Intertwined Destinies

DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or Elfen Lied.

CHAPTER 5: Battle on the Beach

Kouta was searching frantically along the shore of Kamakura. For some reason beyond Kouta's comprehension, he suspected Nyuu was here, back where they had first found her. It was just something he felt inside his heart, something deep and intangible he couldn't really explain, like a sixth sense. But whatever it was, he knew he had to find her, and quickly.

"Nyuu! Where are you?" he asked.

Suddenly he turned around and saw a pair of innocent charcoal eyes staring up at him. Shocked, Kouta cried out and fell on his butt.

"Sorry, Kouta-san, I didn't mean to scare you," Goten apologized.

"Don't do that!" Kouta complained, rubbing his dirt-covered backside. "Anyway, I thought I asked you stay in the house."

"Oh, that's what I wanted to tell you!" Goten chirped happily. "Nii-chan's found Nyuu!"

"Really?" Kouta asked, his heart lifting.

Goten nodded excitedly. "Yes, and he told me to get you and Onee-chan to meet him back at Kaede Inn."

"Okay, let's go find Yuka then," Kouta said. "Gee, I can't imagine where she is."

"Oh, I know where she is!" Goten responded.

"You do?" Kouta said, blinking in surprised confusion. "Well, where?"

Goten pointed. "She's over in that direction, Kouta-san!"

Kouta just stared at the little boy. How does he know where she is? Did he run into her out there or something? There's something weird about this. But, Kouta decided he couldn't concentrate on that now. All that can wait. The important thing right now is returning to Maple Inn and... saying I'm sorry to Nyuu.

"Very well, lead the way," Kouta said.

"This way, Kouta-san!" Goten cried, running off. "Follow me!"

And Kouta complied, hoping his cousin wasn't too mad that he'd decided to go looking for Nyuu on his own.

Now reunited with his copies, Gohan raced along the beach, heading towards the location he felt Nyuu's ki.

Found her, at last, he thought as he finally located the lost girl.

And there the horned girl was, digging around in the muddy sand, almost as though she were looking for something, even as tidal waves mercilessly slammed into her. Gohan could smell the distress coming off her body and his heart went out to her.

"Nyuu..." the pinkette whispered sadly, her tears hidden by the rain.

"Are you all right, Nyuu-san?" Gohan asked worriedly as he walked up to her.

"Nyuu?" she said, glancing up from her work to see who it was who had called her name.

Upon seeing Gohan, Nyuu grinned in happiness.

"Nyuu!" she squealed, grabbing Gohan in a tight hug, arms wrapping around his solid frame.

Gohan smiled as he returned the hug. It was obvious the girl was a little cheered up with his presence.

"You're absolutely drenched, Nyuu-san," Gohan said in concern. "Come on, let's go. We need to get you home."

He grabbed her arm to try to drag her off, but Nyuu shrugged off his hand and dove back into the sand with relentless abandon.

"Nyuu! Nyuu!" she said determinedly.

"Nyuu... come on, don't be stubborn!" Gohan sighed, trying to pull her back again, but her will was not to be denied.

"Nyuuuuuuuu!" she squeaked, getting away from Gohan and diving back into the muddy waters.

"I don't get it," Gohan said. "What is so important to you, Nyuu-san?"

Just then, the innocent horned girl pulled out a seashell, but Nyuu apparently thought it wasn't worthwhile, because she threw it to the side and tore back into the sand and the water with renewed vigor.

Gohan smiled as the light finally clicked. "Oh, I see. You wanna make it up to Kouta-san, huh, Nyuu?"

"Nyuu!" Nyuu confirmed. Well, he assumed she did anyway. "Nyuu! Nyuu!"

She really is a nice girl, Gohan thought. She may not understand everything, but her heart's in the right place. She's truly something special. What a beautiful girl. Then Gohan blushed as he caught up to what he was thinking. Huh? Where did THAT come from? O-Okay, so she's beautiful, but... it, it doesn't have to mean... that! Just because she's the most attractive girl I've ever met doesn't mean that... And Gohan shook his head, now irritated at the direction that his thoughts were going. No, no, don't be thinking that way, Gohan! Nyuu is cute, sure, but she's too innocent. She wouldn't even know what was going on. How could we ever be together?

"NYUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" the innocent girl squealed, and Gohan watched as she held up a pink seashell that seemed similar to the fragments Gohan had glimpsed after Nyuu ran out of the house.

"Oh, you found the right one, huh?" Gohan chuckled. "Okay, now we can return to the house, Nyuu-san."

Suddenly, there was the click of a gun being cocked, and a harsh, rough voice spoke out.

"You're not going anywhere, boy."

Gohan spun around to find three people standing behind him, decked out in full body armor like the kind that soldiers wore. The man closest to him — the one who had spoken — was pointing a submachine gun at him.

"What?" Gohan said. "What's going on here?"

"Bando, you dumbass!" the one farthest to the back shouted at the soldier aiming the gun — who was known as Bando, apparently. "You shouldn't get this close to one of them! They'll tear you into pieces!"

"Shut up!" Bando snarled.

"You just have no fucking clue, you moron!" he screamed.

"Um, Bando, maybe we should listen to Private Takenouchi," the third man said hesitantly.

"I already told you to shut up!" Bando roared at both of them. "Now keep quiet or I'll put the next bullet in you!"

"All right, who ARE you people?" Gohan demanded, his patience rapidly evaporating. "What are you doing here, and with those kind of weapons?" Gohan frowned. "Guns are dangerous in the hands of the untrained."

"Just shut up, boy!" Bando said with a careless smirk. "We'll be taking your girlfriend there with us!"

"What?" Gohan growled, not liking what he was hearing one little bit. "No, I won't let you! You'll have to get through me first!"

Bando turned to face the other two soldiers, his smirk widening.

"Let's see... they gave us the green light to kill any witnesses we come across, right, guys?"

"Uh, no, those weren't the orders," the third man said, sounding a bit unnerved. "We'd have to call HQ first."

"Just shut up, Satou!" Takenouchi snapped harshly, his fingers tightening over the barrel of his gun. "If he chooses to side with them over his own kind, then he deserves all that he's got coming to him! They're murderers! Monsters! Filthy beasts and degenerates!"

He looked quite wild as he said that last part, spit flying from his mouth, as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Growing more and more frightened at all that was occurring, Nyuu inched closer to Gohan, like a child seeking protection from one of her parents. Gohan reached out and patted her head reassuringly, touching her horns as he did so, and the innocent girl purred softly as he stroked one of her most intimate areas.

"Don't worry, Nyuu," he said. "I'll protect you. I'm not gonna let them take you."

"Nyuu, Nyuu..." the pinkette said, latching onto Gohan's left leg and peering fearfully around it at the assembled soldiers.

Gohan turned his gaze back to the soldiers, now regarding them with cold fury and harsh judgment.

"You people are all the same," he remarked disdainfully. "You think you can just waltz in and hurt the innocent, ordering everyone around as if your power makes you the lords of the universe. You're just like anyone else I've faced, always picking on the weak. However, there is one thing which you failed to take into account as you threatened to kidnap my friend."

"Enough of this!" Bando declared. "You're just a cocky kid! Now suffer the consequences!"

And he rushed at Gohan with his rifle held back, prepared it slam it into Gohan's shoulder, however, before he could make it within even a few inches of Gohan, the half-Saiyan powered up in a burst of golden light, throwing Bando backwards and generating an intense windstorm that blew outward and knocked the other two soldiers back. And, just like that, Gohan had become a Super Saiyan, but... he hadn't stopped there; his hair had spiked up to insane proportions, with a single lock hanging down over his face, his muscles had all bulked up to immense levels, and his eyes had taken on an icy teal shade. He had become a Super Saiyan 2.

The three soldiers worked their way back to their feet, looking on in awe as golden flames licked at the teenage boy's body, humming with the intensity of a contained supernova. Electric sparks danced across his body, arcing and snapping and crackling like a current from a felled power line, and the air around him appeared to shimmer with power.

