A/N: Well, here it is. The final chapter in the Jade saga. I hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you think in the reviews. Also, follow and favorite if you like the story so far.

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ, but I do own a DBZ Sweatshirt. That has to count for something right? No? Alright, fine. once more to be clear then, I do not own Dragonball Z.

Chapter 24

Other world

"Phew!" Goku sighed with a relieved smile on his face. "That was a close one. I almost thought that Jade guy was going to win. But it looked like my boy handled it just fine. I gotta say, I'm proud that I can call him my son." Goku truly was proud. His son was not only far more powerful than himself, he was becoming a fine young man, and a hero that the earth could count on. "I just can't believe how powerful he's getting. Can you King Kai?" Goku asked, turning to look at his martial arts teacher. To his surprise, King Kais' head was bowed low and he was trembling.

"Hey, King Kai? You ok?" Goku didn't know why the Kai was still so serious. After all, the danger had passed.

"I'm afraid not Goku." The blue deity finally answered. "It appears that the danger is only just beginning."

"What? C'mon King Kai, don't kid around. The emperor guy's been defeated. I mean that Broly guy seems pretty strong, but he seems ok. Even if he did try something bad, Gohan can handle it no problem." Although, I wouldn't mind a good match with him sometime. Goku thought to himself.

King Kai shook his head. "You don't understand Goku, it isn't Broly that the Universe has to fear. It is a far greater and more sinister power."

"But like I said, Gohan can handle any problem that's…"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" King kai yelled, startling Goku. "The threat IS Gohan!"

Goku stared at his mentor for several minutes. Then he burst out laughing.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! OH, That's a good one King Kai!" The saiyan started laughing harder. "HAHAHA! Gohan? HAHAHA! Great threat? EHEHEHAAHAHA! Oh stop! It hurts, HAHAHA!" Goku kept laughing for a good long while, clutching his sides and rolling on the ground. To him, the idea that his son would be the next big threat was just too absurd. "How's he gonna take over the universe, Hehe, when Chichi still makes him go to bed at 9? HAHAHAHA! Imagine! A Tyrant with a bed time! HAHAHAHA. Oh, oh and he'll have to recruit henchmen in between homework assignments! HAHAHAHA!"

Finally, Goku stopped laughing and wiped away a tear. "Hoo. That was a good one King Kai. Definitely one of your better jokes. I almost thought you were serious."

King Kai stared at his pupil with a grim expression. "It was no joke Goku. I know he is your son, but is a far greater threat than frieza, or even Cell."

Goku frowned. "Ok, it was funny the first time, King Kai, don't wear out the joke."

"I'M NOT JOKING!" King Kai yelled, trying to impress on Goku how serious the situation was. He breathed in and out to calm himself. "You are correct in saying that his power is growing. A power that is fueled by rage and darkness. I'm afraid that this power will consume him and when it does, all will be lost."

"Wait, are you talking about that thing from earlier? Gohan just lost control for a bit that's all. He did that with Bojack and Cell and you didn't have a problem with it."

"That was no mere temper tantrum Goku. Did you not feel the complete change in his energy? That never happened with Cell or Bojack."

Goku thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, I guess you're right." He admitted, then he shrugged. "Maybe it's a new super saiyan form, like the one I've been working on." At this thought the saiyan started getting excited. "I wonder which one would be stronger!" he turned again to King Kai. "Hey, do you think we could bring Gohan here and we could have a match?"

King Kai turned from blue to bright red. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!" King kai shuddered to think about what kind of damage those two would do, even when holding back. "And you are wrong about that form. Though I do not know everything about the limits of a super saiyan, I do know that energy did not originate from his saiyan heritage."

Goku was confused now. "Wait, so if it isn't a saiyan transformation, then what is it?"

"The question is not what it is, but how your son could have obtained it."

Goku was about to ask more questions, but he was stopped by the arrival of the east, west and south Kais.

"North Kai," the shortest Kai addressed his rival, "the Grand kai has summoned us for an urgent meeting."

King Kai nodded. "Yes, I expected he would. You all felt the disturbance then?" all three Kais nodded. "Well, I guess we'd better go." He turned to Goku. "You should probably come along Goku. maybe this meeting will help you understand the gravity of the situation." King kai turned and left with his fellow Kais. Goku furrowed his brow. If this meeting had anything to do with Gohan, then he needed to be there. Besides, he had a lot of questions he wanted answered. He followed after the 4 kais to meet with the Grand Kai.

