A/N: Chris2828 I'll need to know what Gohan story you're referring to exactly to make a proper response. As for the origins of the Sai-jins, that information will be revealed... eventually.

Chapter Seventy-one - Gogeta

Just a second ago the two Sai-jins had bent at the waist, toward each other, and the tips of their fingers had touched. As soon as they had there had been a brilliant, blinding, flash of golden light from the pair. Almost at once Dabura had sensed an odd shift to the powers of the two. Their patterns changed, seemed to mix and mingle and shift to a single, different, signal.

And then, after two or three seconds, there was second flash of light followed by a sudden burst of wind and a massive rush of power that sent all four pairs of watching eyes widening in shock. The glare of light shrank down into a swirling twister of energy for a few seconds, then exploded apart in sparks of gold and blue to reveal a single warrior standing where, a moment before, had been two.

He had tall, spiky, golden hair, and shimmering green eyes. He wore neither the orange gi or blue body suit of the two people he had replaced but, rather, a pair of baggy white pants tied off with a blue belt, a black vest trimmed in orange, and blue wrist bands. A golden aura pulsed and flowed around him, blue sparks of electricity like energy flashing around it.

He stood with one arm held out slightly before him, looking at his open palm. A smile spread across his face, turning into a smirk, and he clenched his hand into a fist before lowering his arm and looking up at Quietus. The Demon and the three Mazoku were still staring at him in shock and disbelief. His power was greater than that of Quietus. Not by much but it was most certainly larger.

Suddenly, in a burst of gold, he shot in toward Quietus. The Demon's shock delayed his reaction and there was a loud crack a second later as fist met face and sent him rocketing away. Another flash of gold followed as the warrior gave chase, Dabura turning his gaze to follow the pair, his shock fading.

/Unbelievable./ he thought, watching as the warrior launched a furious assault against Quietus. /Some sort of unification skill, and a powerful one./ He shook his head after a second and then turned his focus toward Aku and Nefaria. Both were still staring in shock at the merged warrior, though he doubted either could actually see the battle that was occurring. Both fighters were at powers and speeds that he himself could hardly keep up with, around twice as strong as Aku.

/Well, I likely wont be much help in this fight but there is still something I can do./ he thought, scowling a little. He was worried about maintaining balance but Nefaria was his only Makai ally, and the only one who would work smoothly with him when this was over. Her survival, therefore, was of considerable significance. He shot in quickly and Aku, still distracted by Quietus and his opponent, never even noticed him coming.

There was a crack as Dabura smashed his fist into Aku's face, the blow stunning the Mazoku and causing him to release his grasp on Nefaria. Without him to hold her upright she fell to the ground, too worn to keep herself on her feet. Aku recovered from the blow after only a moment and turned to face his attacker, but expecting to see Nefaria his eyes widened in fear as he instead found Dabura's outstretched arm, the Mazoku King's palm pointing directly at his face.

"This is two thousand years over due." Dabura said. "You had your second chance and you wasted it. Let's hope the Realm finds someone better next time, shall we? Desolation Wave!" A stream of red and black energy erupted from Dabura's outstretched arm and engulfed Aku's head and shoulders. The Supreme Mazoku barely had time to register the attack before it hit and overwhelmed him.

Dabura ended the attack and lowered his arm after only a few seconds as what remained of Aku, legs and half a torso, collapsed to the ground. With that dealt with Dabura knelt beside Nefaria as he turned his gaze toward the continuing battle and frowned. The two were moving at speeds he could barely follow but he could still see enough to tell the pair was rather evenly matched.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

Nefaria hesitated a moment, her mind still trying to catch up to everything that had just happened, then slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. "I'll live." she said. "My injuries are all mended, I'm just spent from all the accelerated healing." She turned her gaze toward where she could sense Quietus and the Mortal he was fighting. "This is... unbelievable. What... is he? How does he have so much power? He's stronger than you, stronger than Quietus, that... that shouldn't be possible."

"Perhaps." Dabura said. "But Sai-jins were always a powerful race and this is not one warrior, but two. Some kind of unification technique. One that's capable of surviving exceedingly high powers. All the Mortal techniques I've seen developed here in Makai would collapse long before the combined being could reach this level of power."