"What the hell?!" Bando said. "How the fuck is this possible?"

"What you failed to realize... IS THAT I, SON GOHAN, AM MY FATHER'S SON!" the demi-Saiyan cried, his aura flaring around him with the force of a hurricane. "Sworn defender of the innocent and the helpless! And I will NOT sit by and let you hurt somebody I care for!"

"You..." Takenouchi's voice had dropped in pitch so that it was little more than a guttural growl, and his eyes narrowed and focused on the glowing teen with ill-concealed hatred. Truly a frightening sight; they looked wide and insane, though buried beneath the anger was despair and pain. "You must be one of them! You're one of those monsters!"

"The only monster I see here is you," Gohan said.

And Gohan started walking towards the three soldiers, calmly, confidently, with all the assurance and knowledge of someone who knows that he cannot be beaten by any means. Takenouchi gripped his rifle so tightly that it felt painful in his hands. Images of his dead wife, Hazami, and the corrupted thing which had been his daughter instantly flashed before his eyes, and he swore he could see red for a while.

"TAKE THIS, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he roared, unleashing a hail of machine gun fire on the approaching Super Saiyan 2.

Gohan came to a stop, halfway between Nyuu and the soldiers — and the bullets seemed to have no effect on him! He just stood there, arms by his head, eyes locked on them, as he stood surrounded by a storm of kinetic impacts.

"What the fuck IS he?!" Bando said.

Seeing that this boy wasn't likely to be as easy a kill as he'd first suspected, Bando decided to try and reevaluate his approach. Many assumed Bando to be a hot-heated and impulsive soldier, but in truth he was quite a skilled hunter, a predator, and he may not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he did adapt quick to constantly changing battlefield conditions, one of the many qualities that made him so highly prized by his superiors at the SAT.

And then, he spotted Nyuu, still huddled where Gohan had left her, shivering timidly and eyes focused fearfully on all that was happening around her. Bando's lips curled into a sadistic and calculating smirk.

Yes, that's it!

Meanwhile, Takenouchi continued pumping as many bullets as he possibly could at the half-Saiyan with a scream building in his throat as he saw how very little damage was being inflicted on the immobile Gohan. Finally, his rifle clicked as the last round departed the barrel, and there the hybrid stood, still and unflinchingly resolute, even after being subjected to thousands of rounds of bullets, not so much as a scratch on him!

"What the fuck are you?!" Takenouchi shouted. "How can you withstand all that? Those were tungsten bullets! High caliber! Not one of you fucking freaks has EVER been able to survive those rounds!"

Gohan said nothing, just slowly held up his hands, fists closed, and when they were at eye level, he opened them, as thousands of bullets fell to the sand from his formerly clenched fists in a display of raining futility and uselessness. Takenouchi just watched the whole thing with mounting fear, masked, of course, by increasing frustration and fury.

"Who the hell is this boy?" Satou demanded from nearby, speaking to no one in particular. "Is this the weapon they warned us about?"

"HEY, BOY!" he heard yelled from behind him.

Gohan turned to find Bando standing there, a few meters away, a handgun pointed directly at Nyuu's head. He was smirking widely and acted like the man with a winning hand. He'll leap after her, giving me enough time to penetrate his defenses and land the lethal hit! Bando thought eagerly.

"Say goodbye to your precious girlfriend!" Bando said as he fired off a precision round aimed directly at Nyuu's heart.

"Nyuu, no!" Gohan cried. Wasting no time, Gohan shot across the sandy dunes, moving with a speed and agility not even Bando could have anticipated. Within nanoseconds after firing the round, Gohan reached Nyuu and pushed her down to the ground, the bullet passing harmlessly over their heads, as Bando's sneak attack blew up in his face.

"What the hell?!" Bando exclaimed. "How the fuck can ANYONE move that fast?!"

The boy just lay there on top of Nyuu for a few seconds, obviously surprised by the surprise attack on Nyuu, and Bando regained a bit of his cocky swagger upon realizing the boy had left himself vulnerable.

