Chapter 95: Hero of Ages

Super bonus points to anyone who gets this title reference without Googling it.

The dialogue in this first scene was going to be in last chapter, but…uh…I forgot. However, I think it fits better here, so it all worked out okay.

And in regards to the latter scenes, after the timeskip…as is standard procedure, I played around with some of the stuff from the movie to hopefully fit the plot better.

The Son family and guest ate well that night; one topic of interest did come up during the meal, amongst the small talk and idle chatter. Vegeta Jr. was still lamenting his failure to defeat Abo and Kado, and mentioned something curious.

"O'course," he said through a mouthful of rice, "y'know I could've beat 'em if I'd had a fusion partner…"

"Huh?" Goku looked up, pausing after inhaling a plate of chicken. "Whassat? Y'mean like the Potara earrings?"

"Sorry, don't know what those are," the prince replied. "It was while I was fleeing those two…I made a pit stop on a planet called Metamor to pick up fuel. Naturally, I spent the waiting time training, and after being observed ended up sparring with the locals. They were much weaker than me—until they used their fusion technique."

"Oh, a technique?" Gohan, who had also experienced the Potara fusion, was equally curious.

"Yeah, they did a funny-looking dance and, for about half an hour, they merged into an incredible warrior! Naturally, I applied myself to learning it, since I'd been told there were other saiyans, possibly my age, on Earth. That was important—the fusees must be physically similar, and equalise their power levels, for it to work."

"So why didn't you use it when you got here?" Chi-Chi asked, snatching the last dumpling from her husband with lightning speed.

"They were too close behind me," he explained. "Both participants must get the dance exactly right—there wasn't time to teach someone to do it perfectly. Plus, uh…" He reddened slightly. "It looks kinda stupid. Ever since I learned it, I've never been sure if I actually wanna use it."

Goten eyed the young warrior across the table. Hmm…he's about the same size as me…

The doorbell rang, cutting off their conversation. Goku tilted his head slightly, feeling the ki outside. "I think…Videl. I guess it's probably for you, then, Gohan."

"Right." Gohan stood up, smiling apologetically, and headed over to the door, pulling on his jacket against the evening cold as he opened it. "Hey, Videl…what's up?"

"Uh…" She still seemed extremely hesitant. "Hey, Gohan…it's about earlier…before all that craziness interrupted us."

"Right, I remember…" He grew serious. "What was it you wanted to tell me, Videl?"

"Well…I, uh…hmm." She wavered, then took a deep breath and pulled something out of her pocket—a positive pregnancy test.

Gohan fainted.

Nine months later…

Gohan, in full superhero flow, landed just past the police line with a majestic swoop. "What's the problem, officers?"

"Ah, Gold Fighter!" One of the officers smiled, approaching him. Considering what was already public knowledge, it probably wasn't entirely necessary for Gohan to hide his crime-fighting identity, but all things considered, nobody was going to hold fighting Majin Buu against him, whereas if gangsters or the like started ambushing him at home, it could get annoying—and if they tried to strike at him through his non-superpowered schoolfriends, worse than annoying. "It looked like just a normal robbery, but it looks like this person has ki power, and lots of it! She's still holed up in there," he indicated the office building the police had surrounded, "but we sure as hell aren't gonna be able to stop her leavin' when she wants to." He then turned and pointed back at a group of officers in custom uniform being tended to by medical teams. "We tried sendin' in our own ki-capable unit, but they got destroyed…"

"Sounds serious." Gohan readied his energy. The effect of Groundbreaking Science was indeed getting more noticeable as time went on—several of the police around him had some trained level of ki, and a few of the most powerful had forgone carrying guns (at a certain level, such weapons became useless). Capsule Corp had announced its plans to manufacture scouters for non-fighters, but naturally Bulma had gotten hold of the project and soon became so wrapped up in a million tiny modifications and improvements that nothing had been heard from it in months. Hercule Satan's gym, after a brief closure, had reopened and was achieving genuinely impressive results with its trainees. Meanwhile, Kame House had been briefly bombarded with hopefuls looking for training from the great Turtle Hermit, but a few Kamehameha 'warning shots' had driven them off.