"Maybe it's not Mortal, then?" suggested Nefaria. "The Kais could have given them their Soul Merger magic."

Dabura shook his head. "No, the Kais have their ways, but not like this. Besides, I believe they lost that knowledge when they lost Muzai. Both sides closely guard their knowledge of the Soul Merger magics."

Nefaria nodded. She only knew of their existence because Dabura had previously complained that they could not use it to deal with Quietus since they were of opposite genders. She wasn't even sure how the magic was performed, if it was a spell, invocation, or something else. She pushed that aside, however, and returned her awed focus to the battle.

"Why even bother with the Spirit Bomb?" she asked after a moment. "The attack was impressive, even incomplete, but this is..."

"Likely unknown to Mikomi." said Dabura, smirking slightly. "Like I said, most unification techniques collapse under the strain of high powers. The Kais likely know this technique exists but it is unlikely they would expect it to work at this level of power."

A few hundred yards away Quietus growled in frustration as he blocked a kick that had been aimed for his head, then countered with a punch that was deflected. This was the first time, in two thousand years, that he'd encountered anyone truly capable of standing against him. That was annoying enough but the fact that it was a Mortal, from Shinkai no less, was insulting beyond measure. He couldn't fathom how this was even possible, Mortals shouldn't be capable of this kind of power!

"Who are you? What are you!?" Quietus demanded, slipping around an attempted punch and then trying to counter with his own. The attack was blocked and he soon found a kick flying toward his side that he was only barely able to avoid.

"Me?" the Mortal asked in an odd sounding double voice, and smirking. "I am the greatest Sai-jin to ever live..." he started, but paused as his expression shifted slightly, for just a second. A minor look of annoyance flitted across his face before vanishing almost at once. Once it had, he continued. "I am the ultimate warrior." he moved as though to launch kick but then quickly redirected his momentum, pulling back his fist and firing off a punch that smashed Quietus in the face and knocked him backward. His smirk growing, his aura pulsing brighter for a second, he shot after him.

"I am Gogeta, and I'm the one who's going to end you!"

Gogeta overtook Quietus an instant later and smashed his fist down into the Demon's stomach, driving him into the ground below. He went to follow up with a kick but Quietus rolled out of the way and the fusion's foot smashed down into the ground instead. Pulling his foot out of the ground Gogeta quickly brought his arms up to block but wasn't quite fast enough and Quietus' foot smashed into his chest.

He stumbled back from the blow but was still able to deflect the following kick and then duck under the subsequent punch. Rising back up he launched an uppercut for the Demon's abdomen. Quietus moved backward, however, and Gogeta's knuckles only grazed across his stomach. Both moved in again, launching punches at the other, and there was a thunderous crack as their fists smashed into each other.

The two floated there, only a foot above the ground, fists pressed together, arm muscles rippling as they pushed against each other, staring into each other's eyes. Quietus was scowling, teeth bared, angry. Gogeta, on the other hand, was smirking broadly, eyes shimmering with exhilaration.

"You are a Mortal." Quietus growled. "This should not be possible."

"And you are a Demon, so... likewise." Gogeta replied. "I mean, aren't you supposed to be, you know, pathetically weak or something?"

Quietus growled and pulled back his other arm, launching it forward toward his opponent's head. Gogeta's other arm came up, however, and there was another crack as he caught the incoming fist. The fusion continued to smirk.

"Oh, seems I hit a nerve." he said. "It must really suck, having gained all this power and come so close to winning only to be outmatched and lose now."

"I haven't lost yet." Quietus responded, his eyes suddenly flashing. Gogeta's eyes widened in shock even as he reacted, pulling back from the Demon, releasing his hold on the other's hand, and twisting to the side. The twin beams of energy from Quietus's eyes zipped past his head only a few inches away.

"No, you have." Gogeta replied, turning to face Quietus again, smirk returning. "You're just too dumb to realize it."

