Disclaimer: I do not own the Dragonball franchise, nor am I affiliated with Toei Animation. All characters and ideas are property of Toei Animation and Akira Toriyama. Thank you.

A/N: This will be a complete rewrite of the story I started (and never updated) many years ago. A lot of things have changed since then for me, and I was unable to write for the longest time due to personal reasons. For that I apologize. Things are better now and I'm back with an improved, more thoroughly planned out story. Upon rereading what I had originally written, I realized that I needed to update it to match my current writing style if I were to continue it. I apologize to anyone who had been expecting updates for so many years. I also plan on returning to my other story as well, an MHA AU that I had planned as well before my life kinda took a spiral haha. Anyway, thank you for staying and I hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 1

Panicked breathing escaped her throat as she took several steps back. This can't be happening… Surely Saiyan's can't become this strong! The shock of watching her two comrades get obliterated right in front of her sent sudden grief and fear running down her spine. All she could do was gaze in horror as the young Saiyan boy charged her, a dead look on his bloody face. His eyes carried the cold gaze of a determined killer that seemed to hold her in place.

She couldn't move. She felt like prey caught in a predatory clutch with no chance of escape. All she could do was watch in fear when she heard a voice whisper menacingly behind her ear. "Fucking useless…" Suddenly she was shoved forward by the large Hera behind her and time seemed to slow down. The look on the Saiyan boy's face seemed turned from cold malice to one of genuine surprise, if only for the briefest of moments, gone just as fast as it came. The thought crossed her mind that she might've even imagined it as a blinding blue light began to surround the corners of her vision.

"AHHHHHH!" her voice left her throat before she even realized she was screaming as a scalding sensation spread across her back. The feeling of plasma burning her skin was enough to make her foam at the mouth as she barely held on to consciousness. She was just able to make out the fuzzy image of the Saiyan warrior before he blinked out of view, then everything faded to black.

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The hulking mass of a man stood silently, surprised at what had just transpired as he looked at the Saiyan boy with disdain. Gohan was holding Zangya at his side, her body draped over his forearm, her long orange hair dragging across the dirt.

The look on the boy's face seemed conflicted, his brow scrunched as he glanced down at the barely breathing Hera, her back a charred mess of burnt flesh. He seemed to ponder in thought for a moment before gently kneeling, placing her on the ground. She collapsed out of his grip limply, her limbs haphazardly splayed out.

Bojack scoffed.

"You would save a weakling like her?" He questioned, disappointment etched across his face as he concentrated his ki into his hands again. "Fine with me… I'll just finish the job once I'm done with you…" He quickly threw his hands forward, hurling ki blasts towards Gohan's direction and forcing him to respond to the feint attack. The moment Gohan swatted the projectiles away Bojack was already on top of him, his fist flying forward to throw a haymaker, ready to obliterate the boy's face and paint the air with pink mist… or so he thought. One moment the boy was there and in the next he had blinked out of view. He could barely even comprehend the boy's movements before suddenly feeling a sickening pain embedded in his guts.

A green splash of blood exploded out of Bojack's back, his muscles tearing open like the back end of a bullet wound as Gohan's fist punched through his abdomen. He felt his strength suddenly leave his body along with his blood. It seeped down his torso, soaking his trousers as copious amounts of his life essence sank down into the cracks of the ground.

"URGH!" He momentarily stood in shock and pain, taking a while to process what had just happened before forcing himself to regain his senses. He quickly jumped back, pain searing through his abdomen once again as Gohan's arm was sharply ripped out of his intestines. He couldn't back down now however. He couldn't show vulnerability. How pathetic would it look if he lost here and now… especially after trying to sacrifice one of his own for her apparent weakness. He refused to become a hypocrite. He refused to be weak like her.

"You fool! Any last words before you die?" his voice betrayed his false bravado. The pain and desperation laced into his words were all Gohan needed to hear… he was finished. However, instead of mocking him, Gohan decided to show respect for Bojack's power, not wanting a repeat of the last tragedy he experienced from toying with his prey.

