan, and Vegeta, he saw the three of them looking on to the immense power clash he sensed in the near distance.

Trunks will fall. His power is not enough. I can sense the Supreme Kai's power in him, and even some of the power that flows from this world, but it won't be enough. Where can I get enough power? Beerus won't listen. This monster's siblings are dead. There isn't a single being in Heaven or Hell strong enough to deal with this. Another reality? But there is no time for that.

His fingers tightened into a ball as he closed his eyes tightly.

"Daiokaio, is everything alright?" Shin asked.

"No," he answered bluntly. "We've failed."

The announcement rang true among all of them. They all heard him.

"There has to be a way," Goku said, turning towards him. "No matter how strong he is, there has to be a way to stop him. No one is all powerful, no one is invincible."

A childish vision of power and the world.

"You're delusional," he concluded.

"Then why don't we all just kill ourselves? Well, me excluded. Why don't we all just do that? You're a moping, sad excuse for a god you know that?" Goku's son, Gohan, proclaimed to him, walking towards him with his halo floating above his head. "We can either sit here and stew, and wait for that monster to come kill us, or we can do something."

He then looked him, and then Shin, in the eyes. This Saiyan was trying to intimidate them into having more spirit to fight? Did he not just witness all of them being utterly crushed in a few blows? Even this monkey was clearly recovering from only being hit twice. How absolutely pitiful. They didn't even know the depths of strength this creature could bring about.

"If you guys have any plans, if anyone does. I'd like to hear them, now."

Reluctantly, Abaddon closed his eyes and turned away. His failure was complete, wasn't it? Well, if it wasn't before, it would be now...

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Trunks:

Fingers dug into his flesh as he felt his entire body go numb. It was like having something tapping into his body and soul.

Memories started to flash before his eyes. Visions of his mom trying to take care of him in a destroy world run by the androids. The pain of never knowing his father and living his life in fear. The better times with Gohan and his mom. Gohan's death. Travelling back in time and killing Frieza and his father. Fighting the Androids in the past. Fighting them again. Fighting against Cell. Training with his father. Fighting Cell. Dying.

And a million other images and moments flowed through him. But they were disappearing. As they moved through his mind, as he almost relived those moments, they fell into an abyss. The world itself started to feel lighter and lighter. How much of his memories were his own? Everything was growing dark as he felt his mind being pulled. It felt like he was being pulled out of his own body as his memories disappeared into a void of absolute darkness.

It was like falling. Falling into a void of complete emptiness and darkness. There was nothing around him at all. All he could do was hear something faint in the background. Something painful strabbed into him, where he didn't know. It was like a hook, dragging him further into the darkness. It made him feel weak. He tried to cry out, but his voice didn't appear. He tried to think, but he couldn't. He tried to flail, but he was unmoving. Then he made out the faint cry in the distance into what it was.

It was an echo. It sounded like... screaming. His own pain was growing as he felt something still draining away everything he was. He wanted to cry out so badly but every time he did it was soundless. Panic was overwhelming him at every step. His body felt... gone. He wasn't something physical anymore. And the scream was growing louder all around him. And it wasn't alone. Hundreds of other voices, they all sounded the same, all started to join. The louder they became, the more anguish he felt surge through his system.

And finally, at the top of his voice, finally as everything started to break apart and he felt whatever had been hooked into him turn burning hot, Trunks screamed, and was lost in the chorus.

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Taro:

Letting go on the head in his hand, the lifeless body flopped to the ground as Taro stood there, breathing evenly while looking down at the body. It was always so satisfying. And this time he couldn't go into such detail as to how satisfying it was. So many memories blended together with the ones he'd already acquired. So many dreams that he'd lost in the ether were relived for him, but this was the oldest dream of all. It was the thing which had been the basis for his awakening. It let him view into a thousand fragments of his own mind. But most importantly of all, he finally felt as though he was coming close to the closure, completion, he was looking for.

Blood dripped from his fingers as Taro just looked at it. It was warm and fresh, and he couldn't help but push his index finger into his mouth, sucking the blood from the digit. The taste was familiar, and it was sweet. As soon as the finger left his mouth, he licked his teeth away again before just taking in the sun from above. This was what it was like to be close to true ascension. All of it was blending into one... into him.