Break

Back on earth

In the wake of the battle for earth, Orange city was a shadow of its former glory. The streets were broken and littered with debris. Any buildings that were still standing were nothing but windowless shells of crumbling concrete. Even the structures that had not been directly impacted had been unsettled by the many earth quakes and sonic booms caused by the many fights. In the center of the city, the mother ship of the jade empire lay derelict, unworthy of space travel, courtesy of Vegeta. The sounds of battle had died out and it seemed that, once again, the earth had been saved. The enemy forces, those that had survived, were strewn across the landscape of the final battle. Turk, Alex, Esmerelda, even Adamantia, lay unmoving. The only lifeform that could be considered conscious, was a saiyan on his knees, staring of into the sky where the child warrior had taken off.

Child. Broly chuckled at the thought. Gohan may have been a child in body, but he had proven to be so much more than that in every other respect. He couldn't be more than 13 and still he defended his home nobly from an invading force with superior numbers. He fought the best the emperor could throw at him and still wouldn't back down, even when it seemed he was outmatched. The boy had made history. He was the first to stand against the empire and actually succeed. To carry such power at such a young age... what an incredible burden that was. Broly knew that burden better than most. To have to keep yourself restrained all the time, even in combat, for fear of harming an innocent bystander. Gohan was strong, but what impressed Broly about him further, was that, unlike many other powerful warriors he had met, he did not view life as something cheap, to be snuffed out on a whim. With a shudder he remembered how he had lost control of his darker side. But Broly didn't blame the boy. After all, this was another thing that Broly could relate to. Every time he went super saiyan, a little of his sanity slipped away. It had taken years of training to master himself and prevent this, but the sheer rage, the power surging through his very being. It was always a temptation to just let go. To destroy everything. It certainly would have been easy, but he knew that if he truly let go, he would never come back. He only came back this last time because Gohan had beaten the super saiyan out of him

But Gohan managed to come back. He only yielded to temptation in a moment of desperation to protect himself and his home and still, he came back. He had spared him. Not only that, regardless of what the boy himself said, Gohan had saved him. Broly could remember plenty of times when he had given the enemy a chance to surrender, or even times when he had held back to give them a fair chance. But he couldn't remember a single time he had saved an enemy combatant. He wouldn't have dared to go against his masters' orders. He couldn't even remember a time when he had put his life on the line to protect a comrade from the emperors' wrath. What made them so different. What made Gohan better?

"I wonder…Maybe… Maybe I could become like that." Muttering these words, Broly fell forward onto his face, succumbing to the injuries he suffered at the hands of Gohan. consciousness finally slipping away from him.

Break

Gohan flew through the sky with the bus filled with his friends held above him. He needed to get them to Dende as fast as possible and this seemed like the best option at the time. Now it didn't seem like such a great idea because, unfortunately, he was starting to feel the effects of all his battles. The physical and emotional toll they had drawn from him were not small by any means. He had gone through three fights in a row while maintaining super saiyan 2, in itself an exhausting feat. But he had also taken a lot of damage from Broly prior to his dark side taking over. All this combined with the guilt he felt from endangering Erasa, from letting his friends get hurt, from Mr. Satans death… He began to go slower, he sunk down as the bus suddenly felt very heavy. His energy was spent and now he didn't know if he was going to make it to the lookout at all.

"Dende, if you can hear me, please, I need your help." Gohan spoke with as much strength as he could muster. He didn't know if Dende could hear him, even with his namekian ears, but he hoped that he would. His hope was rewarded as he heard his friends' response.

"I'm here Gohan!" His little green friend shouted as he flew closer to Gohan. Gohan didn't know or care how dende had gotten there so fast, but he was thankful nonetheless. He dropped to the ground and set the bus down. Dende landed next to him shortly after, sweating and bowing apologetically. "I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner. Mr. Popo said that I needed to stay where it was safe, but I just couldn't stand it any longer!" Dende knew he was no good in a fight. he also knew that he was needed alive for the dragonballs. But he was no coward, and the thought of his friends in danger while he was safe was too much to bear. He had finally decided to leave around the time Broly and Gohan started fighting. Luckily, he had arrived just in time.

"Normally, I'd agree with Mr. Popo but I'm really glad you came when you did." Gohan said with a tired smile. He dropped to the ground, leaning back on his hands to keep himself sitting up.

"Wow, you look terrible. Here, let me heal you." Dende stretched out his hands but Gohan waved him off.

"I'm ok, I need you to look at the others. They're inside there." He pointed to the bus and Dende looked nervously between the bus and his friend. Gohan was clearly badly off and needed to be healed.

"A-are you sure? I really think that I should heal you."

Gohan shook his head. "I'm fine Dende. Please, just look after them."

