A/N: This chapter pretty much wraps up the Jade emperor arc. I hope you enjoy.
Thanks again for the reviews.
To X3runner: Thank you for the compliment, the idea for the new form, and the great manga recommendation. I have never read 'Uzaki-chan wants to hang out' before and it is hilarious.
To RawB98: I will cover more about this dark form in the next arc. I don't want to spoil anything.
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ.
Chapter 23
The Z fighters watched in awe as they saw their young friend match the giant super saiyan blow for blow. Not for the first time, they were reminded just what the half saiyan was capable of. Zangya looked at her friend, as he chased after his giant foe, with a mixture of admiration and annoyance.
"That little punk." She said with a smirk. "I had no idea he was holding back in our sparring sessions this much."
"You're telling me." Piccolo agreed with a little smile of his own.
"BROLY! MAKE SURE YOU KILL THAT LITTLE BRAT IN THE MOST PAINFUL WAY POSSIBLE!" The shout made Piccolo scowl as he turned toward the old man.
"I may not be able to do anything against your pet saiyan," Piccolo said to the jade emperor. "But I'm sure I can at least handle you." He got up and started moving toward the man.
"Good for you. You think you can beat a poor defenseless old man. You should be so proud of yourself." The emperor sneered. "Unfortunately for you, I don't think you will actually be able to do anything to me. After all, I know how hard you fought to defeat Sapphire. I imagine you had to regrow your limbs quite a few times. That takes up quite a bit of energy doesn't it, namekian?" Then he turned to 18.
"And you, whatever you are. I'm surprised you're still standing, though that's about all you can do with your body as damaged as it is. Then you have the near dead Saiyan prince, and the heroic hera woman. I'm sorry to say, but you don't really have much of a fighting force left. I suppose you might be a threat." He gestured to Lapis. "But judging by how you fared against Broly, I doubt it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" The male cyborg asked.
The emperor chuckled "Hehehe, I only mean that if all of you couldn't beat my 'pet saiyan' before he transformed then there is no way that you will be a match for me." He finished with a smile.
"What are you saying? That you're stronger than that monster?" Piccolo asked incredulously.
"Well," the jade emperor shrugged, "Not while he's a super saiyan, but I'd say we're about even when his not transformed. Of course, unlike him, I won't be holding back."
"Holding back?" 18 kept a stoic expression, but she couldn't keep the panic and disbelief out of her voice.
Jade adopted a very annoyed look. "Yes, he has the naïve habit of holding back against weaker lifeforms. I think he likes to give them a chance till the very last minute until they have a change of heart and join me. He really dislikes killing and so he'll spare anyone he can. I've tried to break him of that but saiyans can be rather stubborn. I on the other hand," His mouth formed a malicious grin. "I've given you all a chance and you rejected it. I don't believe in second chances, it's bad for business."
All the z warriors paused at the magnitude of his statement. If he was as powerful as he said, they were dead where they stood. Then a small sound broke them out of their stupor. "ufufu," a quiet laughter started. "HAHAHAHA!" The emperor turned his attention to the sound. To his surprise, it was the hera woman, still in the female androids' arms, who was laughing like mad. He wasn't the only one who was looking at her strangely. Piccolo, 17 and even 18 were looking at the blue woman with confusion.
"Well, it looks like she just couldn't cope with the prospect of her own imminent death." The Jade emperor mused.
18 looked down at her friend with concern. "Z? Z get a hold of yourself. Zangya, you're really freaking me out, stop it!"
"Haha, oh, I'm sorry, it's just that whole bad for business line. I just think it's funny that he actually thinks he's going to win." She said still chuckling. "Go ahead and let me down 18, I think I've rested long enough."
"Are you sure? Gohan said…"
"Yeah, like we're gonna let a 12-year-old tell us what to do. Let me down, I think I'm be able to stand now." 18 nodded and let her friend down slowly. Zangyas' legs were shaking, clearly still suffering from the damage that Broly caused, but she was standing, and she held a superior expression as she looked at the jade interloper. "Listen up Jade. If there's one thing I've learned since coming here, it's that earth is the one planet that you should never mess with. Now, I'm trying to be a good person, so I'm going to give you one chance. Get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness and then leave our world in peace."
The emperor threw his head back and laughed. "AHAHAHA! Kneel!? To you?" he continued laughing like she had told a particularly funny joke. Finally, he calmed down and his smile turned to a frown. "I bow to no one, and why should I? No one alive can make me bow. I am far stronger than all of you. You are half beaten and near death anyway. What can you do to me?"
"You know something?" Zangya said. "You remind me a lot of my old boss. Both of you thought that 'mercy' is for the weak, that others only existed to serve you and act as your entertainment. Both drunk on the power you obtained on the backs of others suffering. You know what happened to him?" She spread her hands out wide. "He died. Utterly demolished right here, on this planet." She let out a soft chuckle. "And you know what Mr. Jade emperor? The same thing will happen to you."
"Oh really, and what makes you think that?"
"Because both you and he made the same mistake. You decided to mess with Gohans' home."
"You mean the brat that Broly will be killing any moment now? Yes, I'm truly terrified."
"You should be. Your little monster won't kill him, that I know. But before you worry about him, you'll have to deal with us, and it won't be as easy as you think. Because this isn't just Gohans' home anymore. He took me in and now it's my home too. And Piccolos', and 18 and her brother! And I refuse to let you take it from us!" With her last word, a burst of energy flared around her and she turned into her super hera form.
The transformation caught the old man off guard. He didn't know how she had retained enough power to still transform. Maybe Broly had held back more than usual. Then again, the hera race were known to be more durable than even the more powerful species. Then again, I don't really know how this transformation works. I wonder if Turk might be able to reach this level one day.
