A violet flame-like aura surrounded Janemba's newest form. The king of the seventh demon world had a confident grin on his face. He had planned this moment for eions, a final contest between himself and his hated rival.
"Don't feel so bad Buu..I've had this planned for untold millenia. In our battles in ages past I never was allowed the final victory over you that I so desired. But now..now that your no longer a king of the demon world..I am no longer bound by the old rules." Janemba said as he struck a fighting pose.
Janemba's golden and violet form greatly resembled his previous form, yet the sense of danger and majesty his new form possessed, a fact that could be sensed by even the least skilled in the spiritual arts, made it clear Janemba was a threat far greater than the previous kings.
Super Buu tried not to allow himself to show fear, instead he attacked in a fury, his rage masking his terror.
Super Buu swung a hard right punch Janemba's way. The gold and violet demon was prepared for Super Buu however, and simply caught Buu's fist with his own left hand.
"Now I will show you why I am the seventh king!" Janemba declared triumphantly.
Janemba smiled a wicked smile on his violet face as he pointed his right hand at Super Buu, a charge of yellow energy forming in the palm of his right hand.
Super Buu tried to get his right arm free, but the sheer strength of Janemba's grip prevented him from doing so. Instead he was forced to watch in horror as Janemba unleashed a powerful blast of golden energy which engulfed him and created a large mushroom-cloud shaped explosion in the general area.
In the distance the Z-Fighter's watched in horror as Super Buu, as well as the unconscious body of Uub, were destroyed without a trace.
Goku stepped forward. He was already upset from the very recent death of Gohan at Azrael's hands. Losing yet another person he cared about had set him over the edge.
Goku's blue shirt and orange pants seemed to move in a sudden wind as a great inner power began to fight it's way to the surface.
Vegeta suddenly stepped forward and placed a white gloved right hand on Goku's left shoulder. Vegeta's black outfit was a variant of one of his favorite fighting clothes.
"It won't work Kakorot. Even at your maximum power, even with all your rage...there is no way you can defeat Janemba alone." Vegeta said calmly to his friend.
"I can't just stand here Vegeta!" Goku said loudly and strongly.
"I know...but you aren't alone in this fight. There is one warrior on our team that can succeed where we would fail. You know of whom I speak Kakorot." Vegeta said.
After the light and smoke from the explosion had cleared, Janemba turned his attention on the Z-Fighters. Slowly the seventh king approached the group, his form radiating a violet aura of power.
"Here he comes! If we have a plan now is the time to use it!" Goten said, his white outfit moving from the wind generated by Janemba's power.
Kohryu's golden wings fought against the wind generated by Janemba, every second seemed to increase the strength of the gales assaulting the group.
"Out of all of us only myself and Bardock can fight..according to Azrael's rules." The humanoid golden dragon known as Nouva Shenron said.
"We would be slaughtered..even a fool would know that." Bardock, the green and black armored saiyan father of Goku said.
Vegeta and Goku suddenly assumed the first stance needed for the metamorian fusion technique even as Janemba grew ever closer.
"Gogeta will barely last five minutes at Super Saiyan Five! It is too risky!" Goten yelled in concern.
"I defeated Frieza in five minutes. Five minutes is more than enough." Goku said calmly.
"Good luck father." Trunks said, his orange scarf swaying in the breeze.
"Fuse!" Vegeta and Goku said as one.
"Sion!" Vegeta and Goku said as one.
"HA!" Vegeta and Goku said a split second before they became as one.
Suddenly the wind generated by Janemba was met by an even greater force. Janemba had to shield his eyes as a blinding silver light erupted from the area he was walking towards.
Janemba suddenly felt a familiar power. It only took him a moment to realize who had just arrived.
"Oh no..." Janemba said quietly as the light dimmed to reveal a seven-foot tall warrior with a face that combined the features of both Goku and Vegeta.