Dende reluctantly entered the bus and started to work on each patient, starting with Piccolo, who had a stab wound in his chest. Dende was amazed that his fellow namekian was still alive. While Dende worked his magic, Gohan let himself fall back and look at the sky. Knowing that his friends were no longer in danger was a huge relief, but there was another matter that weighed on his mind. As he had grown older, he had become more aware of his inner power. It came out when he was angry or in danger, even helping him unlock both the super saiyan and the super saiyan 2 transformations. For years that's all he thought it was. A defense mechanism that allowed his instincts to take over. He thought that years of training had finally allowed him to harness this great power. But after today, he didn't know what to think. In the heat of battle, he didn't think the voice in his head was anything more than his impulses telling him what to do. He argued with them, trying to keep himself in check. But then, when he lost control against Broly, he knew there was more to it than mere impulse. While he was fighting, it was still him, but it wasn't him. It felt like he was looking through a lens, at himself, while being himself that was being looked at. "Argh!" Gohan growled in frustration. "This makes no sense!"

On the face of it, it seemed like he had a split personality. The thought that he was crazy was not comforting in the least, but what was more worrying was that his other half was so dark. That was the only way to describe it. It was bad enough that he toyed with and provoked Broly just to get a better fight. It did disgust him to think that a part of him, no matter how deep down, was like Cell. What was worse though, was how everything the shadow Gohan said, about wanting the people who caused him and his friends' pain to pay, about how he enjoyed causing those who do wrong to suffer, was absolutely correct. Even more, he couldn't bring himself to feel guilty about the harm he had done to the jade emperors warriors.

But what happens the next time his dark side gets out. Will his wrath be directed only at the enemy? Will he only be merciless towards those who deserve no mercy? Or will he extend his destruction to innocent bystanders. He had a close call with Erasa, but what happens the next time someone gets in the way? What happens if next time I can't control him, or myself, or us?

"I can't let that happen." Gohan spoke resolutely. "I have to control it. I have to be stronger."

"If that's what you want, I'll be happy to help with that." The gruff voice of Piccolo broke him out of his thoughts. Gohan looked up at his newly recovered friend and smiled. "Mr. Piccolo! You're alright!" he spoke with as much enthusiasm as he could.

"Yeah, Dende knows his stuff. Now how about you let him work on you now?"

"I'm fine Piccolo, I can wait until everyone else is done."

"Everyone else is done." Piccolo gestured to the bus and Gohan looked over to see 17&18 leaning against the bus casually and smiling at him. Vegeta was scowling with his arms folded 10 feet away from them and Tien, Yamcha and Krillin all walked out of the bus heading toward their young friend with gratitude on their faces.

Gohan smiled back at his friends but kept looking around, unable to see the last member of their party. "Where's Zangya?"

"Um…" Dende walked off the vehicle wringing his hands. "She's…"

"What's wrong!?" Gohan sat up straight, suddenly a lot less tired. "Is she ok!? You healed her didn't you!?"

"Well, yes, I healed her, but she won't come off the bus." Dende said nervously.

"What? Why not?" Gohan demanded.

"I don't know." Dende looked apologetic and felt like this was somehow his fault.

Gohan didn't blame his young green friend, of course. He stood up shakily and made his way, past all his friends, and into the bus.

He immediately saw an orange cloud of hair at the back of the bus. Zangya was sitting in the very back seat with her head down on the seat in front of her.

"Zangya?" Gohan called out to her. No response came. He made his way to the back and sat down next to her. "Zangya? You ok?" She kept her head down, not even answering his questions. Gohan was starting to get worried. Did she sustain brain damage!? He lowered his head to look up into her face.

The blue woman was caught off guard by the boys' big onyx orbs staring up into her eyes so close to her face. A blush crossed her face and she turned away to face the wall. Her heart was beating fast and she was trying to calm it down. Gohan was surprised by this and wondered if he had done something to make her angry. He opened his mouth to apologize when her voice cut him off.

"I'm sorry." She said simply.

Gohan didn't expect this at all. "For what?"

Zangya kept her gaze to the metal wall of the bus. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. I was useless against the super saiyan and then I couldn't even beat an old man. I failed. You had to come in and save the day, again, after already being beaten half to death, again. I should have just had 18 take me out of there like you said. I just wanted to prove…" she stopped and Gohan thought he saw a tear drop from her cheek.

"To prove what?" Gohan asked. Zangya was always so confident. He couldn't imagine what someone like her could possibly have to prove to anyone.

Finally, she turned to look him in the eye. Her eyes had tears in them as she spoke. "To prove that I've changed. That I can be one of the good guys now. That I can be a hero, like you."

