Chapter 8: Gohan's Resolve

A few minutes ago on Battle Island…

Bulma and Chi-Chi watched as Tien, Krillin, and Android 16 flew off towards the second island. "Well, that's not a good sign.." The blue haired human sighed, "I hope they are okay.." She turned back to the TV screen as the signal was cut.

"What the hell!?" Chi-Chi screamed, "What's happening to my Gohan!?"

X.S. Cash and two men, each with a pistol, were escorting Mr. Satan down the hall towards the pods leading to Battle Island Two. "Did they cut the feed?" X.S. Cash asked one of his men.

"Yes, Sir." The one on the right reassured his boss.

"Good. This is a disaster." X.S. Cash put his hand on Mr. Satan's back, "One that you are going to fix once you get over there."

Mr. Satan gulped nervously as he watched slowly, "I'm dead. I'm so dead." The afro-haired man thought.

"It appears we are having technical difficulties!" The Tournament Announcer was trying to calm the now distraught crowd, "We have our best men working to get the picture back!"

"Come on!" Bulma shouted along with many others in the crowd, "Our sons are out there!"

Back on Battle Island Two..

As if he was shot out of a cannon, Bojack rushed Vegeta, nearly decapitating the Super Saiyan Prince with a devastating clothesline. A horrified Trunks flew as fast as he could after the green skinned alien and drew his sword, "Faaaaaather!"

Bojack turned around to meet the swinging sword, grabbing it with one hand and laughing maniacally as he slammed his fist into the Half-Saiyan's torso. The pain of cracking ribs shot through Trunks' body as his screams echoed through the area, his pain was only exacerbated by his enemy tossing him away, his body bounding and rolling across the ground.

"Shit!" Piccolo yelled, rushing to the aid of his Saiyan comrades.

16 quickly followed the Namekian, "Victory is not achievable this way.."

"I know! But we have no choice!" Piccolo shouted, racing towards their monstrous enemy.

Bojack smirked as he easily blocked Piccolo and 16's attacks much faster than before, their timing not a factor to the newly transformed Space Pirate. He grabbed one of them in each hand, smashing them together and then straight into the ground. Piccolo let out a piercing scream as his body smashed into the dirt.

Vegeta was back on his feet, "Back to Plan A!" He flashed his golden aura, rushing back towards the green alien and driving his fist straight into Bojack's face. A smirk was the only expression the Space Pirate could muster as the Saiyan Prince's punch had no effect.

Vegeta jumped back, fists clenched and muscles trembling, "Damn it! I am the Prince of Saiyans and I will not be trifled with!" He flashed his golden aura, showering Bojack in a rain of Ki blasts, "Eat this!"

The large, hulking Space Pirate slowly walked through Vegeta's barrage, grabbing the Saiyan Prince by the face. "Isn't your race extinct?" He smiled and charged an energy ball into his hand, "Don't worry though, you can rule over all of them in Otherworld."

Before Bojack could unleash his wrath upon Vegeta, Trunks had made his way back to the battle. The Half-Saiyan briefly surprised the Space Pirate with a hard kick to the temple, causing him to drop the Saiyan Prince, who quickly drove his knee into Bojack's chin. The green, muscular Alien stood motionless, Trunks' boot on the side of his head and Vegeta's knee to his chin, laughing as he flared his aura and unleashed a huge kiai. The force caused both of the Super Saiyans to go flying through the air.

Piccolo rushed back to Vegeta and Trunks' aid, throwing as many punches as he could at Bojack. Unaffected, the Space Pirate spun and drove an elbow straight into the back of Piccolo's neck, immediately knocking the Namekian out cold.

16 appeared just as Piccolo went down, unleashing a barrage of kicks and punches that Bojack easily dodged.

"Damn, you are all like cockroaches, one goes down and another comes out from the shadows." Bojack shouted as he ducked, cocking his fist and driving it into the Android's torso. He stood back up above the hunched Android, holding his hands together and hammering them into 16's back. "Now power down, machine man."

Gohan had stood up, watching in horror as his friends were being effortlessly pummeled by Bojack, his aura flashed as he quickly ascended back to his Super Saiyan form, "I need to do something!" A golden streak flashed through the sky as he rushed towards the one-sided battle.

Krillin turned to Tien and Yamcha, "We are useless in this fight, aren't we?"

The two other humans nodded, Tien speaking up, "We would be more of a hindrance to them than anything.."

Gohan attacked Bojack with a newfound ferocity, his punches barely being blocked by the green, monstrous Space Pirate. "His power is increasing..still though, not enough." Bojack thought to himself as he parried the young Half-Saiyan's punches, finally landing a thunderous fist straight into the boy's face and smashing him into the ground.

"You sure are strong, boy." He slowly approached Gohan's body, "Not strong enough." Bojack raised his hand into the air, gathering energy into it as he got closer and closer to the young Super Saiyan.

The young Half-Saiyan was frozen, his friends beaten and broken bodies flashing through his mind, "Trunks..Vegeta..16..Piccolo.." Gohan closed his eyes, his father's face crossed his mind as well, "Dad..you gave your life because I was too cocky. I let Cell live for too long." The young Super Saiyan clenched his fists, "It won't be that way this time!" Lightning struck just as Gohan's aura flashed. He quickly cupped his hands on his forehead, charging his energy, "Masenko-HA!" The bright ball of energy formed, shooting a beam straight into Bojack's face just as he leaned his head over Gohan's body.

