"Oh god…," Dende collapsed, upon feeling the physical pain Gohan endured. He suffered a broken arm, cracked ribs, a sprained ankle and shoulder, but somehow found the strength to carry on. Dende wished he could've been alongside Gohan, to heal his body for the fight. He knew the Firebird was weakening, but Gohan was also rapidly running out of strength to carry on.
Dende felt a warm, protective hand place upon his shoulder. He turned around and looked up to see Kaiosama looking down at him.
"I understand how you want to help," Kaiosama said.
"There's so much I can do for Gohan right now," Dende replied. "If we call him back, I can heal him and he can get back into battle. He can defeat the Firebird, I know he can!"
"I have a better idea," a third familiar voice said from behind them. Dende and Kaiosama turned around and much to their surprise, there stood Goku. "If we take Gohan away from battle right now, it'll give the Firebird a chance to re-cooperate, even grow stronger. We can't take that chance."
"Goku you shouldn't be here!" Kaiosama exclaimed. "This is the physical realm -"
"I can't do anything physical in this realm," Goku said, cutting him off. "But I can still help."
"What do you propose we do?" Dende asked.
* * *
Piccolo awoke to a heavy head. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing a blur of colors. The world felt like it was spinning faster than it should. Whatever contents he had in his stomach threatened to come up. He closed his eyes, and waiting patiently for the feeling to subside. When he opened them again, his eyes focused properly. Somewhere far off into the distance, he could see a collision of lights. The shock waves from the battle made their way over to where he lay and Piccolo gasped, unable to comprehend the power struggle that must've been taking place while he was unconscious.
When he tried moving, he became aware for the first time that there was sharp, jagged rocks wedged uncomfortable into his skin. Piccolo sat up and brushed them off, leaving little indents in his green Namek skin.
He scanned the surrounding area, instantly becoming interested in what he saw. Piccolo found himself lying on a small, rocky ledge lodged into the side walls of a massive crater. And then, he saw Vegeta and the others, just as unconscious as he was, also on their own pieces of rock, scattered around the craters edge. They were battered and bleeding. There was no way to tell if they were dead or not. How was it that I regained consciousness? Piccolo stretched his back and arms, allowing his muscles to move again. I feel perfectly fine. But judging by the condition the others are in, I should be just as badly hurt as they are but -
Something moved to his right. Out of reaction rather than intent, Piccolo shot an arm out and seized whatever it was nearby. It could've posed a threat to him.
"Aah!!" screamed the voice of a child. Piccolo took a second look and instantly recognized the child. He stood with one hand protectively in front of his face while the other grabbed helplessly at Piccolo's hand, which held his neck.
"Dende," Piccolo said out of relief as he released the boy. "What are you doing here? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?!"
"I need to be here," Dende replied, straightening his white robe. "We have a plan and we know it'll work."
"A plan? With an enemy that powerful, we need to fire power, not a plan!"
"Goku thought of it," Dende said, instantly silencing Piccolo.
"Goku?" the Namek warrior asked. "How did he…?"
"It'll all be explained in time. But right now, I have to help the other Z Soldiers. We don't have much time left."
* * *
Gohan's face absorbed the blows from the Firebird's fist again and again. Gohan thought he felt something shift in his nose and before he knew it, blood came flowing from his nose, like water from a tap. The Firebird's eyes glowed for a moment, and a huge flame burst at Gohans feet and disappeared as quickly as it had come.
"Ah!" Gohan screamed, as he felt the heat pierce his skin, attempting to boil it.
The Firebird drove his knee into Gohan's gut and smashed his elbow into the back of his neck. Gohan hit the ground with such force, cracks began to spread out from the impact site. I'm getting real sick of being smashed into this damn ground… he thought unpleasantly.
"If only you'd treated me with a little more respect," the Firebird said, "I wouldn't be seeking revenge."
How did he know what I was thinking? Gohan wondered. Then he remembered the Firebird had said something about gaining the ability to read people's minds. It must've been one of the potential powers Goken possessed. Then another thought hit. But the way the Firebird was talking … it sounded more like Goken's thoughts than the Firebird's. I shouldn't be surprised, they did merge after all…
Gohan's idea was confirmed when the Firebird's lower lip started to tremble, and his eyes began to shine with moisture.
"Do you think I enjoy doing this?" Goken's voice came out. "All this pain, all this suffering. So much death."
"Shut up," Gohan said. "This is all your fault, so don't even try to act guilty now. You allowed all of this to happen, Goken."
"Idiot, you know nothing! All caught up in your goddamn righteous ways, you're too stupid to even notice what's going on here." Goken wiped a hand across his face and licked the salty tears away from his bleeding lips. "Two minds are merging into one. If you knew jack shit about me, you'd know I wouldn't kill for pleasure. You actually think I enjoy murdering people by the millions?"