Gohan was stunned. Hero? Is that how she thought of him? he didn't know how he felt about that. Especially after today. He certainly didn't feel like a hero. Her words made part of him feel guilty at his actions that day, as if he had let her down. "I'm not a hero Zangya."

"Ppht. Yeah right." She rolled her eyes. "You save people on a regular basis and you just protected earth from interplanetary conquest. Not to mention your habit of coming in at the last second to save the day."

"I'm just trying to do the right thing…" Gohan didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, and you're really good at it. Meanwhile, I'm so pathetic I spend all my energy trying to beat up an old man, only to pass out before I can actually do anything."

The two sat in silence. Finally, Gohan spoke up. "You're not pathetic."

"Tch." Zangya clicked her tongue in response.

"You're not. You're way more heroic than I am."

"How's that?" Zangya quirked an eyebrow.

"The way you saved Vegeta just before I got there. You risked your life to save a guy you just met, just because. It's the same as when you helped out 18. And If it hadn't been for you, the Jade emperor probably would have killed me."

Zangya looked incredulous.

"It's true. When I fought him, I was worn out and injured from fighting Broly. If it weren't for the fact that you had worn him out to where he was on his last leg, I'd be dead right now. So, you saved me. Again."

"Oh… Wait, again?"

"Yup. Remember Bojack? You jumped in and got him off of me. So that's at least twice you've saved me. Not to mention all the times you've taken care of Goten."

"Wait, how is that saving your life?"

"Can you think of anything more life threatening than babysitting a saiyan child?" He said with a smile.

Zangya thought of all the antics that Goten got up to and laughed. "Hehe, no I guess not. You really do owe me huh?"

"More than you know."

Without warning, Zangya pulled Gohan into a tight embrace. Gohan the smell of her hair made Gohans' mind stop a moment, but when it started up again, he wrapped his arms around her in return. The two stayed like this for a long time, until a tap at the window broke them out of their own world. The faces of 18 and Krillin were grinning at them, causing Gohan to blush as he broke off the hug. Zangya got up and was about to murder 18, but Gohan thought of something and asked her out of the blue.

"Hey Zangya?" She stopped. "That blue guy that was with the jade emperor. The one that looks like a member of your race. Do you know him?"

It took her a moment to realize who Gohan was talking about. Then, realization dawned on her. "Oh, you mean Turk? I fought him at the mall. Why?"

"Oh. It's nothing. It's just that when I showed up, it looked like he was trying to keep the emperor from killing you."

"Wait, really?" She said with genuine surprise.

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you knew him or something. He seemed to care about you and… I don't know, I thought that maybe he was an old friend. Or something more. I'd understand if you wanted to, you know, go with him. be with one of your own people."

Zangya looked at him. What was he saying? He didn't want her to leave, did he? But a look at Gohans' face told her that this was the last thing he wanted. She adopted an angry expression and put her hands on her hips. "If you think that you can get rid of me that easily, then you've got another thing coming rice ball."

"What? No, I just thought that…"

"You thought that just because we're the same race that we should be together? That I need your help in finding a suitable mate? Well let me tell you something Mr. Son. I can decide who I want to be with on my own and I don't need your help with that."

"No, I know, it's just…"

Zangya crossed her arms. "Look, I told you, I just met the guy today. Would you go off with a relative stranger just because they were a saiyan?"

Gohan hadn't thought of it like that. "Well, no, I guess not."

"Exactly. Besides," she turned away from him and started to exit the bus, a small blush creeping over her face. "He really isn't my type."

"Oh…" Gohan said. Despite her tongue lashing, he was feeling rather pleased for some reason. "That's good then." And he walked off the vehicle with a smile. It seemed like all the other problems that were weighing on his mind seemed to float away, for the moment at least. He was so happy, in fact, that he didn't notice the last step off the bus and he tumbled with a comical crash to the ground. Everyone looked at him with concern. "Uh, Dende?" He said from the ground, with some embarrassment. "I think it might be my turn now. Ehehe." He started to chuckle.

Everyone else looked at him and started to laugh along with him. Dende rushed over to him and started the healing process. 18 walked over with her hands on her hips and looked down with an amused smile. "Imagine, the kid who can take on whatever bad guys the universe throws at him, defeated by a bus." Everyone laughed as Gohan went a little red, embarrassed by the truth of the statement. Everyone, except for Vegeta of course.

"How is it that you possess the power of the great saiyan race, yet you're still just as big a clown as your idiot father!" Vegeta berated the boy for his foolishness. Before anyone could say anything in response, Vegeta took off, not wanting to waste another second. He hated that he had not only been surpassed by one idiot, but also that idiots' son, and now even a nobody like Broly. He couldn't waste another minute. He needed to train immediately.