Confident that whoever it was wouldn't be a problem for him, Gohan picked his way through the shattered lobby. "Hey. Whoever you are, you need to work on hiding your energy. I can tell you're close."

"Yeah, you're good." Gohan jumped—the voice was familiar. A rustling accompanied her approaching footsteps "Sorry 'bout the mess, by the way—I didn't want to break all that, but I had a disagreement with those boys outside."

"Launch…?" Gohan blinked as the thief—his aunt-in-law, in fact, now he thought about it—stepped into the light. "I thought you'd stopped stealing since you became one person."

"Heh. Well, it's sort of a midway point." She held up a modestly-sized bag of paper money. "I only take from those can afford it, and only as much as we need—I'm the breadwinner in our house, after all."

"Egh…" Gohan leaned against the wall, face falling. "I know that, but I can't just let you get away with a serious crime…"

"Aw, c'mon!" She laughed. "Whatever we spend it on can't be worse than, I don't know, stocks or whatever this company needs. They're rollin' in it, anyway." She stepped up and patted his shoulder. "Everyone's gotta eat."

Gohan closed his eyes for a minute, twitching nervously. She did have a point…He shook his head. No. Even if it was originally just to hide my identity, this outfit…this name…means something now. I can't go making exceptions—I can't allow this kind of thing. "Sorry, Launch. I can't let you go. Look…if I fight you in Super Saiyan, you know I'll probably win. And even if you're that much more skilled or whatever, I can transform again."

"Eh…" she considered this. "Yeah. You're probably right. But whatever prison cell I get put in, I can break out and go back to thievin'; you know that, right?" She smiled. "So I guess maybe we can try an' fight, an' you win, I guess, then I go quietly until you leave, and then I walk right through the wall an' outta there."

"I guess…all right. I don't see that there's anything else I can do about it. But just don't make any trouble while I'm around at least—"

"SOLAR FLARE!"

When Gohan's vision returned, Launch was long gone. He cursed, flying up out of the building and scanning the area; nothing. He momentarily considered paying a visit to her house to try and bring her to justice, but imagining Raditz's reaction dissuaded him with a nervous shiver. The saiyan warrior unhesitatingly dispatching of Aka flashed through his mind. I guess some things I just can't do anything about…I'll just chase her off whenever I catch her in the act…beyond that, it's out of my hands.

"Excuse me!"

Huh? Gohan followed the sound of the voice to the ground, landing by a short, bright red individual in robes and a tall hat. "Can I help you…sir?" He chanced.

"Yes, I hope so," the stranger replied, nodding vigorously. "You certainly seem like an unusually powerful individual…yes, perhaps you can help me."

"Well, what's the problem?" Gohan asked.

"This may surprise you," the little man said, "but I'm not from your world."

"Actually, I'm kind of used to that by now," Gohan laughed.

"I see…in any case. My name is Hoi, and I am on a mission of great importance." He held out a small, ornate wooden box. "This box is enchanted—I have found no way of opening it. Within is trapped a great hero of my people, a warrior named Tapion. He was imprisoned there by an evil wizard of great power…"

"I see…but why have you come here?"

"I was told that this planet had something called Dragons Balls, with the ability to grant wishes to the worthy—I had hoped my quest would be deemed such. I had first looked for a planet Namek, but there was no such world where I had been told, so I came here."

"Makes sense." Gohan took the offered box, inspecting it. "Yeah, Namek…sorta moved. It's complicated. But before we go summoning the dragon, why don't I give it a try?"

"Feel free. I do not think it is likely that mere strength can break this spell, but I will take any chance I can get. By all means."

"All right…" Gohan pulled gently at first, in case Hoi had drastically underestimated him, but what appeared to me mere wood and metal didn't bend in the slightest. Guess he was right… Frowning, he put his real strength into it. Still nothing! I guess I could try transforming, but if there wasn't any give at all in Super Saiyan… He sighed, giving the box back. "Seems like we might need the dragon after all, yeah. I guess for that…we'd need the Dragon Radar, and ideally Raditz's Instant Transmission to speed things up." He'd much prefer to put off meeting Raditz for as long as possible, but his home was much closer than Bulma's in West City (which lay on the other side of the planet), and logic soon won out.

