Chapter 118 - Unbridled

"Kaiōken!"

The word rocked through the air, Gokū Black's dark pink aura exploding into a mixture of pinks, purples, and crimson. Gohan had never seen an aura display quite like it; Black's god aura, formerly free flowing, constrained itself to its body. The bright red Kaiōken aura that Gohan was familiar with from his youth blazed atop his god aura, a swirling storm of red light blending into the air around him. Black's muscles began to bulge, straining against his tattered and damaged gi.

"Yes!" said Black, grinning. He clenched his fist, feeling the rush of power. "This was a gamble, but I saw Son Gokū do this. One slip up and I would have died on my noble mission! But it worked!"

"You risked everything on a gamble?!" Gohan asked, stunned.

"Is that not how you mortals are?" Black shrugged. "I suppose there may be things to be gleaned from your kind after all." Clenching both fists at his side, Black began to focus the Kaiōken, steadily increasing his power increments.

"It's going up...!" Gohan's eyes dilated in shock. The father he knew couldn't even maintain Kaiōken in Super Saiyan state. He'd tried it during their training in the Room of Spirit and Time, and the result nearly blew his body to pieces. Super Saiyan simply put too much stress on the body, physically and emotionally, to maintain a technique like Kaiōken alongside it. That discovery, in addition to realising how useless the upgraded Super Saiyan forms were in combat, had led to him and his father mastering the Super Saiyan to minimise the stress. Even with that, he had still never combined the Kaiōken with Super Saiyan. Now, Black had done it, and was steadily increasing it beyond the base multiplier. Gohan was beyond wordless. Three times...four times...five...no...!

"Tenfold Kaiōken!" Black's power erupted, Gohan feeling the explosive magnifier within his own senses. The man using his father's body was intensely clad in shades of crimson now; red bolts of bio electricity coursed around him in arcs, snapping through the air and off the ground. The next movement was faster than Gohan could see. His entire body was forced back, a ringed fist collided with his jaw. Black, with speed unheard of, had connected with Gohan in an instant.

He's fast! Gohan staggered back, pain ringing throughout his body. The explosion from Black's connected blow burst the air like a bomb. In Gohan's eyes, a surge of red barreled for him again. The divine halfling rooted himself in time for Black's next strike. Crimson snaked across the city streets, asphalt becoming dust under its comet trail. The air was cut in twain; barely, Gohan managed to avoid the slice of a seeking sword. Black's palm, coated in ki, swung down through the air, eager to bifurcate the man.

"I feel it now, Gohan!" grinned Black. "I have truly mastered the power of Son Gokū! And you? You fear my divine form!"

"I don't have the slightest clue what you're on about!" snapped Gohan. Light erupted around his arm, a vibrant sapphire; the ki of the Super Saiyan who had surpassed God. Gohan brought his arm up to meet Black's sabre. Ki clashed against ki, the solidified, refined form of the sabre meeting against Gohan's wild, electrical discharge. Bolts snapped and crackled, vaporising the ground as they shot off in arcs at the site of the clash. Gohan's expulsion of ki slowed down Black's progression, yet slowing was all he could manage. When Gohan felt the blade began to find purchase against the cushion of his attack, he veered leftwards, narrowly avoiding losing his arm.

Black spun on the spot, swinging his blade towards Gohan's moving figure. The blue haired Saiyan ducked in time to be on the receiving end of a spinning kick. The blade was a feint. Black's broad leg crashed into Gohan's face, his heightened strength from the Kaiōken sending pain coursing in waves through Gohan's body. His divine Saiyan constitution was the only reason his jaw hadn't been shattered in that impact; his body rocked across the street, bouncing akin to a stone on water.

Pulsating ki outwards in a kiai, Gohan disrupted his own movement, breaking his progression. He took to the sky, flying high above the Eastern Capital. Lights danced in the corner of his vision; blue and yellow against crimson. Off in the distance, he could tell something had happened to Bulma, something he didn't understand. He wouldn't even have time to figure it out, if he couldn't deal with the Black that was his own problem. The dark effigy of his father raced after him, propelled by the might of the Kaiōken.

Blows collided which rocked the atmosphere above and the ground below. Fist crushed against fist, shockwaves emanating outwards. Black's leg rocketed upwards, Gohan's arms parrying it from the side with difficulty. The blue haired Saiyan responded in kind, slamming a glowing fist against Black, who brought both arms in front of him to block. The force surprised him, the mockery of Son Gokū actually felt himself pushed back.