"You fool!" he shouted. "It's good night, kid!"

And he blasted at Gohan, expecting to see the bullets penetrate his body in a wet explosion of blood and flesh but to Bando's shock, even as he fired off several rounds at the teenager, still draped over Nyuu's prone body, something very quick and hard to see, almost like a fifth limb, shot out and grabbed each bullet before it could hit with startling speed, seemingly little more than a blur even to Bando's trained eye.

"Why — the — hell — can't — I — HIT YOU?!" Bando yelled, and he stopped firing.

Once the bullets had stopped flying, whatever had intercepted those bullets slowed down until it was stationary, revealing it to be a —

"Who are the fuck are these people?!" Bando ranted. "First some girl has horns, and now this boy who has a tail?!"

Takenouchi's eyes narrowed upon catching sight of the wagging appendage. I swear if it's the last thing I do, I'll kill you, he vowed. I'll make you PAY for what you and your kind did to me and my family!

Gohan climbed to his feet, eyes piercing slits and skin drawn back around his skull, tightening his facial features as he gazed coldly at the expert killer. Standing up to his full, considerable height, he stared in anger at Bando, who was furiously pondering his options in an attempt to somehow turn this situation back to his advantage. Then he spoke.

"Pathetic," Gohan said angrily. "You would sacrifice an innocent girl just to try and kill me. Is there no limit to your cruelty?"

"You little brat!" Bando raged, seeing no other way out of this situation now. "I'll get you for this!"

Racing across the muddy ground in a futile and vain attempt to kill Gohan with his bare hands Bando was completely unprepared when a moment later, something hard slammed into him, centered around his chest, but soon the sensation spread to most of his body, as though a slow-motion wave rippled outward from the point of impact until it had infected his entire body with pure, unadulterated agony, pain beyond words, pain beyond description.

How... does... this... affect... me? Bando thought as he pitched forward, unable to even muster up the willpower to try and fight the effects of the pain. I... am... a... killer! I... should... be able... to... withstand... a little... pain. This... can't... be... possible...

"Damn... you... boy..." Bando whimpered as he finally hit the ground, completely incapacitated.

Gohan gazed down at his defeated opponent. He would never know what he'd done to him, but truthfully Gohan hadn't hit him that hard. If it had been slow enough to watch, any observer would have seen Gohan lightly slap Bando with only the barest of taps, however... the true damage came from internal wounds. During their brief contact, Gohan had irradiated Bando's body with ki, drawing on enough force to keep him still among the living but ensure that there would be so much damage inside that he wouldn't be getting up for a while.

"You may live," Gohan told the beaten soldier, "but you won't be moving anytime soon. I hope you learn from this. I don't take kindly to threats against people I care about, and if you try and hurt Nyuu-san again, if you push me hard enough, you won't like what happens."

Suddenly, Gohan caught sight of something in his peripheral vision, and he turned to see Takenouchi aiming a bazooka at him.

"DIE, YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" he screamed at Gohan, launching the bazooka's missile at him.

Knowing that this other soldier wouldn't learn except through bitter experience, Gohan stuck his palm out and thrust it forward, hurling a wall of solid force at the incoming missile — to Takenouchi's infinite, heart-stopping horror, the wave of force had pushed the missile back, changing its trajectory, so that it was now heading straight for him!

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he said, turning and running, in vain, to avoid the imminent explosion.

Seemingly in slow motion, the missile hit, and a concussive force ripped the ground apart as it tossed Takenouchi into the air like a rag doll. Flopping bonelessly through the air, Takenouchi was reacquainted with the ground rather violently, crashing into the hard surface of the earth as the world around him spun and twisted in his field of vision — it was like being on the world's most insane roller coaster ride. Judging from the pain shooting through his arms and legs, he must've broken his bones and dislocated his arm and his shoulder and he probably had more than a few fractures, too. For a few moments, he just lay there, disoriented and wishing the loud ringing in his ears would go away.