The integration takes time. I can feel all of him at my fingertips. I can see what he saw, and hear his voice. And now I can finish what I started on this world.

A self satisfied grin covered his face while he kept his eyes closed, soaking in the moment.

"Of all the universes, this one has delivered me the greatest gift..." he sighed. "All there is to do now is kill these fools and... and claim my other prize. Two fragments... one world."

Something felt off. In the air around him especially. Everything was strange in that moment. His ki senses suddenly went wild as he felt disturbances all around him. His relaxed state turned back to full defensive as he looked for any signs of what was happening with his eyes and with his heart and mind.

Wha?

Pain exploded in his cheek before he could fully understand what was happening. All he saw was a blur before it happened as well. His mind barely processed what was happening as his cheek shoved into the rest of his face, pressing into his eye as well as he felt his heart angrily start beating as his lungs sucked in a furious gulf of air. If it weren't for his own strength, it'd have shattered his skull he was certain. The blow was so strong he couldn't even take control over his own flight path or halt himself in the air. He bounced off the forest floor once before snapping through a half dozen trees as the wave of force behind him shred the forest to pieces.

Reaching out one hand, he grasp the ground as his arm acted as an anchor, slowing his movement before his feet hit the ground as well.

From euphoria, to almost a blinding rage. Taro stood his full height, heaving with fury.

He lost his game.

They fucking touched him!

His aura emerged around him. The wailing agony of the energy with him flattered the forest for a kilometre around him just as he let it emerge, his eyes intensified ahead as he scowled.

"Oh whoever did that is going to pay for ruining this moment for me," he spat.

It was going to be Gohan or Kakarot, he knew it. Only those two could be pig-headed enough to...

His vision had been blinded by anger, but it faded into a slow burn instead of a hot one. His eyes twitched furiously all the same as his sneer deepened while the attacker came into view, floating down from above with his arms crossed.

"Was I interrupting you murdering my son? I'm sorry if that offends you, but you really need to get new hobbies."

Spitting on the ground in front of him, Taro cracked his neck from side to side as he felt his energy field slowly disperse, letting his power settle. Well, he'd be getting a workout today after all.

"It's you. I'm going to enjoy pulling your heart out, you know," Taro commented simply.

"You'd better learn to enjoy eating without any teeth from now on, actually," the figure commented in turn. "After all, you're in for the fight of your life."

A fight I've waged before. How pitiful.

Rubbing the part on his cheek which had been struck, likely be the boot of his enemy, Taro felt his fuming continue. The very idea that he'd lost his self imposed competition was shameful. He understood why. This world was defying all his expectations. It was defying it's very builder. But just like this Trunks... everything submitted to his will eventually.

"I've killed you before, you know. I've already dreamed of your demise more than once," Taro remarked. "Are you really so childish? I'm sure you'll correct me on that as well, Vegito."

Golden light wrapped around the fusion before an arrogant smile came back at him.

"Vegito? That sounds alright. But you can call me Super Vegito now."

It was impossible for Taro not to conceal his fist trembling with anger at this minor setback.

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Author's Notes:

*Drops Mic*

Kidding. Lol

I've done a lot of plotting for this fight. I determined that I really couldn't do it all as one piece unfortunately. I really, really wanna keep it to two chapters, but it might end up being 3. There logistically lots of reasons for that, partially it is getting you guys some content in reasonable time, part of it is pacing. The break-off points that will happen make the most sense in my opinion for tension, and important spots. I've also got tons of characters to manage between all these chapters.

Next chapter is also going to have some flashbacks that explain a bit of the hole in this chapter for when the good guys arrive to save the day. Those flashbacks will either start next chapter, or the chapter afterwards. Worry not, that wasn't cut, or cut short. It's done that way deliberately. Don't wanna give too much away. The flashbacks will definitely be Vegeta focused.

I really also wanted to make this fight kind of an ode to Dragon Ball Super in a lot of ways, especially given how the main character is really strong enough to be a Super villain, or at least an earlier one. I also decided on the inclusion of a few characters I'd always kinda shied away from. My original ending for the fight is very much still going to be the ending. I really want this timeline to come into its own in a lot of ways, and Taro's fight is going to be a huge moment for Gohan, Goku, Trunks and Vegeta especially. I'm going to try and get Chapter 67 done in August, but don't quote me on that.