As the Z fighters watched Vegeta Leave, Tien spoke. "I should probably get going now too." He turned to the young half saiyan. "But hey, Vegeta's right about one thing. You are just like your dad. You should be proud of that Gohan." Gohan smiled at that. In his mind, there was no higher praise than to be compared to his father.

Dende had just finished healing Gohan as Tien left. Now, fully recovered, the young man stood up and stretched. "Wow! Thanks, Dende!"

"It was no trouble." His friend smiled. "Is there anything else I can do for you guys?"

"Nah that's alright little guy," Yamcha said casually. "If we need to heal anybody else, we can just use these senzu beans." He pulled a brown sack out of his pocket and smiled. His smile faded as he noticed that everyone was looking at him. "What?"

"Are you telling me," growled Piccolo "That I've been breathing through a hole in my chest, and you had a bag of senzu beans on you this whole time!?"

Oblivious to the Namekians rage, Yamcha just smiled. "Yup. I decided that I should carry them around with me. You never know when an alien invasion might happen. Pretty smart huh?" He smiled, clearly proud of himself. His pride slipped away as he finally noticed the dirty looks' he was getting. Not to mention the absolute rage on some of their faces.

Piccolo and Zangya then started to beat the stuffing out of Yamcha. "YOU IDIOT!" "WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH YOU, YOU'RE GONNA NEED MORE THAN A BAG OF SENZU BEANS TO FIX YOU!" "WE COULD HAVE DIED YOU MORON!"

Gohan watched from the sidelines, putting his hands over Dendes' eyes to shield his younger friend from the graphic violence unfolding before them. He thought about helping for a minute, but then, Yamcha really did deserve this. "This is why I'm in charge of the beans." Krillin said to 18, glad it wasn't him in that situation as he heard several painful screams from Yamcha.

Break

On board the vessel that was once the pride of the imperial fleet, fear was running rampant. Even though the ship had taken massive damage, some of the screens that were monitoring the battles were still very much functional. The crew had seen the power of these earthlings. They had seen their master fall. Even the mighty Broly was no match for them. In the battle with Cooler on the way to earth, the majority of their fighting force had been eliminated. All that was left of the crew now were the ones who operated and maintained the ship, a few low-level warriors and the scientists. Hardly a match for these monsters who could best even the empires elite.

Dr. Graph, a squat, grey alien with a football head, was the senior advisor of the jade empire. As he tried to survey the situation with a calm head and logic, he realized just how screwed they were. They were on a primitive (in his mind) planet lightyears away from civilization. The ship was in desperate need of repair and he doubted the planet would have the necessary resources to fix it. Even if they did, the people of earth would hardly be accommodating to an invading force. The few warriors they did have were not capable of energy manipulation and would be of little help in a fight against the earthlings. They could maybe stall for time. It seemed like Broly was still alive, along with Turk, Esmerelda, Adamantia, Alex. Perhaps if they got them to a healing chamber, they could just carry the ship to a safer location. Pearl was also out there, somewhere. If all else failed, they could always surrender. Not like they had any reason to be loyal to a dead man.

He turned to two of the low-level warriors. "Amber, Crystal. I need you to go and collect our fallen and bring them to a healing chamber." The two warriors saluted and ran off to retrieve the warriors. He then turned to one of his colleagues. "Professor Clay. Do what you can to get this ship mobile. It doesn't need to be capable of space travel, we just need to move to a safer location."

The short lumpy man he addressed nodded. "Whatever you say doctor." Then clay began to make orders of his own. Now all they could do was wait and hope that they would have enough time to escape from this accursed planet. Just as he was starting to feel better about the situation, he looked at the monitor and his heart sank. Outside the ship, a large crowd had gathered. From the looks of them, they were anything but friendly. "Well, I guess surrender it is."

It could only be considered a miracle that, while the city had been destroyed, the majority of the actual citizens escaped relatively unharmed. In fact, there was only a single death caused by this entire incident. Unfortunately, that one casualty happened to be the hero of the people. The most beloved man on the planet. Mr. Satan.

Once the fighting had died down, the people had begun to return to the city. They saw the destruction of there homes and places of work and felt outrage. Of course, this was nothing to the feelings of hate they felt for the ones who took their champion away from them. And so, as one body, they made their way to the source of all their pain. The mob gathered at the mother ship and began yelling. They didn't know what they could do. They only knew the hate they felt for these invaders.