Even with the Kaiōken...this is just Gohan's raw power, thought Black. He'd come to garner an understanding of Gohan's power after acquiring the body of his father. Gohan was powerful, a unique trait of his hybrid make-up. The Zamasu of before would have envied that, even if the reason for stealing Gokū's body had, of course, been to prove a point. The Zamasu of now, however, was simply excited. "I never thought I'd find an opponent like you, Gohan! Someone to test the limits of my power, in a battle to the death! Oh, the thrill!"

Crimson bio-electricity flared around Black, his dual auras mingling fiercely around his stolen body. Black braced himself in time for Gohan to come swinging again. Another solid punch, blocked by Black's twinned guard. Pressure exploded around them both, bursting through the air like bombs. Black responded in kind, the backside of his fist crashing into Gohan's face, sending him reeling. Black soared past Gohan, veered back with the additional moment to land a powerful knee blow into his side. Following Gohan's trajectory, Black blitzed ahead of him, bringing his left leg down towards Gohan. The kick erupted with force, and Gohan careened groundward.

Flipping through the air, Gohan forcibly stopped himself, his eyes glancing skyward...

...where the sight of Black's movement being halted by the pain coursing throughout his own body met his eyes. He could see his teeth gritting, fists clenched, and muscles pulsating.

"Feeling the effects of the Kaiōken already, aren't you?" Gohan called up. "My dad's body may be trained well, but the Kaiōken can't handle being combined with a Super Saiyan combined with Super Saiyan God for too long!"

"Then I'll simply expedite your execution, Gohan!" snarled Black.

"Not if I outlast you," Gohan shit back.

"A war of attrition - but for you only!"

Shit! Gohan Black parried an incoming sphere of ki with the external grace of a cat, but the internal swearing of a sailor. Whatever had happened to this woman, it was no normal Saiyan transformation. He'd never seen anything like it, and Gohan's memories held no recollection of anything similar. What confused him more, however, wasn't how strange and unique it appeared, but how strange and unique it felt. The fact that it felt like such an uneven meld of mortal and divine ki was incomprehensible. The incomplete mixture is disgusting to say the least...but it should also be impossible!

Or at least, he felt so. There was no mortal species who wielded god ki in quite the way the Saiyans had managed.

"Stop running and just die!" Bulma shouted. Her gloved hand moved in an arc, letting fly the volley of kikōha she'd primed for another barrage. Gohan Black coated his hand in ki, a sabre erupting from which he cut each and every bombardment in twain. Explosions lit the sky around the city, yet neither party stopped. The Super Saiyan God and the enraged Super Saiyan halfling clashed over the city. Blows were exchanged across the skyline, Bulma and Black's shockwaves rupturing the already ruined capital around them.

A streak of gold launched in two directions nigh simultaneously; Bulma had been forced back by Gohan Black's strength, only to rebound, her own fury and anger serving as fuel. Using the force of her own momentum to augment her strength, Bulma's leg swung towards Black. The Saiyan God raised both arms, blocking the blow firmly and pushing Bulma away. Raising a hand, unable to form their proper sabre, Black released a ki black with a dark core at point blank range. The explosion enveloped both of them, engulfing the two Saiyans in smoke and flame.

Gloved hands reached out to part the smoke, clenching above Bulma's rigid hair into a sledgehammer. Violently, she brought the fists down onto Black's surprised face. The collision rocked the sky, and the godlike Saiyan hurtled towards the ruined city. A human-shaped meteor, he collided with the ground and burst it into dust, releasing a kiai around him to stop his descent and steady himself. Finding himself bathed in light, Black turned his eyes to the sky, seeing Bulma angling a burning orb of ki towards him.

"Are you mad!?" Black shouted, a note of panic in his voice for the first time. "That's going to destroy the planet several times over!"

"BIG BANG ATTACK!" Bulma discharged the glowing sphere from her palm, no regard for Black's desperation or protests.

She's lost herself! Black grimaced, preparing himself to try and fend off the blast before the planet could be destroyed. The light threatened to swallow him up, and his sight was engulfed by white at the moment before collision. Black felt himself sent flying by the force, yet the planet remained intact. Craning his head forward, he saw Bulma descending, rushing towards him, fist cocked back. She...she detonated it above the planet!? It was a bluff!?

Unable to block it in time, the blow connected with Black's jaw; the ground erupted beneath the two of them, debris, dust, and ash flying into the sky. Steadying himself before he could be sent flying into the depths of the ruined city, Black raised a palm. His hand ignited simultaneously as Bulma's did. Two hands swept in an arc, releasing volleys of ki which collided in the centre in an explosion of light, smoke, and debris. A gloved hand reached through the smokescreen, pulling Black's gi by the front forward, a with a free fist rushing forward.

SCHING!