"Your words were rather lovely, but I'm afraid you are mistaken about several things. Broly WILL kill the boy and I WILL be taking this planet from you." He dashed at Zangya with both fists at his side, ready for a fight.
"CUPCAKE CRUSHER!" Zangya yelled and thrust one hand forward (18 mentally facepalmed at the name of her attack.) A rapid stream of small pink ki blasts fired out of her palm at the old man. He darted to the side to avoid the attack but Zangya kept her aim trained on him as he kept zipping around. The others decided now was a good time to help out and 18 started a rapid-fire attack of her own. Now with the two streams of fire coming after him, Jade had to work double time to avoid being hit. Not to be outdone by his sister, Lapis jumped into the fray joined by Piccolo.
They intercepted the emperor and tried to engage him in hand to hand combat. In the space of a second, the 2 warriors each delivered a furious volley of blows, forcing the emperor to dodge nonstop. So vicious was the assault that it was a wonder that the man was able to avoid every hit. But avoid them he did, but while the old man was faced with the two warriors at his front, a mass of Ki blasts was speeding towards his rear. Reaching out to grab two oncoming arms by the wrists, he spun Piccolo and 17 around and into the way of the oncoming attack. Piccolo launched a kick that landed on the old mans' face while Lapis pulled himself in closer to his opponent and elbowed him in the gut. Both attacks caused the jade emperor to bend over and the two z fighters quickly got out of the way just as the ki blasts converged on the enemy.
A series of explosions sounded as each blast made impact. The two female Z warriors kept pouring on the blasts making the explosion even larger. But then something happened that they didn't expect. Ki blasts were starting to fly off in random directions instead of exploding. At first only a few at a time, but soon the numbers grew larger and larger until every single blast was being sent away. Piccolo looked into the center of this storm and saw the emperor waving his arm and innumerable green flashes flickering around him against the oncoming attack.
It took Piccolo a moment to realize what was happening. At first, he thought it was just the man deflecting each attack with his bare hand, but then he realized he was batting them away with a glowing green energy blade. The speed of his arm rivaled wat he saw in Sapphire. No, scratch that, his speed was far superior to hers. As he stared in awe at the old man's technique, the emperor stared turned his gaze at the namekian, still deflecting the ki blasts, and smiled then in a flash, Jade was in front of Piccolo. The namekian only had time to cross his arms in front of him before the man attacked him. Unfortunately, his block served no purpose. The emperor thrust his Ki sword through the Namekians cross guard and through his sternum.
Piccolo coughed up blood as the emperor removed his laser blade from his body. "Do you like that? I saw this technique a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I thought it looked pretty interesting. Though I did modify it a bit." Piccolo collapsed to the ground. "Now let's see if you can regenerate a hole in your head." He raised the Ki sword to stab through Piccolos head, but Lapis charged at him with fists covered in forcefields. The Jade emperor swayed backwards to avoid the attack and spun around, backhanding the cyborg away from him. Putting his hands together, Lapis fired a blast at the green man while flying backwards. The emperor merely cut through the oncoming energy with his blade and jumped upwards, coming down directly on top of Lapis, who had generated an energy barrier around his entire body. To his shock, the blade pierced right through the barrier and stabbed him in the shoulder. "GAAAH!" Lapis cried out.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" 18 came out of the sky with both hands clasped together as she brought them down on her brothers' attacker. The attack did no good, as the emperor merely grabbed her fists with a single hand and flung her away following up with a slash from his blade that sent a crescent of green light at her.
"BAKERY BLAST!" Zangya had appeared at his side and fired her attack point blank just as he slashed at 18. The blast enveloped him but that didn't stop Zangya from pouring on more. His attack on 18 enraged her and she was not likely to let him get away with that. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" She yelled as she poured in all her energy into the blast. When she finally stopped her attack, she sunk to one knee.
"Well, I'm glad you finally realized the necessity to bow to royalty. I was beginning to worry this planet had no concept of etiquette." Zangya looked up at the form of the Jade emperor. His robes were completely destroyed. His powerfully built body was covered in burn marks and he was smoking. Despite his calm voice, his expression was thunderous.
He looked around at the warriors of earth. "You know, I can't remember the last time I had a more invigorating warmup. What do you say we get started for real now, shall we?"
"Sounds good to me!" A new voice sounded and the emperor looked for the source. When he found the one who spoke, he just laughed. "You? AHAHAHAHAHA!"
The emperor was staring at a short bald man who was looking back at him with determination. "Do you really think that you can stand a chance all alone when all of them failed so miserably?" He made a sweeping gesture toward the fallen warriors.
"He's not alone!" Two newcomers dropped out of the sky and stood on either side of Krillin. Tien and Yamcha dropped into their respective stances as did Krillin.
"Aren't you the ones who lost to Patzo and Opal? I thought Patzo would have eaten you by now." He chuckled. "Oh well, I guess that's alright, I could use a good laugh. So, what will this trio of losers be able to do to me?"
"""This! SOLAR FLARE!""" All three earthlings created a blinding light and followed up with an attack aimed at the old man. Krillin sent a kienzan, Yamcha fired a Kamehameha wave and Tien threw a super dodonpa. As the light faded, the warriors could see their attacks converge on the emperor and they were about to celebrate. To their surprise, the emperor used his glowing green sword to bat away the dodon and the Kamehameha and slice through the destructo disc. He then disappeared and reappeared behind Krillin, grabbed the midget by his head and flailed him around into the two taller humans, sending all three into a heap on the ground.
Tien struggled to look up at this vastly superior foe. "H-how…" But as he looked at the emperors face, he saw that the man didn't even has his eyes open.