Amber and Crystal stood there frozen. Then were not accustomed to combat, they did their best to stand in between their fallen leaders and the angry mob. They held their blasters high to scare the earthlings away and that held them back, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the earthlings' rage overcame their fear. Just when they thought things couldn't get worse, HE appeared.

The man that had defeated their very best warriors and even the emperor himself. Son Gohan dropped in front of the angry mob and stared at the two warriors. He was then joined by the hera woman, the namekian and 4 humans. Their whole bodies trembled as they tried to keep their blasters steady, though they knew that death was imminent.

At Gohans arrival, the crowd turned from their shouts of anger and began to cheer as they realized who he was. His hair was black as were his eyes, but they had seen the transformation and his identity was no longer a secret.

"IT'S THE GOLD FIGHTER!"

"HE'S THE ONE THAT SAVED US! HE REALLY IS THE CHAMPS' DISCIPLE!"

"MAKE THEM PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID TO HERCULE KID!"

The chants and cheers began to vary between "MAKE THEM PAY!" and "GOLD FIGHTER!" These chants were hardly comforting to the aliens.

Gohan, with an unreadable expression, stepped forward.

"S-stay b-back!" Amber stuttered out. It was more of a plea than a command. Either way, Gohan kept walking. As he got closer, the two warriors closed their eyes. They hoped that it would at least be a quick death. But when death didn't come, they opened their eyes and looked around. The young warrior had passed them completely and was kneeling next to Turk and placing something in his mouth.

Gohan looked at the warrior who had betrayed his master, just to save Zangya. "This is for what you did for my friend." He whispered. Turk had been slipping in and out of consciousness for a while now. When he heard those words, he felt something small in his mouth. He crunched down on it and swallowed. Immediately, the Hera warrior felt like brand new. He looked up at his benefactor who had already moved on to Esmerelda, then to Alex and finally, to Broly. "I hope I'm making the right decision." He muttered as he placed a senzu bean in the saiyans mouth. He stood up and returned to where his friends where. As he passed by Amber and Crystal, he spoke. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

Standing with the other Z fighters, Gohan Faced the crowd. They were angry and confused. Why did the Gold fighter just heal the enemies? Why didn't he vaporize all the bad guys with his laser beams? They waited in expectant silence for what they hoped would be a good reason for this behavior.

Gohan looked nervously at the crowd. He wasn't much good at public speaking. He hoped they would understand. He took a deep breath and spoke as loudly as he could. "Citizens of Orange city! My name is Son Gohan. Many of you know e as the Gold fighter." He paused to gather his thoughts. "Today, our world was attacked, and as a result, a great tragedy occurred. Mr. Satan, Hercule, A man who I considered to be a good friend, and a true hero, lost his life while trying to defend us all." Gohan tried to swallow a lump in his throat as he thought of his fallen friend. Tears started to form in the eyes of the crowd at the mention of their champion. "If there was one thing he cared about, it was you, the people of earth. I know you want Justice for him. I know that you blame these people," he gestured to the remnants of the jade army, "for his death. I thought the same way. I wanted to make each and every one of them pay for what happened to him. But then I realized something. The ones responsible for his death are already gone. They are dead, just like him. Isn't that enough? Would killing anymore really be justice? Would Mr. Satan want us to become murderers?"

The crowd looked thoughtful at this. Some looked like they were going to agree with Gohan. Then a voice cried out. "They're all at fault! If they hadn't come here then he wouldn't have died! KILL THEM ALL!" there seemed to be a consensus on this point.

"MAYBE THAT'S TRUE!" Gohan shouted over the crowd and they immediately quieted down. "Maybe we should kill all of them. And then we could go to their home planets and kill everyone there as well. Then we could kill the women and the children so that they won't ever be able to come here again." Gohan let his words sink in. "But I don't think that would be right. I don't think that's what Hercule would want. The aliens you see in front of you, the ones I healed. They had a change of heart. They changed sides and helped to fight against their leader. One of them even saved a girls' life. Isn't that alone enough to deserve a little mercy?"

"It's true!" Erasa yelled out as she made her way forward through the crowd. "That big guy over there," she pointed to Broly, "He risked his life to save me. You all need to listen to the Gold fighter. He's the champs' successor after all!" That last sentence seemed to hit the citizens harder than anything else. They looked at the Gold fighter. Sure, he was a kid. But he was a kid who had saved them. He was the kid who Mr. Satan himself said would be greater than he was. Maybe they should listen to him. After all, the Champ was never wrong before.

"Ahem…" Dr. Graph had made his way out of the ship and coughed to get everybodys' attention. "Before you decide our fate, I think that it might interest you to know, that as the senior staff member of the Jade empire, I wish to formerly negotiate our formal surrender."