Gogeta had silver fur covering his arms and chest. The fusion wore a black metamorian vest with orange decorations as well as white pants and black boots. A blue martial-arts style belt lay around his waist, while a full head of blue spiky hair which grew down to the warrior's waist lay on the fusion's head.
Gogeta moved forward like a beam of light, stopping in front of Janemba.
"You again. In one of the timelines created by your universe you defeated a small portion of my being. Don't think fighting the real me will be as easy..Gogeta!" Janemba snarled.
"You don't seem to realize the difference in our power. I am much stronger than you. Allow me to demonstrate!" Gogeta said seconds before spinning his right leg around and delivering a fierce kick to Janemba's chest.
Janemba staggered backwards, then snarled as he held his right hand out at the fusion.
"This attack is more than enough to defeat the likes of you!" Janemba yelled as he fired a golden blast of energy at Gogeta. Gogeta leapt into the air and over the blast, which detonated a great distance away from the sight of the battle. Gogeta then flipped downwards and slammed Janemba in the face with a kick from his left foot.
Janemba attempted to punch the fusion with his left fist in retaliation, but Gogeta caught the demon king's fist with his right hand and smiled.
"I don't have time for a long-drawn out battle with you Janemba. I have lost two people I cared about, one of which you were responsible for killing. It is time to end this..for good!" Gogeta said as he released Janemba's hand, the demon king stepping a short distance backwards.
"You will not defeat me so easily. I do not play by the rules which even you must abide by Gogeta. Behold..I shall show you what I mean!" Janemba yelled as he slashed the air in front of himself with his right hand, creating a tear in the fabric of space and time which immediately flew at Gogeta.
Gogeta ducked under the tear, only to be slammed in his right side with another. Blood poured freely from the fresh wound, but despite the pain, Gogeta had no choice but to dodge a seemingly endless volley of similiar attacks.
Gogeta flew into the air, avoiding multiple tears by doing a quick series of sumersaults and quick flying.
Finally Janemba placed his hands together and literally forced open a huge hole in the fabric of reality itself. Inside the hole was a void of blackness darker than anything normally found in the universe.
Janemba used his power to force the void towards Gogeta. Gogeta flew under the attack, then placed his hands together.
"Grand Hyper Kamehameha times one thousand!" Gogeta yelled as he fired a vibrant indigo energy beam in Janemba's direction nearly point-blank.
Janemba yelled as his body was torn apart. Seconds later, Gogeta was greeted to the site of a series of gold and violet blocks reforming into an unharmed Janemba.
"Every attack you unleash against me I can regenerate from! You are powerful indeed Gogeta..but even you cannot defeat me in my strongest form!" Janemba said confidently.
"You are an unnatural force Janemba. Your very being exists on multiple realities at once..yet you also exist on none of them. Your very nature is your greatest strength...and your undoing." Gogeta said as he held out his right hand, rainbow-hued sparkles of energy forming a sphere on his palm.
Janemba suddenly felt a sense of deja vu..as though the moment he was in had played out similiarly in the past. Before the seventh king could remember however, Gogeta announced the name of his completed attack.
"Stardust Breaker!" Gogeta yelled as he tossed the sphere of rainbow colored energy in Janemba's direction.
Janemba howled in pain as the stardust breaker tore into him, its holy energies forcing Janemba's impossible existence against itself.
Janemba's body began to fade like stardust, yet Janemba had one final thing to say before Gogeta's attack claimed his life.
"You may have defeated me...but know this. The last two kings ahead of you are stronger than I am. With no warriors left on your team capable of matching them in power..you will all die!" Janemba yelled, then laughed briefly before disappearing entirely.
Somewhere else in Demon World...on a throne made of the bones of long-dead mortals..Azrael sat.
The evil master of Demon World and incarnation of death itself gazed over a pool of green liquid, watching with a smile on his pale white face as Gogeta delivered the killing blow to the seventh king.
"Very good..but your greatest test awaits you. It will not be long until you arrive on my doorstep." Azrael said seconds before the sound of footsteps could be heard nearby.
