The sweet smell of success was in the air, the Firebird could smell it as he paced around. He looked up at the gray clouds and opened his mouth, letting the cool, fresh raindrops splash across his tongue. His dirt caked boots scraped the ground as he looked around, admiring the effects of his increasing power.
During the last battle with the Z Soldiers, numerous deep cracks had formed in the ground, allowing molten rock to seep through. The unstable ground eventually collapsed and formed a deep crater about half a mile wide. The rock within the crater was singed black from the heat within the earth. At the center of the crater, hundreds of feet below the surface spanned a lake of boiling lava.
The Z Soldiers he encountered in the last battle weren't difficult to deal with, so to speak. He'd expected more from them, at least from what he's heard. They were responsible for the defeat of King Freeza and Cell. Well I shouldn't be surprised, after all I have the power of the Devotee on my side. And it was because of that power that the Z Soldiers now lay scattered on the jagged rocks surrounding the crater, unconscious but still alive. The perfect bait for Gohan. He was on his way. The Firebird could sense his Ki.
* * *
That sick creature has gone too far. The air rushed by Gohan, sending spikes of his golden hair and his clothing into ripples. Various terrain passed by at amazing speeds and he could feel the Firebird's energy source come closer. Gohan's green Saiyan eyes focused on the one spot where he could sense the energy.
He frowned as he passed over the remains of downtown Satan City. The entire city had been leveled. He could see cars that had been ignited by a gasoline leakage, and corpses that remained from failed rescue attempts.
How can you allow all this death, Goken? Gohan wondered. For the first time, the thought of his brother didn't fill Gohan with guilt. This time it angered him. It made him angry that Goken could go this far because of his own bitterness, that Goken had turned a blind eye to the massacre of an entire city and potentially, the world.
The increase in the Firebird's power source broke Gohan's train of thought. He was very close.
* * *
High in the sky, two enormous beams of light collided that night. The red one from the east, blue one from the west. The shock of the collision shook the earth with such tremendous force that huge boulders had been launched hundreds of feet into the air. The energy that radiated from the collision cooked anything within a half-mile radius.
The only thing racing across Gohan's mind was the knowledge that the Firebird must die. Surrounded in his blue ki, Gohan threw wave after wave of fireballs toward the Firebird. Each one hit it's target, resulting in a powerful explosion that threw it back. This one's for what you've done to my mother! Gohan raced towards the Firebird and threw a punch at his face, hearing a loud thump as his fist made contact. Gohan spun around, throwing his heel in the air, connecting with the other side of his head, throwing him in the opposite direction. He teleported behind the Firebird, and seized both arms with one hand, using the other to send elbow smashes into his chest and face.
This one's for the Z soldiers!!
POW!!
For the people of Satan City!!
Two more elbow smashes. Gohan's arm was now coated in blood from the Firebird.
For what you've done to me!!
A fist to the stomach and an uppercut to the jaw -
And this is for Goken!!
A flurry of punches that sent the Firebird crashing towards a giant crater on the ground below.
The Firebird's head throbbed. This Saiyan boy was quite powerful. He'd hardly been able to do anything before he felt himself be engulfed with pain and then collide with the ground. The Firebird got up slowly, only to see Gohan rush down at him from above. Got you right where I want you.
With a simple motion of his arms, the lava at the bottom of the crater shot up into the sky, forming giant , almost inpenetrable pillars. Gohan was hit by a stream of the rising lava and was able to protect himself in time. But the forced had knocked the Saiyan warrior off course and he too was sent crashing to the center of the crater.
The Firebird took advantage of this situation. He found a massive boulder about a third the size of a small car just a few feet behind him. He wrapped his arms around it, having a little difficulty because Goken's body was still growing. After having it firmly in his grasp, he threw it at Gohan. The boy rolled over but not quickly enough as the rock fell onto his arm. Gohan screamed in pain, feeling the bones break, and the searing pain shooting up and down his arm. Using his free arm, Gohan gathered a fireball in his palm and vaporized the boulder. He could feel the bone had broken in a few areas. The skin was torn and bleeding. The Firebird continued his assault, flying at Gohan with a fury of vicious kicks and punches. Gohan defended himself well at first, using only his good arm, but then after the Firebird landed a good blow to his broken arm, Gohan's focus was lost and he found himself in a world of pain.
* * *
Bulma had her hands clasped firmly in front of her face, as her large, blue eyes held an unwavering gaze towards the image in front of her. It was an image through space and time, produced by Kaiosama, showing the progress of the Z Soldiers. Bulma didn't like what she saw.
Scattered around the edges of the massive crater, she could see the limp bodies of Kuririn, Juuhachi Gou, Yamcha, Piccolo, and - Oh god, Vegeta!! She felt stupid for being surprised, she shouldn't have been, knowing her husband was fighting alongside them. Bulma squeezed her eyes shut, letting the collected tears in her eyes run down her face.
Seeing her husband in such a helpless state, knowing he was hurt also hurt her. But Bulma was crying for Gohan. The amount of pain he was taking in hurt her to even watch. She cried because she knew he wasn't just taking the abuse for her, for Vegeta - hell, for everyone on the planet!
Bulma wiped her nose with the back of her hand, and looked at it with disgust. Clean out of tissues. She looked toward her left, seeing Chichi with a heavy blanket over her shoulders, her arms wrapped around her body for warmth. She used them all up. Bulma's heart went out to Chichi. The poor woman had cried herself to sleep. She suffered so much, it was time for her pain to stop. Her gaze was taken back to the time/space window, watching Gohan continue to fight for the lives of everyone on the planet, and his own.
Bulma's mouth dropped open in shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Gohan had somehow turned the tables and the Firebird now felt the wrath of the Saiyan. Chichi would be proud.
* * *
"Graah!!" Gohan screamed, just before the Firebird could lay another finger on his broken body. An invisible force threw the Firebird a few feet back, and he was just able to catch his balance. A bright yellow, almost golden aura surrounded Gohan's body. His golden hair now stood on end, indicating that he'd reached the third level of the super Saiyan power. Electricity sizzled in the air surrounding him.
"Ha," the Firebird mocked, "level three super Saiyan!" He wiped away a trail of blood coming from his lip. "Let's see if that compares to the power of the Devotee."
The Firebird put both palms forward, gathering energy in between them. A massive energy force field shielded the entire front of his body, and was quickly powering up. It grew taller than a two story building, and about half the width of a football field. Gohan's eyes widened in shock, upon realizing the huge force field was going to be shot at him!
By the time the realization hit, the cosmic beam was already on its way, it's heat burning his skin before the beam actually hit. Gohan reflexively erected a weak force field with his ki, not having enough time to power it up. The shield actually held, despite the Firebird's power, but Gohan knew it wouldn't hold for long. He forced more ki into the shield. It was an uphill battle for Gohan but despite that fact, he began gathering strength steadily pushing the Firebird back bit by bit.