"Oh," said Gohan. "Well, that makes it easy then."

Break

The negotiations for surrender were conducted by king Furry. Essentially, the remainder of the jade emperors' forces would be held as prisoners of war while the space ship was being repaired. During the estimated year that it would take to fix, earths' scientists, led by Dr. Briefs, were given free reign to study and replicate any and all technology that they saw fit to. Once the repairs were completed, the prisoners would be released and allowed to leave earth, with a written agreement that they would never again try to subjugate the earth. On the recommendation of Gohan, the few warriors who had rebelled against the jade emperor, including Turk, Alex, Esmerelda and Broly where not to be held as prisoners (not that a prison could have held them anyway) but instead released into his 'custody'. Gohan decided that, with Dendes' permission, the best place for them to remain, for the time being, was on the lookout.

The Z warriors and the ex-honor guard gathered atop the tower in the sky. It was a slightly awkward gathering, not only because they were enemies not to long ago, but also because Pearl had shown up with a very odd collection cuddled in her arms. The collection included not only Chiaotzu, but also Pilaf, Shu, a purple dragon, and a sentient stack of Pancakes. But that's another story.

As Pearl eyed Dende, Alex glared at 18, Broly looked warily at Mr. Popo, Esmerelda watched Turk and Zangya suspiciously from afar and Piccolo and Gohan stood off to the side.

"Are you sure that this was a good Idea Gohan?" Piccolo asked.

"Not at all." Gohan replied seriously. To be honest he had reservations about this whole thing. But he couldn't bring himself to just slaughter all of them. It's true that Mr. Satan was dead, but that was ok. The dragonballs could bring him back no problem. Funny how he always forgot about those in the heat of the moment. And with the radar, he could collect them in a matter of hours. Speaking of which… "Piccolo, I'm heading over to Bulmas to pick up the dragon radar. Try to make sure nobody kills anyone please?"

"Heh, no promises." Piccolo returned. Gohan laughed nervously and then took off toward the Briefs compound.

Turk and Zangya sat on the ledge and watched Gohan go. "So that kid really beat Broly huh?" Turk asked.

"Yup." Zangya replied. This was the first thing that either of them had said to each other since sitting down. Turk had asked to talk to her a while ago and the two had been sitting in silence for over an hour. "So," Zangya continued. "Is it true that you tried to protect me from the Jade emperor?"

"Where did you here that." Turk tried to sound nonchalant.

"Gohan." She stated simply. "He saw you grab his ankle. Was it really to stop him from reaching me?"

"…Yes."

"You betrayed your boss to save me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"…" Turk Stayed silent.

"Was it just because I'm a fellow Hera?"

"No."

"Is it because you were hoping to become my mate?" Zangya asked with a dangerous tone.

"What!? No! I told you, no!" He waved his hands, then he grabbed the locket he wore from around his neck. "Do you remember what this is?" He held it out to her and she took it from him.

"It's the apple of the Goddess. Lots of women used to wear this on our home planet. I thought it was weird that you would be wearing it, until you said…"

"That it was the last thing I have to remember my family by." He finished her sentence. "Open it. I'd like for you to see them." Zangya gave him an odd look, but at his nod, she opened the locket. Inside was a picture of Turks family. A family of four with a strong and handsome father, a beautiful, gentle looking mother, and, holding a chubby baby that could only be Turk, was a young girl with long, orange hair that was shaped like a cloud. Zangya stared at the picture. She knew this picture. It was what she saw in her head every time she thought of home. For so long it was the last shred of happiness that she could hold onto. A tear left her eye and trickled down her cheek. She looked from the picture up to Turk, who was doing his best not to cry as well, though he was doing a poor job of it.

"Koti?" She asked softly. He nodded.

"I thought that Koti wasn't a suitable name for a mercenary so I changed it."

"So, you used the name of your old teddy bear?" She gently teased, tears streaming down her face.

"Shut up." He said as he furiously wiped his eyes. Before he knew it, Zangya had pulled him into a hug, which he quickly returned. At last, the two siblings, the last of the great race of Hera, had found each other.

Break

Gohan touched down at the front door of Bulmas' house and knocked. The door was opened by her mother Panchi. "Oh, my Gohan. You really are getting so big!" She said in her motherly fashion.

"Hi Mrs. Briefs. I need to talk to Bulma, is she around?"

"Why of course she is. I just heard her and Vegeta talking about something. Such a nice young man he is." Gohan really anted to question this woman's sanity if Vegeta was what she considered 'nice'. "I'll just go get her for you. would you like some milk and cookies while you wait?"

"Oh, no thanks, I just really need to get something from Bulma." Gohan tried to impress the urgency of his request as politely as possible.

