The red aura that had been surrounding Ash up until now had burst into even larger proportions. It formed a crater around the trainer and easily disintegrated the earth beneath him.

Ash grit his teeth together as he tried to maintain the ki multiplications that he was managing. Kaioken x10 was manageable, sure, but with the strain of using the previous multiplications during the battle thus far, his ability to keep the powerup alive was doubtful at best.

Still, Ash could sense that his own Kaioken wasn't even close to the power that Xero was exuding. The tyrant was bursting with malice and ki, causing the trainer to take a shaky breath to try and regain his focus.

Xero was going through yet another transformation, his most powerful and fearsome one. Ash could easily understand why Xero's race had suppressed their powers through weakened forms. The pressure that Ash was feeling without his ki senses were enough to make him choke up!

Ash took a moment to gather himself and let his resolve win over his instincts to get as far away from his opponent as possible. No, he wasn't going to run, he would instead, transcend the odds against him and come out triumphant, he had to!

The two auras, both magenta and crimson didn't waver as both fighters prepared themselves for their next clash.

Almost in an instant, the duo crashed together in an explosion of power. Their hands locked together and their arms began to shake from the strain they were under.

And in that instant, their eyes met.

"I will defeat you!" The auburn orbs seemed to convey.

"I will destroy you!" The crimson orbs also seemed to say.

Both Ash and Xero growled ferociously as they pushed against the other, trying to outmatch the other's strength.

However, the stalemate didn't last long as Xero was eventually able to force Ash's hands backwards before digging a knee into his gut.

Ash's eyes widened in pain as blood flew out of his mouth. This form hit WAY harder than Xero's first and second form.

The tyrant vanished from sight and knocked Ash down to the ground with a thunderous kick that caused Ash to cry out in agony.

He desperately tried to recover as the pain shot through his system. Xero was insanely faster in this form as well. He couldn't react at all which was really saying something.

Ash flipped over in mid-air and sped back up to the tyrant, shoving an elbow in the direction of his opponent's head. That assault was ducked under.

Xero countered with his own elbow that Ash was also able to avoid. The trainer then shot out a punch that Xero was able to dodge easily, before using the momentum of the dodge to land a solid blow to Ash's side which he couldn't block or dodge due to its sheer speed. He was sent sprawling into the side of a cliff with a crash, creating a cloud of dust.

Ash groaned in pain before climbing out of the indentation he'd made and dashed out of the dust cloud, back towards his opponent to resume their bout.

He let out a vicious kick that the Xero blocked, before flipping over and turning a half semicircle in the air to connect forearms with his opponent. He quickly leaned back to avoid a punch from Xero, although he just barely did so.

Ash then performed a spilt kick aimed for the tyrant's head, which was blocked by Xero crossing his arms to defend. He then tried to hit him with an uppercut, but Xero was too speedy and twisted his body out of the way before connecting a fist to Ash's cheek. Ash couldn't even recover in time to avoid the second punch that his face had the misfortune of taking.

That wasn't the end of the tyrant's assault as he moved around behind Ash and put his hands together in an axe strike before coming down and landing the blow directly on the back of Ash's neck.

Ash yelped in pain from the blow and let out another as he crashed into the ground, forming a deep crater. He lay spread-eagled on the ground as he tried to get his body to move.

Xero wasn't waiting however and rocketed down towards the grounded Ash. The trainer was able to roll out of the way before he was reintroduced to the tyrant's fist. Ash shot up off the ground, and the fighting continued.

The battle only deepened and widened the crater the duo were in to enormous proportions.

Ash wasn't gaining any leeway at all, the most he could do was block or dodge the attacks that Xero threw his way. Any hits that he tried to land were simply avoided by means of blocking or dodging them, and even worse, Xero didn't even look like he was trying! He hadn't had a single hit connect solidly since the transformation.

"Graaah!" Ash cried as he shot a beam out at the tyrant, who merely chuckled as he batted it away.

"Is that all? Is that the pinnacle of entertainment that you can provide for me?" Xero asked.