Azrael turned his gaze from the pool to two figures. One was a woman with light blue skin and dark blue hair. The woman had eyes like sapphires. She wore a long violet dress.
The second being was a bald, human-looking man with shining red eyes. He wore a white robe and carried a wooden staff tipped by a large ruby. The man resembled a priest of some sort.
"The two of you are the last force between me and the mortals. Show me I have at least afew kings worthy of the title!" Azrael said loudly.
"We shall not fail you master." The woman said calmly.
"Hallowed is your name!" The man said with reverence.
Azrael waved his right hand, and the two disappeared.
Meanwhile, the Z-Fighters gathered around the door that had appeared after Janemba's death.
Goku bowed his head quietly.
"Piccolo, Gohan and Uub..your deaths will not be in vain! We will defeat Azrael and your lives will be restored!" Goku said with a strong tone.
"We don't have much time left." Goten said quietly.
"What happens when time runs out?" Trunks asked.
"Earth is permanently destroyed, along with everyone on it." Nouva Shenron said sadly.
"We only have two kings left guys..lets not lose hope now." Bardock said with a smile.
"There is something I must warn you of before we enter the next layer of demon world." Kohryu said calmly.
"What is it Kohryu?" Goten asked.
"The next two kings are also demon lords of the elements. While we have already defeated fire and wind, the lords of water and earth are much stronger. Due to their power they were granted the highest ranks out of all of Azrael's forces. Without Gogeta I fear these next two battles will be hard indeed." Kohryu said.
"I have a power I have been saving..I will face our next foe." Nouva Shenron said.
"Be careful..very few mortals have entered the eighth demon world and lived to tell the tale." Kohryu said.
"We are not typical mortals Kohryu." Vegeta said with his trademark smirk.
"Indeed." Kohryu said.
Goku opened the door to the next world, and was immediately blasted by a cold wind that was easily at sub-zero temperatures.
"The next world is a freezer." Goku said as he blew warm air on his hands.
"We did not come here for a vacation. Lets go everyone, the eighth king awaits!" Vegeta said as he stepped threw the door, to be closely followed by the rest of the Z-Fighters.
Immediately the group was greeted to the sight of a frozen wasteland. Huge glaciers framed the horizon. A constant blizzard of fluffy white snow bombarded the landscape. In the distance could be seen a large white tower, seemingly composed of ice.
"Well I think we know where our destination is." Trunks said as he shivered from the cold.
"I will keep you all from suffering from the cold..stay close together as we travel." Nouva said as he narrowed his eyes at the tower.
There was a familiar presence in this world, and it wasn't the eighth king, he was certain of it.
Together the Z-Fighters walked across the ice and snow, the bitter cold kept at bay only by the flame of Nouva Shenron, the golden dragon of the fourth star dragonball.
The group journeyed over frozen tundra, over glaciers, and threw forests of tall evergreen trees. They silently past a village of log-cabins, the people shut inside their homes to avoid the biting cold and fierce blizzard that descended upon them.
"This place reminds me of Android 8 and that village I saved from the Red Ribbon Army as a kid." Goku said, his mind floating back to found past memories.
"Friendly people." Bardock said dryly, noticing everyone of the villagers was shut inside their homes as the group continued its march forward.
"It is cold..too cold for normal mortals to survive long." Nouva said as he continued to use a very small portion of his heat powers to warm the group.
"This realm is under the power of the eighth king. It is that being which is responsible for the constant cold. Long ago this world was a normal planet, much like Earth." Kohryu said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Many of the demon worlds looked like they were once normal places exactly." Trunks remarked.
"That is because they were. Every few millennium the cycle repeats itself. Azrael brings a group of the strongest mortals that world has to offer, always choosing worlds protected by warriors of the greatest strength to Demon World. If those warriors fail to defeat Azrael, their world becomes another demon world, forever under the power of Azrael and his followers." Kohryu said with a serious tone.