"Nonsense, you're a growing boy. Let me get you those cookies then I'll fetch Bulma right away."

Gohan sighed and nodded his acquiescence. He knew it would just waste time if he argued. After all, she did make good double chocolate chip. Moments later he was seated on a couch and inhaling the cookies, when Bulma walked in.

"Woah, slow down there, kid, save at least one for me." She teased.

"Bmphah!" Gohan then swallowed and repeated. "Bulma! Listen, I need a favor."

"I suppose you want a gravity machine too." She sighed.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Well, Vegeta came in here all in a huff and demanded that I build him a new and improved gravity room. I mean, it's not like I can't, but a 'please' would be nice." She folded her arms. "at least he makes up for that nasty attitude in the bedroom."

"LALALALALALA" Gohan plugged his ears and started singing to keep those visuals from entering his brain. "Sorry Kid, I know, TMI."

"Yeah, way TMI. Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow the radar."

Bulmas face went pale. "Um, radar? What radar?" her hands fidgeted nervously.

Gohan looked incredulous. "You know, THE radar. The dragon Radar. I need to borrow it so I can find the dragon balls. Can I borrow it?"

"Oh… That radar. Um, what were you gonna wish for?" She asked casually.

"Your kidding, right?" he looked at Bulma like she was crazy. "You know, to fix all the damage done by the alien invasion that just happened."

"Oh, is that all." Bulma looked slightly relieved, though she was still fidgeting. "Well, theres no need to wake Shenron for something like that. Tell you what, Ill donate the money and materials for the reconstruction. Actually, that's a win-win since I can count it as a tax write off."

Gohan was shocked. "Wow, you would really do that Bulma! That's incredible."

Bulma smiled and rubbed her nose. "Heh, I guess it is pretty incredible."

"I mean it Bulma that's really generous of you, especially since pretty much the entire city is in ruins."

"Yeah, well, that's just me kiddo, generous to a fault."

"So, can I borrow the dragon radar?"

Bulma stopped her self-praising and her eyes went wide. "W-what? Why? I told you I would take care of the damages."

"I know." Gohan said before lowering his head. "But A friend of mine died. I need the dragon balls to bring him back." He looked at the bluenette with pleading in his eyes. "Please, Bulma?"

"Oh…" property was one thing, but it seemed like the kid really did need the eternal dragon. Her heart sank as she looked at the pleading and hopeful expression of her young friend. "Alright, let me get it for you." She left the room and was back a moment later, holding the radar in her hand. She handed it to Gohan and he practically jumped for joy.

"Alright! Let's see which ones closest!" he turned it on, but instead of blinking lights to indicate the dragon balls, it was nothing but a blank grid on the screen. "Huh?" he hit the button to widen the range. Still nothing. he hit it over and over again till it hit its max range, but the screen was still blank. He looked up at Bulma.

"What's wrong? Is it broken or something? Why aren't the balls showing up?"

Bulma now looked incredibly guilty. "No, I don't think it's Broken." She gulped. "The dragon balls aren't active right now." She looked anywhere but at Gohan.

"What? Why not?" Dende was still alive, so the only possible reason that he could think of for the dragonballs being inactive was… "Did you use them?"

Bulma replied meekly. "Yes."

"How long ago was this?" He asked soberly.

"About 10 months ago." She felt very small.

"So, we have to wait two months before we can wish Hercule back?"

"A-about that much time, yeah."

"Oh…" Gohan, completely dejected, set the radar on the couch and started walking away.

Bulma really felt awful about this and a depressed Gohan wasn't helping her conscience at all. "Gohan I'm sorry, I didn't think that…"

"It's alright Bulma. I understand." Gohan said. He was disappointed but he really couldn't blame all, she had invented the radar in the first place. He was sure that whatever she wished for was for a worthy cause. "You had no idea this was going to happen when it did." Gohan opened the door to leave, before turning back around. "What did you wish for anyway?"

Bulma had never felt so small. "Ihsdyr." She said quietly.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I wished tbyr."

"One more time please?"

"I WISHED TO LOOK YOUNGER, OK!"

Gohan looked at her for a moment. Then, without another word, he closed the door.

End chapter.

A/N: Mwahahaha! Did you really think I was going to wish him back just like that? Oh, he'll be back alright. OR WILL HE!? Keep reading to find out. Next time, we will see the fate of the champ, recap on Pearl in her pokemon… I mean, Chibi collecting adventures and most importantly, questions will be answered at the council of the Grand Kai.

I made Turks real name Koti like Manicotti, because Zangya is kind like Lasagna.