Ash clenched his fists. That statement was close to true. Any moment now the Kaioken's effects would catch up to him, then he would be at an even greater disadvantage.

"You know, what surprises me, is that I find the idea of killing you both appealing, yet distasteful. You are far stronger than anyone else I have under me, to pull out my final form is no small feat I'll tell you that..." Xero continued as he dropped his fighting stance, confusing Ash.

"I have a proposition for you..." The tyrant continued as he slowly descended down to the uneven ground at the bottom of the crater.

"A proposition...?" Ash asked as he followed the movements of his opponent.

The villain gave a sickening smile and nodded.

"It would be such a waste to end a fighter such as you. Up until now, no one has given me such a challenge in a fight, besides my family of course...I admit it, I underestimated you, and I lost both my Scouter and my nerve. I also shed blood for the first time, you being the cause of that means you're a special kind of kid. Such fighting prowess, and abilities are beyond people that are years older than you. You looked me in the eye, despite your fear and fought me to an even ground...but, our little battle was over when I brought this transformation out. You have no chance of winning now, but surviving is a different matter..."

Ash narrowed his eyes he too landed on the ground. He began to calm his motions and surge his ki at a less frequent pace. The Kaioken could last longer if Ash was able to slow down the battle a bit and control his ki normally, so he just needed to stall, as long as he could.

"What are you getting at...?" He asked suspiciously.

"If you'd be willing to join me, I'd make you my right-hand man, my strongest warrior to be feared, the second strongest of my entire empire, me being the first of course. You'll be a sub-leader of my forces, and you'd be respected as such. This offer is quite generous of me, considering you're the student of Son Goku, but I'd be delighted to see his face when he finds his apprentice on my side." Xero explained as he gradually got closer and closer to Ash.

Ash was surprised to hear that there was actual...genuity in Xero's voice. He seemed to be completely serious about the offer. Unfortunately for him, Ash wasn't one to sway to the villain's side.

"You know...it would be a little awkward for you to make me your right-hand man..."

"Oh, why is that?" Xero replied.

I mean...you've just been calling me "boy" and "brat for our entire fight." Ash said. "You can't just call me "Lieutenant Boy," or "Captain Brat." He continued, actually finding good humor in this.

The tyrant raised a hooked finger to just below his mouth and let out a dark sounding chortle.

"You're right, I figured I need not know the name of the person I would kill, but since you're still alive, and potentially one of my warriors, I think that I should hear your name now.

Ash felt his control of his ki properly reestablish and started building up the energy needed for his next attack.

"Well, for the sake of not being called "boy" anymore, I think I'll do just that..."

"Ka..."

Xero's grin remained on his face as he raised his hand, expectantly waiting for Ash to seal the deal with a shake.

"Me..."

Ash took the tyrant's hand in a tight grip, with a smile he looked Xero dead in the eyes.

"Ha..."

"My name, is Ash Ketchum..."

"Me..."

"AND THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL I'M WORKING FOR YOU!"Ash suddenly cried, his face contorting into one of deep determination and fury as his grip on the tyrant's hand tightened so he couldn't get away.

Xero's eyes opened wide and his mouth hung open in shock. He suddenly realised Ash's ploy and tried to pull his hand from the trainer's. Unfortunately, the red aura surrounding him increased in size even further, making Ash's grip too strong.

Ash shot his hand out and rested it inches from Xero's torso.

"HAAAA!"

The bright blue beam of the Kamehameha engulfed the screaming tyrant as the attack blasted him out of the crater and into the sky.

"Gggnnh! CURSE YOUUU!" Xero cried as he unwillingly rode the beam into the sky, punching a hole into the clouds.

Ash panted, sweat rolling down his face as he held up the hand that he fired the beam out of, almost as if he couldn't believe what he had just done. He had formed a Kamehameha that was enhanced by a, what he had calculated to be a 25x Kaioken and was able to make it hit.

Oh, and he'd just thrown in his first use of the word "Hell."