"And Earth is next.." Goku said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
The group continued onwards for a couple minutes, leaving the boundaries of the village. Suddenly Nouva came to a stop. The group was in the middle of a small forest of evergreens with a great hill covered by snow ahead of them. On the top of the hill was a figure encased in ice, shrouded by distance and the eternally raging blizzard.
Nouva stopped short. He narrowed his eyes at the figure trapped in ice on the hill.
"It can't be...he shouldn't be here." Nouva said with concern in his voice.
"Who shouldn't be here?" Goku asked, looking in the direction Nouva was looking and suddenly coming to a realization.
"Its him..your brother isn't it?" Goku asked.
"Yes..it is Eis Shenron trapped in that ice." Nouva said.
Goku would never forget Eis Shenron. The ice dragon had been one of the cruelest, most craven of Goku's opponents. Eis had a cowardice which put many of his past foes to shame, and a cruelty that rivaled that of Frieza or Cooler.
The group traveled up the snow-covered hill, the snow beginning to melt as soon as Nouva walked across it.
When the group reached the frozen figure of Eis Shenron, they beheld a being which seemed asleep. But when Trunks walked over to the frozen dragon..that assumption was proven horribly wrong.
"Is he dead?" Trunks said as he tapped the ice with his right hand.
Immediately Eis' left hand smashed threw his icy prison and grabbed Trunks by the throat.
"Guys..help me!" Trunks gasped as he felt his body begining to suffer the effects of frostbite.
Nouva quickly fired a red blast of fiery energy at Eis, which knocked the ice dragon completely out of his icy prison and forced him to let go of Trunks.
Vegeta held onto his son, using his own body heat and power to warm his son.
"Eis..what are you doing here?" Nouva asked with a voice full of disgust.
"Shenron sent me here as a test." Eis said with a cruel smile on his pink lips.
Eis Shenron was the mirror image to Nouva. Rather than the golden hue the fire dragon possessed, Eis was a cool blue color. Though brothers, the two dragons could not be more different.
"A test? Does this have something to do with the negative energy I sense in you? The others are no longer tainted by negative energy. Why are my sensing evil from you?" Nouva asked.
"Because when the other shadow dragons were purified, it was determined that a contest be held. All of us decided that if you defeated me, than the shadow dragons would be reborn as a force for good. However, if I defeat you, than we will be reborn stronger than ever, just as evil as before. Even you will join us in the darkness brother." Eis said, crossing his arms over his chest in an arrogant manner.
"And why should I engage in such a foolish contest?" Nouva asked, narrowing his eyes at his brother.
"Shenron declared that if you can defeat me, you may use the full power of the Dragon balls, just as Syn Shenron once did." Eis said.
Nouva was speechless. His father would intrust the full power of the Shadow Dragons to him? What would he become with such power?
"So brother..do you accept the challenge? Or are you still the coward that couldn't defeat a single Super Saiyan?" Eis said mockingly, reminding Nouva of his first encounter with Goku.
"I will fight you." Nouva said.
"Good..I've been waiting along time for this brother." Eis said, suddenly striking a combat pose, a position which was mirrored by his brother.
Nouva flew forward with a left fist aimed at his brother's face. Eis flew upwards into the air to avoid the attack, then aimed his right hand at his brother, who was still on the ground. Eis' right hand changed shape into a cannon, from which a huge blast of frozen blue energy erupted from.
The Z-Fighters scattered to avoid the attack, while Nouva flew backwards quickly as the blue beam created a tower of ice.
Eis Shenron flew threw his own creation, shattering the tower, and landed a hard left punch to his brother's face.
After being hit, Nouva smiled, and grabbed his brother's hand with his right hand.
"Your still an am-mature compared to me." Nouva said as red fiery energy formed in his left hand.
"Is that so?" Eis said with a smile of his own.
"Nova Death Ray!" Nouva Shenron yelled as he fired a fiery blast of his own at his brother.
Eis was sent flying backwards into a field of snow. The ice dragon quickly recovered, flying out of the snow and towards Nouva. As he approached his twin, Eis fired several beams of cold energy from his eyes.