Raditz laughed. "Hah! You give up too easily, kid! Look, we don't need the Dragon Balls. I'll show you." He headed outside with Gohan and Hoi, then threw the box high into the air. He transformed to Super Saiyan 3 in the time it took Gohan to blink, then drew his fist back. "Hrrr…Dragon Fist!"

Gohan, with a start, dived away from Raditz, dragging Hoi with him. "Get away!" A roar came from behind him, and a sound like the world's largest tree being felled.

They stood and turned, seeing an expanding circle of drifting smoke and dust; and within it, beside a now powered-down Raditz, stood what was presumably Tapion. He was a tall, brown-robed humanoid, a sword slung over his back and a gold circlet sitting on his mohawked head. He blinked, confusion evident on his face. "Wh-Wha…"

Hoi grinned, a strange light in his eyes. "Hello, Tapion."

"So this is Tapion?" Gohan asked, extending a friendly hand. "Hey there! So is this Hoi guy a friend of yours?"

"Oh, no," Hoi chuckled. "Just a fan."

"N-No…" Tapion was horrified for some reason, pointing a shaking finger at Hoi. "You! What did you tell these people?"

"The truth," said Hoi. "Enough of it, anyway."

"You fools!" Tapion snapped at Gohan and Raditz. "I must be resealed in the box! Your entire world is in danger otherwise!"

"Er…that box, you mean…?" Raditz asked, pointing to the charred splinters at Tapion's feet.

The hero choked. "You destroyed it!" He marvelled for a moment at the tremendous power it would've taken to break through the magical wards sealing the box, but then Hoi took a step closer and Tapion sprang back as if stung, clutching his head. "Gaaah! Don't come any closer…!"

"Ah, you feel it, do you?" Hoi leered. "You feel Hirudegarn calling?"

"Yes, I…I do…" Tapion whispered, eyes widening. "Which means…Minotia…!"

"Oh yes, we had such fun together." Hoi's dark eyes glinted in the evening light.

"Bastard!" Tapion's sword flashed as he lunged, but he halted abruptly before he was halfway to Hoi, staggering away again. Can't get too close to him! If Hirudegarn…I have to leave this place! He turned and ran, sprinting off towards the city. Cackling, Hoi set off in pursuit of him.

"So…" Gohan said slowly. "What was all that about?"

"Beats me," Raditz agreed. "I guess we should go after them?"

"Right. You go after Tapion, I'll—" A text message beep interrupted him, and he fished in his pocket for his phone, staring dumbfounded at the screen for a few seconds. "And…uh…I'll be at the hospital."

"Hospital? What—"

"Seeya!" With no more explanation than that, he was gone. Raditz shook his head. Whatever. I guess I'll just do it all myself…probably end up saving the world again, it's looking like that kind of day...gods forbid that anyone should actually help me…

Tapion crouched in a run-down warehouse, staring into the edge of his sword. Minotia…I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I hope you didn't die alone. And now, I can't even avenge you.

But I can still do the right thing—if I cut Hirudegarn's power in half, maybe it can be stopped by someone else; perhaps the one who destroyed the box has the power to do it.

In any case… He stood and raised the sword, gritting his teeth and screwing his eyes shut. …to whoever completes what I have begun…I pass the torch to you. May you succeed where I have failed. The blade swung down towards his stomach—

—And was blasted from his hand by a beam of light inches from the point of impact, clattering to the floor.

Raditz stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the setting sun. "A little hasty, don't you think?"

"You shouldn't have done that," Tapion said, frowning. "While I'm still alive, everything around me is in danger."

"So you've said. Would you mind being a little more specific?" He folded his arms. "I won't let you do anything rash like killing yourself until I know the whole story."

Tapion sighed. "Fine. Hopefully you'll understand my actions soon enough." He leaned against the wall, and began his tale.

Chi-Chi slammed the phone down, leaping down the stairs and dragging Goku out the door in a blur of speed.

"Hey, whoa, what's going on?" Goku asked, bewildered, as they took off towards Orange Star City.

"It's Videl—she's giving birth! They say it'll be within the next hour or two!"

"Wha…?" Goku shook himself free, beginning to fly of his own accord. "Wow, really? They couldn't have given us some warning?"

"You can't predict things like this."

"Yeah, but…it's almost lunchtime…"

"Goku!"