However, determination — or, as some may say, sheer stubbornness — won out in the end, and slowly, limping through the pain, with blood dripping from his mouth and smoke rising from the charred remnants of his body armor, Takenouchi writhed and squirmed and struggled up into a standing position, his whole body wriggling and jerking, as if in tune to some unheard music. With only sheer grit and will, the injured soldier limped forward, his feet dragging behind him.

I will NOT die this way! he thought brokenly. I will not let those murderers get away with it! They will pay! They must all suffer! I will make them all suffer a thousand deaths for the pain that they have caused me! For the honor of my dead wife and daughter!

Gohan just stared at the approaching soldier. It was quite clear he wasn't going to stop, that he would continue to force his body through hell in a vain attempt to get close to him, but why? Isn't it obvious to him that he can't win? Gohan thought. He's wounded, and I'm in peak condition, and even before that, he and his friends weren't doing too well to begin with.

And then, the man spoke.

"I... will... make you all... suffer... for what you have done to me..." he rasped. "There will be... no escaping... my divine wrath."

What the hell is he talking about? Gohan wondered. What could have happened to make him like this? He's talking like it's personal.

"No... Diclonius... will make it past me... again..." he continued, his strength fading the more he moved, and Gohan knew he was seconds away from blacking out, but it was his words which intrigued him the most.

"A Diclonius?" he repeated, blinking. "What's that?"

"Don't... play... dumb... you... mother... fucker..." Takenouchi growled, falling down to his knees. He glared up at Gohan, shooting daggers at the demi-Saiyan, and if looks could have killed, Gohan would have been three feet under. "You... and... all... your... kind... must... die..."

And with that, he slumped over, no longer able to maintain consciousness.

"This is getting really bizarre," Gohan said. "Who are these people? What did they want with Nyuu?" And then he turned his attention back to what Takenouchi had told him. "A Diclonius? Is that what Nyuu is? So then she really is an alien, like me and Goten. Or... maybe she is a hybrid. But, what about that soldier? Hmm... well, maybe a Diclonius hurt him in the past and now he wants to take revenge on all of them. Hey, do you know anything about this, Nyuu? Nyuu?"

But there was silence, and Gohan turned to discover that Nyuu was gone!

"Nyuu!" Gohan cried. "Nyuu, where are you?! Nyuu!"

But it was no use. Realizing she most likely wouldn't have left on her own, Gohan glanced around, focusing his ki sense on the surrounding areas. Wherever she was, she couldn't have gotten very far. After a few minutes, Gohan caught it, and he turned towards it.

"There's a faint power level moving in that direction, and it feels familiar," Gohan muttered.

And then he recognized it. It's Nyuu, he thought. His eyes widened. And she's scared. I can feel it even from here!

Taking to the skies, Gohan instantly flew off towards her ki with a burst of sudden speed.

"Hang on, Nyuu, I'm coming!"

Goten led Kouta through side streets and down alley ways, and at first, it seemed that the little boy was leading Kouta aimlessly through the deserted passages and empty sidewalks of Kamakura, but when he would pose this query to Goten, the tiny child just said, "Come on, it's only a little bit farther!" and as they moved farther and farther into the town Kouta could see that their trek did indeed have a direction; they were heading straight for the Enoshima Electric Railway Station.

As they stepped onto the platform, Kouta glanced down at the boy walking alongside him, with his tail wagging happily and seeming very carefree. I don't understand, how can he be so certain Yuka is at this train station? the dark-haired teen thought. Is he just a bloodhound or something? I don't know, I don't see her anywhere around this place!

"Um, Goten, are you sure —" he began tentatively.

"Come on, just a bit farther now!" Goten insisted as they made their way through the milling crowds.

Kouta sighed, but knew he had no choice but to follow Goten's lead.

As they moved along the platform, Kouta noticed one thing; there seemed to be an inordinate amount of police officers out tonight. He remembered the conversation he had had with those two cops who had come to his front door and his suspicion deepened. What are they all doing out here? Does this have something to do with Nyuu-san or Gohan-san? I have the feeling those two detectives weren't telling me the complete story. Kouta felt like bashing his head in against a wall. Oh, this is all so complicated! All I wanted to do was research biology in college and see my cousin again for the first time in eight years!