Quietus growled as he tensed and then lunged in at the Sai-jin. Gogeta slipped his head around the incoming blow, deflected the kick, then smashed a knee into his stomach, pounded a left hook into his jaw, then slammed a head butt into his face. He continued the assault, landing blow after blow that the Demon wasn't quite fast enough to block. Suddenly Quietus let out a cry and a burst of ki in all directions, blowing Gogeta back a few dozen feet.

The Demon didn't waste the opening he'd made and quickly went on the offensive. Lashing out with a series of powerful punches and kicks that smashed into his face, chest, and stomach. It wasn't until after several blows had landed that Gogeta managed to block one, dodge another, and then retaliate. His attack was blocked, however, and he barely avoided the next one coming at him.

"This is truly incredible." Nefaria said, watching as brilliant flashes of light, accompanied by loud cracks that shook the ground for miles around, reached their way up into the sky. The on going battle was working its way upward, away from the ground, where the two warriors could move more freely. "Do you think it's enough? That the Mortal can win?"

Dabura frowned in thought as he watched the continuing exchange. The upper hand in the battle kept changing from one to the other. Both were skilled warriors. Quietus had thousands of years of experience from his time as a Controller Demon, and two thousand years imprisoned within the Blood Crystal to adjust to his power so that he didn't suffer from the same issues as those Demon's whose powers he'd boosted.

The Sai-jin didn't have the millennia of experience behind him, but he was still impressive. As a merged being he had all the combat experience, training, and knowledge of his composite parts. All their skill. His combat ability would be greater than the sum of his parts, their individual unique experiences coming together to enhance each other, complementing each other, filling in whatever deficits the other had. The unique perspective of two united minds.

It didn't make up for the entirety of the difference in experience but it certainly helped. As did the fact that the two base Mortals were Sai-jin. He didn't know exactly what the current Sai-jins were like, he'd learned they'd changed since last he'd dealt with them, but from what he had seen of them it appeared that fighting was still as ingrained and instinctive for them as it had been all those millions of years ago.

"I don't know." he said at last. "Their powers are too close to give either a decisive edge. Their skill seems pretty evenly matched so far. Whoever wins, they wont win easy."

There was a resounding crack high above them, far louder than the rest, and a streak of gold surged down toward the ground below. An instant before impact, however, it suddenly vanished. At almost the same moment another crack sounded in the sky above as Gogeta reappeared there and slammed both feet into Quietus's back.

As the Demon was knocked forward the Sai-jin thrust his arms out and blue energy flared to life in front of his palms. As the attack rapidly grew in power Quietus recovered and turned to face his opponent again, now about a hundred feet away, smirking as he saw the forming attack. Gogeta smirked right back as the attack pulsed and grew larger, and then his dual voice rang out.

"Big Bang Kamehameha!" The ball of blue energy swelled and then erupted, a stream of energy surging from Gogeta toward his target. Quietus saw it coming but made no move to dodge, no move to counter. The attack was only a few dozen feet away when, at last, he moved, curling up into a tight ball as he first spread his wings, then closed them, wrapping them about himself.

On the ground below Dabura frowned as he watched the attack slam into Quietus's wings and then wash over the Demon. The attack had been powerful but had just been rendered useless. Gogeta, apparently, realized the issue after only a few seconds as the attack soon faded away. As the last of the energy sped by Quietus, no worse for having taken the attack head on, opened his wings and straightened out again.

"Nice try." said the Demon. "But not nearly good enough."

XXX

Shinkai, H.F.I.L.

Neikan passed through the tear, leaving behind Hell and entering the H.F.I.L. for the first time. He was the only one of the Supreme Mazoku to have ever entered Shinkai before, but he'd never gone farther than Hell. He'd come over to check just how imbalanced the Realm was and determine if the tears really could be used as transportation lanes as had been claimed by the Shinkai Mortal who'd crossed into Makai with the offer to join forces in freeing Quietus.

The Realm was still as bizarre to him now as it had been before, more so now that he'd seen more of it. He didn't know it but he felt the same as Daikirai had earlier. The planes here were odd. Odd and dull. He'd be happy when he was done and back in Makai, where things made logical sense.