"I am from a planet named Konats, located in the south galaxy. There was a cult there, a group of dark sorcerers known as the Kashvars. With their magic, they gave life to a monstrous statue of their creation, and set their beast to the task of bringing down our civilisation in revenge for some centuries-old slight. The monster, Hirudegarn, destroyed everything in its path, until it was confronted by a powerful wizard, and his two allies—myself and my brother Minotia."

Tapion held up an intricately-carved ocarina. "This instrument is enchanted—it was able to stun Hirudegarn when my brother and I played two in tandem, long enough for the wizard to cut it in half; however, even that was not enough to slay the beast. So the upper half was sealed within me, the lower half in Minotia. We were then fired off into opposite ends of the universe, sealed in enchanted boxes, gladly giving the rest of our lives so that our world could live on. Thousands of years, I think, have gone by…Hoi must have extended his lifespan through some evil spell."

"Is he one of these Kashvars?" Raditz asked.

"Yes—the last, in fact." Tapion frowned. "He was the only one to escape our people's retribution. It would seem that he found Minotia first, and killed him—and now Hirudegarn's lower half is sealed inside of him. He must have killed Minotia with some ritual spell or another, as if either of us dies normally, our half of Hirudegarn dies with us."

Raditz nodded. "So that's why you wanted to kill yourself."

"Indeed. But Hoi doesn't even need that, with me—all he needs to do is to stay in close proximity to me long enough for the halves of Hirudegarn to be drawn to each other; they will be drawn to each other, and the creature will be freed—and as a Kashvar, only Hoi will be able to control it."

"Do you think we should've at least left a note for Goten?" Goku asked. "In case he gets back and finds us gone."

Chi-Chi shrugged. "He always stays out late playing with Vegeta. They won't be home for hours."

"Yeah, I s'pose—gah!" Goku came to a sudden halt in the air.

"Huh?" Chi-Chi stopped next to him. "What is it?"

"This enormous evil power…where's it coming from?" Goku clenched his fists, eyes flicking back and forth. "There!" He turned, to see a black cloud of smoke billowing up from street level, almost to the height of the surrounding buildings, forming into…a giant pair of legs? Weird. "Chi-Chi, just fly ahead to the hospital. I'm sure Gohan's already there—tell him not to worry, please. I'll join you in a minute."

"Sure…uh, have fun…" She turned, flying away and leaving Goku confronting the strange being standing in the middle of the highway. He cautiously approached it, noting the traffic already wheeling frantically about its clawed feet to avoid it, and the long twisting tail that stretched out into the air behind it, covered like the rest in a sort of black insect-like carapace.

"Hey there!" the saiyan called, waving. The legs ignored him, instead taking a step forwards, its foot coming inexorably down towards a line of cars. Goku frowned and his outline blurred, then the next second he was hovering beneath the descending foot, raising his arms above his head and catching it. "Rrrrgh…" It's strong! "Kaioken times two!" No use; he was still slowly being pushed back. "Three?" Power roared around him, but now they were deadlocked. "Damn it…TIMES FOUR!" With this extra boost, he gave a mighty heave and hurled the half-monster high into the air, chasing after it and kicking it out over the uninhabited plains, where it fell, cracking the earth beneath it.

His unusual opponent was still alive, however, and leapt to its feet, stamping back towards the city. "Hey, cut it out!" he shouted down to it. "Don't you know how many people are living there?!" Again, it paid him no heed. I guess it has no ears, after all…well, I do have to stop it, whatever it is. "Ka…me…HA…ME…" A four-times boost was enough to overwhelm it, so a little bit more should completely destroy it…"—HA, FIVEFOLD!"

The already-travelling blue energy beam was hit from behind by a stream of red, suddenly accelerating like a bullet struck by the hammer. It struck the enormous legs and tail dead-on, blasting them back into smoke form.

Goku powered down, slowing his breathing. Well, I guess that's over…but why do I get the feeling that I was being tested just now?

Far below, Hoi watched from the shadows of a dilapidated office building, spreading his arms as the shadows that had previously formed Hirudegarn's lower half rolled back into his body. That was informative…had I not had it sealed like I do, it would certainly have been killed. I shall require all of Hirudegarn's power here, then. I suppose once it is complete, this planet is as good as any to start my conquest—and if its warriors are this powerful, they will provide a perfect warm-up for Hirudegarn.