Maybe if he listened to some of what they were saying, then he may learn something that would shed some light on their behavior. So that was what he did — as they passed the milling policemen on the train platform, he kept his ears perked up to see if he could hear what they were saying and as he listened, some strange stories floated back to his ears.

"That's right, he took down the Ao Ookami street gang all by himself!"

"Saved a girl and her boyfriend from being killed..."

"They say that the boy had golden hair and green eyes."

"How disgraceful! Just like those Yakuza mobsters!"

"No one really knows who he is or where he came from..."

"Is it true? Can this boy really fly and dodge bullets?"

"It's gotta be some sort of hoax. No one has that kind of power."

Kouta tuned out the conversation, now more intrigued than ever. Someone with super strength and golden hair, who can fly, and goes around helping people... sounds like a superhero from one of those American comic books. Or a Shonen hero. I wonder who he is, if he's real. Perhaps that officer is right and this is just an elaborate stunt.

"Hey, Onee-chan!" Goten called, and Kouta jumped, suddenly jerked back to the present. "Onee-chan, we're over here! Onee-chan!"

Sure enough, his brown-haired cousin wandered over, carrying an umbrella with her. And if Kouta had been surprised, that was nothing to what he felt now — in a town filled with hundreds of people, with absolutely no way to know where she was without calling her on a cell phone first, this little child had somehow managed to pinpoint Yuka's location with unerring accuracy; it didn't seem to be a matter of dumb luck, either; he had seemed so calm and sure of himself. He'd known where Yuka was. He'd known. How the hell did he know that?

"Kouta-kun? Goten-chan?" she said. "What are you two doing out in this weather? And how did you even find me?"

"Yes, good question," Kouta admitted, turning his gaze back to the little boy. "How did you —?"

But he had only barely begun before Goten interrupted him.

"Onee-chan! Onee-chan!" he cried excitedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "We found Nyuu-san!"

"Really?" Yuka said. "Good work! Let me guess, she's down by the beach?"

"Yes," Goten said, deflating rapidly. "How did you know?"

Yuka chuckled. "I just now figured it out." She turned to look at her cousin. "I think she was sad that she hurt your feelings, Kouta-kun, so she went down to the beach to try and find a new seashell for you."

"Oh, you really think so?" Kouta asked, now distracted from the mystery surrounding Goten as a new wave of sudden guilt threatened to overwhelm him. I have to find Nyuu! I... I have to say I'm sorry.

"Nii-chan is gonna bring Nyuu-san back to the inn, and he wants us to..." Goten began.

Just then, however, the tiny Saiyan cut off mid-sentence as he whipped his head around, staring off at something in the distance with great concentration, as though he could see it happening, even miles away.

"Goten-chan?" Yuka asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Nii-chan!" Goten cried, and without warning, the little half-Saiyan took off running.

"Goten, wait, what's the matter?" Yuka asked.

"Quickly, follow him!" Kouta said.

And with that, both cousins sped off after the little boy.

Satou was very confused. A dutiful and loyal officer of the SAT, he nonetheless found himself conflicted on the issue of the young girl. He turned to stare at her, even as he dragged her down along the shore line. She didn't seem evil, or cruel, or dangerous, or any negative connotation one would use to describe her. She seemed... innocent. Terrified. As a soldier, Satou would carry out any order given to him to the best of his abilities, but... this would be the first time that he ever killed somebody that he felt a pang of conscience about it. Most of the enemies he fought were fully capable of holding their own. It was kill or be killed. This girl looked helpless.

"Nyuu, Nyuu, Nyuu!" the girl cried miserably, struggling against the stronger man's grip.

Reaching a deserted patch of beach further from the buildings and condominiums that made up the shoreline of Kamakura, Satou knew now was the time to receive his orders. Tossing the girl to the sand, he withdrew a tiny radio from his belt and keyed into the right frequency.

"Report, Satou," the voice on the other end of the line said brusquely.