"Actually Bojack, there is one word that comes to mind…"

With a cough of blood, Bojack's nerves flared with panic, and he forced himself to ignore the excruciating pain in his gut. He was using every ounce of his mental concentration and willpower to focus his energy into his palms. It was a last ditch effort to come out on top.

Gohan in turn dropped into a stance, putting his hands together to focus his own energy. Soon, a glowing mass of blue ki began to emit blinding rays of light, his figure becoming silhouetted from the intense radiation.

"Kamehame… HAAAAAA!" Gohan wasted no time chanting out his final attack as the pirate threw his own ki blasts. The last thing Bojack remembered was the sight of his energy being blown away by the kamehameha wave with laughable ease before being engulfed by blue heat and plasma. The damage to his pride was almost as painful as his skin being burned away. Muscle melted off bone and organs ruptured violently, his screams of agony becoming a gurgled mess as his flesh evaporated in the heat of the blast surrounding him.

"AHHHHHH!" The visceral screams of pure unadulterated agony tore against Gohan's ears as he held his kamehameha wave. He could sense Bojack's energy quickly dissipating as his body disintegrated into the air, followed by shockwaves and a blinding flash of light that engulfed the entire island. Then… he was gone… annihilated down to the atomic level.

As the dust settled and the light faded, Gohan suddenly felt his eyes grow weary as his limbs became unbearably heavy. He hadn't even noticed he had fallen out of his Super Saiyan state as he struggled to stay upright, putting every last ounce of strength into keeping himself standing.

This isn't finished yet, he thought to himself as he glanced over to the fallen Hera he had saved. The center of her back was torn apart and mangled, melted flesh glistening with green blood as her body heaved slightly. Her breath was faint, but it was still there. She was alive.

Gohan trudged along slowly, his feet practically dragging as he staggered forward, collapsing onto his knees as he settled next to her side. He stared at her long and hard, studying the damage to her back and grimacing in sympathy towards the pain and betrayal she had experienced. However, she was still dangerous, still a threat to humanity, and if he let her live she'd probably try to finish what Bojack started.

"Damn…" he whispered under his breath.

His mind was waging war with itself. His brow furrowed and his lips curled into a frown as he stared at the unconscious warrior. There was something holding him back from finishing her off, and it was bothering him immensely. Earlier, he had noticed the lack of resolve in her eyes when he had charged her. There hadn't been any fight left in them. In fact, she had seemed ready to give up, but still…

He raised his trembling fist and looked intently at his bloodied knuckles. It was odd. Even if she had been begging for her life, he was self aware enough to know that normally he would've killed any enemy in the way while in his Ascended state, but had she really been in the way? Why had he not only just let her live, but been her savior as well? Maybe… maybe he needed to correct his mistake…

He extended his fingers out, a glowing ball of ki formed out of his palm as he directed it towards the Hera. He held it there for what seemed to be an eternity, but being out of his Ascended state meant that his killer instinct had weakened. He couldn't bring himself to finish the job, but he couldn't be cruel enough to let her lie there and bleed out as well. He couldn't see her as a monster to be put down after she had let Krillin live. She really could have killed him if she had wanted to, but she didn't… why? In fact, now that he thought about it, she had never seemed to show any killing intent at all, and had left all the finishing blows to her crew mates…

He shook his head as he realized he was probably just trying to give himself an excuse not to kill her. He didn't want to end another life, not if he didn't have to. But the fact of the matter was that she was still a threat, and there was no guarantee that she wouldn't wreak havoc the moment she got the chance.

He had decided. He steeled himself and drew his hand back before launching the ki bolt down. A loud explosive boom emanated from the blast as dust was blown across the ground. He had used nearly the last of his energy for that, and he struggled on his hands and knees as his vision blurred.