That too...

Ash groaned as he fell to the ground, landing on his knees, before collapsing to his side.

He reached out with his ki senses and grimaced when he found that Xero was still alive. Injured, but alive.

He was so tired. His body ached from all of the injuries he had sustained and the blows he had delivered. All of the punching, kicking, and dodging had obviously taken its toll on Ash. He would certainly have a few bruises by tomorrow, assuming he made it through tonight.

Ash suddenly felt a ki signature appear in front of him, but he wasn't worried.

Because that ki was Goku's.

The saiyan was wearing a big smile as he knelt down next to Ash's body.

"Ash, you were amazing, it was your first battle, and you fought wonderfully!" The saiyan praised.

He then fixed Ash with a stern look.

"But running away to fight him alone, that was extremely stupid."

Ash would've chuckled at the irony of what Goku just said but was in too much pain to convey anything except a small smile.

Goku slid his arms under the prone body of the trainer and lifted him up. Curiously, it seemed that Goku was having a bit of difficulty doing so.

"Ash...you're so much heavier for some reason..."

Ash was obviously confused. Why would Goku be having trouble lifting him?

The answer dawned on him, and he instantly felt like an idiot, who probably deserved some of the blows that Xero had given him.

Ash looked down to the symbol on his uniform, and there the answer was...at the bottom written in small numbers.

150...

He had been fighting the whole time while under 150x normal earth gravity!

Ash let out a groan at his stupidity. If he had taken off that gravity multiplier at the beginning, he would've been able to finish the fight, probably before Xero even got to his second form.

Ash weakly raised his hand and placed it on the symbol, channeling a sharp burst of ki to turn the gravity manipulator off.

That was sort of a bad move, because the strength Goku was using to lift Ash's heavy body was turned into momentum to throw Ash's now light body up into the air for a few ten meters.

Ash and Goku simultaneously panicked. Ash flailed his arms in the air for a little until he remembered that he could fly. He was thankfully able to stop himself in mid-air.

He was met up in the sky by Goku.

"What was that?" The saiyan asked, justifiably confused.

Ash looked at his gi and chuckled sheepishly.

"Uh...this gi has a special ability to simulate different gravity from normal...and...heh heh, I just remembered that all this time I was fighting under 150x times normal gravity...in fact it's been eight months since I've felt ordinary gravity, it feels so nice to be so light. It's almost as if I'm not even here!" Ash explained, clear jubilation in his voice as he was finally able to turn off the gravity.

"Whoa...!" Goku said, clearly in awe. The fact that Ash had been under extreme gravity for so long was obviously incredible, but Goku was more interested in how good the gi was for training and where he could get one.

"This gi was specially woven for me by someone very special...and it's one of a kind." Ash added, effectively destroying Goku's hopes of getting one.

Shaking himself out of his mini depression, Goku beamed at his student.

"Then that's even more awesome! You took on that guy under such extreme gravity. That means you're even stronger than I thought, Ash!" Goku said as he gave the trainer's shoulder a pat.

Ash grinned widely.

"Thanks! But..." He said, before the grin vanished from his face.

He looked to the sky and saw a magenta light illuminating a portion of it.

"He's not done yet...his name is Xero, a part of Frieza's family, and he wants revenge on you for humiliating him and his race..." Ash explained.

Goku's eyes trailed from the sky to Ash, his face one of complete seriousness.

"Ash...you've done wonderfully, but let me finish this. I started the fight with his family and now, I'll finish it. He wants me? He'll get me..."

Goku started raising his ki, but was confused when Ash shook his head.

"Thank you, but Goku...I gotta finish this myself..." Ash said.

Ash continued looking up at the sky...

"Remember how scared I was when you told me stuff like this would happen?" Ash asked, earning a nod from Goku in reply.

"If I were to stop fighting now...I'd keep being scared. Goku...I'm still scared..."

Goku watched the boy with amazement at his resolve.