"A very clever strategy. Unfortunately for you, it's one that I am familiar with. An attack on the visual senses is useless if your opponent doesn't need their eyes to fight. Now if you are quite through, I think I will get back to the real fight." He turned just in time to dodge a punch from the male cyborg. "Oho, still some fight left in you I see. Well, let's see what you're made of."
Lapis charged after him with his one good arm. The emperor casually dodged the attacks as he flew backwards and allowed the cyborg to charge him. He deactivated his ki blade and launched a devastating uppercut to the boys' jaw. Lapis went flying and the old man created a massive green ball of energy then sent it at the cyborg.
"LAPIS!" 18 cried out ass the smoke cleared to reveal her prone brother, struggling to get up. The angry sister rushed at the emperor but Zangya beat her to it. Zangya unleashed all her fury on the old man and she was soon joined by 18. The began to push the man back, but only for a moment, as he began to counter attack. He hit Zangya in the midsection, sending her flying away and caught an incoming fist from 18. "You know, you and your friend over there are incredibly unique." He said casually as he brought her in closer. "I've never seen perpetual energy be implemented in a person. Infinite energy is quite a boon. However," he drove his knee into 18s belly then landed a high kick directly on her temple. She crumbled to the ground. "Just because you don't run out of energy doesn't mean you can't be beaten. For example, if I just break your body…" he stomped down hard on her knee eliciting a horrible scream from the blonde.
Zangya came back, tackling the man to the ground away from 18 and she began pounding away at the green jerk. The emperor thrust his palm upward pushing the woman off of him. His counter attack only bought him enough time to stand back up, as within moments the woman was right back at his throat. He hadn't expected her to be this tenacious. He knocked her down again with a kick, but she just got back up, this time instead of a physical attack, she threw a volley of ki blasts again. He reactivated his ki blade and deflected each and every one of the attacks. As she continued her onslaught, he tried to sense some form of strategy from her, but all he could see in her eyes was madness. He saw that she was determined to kill him by any means necessary.
Zangya charged one final bomb, making it as large as she possibly could and she fired it at the emperor. His eyes widened at the massive amount of deadly energy that was coming at him. He raised his blade to block it. His feet dug into the earth as the attack pushed him back. Zangya willed the bomb at the man with all she had. The green blade began to drift closer to the old man, nearly touching his neck. Zangya sensed that this was her chance. With a mighty shout, she made one final push.
"HAAAAAAAAAH!"
"HAAAAAAAAAH!"
The emperor matched her yell with one of his own as he finally managed to deflect the giant attack away from him. Breathing heavily, he felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. Exhaustion. Across from him, Zangya, looking even more exhausted, smiled.
"Would you look at that. I made you bow." The emperors' eyes widened as he realized his knee was indeed touching the ground. With that, the last warrior z warrior collapsed, no longer able to stay conscious. With a sour expression, Jade stood up and started walking towards the fallen Hera warrior.
"In all my years, I have never met pests as troublesome as you all have proven to be. You kill my warriors and now even make me suffer the greatest humiliation a monarch can endure. You made me kneel." His words were laced with venom. "I was planning on killing you last, making you suffer as you saw the folly of your words." He stopped as he reached the unconscious woman. "But now? Now you die first, and your head will be mounted on my wall." He held his laser blade over her neck, lining up the stroke. He raised his arm high and brought it down.
Then, all of a sudden, the emperor felt the unfamiliar sensation of being pulled through the air by the neck. The sensation was replaced with another new feeling. One of being slammed into a slab of concrete debris. As soon as his senses returned, he yelled in rage. "WHO DARES TO-"
"Yo," The emperor spun around to meet a blue fist to his face.
Again, the emperor shook his head to clear it and a look of absolute fury graced his features as he saw the owner of the fist. "YOU!?"
Standing in front of him with his fists raised, was Turk "Sup boss?"
Break
"TURK!? Have you lost your mind!?" Esmerelda yelled as she and Alex landed in between Turk and their master.
"I know your stupid, but you must have some severe brain damage to attack the master. Or you just have a death wish." Alex chimed in.
Turk stayed silent as he looked past his teammates at the emperor. Alex and Esmerelda knew that look. Esmerelda had no idea why her crush was betraying their master. He had been the perfect soldier until now. A little rowdy at times, but he was no traitor. "Turk, Please, just stand down. We can work this out."
Turk smiled "Sorry Esme, no can do." His eyes turned to look at the Unconscious Zangya. "There's some things a man just can't take lying down." His gaze turned back to his former liege. "Sorry about this boss, but I can't let you touch that girl."
The emperors' wrath had been so intense at the outrage of one of his own men attacking him that he had forgotten about the girl he was about to execute. He looked from one Hera to the other and then he burst out laughing.
"OHAHAAHA! This is rich! So, you defy me to protect the only other surviving member of your race? What was your plan here, to save her and use her to revive your dead species? Or is this some ridiculous racial bond that has caused you to lose your mind!?" he spat out.
"You wouldn't understand."
"I understand that you have just committed treason. Now, due to your years of service, I will grant you an opportunity to beg for mercy and then I may give you a painless death." The emperor scowled.
"First off boss, I'm a mercenary so I can't really commit treason. Second, Begging? Painless death? C'mon, it's like you don't know me at all. Though I do have something for you before you start my execution." He put up his hand and gave his former boss the finger. Esmerelda was horrified at the gesture while Alex had to hide a smile despite herself.
"A painful death it is." The emperor nodded. "Esmerelda, Alex, Pearl, take care of this trash. Start with the fingers."
"Um… Pearl isn't here sir." Esmerelda replied.
"What!? Was she defeated?"
"Well not exactly…"
"Then where the devil is she!?"
Somewhere in a forest mountain:
"Gotta catch em all, gotta catch em awalll…" Pearl was wandering through the mountain that the bald monk had told her she could find some rare chibis at. She was singing her favorite song softly to herself as she searched for her quarry. Then, she heard voices and she dove into some bushes.