"…not to mention, if Hirudegarn is killed while still linked to someone, it just returns to them—the only way to permanently kill it is for both Hoi and I to die, or to defeat it while it's complete."

"Hmm…" Raditz considered all that Tapion had told him. "Well, first thing's first—don't kill yourself. That's kinda dumb, throwing your life away like that."

"But the threat a fully-formed Hirudegarn poses—"

"Eh. We've killed plenty of monsters here." Raditz smacked his fists together. "New plan: I go grab Hoi and bring you two together. Hirudegarn's halves pop out and combine, and I'll get its attention. Hoi's all yours."

"W-What?!" Tapion gazed at Raditz's glee, dumbfounded. "What do you intend to do about Hirudegarn? It has the destructive force to lay waste to countless worlds—what are you going to do?"

Raditz's battle-hungry grin widened. "Kill it, of course."

So apparently Battle of Z is using 'Beerus' for the God of Destruction's name. Eh, it's just a video game. I'm going with 'Bills', as it's already in there, plus it sounds better to me.

Seems like most people are fine with where I'm going with FTL—thanks, guys! Especially thanks to those who disagree, but understand the reasoning behind my choice and are fine with it in regards to this story.

This chapter's pulling double duty for Q&A, so I'm only answering the important-looking questions, sorry.

Q: So are these new dragons still connected to the dragon balls? And no offense, but Hephaestus Shenron sounds unintimidating, if he's anything like his namesake.

A: Heh heh heh…you have been lulled into a false sense of security, I see…And yes, they much so.

Q: Wait I'm getting mixed signals, do you hate ssj4 or is it something that was a good idea that GT screwed up?

A: Neither, actually—I think combining SSJ and Oozaru was actually one of GT's better ideas. Good ideas GT screwed up, on the other hand…Super 17 and the Shadow Dragons. And Pan and Uub's potential as the next generation…

Q: I accept your ruling your honor, with a stipulation that you define divine ki. More specifically, do the Kais have it? Because I'm pretty sure the mortals could wipe the floor with them...

A: Good question! No, the only characters that you know of who have it are Bills, Whis and Super Saiyan God. The Kaioshin are a 'lower level' of deity, just like the Kais are lower than them, and Yemma is lower than them, and local guardians like Kami are lower than him…it's a whole hierarchy of gods.

Q: Just wanted to say I enjoy your story. You have a great mind for creativity. Just one question do you plan to do the shadow dragons arc years later (GT time) or will it be sooner than we expect?

A: Twenty years after Buu. GT was fifteen or twenty years after Buu depending on which source you go by.

Q: Is Vegeta Jr the reincarnation of Vegeta (a la Uub)?

A: Nope. He was just so remarkably like Vegeta that Tarble named him that.

Q: Oh god, the feels! the feels! that moment with Goten was perfectly placed...right as i'm wondering if you're really going to make them fail with the spirit bomb because of the lack of hercule, you throw that in...actually made me start tearing up... Also, a great story in general, been reading it every chance i get the last couple days :-) But that was without a doubt the best part of the entire story... if that's not on the tv tropes crowning moments of heartwarming page, theres a problem :-P

A: In which case, there's a problem.

…Huh. That was quicker than I thought. Ah, well.

And now, the moment literally some of you have been waiting for:

Break Through the Limit Kai: Intermission

Goku, Gohan, Break: Rock-paper-SCISSORS! Rock-paper-SCISSORS! Rock—

Bulma: What's going on?

Gohan: We're seeing who gets to be the new main character now Raditz is dead.

Goku: Rock! (Punches Gohan and Break)

Break: Damn it, Goku!

Goku: But…that's how my Grandpa Gohan used to play this game…

Break: Screw this. I'm gonna go back to the future—

Doc Brown: Huh?

Break: Go away. Anyway, I'm heading to the future and being the protagonist there.

(TARDIS noise)

Gohan: So…who's it gonna be here?

Bulma: Well, look. There's seven years until the Buu saga. Whoever does the most heroic stuff by then wins!

Goku: Okay…sounds good.

Stan Lee: Is it time for my cameo yet?

Tori-Bot: Get in line!