"I can't be scared of this anymore...you understand that right? I wanna do this more than anything right now...I wanna gain strength, courage, and confidence whenever I look fear in the face. And I wanna say to the whole world that I can take whatever horrors that are thrown at me. I don't want to absolve my fear, but I do wanna triumph over it. That's who I need to be right now. I wanna fight, for myself and my friends...so..."

Ash looked to Goku with fiery determination.

"Please Goku...let me finish this fight...all on my own..." He pleaded.

He had grown so much...

That was what Goku was thinking right then. The conviction and courage Ash was practically radiating was of an unbelievable degree.

This was a side of the boy he'd never seen before. It was different, stronger than his usual determination, or his never-give-up attitude. It made Goku feel like he could fully trust his student.

The saiyan smiled and nodded.

"Go get 'im..." He said.

Ash smiled in response and shot off into the sky, reaching the clouds in a matter of seconds.

"Ash, there's something about you...we've known that ever since you fell from the sky..."

The whiteness of the clouds obscured his vision slightly as he ascended...

"I can't believe you got this strong in such little time, I truly can't be prouder..."

A trail of white followed him as he shot out from the accumulation of clouds.

"That isn't why you're special though Ash...no, you're special because of something else..."

"Here I come, Xero!" Ash yelled out to no one in particular as he rose even further into the sky.

"You make us feel happy, just by being around, it doesn't matter who it is...Bulma, Piccolo, even Vegeta...we're happy to stand by your side..."

Ash felt the air around him start to thin a bit, but it wasn't exactly bothersome, so he kept going.

"You fill us with hope for the future, and never give up. Even now, all battered and bruised, you still keep fighting, and I was happy to let you do so...

Ash grinned as he saw Xero's aura a few kilometers in front of him after he reached a certain altitude.

"We can trust you Ash, you instill that desire to do so in us, and you never betray that trust. That's how you make us feel. We can trust you with this fight, our lives, everything."

Ash grinned as he saw the outline of the tyrant, with a face of utter rage. Ash grinned and brought upon a 30x Kaioken. Turning off the gravity had done wonders.

"Show me...show us, how strong you are Ash, how special you are. Your unshakable will, your unbreakable resolve, and the power you can put behind them."

Ash was overcome by a feeling of confidence and rushed Xero at hypersonic speeds.

"I will win!" he cried, gaining the infuriated villain's attention.

"You..." Xero growled in a low voice.

"SHOW US YOUR POWER, ASH!" Goku cried to the heavens, causing the rest of the watchers to cry out in the same manner

"PIKACHU PIKAPI!

"YOU CAN DO IT, ASH!"

"Heh! Don't go dying on us just yet! Our battle wasn't finished!"

"DON'T GIVE UP!"

"STAND STRONG, DON'T LET THAT JERK WIN!"

Various pokemon cries also rang out around the area as their faith to their trainer and friend was projected skywards.

Ash's heart started beating faster and his hand glowed a bright blue. Countless different beams of light rushed to his hand from the earth and sky.

"Let's see if I'm as much of a prodigy with this as King Kai said I was!" Ash thought as the blue wisps of light blue ki folded themselves into a stunningly beautiful blue ball, almost as big as the Capsule Corp. building.

Xero stared in shock at the giant ball and realised how dangerous it was. Acting quickly, he put his hands together and a sickly purple ball of his own with a black core began to grow, eventually reaching the same size as Ash's.

With the two massive orbs ready, both fired their attacks.

"SPIRIT BOMB!"

"DEATH BALL!"

The attacks crashed together, pushing against each other, battling for dominance. Shockwaves spread throughout the sky, dispelling the clouds. The connection of the orbs caused each's respective power to splash out.

"Grrrrgh, COME ON!" Ash cried, straining to push his attack through Xero's.

"I...I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU, ASH KETCHUM!" Xero bellowed as he put all his effort into obliterating Ash's technique.

"Heh, that's better." Ash thought.

But the battle for supremacy could not last forever, and eventually, a winner of the standoff was decided...

And the climax shook the very planet itself...