"Gah!" Bojack quickly covered his right eye with one hand, blood seeping down his face, "You damned child!"

Gohan slowly stood up, his muscles bulging as lightning struck again. The young Super Saiyan's aura flashed enormously bright, easily doubling in size as he brought his head up, eyes deadlocked with Bojack.

"What's happening?!" Bojack thought as he removed his hand from his face, blood dripping onto the ground. "His power is increasing even further..I gotta kill him now.." The hulking green monster extended his arms, charging an enormous ball of energy.

"This is my full power! Now die, you bastard!" Bojack laughed maniacally as he hurled the ball straight at Gohan.

Gohan stood firm, lightning now engulfed his body and his hair was intermittently starting to spike straight up, "Power? That's all people like you care about." He extended one arm, catching and stopping Bojack's energy ball in its tracks. The young Super Saiyan let out a thunderous scream, lightning struck again as his hair spiked up permanently, leaving one large bang hanging down his face. Gohan's aura exploded outward as his piercing eyes stared straight into Bojack's, "You'll never know true power, not until you use it the right way." Gohan evaporated the ball of energy effortlessly now placing his hands on his sides, "Now, let me show you true power!"

Bojack frighteningly stepped back, "What kind of power is this?!"

The now ascended Super Saiyan rushed Bojack, throwing a strikingly fast fist into the monster's torso. Coughing out blood, Bojack let out a scream of agony as the the young Half-Saiyan's hand twisted into his gut. Gohan removed his hand as Bojack hunched over, nearly unconscious from the one punch.

"It's over, Bojack." Gohan grabbed the hulking alien by his bright red hair, "It's time to die." The young Super Saiyan 2 smashed his knee straight into the Space Pirates face, staggering him backwards. Gohan cupped his hands to his side, "KA-ME-HA-MEEEE" the familiar blue ball of energy appearing as he thrust his hands forward. Blood covered and battered, Bojack flew as fast as he could away from his enemy, but it wasn't fast enough.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" An enormous wave of energy left Gohan's hands, it was easily twice the size of Bojack's enormous body, engulfing the large alien easily. The diabolical Space Pirate screamed in agony as the Kamehameha wave utterly destroyed him, leaving no trace.

Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha could no longer feel Bojack's Ki, the bald monk speaking up first, "Gohan did it...he's dead."

"We gotta go help them now!" Yamcha shouted, racing towards their comrades.

"Let's go Krillin!" Tien and Krillin raced after the former desert bandit.

Gohan was sitting on the ground, now in his base form, breathing heavy from exhaustion. He smiled as Krillin landed next to him, Yamcha and Tien heading towards the others, "You did it, Gohan! Good job!"

Gohan laughed a bit, "Yeah..that was something huh?" Gohan slowly laid back, dropping onto the ground, his eyes closing. "I did it, Dad…"

Krillin smiled, "He must be tired.." Krillin picked up Gohan's sleeping body, "Time to get you home bud, you earned it."

Tien landed next to 16, "16! Are you okay?"

The hulking android slowly stood up, "I apologize. Severe damage to my core processor caused me to perform a mandatory reboot. Please proceed to aid the others." 16 walked over to Piccolo, picking up the unconscious Namekian and draping him over his shoulder.

Tien lifted Vegeta and Trunks' unconscious bodies, one in each hand. Just as all of them were about to leave, a familiar energy sparked back on the scene. "What?!" Tien looked back to see the familiar form of Zangya, covered in dirt and bruises.

"You are all going to die!" Zangya shouted, spitting blood out of her mouth.

Everyone was too exhausted to fight as the teal skinned woman slowly approached, charging a ball of energy in her hand. Suddenly, just as Zangya was about to fire, a familiar looking pod flew through the air, smashing into the back of the slender woman. The fifth pod knocked her into the ground as it landed on top of her, killing the battered alien. A muscular framed man with a large afro exited the pod, turning around to face the Z-Fighters.

"Mr. Satan!" Krillin laughed, "I can't believe he just saved us.." the bald monk mumbled to himself.

"I did it!" Mr. Satan yelled, pumping his arms into the air, "I am the greatest!"

A few days later, back at Capsule Corporation…

Everyone had gathered to say their goodbyes to Trunks and 16.

"Thanks for sticking around, son." Bulma hugged Trunks tightly, "Though I can't believe you let Yamcha win!"

Trunks laughed, "That's not fair! I was unconscious! He sneaked his way to the finish line while we were heading back."

The former desert bandit smiled, "Well, I wasn't gonna let 100 Million Zeni go to waste! Hell, Mr. Satan even paid me another 50 Million Zeni not to beat him up!"

Everyone laughed as Trunks headed towards the refueled Time Machine, a capsule spaceship in his pocket equipped with coordinates to New Namek. A new sense of hope in his heart, "We did it, Mom. We are gonna have a new future."

"Well, it's time for me to get back." Trunks waved to everybody, floating up into the cockpit with his mechanical partner. "Thanks everybody!"

Vegeta looked up from the corner, "Good luck, Son." The Saiyan Prince thought, sharing a glance with the purple haired Half-Saiyan.

"Thanks Dad." Trunks thought to himself as the Time Machine lifted off into the air, the whirring sound echoing through the air before it disappeared.

End of Chapter 8

Next Chapter, Chapter 9: Back to the Future! On to New Namek