"How much longah you think Tien's gonna be?"
"I don't know Launch, but I bet he's gonna be hungry when he gets back."
"Ya, you right Chiaotzu! Why don't we get some grub and make a big feast for him." The taller human ran off leaving the chibi behind.
"Hey, wait for me!" He followed after her.
In the bushes, Pearl rubbed her hands together. "Ehehe, excellent."
Back at the invasion:
"Well, it's not like she would be much help anyway." Alex said off handedly
"And why is that?" The emperor was quickly losing his patience.
"Well, she basically made a non-aggression pact with the earthlings." Alex shrugged not thinking this was a big deal.
The emperor was about to explode. "SHE WHAT!? She will pay for her impudence! After Turk the two of you will deal with her as well. Now kill this nuisance!"
The command was met with silence. Alex just stared at the emperor while Esmerelda was looking between her master and her love. "Master, please, can't we just…"
"Are you questioning my orders?"
"No master, but Turk is one of us. Maybe if you just spared the girl…"
"Maybe I wasn't clear. Kill him now Esmerelda."
"But master!?" Never did Esmerelda think that her maiden heart would be set against her sense of loyalty to the emperor.
"Are you refusing to obey me?"
She looked at the expression of determination on Turks' face. She couldn't just kill him, could she? "No." She whispered.
"What!?"
"I'm sorry master. I just can't! Please don't make me?" she begged.
Turk looked at his teammate with a mix of awe and gratitude. The emperor on the other hand had never been so angry. He was surprised at Turks betrayal, but Esmerelda, one of the four crown jewels of the empire? What the hell was going on!?
"So, you will die a traitors' death too? Alex, you will go and take care of Pearl while I…"
"f#($% you."
This interruption made his head whip to look at the last of his warriors.
"What? You seriously expect me to execute my own sister? You must be senile old man. And another thing, I put in a vacation request 2 years ago and it got denied by you, so to reiterate, f#($% you!" She finished by copying Turks method of salute and flipping the bird.
The emperor looked in shock at all three of his warriors. How could this have happened? He was a god to these fools and yet they dare to rebel? His gaze rested on the source of his trouble.
Turk just smiled back at his old boss. "Well, tis the treason."
"GRAAAAAAAAAARRGH!" The old man bellowed and rushed at treacherous fools.
Break
"Well, well, color me impressed. I expected you to have dropped out of super saiyan by now. I wonder just how much of your power you've been hiding from me." Gohan said to Broly, who had one hand up against a car to support himself. After running had failed, Broly had tried to fight back against the demon but he couldn't do a thing. The monster just kept chipping away at him, a broken bone here, a cut there. He had beaten him all the way back to the city limits, no doubt a psychological tactic. The message was clear. 'no matter how far you run, I can easily drag you back to wherever I want you.'
Broly tried to throw a punch at the young warrior but Gohan casual dodged it to get inside the giants' guard. "Still, it's pretty clear that you don't have what it takes to face me. Not that I'm surprised. Anytime I let loose, nobody lasts long." He backhanded Broly to the ground. He was starting to get bored. He had hoped that this super saiyan might actually be a challenge. "Hey, I just had a thought." He said as Broly just laid there. "If you're the best the jade empire has to offer, I bet I could conquer it pretty quick." Broly raised his bloody face to look at his young tormentor.
"W-what?"
"Yeah, I mean, after I kill you and your emperor, I don't see a reason not to capitalize this opportunity. I'll get there and just take over from where your master left off."
"No, Y-you can't." Broly gasped out as he tried to push himself off of the ground. He was pretty sure that one of his ribs had punctured something.
"I can't? Can't go to random planets and declare myself their absolute ruler?" The Irony in his tone was not lost on Broly, who was still struggling to get to his feet. "I suppose you're right, that would be stupid. Besides, who would follow a kid like me anyway." Gohan rubbed his chin in mock thought. "Oh, I know, I just need to slaughter a couple million of them. That's what worked for your master isn't it?"
"P-please. They are innocents. Don't…"
"Oh, is murdering millions your job? Don't be stingy Broly. Besides, don't tell me you actually care for the citizens of your little 'utopia'? Aren't they just pawns for your master use? I'm sure you wouldn't even miss them."
"No…" Broly finally got to his feet. "I don't care what you say. Maybe I should have done it differently, but I did what I did for those people, for all people everywhere." He stood up straight and his aura began to shimmer with heat. "I'm not going to stand by and let you do as you please. The empire might not be perfect, but I will die before I let a monster like you destroy everything I have worked for!"
"Lucky for you, that was the general idea." Gohan grinned and stepped in sharply to deliver a blow to his midsection, but Broly caught the punch, resulting in yet another shock wave resounding through the air. Gohan smiled as he saw his enemy's aura flare to new heights. All the energy that Broly had lost in his fight seemed to be restore and then some. Brolys' golden aura also took on a green tint to it and his eyes were completely white.
Gohan looked at this renewed Broly with satisfaction. "I knew there was more to you. People like us are so easy to manipulate. You just have to find out what makes the flood gates open up."
Broly glared down at the demon in front of him and growled. He raised his leg up high and dropped an axe kick on top of the small warrior. Gohan blocked it with one arm but the force caused him to sink down into the ground.
"Oh, not bad. What else you got?"
Broly let out another roar of anger, sending ripples through the air. He threw an uppercut at his opponent. The fist dragged across the ground before it launched upwards toward Gohan. Gohan put out an arm to stop it but the force sent him flying upwards.
"ALRIGHT! NOW WE'VE GOT A FIGHT!"