Even after seventeen million years as a Supreme Mazoku he still couldn't fathom how a Realm run by 'good' could function. It lacked power, lacked authority. How the Kais could maintain order when so cobbled boggled his mind. The Mortal Plane of Shinkai should have fallen into chaos long ago, without a firm hand to maintain it.

Shaking his head he turned his mind and focus to the task at hand. Quietus had sent him here to take out the Supreme Kai and any other resistance. He'd been considering how to handle things during his trip and had decided it would be best to locate Daikirai and work together with him. It was the best way to make sure things went smoothly.

He was stronger than Mikomi, he could take her by himself, but he wasn't sure how many Supreme Kais there were. Or how many Mortals like those he'd felt earlier might be around. They were on a level comparable to that of the Supreme Kais, so even if Mikomi was still the only one around there could be multiple warriors of comparable level. It was possible he'd be facing only one opponent of his level, or ten.

It took a moment to lock his mind onto his fellow Supreme Mazoku's unique ki signature. It was greatly suppressed but, to him, easily recognizable. He wasn't far, either, and Neikan lifted into the air and flew off toward him, keeping his own power down. He couldn't sense any significant powers around but there was no point drawing attention to himself, letting the Kais get a drop on him.

It only took a few moments to reach the other's location and as he landed he saw he was sitting cross legged, gazing into one of his crystal balls. It was a magic that was all his, from his time as a Mortal. Unlike the rest of the Mazoku, Daikirai hadn't been a warrior during his life. Or, rather, not one that had relied on ki. His power had been purely magical.

That magic paled in comparison to the power he had now, both in ki and in magic, but a few of his old skills were still useful. The crystal balls were one of those, allowing him to see almost anything almost anywhere. They'd used them several times over the millennia for one thing or another. Mostly with locating and tracking threats to the Realm that proved difficult to pin down otherwise.

"Neikan?" Daikirai asked, looking up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Quietus sent me to eliminate any resistance over here." he replied. Then he smirked. "And by now he's likely killed Dabura."

Daikirai shook his head and turned his gaze back to his crystal ball. He'd figured that's where Dabura had gone, but to actually hear it. He couldn't fathom what the man had been thinking, he was no match for Quietus. Though, there was still the matter of those Mortals... "What about the Mortals he brought with him?" Daikirai.

"Two of them were fighting on Malchio's world when I left." Neikan replied.

"Yes, I sensed them. But one of them was unfamiliar. Not one of the three that came through with Dabura and Nefaria. So what of the other two?"

Neikan pursed his lips in thought. He hadn't paid attention to the signature's of the two fighting Mortals, hadn't realized one of them was an unknown. Daikirai was right, where had the other two gone? Neither had been present when he, Aku, and Quietus had confronted Dabura and Nefaria. He shrugged it off after a second, though. It didn't really matter, there was nothing a Mortal could do to help in a battle against Quietus.

"No idea." he answered. "Nothing they can do anyway. So, have you found what you were sent for?"

"Not yet." Daikirai said. "Got lucky when I got here, found Mikomi right away. Figured she'd be my best lead but..." he shrugged. "Haven't really learned anything." He paused for a moment as he thought, then continued. "Oh, except there's another Supreme Kai."

Neikan scowled. "There is?"

"At least one." Daikirai said with a nod. "Maybe not fully a Kai yet, I don't know for sure. But I definitely saw another man wearing Supreme Kai robes."

"Any other Mortals with powers like those back in Makai?"

"Not that I've seen yet, but the ones here in Otherworld haven't really been fighting."

Neikan sighed and frowned. Two Supreme Kais wasn't a huge threat. Especially if he had Daikirai at his side. Still, there was so much unknown right now. He didn't want to rush off and challenge two Supreme Kais only to be ambushed by two more and a dozen Mortals of comparable power. Plus, Daikirai was using the Supreme Kai to try and complete his own mission. Shaking his head he sat down.

"I think I'll wait until we've got some more information." he said. "See what support Mikomi has here before we challenge her, and see if she can lead us to whatever it is that Quietus sent you after. Once we know more we can make our move."

Daikirai simply nodded in agreement.