Satou straightened up; never mind they couldn't see him, it was still proper discipline. "Sir, a situation has arisen with Sergeant Bando and Private Takenouchi, however, I have located the target and have her in custody. Your orders, sir?"

"Neutralize the target," the voice on the other end said. "That is your primary objective."

"Kill her?" Satou said. "But, she seems harmless, Commander. Is it really necessary to —"

"Do you wanna be thrown in the brig for insubordination and spend the next twenty years in prison?" the Commander barked.

"No, sir!" Satou said, shaking his head, even though they couldn't see him.

"Then carry out the orders that you have been given!" the Commander snapped.

"Yes, sir!" Satou said as the line went dead.

Clipping the radio back to his belt, Satou turned to glance at the pink-haired girl, now cowering there, eyes wide and fearful as she stared up at him. Satou winced. This was not going to be pleasant, but he was a master at suppressing his emotions. He would do what needed to be done, but not even his unflinching devotion to duty would prevent him from apologizing, to seek the pardon of the poor victim whose life he was now forced to take.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but I'm just carrying out my orders," he said, only the slightest hint of a waver in his voice indicating the regret he would soon feel at the cruel act that he was about to commit for his nation.

"Nyuu...?" the girl whimpered, her eyes widening, as though she could somehow understand what was going on. "Nyuu..."

Pulling out his gun, Satou depressed the safety, cocked the handle, pulled the trigger back, and...

I've got to hurry! Gohan thought desperately. He could feel a sudden spike from Nyuu's aura which could only mean that she was afraid. No, not afraid — deathly terrified. Whatever was happening to her, it was bad, and Gohan knew with a warrior's experience that Nyuu had only a minute, possibly a few, before it was all over. His new friend, a girl he had grown to like quite a lot, was going to die. No, not again! I WON'T let it happen again!

Finally locating her in an isolated stretch of sandy beach far from Kamakura, Gohan came in for a landing, aura blazing around him, but he could see that it would already be too late; he was still weak from his injuries, and the soldier from before was standing above her, pistol cocked and ready to shoot. He was going to kill Nyuu in front of him!

"NO, DON'T!" Gohan shouted desperately.

And then... the unexpected happened.

As Gohan watched, the unfortunate soldier's head popped off in a spray of crimson red blood, and the body, now totally limp without the connections to its brain, fell like a marionette with all its strings cut.

Shocked beyond belief at what he had just witnessed, Gohan shot down to land a few feet away from Nyuu — and the body. Gohan could sense it — the soldier was dead. But how? And then Gohan gasped as he sensed an increase in Nyuu's power level. That dark inner presence from before seemed to spread outwards through her till it completely enveloped her entire body as the happy, innocent, cheerful, fun-loving presence which he knew to be the sweet Nyuu was ruthlessly shoved, pushed, and pressed deeper and deeper inside until it felt as if she was no more.

"N-Nyuu-san?" Gohan asked, confused. "What's going on?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, with a deliberate looseness, as though her entire body were a puppet, Nyuu rose, moving upright until she was standing totally level with Gohan. Her head was bowed, but, with the same exact, deliberate slowness she had shown before, Nyuu lifted her head until she was facing Gohan, and as her features came more into focus, Gohan was stunned at what he saw.

Glaring gloomily at him from beneath the pink-colored bangs were twin daggers filled with malicious hatred. Gazing into Nyuu's eyes now, it was like a switch had been thrown; they were no longer wide, cute, and bubbly; they were narrow, cruel, hateful, as if they hated him and everyone and everything else in the world.

"N-Nyuu?" Gohan said, making to move closer to her. "What's the matter...?"

And then, she spoke.

"Don't... call... me... that..."

Finally, you guys get some action. Tell me how you like! Anyway, here's the power levels.

Gohan: 1,200,000
Super Saiyan Gohan: 60,000,000
Full Power Super Saiyan Gohan: 600,000,000
Super Saiyan 2 Gohan: 1,200,000,000

Bando: 60

Takenouchi: 50

Satou: 45

If you have any questions, feel free to private message me, and as always, please review!