Broly charged at the younger warrior and let loose a barrage of punches, each one meant to take the child apart. Despite the danger of each hit, Gohan seemed to actually be enjoying himself. Some blows he blocked or dodged, while some he matched outright with a punch of his own. The power generated from these two monsters caused a literal lightning storm to rage around them. Thunder cracked across the sky, mingling with the sonic booms their fists created as Gohan and Broly went through their fearsome exchange.
The exchange ended as the two saiyans landed simultaneous blows on each other, Gohan, a kick and Broly a fist. The two went flying away from each other and Broly crashed into the ground. He removed some rubble from off of himself and wiped some blood from his face.
"Come on," Gohan floated just over the legendary super saiyan with folded arms. "It was just getting good." With a snarl like a wild animal, Broly went back on the attack. Gohan laughed as he dodged the super-fast punches and kicks. "That's it, a little faster, you almost got me!" A fist whizzed dangerously close past his head. But he couldn't be bothered to care. He was having far too much fun. Broly kept coming after the dark saiyan. His power was rising rapidly and even in his berserker like state he could only think of bringing this kid down. Even though his power was on the rise, he just couldn't get a lock on the kid. No matter how much stronger he got, Gohan always seemed to be able to match it with his own power.
As their battle took them higher and higher into the sky, Gohan dodged a particularly vicious blow by flipping upwards and delivering a kick to the big brutes' forehead knocking the berserk saiyan careening to the ground with a crash. Less than a second later though, Broly was back in the air and coming at Gohan with all his might. Some of his hits actually started to hit their mark. A kick to his side, a punch to the face, a knee to the belly, all of these strikes did nothing to diminish the devilish smile the young boy possessed. Gohan started to fight back in earnest now matching Broly blow for blow. Both landing hits that could very well destroy mountains, but neither one giving any indication that they were wearing out.
Broly, despite all his rage, couldn't seem to overcome the barrier that was Son Gohan. His power was starting to plateau and he began getting in less hits than his adversary. Gohan suddenly let his Guard down and Broly fired a haymaker at the boy that impacted his forehead. To his surprise, Gohan didn't even flinch.
"Is this it?" Gohan asked, clearly disappointed. "I thought that your power would keep growing indefinitely." Broly tried to once again to harm his opponent and landed a kick on Gohans temple. The only effect it had on the half saiyan was that it caused him to sigh. "Huh, I guess not. All that sadism for nothing. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Guess there really isn't a point in holding back anymore." Suddenly, before he could react three fists impacted the right side of Brolys' face almost simultaneously. The hits sent him flying only to be caught again by three kicks landing on his back at the same time. Gohans limbs were moving so fast that by the time one retracted, it was already replaced by itself. Broly fell to the ground, but before he landed, Gohan caught him by a wrist and spun him around, flinging him back into the air. He charged a Ki blast that was as black as pitch and fired.
Broly saw the attack coming at him and he started charging his own attack. He fired a greenish beam and that seemed to slow the black orb down slightly. Just as he thought he could push it back, Gohan appeared behind him with a handful of black energy and he thrust it into the giants' back. The result of this was that Broly crashed into both his attack and two of the black orbs. He tried to shield himself as best he could with his energy, but the damage to him was still incredible and the pain was enough to make him snap out of his berserker state of mind. He somehow managed to stay air born and Gohan floated closer to him.
"I bet you think you're pretty lucky that you survived that don't you." Gohan asked. "Actually, I'm glad you didn't die from that. I have something I wanted to tell you before you kick the bucket." Broly looked at the preteen with narrowed eyes. What kind of game was this kid playing?
"See, I disagree with my lighter half on a lot of things. He hates violence, while I crave it. He'll avoid a fight when possible, I'll do everything in my power to get the most out of a fight. That's one reason why I provoked you like I did. I really wanted a good fight, and you almost gave it to me." The demon warrior sighed in disappointment. "Anyway, despite the conflict with my other half, we are essentially the same person. Two sides of the same coin if you will. For example, we do care for the same people. Mom, Piccolo, Goten," Then his eyes narrowed and his tone changed from conversational, to hostile, "and Zangya."
He lunged forward punching the saiyans face, causing him to reel backwards, at the same time, Broly felt a kick to the back of his spine that sent him forward again only for Gohan to stop his momentum with a hand wrapped around his throat. "When I saw Zangya, unmoving and on the ground, do you know what I thought? I wanted to make sure you suffered for all eternity because you hurt her." He tightened his grip and slapped Broly in the face several times. "Even my lighter side, who is all about mercy and doing the right thing agreed with me. You were going to kill her. I don't care if you say you didn't want to or whatever, but you tried to kill someone who I care about. For that, you will die."
Gohan then proceeded to spend the next several seconds bombarding his opponent with a hurricane of hits. He was stuck, even when Gohan hit him with a blow heavy enough to send him flying, the teen appeared on the other side and kept him with in hi place. It was as if Gohan had created a cage of his own fists. While it the attack only last a few seconds, for Broly, it felt like an eternity. When Gohan stopped the onslaught, Broly was finally allowed to fall to the ground.
For a moment, Broly laid there unmoving, while Gohan watched him from up high. Then, slowly, the legendary super saiyan got back up. He stared up at the dark saiyan with dead eyes, his arms hanging limply at his sides.
"Hm, I guess that I might as well finish you. I still got your master to deal with after all. Maybe he'll be more fun." He raised his palm high in the sky and a black mass of ki formed atop his hand. He threw the ki straight at the defeated hulk. Broly didn't know what made him do it. He was dead either way, but for some reason, at the last second, he jumped out of the way of the speeding black ball.
"KYAAAAA!"