"DAMMIT!" he exclaimed as a shaky breath came from the Hera he had almost aimed for. Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared at the small crater next to her head. The loud shockwave of the ki blast had awakened her, and she was very quickly grasping the severity of the situation she was in.

With a cough of blood and a shaky breath she asked, "w-why…?"

Gohan simply stared at her with a reluctance she wouldn't have expected out of someone who had looked at her with such bloodthirsty intent not long ago. "Get… out of here…" he said, seemingly in disbelief at his own words.

She could barely move, and his frustration grew as she simply stared at him. Her guard was non-existent, and she only looked at him with tired confusion in her now half lidded eyes. It wasn't like it would've mattered to keep her defenses up anyway. There was no way she could stop him from killing her if he really wanted to. That being said, it wasn't lost on her that he likely did not want to kill her at all. Even she could assume that much from his hesitation.

"C-can't…" she managed to croak out, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth and into the dirt below. She closed her eyes again, resigning to the fact that this would probably be the last thing she would see before either bleeding out or being finished off by one of the other Saiyan warriors. What she didn't expect was the feeling of Gohan's hand gently being placed onto her shoulder, nor did she expect the energy being injected into her through the physical contact. Her body suddenly felt warm, and her mind and vision began to feel less blurred. She grunted with exertion as she planted her palms on the ground, trying to get up.

"What? But why?" she asked, suddenly able to talk more freely as she felt her strength partially return. She did her best to struggle to her knees, pushing herself up as the Saiyan boy collapsed to the ground in turn. Is he stupid? She thought to herself as she looked at the unconscious boy.

Suddenly, intrusive thoughts urged her to end the boy there and then. He was vulnerable! He was open! He had killed her crew! Her friends! If it wasn't for him she would've been celebrating victory with them while having drinks and wealth and a planet! Damn this kid! Damn him!

But… he had saved her too…

She let out a frustrated yell, slamming the ground with her fists as cracks formed in all directions. "There's something fucking wrong with you kid! Urgh!" She immediately regretted the outburst as her back exploded with pain, bringing back the memory of her boss, her leader, backstabbing her in the middle of battle.

Bojack… you spineless traitor…

She shook her head, clearing her mind of the thoughts she knew would lead her into a spiral. For now she needed to conserve her energy and survive, recover, and… and…

Then what? Regroup with her crew? They're dead… god dammit they're dead! She clenched her fists, tears of rage beading in her eyes as she glared at Gohan's unconscious body. "Fuck you!" she choked out before forcing herself to her feet, not planning on wasting anymore time than she had already. She mustered up every ounce of energy that had been gifted to her and blasted off the ground. A plume of dust and dirt bursting from the point of her launch as she flew aimlessly, heading for any general direction that wasn't near the fighters.

Using rage and grief, she willed herself to stay conscious, pushing herself as hard as she could to cross the vast ocean, barely noticing the sonic booms she was creating as she flew faster and faster. The wind whipped and cut at her face as she lacked the energy to create a barrier, and her body rapidly started to grow weak from just half a minute of flight. Panic began to set in.

I'm not gonna make it!

However, it wasn't long before she began to see a shoreline followed by the outskirts of a city on the horizon. Relief immediately flooded in as her eyes closed and her body relaxed, her aura fading as momentum carried her through the air. Her body rag dolled through the wind as she tumbled out of the sky, crash landing half a mile inland and taking out a long stretch of forestry.

As she lay there, her body broken and torn, she couldn't help but find a little bit of satisfaction at the outcome of this unfortunate situation. The sound of falling debris and trees crunching filled the wood. Hurried scampers of animals fleeing the destruction and birds flapping their wings resonated in her ears. She couldn't remember the last time in hundreds of years she had taken the time to listen to nature like this, not that she had ever heard nature sounds like the ones here on this strange planet.

What a strange sky…

The last thing she saw was the red hue of the cloudy afternoon before her vision faded to black, a single thought playing through her mind as she lost consciousness.

At least I'm alive.