Nouva knew this attack well. It was the Ice Ray he used to freeze unsuspecting opponents. Eis only cared about victory. He did not enjoy fighting like he did, unless of coarse his opponent was weaker than he was.
Nouva flew into the sky to avoid Eis Shenron's Ice Ray attacks.
"Still looking for the easy way out Eis?" Nouva taunted.
"Of coarse. If I beat you I get to use all the dragonballs like Syn did. That is something I will do anything to make come to pass!" Eis said, firing another super ice blast from his cannon.
Nouva quickly gathered his power, creating a sphere of fire around himself. Eis' attack struck the barrier and dissapated harmlessly. After this, Nouva fired another Nouva Death Ray at Eis, to which his frozen brother responded with another Ice Ray.
The fiery and frozen beams of energy collided, creating a beam struggle in mid-air.
Both siblings put everything into their attacks, lest they be bested by the other.
"I will not lose to you Nouva!" Eis yelled as his frozen beam began to overtake Nouva's fiery one.
"I really don't think you have much of a choice." Nouva said, the yelled, bringing more of his power to the surface.
"Two can play at that game!" Eis yelled as he powered up as well.
On the ground in the distance Goku watched the battle, his friends and family nearby.
"Its as I thought..Nouva and Eis are of equal power. Though in terms of skill..Nouva far surpasses his brother." Goku said, crossing his arms over his blue shirt covered chest.
"After this is all over we should all spar or something." Vegeta said.
Back at the battle, Nouva's fiery power began to overtake Eis Shenron.
When it became clear he would lose that fight, Eis flew downwards, allowing Nouva's Death Ray to pass by harmlessly.
Eis then flew right at his brother. If energy attacks would not work, then perhaps melee attacks would.
Eis swung his left leg around, attempting to hit Nouva with a whirlwind kick. Nouva caught his brother's leg and then tossed him towards the ground. Eis used his wings to propel him back into the air, after which he swung a series of quick punches from both fists at Nouva, who was able to easily dodge each one.
Nouva swung his right arm upwards and slammed his brother in the chin with an uppercut, Nouva then grabbed his brother from behind, a sphere of fire forming around them.
"Its over Eis." Nouva said as the flames of his attack began to lick into Eis painfully.
"I disagree." Eis said as a coccoon of ice formed around the ice dragon.
Nouva was forced to break off his attack to avoid a long missile composed of the super-hard ice Eis Shenron had created.
"Like my new attack? I call it my Ice Lance." Eis said as another of the icy projectiles formed in the air.
Nouva dodged several of the "ice lances", all the while thinking of a way to end this confrontation. When a ray of sunlight pierced the seemingly endless cloudcover above, Nouva had an idea.
Nouva focused on the sunlight, forming lenses of glass-like energy above himself.
"You don't have enough sunlight to do that brother. Face it..you have lost!" Eis said
"On the contrary..it is you who has lost..brother." Nouva said with a smile on his lips as an enormous, sun-powered blast of fiery energy flew from the lenses over his head and slammed into Eis, who screamed as his body reverted to a dragonball.
Nearby Goku watched happily as Nouva defeated Eis.
"Looks like he got him." Goten remarked.
Suddenly the image of Shenron, Eternal Dragon of Earth, appeared in the sky, without the usual blackened clouds and thunderstorm.
"The Eternal Dragon? What is going on?" Trunks asked.
"Shenron is honoring his word." Kohryu said with a slight smile.
"NOUVA...MY SON...YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF WORTHY. LET THE SHADOW DRAGONS BE REBORN AND FOREVER KNOWN AS A FORCE FOR GOOD NOW AND FOREVERMORE!" Shenron said to Nouva, who looked up at his father with awe.
Nouva felt an incredibly strong power suddenly within. He knew when he needed it, it would be at his disposal.
In the distance...in a great tower of ice..a certain woman watched the battle's conclusion and a smile formed on her lips.
"Come warriors...and welcome to endless winter!" The woman said softly.