Broly turned around and his eyes widened. He sped after the black mass as it headed for a ruined building. He had just passed it moved as if to wrap his arms around something when the ball caught up with him and exploded upon hitting him. Gohan watched in fascination at Brolys' actions. Why would the man dodge it, only to put in more effort to get hit by it anyway? As the explosion died down, Gohan floated slowly to his defeated opponent. He had finally dropped out of his super saiyan state and was back to his black hair and normal stature. The man was done, that was certain, but Gohan could still feel some life energy. He walked up to the fallen warrior and realized he was barely conscious. He then heard something he did not expect. Whimpering. Curious, He grabbed the saiyan by the shoulder and flipped him over. What he saw turned his face to stone. Underneath where Broly was, shivering with fear, lay Erasa, curled up in a ball with her eyes clamped shut.
A flurry of emotions swirled inside Gohan as he tried to comprehend what he saw.
"You… How did you get here?"
The girl stayed curled up in her fetal position. "P-p-please don't hurt me." She begged, much to Gohans' surprise. "I-I'm sorry I blackmailed you. I'll never do it again. I swear."
"I'm not going to hurt you." He said as gently as he could, which was still pretty sinister. "Just tell me how you got here."
She opened her eyes and looked at Gohan, though his terrifying appearance made her wish she hadn't. "I-I was trying to escape the city, but then I got cut off by all the wreckage. Then I hid out here." She looked at the unconscious form of Broly. "Then you were fighting him and I got so scared. You threw that black thing at him and it was heading for me. Then the next thing I knew, he had wrapped me up in his arms and covered me with his body." She looked from Broly to Gohan. "Will he be alright?" She asked with concern for her savior. "He's still alive, isn't he?"
"Not for long." Gohan raised his hand and charged his energy.
"What!? No! You can't kill him!" Erasa protested.
"Watch me."
"NOOOO!" Erasa shouted as she threw herself on top of Broly to shield him from Gohan.
The sudden action shocked Gohan as he released his Ki and pulled his hand back.
"Get out of the way!" He ordered.
"NO! He saved my life! I can't just let you kill him when he can't even fight back! What happened to the Gold fighter!? He would never do something like this!"
"Does my hair look gold to you!? Get out of the way now!"
But despite Gohans' order, Erasa clung to Broly and just shook her head. Gohan growled
"Fine, have it your way." He raised his hand and started to charge his attack again. Erasa closed her eyes to brace herself for the inevitable, while at the same time praying that he wouldn't shoot her. Gohans hand began to tremble as he held it out, but couldn't fire.
What are you thinking!? You can't kill her!
You think I want to!? I told her to get out of the way! He needs to die for what he did to Zangya.
Killing someone in a fight is one thing, but do you think Zangya would be happy that we murdered an innocent? Do you think that dad would…
DAD'S DEAD! He's dead and he isn't coming back! It doesn't matter how much we try to be like him he won't come back.
All the more reason to honor his memory by doing the right thing.
Strong talk, but guess who just saved the world? Guess who just pulled us out of the fire like I did with Cell? Like I always do! You wanted me to come out! You know what I'm capable of and you wanted this.
…I do know what you are capable of. What we are both capable of. But are we capable of living with ourselves after killing an innocent girl? After killing friend?
…
We nearly killed her once. If it weren't for Broly we would have. We have to let it go.
…Fine… Fine, you win.
Gohan lowered his hand and his energy dissipated. Erasa dared to open her eyes and saw that the black aura that surrounded him disappeared and his hair went back to normal. A tear slipped out of his eye as they too returned to normal. Sinking to his knees, Gohan closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Break
"You really disgust me Esmerelda." The jade emperor said with his foot on the green woman's head. "First you lose your fight to that pathetic Hera woman, then you lose your heart to a pathetic hera man. At the very least I expected you to last longer than those two fools." He gestured to Alex and Turk. Alex was covered in injuries and was out cold. Her breathing as labored and ragged and she looked to be in critical condition. Turk was nursing multiple injuries himself. His arm was broken and he was missing an ear. Both made a rather pitiable sight as they lay on the ground.
"It really is a shame. In fact, I feel like death is a bit too good for you with as disappointing as you've been." He took his foot off of her head and started walking away. "Yes, perhaps death isn't a heavy enough deterrent for treason. I do believe torture is in order. All three of you. and you," He turned to Turk. "You will get special treatment. I don't know why you think this woman is worth forfeiting your life, but I believe killing her in front of your eyes would be a sufficient start to your punishment. I did promise to mount her head on my wall after all."
He walked past Turk and toward Zangya. In sheer desperation, Turk reached out his hand and grabbed his ex -masters' ankle. "Stop… Please."
The emperor wrinkled his nose at the display. "So now you want to beg? It's a little too late for that." He spared on last look at the blue man. "Oh yes, one more thing." He pointed a finger at the hand around his ankle and fired a beam that severed the middle finger. The pain made Turk release his grip on the emperor. "Get your filthy hands off of me."
The emperor took another step forward but once again found his ankle in the grasp of his ex-employee. "You really are the stupidest of all my servants aren't you?" He growled and created his ki sword and made to swipe Turks hand off, but stopped suddenly. A power source was heading towards him. He looked to where he had sensed the energy. What concerned him was that this energy didn't belong to Broly. Suddenly he panicked. Was it possible that the brat had somehow over come his trump card? If he had, that meant that he would be able to easily beat him. But maybe… maybe he would be too weak from his fight with Broly to be a threat. Yes, it was a possibility. More than a possibility, it was almost guaranteed. He began to relax and raised his weapon again, only to be distracted again by Esmerelda getting up and limping toward him. She fell down at his feet. "Master, please, please stop this."
"Oh, Esmerelda," The emperor started exasperated.
"Do as she says, Jade. Stop this." Gohan landed in the midst of his fallen friends. He looked around and his blood boiled at the condition of them. Particularly the state of Piccolo and Zangya.