Gohan remained silent. He didn't feel as if there was anything he could say. In fact, he felt more inclined to listen to his enemy. Perhaps there was something useful to be revealed.
"Well if you do, then you're wrong. That's the Firebird at work there. And each time a life is taken it's me who suffers the guilt." Goken choked back a few tears, threatening to burst forth, but he wouldn't degrade himself to such a mess in front of his enemy. "I made a mistake by agreeing to the merge. He promised me that I'd get my revenge - but then all of this happens. And I realize vengeance is not worth all this death. And who made me want to let the Firebird into me in the first place. It was you!!"
Goken dropped to his knees, and cried. There was little else he wanted to do now than just cry. Ever since the Firebird first entered, he hadn't even shed a tear. He'd been too busy fighting it's presence, and then finding out he'd been betrayed by his friends, and now he had to face his brother telling him that all the death and destruction was his fault. All that suffering and not even one tear shed. Now was the time. He couldn't hold it back any longer. "So if you think this is my fault…," he said in between sobs, "you're wrong."
After a long pause, Gohan finally mustered up the courage to speak. "Goken, I… I don't know what to say. You know my intentions for you were good."
WHAM!!
The Firebird dug his elbow into Gohan's gut, using his other fist and smashed it into Gohan's face. "Enough of this emotional nonsense," he said. "The boy has a point. You were the one who brought him to me, and now you have to deal with the consequences. The Firebird gathered all his energy into one massive fireball, anxious to kill Gohan and continue on his plan to conquer the universe and the heavens.
The sheer power surrounding the fireball heated the air around it, forming a strong gust of wind around the Firebird and Gohan. It didn't take long for the ball to grow to an immense size. Behind his back, Gohan also powered his own fireball, charged up from his blue ki.
The Firebird took a deep breath, using whatever power left in his arms, threw the energy ball forward at Gohan. The Saiyan boy retaliated with his own energy beam. The force of the collision sent more dust and debris flying in all directions like leaves in a gust. Both sides refused to back down, pushing against each other's forces until one of them weakened - not knowing when that would be.
* * *
Juuhachi Gou started at her husband Kuririn standing across from her. At the distance they were at, he was a mere speck somewhere near the horizon. She could see intense concentration in his dark eyes. She decided meditation would be a good choice for her. She swept a lock of blond hair from the side of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Looking towards her left, Yamcha was standing a few hundred feet away looking just as concentrated. To her right, at a similar distance, Piccolo stood concentrating.
The five of them including Vegeta had circled Gohan and the Firebird without their knowledge. They were know healed fully and ready for battle. Dende had successfully healed all of the Z Soldiers, so they could help Gohan in the struggle against the Firebird. He had returned to Kamisama's palace to rest.
It was a simple plan apparently devised by Goku - heal the injured Z Soldiers and have them aid Gohan. But the way the Firebird slaughtered them before, it was hard to tell how they'd match up against the Firebird with or without Gohan on their side. Dende assured them it would work, but everyone could sense the unease in his voice. The trick right now was keeping the Firebird unaware of their presence.
Without warning, a huge energy war began high above their heads. Gohan and the Firebird had collided. The magnitude of their clashing energy suggested that each warrior was giving it their all. This was definitely the final power struggle, one that the Z Soldiers hoped to win. This was the signal they were waiting for.
* * *
Dende lay panting on a mattress in his room in Kamisama's palace. His last healing expedition had taken a toll on the young Namek boy. Bulma wiped away the sweat from his forehead with a cool, damp cloth.
"You did well," she said. "Now the only thing we can do is sit here and wait."
"Uh huh," Kaiosama agreed, nodding his fat blue chin. "But I'm very insecure with the success rate of this plan. It's too hard to tell right now if the Firebird as inherited too much of Goken's power for us to even stand a chance against."
"Well this is the best shot we have right now," Goku said. "If this doesn't work, it's too late for all of us."
As soon as Goku said those words, he could see some of the hope disappear in everyone's eyes. Bulma took her gaze off him and continued tending to Dende, who looked away himself. Goku look down at Chichi, holding her head in his hands. He stroked her face with his fingers, tucking wisps of hair away.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there with you all this time," he said. "But I'm here know. And whatever happens, we'll live through this together."
Chichi was fast asleep, but for the first time in ages, the corners of her mouth lifted up and formed a gentle smile. She nuzzled against Goku's hands with a look of serenity on her face and mumbled, "Goku, I've missed you. I love you so much…"
Goku bent down and whispered into Chichi's ear, "I love you, too."
"Alright everyone, here we go," Kaiosama said, shattering the romantic atmosphere. He waved his hand in the air and a time/space window appeared, allowing them to keep track of what was happening with the Z Soldiers. "Keep your fingers crossed," he said. "Goku, I hope your plan works."