I've got a bunch of big moments planned for this fight.

I listened to tons of different music to inspire me on this chapter, Little of it immediately comes to mind, and it comes from hugely and wildly different sources. The main ones that stood out were actually the Dragon Ball Super OSTs, and a song for Taro that really hyped me up for writing him whenever he was interacting with Trunks. A song named "Three Doors" by VAST. It's kinda fucked up, but then again, so is Taro, given I usually write him otherwise to NIN songs that make him exceptionally weird. lol

I just got promoted at work, which means less spare time. I also have a bunch of other things to handle, and I'm trying my hand at making a tabletop RPG, but I think I mentioned that before. Either way, life's busy and stories are fun to write.

I really hope for you guys to drop a review. I always appreciate it and really helps me write further content. :)

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Reviews:

Pyromania101: I doubt that many people will get the sympathy vibe from Taro. I don't know how I could write him to be sympathic even, he's become a black hole of morality that's a self obsessed piece of garbage. Lol. But I'm glad that you dug the Junia chapter. I loved writing it, she's a really fun character to write and I'm just sad that I'm not going to get much of a chance to write her anymore. :\

Masvan: I answered this by PM, I think.

TaitanoRules555: Great Review :D

Guest1: Thanks :)

Brelic: Cell Junior's not slated for a while. But I promise you this, he's going to be the craziest saga in this story.

Guest2: Power levels are always inconsistent is all I'm saying. :)

Kuma Dzurui: Thank you for the kind words. I try.

Luke: Vegeta's an awesome character. It's hard to get him right sometimes. It's all about interpretation of course. I like to think somewhere, Vegeta saved Junia. Maybe he saved her just by beating her, breaking her cycle of hate, even if it ends up with her taking a dip in the lake of fire. Lol

Hekk'UnnSkipper: Training in Hell doesn't matter. The only way you can increase your strength in Hell, is to increase your modifier. Which is why Turles going SSJ3 was possible, but his power growing down there was not. :)

Thomasthetmc: I thought it was really fitting. I really enjoyed writing Junia v Vegeta. It was really satisfying.

Maesde: Goku ate a fair bit of dirt this chapter, poor guy. Lol

Megacharitzat: Goku right now is stronger than Gohan. Things change however. Just like the stock market. Some stocks go up, others go down. After this Saga I've got a dual saga (two sagas that happen at the same time), and then 1... 2... 3 Sagas. So 4-5 depending on how you look at it.

Perfect Carnage: I think I answered by PM. Though I'm extremely gratified by the kind words. :)

Blades of Fury: Their not gonna play a role, sad to say. But maybe one day I'll get around to writing Utopia...

Kacarrot: I added some sprinkling of Turles this chapter. But worry not, there is a reason for it beyond his demise. Hell actually may have a role to play in all of this battle and its outcome...

D: I agree!

Ardee: I hope you got enough of a view into how all of this works. The Chorus 'sang' loud enough for Taro so far I suspect. Just wait until next chapter. If you thought things got destructive this chapter, or were showing off ridiculous feats of speed and destruction... next chapter is... is going to be out of this world.

ThePolishSausageRoaster: I'm always open to people having theories. Lol. Regardless of her fate last chapter, her role in the battle isn't over yet. Neither is Hell's, mind you.

Super Mystic Gohan: Thanks! I try my best.

Sekhelmet: Vegeta's harder to write when he's post-Frieza saga. But even harder post Cell-saga honestly.

Crazy Blue Monkey: I hope this fills the category of amazing :)

Anonymous: Amazing review, I loved it! But just to answer one thing in it, Junia was much weaker than Brass because Brass ate a Gohan. He was essentially fused with a buu-saga non-mystic Gohan.

Guest3: Fire! Where?!

Jazocoti: Excellent!

Mystic360: They definitely end up in the world where they died for the most part...

Arashi Uzukaze: Dead? Alive? Dead? Alive?

Ziltoid: Answered by PM.