A ki sabre ignited, slicing up through the smokescreen, timing itself to Bulma's punch. The Super Saiyan's fist slammed into Black's face, shoving him back before the blade could truly slice her in half. The blade, regardless, cut through flesh and armour, leaving a crimson, jagged line across the curve of Bulma's now semi-exposed chest. It was a testament to the power rushing through her body, and blood pounding in her head, that modesty failed her entirely. Bulma loosed a volley of ki, multiple spheres jettisoning from her palms towards Black.

Light burst across the open street in a dazzling display of fire and smoke. Bulma's relentless aggression allowed her to persist in releasing kikōha after kikōha. The planet shook, the ground exploded, yet she did not stop. Pulling both arms back, Bulma formed a large, glowing kikōha, lobbing it towards the cloud of smoke and debris under which she was sure Black was.

"Masenkō!"

Golden light burst outwards, ripping across the ground, and rushing towards Bulma. Her sphere was split down the middle, exploding as its energy was disrupted. Her own vision was filled by light, and the Masenkō collided with Bulma, detonating on impact. Aside from the desire to blow this man into pieces, Bulma's head was devoid of anything else.

Western Capital Ruins

The whole planet is shaking... Mai could feel the tremors, and knew they were unnatural. These had to be the result of Trunks and the others. Reassuringly, the black haired woman tightened the bandage she was applying around the ankle of a woman whose leg had minutes ago been painted red. She'd performed the necessary precautions, and it was a blessing they'd still had the fresh water in this bunker to even clean the multitude of these wounds. Firmly tying the bandages, Mai gently kept the woman's leg raised, leaving it against some of the rubble for support.

"Mai, I..." the woman tried to speak, only for Mai to make a shushing noise.

"Just try and recuperate," said Mai. She sat down, leaning against the shattered wall. Staring up at the sky, she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Heaving a sigh, she looked around. The bunker was now open to the sky, air flowing freely. Her tired eyes covered as much of the as she could, surveying her handiwork. Multiple bandaged individuals, and off in the far corner, covered with tarps...the deceased.

"What did we do to deserve this..?" Her thoughts were spilling out of her mouth, but she couldn't keep them in anymore. This entire situation was hardly fair to any of them - to have survived the attack of the Androids, have rebuilt everything with Trunks, only for it all to come crashing down in moments when someone claiming to be Son Gokū appeared from literal nowhere and unleashed Hell on the Western Capital.

Mai laughed dryly. The irony of Gokū would once again become the bane of her existence was not lost on her. The sound of a heavy body hitting the concrete caught her attention, but the woman was too tired to truly react.

Is he back...? Mai wished she'd kept a rifle next to her; if this was Black, they truly were finished. She had no means to help them escape.

A labcoat flashed in the dim light, and Qirka bounded over, carrying the unconscious Chi-Chi over her back. Landing near Mai, the cyborg gently placed Chi-Chi's unconscious body on the ground, and she scanned the area. "We weren't followed. That is a relief."

"Qirka...and who is this?" Mai asked slowly.

"Gohan's mother," replied Qirka lightly. "The mistress, Gohan, and the two enemies are engaged in battle."

"Where is Trunks?"

Qirka hesitated.

"Where. Is. Trunks?" insisted Mai.

"We're not sure," Qirka said slowly. She was unsure of how to console Mai, seeing her face blanche at the news.

"He's going to be fine," Mai said, more to herself than Qirka. "We've already survived far too much. He'll be fine."

Qirka nodded. "Yes. Everything is going to be fine."

Over The Eastern Capital

Gohan and Black were still fighting violently. Black leaned forward, his crimson aura covered body avoiding a kick which soared over his head. Rushing up, he slammed his elbow into Gohan's face; the blue-haired Super Saiyan God staggered back, keeping himself aloft with effort. Gohan's palm ignited, rushing downward towards Black, the sphere he created exploded at point blank range.

Black's hand rushed through, fist clenched, slamming into Gohan's gut. Air rushed from the man's lungs, winding him entirely. Spinning, Black's heel rammed into Gohan's side. Gohan felt his body bend, the pressure of the blow sending him hurtling towards the ground. Asphalt burst into debris and dust around him. Gohan forced himself to come to a halt and stand up, in time to see Black streaking towards him. Barely, Gohan avoided Black's blade, the tip grazing him as the blue-haired Super Saiyan leaned leftward.

"Clever, aren't we?" sneered Black, pale eyes following Gohan's movements even as he bowled forward.

In the distance, explosions lit up the sky; Gohan could feel Bulma's ki spiking, and knew whatever else he was feeling was her fight occurring at the same time.