"Well, this is rather unexpected, isn't it boy. It seems that you are the last of the earths' defenders." The emperor said smugly.
"And you're the last of our attackers. I just took out your super saiyan, do you really think you stand a chance against me?"
The emperor surveyed the child in front of him with a keen eye. He was battered and it seemed that he had definitely exhausted himself against Broly. Then again, he wasn't as young as he used to be. Fighting one opponent right after another for so long was draining, as was the use of his ki blade. He was running low on stamina and he had no back up. He was also facing a warrior who at full strength was beyond anything he could have imagined in one so young. If he truly had defeated Broly then there was little chance at beating him. His only chance was to use his powers of persuasion.
"Come now, little warrior. I know you are strong, but I doubt you have the strength remaining to take me down. You've had to fight 3 of my elites one right after the other. It doesn't even look like you have the power to turn super saiyan any more. Now me on the other hand? I have only fought a handful of your friends, all of whom were severely weakened. I am relatively fresh and ready to fight. I think it would be you who wouldn't stand a chance against me."
"But I like you, young man. You are powerful and seem to be well-mannered."
"I punched you in the stomach." Gohan said, not seeing how this constituted good manners.
"Ahem, yes well, anyway… With the proper training, you may become something rather incredible. This goes against my better judgement, but what do you say to joining me. I shall make you great, greater than Broly ever was. You will be my heir and together, we can rule the entire universe."
"What about me defeating your men?"
"Who? Aquamarine? Adamantia? Broly? Mere tools to further my ambition. Not like you would be. You have intelligence, I see it in your eyes. So Gohan, Will you join me?" The emperor was hoping that this child would be as naïve as he looked. He had no intention of making him his heir, he needed to kill this brat now. He just needed to get him to drop his guard.
"Tell you what your majesty, you leave this planet right now and promise to never return and I won't kill you."
The Emperors eyebrow twitched. "Unfortunately, my ship was damaged and will take some time to repair so I am unable to comply."
Gohan smiled. "Yeah, I know. I just thought we were trying to offer each other something stupid and impossible. Though I couldn't quite come up with something as ridiculous as your idea."
The emperor growled. "Why you impudent little…"
"I don't know who you think you are, I don't care how many galaxies you've conquered. You expect me to see the unconscious bodies of my friends, then just form an alliance with you?" Gohan yelled out and his power spiked as he transformed into a super saiyan. How did this boy still have so much power even after defeating Broly? "I just realized something. I wasted a lot of my anger on Broly. Talking to you is getting me all riled up again. I wish I could have introduced you to my darker side. To bad he's gone back to his cave. But I promise you, after what you did to my friends, you won't live to see tomorrow."
The emperor felt a twinge of fear. He also felt the imprint of the young man's fist on his abdomen from earlier. Neither feeling was pleasing to him, so he readied himself just in time, as Gohan sprung forward. As the emperor and Gohan traded blows, it became clear that the younger man was getting the best of the exchange. His hits were sharper, his movements quicker, his overall strength and power clearly outclassed the old man. The jade emperor began to back away to create some space, but Gohan hooked his leg, causing the green man to fall backwards and gohan took the chance to pounce on him.
Gohan landed on top of the emperor and began to pound away at him. Jade was a master martial artist, but he had never been attacked like this before. When he went to guard his face, Gohan punished his torso, when he tried to protect that, Gohan went for the face. He threw his fists with all the hatred that he could muster. The old man struggled underneath him, but Gohan refused to relent.
Then, out of nowhere, jade produced his green ki blade and swung wildly at his attacker. Gohan jumped backwards to avoid it. Or at least, most of it. He felt a small trickle of blood pour down his cheek. The emperor took the chance to pursue the brat and he swung his blade at him. Gohan caught his hand by the wrist and sunk an uppercut into the sternum of the old man. The punch was so painful, the man sunk to the ground, but the boy didn't let him fall. Grabbing the old man by his neck he raised him to meet his gaze.
"That was for Piccolo!" He smashed his head into the green mans face, eliciting a cry of pain and a sickening crunch. Then he slammed the old man into the ground with earth shattering force. The emperor felt the taste of blood in his mouth. "That was for Zangya! And this is for Vegeta!" Gohan picked his enemy back up and tossed him in the air before punching him so hard, his body broke the sound barrier. The emperor skipped across the ground, finally stopping as he crashed into a slab of concrete. Gohan landed in front of his fallen enemy.
Jade was coughing up blood as he stared at Gohan with absolute loathing. "How? How are you still so strong!? Your fight with Broly should have drained you! There's no way you should still have this much power!" he jumped up, lunging at the boy who had been so easily dismantling him. Gohan dodged the attack and aimed a sweeping low kick right at the man's knee, breaking it and causing the man to collapse once more. "That one was for 18." He stood over his foe with a grim expression. There was no satisfaction in his eyes at the old emperors suffering. In fact, the only feeling the emperor could see in them was utter contempt.
"How dare you! I AM THE JADE EMPEROR! I RULE OVER THE COSMOS! WHO ARE YOU TO TREAT ME THIS WAY YOU LOWLY SAIYAN BRAT!?" He stood up shakily as he threw another punch at the object of his hate. Gohan didn't bother dodging this one. He caught it in one hand and squeezed down hard.
"Normally, at this point, I'd give a speech about being the defender of justice, but I really just don't feel like it right now." He glared at the green man in front of him. "As for how I still have so much power, the answer is actually pretty simple. My fight with Broly really took a lot out of me, but I don't need to be at full strength to deal with a worm like you. Because here's the thing, Oh ruler of the cosmos. Despite all your power, you're just a weak old man."