Black gave Gohan no time for musing. Whirling around in mid-air, he rebounded, a flash of red and pink all Gohan could see. Yet his eyes were adjusting, his reaction time picking up. Or was the Kaiōken beginning to make its toll known on Black? Gohan's palm pushed Black's bladed wrist upwards, deflecting the incoming slash, and dispersing the blade. Black's face twisted in annoyance; he placed two fingers to his forehead, and vanished.

Shit! Teleporta-!

The thought went unfinished. Gohan was enveloped in light and heat, Black having released a kikōha at close range. He felt his body shoot through space from the impact. Clearing a portion of the city in flight, Gohan landed next to Bulma. Now, so close, he could see what had happened; Bulma's hair was spiked, rigid, and massive. Her aura was a brilliant gold, highlighted in blue, and her power was wild and feral. The woman weaved around a blow from Gohan Black, punching him in the chin. Stunned, he reeled backwards. Gohan wasted no time. He raised a palm, tagging in and discharging light from his palm.

The kikōha exploded, Gohan Black ragdolling across the street.

"Gohan!" Bulma gasped. "What are you—"

"Forget me, what happened to you?" gasped Gohan, pulling himself up. to full height and standing back to back with Bulma. "This isn't any Super Saiyan form I've seen before."

"Talk later, we have to take him out now before—"

Gohan didn't realise until Bulma's words being cut off that him standing with his back towards where he'd come from amateurish. Gokū Black bolted through, a steak of violent red hues. A line of rouge slashed across his vision. Black's blade cut across Bulma's side, tearing a chunk of flesh and armour with it. Gohan tore his eyes away from Black's form to Bulma roaring in pain, falling to her knees.

"She may be powerful, but she lacks fighting sense," said Gokū Black, swiveling in place and coming to a halt. His body was trembling in odd places, the Kaiōken clearly taking wreaking havoc. "Worry not — the pain will cease when we kill you."

"I was hoping you'd made it back," Gohan Black said, sauntering over to Gokū Black's side. "And you've achieved even greater heights."

"Indeed," said Gokū Black. "I've brought the body of Son Gokū to its zenith. Now...shall we kill them, Zamasu?"

"Of course, Zamasu," said Gohan Black.

The two raised their hands towards Gohan, who was torn between trying to rush them or protecting Bulma. The latter had turned to her base state, clutching her side. This is bad...

Another streak of light flew past Gohan. Bright, crimson, and ludicrously fast. The light collided with Gohan Black, who then collided with Gokū Black. With the ground bursting to nothingness beneath their feet, Gohan saw who had rushed to aid them.

Trunks. The man stood before them, clad in Super Saiyan God, staring down the prone forms of a severely irate Gokū and Gohan Black. Looking backwards at Gohan, Trunks smiled. "I made it in time!"

A/N: What do you say when your hero dies? I started this fanfiction nearly a decade ago. Dragon Ball Z: God and God was still fresh in so many of our minds. Revival of 'F' hadn't even released yet. It was a new era for Dragon Ball, a renaissance period, after sleeping for decades. Toriyama was a hero to me. He was an inspiration. Before I ever picked up writing - and again, now, even after writing - I wanted to draw. And Toriyama was why. Gokū was the first thing I ever drew. Toriyama showed me that there was joy in connecting lines in canvas, a joy in creating something, not just for other people, but for yourself. That isn't to say the ground his works broke; Dragon Ball was responsible for popularising anime and manga globally, but even in Japan, Toriyama was the one who made it something that it was acceptable to like. JRPGS very likely have Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger to thank for being as populas they are now - and being the way they are now. So many of my interests, my hobbies, and my relationships, wouldn't exist without Dragon Ball and Toriyama. We wouldn't be the same people without the influence this man had on our lives.

I started this fanfiction nearly a decade ago, based on a loose adaptation of an adaptation of Toriyama's magnum opus work, Dragon Ball. I never thought my fanfic's writing process would outlive Toriyama himself. I never wanted it to. We knew it would happen, but we expected this to be years off still. He wasn't super old - 68 is just unfair. I don't know how to properly express how I feel, and it still hasn't sunk in. I'm grateful to Toriyama. I'm grateful to Dragon Ball. It's a media that has connected millions of us; every single one of us who grew up watching Gokū's adventures with Bulma, watching his epic battles, or reading everything that transpired on those pages that Toriyama crafted because he wanted to make something people could enjoy. Watching Gokū struggle, fight, succeed; the adventures of his friends, and family. We share something. We share a connection, a common interest, something that brought us genuine joy, laughter, heartache, and so many other feelings. It's a global community, forged by the effort of one man.

Thank you, Akira Toriyama.

Thank you so much for making my life what it is now.

I'll try to tackle life with as much energy as Gokū as well.

I'll see you all soon.