Gohan yanked him closer and kneed him in the gut. The emperor keeled over. Gohan looked at this pathetic man in front of him. "I guess it's time that I finish you off." At his words, Jades eyes went wide and he started breathing heavily. He started to foam at the mouth and his eyes were blood shot.
"You… You think you can kill me!?" He was seething as he looked up at Gohan. "You'll pay for your impertinence! HAVE A TASTE OF MY LIGHTNING!" he stretched forth his hands and lightning shot out of his fingertips. Gohan was caught off guard and the lightning coursed through his body, causing him a tremendous amount of pain. Gohan grit his teeth as he tried to fight through it, but after all his battles that day and in his current condition, the attack was too much to power through. The emperor got to his feet as he continued to electrocute the boy in front of him.
When he finally stopped his attack, the emperor smiled as Gohan fell to a knee "Who's weak now little boy!?" despite his pain, Gohan was still able to Grit out a reply.
"S-still y-you!"
Gnashing his teeth, the emperor was about to pour on more of his lightning attack, but was stopped by an unexpected interference.
"Wait!" Broly, weakened and battered, landed infront of his master, blocking Gohan from his view.
The saiyan looked at Gohan and nodded. The boy nodded back warily. Then he turned to his master and dropped to a knee. "My lord, we have made a grave error. This planet was peaceful before we came and we infringed upon that peace. Please, let us leave this place. I beg of you. We have no reason to stay here. Let us take our men and go home."
"What? You dare to give me orders?" The emperor asked indignantly.
"My liege, I ask you as your friend, we have done more harm than good here. Both for us and the earthlings." As Broly pled with his master, the green man's expression softened.
"Ah, my dear Broly." He cupped his hands on the saiyans cheeks. "Sweet, naïve Broly." Then without warning, he slapped the kneeling saiyan, sending him flying to the side several feet. Broly put a hand to his face and stared at his master in shock. "You think that we are friends? No, you are my tool. A saiyan dog to help fulfill my dream of conquest." He limped over to him and kicked him in the side. "Now the dog is trying to give his master advice. A dog that couldn't even beat a half breed pup. What good are you?" He stomped on the saiyans chest and then kicked him away again. He then activated his ki sword once more and raised it above his head. "I would whack your nose with a newspaper, but this will have to do instead." He swung down his blade and Broly closed his eyes awaiting his death. He was a fool. Gohan was right, the emperor didn't care about peace, only power. Now he, like so many of his comrades, would be thrown away after having outlived his usefulness.
As thoughts of his death filled his mind, he thought of all the worlds he had conquered. All the innocents he had killed for this tyrant. He had kept track of every single one of them. He thought that if he remembered them, then somehow, they could make their memory apart of the empire, that their deaths would not be in vain. But they were in vain. Their deaths only served to feed the greed of his master. What a fool he had been. He deserved to die. He hoped time would speed back up and the sword would fall and put him out of his misery. But the sword never fell. He opened his eyes and saw, not a sword, but an empty hand writhing in pain.
He widened his gaze and realized that the cause of the pain for the emperor was none other than Gohan. He was crouched low with the emperors' wrist in a vice grip and his other hand drawn back.
"You should know," he spoke calmly to the emperor, "That you just threw away your last shot at life. Kaamee…" A vibrant blue energy formed in the palm of his hand. "Haaa…meee…" the emperor could do nothing as the energy grew brighter. "HAAAAA!" Gohan thrust his one-handed Kamehameha wave into the emperors' chest, letting go of his other hand. And Just like it had with many villains before him, the Kamehameha wave incinerated the Jade emperor.
Break
Gohan stood up straight and sighed. He then turned away and started walking to his fallen friends so he could get them some help. Broly stared at the child in as he tended to his loved ones. He felt a pang of guilt, these poor people where hurt by him. All because he was following the orders of a mad man. "Gohan." He called out to his fellow saiyan.
The preteen turned around and stared back at Broly. Nothing but silence permeated the air for several minutes. Finally, Broly spoke again. "You were right about him. And about me. I deserve the same fate as him really." Gohan said nothing to this. "Why did you save me." Broly asked.
"Why did you save Erasa?" Gohan asked his own question.
"I told you, I believe that life is precious. It's one thing for a warrior to die in combat, but a civilian who has no part in the war… But that has nothing to do with you saving me."
"I didn't save you. I took advantage of his opening. If that just happened to save your life, then lucky you."
Gohan returned to checking his friends. He needed to get them to the lookout as soon as possible, but he couldn't carry them all at once. Unless…
He didn't have to look far to find what he was looking for. It was a school bus that had been banged up pretty good. He smiled at the vehicle and began to load his friends into it one by one. When they were all in, he lifted the truck over his head. Before he took off, he turned once more to Broly.
"You don't deserve the same fate as him… And… I was wrong about you." With that parting remark, Gohan flew away.
End chapter.
A/N: Well, I hope that was satisfying enough for everyone. If anyone thinks that the Jade emperor bears a striking resemblance to another evil emperor, well you would be right. I was doing a 'Star Wars' marathon when I came up with his character. I am sorry that the fight between Gohan and the emperor wasn't very long. First off, I'm putting Jade, base Broly and base Gohan all in the same general area on the power scale. Going super saiyan is like second nature by now to Gohan so even if he is tired, he should be able to do it no problem and I think a tired SSJ Gohan would be able to beat a tired Jade emperor relatively easily. Second, the victory was decided as soon as Gohan beat Broly and adding any more to it seemed boring to me. Third, I couldn't really think of anything new or special for their fight to justify it being any longer. I do hope you like how it all turned out though. There will be a chapter next week winding everything down. Next arc will focus on Gohans' mysterious new form and it's origins. Let me know what you think in the reviews.
Thanks again to all those who have favorited this story. I will do my best to ensure it continues to be entertaining.